Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 268 entries, all of them here in full.
May 31, 2010 · 734 words
Cat 1, Smoke Monster 0
Over on her blog, Cat Valente lets Lost have it with a multi-barrel chain gun. It had me hopping up and down and clapping my hands with glee, it did. Lost is a science fiction show. Now, they haven’t wanted that label from the beginning. First, they assured us that everything had a real-world explanation […]
Read entry →May 29, 2010 · 63 words
Untergang II: Enter the Man of Steel
It occurs to me that if you show these parodies in a certain order, they even have a plot. Hearing that Hitler parodies are being removed from YouTube, Stalin makes his move: Hearing that Stalin is moving in on their action, the Hitler parody writers react: And now— just because I feel like it— Hitler [&hel
Read entry →May 28, 2010 · 137 words
Untergang
As have many of you, I’ve enjoyed the “Downfall Meme,” in which a key scene of the 2004 film Der Untergang (“Downfall”) is used to comment on issues of the day. Alas, German movie dinosaur Constantin Film AG is now asserting ownership of these parodies— which, it has to be said, vastly increased the popularity [&
Read entry →May 26, 2010 · 1,236 words
Idiot Plots
Let’s say you’re a cop. You’re in pursuit of a serial killer. The killer knows you’re after him and has already trashed your house and tried to murder a member of your family. What do you do?A. Surround your family with guards.B. Get your family out of town and to an undisclosed location where the […]
Read entry →May 26, 2010 · 122 words
Figures From the Past
As most of you probably know, I began my career as an author of historical fiction. Those books are long out of print and, I assumed, long forgotten.I’m pleased to report that one reader hasn’t forgotten. Reader/modeler Dan Thompson has created a miniature of my character Captain Favian Markham, USN, standing on the de
Read entry →May 21, 2010 · 136 words
Premature Burial
A few days ago, all Twitter was aglow with the information that Harlan Ellison had died.Last night, I received email that Normal Spinrad had died during an operation.As it happens, Harlan is very much alive, and Norman survived his operation perfectly well.So there seems to be a “prankster” working the science fiction
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