I’ve recently finished reading the first three books of the Earthsea set. I’m impressed with, among many good qualities, how certain mythical stories underlie each of the books.
In the Wizard of Earthsea, I detect a pattern similar to many knight’s tales of the 12th and 13th century romantic period. They are generally episodic, [...]

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The best thing about the Sci Fi Channel’s version of Earthsea was that it prompted me to reread Ursula K. LeGuin’s originals. They shine. Sci Fi version blobs along as if a half inch of good coffee had been smothered in whip dream. (Yeah, I wrote “dream.”) The coffee is the [...]

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I like Seanet, a small, local service provider for my internet/web access. I’ve preferred them for two reasons 1) They aren’t a huge conglomerate; and 2) their tech help guys are really helpful–I’ve even consulted them about issues with my internet hardware that aren’t actually Seanet’s responsibility.
Recently, I’ve been getting traffic surcharges on my [...]

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In response to my report of the Cranky Pro, a friend of mine wondered why so many fiction writers seem to be self-involved or cantankerous when one meets them in person. I’ve noticed this too, among the aspirants of writers’ groups and among the ranks of big names. One would think that, in [...]

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Last week I had my first temp assignment with Woods and Associates. I replaced a receptionist at a law office. As it happened the regular receptionist is a man called Allen. I did well, picking up the job quickly. One of the lawyers joked about fungible Alans. (The meaning of fungible [...]

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The theory of government in a representative democracy is that elected representatives will serve the best interest of the people. The government, guided by these representatives, is the power of the people, able to curb and counteract the power of interest groups, such as corporations and organized religions. In fact, it is the [...]

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Hurricane Katrina - Our Experiences.
By Paramedics Larry Bradshaw and Lorrie Beth Slonsky. A moving account of human cooperation in the midst of disaster and callus police action.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/090805A.shtml

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A few months back, I found 2nd Speech Center, a program that converts text into spoken words. The free version is usable, but lacks a wide variety of voices. I found I wanted more voices and the cost of the full program was reasonable ($39.95), so I bought it.
Now I have my [...]

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A friend of mine is currently in Houston, waiting out the flood damage in New Orleans. It sounds like he has a long wait. The news I hear now is that it will be a month before power and water are restored to the City. How many people lived in New Orleans? [...]

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