When Should An Author Retire?
Alexander Nazaryan's review of Jim Crace's Harvest raised the question of when an author should hang it up. Crace's answer appears to be that authors should find something else to do…
So Over It Contest #9: Fans of Jim Edition
So far, I've done contests based on television, movies, my travels, and history, but this contest is about my work. My longest published short story was set at the location…
You May Already Be A Winner, If Your Name is Beth.
Congratulations to Beth Markley of Arizona for winning the So Over It #8 contest. Her answer, which can be found on the Facebook page, is this: She'll be receiving an…
Kerry: “You Have the Right to Be Stupid.” Nation’s Idiots Still Fear Government Will Seize Their Stupidity.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiuV8vF8K_s&w=560&h=315] I'm actually glad John Kerry said this. I'm glad he said it in Germany, which has a habit of jailing its local idiots when they distribute their particular brand…
So Over It Contest 8: Today In History Edition
The last contest carried the losing streak to 7. The location in that one was the Bull and Finch Bar across the street from Boston Common and the exterior shot…
Answering the Proust Questionnaire
Anyone tempted to get to know me is probably making an epoch-shatteringly tragic mistake. Nevertheless, for those who wish to venture beyond the Pillars of Hercules, this'll tell you the…
You’ve Been Rejected. Just Accept It.
I've received a ton, and sent a ton out. Rejection slips: one of nature's most concentrated forms of pain. There are many ways to respond to rejection slips. Lynne Barrett…
The Secret In Their Eyes (2009)
Netflix sent me this Argentinean crime thriller from 2009, and I must thank them for it. It brilliantly integrates the personal, the political, and the pathological, and if you haven't…
Are You Pondering What I’m Pondering?
--I'm an outsider when it comes to matters Catholic (though I did get the Ad Altere Dei medal for studying the dogma when I was a Boy Scout), so all…
So Over It Contest #7
No winner for the last contest. The location in question for that contest was the cemetery at Fort Donelson, Tennessee, site of a significant Civil War battle. In February of…