Fiction, Opinions, Interesting Tidbits, and Occasional Art by Andrew B. Crisp
A couple of weeks ago, I cracked one of my molars when I bit down on something that had been a little overcooked. It wasn’t a pleasant sensation, and required me to do something I hadn’t in approximately twenty-five years: visit the dentist.
I’m sure you can imagine how thrilled I was at the prospect. But, a cracked tooth is nothing to ignore, so after a quick chat with my parents to learn who their dentist was, I set up an appointment. Continue reading “A Date with Dentistry”
I first encountered John Scalzi’s writing courtesy of his blog Whatever in late 2008, and found a funny and insightful writer. Naturally, I wanted to sample some of his books, and as it happened, The Last Colony was the only book I could get my hands on at the time.
This is sort-of-important because The Last Colony is the third in a series of books collectively known as Old Man’s War series, or OMW for short. But this is by no means an impediment, as Scalzi makes sure that any new reader is brought up to speed on the important bits even as he gets this story moving.
Continue reading “From My Library: The Last Colony by John Scalzi”
Starting May 22nd, I’ll be posting a monthly column up here on the blog entitled “From My Library”; reviews of various books (print and e-book, prose and graphic novel), that I own and which I think are pretty good. Some of the books may be old or out of print, others may be fresh from the bookstore, but all have been interesting to me, now or in the past.
There may be some surprises in store; and – full disclosure – not all of them will be pleasant. Some of the books are from earlier eras, and so were written with older sensibilities (or lack thereof) in mind. I’ll be examining those both in the context of when I first encountered them vs how I find them now. We’ll see just how well some books and authors stand the test of time.
Hopefully, you’ll come away from these reviews with a few more titles to add to your libraries.
So join me next week, where we’ll start off with John Scalzi’s The Last Colony.
So here I am, my new website launched, and I admit I am somewhat nervous.
After all, there’s not a whole lot of website to peruse, now is there? One blog post as of this writing, and one image in a gallery. I’ve been on the internet in one form or another for almost twenty five years. There’s more of my art on my Tumblr and Facebook pages, and I’ve had a better presence on Twitter. So, why a website, with its costs and effort? Why so little content, and will any of the older stuff make its way over here?
First: why a website? Because I wanted a place on the web that is truly mine. Most social media sites these days are like huge mega-malls, with advertising and more popular people crowding out one’s posts. Algorithms serve as gatekeepers, sometimes keeping people who follow you from seeing your posts, and sometimes pairing your material with things that may be the polar opposite of your morals and ethics, simply because its more profitable to do so. But here, there are no algorithms, no dodgy ads, no likes or faves or trends to chase in desperation. This site is a place I can call my own, with rules I set. That affords me a tremendous amount of freedom, and removes a tremendous amount of stress.
As for why so little content (for now)? Because I feel that a new website like this should be a new beginning. Much of what I’ve done before, came from a skill level and a mindset that has since changed. There’s little that I regret, but I find it’s not very useful to look back on where I’ve been, at least right now.
It’s that freedom to roam that having my own website affords me. I want to explore new concepts, new techniques, new projects. I am curious to see where this exploration will lead. I hope you’ll be curious with me.