Politics, sports, technology, life … yeah, it's eclectic
Just discovered Scribefire, a plugin for Firefox. It’s a WYSIWIG editor, and it is very cool. This is an example of a formatted note note.Wow — this is very cool. I may have to do all my blogging this way. Here’s a block quote. Some text or other to make it wrap. And some more … Read more
My dad was a journalist.
He was a number of other things as well: son of a preacher, high-school boxer, WWII volunteer, medic during the war, concentration camp liberator. Journalism student at U of Missouri. Reporter, columnist, editor.
But above all, he was a journalist — a “newspaperman,” as he liked to be called. An old-fashioned, get-it-right newspaperman.
And on this Memorial Day, as I watch the Liz Trotta clip, I’m thinking of him and what he would say.
Some of my friends and readers know that one of my lives is that of a musician. It’s interesting how compartmentalized our lives are; many of my co-workers have no idea of this part of me, or of my long history in making and directing music. (And of course, I don’t very much about many … Read more
(Posted at the Texas Observer, her “home” paper) I envy all you people in Texas. No, really, I do. You got to know Molly for many years, while I only discovered her when I read “Shrub” for the first time in 2000. It’s funny — words were Molly’s stock in trade, and are supposedly mine … Read more
My older son Griffin just showed me a video made by a guy who recorded himself playing single notes on the drums, then on the piano, then took the whole thing and edited it in such a way that he plays first a drum solo, then a piano and drum duet. The only thing he … Read more
I am the son of a journalist, and have always had a strong interest in both the product and the process. Both are becoming more and more suspect. Time after time, I read stories where it is obvious that the reporter did not ask any follow-ups. There has been no research beyond the press release facts. … Read more
Just finished the latest novel by William Gibson (whom I didn’t know was even still alive, much less writing). I have long thought his Neuromancer was one of the most amazing novels I’ve ever read, especially when you compare his insights into the digital future (which continue to come true) with the date (1984) the … Read more
I’ve been re-reading an important book in my life, The Courage to Write by Ralph Keyes. The basic premise, of course, is that fear in all its infinite variety is part and parcel of writing, and that the act of writing is itself an act of courage. The corollary to this is that most writers … Read more