111321c

I was inspired recently to write some reviews of adaptive equipment, so here goes.

Shortly after my accident (2003; I'm a quad) I was given a cuff. It wraps around the middle of my hand, crossing palm and back, and has a slot for the back end of a bent spoon or fork. The business end of the utensil protrudes between thumb and forefinger at a very convenient angle. I used cuffs for years, but they cost more than I think they should, and I discovered that I don't need them. I still prefer bent cutlery, but I wedge the utensils between forefinger and middle finger. I hold them in position with my thumb. I can eat nearly as easily with unbent spoons. Straight forks are only easy with soft food. Considering that the cuffs cost $13 plus shipping in 2003, I'm not going back.

032221b

 

all heck breaks loose

subterranean empire

makes its play

 

 

The Breaking Earth, Keith Laumer

061720c

The muffin man, thought he was a man, but he was a muffin, Zappa said. It's hard to picture this guy riding a bike, or reaching the pedals of a car. And any time he went outside the birds would mob him. When his wife came home, she'd find nothing but a crumpled paper in the driveway. Not even a crumb to bury.

010120c

The Max Carrados stories by Ernest Bramah are wonderful. Early 20th century, blind detective, readily available used in reprint editions. Maybe better than the Kai Lung books. Carrados has heightened senses like a Marvel superhero, and is as smart and knowledgeable as Holmes.

110719

Yesterday (Nov. 6), the house painter, who has done nothing for five weeks and almost nothing for two months, called and wanted to finish the job this morning. And get the last part of his fee. I had just two days ago lined up somebody else to do the last part of the work, but I will tell him never mind if the original contractor, a guy named Fredrick Micken, actually does finish. I have serious doubts, but however this turns out I will definitely let you know.

Update: The job was started in late July, and finished in Nov. 27, 3 weeks after his last promise to do it right away. 4 months to paint a house and build a ramp. They probably spent one month on the actual work.

061819e

A new review of Entanglement, a book of collaborative SF poetry by me and Kendall Evans. Entanglement has been nominated for an Elgin this year.

http://www.songsoferetz.com/

070918b

Just saw a beautiful review of Metastable Systems in  the forthcoming issue of Star*line. They say that favorable reviews do not increase sales, but they sure make you feel good. I also have several poems  coming out in that same issue.

122217d

A perfect present for me

This year, my wife put me in charge of choosing and buying presents from her to me. It made sense, for several reasons. I would get to it sooner and it would avoid problems connected with her misunderstanding what I wanted. So I got to would a little late, but I got my Hanukkah present yesterday, one day after the last day of Hanukkah. It was My Crowd, by Charles Addams. This book is a coffee table book of cartoons, most of which were from the New Yorker, reproduced at large size. most of these were actually printed at a size larger than the artist intended (most of his published cartoons that I have seen or reproduced at a size smaller than he intended). Consequently, they look best held at arm's length, which is less than ideal. if you hold the book closer, you see individual brushstrokes creating faces and other elements of the cartoons. On the plus side, I noticed quite a few details in these pictures that I had not seen when I looked at these cartoons in other places (for instance, the CD accompanying the book containing all of the cartoons from the New Yorker, from 1925 through 2004, which I strongly recommend). these details included small faces peering down at the action and architectural details of the Addams family's incredible house. There was one cartoon that I have never seen before, but unfortunately it is not one of his best. I am an Addams family completist; if I was not, I might have been disappointed with this book. If you don't have very many of his books, and especially if your vision isn't that great, this one is a good choice.

I don't have anywhere near all of his books. I have a really big fat white hardback, I forget the name. I have three of those little mustard colored paperbacks, which reproduce the cartoons at a very small size, and which I think were reprints of larger editions. Even though I want to have all of his books, I have made no serious effort to complete my collection. By contrast, I think I have everything by Walt Kelly except a few of the comics from the 40s, the Pogo songbook, and songs of the Pogo. I think those were two different books, but I am no singer and just wasn't very interested. I think I have everything connected with the Far Side, except for the animated TV movie (I don't know if one can get that anywhere; I couldn't find it on YouTube). I think I have all of the Sylvia books by Nicole Hollander. I know I don't have all of the pearls before swine books, Calvin and Hobbes, or the Tom tomorrow books. I need to work on that.

121817c

Did you know that Charles Addams, who invented the Addams family, did a version of Mother Goose? I sure didn't, but I have ordered a copy. I will review it here. I wonder if it is anything like Chaosium's "Call of Cthulhu for beginning readers," which is a truly awesome book. if you know of any others of this ilk, please comment.

120117d

Review of Pho Town

So, last week, I read on the newspaper's web site that a new Vietnamese restaurant had opened in Tuscaloosa. It is in a new upscale shopping center close to our house. Sunday we went to try it out. Couldn't find it! I swear they didn't have their sign up yet, cos I went back Thursday and you can't miss the big white sign. (Parenthetically, I remember when that place was a field of grass.) Anyway...

We checked it out tonight. The dining room is not small, and we got the only empty table. The place was mostly full of middle-aged couples and young people on dates (Caucasians). Unless I'm much mistaken, though, there were a few Vietnamese diners. It's always a good sign if an ethnic restaurant appeals to folks who grew up with the cuisine.

Tuscaloosa did once have a small restaurant owned by a Vietnamese guy (a nice little Japanese place is there now), but it's been a while. I first had Vietnamese food in Toronto, and have been missing it.

I got a medium-sized bowl of Pho with seafood. I could not finish it. I'm getting a small next time! It was very tasty, fresh, and there's nothing else like it in Tuscaloosa. Sheila had some kind of pasta with shrimp. She liked it, but couldn't finish it either. She agrees with me: we're going back. Also, we had spring rolls (fresh, not fried). Delicious! They contain basil, always a plus, and many other goodies. I had Thai milk tea. Much too sweet for me. I'll try something else next time.

The wait staff were attentive, though very busy. The restaurant would benefit from having someone to greet customers as they walk in the door. It was hard for us to spot the one table that was free. In fact, one of the waiters helped us or we wouldn't have!

The menu is pretty extensive, so I'll report again after we try some more offerings. The prices are pretty reasonable. Our bill was less than $35.

If you want to find Pho Town, it is in Midtown (on MacFarland Blvd.), on the back side of the northern block of stores (the one with Panera on the SE corner). They have a website.

090417e

                                  Metastable Systems

I have a new book of spec poetry, Metastable Systems, out now (ISBN-13: 978-1-936021-57-4). If you want a pdf copy for potential review, let me know. Also, please tell me where your reviews are usually published.

This is a full-length book, including both unpublished poems and reprints.

You can get a pdf from me for $3 to jopnquog@gmail.com at paypal. Various digital versions available on Smashwords for $2.99 (https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/760901); print copies $13 from me, postpaid.

David

My Books That Are Still Available

the egg show, speakeasy press, poetry, 2005, ISBN 0-9762962-0-9 ($40, entirely handmade including the paper) http://www.speakeasypress.com/folded/foldedeggshow.html

Nursery Rhyme Noir, Sam's Dot publishing, short fiction, 2008, 978-09821068-3-9, 2nd printing, http://store.albanlake.com/ and Smashwords

Brushfires, Sam's Dot publishing, poetry, 2010 http://store.albanlake.com/ and Smashwords

The Tin Men (with Kendall Evans), Sam's Dot, poetry, 2011 http://store.albanlake.com/

The Edible Zoo, Sam's Dot, children's poetry, 2012, available from author, jopnquog@gmail.com at paypal ($10)

Luminous Worlds, Dark Regions Press, poetry, 2013, ISBN 978-1-937128-92-0, Dark Regions, also amazon.com

SETI Hits Paydirt, Popcorn Press, poetry, 2014, Popcorn Press, also amazon.com

Gods and Monsters, Popcorn Press, flash fiction, 2015, Popcorn Press, also amazon.com

Metastable Systems, Diminuendo Press, poetry, 2017, ISBN-13: 978-1-936021-57-4, from me (see above)

072117b

Reread the first Amber pentalogy by Zelazny last week. Still a great pleasure, tho each time the dearth of important roles for women annoys me. A young woman would have to imagine herself as Corwin to really enjoy it.

Now I am reading Nevernight, by Jay Kristoff. Looks like a man's name, but viewpoint character is a woman. An assassin-in-training. omniscient narrator explains her peculiar world in footnotes. this approach is working so far. stay tuned

A review of "The Edible Zoo"

I just discovered this review of my children's poetry book The Edible Zoo. It compares the book to the writing of Dr. Seuss

http://www.writersforum.org/news_and_reviews/review_archives.html/article/2012/12/17/the-edible-zoo

For those who don't know, The Edible Zoo consists of poems I wrote for my children and niecephews (11 in number), beginning when the eldest was about two years old. Earlier (and shorter) editions of this book were photocopied and distributed to my young relatives. Half a dozen copies of those early editions were sold to other people.

You can buy The Edible Zoo directly from me. $9 postpaid via PayPal from jopnquog@gmail.com.

SF novel - book review

Children of the Comet

Donald Moffitt

This book reminds me of "Orphans In The Sky," not so much because of the plot, although it features a colony ship that cannot exceed light speed. It is more the look and feel of mid-20th century conquer the galaxy-ness. It's a much more positive view of the future than in "Orphans," that dystopian treat. "Children of the Comet" has plenty of struggle and strife, but the good guys come out okay in the end. In other words, you could give this book to a 10-year-old, maybe an 8-year-old.

In another way the book is like Poul Anderson's classic "Tau Zero." In the near future we learn to build ships that can pretty rapidly approach speed of light and therefore take advantage of time dilation. We learn this from a couple of small expository lumps. Most of the action takes place billions of years in our future. Giant trees have seeded the Oort cloud, and humans living there too. We have also colonized other galaxies. Now, sometime dilated humans are coming back to solve system. The stars are billions of years older, but the humans have only lived a few decades. When the tree dwellers meet the space travelers things start to really get interesting.

The animals and plants are charming and well thought out. The times and speeds probably are completely impossible, but they seem plausible the way that Moffitt writes about them. The people and their interactions are excellently done. This is one of the strong points of the book.

I already cheated and told to that it has a happy ending, but there's plenty of excitement on the way.

And I did think of the integral trees; he borrowed the same concept that Niven used.

Footprints in Stone update

Reviews of Footprints in Stone.


There are two 5-star reviews of Footprints in Stone on Amazon. I would be overjoyed if anybody else who reads the book also reviews it.

https://www.amazon.com/Footprints-Stone-Fossil-Coal-Age-Tetrapods/dp/0817358447/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469797628&sr=1-1&keywords=%22footprints+in+stone%22


Not exactly a review, this article about the site showcases the book.

http://alabamanewscenter.com/2016/07/22/footprints-in-stone-fossils-of-coal-age-animals-attract-global-visitors/


Announcement about upcoming signing at the Alabama Museum of Natural History:

http://almnh.ua.edu/


The video about the site and about the book is once again online:

http://www.lightscameraalabama.com/secure/videopages/stone.html

071016

A reprinted review

Miller, Ron, 2014, The Art of Space, Zenith Press, ISBN 978-0-7603-4656-3, hardback, 224 pages, 350 color photos, $35.

The latest speculative fiction coffee-table book is mostly art, I guess on the theory that most people don't read the words in coffee-table books anyway. My wife, the artist, wouldn't like this book: she likes to read the words too. I, on the other hand, am often perfectly happy flipping through to the next illustration. In The Art of Space you don't have to flip far. There are more color illustrations than pages by quite a lot. The book's coverage starts back in the 19th century and goes until I'm not sure when, but at least into the 80s. The pictures are reproduced at a comfortable size, so the reader can really appreciate why they were chosen for the book. [For those who want explanations, they're here. They are wit's very soul.]

The title, The Art of Space, is something of a misnomer. Many of the paintings and drawings depict astronomical objects, but most come from works of science fiction. The first illustrated page involves astronomy alone, but the next includes a moon base and a space station. So, this is space, but not the space you will find on the NASA website (another thing you should check out, but I digress).

I can criticize the choices Miller made about which artists to lift up and affirm. Chesley Bonestell of course deserves a place of honor, but what about Kelly Freas? In the 60s, when I started reading grown-up SF, he was everywhere! His cartoony covers were my introduction to space art, not the super realistic paintings that Chesley Bonestell had made a generation earlier. If that doesn't tell you right there that I was reading my father's copies of Analog magazine at the age of 10, you know it now. Other artists of space include John Schoenherr, and I don't think any of his work made it into this compilation. But The Art of Space is a comprehensive book, the fact that he covers the field pretty well while ignoring several artists that I'm familiar with, just shows you how many people were doing high-quality work.

The pages are thick and glossy, a more than suitable medium for the reproduction of magazine and book covers. I think if your drunk holiday guests spill beer on this book it won't be ruined. Tthat is no small benefit.

My favorites are the views of worlds from the surfaces of their satellites. These were early Bonestell masterpieces and they made his reputation. These make it easy to visualize living in space. Even the ones that don't contain any science of human habitation. I also really enjoy the brief section on aliens. Many artists have painted aliens, some well and some not so well. A small section near the end of the book doesn't really do this field justice. However the aliens that have been chosen, including many of the ultra-detailed creatures painted by Wayne Barlowe, make this part of the book a showcase of what can be done, and has been.

I need to hurry up and finish writing this review. I want to give my copy of the book to my 12-year-old nephew. He has the science bug, and I have just about infected him with the science fiction bug as well.

Take a look at this book's price. $35 for a thick, sturdy, beautiful showcase just can't be beat. If you don't want the book for yourself, buy it for your nephew or your niece. You will be the favorite aunt or uncle this year!

1

A reprinted review

Treasure from an Erstwhile Millennium

Garey, Terry A., 1991, Time Frames, Rune Press, ISBN 0960265620, hardback, 98 pages, nearly 100 poems, $15 including shipping from the editor at 3149 Park Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55407.

So, Terry Garey and I were talking about speculative poetry anthologies of yesteryear, and she mentioned that she had edited one called Time Frames almost 25 years ago. It was published by Rune Press, and come to find out there is a box of them still available. I was writing speculative poetry then, but I was not yet "with it" and I never saw this book. So it's great news for me and everybody else who didn't read this book when it came out, that it is still available. It's eminently readable and contains science and speculative poetry by Robert Frazier, Ruth Berman, Geoffrey Landis, John C. Rezmerski, and Ann K. Schwader, and others. Most of the poems have only appeared in this book, so the only ones you've seen are the ones that were nominated for the Rhysling award that year, or later included in collections by some of these fine poets. Most of the poems I had never seen. Terry chose a relatively small number of poets so that she could include multiple poems from each of them, really showcase what they could do. I think it was quite successful. It wasn't so much that you were following a train from one station to the next but that you were exploring a city. Things fit together, but indirectly. Some of these people are no longer writing speculative poetry, but most of them are still at the forefront of our field. Here's a way to find out what they were doing in 1991.

We begin with Ruth Berman; here is a sample from "Nick Chopper the Tin Woodman"

She turned and caught him

Round the tin waist

Pressing close the comfort

Of her sweetheart

Who had loved her

Although he lost his heart

And turned to tin.

His visits slowed –

The witch kept closer watch

Feeling a premonition of some ill wind blowing –

And he forgot.

Reading this book is how I discovered that Geoffrey Landis sometimes writes sword and sorcery and that John Grey can write speculative poetry that isn't horror. He's good at it too. From “Photographing the Sun"

They say just once

I should look up,

select my stones from that sky's

shameless worship of color,

the foamy exuberance of a

million liberated wildflowers

cracking through its

floating reefs of coral clouds,

Ann K Schwader is represented here by a number of poems, including "For Omega Dreamers" of which this is a part

Rereading earth burned white between the covers

of novel after deathdream, do not wonder

at strangelove's labors lost: this print ob will session

with mushroom morning glory' will s sane as fiction

could be, and more hopeful than the news.

What is there to say about Time Frames? These poems show aspects of poets that might surprise you even if you are very familiar with their recent work. Also, because most contributors are represented by at least half a dozen poems, you have the opportunity to see a lot farther into their heads than is usual. Almost any of these poems could have been nominated for awards. The best speculative poetry brings visions of wonder, terror, and joy. This book is 100 pages of visionary, cutting-edge poetry by the masters. Maybe not the cutting edge of today, but I think you will find that many of these poems are still quite sharp. You owe it to yourself to read them.

David C Kopaska-Merkel

1300 Kicker Rd.

Tuscaloosa, AL 35404

205-246-9346

jopnquog@gmail.com

042216b

Rejection

I submitted
To the most prestigious venue
But ended up stuck in the slush
That was my world!
Earth was a great planet
But now it will never get a chance to shine.
It has problems; I'm new at this business.
But despite its uncontrolled
Changes (it won't sit still)
And the recent infestation.
(I promise I'll get rid of them soon).
It really has potential.
At least
That's what I think

011115-review

Rereading Roger Zelazny's The Changing Land, sequel to Dilvish the Damned, about an elvish lord who goes to hell & back. Fusion of quest fantasy & the Cthulhu Mythos. 4/5 stars.

The Art of Space

Coffee-table book full of paintings. Review coming, but the wireless mic I have at home est morte.