Re: Special Economics

Many moons ago, there was a Meetup about beginnings. At the time, I was struggling with writing a beginning, and I particularly had in mind the Four Elements of a good beginning: Character, Conflict, Specificity, Credibility. We read the beginnings of several good stories, and I was especially impressed by the beginning of “Special Economics,” […]

Re: A Serpent in the Gears

As “A Serpent in the Gears,” by Margaret Ronald opens, Charles has served as a valet to Colonel Dieterich for twenty years. Now they are sailing on the airship Regina through the Sterling Pass to the secretive land of Aaris. No one aboard is what they seem to be, and Charles is no exception. Even […]

Skunk week

It seems like Skunk Week around here. The skunks have come by so often, they don’t even look up when I take a picture.

Re: Jack and the Hot Doughnut Stalk

In the course of checking out my story on Spaceports and Spidersilks, I had fun reading the other stories. I particularly enjoyed “Jack and the Hot Doughnut Stalk,” by Scottie Watkins.

2010 Hugo Winners

Now that the 2010 Hugo winners have been announced, I always find the most interesting part is poring over the voting tabulations. It’s an instant run-off election, and you can see the various nominees rising and falling round by round. This year, I did a lot better at picking winners than voting for them.

Squirrel Corn

The latest addition to the critter feeders is a hanger to put dried corncobs in. This is my most successful attempt so far to get the squirrels to leave the birds more sunflower seeds. In the mornings, I often see squirrels having a leisurely breakfast, but after I fill the bird feeders, they still go […]

Thanks, Earl! You’re a swell guy

Bad weather gets oversold around here — yeah, yeah, I know, better safe than sorry and all that — but this is ridiculous. I managed to get wet yesterday, but that’s about it for Hurricane -> Tropical Storm -> Big Fat Wuss Earl. It didn’t even knock over this watering can. My cat does more damage. […]

My rain is Earl

I’m going to shut down the power on this blog, and listen to the storm go by tonight. Thanks, Earl!

Re: Somadeva: A Sky River Sutra

“Somadeva: A Sky River Sutra,” by Verdana Singh introduces us to Somadeva, who collected many stories into the Kathāsaritsāgara, or Ocean of Stream of Stories. I like these sort of nested stories, with layers upon narrative layers, like the Arabian Nights, or the Saragossa Manuscript. Somadeva tells us that he collected the Kathāsaritsāgara to divert […]

The Tale of Titanosaur’s Tail

Bibliography entry #1, “The Tale of Titanosaur’s Tail” is now available at Spaceports and Spidersilk. It comes with a cute picture of a dinosaur toy and everything. Since I don’t have dinosaurs in my yard, I will settle for this Downy woodpecker. Titanosaur’s tale was written for my inner six-year old. If you have one […]