personal takes on life, the universe, and everything
Humans are both hyper-cooperative and hyper-competitive. Often, at the same time. (Picture from here.) There’s a continuing discussion of human intelligence that goes something like this. Well, that is a quality that no other animal has. Therefore, humans are special. Oh, wait a minute. Other animals have something of that quality, so what we have …
Old Dogs Do Learn New Tricks I am sixty-eight years old. That means I’m at the point where age alone is enough to affect my karate performance. It doesn’t bother me as much as you might assume it does. My local club is composed almost entirely of members who began their life journeys even earlier …
Join me in another flashback to my early backpacking trip across Crete, when I camped in the Minoan ruins of Falassarna and heard whispers from the past. NOTE: Of course, Thor and I had to make another trip to Greece, as he’s fallen as much in love with the islands as I am. This time, …
A Rambling Writer Rerun: Crete, part 6: Falassarna Whispers Read More »
A friend recently and relatively artlessly started talking to me about this OTHER firend that she has – he’s in his early seventies, he’s “also” widowed (twice, as it turns out, with wife #1 dying tragically and young in a freak accident and wife #2 whom he married less than three years after that …
I’m a two-margarita girl. When I lunch with my pals, I can pour them down between layers of food and I’m fine. Never met a margarita that intimidated me. This was before I met mezcal. This recipe is adapted from something I had in a Mexican restaurant that kicked me straight in the frontal lobes. …
The journey and accommodation were a lot different from my previous trip to southern Crete 37 years ago. But the magic of swimming the purple-blue sea remains the same! NOTE: Of course, Thor and I had to make another trip to Greece, as he’s fallen as much in love with the islands as I am. …
A Rambling Writer Rerun: Return to Crete, Part 5: Plakias Pleasures Read More »
Phyllis’ blog originally published November 2011. Bringing this back because costumes! And because whatever happened to American Steampunk!? [For an update, check out Neverwas magazine’s opinion on that. Steampunk is alive and well–just not here.] The weekend of July 22-24, 2011 Portland, Oregon’s first convention dedicated solely to Steampunk. Since I sold my first SF/F trilogy …
Another flashback to my hippie backpacking days on Crete, camping and exploring the rugged south coast. NOTE: Of course, Thor and I had to make another trip to Greece, as he’s fallen as much in love with the islands as I am. This time, in addition to other island-hopping, I wanted to return to Crete …
A Rambling Writer Rerun: Return to Crete, Part 4: South Coast Memories Read More »
She bought the property in the Santa Clara Valley in 1884. Almond, apricot, peach and plum orchards covered the flat tidal lands at the bottom end of San Francisco Bay. The eight room farmhouse was under construction just outside a small agricultural town known as San Jose. The woman had been a widow for 5 …
Scrapple is classic white-trash breakfast food, best served fried in bacon grease with honey or maple syrup on top. For more authenticity, top with sorghum molasses. You can get a debased version of this without the pork at places like Bob Evans, but if you want the good stuff, just get on the highway and drive …
As I was growing up, I became aware of people talking about how witty this book was, or that movie, or a famous person sitting in a famous cafe in Manhattan or Paris. I began to read Jane Austen, and saw her references to wit. Then I saw references to how wittily she wrote about …
Come time-travel with me as Thor and I drive a rocky passage to the sea, and I flashback to my first Cretan hike down the Gorge of Samaria. NOTE: Of course, Thor and I had to make another trip to Greece, as he’s fallen as much in love with the islands as I am. This …
A Rambling Writer Rerun: Return to Crete, Part 3: Gorges of South Crete Read More »
HANGING OUT BY THE DOJO, SAN FRANCISCO, 1981 The headquarters dojo of Goju-Kai Karate-Do USA was for many years located at Eighteenth and Collingwood in San Francisco. It occupied the loft level of a two-story commercial building that had seen better days. The structure was ancient by California standards, having risen as part of the …
