I just told someone the plot of my next novel. The reaction was stupefaction. I understand, because it’s going to be a stupefying book. But that reaction made me think. So here’s a post on how we survive bad news, awful experiences, and hideous knowledge. Everybody’s different; what works for me won’t fit the bill…
Would you want to know?
May 2, 2014
I grappled with this question a long time ago: If people in your life had terrible secrets, would you want to know? For me it depends on the secrets. I can overlook some things, while others are deal breakers. The first time the question really came up was when I met the Cardinal Ghost. Within…
A monster turns on its creators
April 28, 2014
By now you’ve probably heard that Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling was allegedly taped telling his mistress to not bring black people to the games and to not post photos on Instagram of herself with black men. The woman goes by several aliases, including V. Stiviano. She’s said to be part black and part…
The sword is mightier than the mouth
April 27, 2014
Yesterday a writer got angry at me for pointing out that her Facebook post opposing the canonizing of the late Pope John Paul II was a waste of time. And I was right. The canonizing went ahead. The writer said that her task is to speak out against the Catholic church because of the ongoing…
There. Glad THAT day is over
April 25, 2014
The day is over, and not a second too soon. It was a nonstop assault from beginning to end. I made a lot of decisions today, based on the behavior of my fellow humans. These changes won’t be made public. Call them new rules of engagement. First, thanks are in order to Tim, Ashley, Tony,…
Things I never considered, part 80 trillion
April 24, 2014
I just got an e-mail that prompts me to post about something I never considered. It was a long message full of instructions on how I should change the way I write and live. I’ll address just one point because in our current culture, the classes are pitted against each other, and I don’t want…
Wictors and airplanes don’t mix
April 23, 2014
I don’t know why, but Wictors and airplanes don’t mix. Chapter Three of Hallucinabulia: the Dream Diary of an Unintended Solitarian is devoted to my experiences with the Old Hag and my nightmares of being in airplane crashes. Dad hated flying as much as I do. It’s my final unconquerable fear. Though I’m not afraid…
Hurricane House, the Tin Man, and free e-books.
April 19, 2014
During our time in Venezuela, we spent three summers on Sanibel Island, Florida, in a little resort called Hurricane House. As best as Tim and I can remember, the years were 1969, 1970, and 1971. Tim took these photos in 1970; our brother Paul shot the picture of Tim. It was on one of these…
Gibberish and massive bags. And free e-books
April 18, 2014
Thomas Piketty is a French economist who’s here in the US on a tour for his new book Capital in the Twenty-First Century. He’s a professor at the Paris School of Economics and a purveyor of gibberish and massive bags. When I saw his photo, I was reminded of an e-mail I got from a…