Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 3,180 entries, all of them here in full.
December 2, 2018 · 890 words
History-ish
I’ve been deep-diving into history here at Rancho Malario, first with the Amazon Prime series Las Aventuras del Capitán Alastriste, based on the novels by Arturo Perez Reverte. I’ve been a fan of Perez’ fiction for a long while, ever since The Flanders Panel and The Club Dumas. The Alastriste novels are a very good int
Read entry →November 29, 2018 · 78 words
Encore
Once again, I’ve published a journal of our adventures in the form of a calendar. This one covers 2019, and features major international holidays such as Alberta Family Day, Lincoln’s Birthday, Toussaint, Cinco de Mayo, Kamehameha Day, and my birthday. I don’t make money off this, it’s just something I do to share expe
Read entry →November 28, 2018 · 1,413 words
Spies and Spinets
One of the oldies channels has been running back-to-back episodes of The Avengers (the British one, with Patrick Macnee), and Danger Man, with Patrick McGoohan, both Patricks playing men named John. I remember watching the two Patricks as a youngster, and being enthusiastic fans of both. (Danger Man seems to have been
Read entry →November 25, 2018 · 91 words
Score
Yesterday my Brig of War sale went into overdrive, with an ad placed through Bookbub, which promptly sold a couple thousand copies (without, however, coming near the total required to reimburse myself for the cost of the ad). But the sale nevertheless managed to bring my Amazon ranking to #61, which placed it on the Am
Read entry →November 24, 2018 · 77 words
No Trauma
We saved ourselves untold amounts of trauma by not going shopping on Black Friday and going to the Bernardo Bird Refuge, right at sunset when the sandhill cranes were flying low, dropping their landing gear, and coming in to a soft landing. We saw hundreds of them, but oddly enough saw no other birds at […]
Read entry →November 21, 2018 · 263 words
No Turkey Here
Here in the States we’re about to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday, which was established by Abraham Lincoln as a day of fasting, repentance, and prayer, and is now celebrated as a day of feasting and football. (The repentance comes the day after.) Unfortunately I can’t invite you all to the house to enjoy my Seriously [
Read entry →November 20, 2018 · 96 words
We’re Baaaack!
Taos Toolbox, master class for writers of science fiction and fantasy, will return in 2019! The workshop will take place July 7-20, 2019, at our location in Angel Fire, New Mexico. Nancy Kress and Walter Jon Williams will instruct, with the assistance of special guests George R.R. Martin and E.M. Tippetts. Like last ye
Read entry →November 14, 2018 · 160 words
Wild Cards Hulu
Variety has reported that two new original Hulu series will be based on the George RR Martin shared-world series Wild Cards. Hulu is developing multiple shows based on the “Wild Cards” book series, which is edited by “Game of Thrones” scribe George R.R. Martin. Variety has learned from sources that the streamer is set
Read entry →November 9, 2018 · 708 words
Matters Economic
I haven’t been posting here because I’ve been traveling, and either I was very busy or there wasn’t sufficient internet access, or there was no place to put my laptop so I could write on it. (Amazing how many bedrooms have no chairs in them. Or tables. Or tables that aren’t completely filled with delicate […]
Read entry →October 27, 2018 · 289 words
A Scandal of Somm Sort
As those of us who’ve seen the movie Somm or the TV series Uncorked will attest, there is an organization called the Court of Master Sommeliers which offers restaurant wine stewards a number of ranks leading up to Master Sommelier, a rank which will guarantee the winners a well-paid job at a posh restaurant. The only h
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