2020 Said it before, I'll say it again... You should read Charles Mudede. Remember those Most Interesting Man in the World ads? Mudede’s a kindred spirit. In his 23 July column in The Stranger, Mudede laments the closing of Seattle’s College Inn Pub [https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2020/07/23/44146753/the-college-inn-pub-didnt-survive-the-pandemic] . Mudede writes wonderfully,
Books and Writing Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here? I loved the movie Gladiator. I’ve always loved Greek and Roman history, which reached its glorious and blood-drenched apex in Byzantium. Don’t worry, I’m not an apologist. Loads of bad with the good. Same goes for the movie. But I enjoyed watching it. If only that guy
Aran Goyoaga Three Armies (and the secret to buying gifts) Have you seen The Simpsons episode where Homer buys Marge a new bowling ball? She goes to use it and finds that Homer had the holes drilled to fit his fingers. I did something similar recently, but it wasn’t intentional. I bought my mom and sister Aran Goyoaga’s
2020 Seattle to Phoenix, Leg 1 I left Seattle today at about 1400. Much later than I planned. It’s always the way with me. Procrastination + obsessiveness makes for a lot of missed start times. I hesitate to use the word obsessive; I don’t want to discount or trivialize OCD. But if there’s a
Books and Writing Bad Week for Bureau(cracy); Silver Linings for the rest of us I’m posting another post I posted on Substack. (Say that fast 10 times.) Trying to get a sense of whether it’s worth it to use that platform or just keep everything on this site. It’s just some thoughts on current affairs. I don’t know why I’
Afghanistan The Afghanistan Papers For a long time now I’ve been experimenting with Substack to see if it fits into my flailing freelance efforts. I like writing, and sometimes I feel like I’ve got things to say that might be worth sharing. I’m hoping to do more writing in 2020. If
Best Hotels Portland A Few Nights in Portland I like Cassidy’s in Portland [http://cassidysrestaurant.com]. I’m in town for a Roselit Bone [https://www.instagram.com/roselitbone/] show. I planned on staying one night, but I enjoy wandering Portland’s streets, so I extended my stay a couple of nights. I’ve had the same
America New Writing: Precipice A couple of weeks ago I sat down and hammered out a short story that might actually be closer to a few scenes in a play or short film. Call it what you will. The idea for it has been floating around in my head for a while…this idea
Authors Ken Jennings at Elliott Bay Book Company I remember that Ken Jennings was pretty good at Jeopardy. I didn’t see any of the shows, but his name was everywhere when he had that hot streak that earned him millions. Was he the last (and biggest) game show celebrity? I went to Seattle’s Elliott Bay Book
About 30 About 30 (Not Safe For Work short story - language advisory) I started writing this a while back. Maybe about a year ago. I was just jotting down notes and sentences here and there on my phone or in a notebook. I kept telling myself that I needed to sit down and finish it. Then there was a famous tweet during
Books and Writing Proofreading and Editing We all make typos and spelling errors. There’s a good chance I’ll make one (or three) in this post. And if you scroll through a few of my posts, you’re bound to find others. But there are times that it is worth the effort or cost to
Andrew J Bacevich Spring Cleaning Have you read Marie Kondo’s “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing”? I have, at least some of it. The idea appeals. If something in your home isn’t giving you joy, get rid of it. It’s easier said than done. I’
American Literature Hemingway I should be packing right now, but I got sidetracked by some old issues of The New York Review of Books [http://www.nybooks.com]. I’m afraid I’ve sort of squandered that expensive subscription. Great publication that I have too often saved for later. Later often became never.
