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.
May 31, 2018 · 178 words
Nemesis
Here I am preparing for a new career as a Bond villain. All I need is a white Persian cat and a volcano lair. As part of my preparation for this career shift, I’ve had an operation for a cataract. Which was done in a couple hours in the doctor’s offices, by a specialist flown […]
Read entry →May 30, 2018 · 212 words
Whereat I Have Been
I spent all last week at the Rio Hondo workshop, which I ran with the able assistance of Maureen McHugh. The company was excellent, the critique smart, and you’ll all be seeing the workshop’s stories appearing in magazines and anthologies over the next couple years. And, not least, the food and drink were really excell
Read entry →May 29, 2018 · 550 words
Passing of a Titan
Here’s a photo of Gardner Dozois and me, taken quite a number of years ago. I believe we are at a signing or other function and no one else showed up, despite our tempting passers-by with our manifestly seductive appearance. Gardner passed away a few days ago of complications from an infection. He was 70. […]
Read entry →May 17, 2018 · 52 words
A T. Rex is Reading My Mind!
This edition of Dinosaur Comics pretty much sums what’s been going on in my head since I bought the latest model MacBook. If part of this isn’t showing up on your screen (darn MacBook anyway!), click on the art to get the whole picture. Copyright (c) 2018 by the excellent Ryan North.
Read entry →May 16, 2018 · 337 words
Sabotage in the Home
Of course you knew that when you installed Alexa, Siri, or Google’s Assistant in your home, you were installing a spy. You just trusted that Amazon, Apple, or Google would use your information for good, or at least would not actively harm you. What you may not have known is that these assistants aren’t just […]
Read entry →May 15, 2018 · 273 words
Grumbling
So my innards are grumbling, and I expect the next few hours won’t be any fun at all. I’m doing my prep for tomorrow’s colonoscopy. You have my permission not to envy me. I’m mentioning this not to elicit sympathy— because there is none on the Internet— but to remind those of you of a […]
Read entry →May 10, 2018 · 319 words
Hello, Columbus
I am in Columbus. The one in Ohio, not the one in New Mexico that Pancho Villa attacked, or the one in Indiana, or the one in Georgia; and certainly not the Columbus City in Iowa, or the Columbus City in Alabama. (If Columbus founded any more cities in North America, I’m unaware of them.) […]
Read entry →May 7, 2018 · 526 words
Archivum Secretum
The Vatican Secret Archives houses 53 linear miles of documents going back 12 centuries, much of it handwritten in Latin using archaic script. It’s not Secret, exactly, it’s just inaccessible, because in order to look at one of the documents you actually have to be there, in the Vatican, along with your knowledge of La
Read entry →May 4, 2018 · 172 words
Crawling
I few nights ago, I woke from a really scary nightmare. I don’t remember the dream at all, which is a shame, because judging from my reaction to it, it would have made an excellent premise for a fright film. At any rate, I woke very suddenly, with my heart pounding and my eyes wide […]
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