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.
June 9, 2019 · 1,030 words
It All Comes Down to Luck
So after forty years earning a living in the creative arts, I have one primary insight to offer: It all comes down to luck. Luck matters more than talent. I know any number of extremely gifted writers who just had shitty luck, and whose careers failed on takeoff or blew up in midair. Likewise I […]
Read entry →June 8, 2019 · 275 words
Pop-Up Concert
Tonight we took a short drive up State Highway 314 to attend a baroque concert. This was by Antigua y Moderna, a group of professional musicians who do pop-up concerts in people’s homes. So on a mere 48 hours’ notice we drove to a lovely, large passive solar home, partook of snacks and wine, and […]
Read entry →May 31, 2019 · 75 words
The Land of 10,000 Cute Lakes
So there’s something call MinnRoast, which I’m guessing is a kind of charity event in the Twin Cities. This year Emily Larson, the mayor of my home town of Duluth, had a little something to say about the contrast between Duluth and Minneapolis/St. Paul. Y’know, I think she could have a career in standup if […]
Read entry →May 30, 2019 · 59 words
Hellooo, South China!
So it’s not every day that I find myself mentioned in the South China Morning Post. Of course the article’s mostly about George RR Martin and the talented Terran Prize winner, Zhou Wen, but then if I’m going to end up as a footnote in the career of another writer, I could do a lot […]
Read entry →May 28, 2019 · 56 words
Joiks!
See, that’s pronounced “yoicks!”, which is why it’s funny. Sort of. (Never mind.) Joiking is a highly improvisatory vocal style from the Arctic Circle, and combines throat singing, chanting, and folk music to produce, well, the effects that it produces. I should stop trying to explain and just let Wimme sing, y’know? S
Read entry →May 24, 2019 · 47 words
This Week’s Rainbow
Here’s the rainbow from a few nights ago. According to Oz Drummond, who is married to a meteorologist, the Middle Rio Grande Valley has experienced 660% of its normal rainfall so far in 2019. And here I thought it was Florida that was supposed to be sinking.
Read entry →May 20, 2019 · 557 words
I Fail to Achieve Divinity
So it was a gloomy day on this gloomy, ramshackle freighter chugging over a gray, listless sea. The freighter was this old rustbucket, World War II vintage maybe, 5000 tons or less. My fellow passengers were listless, and all they wanted to do was talk about their deeply uninteresting lives while rattling the ice in [&
Read entry →May 15, 2019 · 77 words
D&D
My life these days might best be described as D&D, by which I mean Dull and Dutiful. It’s not like I’m not accomplishing stuff, it’s just that the stuff I’m accomplishing isn’t very exciting to write about. Apparently I’m saving all my insights for a novel. While I deal with the dullness of my duty, […]
Read entry →May 10, 2019 · 415 words
The Rat Flew Straight and True
So I finally saw Avengers: Endgame, two weeks later than most of you. I made up for the delay by seeing it in IMAX and 3D, which I suspect really didn’t improve it that much, though I did duck when Starlord kicked the rat at my head. If this is the sort of movie you like, […]
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