Links across the Web
Today, I had planned to publish a piece making fun of book reviewers and literary critics. Because in my opinion, publishers spend way too much time sucking up to them, which is why I decided to become a book reviewer. Unfortunately, I was unable to make fun of them without sounding bitter at them, which […]
SUCCESS! And More of It!
(Adapted from “The Fallacy of Success” by G.K. Chesterton.) One of the most pressing issues of the members of today’s generation is what they should do with their lives. In generations of old, social and family pressures kept people in line. You took up the same occupation as your father before you, or else you’d […]
The Roaring 20-Somethings
I’m remembering my 20’s. Because everyone remembers his 20’s. I dropped out of school at 20 years old, met my wife at 22, married at 24, had my first daughter at 27, and my second at 29. Yes, the average American’s roaring 20’s are full of growth, choices, excitement, and dirty diapers, usually in that […]
Revising Your Novel
As a writer, I often get asked, how do you revise a novel? Actually, I don’t get asked that. Someone does often ask me what word he wanted to use, as though I as a writer should have a command of words. (I don’t. But that’s a different post.) Of course, if I knew what […]
You Too Could Save $00** Using a Service You Already Have!
We got a wonderfully funny letter from Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Massachusetts today, partially reproduced here (click to enlarge): The letter goes on to explain that certain of our prescriptions, we could get them home delivered for $00 less than what we pay to pick them up! How cool is that! The flip-side lists the […]
Etude in Black and White
I was watching an old Columbo episode, “Etude in Black,” in which conductor Alex Benedict murders his star pianist Jenifer Welles, to prevent her from revealing their secret love affair. As a musician myself, and knowing a little something about the piano, I thought it might be fun to rewrite one of the scenes of […]
Driving in Boston 2
(This is part 2 of a roast of the Boston driver. Click here for part 1.) The situation is exacerbated at rotaries. For those of you who may not be familiar with the Boston rotary, it is a complex, multilateral intersecting way, with no stop signs, at which everyone goes at the same time, and […]
Driving in Boston
Nothing requires so keen a notice, so focused a concentration, so large and intimidating a vehicle, as does driving in Boston. When we first moved to Boston from western Pennsylvania, we were both intrigued and horrified to see public roadways under construction, with potholes dug the size of the Great Lakes and manhole covers raised […]
What’s in a Cat?
Proof that God has a sense of humor is that he created cats. We share our apartment with a sleek, black cat, whom we call “Tessie,” a high-strung Burmese (or something thereabouts). I call her my Spooky Cat, because she has always been terrified of any living creature, and a few dead ones. When we […]