Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 3,179 entries, all of them here in full.
June 4, 2020 · 495 words
First Things First
I’m isolated in my rural paradise, but it’s not like I don’t read the news. Ten days of protest in major cities, property destruction (a certain percentage at the hands of police provocateurs), police in one place sitting down with protestors for a productive dialogue, police in another charging peaceful protestors for
Read entry →May 26, 2020 · 276 words
Stimulus
Our stimulus check arrived— or rather not a check, but a debit card on the U.S. Treasury. Apparently it’s legit. I’m still working and my business hasn’t shut down, and Kathy is comfortably retired. We’re not rich, but we’re doing well enough. We don’t need the money and didn’t ask for it, and we’re self-isolatin
Read entry →May 16, 2020 · 1,184 words
Idiot Box for the Isolated
Here in my isolated rural paradise I’ve been watching a lot more video than I usually do, and— for some damn reason— doing a lot less reading. The least I can do is share my online encounters. Safe and The Stranger, both on Netflix. Two of Harlan Coben’s thrillers (which I haven’t read) have been shifted fr
Read entry →May 9, 2020 · 69 words
Mom’s Day
A hundred years ago there used to be a musical genre about how much people loved their mothers, M.O.T.H.E.R. being one of the big hits. There are still songs about moms, but they’re not regulars on the Hit Parade the way they used to be. Here’s a song that’s only tangentially about mothers, but I […]
Read entry →May 8, 2020 · 262 words
Lockdown Spirits
Apparently the spirits are as tired of the lockdown as everyone else, because they’ve been getting restless. We’ve been having an outbreak of strange spectral noises. For the last few weeks, I’ve heard mysterious knocking noises at night, between 11pm and midnight. It doesn’t happen every night, but it happens enough t
Read entry →May 5, 2020 · 156 words
Cinco
Happy Cinco de Mayo, everybody! Welcome to my virtual matanza! May 5 is the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla in 1862, in which an inferior Mexican force defeated a French expeditionary army. In Mexico the day is celebrated only in Puebla and environs, but it’s widely celebrated among Mexican-Americans in the States.
Read entry →April 30, 2020 · 435 words
Kata in the Carport
It’s over six weeks since we locked ourselves away. It’s been easier than I expected. I’m used to working alone, for one thing. I’m trying to start the day with kata in the carport. Then I have lunch and spend a couple hours playing Horizon: Zero Dawn. I’m no longer clear what day of the week […]
Read entry →April 25, 2020 · 208 words
Sculpture
Since I’m hanging out at home hiding from the virus, I have very little to do, so I thought I might as well try to fulfill one of my longtime ambitions, which is to become a chainsaw artist! There’s no place that teaches this stuff, you just have to fire up your chainsaw and go […]
Read entry →April 22, 2020 · 67 words
I Cannot Avoid the Topic of Publishing
So the other night I dreamed that I worked on the staff of an established magazine called Huguenots Today, which was threatened by the publication of a newer, glitzier magazine called Huguenots Now! That exclamation point was like a weapon brandished in our direction. Ad revenue fell. There were lots of meetings, and a
Read entry →April 18, 2020 · 438 words
Down Home
I don’t want to cause too many cases of resentful food envy here, but I’m kinda proud of this one. What we have here is barbecue beef brisket, potato salad, and collard greens. The brisket was cooked sous vide for 72 hours at 155 degrees F, then spent two hours in the oven to give […]
Read entry →April 16, 2020 · 271 words
Consolation
Here’s the Moroccan-spice-crusted leg of lamb I cooked for Passover/Easter/Bunnyday, served with a saffron rice pilaf and fresh artichokes with a saffron dipping sauce. (The Moroccan spices on the lamb had saffron too, so thanks to the wonderful Patricia Rogers for dropping that saffron on me.) It is small consolation
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