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.
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, […]
Read entry →April 6, 2020 · 65 words
The Other Game
Fans of Wild Cards have long known that the series was inspired by a superhero roleplaying game run by George R.R. Martin. But there was another superhero campaign going on, with more or less the same set of players, and that was run by me. Over on the Wild Cards site, you can find a brief […]
Read entry →April 4, 2020 · 955 words
Screenings in the Sickroom
I’ve been sick for 10 days now, and I improve day by day. I am only rarely doubled over with coughing. Occasionally my eyes will uncross and I can read and even plan ten or fifteen minutes into the future. Kathy’s illness is about three or four days behind mine, but then hers isn’t as […]
Read entry →March 29, 2020 · 306 words
Now We Are Sick
So. Apparently I started the self-isolation thing a little late, because I am now unwell. It’s a common cold, so far as I can tell, proving that just because everyone’s talking about one virus doesn’t mean the others go on holiday. I started coughing on Wednesday, which raised a modest amount of concern, but I [&hellip
Read entry →March 23, 2020 · 79 words
Hang On Little Tomato
All things being normal, I’d mosey to a cocktail bar tonight, then walk down the street to the Kimo, the world’s only art-deco pueblo revival theater, to see Pink Martini. But things aren’t normal, I won’t be in any theater anytime soon, and if I drink any cocktails I’ll have to make them myself. But […]
Read entry →March 22, 2020 · 71 words
The New Profiteers
Something I heard just today. A couple weeks ago, before COVID really hit New Mexico, trucks from Texas appeared in nearly every community and bought up toilet paper from every outlet, including convenience stories like 7-11, then carried them back home. I kind of admire the enterprise of these guys, but I also want to
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