My DAVID Years | David Magazine

Wow…100 issues go by so fast. With very few exceptions, my words appear in each and every issue, and in this latest one, I get to reflect on that journey. In My DAVID Years, I make reference to a number of pieces I’ve written over the years, most of which can be found either in the David Archives online or right here on this very blog.

Of course, I’d be completely remiss if I didn’t mention Monika, who not only provided a name for one of the pieces but who is often my table-mate while sitting at various coffee shops writing these things.

Review: Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven

36639163FantasticLand by Mike Bockoven
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book had such potential.

The basic premise, that a storm wipes out contact with the skeleton crew of a Disney-esque amusement park, who then revert to literal tribalism and savagery fits in well with today’s YS dystopias and the tagline of “Lord of the Flies” meets “Battle Royale” is fairly accurate. Continue reading “Review: Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven” →

A few important rules to teach your daughters*

Feeding birdsI stole this list from my friend Steve, who is the father of two girls and a boy. It’s a good place to start. I might add more as I learn more or delete some which I disagree with as time goes on. I might even change the order of importance as Monki comes into her own, but it’s certainly a place to at least open the discussions. Continue reading “A few important rules to teach your daughters*” →

Alice by Christina Henry

28832674Alice by Christina Henry
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Okay…not sure how to talk about this.

First, the biggest problem is the characters are never in any real danger, they defeat the enemies much too easily and there’s never anything at stake beyond physical harm, which, as stated, was never going to be a thing. There’s no depth to Alice and when we finally get Hatcher’s backstory, it doesn’t affect him in the present. Continue reading “Alice by Christina Henry” →

Stan Lee (1922-2018)

Well, True Believers, the time finally came. a month before his 96th birthday, Stan Lee passed away. Down the Tubes has a couple of nice pieces: In Memorium by Alan Woollcombe and Tim Quinn’s piece “How to be a Hero.” Both of these pieces, as well as many others, recount Lee’s history, his start as a teenager working for Timely Comics (which became Marvel), and how he, as no one else ever had, came to personify the field and the artform. Buzz Dixon, in particular, speaks of the man and his problematic relationship with the industry Continue reading “Stan Lee (1922-2018)” →

These Maps Reveal the Hidden Structures of ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ Books – Atlas Obscura

I’ve long been fascinated by Choose Your Own Adventure books. For a long time, I had, if not the complete run, almost all of them. I even have a few ideas to write and update them for the 21st century, but the structure of them has always been a mystery (despite some interesting articles on how to write them). Now, thanks to Atlas Obscura, that’s been sorted. With the article These Maps Reveal the Hidden Structures of ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ Books anyone can make sense of how these books are put together. Maybe in 2019, I’ll get around to writing one…or two.

November 1 – National Author’s Day

So evidently, today, November 1, is NATIONAL AUTHOR’S DAY. While I didn’t even know that was a thing, I’m totally down with celebrating it! So in honor of all my friends who are writers already and those who aspire. Those who are starting NaNoWriMo today and those who write daily, I salute you all! Continue reading “November 1 – National Author’s Day” →

7 Fake Words That Ended Up in the Dictionary | Mental Floss

I love words. I love etymologies and origins and how things got to mean what they mean today and how that has changed from what they meant yesterday or last week. Over at Mental Floss, they have this article, 7 Fake Words That Ended Up in the Dictionary, which now has me asking the obvious question: if a “fake word” ends up in the dictionary, does that not, by definition, make it a real word? And if so, can we bring these words into everyday parlance? If not, what’s to say that any word is “real?” Remember those lists of words we should “bring back?” Maybe those are fake, too?

Candy corn: Halloween’s most contentious sweet, explained – Vox

People have been loving — and loving to hate — the tricolored candy for more than a century. Vox’s piece, Candy corn: Halloween’s most contentious sweet, explained, gives you the rundown and history of this, one of my top five all-time favorite candy treats (Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are far and away the front-runner with a few others like Twix and Whatchamacallit in there for good measure – straight up chocolate bars are in their own category). And just to keep things even, here’s Atlas Obscura on the subject.

A Day in Spain spent Mainly on the Plane – Aga-Boom in Barcelona October 2018

Aga-Boom BillboardThe theme for my weekend getaway with Aga-Boom was “Late.”

Here’s how it all went down: Continue reading “A Day in Spain spent Mainly on the Plane – Aga-Boom in Barcelona October 2018” →