‘What is normal? Normal is yesterday and last week and last month taken together.’ – Lord Vetinari from Snuff by Terry Pratchett Since the COVID pandemic hit in early 2020, people have lamented the desire to return to “normal”. Normal. What is it? How do we define it? Is “normal” even a real thing? We… Continue reading Normal?
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Valentine Lament
In one of my daughters’ classrooms this week, she overheard a group of boys talking. One boy said, “I actually really don’t like Valentine’s Day. Like, at all.” My first response was, “YES! Fight the power, boys!” My next response was that someone should tell those boys, or everyone for that matter, that it’s okay… Continue reading Valentine Lament
Reaching the Double Nickel
On my fifth birthday, July 20, 1969, the Eagle landed on the moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked and worked on the lunar surface while Michael Collins orbited in the command module. A monumental achievement and an opportunity for the first time for humans to view the Earth while standing on another celestial body.… Continue reading Reaching the Double Nickel
Oh, the possibilities! Microbes, genomes, and editing life.
When we think of science fiction, we think of sleek ships with hyperdrives, aliens, high-tech devices and weapons, grand battles, and if we’re lucky, space pirates. Probably the last things to pop into our reader/writer sci-fi brains are microbes or on a smaller scale, genes. That’s too bad because microbes and genetics can be a… Continue reading Oh, the possibilities! Microbes, genomes, and editing life.
A Word’s Look: Workingman’s Blues #2 by Bob Dylan
Of the entire canon of Bob Dylan’s work, I think Workingman’s Blues #2 runs a close second to Like a Rolling Stone. The song came out in 2006 on Dylan’s Modern Times album. I cannot remember where I first heard or became aware of it. It was probably on one of the last area real-life… Continue reading A Word’s Look: Workingman’s Blues #2 by Bob Dylan
A Words Look: General Eisenhower’s D-Day Letter to the Allied Expeditionary Force
DDay+80—eighty years since the Greatest Generation began the greatest offensive in all human history directed at the face of tyranny. With three writing projects in the orbit of three different eras of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s professional life, I’ve done quite a bit of reading and research on Ike Eisenhower. The most important thing I’ve discovered… Continue reading A Words Look: General Eisenhower’s D-Day Letter to the Allied Expeditionary Force
The Family Curse
I think I’ve inherited the Family Curse. The Family Curse has to do with sports fandom. In particular, our beloved Kansas City Royals. My maternal grandmother, Grandma Bosley, first exhibited the curse back in the 1970s. For the record, Grandma Bosley was a character and full of life. Those of us fortunate enough to spend… Continue reading The Family Curse
Your Choice
I snapped these photos of the neighborhood trees and one of our oak trees yesterday. It was a cool, overcast, and drizzly morning but the colors of the leaves popped. The same view this morning, with the bright November sunshine radiating the colors is also beautiful, but, in my opinion, not as striking. Something hit… Continue reading Your Choice
Civil Disobedience
The power of Google tells me we are approaching the anniversary of Louisa May Alcott’s birth 191 years ago on November 29, 1832. Fantastic. Really? No, not really. I can’t say I’m a fan of Louisa May’s work. I know her work is beloved by generation upon generation of readers and is a staple of… Continue reading Civil Disobedience
A Word’s Look: Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
As with many of Pink Floyd’s great songs, Wish You Were Here stands on its own. All the gushing and blubbering I can do about it merely fades in comparison to the work itself. It’s a beautiful piece of art. The song tugs at the heartstrings. It brings a sense of longing to the soul… Continue reading A Word’s Look: Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
Creative Braining
BRAINS! BRAINS! BRAINS! As much as I’d love it to be a post about zombies; this is not a post about zombies. It’s about creating. Although it’s not about creating brain-eating reanimated beings shambling endlessly in search of the living, I hope to shed some light on how we creators shamble endlessly in search of… Continue reading Creative Braining
Creative Inertia for 2023
I wrote this piece for the STEM Tuesday blog group’s 2023 New Year post on the From the Mixed-Up Files…of Middle-Grade Authors blog and thought I’d share it here. Creative inertia for 2023 and beyond!!! Painful Inspiration The weather turned. The temperature dropped rapidly. It was a cold and misty day but the precipitation began… Continue reading Creative Inertia for 2023
Advice on Oranges
I was never a big fan of oranges growing up. I liked orange juice. I liked orange jello. I liked orange soda. I also truly enjoyed putting quarter slices of oranges my mom put in our sack lunches into my mouth and acting like an ape. That was fun. The idea of eating an orange… Continue reading Advice on Oranges
A Words Look: Thud! by Terry Pratchett
Every Terry Pratchett book contains a multitude of quotes that are hang-on-the-wall worthy. Some make you think. Some pull the cover back slightly on human nature. And some make you laugh so hard milk flies out your nose. All of Sir Terry’s books, however, are a joy to read. The Discworld novels are some of… Continue reading A Words Look: Thud! by Terry Pratchett