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a cluster of white peony blooms #011/365
It’s cool, it’s overcast and showers are forecast for throughout the day. I took my early morning brew out on the balcony to listen to the sparrows chatter, watched two squirrels fighting over who owns the privacy hedge, and didn’t have the heart to tell them: neither of them do. That it’s the dominion of the sparrows. Their number has grown extensively in the time me and mine have been living in the apartment. And not least because I put fat balls out for them during the winter, along with…
single purple hyacinth #010/365
Way back when I was a kid, and travelling to exotic and not so exotic places, I had dreams of travelling on my own, as an adult, and seeing some of the last remaining wonders of the world. I made a bucket list of places I wanted to visit long before there was even such a thing as bucket lists. Sadly, a lot of those places which I have yet to visit, are no longer safe places to go, or even all that desirable given how time and man (in his infinite stupidity) has marched on. Places like, Ulan…
Our building is under assault. It’s not just annual maintenance time. It’s emergency repairs time due to excess flooding. Flooding because we’ve had so much rain this year water has found its way into the sub basement electrical room for our building. Water and electrics? Not a good mix. Upshot, the company who own and run our six-building complex of apartment blocks has brought forward a number of building works on our apartment block. And now, we’re under assault on all sides. There is work…
a carpet of wild primulas #009/365
You know I can’t resist taking part in these silly things online, Sam started it linking to Humation an online avatar creation tool. I mean, don’t I look cute? check out those antennae
lone fisherman on the side of the river #008/365
Following on from an earlier post, Celebrating Military SF, and for those of you who are looking for something different, why not try one or two of the novels mentioned below. Each offers an alternate perspective and narrative to the category it is listed under. Of course, this is by no means a definite list but rather a cross section of books I've read over the years. ALIEN & FUTURE CULTURES CODE OF CONDUCT by Kristine Smith DUNE by Frank Herbert FOREIGNER by C. J. Cherryh GOLDEN WITCHBREED by…
Inspired by Sam, Pedro and Iván, who started this wonderful quirky series, Little Things (which is a bit like Three Good Things, but weekly) I thought to set aside Sunday as a good day to reflect about what’s happened this last week. First up I took my TwelveSouth iPhone stand back to the Apple store and got a refund (all without a single quibble of protest on the part of the staff; a full refund was given) because I realised while it’s a great product, it’s just not for me, a single user…
St. Lawrence river #007/365
single white magnolia blossom #006/365
single golden daffodil #005/365
military science fiction There is one thing you can be sure of, modern science fiction gives us plenty of choice to choose from when it comes to sub-genres. Of course, it all depends on who you speak to about what may, or may not, make it onto the list but, for arguments sake, here are a few of what makes it onto my list. Alien Invasion A. I. (Artificial Intelligence | Nano Tech | Virtual) Colonisation (also: Terraforming) Dystopian First Contact Galactic Empire Generational Ships Military SF…
early spring parkland #004/365
Following on from a recent post I read in which readers create a chain of six books leading from a monthly title, The Tipping Point (2002) by Malcolm Gladwell — I thought I would join in, but, of course, having never read this title, nor knowing the author, I hit my first hurdle. Then I gave it a moment's thought and wondered about the title, 'tipping point,' which brought me of all places to physics. Yes, that kind of tipping point—the point where there is no turning back, where a thing will…
black & white woodpecker #003/365
welcome to the future Or, all the futuristic stuff I've always dreamed of owning. And who hasn't dreamed of owning items we see in a movie, or on TV. I remember my friend Linda and I desperately wanting to join the USS Enterprise so we could each have a phaser, not realising till much later on, that this meant we might end up being an Infamous Red Shirt — usually the first characters to get shot at or die a grisly death in nearly every episode of Trek! But that didn't stop us dreaming or…
follow the clues Or, to be exact, a life of crime reading, all of which began several years ago. Up until then, I would say I read a mixed bag and cross section of genre. And, up until then, I was probably reading close to 80% speculative fiction. I say speculative because at one point I moved from almost exclusively reading SF through most of my teen years, to reading some fantasy, a little paranormal, and some supernatural. I never really took to horror, in the same way I strongly dislike…
cattails tree blossom tree blossom new growth Is it time to hibernate?
As I didn't have a post for today, I thought I would do something book related! And, of course, if you would like to do your own version of this, steal away. WHO — Name an author you would love to have a 'One to One' with. It would have to be Louise Penny. I was lucky enough to see her at a book signing last year, here locally. And got my obligatory 3 seconds with her as she wrote me a personal message in the book I was buying: GLASS HOUSES. But I would love to sit down with her and do a…
David asked → Do you tell people you blog? What a great question. And, the answer is, everyone and no one. In that If someone actually asks then yes I tell them I blog and, again, if they ask, will tell them how to find me. But it’s not often anyone outside my close inner circle will ask. And those inside the circle know I blog but, as far as I know, none of those people have ever visited or, if they have (and read the post of the day or even more) have said anything to me to the effect. Like…
What the writer says, and what the editor thinks: This is just a Beta Release — It's haemorrhaging errors I fixed chapter 23 — the remaining 72 chapters are, however, crap I'll just kill off this character — procrastinating, has no idea how to proceed And a time machine appeared in the middle of the kitchen — is addicted to contrived situations This is just a temporary solution — she's killed off yet another character I'll finish the edits by Monday — a decade from now There's no way I can…
Twenty random things to know about me: I once met Winston Churchill. I was six years old. I’m one of six siblings. I’ve travelled to over 37 countries. I had afternoon tea with the chimps at London zoo. I once jumped out of a helicopter. I also jumped off a cliff … in Norway. I’ve been on TV, three times. I was in a movie. An author named a character after me. I’m ambidextrous. I can write backwards with my right hand. I can whistle. I’m also partially deaf. I studied science, then joined the…
I enjoyed reading Herman’s blog post this morning talking about how he became A Day Person1. Which, of course, got me thinking about what kind of person I am. I’ve...
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish, which is now being hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. The rules are simple: Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want. Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post. Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists.…
It’s raining. A soft drizzle. Gentle in its insistence. Coming straight down. It’s been raining since the wee small hours. I awoke at around 1:30 am this morning to hear...
As a huge fan of all things space, and as someone who’s followed everything NASA has done since day one (yes, I am that old) I just had to up...
Sometime I think that everything I ever learnt about how to write, I learnt from reading Ursula K. Le Guin novels [with humble apologies to my favourite English teacher]. Even...
First of all, let me just begin by saying this debut novel by Aussie author, Emma Viskic, is outstanding. Truly a remarkable novel on just about every level. It's not long, at just 280 pages, so I read this in one frantic, page-turning day! Let's start with the well crafted, well delineated characters. I love Caleb Zelic who narrates the story. He's such a great down-to-earth character, feisty and oh so different from the usual MC in that he just happens to be deaf. This makes for a wholly…
