On The Eye of Argon

On this Saturday past (and with thanks to Terri Osborne) I attended Capclave, a science fiction convention in Silver Spring, Maryland. As conventions go, it was different than any I had attended before–my previous convention experiences having been limited to Shore Leave and Farpoint, both of which are media conventions, while Capclave was geared towardContinue reading “On The Eye of Argon”

On "Minds… Destroyed by Google"

Bruce Sterling had a new short story, “I Saw the Best Minds of My Generation Destroyed by Google,” published in the New Scientist recently. It’s an amusing little cautionary tale, told from the perspective of a teenager in a world twenty years hence where RFID chips, GPS positioning, and a rampant information culture have destroyedContinue reading “On "Minds… Destroyed by Google"”

On Having the Book in Hand

Yesterday I received from Amazon copies of both Constellations, the 40th-anniversary Star Trek anthology, and McCoy: Provenance of Shadows, the first book in David R. George III’s Star Trek trilogy Crucible. I held Constellations in my hands, ran my fingers across my name on the front and back covers, flipped it open delicately and foundContinue reading “On Having the Book in Hand”

On a Book Close At Hand

Stolen from Keith: Grab the nearest book. Open it to page 161. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions. Nearest book? American Aurora, by Richard Rosenfeld. Page 161? A letter from Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, written on June 21st, 1798. The fifth sentence onContinue reading “On a Book Close At Hand”

On Recent Reading

What have I been reading? I’ve been on a Revolutionary War kick of late. Or at least, of that era. Currently atop the desk–Redcoats and Rebels, by Christopher Hibbert, which offers a British perspective on the conflict. Also recently read, General Howe’s Dog, by Caroline Tiger, about, besides General Howe’s Dog (obviously), the battle ofContinue reading “On Recent Reading”