Every morning, Dave and I go to McDonald’s for breakfast. <Yes I know: “Eww, McDonald’s!” Get over it. We like it!> Our routine is that I sit at our table and start working on my laptop as Dave gets our food and sodas. <Yes: “Evil giant diet sodas, oh my gawd, all that aspartame!” Get over it, again.… Read More »
I started this blog post in the form of a journal nearly 30 years ago. Later it became a web page, and then in 2015 I added it to this blog. I come back to edit this list from time to time (and update the publish date each time). This is my list of recommended fiction, sorted by… Read More »
Many people have the ember of a creative spark in them. This ember rarely is given a chance to catch and grow into a flame…
On a spring day about a year ago, after urging another particularly eloquent friend to not give up on his blog, I realized that I hadn’t really answered for myself that question of why I keep a blog. Why do I write, and in particular why this blog? I’ve been mulling over this for over a year now, and here’s my answer: This blog is my legacy.
All through my adulthood, my name has nagged at me. It’s a nice name, but am I using it only because I was ordered to? It’s pretty, but is it mine? Is it really me?
Every day, except when I am traveling, my partner Dave and I eat breakfast at McDonald’s. Looking around the room as I munch my Egg McMuffin, I see a diverse range of people who I would probably never have encountered in the normal circles of my life.
I have some friends and family who don’t use Facebook, including a few who tend to look down their noses at those who do. This has led me into conversations in which I end up defending it. Now, I’m not talking about Facebook as a source for news: therein lies danger. If you learn about something on Facebook,… Read More »
I’m picky about fonts. My livelihood is all about the written word, so I get pretty focused on the use and presentation of the words and language I see around me. I’ve been recoiling in horror at the horrible use and misuse of fonts since the early days of the newest desktop publishing programs, when the ability to… Read More »
I’ve heard recently from some friends who blog that they are discouraged that they don’t have much engagement with their readers. With no feedback or interaction, they are wondering why they should even bother. This started a conversation that focussed on answering just one simple question: Why do you blog? Because I have something I want to… Read More »
I love the writings of Elmore Leonard. Not familiar with his work? Did you like the TV show Justified? How about the films Jackie Brown, Bandits, or Get Shorty? All are based on the work of Elmore Leonard. He published an extremely short book, Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing, which I can distill down to just this simple… Read More »
I find it interesting that using real quotation marks in writing does not adequately convey what air quotes mean when speaking. It’s cool that while air quotes were developed to convey quotation marks when speaking, they have taken on an added dimension, adding an element of sarcasm. Air quotes often mean “so called” and add a figurative wink to… Read More »