Blog

December 20, 2012

Killing them softly (DOG EAR)

Flutter, flutter, went the flag, first to the right, then to the left. This was a childhood awakening moment for me, the point in true literature (not kiddy literature, aka whatever passed for Harry Potter back then) when I leaned that people could die in books. Quick. Fast. Unexpectedly. The line comes from HG Wells’ War of the Worlds. The flag is a white flag of truce. The people holding it aloft are scientists and peace-seekers. And the beings on the other end of the leveled heat ray? Martians, with intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic. A moment later, they […]
December 22, 2012

Make way

Was riding home, this Friday before Christmas. Good time to be on a bike – the freeway was packed, the main roads were jammed, and many drivers were desperately trying their secret back ways to get through the press and meeting little luck. But on a bike, with plenty of bike lanes, it’s the usual commute home. South on 1792, down an endless lane of traffic. Up in the seat, watching over the roofs to make sure nobody is getting waved through (love that trick). And up ahead, I see a big FUV who’d played the timid game (or set […]
December 23, 2012

The Marquis of Carabas (Review)

Let’s get the disclaimer out front – I love Rafael Sabatini. I’ve always enjoyed everything he’s written. And now let’s talk about the Marquis of Carabas, which is in itself a will-o-wisp literary term for a fictional Count – it’s appeared in Puss and Boots and in a handful of other places. It means “Marquis of Nowhere”. Most fitting for this young London fencing master, son of a Frenchwoman recently passed away who learns that he is actually a Count, that he owns extensive holdings in France, that he’s a rich nobleman. The trouble with this is that the guillotine […]
December 23, 2012

God hates them? Really?

Was walking home with JB  after a hipster lunch over at the local diner, Frankenstein over a cheeseburger, yum! Came to the corner of Virginia and Utah where this massive clump of unchecked foliage has pressed out a full lane, a hazzard for drivers trying to get around it. And there we found the two ladies who live down the street from us cutting it back with sheers and sweat-equity. See, it wasn’t even their house. And they said while they were cutting it, the owners drove out and gave them a look. But there have been many near-misses because […]
December 27, 2012

Leading the horse (DOG EAR)

At my brother’s house recently, I started talking books with my younger niece. “Have you read this?” “Oh yeah!” “And this?” “Certainly!” What was funny was a young girl looking at her 54-year old uncle, with three books to his credit, thousands read on his shelf, and even more in boxes, this whole incredulous bit when she found a book I haven’t read. Yes, there are some. Like Frankenstein. I’ve read another of Shelley’s works, The Last Man, and really liked it. And I thought I knew about the story of Frankenstein. But I hadn’t , not really. She gave […]
December 30, 2012

Frankenstein (review)

I thought I knew this one. Jacob’s ladders with crackling electricity. Lighting flashing around dark turrets. Hunch-backed assistants. Stumbling, rambling, helpless monsters. And, of course, “IT’S ALLIIVVVEEE!” Frankenstein. My niece got me to read this, as detailed HERE. Never read it but if a kid demands you read a classic, you really need to follow up. Okay, first misconception – that the monster is named “Frankenstein”. Actually, that I knew but most people don’t (technically, he might adapt the Victor Frankenstein’s surname, but I rather doubt it. Demon. Monster. Those are more appropriate). So the book starts with letters from […]
January 3, 2013

Resolutions (DOG EAR)

We’re looking at yet another new year (seeing how the Mayan’s prophecies were typically misconstrued by a population eager for a taste of apocalypse). Nope, just another year of same-ol-same-ol. I’m not going to make resolutions, not solid ones anyway. The doc told me to lose 10 lbs so I’m working on that. As for everything else, I pretty much hold to my life as I should – it feels right and works for me. But then there is the writing angle. I suppose it’s time to post out some more cover letters. I’ve got a system with those big […]
January 4, 2013

Premium Rush

Okay, so I don’t do movie reviews anymore, and I hardly commuted by bike this week (raining). But still, we watched Premium Rush tonight. While fictitious and unlikely, it sure made me smile. It’s a true biker’s movie. See, Wilee, ex-law-student, NEET and now bike courier, is just doing his day-to-day risk-taking in traffic, just one miss after another. And he’s on a suicide ride, one of those fixees, steel frame, no gears and no brakes, what the true risk-takers ride (no shit – about a year ago, one of these guy got crushed by an ambulance in town). The […]
January 6, 2013

ShowLog – Deland – 4/6/2013

Two things were obvious after our two day train show in Deland this weekend. One: How tired I was (a good tired) – came home, had a beer, and crashed. Two: How well we did. For the second, I realized it when I was counting out our tip jar, $54.75. Now, it might not sound like a lot, but when you are counting a huge stack of ones, it’s easy to realize that many of these represent allowances from kids. Our club makes it a point to let the kids run, and there are signs up hinting how we’d sure […]
January 6, 2013

The Aftermath (Review)

Got a special interest in this book – see, I’m working on a computer game, Solar Trader, and so I’m very hyped on solar system mechanics. With all this door-to-door hyperspace nonsense out there, it’s easy to overlook just how much space there is between the sun and Pluto (yes, it’s still a milepost by my standards). The Aftermath is rather like The Real Story, a tale where a simple event in the begriming snowballs into system-wide repercussions and a growing cast of characters. Here, the Zacharius family (mom, dad, and two bickering kids) are just hoving in on a belt habitat when […]