Review: Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

There’s a short story by Arthur C. Clarke called “The Nine Billion Names of God” which postulates that if you use computers to solve the mysteries of religion, things will go poorly for humanity. Kind of. In Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, author Robin Sloane has updated that idea into a full novel. This time, it’s a secret society of puzzle solvers looking for the code to decipher an ancient text which will lead to immortality. But the idea is basically the same, even if the ending is not. Continue reading “Review: Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore” →

The GOOD Friend

Shroud spring 2015Got a new piece of fiction published today in Shroud Magazine. It’s a tale of rock and roll, the price of fame and what you do for your friends. It’s a bit of an adult read, so keep it until after the kids go to bed.

You should head over to Amazon and download a copy, then leave a review, tell your friends and otherwise encourage some hot, talented writers.

And who knows, I might even write more.

Review: The Aviators: Eddie Rickenbacker, Jimmy Doolittle, Charles Lindbergh, and the Epic Age of Flight

The Aviators: Eddie Rickenbacker, Jimmy Doolittle, Charles Lindbergh, and the Epic Age of Flight
The Aviators: Eddie Rickenbacker, Jimmy Doolittle, Charles Lindbergh, and the Epic Age of Flight by Winston Groom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oh the things you thought you knew…

Winston Groom let’s you know in this incredibly well-researched book looking at the lives of three of aviation’s greatest heroes: Eddie Rickenbacker, Charles Lindbergh and Jimmy Doolittle. Continue reading “Review: The Aviators: Eddie Rickenbacker, Jimmy Doolittle, Charles Lindbergh, and the Epic Age of Flight” →

Review: Ex Machina

Ex machinaWhat makes us human?

This is a question long posed by science fiction literature and films and Ex Machina is the latest to take a stab at answering the unanswerable. The plot itself is simple. Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) is a programmer working for a Google-like search engine company called BlueBook. He wins a company wide lottery to spend a week at the home of company founder Nathan (Oscar Isaac). While there, he discovers he’s been set-up and the real purpose of his visit is to “test” an android, Ava (Alicia Vikander) to see if she truly possesses artificial intelligence. This is done through a series of interviews, where Caleb and Ava exchange nuance-heavy dialogue.  Continue reading “Review: Ex Machina” →

ARTS: Neil Gaiman on getting hooked on handwriting – Tulsa World: ARTS

ARTS: Neil Gaiman on getting hooked on handwriting – Tulsa World: ARTS.

Over the past few months I’ve gotten two beautiful fountain pens: One for Christmas and one as a “Thank You” for a favor done. I bought myself a nice case for the two of them and they live in my bag, for use when I need to sign things.

I also have a preponderance of journals and notebooks. I wonder if I should try this? It’d be an interesting experiment for sure. That said, my handwriting generally sucks. And when I had to take the GRE test the hardest thing to do was copy something out by hand.

But still… getting back to the old ways, at least for some things, might not be a bad way to go.

Review: Undrastormur

Undrastormur
Undrastormur by Roger Eschbacher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

With Undrastormur, Roger Eschbacher again ventures into the YA territory from his Dragonfriend series – well, not the same world but certainly aimed at the same demographic: Pre-teens just discovering their grown up fantasy worlds. Continue reading “Review: Undrastormur” →

Be Yourself, unless….

Thoughts for a Sunday MorningI know they’re jokes, but I recently had a weird, knee jerk reaction to those posts on social media saying “Be Yourself. Unless you can be Batman. Then always be Batman.” You can replace Batman with any number of other things, from pirates, to fairies, to unicorns to any of a multitude of other superheroes. I used to think these were funny.  Continue reading “Be Yourself, unless….” →

Podcasting…?

Old Timey MicSo I’m thinking about podcasts.

These are the democratization of ideas and thoughts, right? Anyone who thinks they have something to say has an open platform in which to say it. This is the digital version of Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park. It doesn’t really matter if you’re right or wrong, no one is fact checking outside of their choice to listen or not.

Like a blog, a podcast can have a specific point of view… or not. It can be published (is that even the right verb?) on a regular schedule…or not. It can make money for the people putting it out… or not. Continue reading “Podcasting…?” →

Learning

Thoughts for a Sunday MorningWhen I was younger (and maybe not so much younger) I tried to learn from everyone and everything around me. Tossed off comments by people who knew more than I did became like little nuggets of intellectual gold I would horde.

Lessons I was shown once, when it came to things I was interested in, would stay with me. These weren’t formal lessons, although I remember those as well. No, these were just bits of advice, tips and tricks, what the Internet today would call “Hacks.”  Continue reading “Learning” →

Awards…

V2 by Justė Kazbaraitytė
V2 by Justė Kazbaraitytė

So yesterday I won an award. Was nominated for four.

I was voted by the student body at Vytautas Magnus University a likely candidate to be the funniest professor, the best orator, best foreign professor and best all around professor. I took home the prize for Best Foreign Professor. This time around the award was a large hourglass which takes about a half hour to cycle through. Last year was an engraved globe and the year before a sculpture for the desk. Third year in a row I’ve won this particular prize. Continue reading “Awards…” →

DAVID • Think: Travel App-titude

David March 15DAVID • Think: Travel App-titude.

This month in David, I’m putting my vast knowledge of travel to the test when I give you my thoughts on some of the cool connection apps out there to cover all aspects of your trip.

In addition to my piece, there’s all sorts of great reads to be found between the covers.