Monthly Archives: August 2023
A Quick Weekend Report
Posted on August 13, 2023 16 Comments
First, look at the photo above: Would you believe that’s a library? Well, it is: The Library of Congress, where on Friday night, I and a bunch of authors and librarians and other had a nice little soiree prior to the National Book Festival on Saturday. It was a lovely time, and I got many […]
View From a Hotel Window, 8/11/23: Washington DC
Posted on August 11, 2023 12 Comments
And, look, you fans of parking lots will not be disappointed this time! I am in town for the National Book Festival, which is free and open to the public, and my event is tomorrow afternoon, followed by a signing, so feel free to get a book from the booksellers there or bring one of […]
IUDs: Anxieties and Realities
Posted on August 10, 2023 111 Comments
I had only been sixteen for two months when I got my first IUD. Partly because of my age, they recommended me the smallest one, the Skyla. It’s a hormonal IUD that lasts three years. It was the most pain I’d ever experienced. It hurt, and I was alone, and I was glad when it was […]
RIP, Robbie Robertson
Posted on August 9, 2023 15 Comments
He’s passed away at the age of 80. Unlike I think most people who connected with his music, I was never into The Band, either as Bob Dylan’s backing musicians or on their own. I connected with Robertson with his 1987 solo album, and even then it was less about him than it was about […]
An Addendum To My “Crafted & Cured” + “Speakeasy Miso” Posts
Posted on August 8, 2023 13 Comments
You may remember two posts of mine from earlier this year, both of which are part of my “Close To Home” series. One was over Crafted & Cured (a charcuterie restaurant) and the other featured a ramen shop called Speakeasy Miso. I’m here today to post important updates about both of these amazing restaurants! The first […]
Last Minute Reminder to Ohioans: Vote NO on Issue 1 Today
Posted on August 8, 2023 24 Comments
Update, 10:54pm: Issue 1 goes down in big damn flames. Hell yes, Ohio! Why? You mean, aside from the fact that it was rushed onto the ballot in order to make sure that the uterus-bearing in Ohio have less control over their bodies than their local politicians, and that it was shoved into an August […]
The Big Idea: Scott James Taylor & Sarah Thérèse Pelletier
Posted on August 8, 2023 1 Comment
Some of the best stories are retellings of old ones. If something has been done before, that doesn’t mean you can’t also do it, you just have to put your own spin on it. This is exactly what authors Sarah Thérèse Pelletier and Scott James Taylor set out to do when writing Ladyhoppers. Explore their Big […]
Various and Sundry 8/7/23
Posted on August 7, 2023 28 Comments
Hope everyone had a lovely weekend; here’s what’s on my mind today: William Friedkin, RIP: He was the director of a number of significant films, The French Connection among them, which won Best Picture and nabbed Friedkin a Best Director Oscar in the bargain, but the film of his that has proven to have the […]
The Big Idea: Michael A. Burstein
Posted on August 7, 2023 8 Comments
For writer and editor Michael A. Burstein, an encounter with an anthology in his youth changed with way he looked at science fiction and its possibilities. Now, with his own anthology Jewish Futures, Burstein looks to that personal past to inform this collection of stories about what comes next. MICHAEL A. BURSTEIN: For me, it […]
Win An ARC Of Starter Villain, Part II: The Winnening!
Posted on August 4, 2023 1,717 Comments
Oh no! Spice the cat is being menaced by an advance reading copy of Starter Villain! Who will come to her rescue? Why, you, of course — by entering this contest to win this ARC, and thus sending it away from Spice, and off to your home. What mischief will it get up to in […]
Sunset, 8/3/23
Posted on August 3, 2023 4 Comments
If there’s a sunset in your hedgerow, don’t be alarmed, now. It’ll be out of there soon enough. — JS
A Review Of “Oppenheimer”
Posted on August 3, 2023 23 Comments
As someone who doesn’t know much about science, had never heard the name Oppenheimer before, and has nightmares about nukes frequently, Oppenheimer might not really seem like a movie I would watch. Honestly, I’m not sure I would’ve watched it if it wasn’t for the whole “Barbenheimer” event, and the fact that it’s a Christopher Nolan […]
The Big Idea: Howard Andrew Jones
Posted on August 3, 2023 4 Comments
History is often an inspiration for fantasy, but as Howard Andrew Jones explains in this Big Idea for Lord of a Shattered Land, how that inspiration hits can be a surprise, even for the author himself. HOWARD ANDREW JONES: It seemed like such an obvious what-if question I couldn’t believe no one had written about […]
Various and Sundry, 8/2/23
Posted on August 2, 2023 24 Comments
Welcome to Wednesday. Here are some things I’m thinking about today. The Absolutely Unsurprising Freak-Out Of The Right at the New Trump Indictments: Jack Smith, knowing what was coming, clearly delineated between Donald Trump lying out of his ass about having won the last election, which was his right as an American under the First […]
The Really Big Indictments Have Arrived
Posted on August 1, 2023 62 Comments
With all due respect to the indictments from New York and Florida, which are serious enough in themselves, and particularly in the latter case could end up with Trump doing some time in the Stony Lonesome, today’s indictments get to the heart of the matter for Trump: He (allegedly) perpetrated, in the words of Special […]
A Spoiler Free Review Of “Barbie”
Posted on August 1, 2023 22 Comments
Barbie was a movie that I saw a lot of marketing for, but despite all its marketing, I wasn’t really sure what it was going to be about. I didn’t know what to expect when I went to see it opening night, but I figured it would at least be a light, fun, colorful, and decently […]
The Big Idea: Jacqueline Carey
Posted on August 1, 2023 13 Comments
Author Jacqueline Carey is no stranger to the sort of fandom that thrives on fringes, but in this Big idea for her latest novel, Cassiel’s Servant, Carey explains how that fame and fandom exists for reasons that many might not expect. JACQUELINE CAREY: Kushiel’s Legacy is a cult fan favorite. It must be true, because […]
Whatever Everyone Else is Saying