Author Archives: JE

I’ve been flipping through Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style (2nd ed., 1972), prompted by a glance through Weird Tales‘ guidelines. I’ve owned the book for roughly 30 years and hated it continously all through that time. I don’t … Continue reading →

Another unexpected day off in the middle of the week. As I was kicking my way through snowdrifts, on my way downtown to buy some flowers for the One, I realized the storm had been a little more severe than … Continue reading →

My university has just cancelled day classes. I can’t remember the last time this happened. On the one hand, I have a school-kid’s delight in an unexpected day off. On the other hand, I’m embarrassed to live in a town … Continue reading →

When I realized that last night’s episode would feature Telecop, Doublement and Mohinder Snoresh, I was prepared to be bored (these being hands down the most tedious characters in the group). But Mohinder crossing paths with Sylar lent a certain … Continue reading →

I… I don’t know anything about this sort of thing. Not personally. An ill-tempered reaction to a rejection slip, I mean. (It’s not as if anyone can prove anything, anyway: those records were purged.) But I’ve heard… I’ve heard it’s … Continue reading →

Steve Wilson has a typically hilarious take on the question of comic books and Homer, an issue that arose on John C. Wright’s LiveJournal. I don’t think readers will go too far wrong by following John Wright’s prescriptions (Take Homer … Continue reading →

M. John Harrison asserts that “Every moment of a science fiction story must represent the triumph of writing over worldbuilding.” Which is a bit like saying that every use of the hand represents the triumph of the body over the … Continue reading →

From the AP Science section: “An astronaut drove 900 miles and donned a disguise to confront a woman she believed was her rival for the affections of a space shuttle pilot, police said.” Add a trip through a wormhole, perhaps … Continue reading →

I was rereading Euripides’ Crazy Hercules today to prepare for a class when I was poleaxed by a stray line. ἄλλως δ’ ἀδυνάτων ἔοικ’ ἐρᾶν. –Euripides, Heracles 318 “But I seem to be pointlessly in love with impossible things.” It … Continue reading →

Because you get to write phrases like “Shadow of a Martian Robot”, which sounds like a lost collaboration of Leigh Brackett and Ray Bradbury.