All told, 2025 was a pretty good year. Not the best, far from the worst. It was the usual hectic mix of activities and travel, work and writing, and family and friends. Of the latter, the loss of my dear friend Peter David loomed large all year. We got a heads-up just days before he […]
Given events we both want to attend this coming weekend, Deb and I celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary this past weekend. We had a lovely steak dinner and took in Red Pitch, a marvelous play at the Olney Theatre. Over our meal, we talked about regrets and we each harbor some. In retrospect, ours are […]
2024 was a year without a major project on my To Do list. Part of that was because no one was asking for a major project and also, I had mentally reserved the summer to write something for myself. But, I think I put too much pressure on myself to do something grand this past […]
Over the course of any year, I find myself interviewed for various projects or just my career. Of late, thanks to a certain feature film, I have been busier than usual. I am happy to pormote projects, it’s part of the deal when you write something. And given how often peopel have made themsevles available […]
With each passing year, I struggle to find something new to say about losing Robbie. Yet, I can’t stop myself. Maybe when we get to the 20th, but I can’t let the 17th anniversary of his passing go unremarked. I watch as those named in his honor grow and thrive. At Shore Leave, the con […]
The summer has dwindled to a close. As you read this, today is the first day of my academic year. We have this week for meetings, prep, and freshmen orientation, with the students arriving on the 25th. In some ways, we saved the best for last by taking a two-week cruise at the end of […]
I dearly love attending the Baltimore Comic-Con, largely because it has been an annual reunion with former colleagues and old friends. With its attention squarely on comic books, it’s a chance to immerse myself in my first love, seeing what’s new and hearing the buzz. This year will be a little different as I will […]
Fifteen years ago this evening, our world grew smaller. Fifteen is a substantial chunk of time and has been weighing on me as the anniversary date of Robbie’s death approached. All the opportunities missed. Others in our world have died from leukemia; others have miraculously received bone marrow transfusions and survived. I begrudge them nothing, […]
I intended to write this before chaperoning a school trip to Germany but, well, life got in the way. Just prior to departing, I made sure to wach the earliest screening of The Flash to avoid spoilers. I figured it would generate conversation and maybe controversy. What I did not count on was it crashing […]
I find it hard to believe that we are more than halfway through the first quarter. Our classes began August 26 and the quarter ends on Oct. 21, so it’s barreling along. I am relieved to see everyone from freshmen to seniors are happy to be back in the building. They mostly do not complain […]
Another year in reading winds down as I finish the 217th book for 2020. Looking back, it was most certainly a varied year, more so than usual, it seems. The year began and almost ended with N.K. Jemisin. I plowed through her Shattered Earth trilogy in one consecutive go, taken by her worldbuilding and interesting […]
Most years, as I look back, it has been a sequence of events without an overarching theme. This year, of course, has been unusually awful thanks to the toxic combination of a global pandemic and the partisan divide during an election year. So, of course, it’s a leap year prolonging the suffering. ’ll be honest […]
I never expected 400 backers and reaching 248% of the goal when I launched the Kickstarter campaign for Thrilling Adventure Yarns in 2019. I just knew I loved the old pulp magazines and wanted to have fun with them, pay tribute to their influence on me as a reader. When the book debuted that summer, […]
I blog rarely about politics but now that the two weeks of conventions are thankfully in the past, we have nine weeks to make some important decisions. Showing the Democrats’ diversity was a strong visual theme throughout their four day convention. Both the Democrats and the Republicans put on their mercifully truncated shows, each speaking […]
On Friday, the academic year came to an end. Over the next few days we have a faculty meeting and have to finalize our grades. By Friday, after I head in to clean my classroom, I will have officially complete the year and my contract. While this is not my student, I get the impression […]
The other day, Deb commented that 32 seemed like a very adult age. Today, Robbie would have hit that milestone and once again, I wonder what he would be doing. Robbie with Kendra and Mary, two of the people ensuring he was kept busy and active while being treated. When he took ill, he was […]
Seven years ago today, we took possession of our current home. While we didn’t move in for another ten days, I see this as our formal arrival to Maryland. What the townhouse looks lie each Halloween. It still doesn’t feel like home. We had twenty years in Fairfield where we set down one root after […]
I like being home. I like my desk, my dog, my coffee. I have a ton of things to watch or read. Being home isn’t an issue for me. We’ve ventured out of the house to walk the dog 3-4 times a day, saying hi to neighbors, with everyone keeping a polite distance, although the […]
I have written very little over the last few months. Once the Flash: 100 Greatest book was put to bed, I have managed two short stories and my usual reviews and columns. The sixth 100 Greatest Moments book has been pushed on the schedule by the publisher so I should have time to do more […]
Word is that Amazon has begun delivering Batman: 100 Greatest Moments in advance of today’s publication. The review copies are out and I look forward to the commentary. I’ll say this: the book was a breeze to write and assemble compared with the other books. A large part of this has to do with my […]
Mike Friedman doesn’t think small. He has envisioned worldafter world and one of his most ambitious projects was an alternate history. Some years back, he wondered how mankind would have evolvedhad Pangaea, the super-continent, neve shattered into the seven continents weknow today. He did some research, did some wishful thinking, then invited hisfriends to come […]
I have been exceedingly quiet here on the blog but that does not mean I have been in stasis. There has actually been a lot going on but for a variety of reasons, I have put off writing anything for public consumption.The last few weeks has been filled with a lot of planning, both my […]
Thanks to the blizzard and the rapid advance of time, suddenly it is time for Farpoint. Once the little sibling to Shore Leave, the show has forged its own identity over the last few years. Small in size but packed with talent, the con is a relaxing and fun way to spend a weekend.My schedule […]
I enjoy worldbuilding. It probably has to do with growing up with the words “to seek new life forms and new civilizations…:” rattling in my head with great regularity.I loved playing with the DC Universe characters, helping reshape the universe in the wake of Crisis on Infinite Earths. I adored collaborating to craft new worlds […]