Shore Leave is coming up. The second weekend in July — the 9th through the 11th. Guests this year include Edward James Olmos and Katee Sackhoff. If you’re in the Baltimore area in mid-July and you’re looking for a convention, Shore Leave’s worth your time. I bring up Shore Leave because yesterday I received anContinue reading “On Shore Leave Anticipation”
Category Archives: Writing
On Madcap Ideas
On occasion, I have completely mental thoughts. Take last Friday, for instance. After the every-few-monthly pub outing with the department I, while somewhat intoxicated, wrote the following sentence: “Imagine a world without fractions.” I don’t know what that means. I can’t imagine a world without fractions. Yet, I worked that sentence into a Sherlock HolmesContinue reading “On Madcap Ideas”
On Star Trek Magazine’s Movie Spectacular
Within the next week or so, the new issue of Star Trek Magazine, issue #26 in the United States, issue #153 in the United Kingdom, will start showing up on newsstands. Its cover proclaims it to be “The Ultimate Movie Guide,” and all eleven Star Trek movies, from 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture toContinue reading “On Star Trek Magazine’s Movie Spectacular”
On Today’s New Word
I needed a word today. I fished around that musty brain attic of mine, and could find none that were appropriate. So I coined one. “Embafflement.” Embafflement is the feeling of oncoming confusion. Embafflement is the sense that the more you know, the less you understand. Why did I need the word embafflement? Well… IContinue reading “On Today’s New Word”
On Drabble Writing
On occasion, I write drabbles. A drabble is a particularly unforgiving form a fiction. One hundred words. No more. No less. I’ve written sentences that barely get going at fifty words; a story at twice that length must surely be impossible! I began writing drabbles because of, for all things, Strange New Worlds, the StarContinue reading “On Drabble Writing”
On Sequel Musings
An idea has been playing at the back of my mind since Tuesday. A Dead Poets Society sequel. I’ve been known to pull out old movies and, as a thought exercise, think about what a sequel to the movie could be. Like musing about a sequel to Three Men and a Little Lady (which isContinue reading “On Sequel Musings”
On Reflections on My Writing
Of late, I’ve felt that writing has been like trying to pound blood from a stone. A strange metaphor, that. Obviously, I can write. I wrote some articles for work today. One presented a major challenge; I just couldn’t find anything to say. One flowed quite well, and it was done in ten minutes. Yesterday,Continue reading “On Reflections on My Writing”
On Batman Haiku
Today was Batman haiku day on Twitter. Don’t ask me why. I don’t know how these things get started. I wouldn’t have even known about Batman haiku were it not for Julio Angel Ortiz. I wrote a few Batman haikus, and I posted them to Twitter, and then I wrote a few more that IContinue reading “On Batman Haiku”
On Farpoint 2010
This weekend, in gorgeous snow-capped Timonium, science-fiction fans will gather for Farpoint. Headlining guests this year are the winsome Felicia Day (The Guild and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog) and Mira Furlan (Babylon 5). (Matt Frewer, whom I was really excited about, has canceled; actors have to work, after all.) There are going to be lotsContinue reading “On Farpoint 2010”
On Non-Standard Punctuation
In my quest for new and ever-more-interesting ways to communicate, I have discovered non-standard punctuation. We all know periods and commas. I am particularly fond of the semi-colon, and I make fair use of dashes. (Dashes are the “house style” at work. I am not, actually, a fan of the dash. I find it… sloppy.)Continue reading “On Non-Standard Punctuation”