This whole “living in interesting times” thing is exhausting – John Scalzi on Twitter I’ve seen several variations on this theme on social media lately. No question that “May you live in interesting times” is not something said by anyone … Continue reading
Nancy Jane Moore
Writers often say that everything we do is working because inspiration and integration of ideas come at many times when we’re not sitting down at a keyboard. While this is a joke, it does contain some truth. Last week I … Continue reading
My sweetheart and I walked over to Oakland’s Morcom Rose Garden on Sunday. This gorgeous park, set into a hill, was built in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration and includes thousands of roses along with assorted trees, a … Continue reading
Science fiction as a genre is not compatible with nostalgia. I’m not advocating ignoring the past as a writer, a reader, or a civic-minded human being. Knowing and understanding our history is not just important, it’s vital. But we need … Continue reading
I fell off my bicycle right in the middle of a city street last Sunday. My pedals locked up, which was caused by a combination of operator error (I started to downshift too late going up a steep hill) and … Continue reading
Racism is at the heart of almost everything that’s wrong with the United States. Last week I saw two powerful movies: Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am, an excellent documentary, and The Last Black Man in San Francisco, the most … Continue reading
On Twitter I saw someone asking people in the United States if they had an “exit strategy.” I think this was motivated by the fact that our government is being run by a white supremacist con man who is actively … Continue reading
One of the things I love about science fiction is the way a good writer will throw the reader right into the heart of a story taking place in a different reality and trust them to catch up as they … Continue reading
My father didn’t hunt. That statement needs some context. My father was born and raised in West Texas in the first half of the 20th Century, a time and place in which the myths of the West still existed. He … Continue reading
Over my years of training, I’ve always been a traditional martial artist. Before I began training in Aikido under a master instructor who had been a live-in student of the founder, I trained in Okinawan Shorin-Ryu karate under a high-ranking … Continue reading