Monthly Archives: September 2014

“Strong Women Characters”… What Does That Mean?

Recently on Fanlit we had a discussion about “strong women.” It happened in the Comments section of John Hulet’s review of Islands of Rage and Hope. The book has a nubile, bikini-clad 13-year-old super-powered girl in it. A couple of … Continue reading

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A Host of Random Images

Yep, that’s all they are. Pictures. Not even that good, necessarily, just pictures that tickle me for some reason. More birds of prey. Chain mail teddy bear. Dogs meeting.    

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Cookie Envy; There’s this Guy…

There’s this guy and he hates science fiction writer John Scalzi. Scalzi is commercially successful as a writer and This Guy* isn’t. This Guy’s politics are different from Scalzi’s, too, and while This Guy writes about that a lot, I … Continue reading

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The Lurchers Meet the Queen

Nicki and two of her greyhound/deerhound hybrid lurchers met Queen Elizabeth I on Saturday, at Sebastopol’s mini-Renn-Faire, the Shakespeare Festival. The Queen demonstrated that she was as good with dogs as she was with the men in her life. Nicki … Continue reading

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A Great Reading Streak

Most of my book reviewing has been over on Fantasy Literature lately, but I want to take a moment and talk about the amazing streak of really good reading I’ve been doing. Perhaps Scott Hutchins’s A Working Theory of Love … Continue reading

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Wonders of the North County: Midday at the Oasis

I drove about a half mile into the village of Geyserville. I was going to write that I hadn’t been in Geyserville since high school. I think that would be incorrect. Although I did go to the geysers one time, … Continue reading

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Wonders of the North County: Part One, Highway Sculpture

Monday — it’s photo jaunt day! Where? I didn’t know, but seemed like north was a good idea. I had a slight delay on Eastwide Road, but soon I was on my way to Healdsburg. Vineyard photos seemed the order … Continue reading

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John Scalzi: he sees all, he knows all.

From where I’m standing, I have a perfect profile shot of John Scalzi as he signs a book. I have the big camera too, the Canon, the one that with the zoom lens that takes crisp, clear pictures. I look … Continue reading

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No-Water Shollenberger is No Fun

Shollenberger Park in Petaluma is one of the best places to see shore and water birds, including a colony of feral swans, once domesticated, then abandoned here. They thrived and I usually see two or three of them in the … Continue reading

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Voices Carry

I stared at the spokes of light and shadow on my hotel room ceiling, wondering why I was awake. It was mostly rhetorical wonder. The Mendocino Coast Writers Conference finished that night, with the banquet, ending in a speech by … Continue reading

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