Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 3,176 entries, all of them here in full.
February 10, 2007 · 382 words
19 Lines
The other day I wrote a villanelle. This is a damned odd thing for me to do. I don’t write much poetry, and I do not normally read a lot of poetry (though every so often I will go on a poetry binge). But I was trapped. The protagonist of my current enterprise is a […]
Read entry →February 5, 2007 · 63 words
Corn Maidens
More updates from our world of home improvement. Here we see a lovely southwestern sunset as viewed through the wrought-iron security doors that were installed following our burglary. Ernie’s Custom Iron Works in Albuquerque provided the lovely (and quite reasonably priced) “corn maiden” design, which allows us to view
Read entry →February 1, 2007 · 76 words
The Walls Incarnadine
More home improvement under way. Here’s Kathy, looking rather brawny, at work on another kitchen soffit. (I had never heard the word “soffit” before commencing this project. A useful word, that is if we’re using it correctly.) As our shade of red, cheerfully described as “cranberry zing,” was darker than we feared (if
Read entry →January 29, 2007 · 568 words
Listening to Brahms
Over the weekend we traveled to Socorro, the Athens of the Southwest, for the Presidential Chamber Music concert. (The president in this case being Daniel Lopez, of New Mexico Tech.) For a college that specializes in science and engineering, Tech has an surpringly large footprint in the world of music. Before the conce
Read entry →January 26, 2007 · 208 words
The Dinner Party
So who would you have over for dinner? Assuming, of course, that you could have anyone from history and that there was no language barrier. You can only have ten guests, though. That’s a rule. Here’s my list: Servilia (see “Chickpea,” below, for her biography)Benjamin FranklinFrederick the GreatCatherine the GreatVolta
Read entry →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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