Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 207 entries, all of them here in full.
December 29, 2011 · 77 words
Flight
We went to the Bernardo Bird Refuge today, a pleasant 20-minute drive from where we live. Cold, clear, and filled with the sound of thousands of birds, mostly sandhill cranes and snow geese. Here are hundreds of snow geese panicked by the sound of my camera shutter. The best pictures were those taken […]
Read entry →December 28, 2011 · 54 words
Taos Toolbox
Taos Toolbox has survived the holidays very well, and is still accepting applications. So if you want to participate in a two-week workshop, in luxury mountain accommodations, with me, Nancy Kress, and Daniel Abraham, you should apply soon. Particularly because if you beat the January 1 deadline, you can save a few buc
Read entry →December 26, 2011 · 364 words
Making the Holidays Even Brighter
By now I trust you’ve all had the chance to open your holiday presents, eat your holiday meals, and belch your holiday belches. By now you’re all sitting bemused about the tree amid piles of wrapping paper and ribbon, while 95-proof eggnog does triple axels in your head. And you’re probably asking yourself, What next?
Read entry →December 24, 2011 · 188 words
Good Merlinpeen To All
This is a not-particularly-brilliant photo of this year’s Merlinpeen tree. I must admit that I was on my second margarita when I took it. I hope you all enjoy this year’s Festival of Mouth Pleasures, or— if you happen not to share my Verdukian faith— a wonderful Christmas, a joyous Festival of Lights, a rio
Read entry →December 24, 2011 · 217 words
Centaur In Your Stocking
One reason I haven’t been posting much this week is that I’ve been laboring to get the ebook of Knight Moves, my Philip K Dick nominee, available for your reading pleasure. I’m pleased to report that though I did my job, the book is currently available only on Smashwords. I guess it’ll be available […]
Read entry →December 23, 2011 · 598 words
Miraculous
Behold my photo of Santa Fe’s Loretto Chapel, where we attended Pro Musica’s annual Baroque Christmas Concert the other night. The chapel was built by the Sisters of Loretto, who came to Santa Fe in the 1850s and ran an orphanage and hospital until 1968, after which the chapel was de-sanctified and is now a […]
Read entry →December 18, 2011 · 1,225 words
Angel Station
I have to admit it, Angel Station was not one of the books I was looking forward to reading during the process of converting the book to e-formats. (Wherein it is now totally available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. Just in case you forgot.) I’ve always had a problem with Angel Station. But […]
Read entry →December 17, 2011 · 577 words
Bill of Rights Day
So the National Defense Authorization of 2012 has passed, aided by the lobbying efforts of defense contractors such as Honeywell and Bluewater Defense, who are no doubt looking forward to being paid billions for building LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of prisons and torture chambers. The bill passed on December 15, which happe
Read entry →December 14, 2011 · 323 words
Cyclopean
Here’s another picture from our 2012 calendar. This is the Basilica Cistern in Istanbul, built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the 6th Century AD. I’d say it’s holding up pretty well. The photo gives you an idea why the Turks call the cistern the “Sunken Palace.” It’s the size of a cathedral, with the […]
Read entry →December 13, 2011 · 876 words
And Now, a Message from Mr. Fawkes . . .
The hacker collective Anonymous has, to no one’s surprise, come out against the National Defense Authorization Act, which recently passed the Senate on a 93-7 vote. For those of you unfamiliar with the act— which may be most of you, since the mainstream media seems too caught up in the doings of the Kardashians a
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