I drove MBW and the HA south to Corpus Christi for the weekend. I like to get out of town for my birthday, out of the country when I get the opportunity. But this year we stayed in the States. We arrived at our hotel on Thursday afternoon only to discover that the swimming pool… Continue reading Corpus Christi Beach Weekend and a Birthday
Category: Travel
An Unconventional Convention
MBW, the HA, and I packed into the car on Thursday and headed northeast. Destination: ConFinement VI. We reached Louisiana by mid-morning and hit Mississippi by the afternoon. I didn’t want to subject the family to a thirteen hour run, so holed up for the night at roughly the midway point: Hattiesburg, MS. We had… Continue reading An Unconventional Convention
Near Term Event: ConFinement VI
I will be attending ConFinement VI, February 28-March 2. I’m scheduled for a panel on Friday. We’ll see if I’ll sit in on any others. If any readers are the Nashville, TN area that weekend, see if you can grab a membership. Drop by and say hello. ConFinement is a small gathering of — primarily… Continue reading Near Term Event: ConFinement VI
A Long Expected Party
My grandmother celebrated her centennial on Friday. It isn’t precisely eleventy-one years, but it is an impressive span nonetheless. And she is still chugging along. MBW, the HA, and I jetted off from Casa Lizzi to San Diego. We shared a rented house in the SD suburb of La Mesa with my mother and sister.… Continue reading A Long Expected Party
A Galveston Thanksgiving
Once again the day of thankfulness and overeating arrived. I spent this one with MBW and the HA in Galveston. We rented a room in a mansion in the historic district. Wednesday featured a visit to a used bookstore (from which I was at length pried away by MBW) and a distillery. Thursday consisted of… Continue reading A Galveston Thanksgiving
Jaunt to San Antonio
The summer break draws to a close. The HA returns to school tomorrow. I took her and MBW to San Antonio for a short trip. We’d been to Six Flags before (though the HA does not remember any of it.) This time we spent several hot, footsore hours at Sea World. Getting soaked has never… Continue reading Jaunt to San Antonio
Old Stomping Grounds, Part 2
My sojourn continues, this last week primarily in or adjacent to Portland. I left behind my relatives house in the forested hills, taking MBW and the HA to the airport early in the morning. But not before taking a couple of pictures of uninvited visitors the evening before. I took a hotel room in Southwest… Continue reading Old Stomping Grounds, Part 2
Old Stomping Grounds, Part 1.
I’m spending a couple of weeks in the area I lived most of my many, many years. MBW and the HA preceded me by almost a week. (It was to have been a full week, but that unwelcome visit from Beryl set back the departure a day.) I will be dropping them off at the… Continue reading Old Stomping Grounds, Part 1.
Oron, Heavy Metal Noise.
David C. Smith’s Oron is a stripped down, dark epic fantasy. The scope is, perhaps, too broad to call this sword and sorcery, but that may be a quibble. The tropes are all in place, the bloody battles, swordplay, evil demonic sorcerers, nubile queens and slave girls, mercenaries, feasts, and more than a trace of… Continue reading Oron, Heavy Metal Noise.