Happy World Postcard Day! This is celebrated October 1, which is considered the anniversary of the invention of the postcard (by the Austrian postal service in 1869). You may have seen my other posts about sending and receiving postcards to and from correspondents around the world, through the Postcrossing program. Today, in honor of WorldContinue reading “World Postcard Day!”
Category Archives: SF & Fantasy
And Now My Watch Is Ended
I lost HBO this month. I had streaming-only HBO as an add-on to Amazon Prime, but Prime recently announced that it was ending the service as of September 15. I had a couple weeks to watch the programs on my watch list, and I got through a few of them, but that’s it. No moreContinue reading “And Now My Watch Is Ended”
Hummingbird Haven
The hummingbirds in our garden have been particularly active lately. We already knew we had two of them. One was larger, with a greenish back and more neutral colors overall. The other was smaller and bright green, with a dark face. We wondered if the two were a mated pair, but neither had the rubyContinue reading “Hummingbird Haven”
Magic Bullets: Weird Holidays
Happy National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day! Or, if you prefer, you could celebrate National White Wine Day today. Or start your day off with a big bowl of cereal; it’s also National Raisin Bran Day. Yes, these are all actual observances for today, August 4. I love weird holidays. I love them enough so thatContinue reading “Magic Bullets: Weird Holidays”
Progress Report
A few days ago I drove up to Maryland to meet my friend Lawrence, my collaborator on the book I’m writing, which is meant to be the first of a series of science fiction novels for teens. The book is set in the same universe as a long list of books and stories he hasContinue reading “Progress Report”
Postcrossing: My Greatest Hits
In the nearly 12 years that I’ve been a member of Postcrossing, I have sent out more than 5,200 postcards to other members around the world, and have received about the same number. But while I often post images of Postcrossing cards I’ve received, but I’ve seldom displayed the cards I send. The website providesContinue reading “Postcrossing: My Greatest Hits”
Postcards From the World: Cool Stamps
Today’s featured Postcrossing postcard is one I received a few days ago from a college student in Hefei, China, about 300 miles west of Shanghai. The picture on the card (right) is cute enough, but what really blows me away is the magnificent stamps, above. The sender tells me the stamps describe “how ancient peopleContinue reading “Postcards From the World: Cool Stamps”
Novel Progress
I finished the outline near the end of March, and began writing Chapter One of the new science-fiction novel on April 1. As I mentioned a few days ago, I’ve made it a Camp NaNoWriMo project (National Novel Writing Month). My goal is 20,000 words in April, which comes out to about 667 words perContinue reading “Novel Progress”
Reading Challenge: the First Quarter
As of the end of March, I’ve read my way through the first quarter of the 2021 Goodreads reading challenge, and am actually a few books ahead right now. This is a challenge I’ve taken part in since 2015. You set your own goal for how many books you want to read each year. WhenContinue reading “Reading Challenge: the First Quarter”
Thursday 13: Thirteen Books
I just noticed a Facebook Memory from 2010. It was a “Thursday 13,” a meme that asks participants to make a list of thirteen things on Thursdays. I chose that day, eleven years ago today, to compile a list of the last thirteen books I’d read. (I specified then that I was not including booksContinue reading “Thursday 13: Thirteen Books”
