Monthly Archives: March 2015

The Lady Trent Memoirs by Marie Brennan

While I had read reviews of The Natural History of Dragons and The Tropic of Serpents, they hadn’t really registered on my radar until I heard the author, Marie Brennan, speak on a couple of panels at FOGCon. She piqued … Continue reading

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Quote of the Week; From Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I just started reading this over lunch. On page 14, I came across this passage and laughed so loud over my Asian chicken salad that other cafe customers stared: “A precious performance, Blaine had called it, in that gently forebearing … Continue reading

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@Large; Back to Alcatraz

I visited Ai WeiWei @Large, the installation on the island of Alcatraz again on Sunday March 15, with two friends, Kathleen and Lillian. This exhibition runs through April 26, 2015. If you can get to it, I highly recommend it. … Continue reading

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FOGCon; The Walnut Creek Conference

Thanks to Terry Weyna for introducing me to this small, literary speculative fiction convention, held at the Walnut Creek Marriott in the East San Francisco Bay. This year, the conference took place from Mar 6 — 8. The guests of … Continue reading

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Give me Steam; The CalPine Visitor Center

California has access to an old source of “alternative” energy; geothermal. Lake and Sonoma Counties each have a cluster of geysers and a double-handful of geothermal energy plants. The Calpine Visitor Center in Middletown provides a good overview of geothermal … Continue reading

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Stop the Presses! The Third Prester John Book, by Catherynne Valente

I spoke to Catherynne Valente while she signed some books for me at FOGCon, in Walnut Creek, CA, last weekend. With a bit of trepidation, I asked her about the third book in the Prester John series. I say “with … Continue reading

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