Blog
Can we make Musetta a saint?
OK, it's sort of old news, but according to Galleycat, the "I Can Haz Cheezburger" guy, Martin Grodin, has a book deal. What is new is that he's created an open source site for people who want to create a LOLCats Bible and publish it. For all those scholarly LOL...
Amphibimania, part 2!
Another cool frog story! You know I love my frogs and toads!So, if this dude (Barbourula kalimantanensis) had a fight with the giant toad (Beelzebufo), who would win? What if the fight was in the water, so Beelzebufo couldn't come up for air?
David Simon on the birth of “The Wire”
From the same Boston Phoenix blog, or "phlog," this tidbit from Kafka's letters, about housebreaking his cat:“How hard it is to arrive at an understanding with an animal on this question. There seem to be only misunderstandings, for the cat knows, through blows and...
Kitty hypnosis
Why do I suddenly find myself craving Greenies?
O tempore, o mores
I love the New York Times. This story, for one example, almost makes up for the front page, above- the- fold headline, "When Foreigners by the Factory." (This has already been corrected on the electronic version, so I can't show it, but it ran.)oh yeah, and it's...
Process, process, process
How do you write?I don't outline, really, but I do have a synopsis (partly because my editor demands one) and I usually start a book with a broad overview of how the story will go in my head. Despite these, I usually just sort of write, letting my characters sort...
Fenway hawk update
When a redtailed hawk attacked a 13-year-old at Fenway Park last night, it made a big splash in the local news. (The young woman is ok, the talons scratched her scalp and she was treated but it doesn't sound like there was any serious damage.) Turns out, the hawk was...
The real cost of pets
Hmm... I understand the point of this New York Times article on the costs of having a pet. The writer is trying to alert folks on a budget about the often overlooked expenses of living with an animal. Or she just got a copy of the 2008 APPMA pet products trend report...
Why cozies? A guest blog by Diana Vickery
Diana Vickery runs the great Cozy Library and she and I have been talking about the merits of the so-called cozy, or traditional, mystery. I posted my own Defense of the Cozy a few months back. Here is her take.Why do I read cozy? A more fundamental question is “Why...
Dinner and a motivation
So, we had our buddy Chris over last night for lamb stew and "John Adams" on HBO, but of course we were all talking about our latest projects. Jon, my husband, is learning violin and has now been playing one year. Chris couldn't make his recital, so Jon reprised his...