A few years back, there was this mosquito ringtone going around that supposedly adults can’t hear. In fact, most people over the age of about 21 can’t hear it. Well, not only could I hear it but it was painful. I could hear it from across a room. My co-workers, who were younger than me…
This weekend, one of the staff over at the New York Journal of Books shared this interesting article about book reviewing with all us reviewers. Apparently, an author was awarded a hefty sum for damages caused by a scathing book review. The article is a very interesting read and if you have any interest at…
At this point, I’ve had several guests on The Genre Traveler Podcast who have collaborated on projects with another writer. These included a mother-son team, a horror writer, and a duo writing under a single pen name. I once collaborated on a very short story during a summer school class and remember that it was…
I’m currently reading The Mythology of Supernatural by Nathan Robert Brown … I’m reviewing it for both The New York Journal of Books and one of my blogs, The Genre Traveler. In the section about Lilith, it talks about the exile elements of Lilith myths: “So why would the ancient scribes make a point of…
Today is the first Fathers’ Day without my Dad. He died in January, shortly before his 80th birthday. When he died, I hadn’t seen him in about 10 years. We’d talked on the phone, but hadn’t seen each other. There were reasons for that that I wish didn’t exist. I made bad choices and…
The following is a paper I did for my Philosophy class in Junior College. I got an A on it and it is an interesting read. Enjoy! During his trial, Socrates said, “The only true wisdom consists in knowing that you know nothing.” This is somewhat of a circular statement that denies itself, for if…
I can be kind of a pack rat at times, so over the past few weeks I’ve been going through all my old files and boxes and clearing out the clutter that no longer serves me. Among the stuff I found a small collection of fortunes plucked from cookies over the years and thought I’d…
Early this morning, around 5 a.m. I was awoken by the strangest sound. An almost inhuman voice was calling out, “Hello! Hello! Hello!” At first I thought it might be a child. Then possibly an old lady. Then, after I’d woken up enough, I realized it was the call of a cat. But that was…
Sometimes I’ll hear or read a phrase and think, “That would make a great title for something!” Here are a few I’ve collected so far: Potential Titles The Edge of Awareness Thank you, Helen Dunlop — Hills Like Green Elephants From “Atapuerca: The Face of an Ancestral Child” by Robert Kunzig, Discover, December 1997 —…
I found these quotes for a story I’m working on. They’re pretty cool, so I thought I’d share. “We are conscious of an animal in us, which awakens in proportion as our higher nature slumbers.” ~ Henry D. Thoreau “… Plato, who described how in dreams, ‘when the gentler part of the soul slumbers and…