I was with some friends in a restaurant recently, and I began thinking about all the factors that make for a good restaurant. It’s not always as simple as just serving good food; there’s more to it than that, and I had a few tiny revelations about thew subject while nomming on my pork bun, […]
Read MoreSometimes, when I’m feeling down, I take a look at what other authors have dubbed the Brag Shelf — a shelf full of books I’ve contributed to. It gives me a lift, not only from the sense of accomplishment, but also from the wide variety of material I’ve worked on over the years. The vast […]
Read MoreMy writing career has been intertwined with games since day one. Games have been part of my life for years – even as a child, games were popular in my home. My parents regularly bought games for us kids for Christmas, and we sat around the kitchen table playing Chutes and Ladders and Hi-Ho Cherry-O […]
Read MoreOriginal television programming was one the sole purview of the big three – later big four — networks: ABC, CBS, NBC, and later, Fox. They were the only ones with the budget and the facilities to produce episodic programs for consumer viewing. That strangle hold has all but disappeared now, challenged beginning in the 1980s […]
Read MoreI grew up in a small town in Wisconsin. It wasn’t diverse in any way at that time, but I had one advantage: my parents were open-minded about more things than most, and so I learned to try new things by their example. The most obvious model of this behavior involved food. My folks both […]
Read MoreThe exciting news I have to share is that Pugmire: Tales of Good Dogs is finally available. I have a story in this anthology, “Hidden Within,”, and it’s been three years since I wrote it. The road to this point has been a long and frustrating one, but I’m delighted the book is finally out. […]
Read MoreThere’s a lot of punching down going on in the world right now, and it doesn’t make me happy. Perhaps the most obvious source is the upper levels of the United States Government, but it doesn’t stop there – not by a long shot. So what exactly IS punching down, you may ask? The definition […]
Read MoreHaving heroes is dangerous. We adopt heroes into our lives because they have qualities we admire. The downside is that, being human, they most likely have qualities we don’t admire – perhaps even abhor. Not all flaws are horrible, but some are. Recent news highlights a perfect example in J. K. Rowling. Having made millions […]
Read MoreHaving already decided that I wasn’t going to continue to watch American Gods on the Starz network, I was mostly unconcerned with any developments to the show. With apologies to Neil Gaiman, I thought the novel was quite good, but the show itself was lacking a great many things. (See my previous post on the […]
Read MorePeople with chronic illnesses have a clever saying: that they are “out of spoons” meaning they have no energy to do whatever is being discussed. Some tasks/activities require more spoons than others, and I’ve found myself not leaving the house much lately. Besides being sick quite a bit, I’ve also had a couple of major […]
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