Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 162 entries, all of them here in full.
June 27, 2017 · 138 words
Info Dumplings
Collected by Nancy Kress, here are a series of quotes from last week’s critiques here at Taos Toolbox. * “I like the info dumplings.” * “I don’t think she could take apart the time machine with a hairpin.” * “The hard-working proletarian hero saves the day over the upper-class creep–what more do you want?” * [&he
Read entry →June 25, 2017 · 84 words
Words for Clarion
Are you a professional writer? Are you going to be doing a writing project this summer? Sign up for the Clarion Write-a-Thon. You’ll write the exact same words you’d write anyway, and you’ll earn money for the Clarion Workshop, the world’s premiere workshop for science fiction and fantasy. Are you an aspiring writer? Y
Read entry →June 22, 2017 · 349 words
Beneath the Sign of the Bear
I’ve been spending the week at the 10th Anniversary Taos Toolbox, the workshop for writers of science fiction and fantasy. Here’s a photo of us beneath the bear, including fellow instructor Nancy Kress and special guest George RR Martin. I realized too late that I should have got a photo of us all lying dead […]
Read entry →June 18, 2017 · 100 words
7128
It’s Father’s Day in the States, so I thought I’d offer a brief salute to my dad. I’ve written about him in more detail elsewhere, but it never hurts to remind myself and the world in general that he was kind, supportive, smart, loving, and did his bit to thrash Hitler. I chose to live […]
Read entry →June 15, 2017 · 208 words
Angel Trees
For those of you who prefer your reading matter to be printed on dead trees instead of touch screens, I’ve got a great deal for you! A brand-new trade paperback of my novel Angel Station is now available via Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The book is pleasantly sized at 6×9 inches, with the highly readable text [&hell
Read entry →June 15, 2017 · 452 words
I Am Writing My Name
I am writing my name. I am writing my name. I am writing my name. I am writing my name. I am writing my name. I am writing my name. I am writing my name. I am writing my name. Over and over again. Over and over again. Over and over again. Over and over […]
Read entry →June 14, 2017 · 924 words
Insufficiently Anonymized
Via Chairman Bruce, a brief survey of what the corporate oligarchy knows about me, you, and everyone else. Facebook can recognize your emotions from your keyboard typing patterns. They can work out your religion, your sexual orientation, and whether you use controlled substances with what they claim is a fair degree of
Read entry →June 9, 2017 · 75 words
Above Average
Tonight I was at the karate school as part of a judging panel, wherein I did my best to confusticate and bamboozle two candidates for fourth degree black belt. (I failed.) They were quite magnificent, and after a four-hour test were both still on their feet. But the experience reminded me of the following: Q: […
Read entry →June 6, 2017 · 159 words
Oopsie
When I recently looked at the ebook version of Voice of the Whirlwind, I discovered that the order of two of the later chapters had been reversed in the latest update, which was January 2016. (Flipping the order of chapter is, alas, all too easy with the software I’m using. Up till now I’ve always caught […]
Read entry →June 5, 2017 · 143 words
Surfin’ Suomolainen
Continuing my exploration of the byways of Finnish culture . . . One of the less overlooked aspects of Finnish musical culture consists of their excellent surf bands, which have attracted fans throughout the world. Here’s the best known Finnish surf band, Laika and the Cosmonauts, who have attracted praise from no less
Read entry →June 1, 2017 · 215 words
Racked
Today was the first absolute success with cooking sous vide, as I brewed up a rack of ribs with the master recipe that Paul posted. I created a spice rub with garlic powder, sea salt, Indonesian white pepper, onion powder, smoked paprika, and chipotle. (The latter two intended not only to add flavor to the […]
Read entry →May 31, 2017 · 92 words
Psycho (Covered)
Here’s another addition to this week’s series of unlikely cover songs. This is by the Bobs, who also recorded a lot of original material, for all that there’s nothing on Youtube but the cover songs. (Note: the Bobs are difficult to track down even with Google, which would rather reveal Bob’s Burgers (the New Mexico [&h
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