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.
December 5, 2008 · 125 words
From Gonzolabs . . .
The winners have been announced in the recent competition from the American Association for the Advancement of Science— the “Dance Your Ph.D.” Competition, in which doctoral dissertations are illuminated by dance routines. There’s stiff competition here, but I have to say that my favorite was one of the runners-u
Read entry →December 5, 2008 · 82 words
What We Miss By Not Having an Established Church
Our Founding Paternalists bounced the established church back in 1776. Turns out that, as we didn’t keep the C of E on the government payroll, we not only failed to have the necessary background to fully appreciate Trollope’s Barchester novels, but we also missed some amusing radio ads.Something called the Churches Adv
Read entry →December 4, 2008 · 183 words
Useless Day
I can generally count on having one Useless Day each week. This week it was yesterday, Tuesday.On Useless Day I can’t seem to get anything accomplished. I try to work, but nothing happens, or at any rate nothing good. My brain doesn’t seem to function very well. When I try to accomplish anything outside work, […
Read entry →December 2, 2008 · 1,382 words
Reviews Too Late: Mad Men
I recently finished watching the first season of Mad Men, courtesy of Netflix. The series poses an interesting fictional problem: is it possible to tell a gripping story when everyone in your narrative is a total rat-bastard?In this particular case, the answer would seem to be No. I don’t insist on sympathetic characte
Read entry →November 27, 2008 · 223 words
Death By Stuffing
“Well,” I can hear you saying, “we may eat too much turkey over the holiday weekend, but at least turkey is low in calories and cholesterol!”Pah! Not if you have Thanksgiving at our house! Not if you are served Uncle Walter’s Bacon and Sausage Stuffing!*Start by cutting up a POUND OF BACON into strips. Cook […]
Read entry →November 27, 2008 · 155 words
An Embarassment of Riches
Okay, so I may have titled this “An Embarrassment of Riches,” but I’d like to state right off the bat that I’m not embarrassed at all! Orbit has offered on two new books! One will be a sequel to This Is Not a Game, and the other, while possibly not a direct sequel, will be […]
Read entry →November 22, 2008 · 392 words
Return to Wall Street
Michael Lewis, author of Liar’s Poker, returns to Wall Street for a thoughtful look at the meltdown. ““You have to understand,” Eisman says in his defense, “I did subprime first. I lived with the worst first. These guys lied to infinity. What I learned from that experience was that Wall Street didn’t give a shit [&hell
Read entry →November 19, 2008 · 355 words
Memory
Every so often, a memory comes out of the blue and illuminates a bit of the past that I had thought gone forever. I have certain memories from my infancy. I remember my first birthday, and the toy blue rubber motorcycle cop that my Aunt Josie gave me. I have some indistinct memories of standing […]
Read entry →November 17, 2008 · 789 words
Genres That Die
I was watching Operation Petticoat last night in TCM, and I realized two things: first, this is a movie in which the two male leads are made up and lit to be prettier than any of the women; and second, that the film belongs to a dead genre, that of the service comedy.Once it was […]
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