Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 230 entries, all of them here in full.
May 10, 2008 · 1,184 words
Publishing . . . Huh?
So this acquaintance of mine, who works for a Government Agency That Shall Not Be Named, was sent to a business seminar. Government departments are all about getting leaner and meaner these days, so Joe (as we shall call him) was sent off to learn about efficiency and just-in-time inventory and, in general, the Tao [&h
Read entry →May 9, 2008 · 457 words
Blaxploitation Plus!
Last week Turner Classic Movies had a double feature of Blacula and Scream, Blacula, Scream. This is not exactly the sort of fare for which I subscribe to Turner Classic Movies, but I managed to stand it for, oh, ninety minutes or so, mainly thanks to the lead actor, William Marshall. Here was this classically [&hellip
Read entry →May 8, 2008 · 198 words
Go Boom
So Wired’s defense blog has posted an interesting article on the reactive materials revolution, followed immediately by the usual posts questioning exactly how revolutionary this is, and whether it would really work. Whatever the case, it has to be said that this is pretty damn science-fictional. Picture your basic 500
Read entry →May 7, 2008 · 145 words
Gilded Falcons
For Dashiell Hammett fans— and who isn’t?— we have new clews to the possible origin of both the Maltese Falcon and the Continental Op. “Resting on the North entrance at Baltimore Street are two gold-gilded birds that could be mistaken for resting eagles, buty they’re not, instead, they’re falcons. Why, you
Read entry →May 4, 2008 · 83 words
Engine With A Difference
Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine No. 2, designed by 1849 but never built due to its complexity, has been built by the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. (There’s another one in the London Science Museum.)It weighs tons, is powered by a single human turning a crank, and operates flawlessly.Here’s the video.And
Read entry →May 3, 2008 · 927 words
Another Strong Tide of Reviews, Washing In . . .
Sometimes I think I should just stop talking about me in this space. Because, y’know, even though I’m firmly convinced the universe is entirely about me, it seems graceless to keep pointing it out to people who, however worthy, are by the mere fact of exclusion not who the universe is about. But then, if […]
Read entry →April 29, 2008 · 75 words
Wonder’s Child
It’s Jack Williamson’s 100th birthday today. I quote his niece Betty: “In his honor, I suggest we all pause sometime today with a glass filled with the liquid of our choice (Jack would probably either have a gin and tonic or a tall buttermilk…) and drink a toast to Wonder’s Child. What an amazing century [&hellip
Read entry →April 23, 2008 · 701 words
Reviews Too Late: Kamikaze Girls
So having finished This is Not a Game, and having finished— I think— the Big Mystery Project I Still Can’t Talk About, I sat down with relief and pleasure to view Kamikaze Girls (2004), which on one hand is a coming-of-age story set in Japan and on the other hand is about aliens, or at […]
Read entry →April 21, 2008 · 1,053 words
Reviews Too Late
My life of late has sort of sucked. I got really sick. I spent vast amount of time trying to get my taxes done on time. I went to the Jack Williamson lecture in Portales and hung out with Patrice Caldwell and Connie Willis and Steve Gould. (That was the part that didn’t suck.) Then […]
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