Methodology to the madness
Swedish meatball alert: Equality gives you cancer. So, there you have it. Feminism causes cancer. According to American journalist, Naomi Schaefer Riley, it also makes you more likely to be raped and murdered because feminists go out in the evenings and drink more than we should. (And, laughably, we think that whatever we wear and…
Read MoreHave a little patience
Gah. Gah, I say. So, I sent off the packet to the Murder in the Grove contest a little over a week ago. Their literature said they'd contact me once they received it. But I hadn't heard anything back, and the deadline was approaching, and since I'd sent it priority I thought it was OK…
Read MoreSo far away … yet so near
Stuck at Jfk … Delta blows! Update: A 6:45 pm flight to Austin boards … around 7. Sits on tarmac. Diesel spills everywhere. Cleanup crews with whirly orange lights are called. Cleanup begins. We de-board (never a good sign) around 7:30. We sit. And we sit. And we sit. And around 9:30, the news comes:…
Read MoreOver a barrel about pork
In honor of my impending trip back to Austin — twice in a month is some kind of record for me, of a visit to any state, much less Texas — I am taking up my good buddy and all over wise woman Lynda's request and writing a blog entry about something I like about…
Read MoreI Mess With Texas, Part 19
The Mess With Texas Sign They're at it again…. NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas (Reuters) – A Texas legislator has proposed that pregnant women considering abortion be offered $500 not to end their pregnancies. Republican State Sen. Dan Patrick, who also is a conservative radio talk show host, said on Friday the money might convince the women…
Read MoreThe dangling conversation, the superficial sigh
I think I'm having an argument at work. Can you argue with someone you've never met, and never directly communicated with? It started yesterday afternoon; I went into the kitchen to clean up some dishes and saw someone had posted a scare notice next to the sink about why you shouldn't microwave plastic or freeze…
Read MoreSobering thoughts, Part 2
How do you know? A question that can apply in so many areas, but in creative endeavors specifically it has many applications: 1) How do you know where to start?2) How do you know where to end?3) How do you know if you're any good?4) How do you know if you should bother trying to…
Read MoreSobering thoughts, Part 1
I was at a convention over the weekend, and was able to sit in on several panels related to publishing. Some of it was pretty basic — our "Query Letter" session leader spent half of the hour going over such basics as 1-inch margins, submission guidelines and researching the right publisher, all of which are…
Read MoreIs that a billion pre-tax?
Can I Use A Coupon? Yeah, so, I'm in the middle of watching Michael Caine in this late 1960s film (the final one in the Harry Palmer series) called "Billion Dollar Brain." Mainly because Netflix recommended it, but also mainly because, well, Michael Caine. And spy stuff. But this film is completely, utterly, totally ridiculous.…
Read MoreAustin messes with me
Movie madness! It's a remote post! Not that you'd know it. Texas is messing with me for a few days: I'm down in Austin for the film portion of the South By Southwest (SXSW) festival extravaganza which begins today, switches to an interactive and then music portion, then dies in a haze of beer and…
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