Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 226 entries, all of them here in full.
May 21, 2012 · 192 words
Burning Ring of Fire
It’s been a long and interesting day. At one o’clock this morning I was chatting at a room party with astronaut Mike Fincke. At dawn I was lost in Washington D.C., circling the Washington Monument (a lovely sight, actually). At noon I was landing at the Albuquerque Sunport, and shortly before sunset I was eating [&hell
Read entry →May 13, 2012 · 643 words
1916-2008
It’s Mothers’ Day here in the States, and Fêtes des Méres in Canada. Mexico had Dia de las Madres a few days ago. Just like everybody’s got a Mom, it looks like every country has a Mothers’ Day. Here’s a photo of my mom before I ever knew her, in the years just before the […]
Read entry →May 11, 2012 · 83 words
Dead Fang
I made the mistake of eating popcorn, and broke a tooth on a popcorn hull. An early-morning call on my dentist would seem to be in order. UPDATE: The call on my dentist proved to be mid-afternoon, but the results were pretty much what I’d expected. Yes, I need a crown. (Of course, I’ve always […]
Read entry →May 9, 2012 · 86 words
Daniel’s Latest
I thought I’d bring to your attention the fact that my friend Daniel Abraham’s latest fantasy, The King’s Blood, is now available wherever fine books are sold. This is the second book of Daniel’s excellent Dagger and Coin series, and continues the series’ tradition of luring you onto what seems to be familiar fantasy t
Read entry →May 8, 2012 · 1,969 words
Running Off the Cliff: City on Fire
This is one of a series of essays written on recently republished works. This one is about City on Fire (newly available in ebook form via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords). Since City on Fire is a sequel to Metropolitan, it might be best to start with the three big essays I wrote on […]
Read entry →May 7, 2012 · 670 words
Avengers (The Endoscopy)
So I finally did see the Avengers movie. And hey, there really was a Hulk v. Loki scene of which I could totally approve. Not as awesome as mine, but still pretty good. If you like superhero movies, you’ll like this one. If you don’t like superhero movies, don’t see this, because it’s like all […]
Read entry →May 5, 2012 · 415 words
Avengers (Disassembled)
I haven’t seen the Avengers movie yet. But I know how I want it to end. How I want it to end is not with the 35-minute action scene that I know is actually there, the kind where CGI goes toe-to-toe with CGI, and CGI wins. I’ve seen enough of those for a lifetime. Those […]
Read entry →May 4, 2012 · 1,172 words
Marginal
Being at the Secret Site last week, along with some remarks from friend of the blog Ralf, have set me thinking about life on the margins. Those folks on that mesa-top pueblo lived there for several generations at least, and got by. They planted crops with a digging stick, and they had to irrigate them […]
Read entry →May 3, 2012 · 142 words
City on Fire Goes Live!
City on Fire has gone live on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. Congratulations to B&N, which actually made the book available before Amazon did. Good work, O brick-and-mortar dinosaur! And though you can buy the book from Smashwords, it won’t be sent to any of the Smashwords affiliates (like Kobo and iBooks) for
Read entry →May 2, 2012 · 441 words
Mystery Pix, Solved!
DorjePismo was right, the Mystery Picture was a Native American structure, or what’s left of one. In fact it was probably a kiva, an underground ceremonial structure. At any rate, it was the largest room in the small, mesa-top pueblo. I won’t say where we were, except that we were roughly in the Four Corners […]
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