Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 133 entries, all of them here in full.
October 27, 2019 · 146 words
Me an’ Bogart an’ Them
It’s been a long autumn, what with hip replacement and all the deadline pressure and stuff, and my birthday is happening around now, and so I decided I deserved a really nice birthday present. Maybe something I’ve always wanted. It so happens that I’ve wanted a Porsche since I was about eight, and ever […]
Read entry →October 25, 2019 · 561 words
Making Scoville Proud
Tonight’s culinary odyssey was courtesy of our hunter friend Kyle, who laid some ground venison on us. We could have made venison burgers, I suppose, but I decided to be a little more adventurous and make venison chili. Kathy had bought a ton of freshly-roasted green chile back in August, and this seemed another chance
Read entry →October 24, 2019 · 1,187 words
Reviews Too Late: Money Heist
While recovering from surgery I binged, mainly continuing my exploration of Spanish TV with Money Heist (Casa de Papel, “House of Paper”) I do like an intricate caper, as my Maijstral books demonstrate, and this is probably the longest caper ever filmed, something like sixteen hours of television originally split into
Read entry →October 20, 2019 · 59 words
No Break. Maybe Some Whisky.
I have finished Fleet Elements, which is either Praxis Book VII (according to me) or Praxis Book V (according to the publisher). Objectively, it’s Novel XXXIII. The text has been sent on to the Power What Is. I am celebrating the completion by working on something else. Some day I’ll take a break, but it won’t [&hellip
Read entry →October 19, 2019 · 90 words
On the Western Slope
For those of you on the Western Slope, you might want to mosey over to Vail on 6PM on Monday for a science fiction symposium being held at The Sebastian Vail, 16 Vail Rd, Vail, CO 81657. Along with me, the symposium will feature this near’s Nebula novelist Rebecca Roanhorse, Emily Mah, and Jack Mitchell. Because [&hell
Read entry →October 16, 2019 · 145 words
Week Five
I think I’ve taken some pretty good pictures, but I’ve never been lucky when it comes to photographing my own pets. Whenever any of our cats sees a strange object with a lens pointed at them, they tend to vanish over the horizon before I can snap the shutter. Fortunately our ragdoll Mocha was too […]
Read entry →October 11, 2019 · 187 words
From the Coffee Shop
Xfiniti, my phone company, dug up my ground line the other day, I assume by accident. I suspect malevolence, however. My ground line now consists of nothing but splices. The phone company has cut my phone line so many times that I have to assume it’s deliberate. I mean, why would a public utility repeatedly […]
Read entry →October 9, 2019 · 77 words
Hobbling to the Finish
I’m trying to finish the next Praxis book, which I hope to do in the next few days, so I’m spending even less time here than usual. In the meantime feel free to enjoy this interview with LD Colter, 2018 Taos Toolbox graduate and author of While Gods Sleep. PS: I continue to improve four weeks […]
Read entry →October 2, 2019 · 298 words
Nesting
Behold a pair of eider ducks, possibly in the process of settling into a new home. These were encountered just outside Reykjavik back in June. The female eider lines her nest with the down from her own breast, and this is collected for use in pillows or whatever. The farmers do not, I am told, somehow […]
Read entry →September 28, 2019 · 520 words
Just Add Butter
So many thanks to my lovely wife Kathy for improving my recovery by making this taste from my childhood, Finnish pancakes. Finnish pancakes are wide as a frypan and thin, like crepes, except they’ve got way more butter and eggs in them. My mom made them throughout my boyhood, but like all her recipes, she […]
Read entry →September 25, 2019 · 295 words
Longing for the Hot Tub
This morning I went back to town to have 23 staples removed from my hip— remarkably painlessly, I should add. I am hoping the staple removal will serve to accelerate healing and mobility. I am now walking mostly with a cane. I’m still not allowed to use the hot tub, or in fact any tub. […]
Read entry →September 21, 2019 · 677 words
Getting Bored Now
I’ve been home now for eleven days after surgery. I’m getting more mobile each day, though I often have trouble sleeping at night without the aid of pharmaceuticals. There are only two positions I can sleep in, on my left side or flat on my back, and after a while my body, and most especially […]
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