The Various Faces of the Moon

"You used to only see one face of it."

"That idea is really difficult to grasp. I'm so used to seeing all sides of it night after night."

"Yes, well, you're used to seeing it with water and plants on it, too."

"Heh, there is that. Sometimes I do imagine it: looking up and seeing it white and dead, like a skull, a rebuke to us of what we could be if we didn't take good care of our planet."

"Heh, I don't get the impression that one person in a million thought of it that way. Evidently most people thought of it as a very romantic sight."

"I've heard that, and I found it completely baffling. The stars I can understand, and fireflies, certainly, since it's a mating display by the insects themselves, but the dreary light of a lifeless Moon? I would think that the light of our own terraformed Moon, even though it's duller, would be more romantic, since it shows how much humans love life, that we'd spread it to a new world."

 

The Magic Eight-Ball says: "The 20th of July is an auspicious date on which to discuss the Moon."

Be With People Who've Submerged

On the screen I saw naked bodies swimming down a street. The masks that covered their mouths, noses and eyes were the latest kind, invisible to the naked eye. I only knew they were there when they turned the right way, so that the optical difference between the air inside the mask and the water outside was detectable. They could have been in San Diego, Newport, Norfolk or a dozen other coastal cities, until I saw the antique cars parked at the curb, and the lights shining inside the ground floors of the buildings they were swimming past. Barnacles clung to the windows, coral was growing on the cars, but the illusion of a place which somehow still lived in spite of the risen sea was excellent.

A handsome middle-aged woman pointed at lettering painted on a window, COME TO MIAMI, as she swam past. Another, who could have been a teenager except that she had the silver hair of one who allows it to whiten even while she keeps all other parts of herself youthful, pointed at an illuminated, animated sign which read, BE WITH PEOPLE WHO’VE SUBMERGED.

Miami was the first city in North America to lose its main drag to the rising sea, and the only one which flaunted it, placing waterproof lights in its ground-floor windows and parking derelict cars at the curb, as though it were a new version of lost Atlantis, instead of demolishing the buildings to make it easier to use the water. It was also the only city that had gutted selected buildings and pressurized them, allowing people to continue to inhabit the ground floors.

They’d invested billions in making “life among the Submerged” into a special lifestyle, found only in Miami. I wondered if anyone actually bought into it.

 

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57673/to-be-of-use

The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Act, while action is still possible."

On This Table

“So, on this table we see that given the air pressure and oxygen content we currently have inside the cylinder, we should be able to breathe comfortably.”

“What about temperature?”

“Seven degrees. A bit chilly, but nothing we can’t handle by reducing the opacity of the Sunshade.”

“What’s stopping us, then? I want to have a look at the place.”

“We’ve been requested to wait until the Sequence Head has arrived, so she can be the first to take a breath of air inside.”

“Tssh! Like in an old SF movie: I’ll bet she enters in a vac suit, cracks her helmet, takes a long breath and says, ‘Ah, good. There’s oxygen on this planet’.”

“Well, be fair: the Sequence has been paying everyone’s salary for the last fifteen years. The moment we’ve all been waiting for is the moment we’ve all been waiting for, including the Primary Committee.”

“Meh. Whatever.”

“Just stay inside until she gives the word.”

He tapped at the environmental controls. The air pressure dropped, enough to make my ears pop. A chill breeze came through the fans.

“Hey! Did you just crack the seal? When you were explicitly told not to?”

“Nothing of the sort - I just matched the air in here to the cylinder’s air.”

“Smart aleck.”

 

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49622/perhaps-the-world-ends-here

The Magic Eight-Ball says: "Why ask me? Look on the table."

A Darker and More Curious Matter

 A Darker And More Curious Matter

The viewing room couldn’t have seemed less like a viewing room. It looked more like a tax accountant’s office than anything else. I understood that we weren’t going to see the inside of the particle accelerator where all the action was taking place (though I still visualized it as looking like some Disney animation from 1960 or so, all streaking particles in bright colors and explosions of bright light), and we weren’t in the control room (which I’d actually seen, and which was indistinguishable to my eye from the control room of a nuclear reactor or a mechanized bakery), but…a desk, a computer console and a whiteboard…? Lorina woke the computer and showed me the display which represented the control room and the accelerator, explained what various cryptic notations meant. As she did, she grew more animated than I’d ever seen her - and more attractive to me. She was clearly in her element here. “We got dark matter in the VISION last year,” she said modestly (it was Lorina who had worked out the process which had created the first specimen of dark matter in captivity). “Right now, there’s a knot of it in there about to be bombarded with Curious traffets. If I’m right about the anatomy of strange matter, the specimen should absorb them and increase in darkness,” I understood enough of particle physics to at least understand that there were so many forces at work down at that level that they had to be given arbitrary names all over the map. Protons were made up of quarks in three “colors”, Up Down and Strange. Quarks were made of traffets which were composed of Curiosity and Boredom. Dark matter didn’t seem to have either quarks or traffets in it, or anything else that was known in normal matter, and was formed from the interaction of Darkness, Antidarkness, Bright and Antibright. Even knowing all this, the wording had an odd effect on me, as I imagined the bombardment resulting in a darker and more curious matter.

The Magic Eight-Ball says: "Keep seeking after knowledge."

Books By The Inch

We are liquidating a huge collection of science fiction paperbacks from the 1960s-2000s.

We'll be listing them for sale as we are able to sort and pack them. Each list will contain about a hundred parcels. Each parcel will be about two inches thick* and will contain between between two and five volumes, all by the same author.

These books are not collectibles. We do not make any guarantees about condition, except that they have all of their pages and are readable. At least once.

Each parcel will come to you by mail, postage paid, for $6.00 U.S. (through PayPal).

If you live in Oregon's mid-Valley area, we may be able to arrange delivery at a lower price.


-- The Inchworms, aka John and Kathe




*So okay, it would be more accurate if we called it "Books by the Two Inches", or to be more SFnal, "Books By the 5cm Block", but do either of those sound as smooth as "Books By The Inch"?

List #1
Gael Baudino
Gael Baudino
Gael Baudino
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Marion Zimmer Bradley
David Brin
David Brin
John Brunner
John Brunner
John Brunner
John Brunner
John Brunner
John Brunner
Algis Budrys
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Orson Scott Card
Jack L. Chalker
A. Bertram Chandler
Jo Clayton
Hal Clement
L. Sprague deCamp
Gordon R. Dickson [Includes Lost Dorsai – profusely illustrated]
Gordon R. Dickson
Gordon R. Dickson
Gordon R. Dickson
Gordon R. Dickson
Gordon R. Dickson
David Drake
David Drake
Robert A. Heinlein [including a couple of Signet paperbacks]
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
Frank Herbert
Frank Herbert
Frank Herbert
Frank Herbert
James P. Hogan
James P. Hogan
Tanith Lee
Ursula K. LeGuin
Ursula K. LeGuin
Ursula K. LeGuin
Michael Moorcock
Michael Moorcock
Michael Moorcock
Michael Moorcock
C. L. Moore
Dan Morgan
Larry Niven
Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
Andre Norton
Andre Norton
Andre Norton
Andre Norton
Andre Norton
Andre Norton
Frederik Pohl
Frederik Pohl
Frederik Pohl
Frederik Pohl & Jack Williamson
Jerry Pournelle
Pamela Sargent
Sheri S. Tepper
Sheri S. Tepper
E.C. Tubb
E.C. Tubb
Jack Vance
Jack Vance
James White
James White
James White
James White

We also have about a cubit of David Weber books, but since they average well over an inch apiece, it’s not really possible to tie them into two-inch bundles. Write and ask, and we will make a special arrangement if you want a few inches of Weber.

An American Victory, Yes....

My third novel, "An American Victory",* currently in progress, involves war across alternate timelines, between three different Americas, none of which had our Civil War:
One had a successful Southern secession after the failure of the Compromise of 1850 and became the imperialist Republic of Washington.
One had a Compromise of 1862 overseen by President Douglas and a secession in 1869 which was defeated in less than a year and resulted in a thirty-year Reconstruction, with the rebel states dissolved and readmitted as only four states.
One had a group of slave states refuse to accept the Constitution, and form the Foederal Republic of America, which became majority-black and black-dominated.
1926 is an interesting year for all three worlds.
My friend Gene Greigh has written an interesting book, "West of '89", which features a world where the Confederacy was allowed to secede without war, but a slave revolt and a later reign of terror produced a very unpleasant majority-black country.  The Confederate government in exile survives as a charitable organization offering help to refugees who flee its oppressive government.

*After Charles Fort's snarky observation that it was a safe bet that the American Civil War would end in an American victory.

//The Magic Eight-Ball  says, "A great empire will be destroyed."\\

Welcome to the John Burt Society

This query was sent to me at goodreads.com by Darlene Hartman: Are you the same John Burt who used to design science fiction vehicles and had a virtual "used car lot" of wonderful ships and runabouts, even down to the detailed designs thereof? I'm doing the sixth novel in my "Einai Series" (often called "The Skipjack Series") and am desirous of getting permission to have my protagonist buy a used space vehicle from the aforementioned John Burt. Thanks for your answer.


My reply: Alas, I am not that John Burt. I run into John Burts, or other people seeking John Burts contact me (sometimes police -- eek!), that I used to send out membership cards in the John Burt Society (motto: "My name is John Burt").
The worst John Burt of all was a pastor in Florida who had goaded one of his followers to murder a doctor for performing abortions -- and the scumbag even looked like me!

Anyway, I do hope you find your John Burt. My guess is he will be delighted.

https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/14025477-welcome-to-the-john-burt-society

//The Magic Eight-Ball says: "The name is not the thing described."\\

Modern Stone-Age Names

One of these days, I'm going to write a story set in a world which has (relatively) advanced technology without having metalworking.

One element of this story is going to be that characters will have "Indian names" (i.e., names which are nouns, verbs and/or adjectives), but names which could pass as "normal" names: Rose Winter, Joy Gold, Amber White, &c.

I have plenty of family names: Smith, Short, Black, Hammer, Harewood, Silver, Miller, Bear, Young, Pine, Potter, Hill, Broadacre, Door, Bale, Pond, Roundtree, Burden, Ransom, Snow, Fish, Hightower, Grass, Linden, &c.

I have plenty of female names: Tulip, Felicity, Holly, Ruby, Hope, Rose, Columbine, Melody&c.

But I'm having trouble with male names: Flint, Walker, Mark, Blue, Spade, Hunter, Stoney, Gray, Rice, Weaver, Oak, Robin, Cooper, Goodman, Cutter....  That's about all I could come up with.

Anybody have any suggestions, especially of male names?

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Ball, Black, Pool, Fortune . . . ?"\\

Feminist Graphic Novels

I'm writing to say that Kathe and I have both finished Bitch Planet Volume 1, and will be returning it tomorrow.

In the meantime, I must tell you that neither Kathe nor I liked it very much.  We agreed that it covered ground better tilled by novels like The Handmaid's Tale* and Native Tongues**.

Kathe asked me to come up with a list of better feminist graphic novels, especially ones which depicted a horrific patriarchal dystopia.  I couldn't find that exact thing (unless you would count the Sid Jacobson/Ernie Colon adaptation of the diary of Anne Frank: http://www.amightygirl.com/anne-frank-graphic-novel 

or Marzi: 

http://druidcitycomic.com/graphic-novel-review-marzi-a-memoir/

or Lili Renee:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10866058-lily-renee-escape-artist

or maybe Rosa Parks:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1161932.Rosa_Parks_And_The_Montgomery_Bus_Boycott

and there's a case to be made for The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/888169.Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory_Fire), but here are some graphic novels that have come recommended by various people.  Some I have read, some I have not, some which the GNBC has read:

http://www.womenyoushouldknow.net/nine-graphic-novels-every-girl-should-read/

http://wrappedupinbooks.org/2014/06/13/feminist-fridays-graphic-novels-reading-lists/

http://bust.com/graphic-novels-by-women-that-you-should-read-now.html

http://www.flashlightworthybooks.com/Best-Graphic-Novels-About-Women/588

http://www.amightygirl.com/mighty-girl-picks/graphic-novels

Ody-C tries a different approach to undermining patriarchy, reversing the genders in one of the most influential patriarchalist documents, The Odyssey (which some have claimed was written by a woman): 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25256034-ody-c-vol-1

--  John M. Burt

* http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38447.The_Handmaid_s_Tale

(BTW: A graphic novel of THT is coming soon:  http://groupthink.kinja.com/the-handmaids-tale-graphic-novel-1630506060).

** http://www.sfwa.org/members/elgin/NativeTongue/Index.html

History, Real and Imaginary

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/27/the-end-of-the-slave-trade/?ref=opinion

I have just finished my second novel, Frankenstein's World.  Like The Christmas Mutiny, it's an alternate history (although a less plausible one, being based on the idea of Victor Frankenstein being a real person, and his inventions actually working as described in the original book).
I will shortly begin selling Frankenstein's World, and will begin and writing my third, also an alternate history, this one featuring three different alternate-history versions of the American South.  And none of them will be a descendant of our own world's Confederate States of America.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Outlook hazy, ask again later."\\

Godzilla

Recently the subject of the many Godzilla movies came up elsewhere on the 'net, and it got me thinking about them.

I do like Godzilla.  I have not seen every single Godzilla movie, but I think I would like to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godzilla_%28franchise%29

I looked for trailers for those movies:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKrj1ymJzmo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll8H4bpZgTw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PBbK8tkTE8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsP_vCffBe4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC4rMWD7MXw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esLZFPL3dDE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpbaeNbCM_w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx5_3__XIP8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_rWm_u2oQQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTd0HAMA50U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVOR-463obk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyOVKYabImw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REMsbJMtN0Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_L5Fz-vDXOg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fotSbx0D1A0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ePtjMbETOI
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aKtjGBtf9s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSmLbhifByc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E6t37NRfN8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5zw6PrBp7g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQuWkSDjNME

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MLvi8pp-uc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxeZUbKLNlI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CDU21yKliM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4iXgZkdGS8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaZ3iR-wo-I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnVajjMrqd0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5lXP2NMo8U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5ASNlqnrhM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkJ_n9ygZRw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b2CtgkwJQA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D2c34KDbEk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGOX_FdEccc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_oiHWXLIFI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBwsUD7jYCI

I was delighted to learn that I could find all of them on YouTube.

But my number one kaiju fantasy is of recutting Frankenstein Conquers the World
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu6waDbmPNU

and War of the Gargantuas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swC1wZAJ5lU
into a recreation of the original planned sequel, The Frankenstein Brothers.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "GRONK!  GREEE-OOOO-OOONK!"\\

Corvallis in 2063?

The other day, Kathe and I visited the "Corvallis in 2063" exhibit at the Arts Center. It showed various visions for the future in various media. Some of the model homes were very clever in design.
I was disappointed that it did not include a print of the famous painting of "Corvallis in 2057".


In the middle there was a table on which was a map of Corvallis. People were invited to place Post-It notes describing what they would like to see in the future. Among them was a suggestion of a municipal nuclear power plant. This was surrounded by several Post-Its saying things like "NO!"

I thought it over and came to a conclusion which I thought was worth sharing:

One day, we will have the technology that will allow us to build small nuclear power plants which are safe and efficient, but we probably won't build them for the same reason that we are unlikely ever to build personal jetpacks for commuting, zeppelins for passenger travel, or humanoid robots for household help. Not because these things are impossible, but because with the technology that makes them possible we can build other things that are more practical and useful.   //The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Predictions are always tricky, especially about the future."\\

I'm Ready to Beg, Folks

Unemployed for close to two years, nobody is hiring, my books aren't selling.

If you have not bought one of my publications, please consider it. I personally think The Christmas Mutiny is a good story. I also think highly of my short stories "Hansel and Gretel Lost in the Bardo", "The Men Who Saved JFK" and my manual on massage technique, With a Friendly Touch, all of which are available for download at Amazon.com.

For the next seven days, if you e-mail me at john_m_burt@hotmail.com or text me at (541) 602-6026 to inform me that you have bought one of my stories, I will reply with 1) my personal thanks and 2) my new story "Dragons Live Forever", a 375-word flash piece which has not yet been offered to the public.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "You can always ask."\\

Edublog Post

I found this while searching the phrase "Frankenstein's World", because that is the title of my next book and I was wondering what else people would find when searching for it.* I found the thoughts of someone reading the original novel, and a final post which expresses disappointment in the ending. My comment:
"I have to say I disagree with you about the ending of the original book. I think Frankenstein dying unavenged, and the monster likewise unavenged, is entirely appropriate, since what I have known of revenge tells me that even when it is 'successful', it is almost never satisfying.
"Clearly, though, many have disagreed, since I have not yet seen any dramatization or adaptation which has ended that way. The monster almost always kills Frankenstein and then dies himself, via a bolt of lightning (as in the original stage version) or in a fire (as in the 1931 Universal film) or literally fading away (as in the 1910 Edison film). The closest to the original ending that I have seen is a TV adaptation in which Frankenstein and the monster wrestle aboard Walton's ship and then fall through the ice to drown together."
In my own Frankenstein's World, I don't kill off either Frankenstein or his abandoned child. But I hope readers will find it satisfying.

*Mostly, references to a TV series called Once Upon a Time -- it looks interesting.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "There are as many Frankenstein's worlds as there are readers -- at the very least."\\

Christmas Truce Poem

Not long after I finished The Christmas Mutiny, I met a woman writing poems "to order" at the Saturday Market. I commissioned a poem on the subject of the Christmas Truce, but then didn't see her for several months. I learned later she had been out of town most of the time.
Yesterday, she was at the market again, spotted me and delivered the poem. I like it a lot:


The Christmas Truce, by Cassie Ruud

We will not fight today.
We will not let you order us
into these pukish
mud-blood-soaked trenches
on this day.
You took us from our families,
from the arms of our wives and children
and thrown us against each other
for reasons
we do not understand.
So we will not fight today.
We will stand a tree,
sing our songs,
play soccer out in No-Man's-Land
almost far enough away
to hide from the trench stench
We will pretend our darlings
are close to us, show
each other pocketed lockets
full of pictures,
smoke our pipes in silence and stare numbly into the fire.


//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Peace on Earth."\\

Goodlife

During his campaign, Gardner promised average voters would inspire his actions. One ad said, “I will always put Colorado families before the Washington special interests.” But in Key Largo, Gardner appeared to offer special interests lots of face time. He was seen on camera talking to an attendee who said he works for a bank. In another shot, he’s seen going charter fishing as part of the fundraising package—they head out on a group of boats including one named “Good Life.”

Re the S.S. Good Life, two references come to mind.
One is the obvious, the short story "It's a Good Life", that was made into a Twilight Zone episode (and a Simpsons Halloween special, also).
The other is even more pointed, that in Fred Saberhagen's Berzerker stories, when a human chose to serve the killer robots in their crusade against organic life, s/he was called a "Goodlife". I have long felt that this word, like "robot" and "flash mob", should make the transition from science fiction jargon to common language.
The Repub party, long under the influence of people who have turned Goodlife, has now fallen completely under their sway.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Live long and prosper."\\

New Web Site Coming Soon

Soon, if all goes well, the link above these words will be live, and my web site, designed by Kathe's son Jake, will be up and running, offering my stories for sale.

Jake asked me to write summaries of some of my stories for the site:

The Christmas Mutiny, a Young Adult novel of alternative history, about 50,000 words.
Several young people are present at the famous Christmas Truce of 1914, in which for a brief moment enemies lay down their arms and enjoyed a moment of peace. History says that after the truce, they went back to killing one another for another three years -- but perhaps there are other worlds than ours...?

"Rattler Lil", a Western fantasy, about 4,000 words
An adolescent boy finds a surrogate mother, as do many other strays in a frontier town. Miss Lillian Clay seems to be a good person to have around, especially where children and rattlesnakes are concerned. And there may be more to "Mama Lil" than the neighbors suspect.

"The Right Man", a story of alternative history, about 2,000 words.
It's the fall of 1932. The Great Depression is at its worst. An army of unemployed men are occupying the Mall in Washington. How will President Hoover remove them? He needs to find the right man for this job.

"Frankie", an incident at a 1930s candy store, about 1,500 words.
Is Frankie really that Frankie? What race is pulp magazine her Dusty Ayres? Why doesn't Frankie listen to The Romance of Helen Trent? None of these questions will be answered.

"Secret Identity", a writer's thoughts at work, about 1,000 words.
What makes a man a hero? Can we always tell? Do we need to?

"Gandhi Versus Hitler", a story of alternative history, about 1,000 words
Everybody knows Gandhi could never have stopped Hitler. Everybody knows that....

"The Salmon Cage", a science fiction story, about 5,000 words.
An old man ties his boat to a salmon maturing cage while it drifts across the Pacific from Macao to Canada. A silent boy stows away. Much against the old man's wishes, they gradually bond during a very difficult crossing.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Good. Now go make some money with it."\\

List of Defunct Automakers

Could be useful for writing historical or alternate-world fiction.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_defunct_United_States_automobile_manufacturers

And while I'm at it, here are links to fictional car companies:

http://dictionary.sensagent.com/list+of+fictional+companies/en-en/#Automotive
http://www.coloradostangs.com/auto-news/24985-auto-autoline-after-hours-holding-first-annual-automotive-fantasy-draft-%5Bw-video%5D.html
http://nerowolfe.org/htm/tidbits/tidbits.htm#heron

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Have you driven a Heron lately?"\\

Corvallis From Above

Here and there around Corvallis, there are aerial photos and aerial views of the city:

At the OSU Registrar, a painting dated 1932.
In the lobby of the Park Plaza Apartments at 124 NW 7th Street, a painting from the 1960s.
Upstairs at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, a photo from 1999.
At the city water department, a photo from the 2010s.
At the historical museum in the old Philomath College building, a painting of a speculation of "Corvallis in 2057" which was, fortunately, quite inaccurate in most details.

//The Magic-Eight-Ball says, "Perspective helps."\\

GoodBlogs

I am trying something new, called GoodBlogs.
http://www.goodblogs.com/bloggers/6565
I don't know whether this "get votes and be paid money" thing really works, but I am willing to give it a try.
Also, it's been years since I wrote reviews of the things I read, but I find I still enjoy it.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Try it and see."\\