It’s the day after Labor Day, when kid cameos are on everyone’s Instagram feed. Because I fundamentally believe the human condition is that of a word-soaked meat sponge plus incidentals, I’ll share my son’s homework assignment instead. I cannot get over this kid. The first day of school was soaked with rain, but three kids… Continue reading We now return to
Author: Matt
A pause
Clouds over the parking lot, Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex, Trenton. (Not shown: The parking lot. You should thank me.) I’m on vacation until Labor Day. I know this thing hasn’t been around long enough to become appointment reading for anybody, but I’ll declare a pause if only as an implicit declaration of intent to… Continue reading A pause
Pearl
Pearl, by Brian Michael Bendis & Michael Gaydos. I ended up choosing an image that highlights the art rather than the writing — in an alternate universe, this post has a two-page spread where the Endo twins go back and forth about Rumor Endo’s idée fixe of a “porn mall.” If your library system offers… Continue reading Pearl
The Parable of Jani Lane
I mean who in the Year of Our Lord 2022 is going to disagree with a blog post that says “Reject the Algorithm” — but Nick Maggiuli still offers a nice read w/r/t the case for rejecting the algorithm. I mean it’s absolutely a return to the sort of “cream rises to the top” magical… Continue reading The Parable of Jani Lane
Life, finding a way
Rogue tomato plants by the compost, August 2022. I assume these will get eaten by a deer or, in the limit, killed by autumn before they produce anything. But it’s nice to see a random bit of life take root where nobody meant it to.
The rule of three
“So how are your new roly-poly friends?” he asked. “And the skittery ones?” “Very technologically advanced. They like small babies, and Dinar’s jam, and taking apart gas giants to use as construction material.” A HALF-BUILT GARDEN, by Ruthanna Emrys Cory Doctorow has a great review of this book at Pluralistic; the one thing I’d call… Continue reading The rule of three
Discovering what’s always been
Since I started working in Trenton, I’ve noticed these on the side of the highway for the first time — blue flowers growing on stalks a foot or two high. Once I started looking, I found them everywhere. I think they’re chicory. I visited my brother in the Chicago suburbs this summer and was surprised… Continue reading Discovering what’s always been
There are no objective metrics
Kristine Kathryn Rusch has a post up today on “How Writers Fail”; the topic is “competition.” Specifically, the thesis is that viewing yourself as competing with other writers will tend to provide excuses not to write, because there’s always a worse writer doing better than you. If you’re competing against someone less skilled and they… Continue reading There are no objective metrics
That story is not the story I’m telling today.
“That Story Isn’t the Story,” John Wiswell, Uncanny Magazine.
To every path its season
I’ve written before about how lifting is good practice for writing: It teaches you the value of consistency and incremental progress, it shows you how long it really doesn’t take to do more than you ever thought you could when you began. I’ve written a number of books, rarely on more than 1000 words a… Continue reading To every path its season