"…something like the supervisor of an entire team of political agents…"
Cecil Vortex Regular visitors to this site know that I’m quite literally 175 years old. What you may not know is that just five short years ago — at the ripe old age of 170 — I had a series of micro-epiphanies regarding the creative process, the most important of which was this: I’d always thought art … Read more
If I knew Tesla was coming, I might very well have baked a cake. Because, well, you know how much Tesla loves to eat cake. Lots of fun this week — excellent comments from an international crew of ‘marchers, plus a promising start to the novel with all sorts of rich plot threads. It sounds … Read more
She took too many pills or something and nearly died but the main thing I remember is sitting down at their kitchen table and her telling us how at that critical moment she saw the light and turned back. I thought: “She seems sad.” And: “I can’t believe a grownup is telling me this and … Read more
They date underground they do. And they skip by the mushrooms they dance with the dwarves They sleep under waterfalls lightless with dark sparkle and foam. They leave the sun and the wind and banana peels to the squirrels.
Welcome to The Against the Day Deathmarch — a mass-tackle of Pynchon’s latest tome. This is our fifth deathmarch, and I haven’t been this excited about an onine mass read of a challenging book since, well, since we tackled Gravity’s Rainbow back in January, 2005. I’ve read the first few pages of AtD, and I … Read more
Don’t forget what’shisname — Steven? Really smart. Played guitar. Got into heavy metal. Sort of wavy black hair? He was a tough little dude. I think they came in second in that Battle of the Bands. All covers. Maybe Free Bird. OK, probably Free Bird. But Blue Öyster Cult too. He had a girl in … Read more
Thought for the day: Trying to write dialogue without first getting a bead on your characters’ motivation is a little like trying to move a car by pulling on its bumper. Oh sure, you can do it. If you’re really strong. At least, some people can do it. But there’s an easier way.
Got my book this week. I’m all excited, and who can blame me? I’m fighting the urge to dive in. I have read the quote that opens the book, and I have read the first line, and I can report that they are both excellent. The second sentence will have to wait till next Tuesday. … Read more
Were they birds or were they bats? Does it matter? When they drop down in darkness. When they brush up against the back of your head and nudge you along. When they flap in your hair. You want to know. Feathers or fur? Beaks or black noses. Were they bats?
Looking into your warehouse it’s clear that someone’s really good at stacking boxes. I know they use machines but it’s still a skill to form a lattice like that three stories high to hold against the pull top boxes feel their natural urge to tumble and tip to splay and splash to show the floor … Read more