Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 272 entries, all of them here in full.
September 15, 2009 · 298 words
Heir of Skanderbeg!
So it turns out that my wife, at least on her mom’s side, is a descendant of Albanian patriots and heroes. Who knew? The person who knew was her cousin Jan, who was one of our dinner guests the other night, and who brought with her a history of the Italian Albanians, otherwise known as […]
Read entry →September 14, 2009 · 122 words
Got Euros . . . ?
Here we see pictures from the catalog of Dumont, one of my German publishers. This Is Not a Game got a four-page spread in the middle of the catalog! (Michelle Houellebecq, John Cheever, and Haruki Murakami only got two pages each!) For a minute there, I thought they were going to keep the US title, […]
Read entry →September 14, 2009 · 86 words
748
Lovely dinner party Saturday night, with seven people. We had linguini with Kathy’s freshly-made pesto; caprici salad with basil, fresh mozzarella, and heirloom tomatoes from the farmers’ market; and roast chicken coated with rosemary, garlic, and balsamic vinegar, with a red wine reduction sauce. Dessert was Nadine’s
Read entry →September 12, 2009 · 203 words
Technology Kicks Me in the Butt, Yet Again
For my current project, I invented some cool drone aircraft. Then reality went and invented something even cooler. I refer to the Maveric UAS, made by Prioria Robotics. This little drone can be carried by a single person, folded up in a six-inch tube, then thrown in the air to see what’s over the next […]
Read entry →September 12, 2009 · 177 words
Baby-Eating Birds
[from Brad Smith] A giant New Zealand eagle, extinct now for 500 years, may have snacked on human babies.In a paper published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, scientists make the case that an extinct giant predatory eagle might have been eating children. The eagle was not a scavenger, as some believed, but a
Read entry →September 10, 2009 · 216 words
Rodents of Unusual Size
I’m back from Dragoncon, and very tired and full of headache. I’m not sure why, since I actually got sufficient sleep during the convention, and had nothing to do yesterday but drowse. Thanks to those of you who offered suggestions re my undying fame, my sincere thanks. I’ll reply in more detail when I’ve recovered [&h
Read entry →September 3, 2009 · 349 words
Online and Away
So . . . I’m off to Dragoncon. I’ll try to check in with you all, but I may be having too much fun.But since I’m going to be away for a while, I thought I’d leave you with a question. Actually, it’s the usual question. How can Walter get more fame and money?I couldn’t […]
Read entry →September 3, 2009 · 214 words
Dragoncon Schedule
Here’s my Dragoncon schedule, for those of you who may be attending: Title: Writer’s Apocalyptic RoundtableTime: Fri 02:30 pm Location: A601 – A602 – Marriott (Length: 1)Description: Want a chance to corner your favorite apocalyptic writer and ask them a question? Here is your chance to talk to some of the
Read entry →September 2, 2009 · 769 words
Reviews Too Late: Defiance
I watched my Netflix copy of Defiance the other night, and thought it would make an interesting comparison with Inglourious Basterds. I mean, here were real Jews, killing real Nazis, as opposed to cartoon Jews killing cartoon Nazis. The Bielski partisans did stuff that really mattered, like saving 1200-odd people from
Read entry →September 2, 2009 · 710 words
Great Flaming Gas Bags!
Jess Nevins at No Fear of the Future has produced a history of the zeppelin pulps, a subgenre I never knew actually existed. (I thought it was all a joke.) And yes, there really was a magazine called Spicy Zeppelin Stories. The article details a rather unusual collaboration between pulp editor Frank Armer and the [&hel
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