Go to hell, “R” key. Go to hell and die.

Go to hell, “R” key. Go to hell and die.

Posted inRandom Musings, Rants
It's a poor craftsman that blames his tools. That's how the saying goes, at least, but you know what? "It" being the conspicuous lack of a goddamn "R" in every other goddamn word I type from my goddamn laptop. I may or may not have mentioned it before, but I don't write on my desktop. Too many distractions. I have to get away from my desk and get someplace with as few bright and shinys as possible. That means grabbing the laptop and doing all my writing at the kitchen table or out on the back deck. I'm too prone…
So I have to be an accountant, too?

So I have to be an accountant, too?

Posted inRants, Writing
When you daydream of being a Writer, sitting at home doing Important Work and actually getting paid for it, you most certainly DON'T daydream of filing tax documents, managing bank accounts, chasing people for money, and other such nonsense. Yet you're sure as hell going to end up doing it, and plenty of it, too. They never tell you this. (Never mind who "they" is.) No one explains that if you plan to make a go of supporting yourself as a freelance writer, your days will be just as filled with "business" stuff as they will with writing. They never…
Zombie Apocalypse Scenarios Don’t Make Sense To Me

Zombie Apocalypse Scenarios Don’t Make Sense To Me

Posted inRandom Musings, Rants
Despite the misgivings I expressed a few years ago, The Walking Dead has turned into a good watch that gets me to the TV each Sunday, or at the very least one that gets me to binge watch once a year or so. It may not be AMC's best show, but it's still pretty darn good. I can't really claim to be a zombie fan, though. I am a fan of post-apocalyptic stories. A HUGE fan of them, actually. Stories about survival after society has collapsed have always drawn me in, always will. Earth Abides, The Road, Lucifer's Hammer, Alas,…
Guess I’m supposed to be blogging about stuff

Guess I’m supposed to be blogging about stuff

Posted inRandom Musings, Rants, Writing
Blogs are like great weights affixed to your neck, or rather, like a 200-pound sets of car keys. You don't want to carry the damn things around, but the car won't start without them. It's been a while since I've blogged here. Probably should have stayed current. Should have been updating all along. Could have talked about this project or that, or merely talked about James Gandolfini passing away and why Bruce Springsteen is probably better than I give him credit for and why the Akira manga is crazy good. Yet the truth is, I'd rather be working on new…
Why journalists hate their life, redux

Why journalists hate their life, redux

Posted inRandom Musings, Rants, Uncategorized
A few days ago I shared why journalists hate life, namely, the sheer ineptitude of management that seems hellbent on driving papers to extinction, kicking employee morale in the face while doing it. This is an industry-wide problem that is killing newsroom after newsroom and making reporters, frankly, not really give a damn about their job anymore. Well, here's another story, courtesy of KC Confidential: The Kansas City Star has told reporters Karen Dillon and Dawn Bormann that one of them has to leave the paper, and they — not management — have to decide who goes. “Dillon has seniority,…