Season of Lights - Why We Throw Winter Festivals
Christmas. Yule. Kwanzaa. Why do we, as humans, insist on throwing a winter festival...whether its religious or not. The answer is actually pretty...
Another Trip to London
Review: Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch I think Ben Aaronovitch grew up on a council estate. Or lived on one. Nobody else could write this decidedly...
Happy Solstice!
I figure that one’s safe! Happy whatever winter holiday you celebrate. I actually do have something to celebrate - my story “Foundling” has been purchased...
A Little Bit Wicked - and a Spider
Wynonna Earp 1.6 "Constant Cravings." Oh dear. There's a cannibal around. Wynonna has killed five of the specific seven revenants she wants dead, but one of...
Is The Three Musketeers Genre Fiction? Dumas, Pulp, and Maybe Even Superheroes
In 1844, French author Alexandre Dumas published the first of the d'Artagnan Romances - the Three Musketeers. He wrote in collaboration with his longterm...
London Calling
Review: Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch I almost DNF'd this...and the rest of the series...on page 6. Pro tip, Aaronovitch, saying somebody's speech...
Purgatory?
Wynonna Earp 1.1 "Purgatory" I was very much a Buffy fan. I can't rewatch it now I know just how much of a jerk Whedon is. Wynonna Earp is very much in that...
Aroo? Where Do Werewolves Come From
Werewolves - a staple of horror and paranormal romance, and one of the things Hollywood is worst at (Seriously, is there a curse that keeps anyone from doing...
And Now For Something Completely Different...
Review: Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson Book five concludes the first arc, with an apocalypse. Roshar is not going to, can’t, go back to the way it was...
Its Winter, At Least Today
There’s a bit of snow today, although it hasn’t stuck on things like roads and sidewalks. So, of course, I went out in it. Some Christmas shopping…everything...
Ancient Egyptian...Runes. Also, Spiders
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man 1.1 "Amazing Fantasy" I'm a bit of a connoisseur of Spider-Man shows. This one starts...iffy. Changing Peter's origin...
What's the Most Intelligent Animal on the Planet, Other Than Us?
Scientists ask this question all the time. For a long time it was assumed to be our closest living relative, Pan troglodytus, more commonly known as the...
Songs and Magic
Review: Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson Another "out take" of sorts. I assume we will be seeing a lot more of Rysn. Sanderson does a good job of writing a...
Philcon Roundup!
So, Philcon went well. Thanks to everyone on my panels…you all behaved yourselves except for the occasional losing track of how long you were talking for,...
Messy Endings
The Handmaid's Tale 6.8 "Exodus" Do they manage to blow up the Commanders? No. But what they do manage is to empty the Red Center and free, for now, all of...
Getting from A to B - the Human Importance of Roads
I am recalling a trip I took with my husband to Britain, one of many. I told him we were on one of the oldest roads he had ever walked on. It was a ridgeway....
Dancing the Winds
Review: Edgedancer by Brandon Sanderson I don't often review novellas, but I'm trying to get in the entire series so far, and it felt a little unfair not to...
At Philcon
Picture is for pony tax, because why not. This is a queued post - I’m at Philcon getting ready to moderate a ton of panels. Fortunately, I love it almost as...
Aliens and Fun Fairs
The Avengers 2.22 "Man in the Mirror" This episode is creepy, because it involves a fun fair. It's another one I actually remember watching from my...
Chasing Balls Around - Do All Humans Play Ball?
It sometimes seems likely. I just read an article on the revival of pok-ta-pok - the pre-Columbian ballgame (That did not actually involve sacrificing...