Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 3,174 entries, all of them here in full.
January 22, 2021 · 74 words
The Hogfather Approves
Instead of continuing in my normal course of cynicism and gloom, I thought I would celebrate the detectible and growing spirit of optimism in our world by showing this video of Hogmanay in Edinburgh. Since Hogmanay is what non-Gaels call “New Year’s Day,” I’m posting a few weeks late, but my friend Louy only sent [&hel
Read entry →January 7, 2021 · 1,046 words
Predictable
So after watching the US Capitol stormed by a hostile force for the first time since the War of 1812, and after hearing reporters bleating out their catchphrase, “Who could have predicted this? (usually employed when something happens that is completely predictable), I bethought myself of an article I first read in Nov
Read entry →January 4, 2021 · 156 words
The Frog. In the Pool.
The copyright of The Great Gatsby expired on the first of the year, so now it (and other classic works) have entered public domain. Go forth and make your revisionist art, creators! The eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg are upon you! But what no one expected was a groundswell of fans demanding a new Gatsby film starring [&hel
Read entry →January 3, 2021 · 731 words
Doppelgänger
I’m working on The Restoration, which is the Praxis book following Fleet Elements, and lately I’ve been having a hard time with it. Part of it has to do with how much less amusing it is to write about a great empire that’s tottering because of greed, mendacity, scapegoating, and stupidity when I’m actually living in a
Read entry →December 26, 2020 · 118 words
Today/Tomorrow
I am the keynote speaker for the Year of the Stainless Steel Rat “conference for all things cyberpunk.” There will be talks, panels, gaming, and even an auction. It says on the graphic that this takes place on Sunday December 27th, but that’s only for those of you living Down Under. For those in North America […
Read entry →December 25, 2020 · 221 words
Ribless
Isn’t there a song titled “Have Yourself a Lonely Little Christmas?” Maybe there ought to be. With Kathy still in Albany, I’m flying solo for the holidays. I haven’t put out decorations, raised a tree, sent cards, or even bought presents for anyone, but I’m doing my best to raise a bit of cheer. Right […]
Read entry →December 24, 2020 · 327 words
One 9/11 Per Day
Hey, does anybody remember that when 9/11 happened, people got really shocked and upset and angry? The towers were smoking ruins, nearly 3000 people died, “United We Stand” banners appeared everywhere, and we invaded a couple of countries at the cost of hundreds of billions of dollars. Well, guess what? A 9/11 death to
Read entry →December 14, 2020 · 72 words
Updated!
I’ve updated my interview page, adding links to every interview I could track down over the last years, including one in Finnish and another on Swedish-language radio. The interviews were all listed on the blog when they first appeared, but now they’re all in one place. Good thing too, since the page was nearly five [&
Read entry →December 10, 2020 · 80 words
Explosive Celebration
Today I celebrated the release of Fleet Elements with a virtual cocktail party attended by several of my favorite writer friends. I decided to have a champagne cocktail, and to open the champagne bottle by a traditional method employed by the French military— slicing off the top of the bottle with a sword (or in
Read entry →December 9, 2020 · 78 words
Speaking to Excess
Suddenly there is a lot more of me out in the aether than there was a couple days ago. Perhaps more of me than you actually want, but if you ration yourself a little, at least I won’t be taking up your whole day. First up, a brief Q&A with Deborah Kalb. Next, […]
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