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.
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
Read entry →April 12, 2020 · 88 words
Everybody’s Gonna Need a Ventilator
When your spine is cracking and your hands, they shake, Heart is bursting and you butt’s gonna break. Your woman’s cussing, you can hear her scream, You feel like murder in the first degree. Ain’t nobody slowing down no way, Ev’rybody’s stepping on their accelerator, Don’t matter where you are, Ev’rybody’s gonna need a
Read entry →April 12, 2020 · 123 words
Alas
Last year I wrote about the exuberant and open hospitality offered us by Lady Dunsany when she gave us a private tour of Dunsany Castle in Ireland. This castle is the seat of the second-oldest Irish peerage, and also the home of Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, the 18th baron, who wrote stories, poetry, and plays [&h
Read entry →April 10, 2020 · 191 words
The New Decameron
The original Decameron, written by Giovanni Boccaccio in the 14th Century, was a collection of 100 tales, each of which was supposedly narrated by one of ten young men and women hiding from the plague in a villa near Florence. So what are we doing now, in our contemporary self-exile, but sitting around and telling each
Read entry →April 9, 2020 · 47 words
Taos Toolbox Postponed
I regret to report that due to the danger of COVID-19, Taos Toolbox 2020 has been postponed from June to September 6-19. The mountains should be lovely at that time of year, and we hope that everyone already committed to the workshop will be able to attend.
Read entry →April 6, 2020 · 659 words
Running Like a Deere
On Saturday came a fortunate coincidence— both I and my little tractor were feeling well enough to get some yard work done. The tractor had been ill longer than I had. I usually plan to kick off yard work season in February, just after we burn the dried-out weeds and leaves from the previous year, […]
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