I was briefly in a bicycle club after high school called the Valley Spokesmen. I liked it, but did not actually ride with them a single time. I did help set up some kind of course with clues for the other Spokesmen and women, and that was fun.
Leslie, I wasn't even enterprising enough to do the cards. But I like it when other people go to a good deal of trouble for things like this. Especially if they put it up on line.
We miss you. You aren't going to miss a whole lot of Finnegan meetings at this rate, though. Hectic season.
Wednesday's Short Fiction
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https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/10/13/coconut-flan-fiction-catherine-lacey
Did you ever read a story and feel the protagonist in the story coul...
Keep Writing: Controlling What We Can
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Well, it finally happened just as I hoped it would. I reached the age of
seventy. I’ve been publishing my fiction and nonfiction for thirty-eight of
thos...
Henley and elsewhere
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I'm in a sort of 'if it's Tuesday, it must be Belgium' kind of state of
mind at the moment, as I dash around the country, mainly (but not
exclusively) do...
What Offspring did
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That feeling when eldest Offspring has coffee with one’s favourite author.
Well, I suppose it had to happen. And then that author’s second favourite
physic...
Creatures, Crimes, and Creativity 2025
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The 2025 edition of the Creatures, Crimes, and Creativity conference is in
the rearview. I can’t think of a conference with a more welcoming
atmosphere,...
Via Basel: My First Taste of Freedom
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Art by Xue Jiye
Freedom, a word tossed around in abundance these days, is turning out to be
controversial and ambiguous. Some of us, me included, are ...
Return of the Counterforce
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Back in April, a screaming came across the sky, the announcement of a new
Thomas Pynchon novel, to be published in October, entitled *Shadow Ticket*.
Th...
On Weak Sauce
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Today the church remembers one of the very early Christians of the faith:
Saint Pantaleon, Physician, Martyr, and Emancipator. Saint Pantaleon was
supposed...
I Swam With America!
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On the 4th of July, the usual 6:30 a.m. time for Early Bird Lap Swim was
pushed back to 9:00 a.m. for a general holiday celebration for the
community. I ...
The More Things Change
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Back in July of 2009, Do Some Damage launched with seven authors on
Blogspot.com.
Now, sixteen years later, the site is moving to a Substack newsletter.
...
Tom Maderos at "Escape Into Life"
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This blog hasn't seen any activity of late, but it's still here and I have
a couple of reasons to revive it, although I don't expect there will be
many ...
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
legislature basically flipped us off, and adjourned until Monday.
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...
-
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...
Do bicycle companies have spokesmen? Just wondering.
ReplyDeleteV-word: unvoid
We just used baseball cards in the spokes when I was a kid. That's progress for you.
ReplyDeletePeter, well I'm sure they must.
ReplyDeleteI was briefly in a bicycle club after high school called the Valley Spokesmen. I liked it, but did not actually ride with them a single time. I did help set up some kind of course with clues for the other Spokesmen and women, and that was fun.
Leslie, I wasn't even enterprising enough to do the cards. But I like it when other people go to a good deal of trouble for things like this. Especially if they put it up on line.
ReplyDeleteWe miss you. You aren't going to miss a whole lot of Finnegan meetings at this rate, though. Hectic season.
I've been satisfying my Joyce jonesing by listening to Frank Delaney's Ulysses podcasts while riding my stationary bike here in Hilo. He's terrific!
ReplyDeleteLeslie, I remember you mentioning that podcast. I've got toget on to that.
ReplyDelete