Comic-Con 2012 bags.
Author: Joe Wilcox
'We Do Business the Old-fashion Way'
My fake mafia money-lending TV commercial (making a point about how attitudes have changed regarding what’s a high interest rate):
Scene opens with a handsome, greying man dressed in dark suit and tie standing by a burning fireplace, holding a glass of red wine. The hue is yellow.
Writers, Be Present!
Use present tense as much as you can. Present tense gives your writing more impact, authority. People live in the present, not the past. Write for them that way.
As an editor, I see way too much stuff like: “Jack is taking the water up the hill”, when “Jack takes the water up the hill” is so much better.
Z3 is for Zoom
My father-in-law generously offered to buy my daughter a car for graduation/birthday (I couldn’t afford to particularly with her coming college expenses). We decided on Hertz rental sales, to get something newer, with lower miles, […]
Paywalls are killing my Budget
I just cancelled the Sunday New York Times and took digital-only (browser and smartphone) for $15 a month, discounted by half for 12 weeks. My most recent home delivery bill was $33 and some change. For Sundays! A promotion cutting the price in half for 6 months expired in April. I’m not eligible for another deal, and I don’t get $7-plus a week value from Sundays and all-access digital.
I’ve subscribed to the Times since 2001.
12 Things You Should Know About RMS Titanic
Today is the 100th anniversary of Titanic’s sinking. As the height of technological and engineering innovation of its day, the great ocean liner is more than fascinating for its sinking—reminder that today’s tech obsessions are nothing new.
In 1977, before the wreck had been discovered and when few people knew much about Titanic, I wrote a term paper on the ill-fated vessel in between college and high school. I participated in the federally-funded Upward Bound program for teenagers from low-income families wanting to go to college. I spent three summers at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. The Titanic paper completed my three-year participation. Much about the disaster has changed since the wreck site was found, more than 2 miles beneath the Atlantic, in 1985, and my research. I confess. I am a Titanic buff.
Coyote Warning
Every couple of days we go to the local animal shelter and Humane Society (they’re side by side) looking for our cat. We’re nearly certain a coyote got him, but there’s always the slimmest chance […]
Kuma isn't coming Home
Yesterday, I told my wife that I let emotions cloud my judgment about our lost cat Kuma. Occam’s Razor leads to one likely scenario: A coyote got him.
About an hour ago, a city workman called. He found Kuma’s collar deep in the canyon that starts about a block from our apartment building. I can only assume coyote.
Lou Lou mourns, Too
Our kitty Kuma is still missing—more than 5 days now. Our neighbor’s cat behaves strangely. She frequently comes into our apartment now, looking for Kuma, I guess. I was surprised to find her on the […]
Our Kitty is Missing
Kuma didn’t come home yesterday. He went out at 6 a.m., and we never saw him again. We left the door open all night, and I slept on the couch waiting. He typically comes home […]
Christmas Uncommon
There’s something wrong with American culture and emphasis on the individual. I got to thinking about it today when yet another neighbor dragged another dried-out Christmas into the common area and out into the back alley—this one spewing white spray-on fake snow to go with the pine needles.
I live in a small apartment complex—nine units and delightful common courtyard. Six of the units had Christmas trees this year, all live cut. (On Christmas Eve, we put up a 3-foot fake from Walgreens).
Announcing the ‘Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Index’
Perhaps you’ve heard of the Big Mac Index for comparing currencies. I propose another for measuring inflation. Food prices here in California are way up over the past six months. Where I’ve noticed such stunning […]