I loath doing research. It doesn’t interest me in the slightest. Getting abstruse details right seems an irrelevance in a novel. People don’t read books to learn facts; it is the emotional truths that count. But certain fiction writers – almost all men; make of that what you will – have a fetishistic obsession with useless detail. A character can’t …
Are We Fair, or Just Selfish?
In his excellent book Here Comes Everybody, Clay Shirky writes about the Ultimatum game, a well-known experiment in behavioral economics. This is how it works. Two people are given ten dollars to share between them. One person gets to decide what the split will be; the other’s only power is either to accept or reject the proposed deal. If he …
Two Jazz Greats Gone
Yesterday was a rough day. Every year Jazz Times has a “goodbye” issue where it celebrates the lives of the jazz musicians who have passed in the previous year. It’s always sobering reading, as the number of true greats still with us slowly diminishes. A couple of weeks ago we lost George Russell,little-known outside the music world, but an incredibly …
What Being a Dad is All About
Some people scoffed when I put up this post about building a lego Star Destroyer with my eight year-old son, Hallam. “How hard can it be?” more than one person wondered. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present video evidence of exactly what is involved. There’s several hours of my life I’m never going to get back… (By the way, I suggest …
"We Always Swing" Jazz Series – 15th Season
Here it is, as promised – the schedule for the upcoming season of world-class live jazz in Columbia, Missouri, complete with links to various artist sites, etc. Don’t say I never do anything for ya. October 16, 2009 – Jim Widner Big Band with Bobby Watson November 3 – Pat Martino Quartet (with Eric Alexander) November 22 – Christian McBride …
Cheer Up
Because what, really, can beat singing chickens?
A Sense of Place: Where to Write?
I have already written about the need for routine when it comes to writing. Equally important, for me anyway, is where I write. I know people who can dash off stuff in trains, waiting rooms, and especially in coffee shops. This always baffles me. Perhaps I’m just too nosy, or feckless, but I am unable to concentrate on what I’m …
Look Who's in Our Yard
Spotted this out of the front window a couple of days ago. Someone has been shedding his skin on our lawn. We have in past summers played host to a black snake who was probably about as big as this one. Not sure if it’s the same guy. Frankly, I’m not that interested in finding out. Snakes – just one …
Diversions and Prevarications, Part 5
I’ll be honest, I have no idea what this even is.
How Blogging Works
Either: slave away over the keyboard searching for pithy insights into the creative life, trying to shine a small light on how all this stuff works. Persuade yourself that, over time, people will begin to see the merit of your ponderous musings and start coming back regularly. Or: post a video of your daughter eating ice cream and see the …