This past weekend I once again took the six hour train trip to Eastern Victoria, this time for my friend Billie's 30th birthday party. That was fun but I came here to write book reviews. In fact, on my return trip she gave me back all the books I had loaned her to read, having read them, so I returned like a mobile library with six books in my ( Read more... )

The Original Series   Hark! Last night I achieved a cultural accomplishment 66 hours in the making! I have watched the entire Star Trek Original Series. As a fan of science fiction I'd felt for awhile like it was something I should do. I fondly remember watching The Next Generation in the 90s. Since that time I haven't been as fond of the later ( Read more... )

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   I found another really interesting historic travelogue. In 1795 Scotsman Mungo Park (is Mungo a Scottish name??) traveled for 18 months in West Africa through what is now Gambia, Senegal and Mali (right around Guinea where I've spent time), he wrote about it, not in overwrought flowing descriptions but with a keenly observant eye. Where every ( Read more... )

   As you may have gathered, the latest direction I've taken my quixotic quest for writing validation is in trying to get some travel writing published. In my search for places that might accept something, I determined that the Los Angeles Times travel section seemed to beat out almost anywhere else, offering $200 - $750 for 1300 word travel ( Read more... )