Monthly Archives: February 2023

Sticker Shock

Posted on February 27, 2023 by JE

Um. Geeze. I guess I won’t be pursuing my interest in collecting Shel Silverstein’s cartoons any time soon.

Posted in books, cartoon, Uncategorized | Tagged | Comments Off on Sticker Shock

Diana in the News!

Posted on February 26, 2023 by JE

My partner in crime is interviewed in this piece on improv and therapy in the Toledo Blade. Some people say she’s great; some people say she’s amazing; others aren’t sure, but think ”Maybe both!”. https://www.toledoblade.com/health-well-being/2023/02/26/laughter-best-medicine-some-doctors-say-it-can-t-hurt/stories/20230221075

Posted in improv | Tagged , | Comments Off on Diana in the News!

The Tedium of Infinity

Posted on February 24, 2023 by JE

Maybe the suits at Marvel should have read Niven’s “All the Myriad Ways” before going all-in on the Multiverse. It’s not as if you can’t make a good movie with the concept (e.g. INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE), but it does have … Continue reading →

Posted in art, sff | Tagged , | Comments Off on The Tedium of Infinity

Romance and Murder: DOROTHY L. SAYERS, HER LIFE & SOUL by Barbara Reynolds

Posted on February 21, 2023 by JE

In summary: This is the best biography of Sayers that I have read, or am likely to read.

Posted in biograpy, review or meta-review, writing | Tagged , | Comments Off on Romance and Murder: DOROTHY L. SAYERS, HER LIFE & SOUL by Barbara Reynolds

Invasion of the Stochastic Parrots

Posted on February 20, 2023 by JE

Apparently enough fatheads were taken in by the chatbot hype this winter to flood electronic submission portals with chatbot-written fiction. At last there’s an option for the person who’s too dumb or lazy to read but who thinks they can … Continue reading →

Posted in AI is a misnomer, fantasy, language, plagiarism, sff, words, writing | Comments Off on Invasion of the Stochastic Parrots

Swords Against Redundancy: Leiber’s TWO SOUGHT ADVENTURE and SWORDS AGAINST DEATH

Posted on February 20, 2023 by JE

In summary: these two books collect the earliest stories Fritz Leiber published about Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, ergo one or the other is essential reading for the sword-and-sorcery fan. Both are probably essential only to the Leiberian completist, so … Continue reading →

Posted in fantasy, fantasy art, review or meta-review, sff, sword-and-sorcery | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Swords Against Redundancy: Leiber’s TWO SOUGHT ADVENTURE and SWORDS AGAINST DEATH

Two Too Similar

Posted on February 16, 2023 by JE

Today a post on Scott Edelman’s Facebook page got me thinking about short-lived TV shows I loved as a kid, a train of thought that led eventually to a bizarre discovery of a series of attempted murders. In 1967 two … Continue reading →

Posted in television | Comments Off on Two Too Similar

WHOSE BODY? by Dorothy L. Sayers

Posted on February 13, 2023 by JE

In summary: Whose Body? (Fisher Unwin, 1923) is worth reading if you like Golden Age detective novels and/or Dorothy Sayers. But novices to both might be well-advised to start with the second novel in the series, Clouds of Witness, a … Continue reading →

Posted in mystery, review or meta-review | Tagged , | Comments Off on WHOSE BODY? by Dorothy L. Sayers

SWORDS AND DEVILTRY by Fritz Leiber

Posted on February 11, 2023 by JE

Summary: this is essential reading for the fan of sword-and-sorcery, written by the guy who coined the name of the genre. Some mild spoilers follow. In terms of internal chronology, Swords and Deviltry (Ace, May 1970) is the first volume … Continue reading →

Posted in fantasy, fantasy art, review or meta-review, sword-and-sorcery, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on SWORDS AND DEVILTRY by Fritz Leiber

Not the Last about THE LAST OF US

Posted on February 6, 2023 by JE

Like the rest of the universal world, I loved episode 3 of The Last of Us, but (and this may be where the universal world and I part company) episode 4 reminded me of why I’m tepid about the show … Continue reading →

Posted in review or meta-review, sff, television | Comments Off on Not the Last about THE LAST OF US