I am old enough to remember the furor that surrounded the publication of Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho back in 1991.  I hadn't seen a shitstorm like that since the release of Salman Rushdies' The Satanic Verses (and when the leader of Iran calls for your head, you know you've ruffled some feathers), but this one seemed even more bewildering ( Read more... )

During this long journey I have been on toward publication, a question has popped up over and over again, and I no longer have the ability to be polite in how it is answered.  I have been asked many times if I have ever thought of self-publishing something.  The answer, quite simply, is no.  And based on a story I read recently, it has become a ( Read more... )

I've had a love affair with video games from a very early age; I was the first kid on my block to give away the secret of being able to deal two shots at once on the Atari 2600 version of Space Invaders (hold down the reset button as you power the game up, then release), and we've done a lazy, happy dance ever since.  My tastes have changed over ( Read more... )

One of my favorite shows on television is NBC's Parenthood, which makes one of only two programs I watch on that network, the other being the criminally underrated and as my wife pointed out, my favorite show on TV, Friday Night Lights.  I like Parenthood because I dug the movie it was based on, the plots run fairly realistically and it also has ( Read more... )

This year I feel like I made a lot of progress on the writing front, specifically when it comes to submitting.

Before, my modus operandi was to submit to a place, get rejected, be deeply depressed for the rest of the day/week, throw all thoughts of submission aside for anywhere from three weeks to a couple months, then sigh, suck it up and go ( Read more... )

Apparently, outlines are for literary pussies only ( Read more... )

The Sunday afternoon NFL game between the visiting Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders will be blacked out locally, in accordance with the NFL's dunderheaded rule that states a team which does not sell out the home game 72 hours before kickoff will not have that game broadcast in a 75 mile radius of the stadium where it takes places. For ( Read more... )

Michael Vick has been reinstated by the NFL.  Well, sort of.  It is now time for the great bleating to begin; this is where a large amount of people who should know otherwise start a vast chorus of moaning and wailing about the inherent unfairness of the NFL justice system.  How terrible it is, they'll say, that this man who has dutifully served ( Read more... )

Our neighbors across the street suck.

I know, I know.  That's not being positive.  That's hurtful.  That's making a blanket statement about people who are all unique snowflakes, all of which are God's creatures and each brings something special to this world we live in.  It's a close-minded statement.

I repeat: our neighbors across the street suck.

( Read more... )

The weekend was great.

The game... eh, not so much.

I should start off by stating for the record that we didn't really have any illusions about this game.  The Colorado Rockies are currently the hottest team in baseball, and the A's... well, we love our A's.  Even when they do the baseball equivalent of knocking us down a flight of stairs.  In case ( Read more... )