Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 187 entries, all of them here in full.
January 22, 2007 · 295 words
Kansas. Nebraska.
Lately I’ve had to write Kansas/Nebraska chapters. Anyone who’s actually driven through the American heartland will know what I mean by this. Kansas and Nebraska— especially Nebraska— are places the motorist must to suffer through in order to get to somewhere actually interesting. Books can have a similar g
Read entry →January 18, 2007 · 230 words
"The Bomber"
My post on Roman nicknames (“Chickpea,” below) led me to think about colorful nicknames and who uses them, and who doesn’t but should. Right now, the only people who use nicknames are gangsters, boxers, and mixed martial artists. For the latter, it seems to be a requirement. Everyone on the Ultimate Fighting Championsh
Read entry →January 15, 2007 · 344 words
Chickpea
The new series of HBO’s Rome is upon us, something I’ve been awaiting with great anticipation. But it brings again to mind the business of Latin names. Say you are visiting ancient Rome. A bunch of men come up to you, and one of them says: “Hi. I’m Stick. These are my friends Pretty-Boy, Piggy, […]
Read entry →January 8, 2007 · 875 words
Vampire Kitchen
Kathy’s university sends her home for the period between Xmas and New Year’s Day, so that’s the time we often devote to a major Home Improvement Project. This time we decided to repaint the kitchen. Followed by the master bath, if there was time and if we were still speaking to each other. The kitchen […]
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