The journal

December 20, 2016 · 233 words

Holidays Abroad

Travel is broadening, and this is particularly true if you eat the food. And Christmas is a time for food, right? A few years ago I was in Singapore and was surprised to discover that Spongebob was an important part of the Christmas holiday. Now I find out that in Japan, Christmas is celebrated with Kurisumasu [&hellip

December 17, 2016 · 1,654 words

Remains of War

Here is Beach White 1 on the island of Peleliu, where a horrifically bloody, grinding and mostly unnecessary battle was fought in late 1944. In the foreground you can see the treads of a Sherman tank, still at the waterline 70-odd years later. In the middle ground is a weed-filled lagoon across which Chesty Puller’s [&

December 15, 2016 · 62 words

Wild Cards World

For all you Wild Cards fanciers out there, there are many treats in store (besides a book trailer in Spanish, that is). The Wild Cards website is now available for your browsing pleasure, featuring videos, author and character bios, interviews, and a blog with new posts appearing on a regular schedule. Plus book traile

December 14, 2016 · 113 words

Health Update

Kathy had her hip replacement on Monday, and it went extremely well. She’s been through it all before, and is managing her recovery splendidly. When you’re prepping for surgery, and afterwards in recovery, the nurses are forever asking you for your name and date of birth, presumably so they can determine if your mental

December 7, 2016 · 70 words

Lower Caves

So everyone got gloves and helmets with lights (batteries not provided). And then there was a certain amount of hanging around on ropes. And negotiating some rather complicated ladders and scaffolding. There was also a bit of belly-crawling, and squeezing through tight places generally. Plus maneuvering over wet and/or

December 4, 2016 · 117 words

The New Calendar

As in the past, we’ve put together a new 2017 calendar featuring photos taken during the latest travels, so that we can share our experience with our friends. Because everywhere I’ve been this year had to do with boats and/or the ocean, there’s the focus of the calendar. You’ve already seen a number of photos on [&hell

December 4, 2016 · 571 words

Reefs

I seem unable to stay away from coral reefs these days. Never mind that the Capitan Reef hasn’t been an actual reef for 125,000,000 years, and that the Delaware Sea dried up at the end of the Permian, Capitan still has that reef magic. And, like coral reefs throughout the world, it has caves and […]

December 1, 2016 · 89 words

Taos Toolbox: Day 1

December 1 is the first day to receive submissions for Taos Toolbox, the master class for writers of science fiction and fantasy, taught this year by Nancy Kress and Walter Jon Williams, along with guests George RR Martin, Steven Gould, and Emily Mah Tippetts. And in fact applications have started to arrive right on sc

November 30, 2016 · 47 words

Index of Russian Lies

Via Bruce Sterling, an annotated index of Russian disinformation. Much of which seems aimed at demonstrating that the Baltic Republics never existed, spend their days persecuting Russian nationals, and only exist now because of a perfidious Western campaign aimed at President Putin personally. War by spring?

November 28, 2016 · 0 words

Summing It All Up

November 27, 2016 · 762 words

Paranoia Strikes Deep

So our new president-elect is the simultaneous choice of the KGB, FBI, and KKK. That’s gotta be a first. (Now I know that Trump supporters are deeply resentful of charges of racism. “I’m not a racist, and neither is Trump,” I hear. “He just used the racists, and fooled them into voting for him. (If […]

November 23, 2016 · 136 words

Sick of Being Sick

So I’ve been sick now with the Trans-Pacific Plague now for two and a half weeks, and I’m tired out. While the Plague was at its height, I barely slept: I would start to cough about 1:30am and would then cough nonstop till around 5am, the sort of thing that can pretty well ruin […]