Correcting my limitless lack of knowledge, one post at a time.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Absolute Zero Cool
Posted a new review of Declan Burke's much anticipated Absolute Zero Cool over at Not New for Long.
(Well, much anticipated in the circles I frequent, anyway.)
I'm working my way through this one and enjoying it, although I admit, I've had a little trouble with it at times. It's a very interesting story though, and point of view. Here's to hoping that now that the kids are back in school things will slow down and I can actually find time to read again...except, I've gained a 17 year old over the summer so maybe not...but I can hope right?
Well, I can't go too much into it but the short version is that my 17 year old sister in law realized the conditions she was being forced to live in weren't normal, or healthy. She's been allowed to move in with us. And yes, jumping from 2 kids to 3 overnight does make things interesting.
I salute you for giving her some options. Sometimes that's all it takes at that age.
And I do hope you get some reading time back once the regular routine of the school year begins. Even though there are no kids in this house, it's been a busy summer and I am kind of looking forward to a more rational pace myself.
A No-Spoilers Take on The Life of Chuck
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By
Scott D. Parker
I work in marketing. Glad I wasn’t on the marketing team for The Life of
Chuck. I mean how do you market a film arguably best viewed ...
The Devil’s Draper
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The title made me worry unnecessarily. Yes, Donna Moore has several male
characters in her sequel to The Unpicking, and they are not very nice.
There is cr...
For the Solstice
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On the Summer Solstice the ancient Celts would give thanks for our star.
They’d build fires on the tops of the hills, believing these fires would
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Forgotten Book - Black Aura
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Timing is everything in the world of writing, as so often it is in many
walks of life. John Sladek's misfortune was to demonstrate a mastery of the
loc...
FFB: A JUDGMENT IN STONE, RUTH RENDELL
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I think I have probably read all of Rendell and seldom been let down. And
that is quite a lot of books. This may be her best (imho).
"Eunice Parchman...
Q and A: Details as Doorways
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Cathy and I are back from a book festival in Louisville, Kentucky. We were
delighted to catch up with an old friend and to make a new one. During
dinner ...
The Possible Impossible
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*It All Felt Impossible—42 Years in 42 Essays*
by Tom McAllister
Rose Metal Press, 2025
reviewed by Seana Graham
When a former student of his asked for...
Scheduling Announcement
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I first posted to this blog on August 17, 2008. George W. Bush was
president. The Sole Heir was a rising high school senior. The number one
film at the ...
Review: FOX SPIRIT ON A DISTANT CLOUD
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*FOX SPIRIT ON A DISTANT CLOUD by Lee Murray (The Cuba Press, 2024)*
*Reviewed by Alyson Baker*
*Wellington, 1923, and a sixty-year-old woman hangs hersel...
Last Swim
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Because of the timing of my travels this summer, today was my last Early
Bird lap swim, peaceful, meditative, and smooth, with country music and
Carole K...
Six of My Favorite Experiences of 2023
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Natural Bridge, Virginia
*Great, bright portal,*
*shelf of rock,*
*rocks fitted in long ledges*[...]
*The world heaved—we are next to the sky*
- H.D.
...
The Last Hurrah
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‘Relax will you. It’s just an abandoned warehouse.’
‘Well, it’s giving me the creeps.’
‘We’ll just glance it over and skedaddle. Tomorrow you’ll be a fre...
Cecilia “Cissy” Suyat Marshall
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Justice Thurgood Marshall’s widow, Cecilia Marshall, died this Tuesday.
After her husband’s death in 1991, she continued to occasionally appear at
the Co...
Eight Basics of Successful Nonprofit Leadership
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Leading a nonprofit is, in many ways, like leading any kind of business.
Some of these I learned growing up watching my father run his small
business. For ...
#104 / The Shared American Story
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Ken Burns (pictured above) is an American filmmaker who is known for using
archival footage and photographs in documentary films about American
history....
Snatches of the Everlasting Gospel 3
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[image:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdNcpxZh71l2jCbTs7-nYBJmgvJTJrPf4wq2oyZ_7AbYvqESjZ94wqaJOKAPexY3gBRlHz2aFVqubZU16pxnLZA5...
THE LAMMISTERS: a bourbon-smooth riot, apparently
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It’s been a busy end to 2019 for yours truly, folks, and we wind down tired
but happy, with THE LAMMISTERS published – something I thought would never
hap...
Upcoming Events
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Lit Crawl Belfast:
As part of the Belfast Book Festival, come to No Alibis see me and Rosemary
Jenkinson read from works by our favourite crime authors,...
Six Days in Phoenix
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On day one, Thursday, we marched to the Capitol, 75,000 strong. The
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On day two we h...
SCHEHERAZADE
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[image: Image result for scheherazade]
On Friday night the Prom was Scheherazade, live from the Albert Hall. I
have listened to it three times since th...
New Year’s Discount
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Happy New Year to all my readers! This year begins with two discounts for
you: North Sea Cottage (the first mystery about Tora) is available for $
0.99 onl...
A Barrel of Salt: Salzburg, Austria
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Last summer I started this post talking about a saying my father handed
down to me. “You can’t know a man until you’ve eaten a barrel of salt with
him.” T...
Surprise invasion of Japanese punk
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A strange bit of synchronicity occurred in my life this week, courtesy of
Netflix. I have a two disk at a time plan with them. (Yes, that's right,
I stil...
Flanless in the kitchen, six p.m.
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My walking buddy complains her flannel pajamas are no longer warm, cheery,
or comforting on these very long nights of early winter.. The thrill is
gone, a...
Grazie & Arrivederci!
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So that's the end of the Europa Challenge! Thanks to everyone for a great
five years of reading and reviewing! I'll leave the blog up so folks can
find you...
Meeting Points
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Meeting points, in water, sky or paint; the places where blue turns red &
runs into the sea; edge of a face that bends into shadow; shape that
changes sh...
Dahlia Lithwick on the mentally ill in jail
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I'm reviving this somewhat moribund blog to post a link to an article by
Slate's Dahlia Lithwick on a mentally ill man who died after four months in
jail a...
Beastly Murder: A Gossipy Post + Highsmith
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The moral of the story, I guess, is that I should get out more often. Last
summer, I attended a Portland edition of *Noir at the Bar*, hosted by local
cri...
New Website! New Blog! 2 New Programs!
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Striving always toward full integration of the logical - linear and
analytical with the intuitive - creative and imaginative, I've united those
parts in a ...
Sayulita
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It's not October anymore.
Something a bit more timely for the top o' the blog, okay?
My most amazing friend, Raquel, swept me out of my daily routine ...
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Dear All,
This is Cynthia, I am David's sister in law and Naomi's sister. I am so
sorry to tell you that David passed away Friday evening. He was at home,
...
It Lives!
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It has been quite a while since I have updated this blog. Some things have
changed over the last year, I changed jobs last October, after thirteen
years ...
UNDER CONSTRUCTION ~ OVER DELIGHT
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UNDER CONSTRUCTION ~ OVER DELIGHT
* AT THE BIJOU * ?
Yes, that's right.
From our newly refurbished red velvet reader seats . . .
to showcasing AUTH...
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Intermidable. Also very long.
This flight will be unpleasant till the end.
I have no pateince left that I can spend,
I am as crabby as a crabgrass lawn.
Thi...
William Kentridge at Volte gallery
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The South African artist William Kentridge is showing at Volte gallery in
Colaba. Anybody in Bombay between now and March 20 should definitely put
the ex...
Worlds Collide Under Purple Skies
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It's amazing to me how often my Japanese world collides with my American
world. Two years ago, I happened to be on vacation in *New Orleans*. I
was sitti...
Assistant Editor On Board!
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TFFO writer Tom Pitts is the new TFFO editorial assistant at Out of the
Gutter Online! Click here to welcome him to the operation!
Gay Male Poetry Post Identity Politics, Part Five
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I am now posting the last of the presentations from my AWP panel on gay
male poetry post politics. Like Aaron Smith, Brian Teare questions the idea
and the...
I'm working my way through this one and enjoying it, although I admit, I've had a little trouble with it at times. It's a very interesting story though, and point of view. Here's to hoping that now that the kids are back in school things will slow down and I can actually find time to read again...except, I've gained a 17 year old over the summer so maybe not...but I can hope right?
ReplyDeleteUh, not to pry, but how do you gain a seventeen year old? Sounds like you've got a houseful.
ReplyDeleteWell, I can't go too much into it but the short version is that my 17 year old sister in law realized the conditions she was being forced to live in weren't normal, or healthy. She's been allowed to move in with us. And yes, jumping from 2 kids to 3 overnight does make things interesting.
ReplyDeleteI salute you for giving her some options. Sometimes that's all it takes at that age.
ReplyDeleteAnd I do hope you get some reading time back once the regular routine of the school year begins. Even though there are no kids in this house, it's been a busy summer and I am kind of looking forward to a more rational pace myself.
I've heard of this young man. He sounds intriguing.
ReplyDelete