Watching a news story about the kerfuffle at the U.S. border, someone was quoted as saying, “This isn’t a Democrat issue or a Republican issue; this is an American issue.” I thought about all the times I’ve heard that sentiment raised, and all the times I heard Democrats and Republicans rail about how the otherContinue reading “The architects of schism”
Category Archives: Emerging From Dystopia
Screens
I’ve been staring at screens too long.Yes, I’ve been staring at screens too long.Don’t get me wrong,It’s just thatI’ve been staring at screens too long. Look up — Look up —You’re staring at a screen!Look up — Look up —Do you know what I mean?LOOK UP!!! We stare at screens as if they hold allContinue reading “Screens”
Double down on being human
The phrase jumped out at me as Joanna Penn talked about the leaps in artificial intelligence during her podcast about writing and book publishing, The Creative Penn. Penn, who writes thrillers as J.F. Penn and nonfiction as Joanna, is diving into the world of AI, using it as a tool as she develops her plotsContinue reading “Double down on being human”
Change the broadcast, not the game
The best part of baseball always was that it moves at its own pace. All the other major sports were a battle against the clock — who can score the most points in an hour, or 48 minutes, or 90 minutes, or 40 minutes — but not baseball. If you can avoid making the thirdContinue reading “Change the broadcast, not the game”
The things they will search for again
I felt dry as a brown pile of fallen leaves, unable to muster an image or a passage of serviceable words for my humble service for the day, so I do what I sometimes do to lubricate my imagination: I pulled a book of Bradbury short stories off the shelf. The Machineries of Joy, firstContinue reading “The things they will search for again”
Meet the new boss
Moms through the ages have advised their kids, if you can’t think of anything nice to say, just don’t say anything. I think of those moms lately when the political ads come on. And here we are, Election Day, and I can’t think of anything nice to say. I should stop there, shouldn’t I? MyContinue reading “Meet the new boss”
The Eye of Sauron
Just for fun, let’s say you find yourself in possession of a vast cache of documentation showing the depths of evil being perpetrated in the world. People need to know about this, you think, for the good of humanity. You realize that the truth is not pulling back the curtain to reveal the wizard isContinue reading “The Eye of Sauron”