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16 Jun 2016 by KRAG

Dragons AheadFrom Sunday morning until late last night, I spent my time in a vortex of pessimism.

Why? Because despite the media’s assurances, it seemed as though the massacre in Orlando had not “shocked the nation.” Rather, it seemed as though we, as a society, barely looked up from our breakfast cereal to acknowledge the tragedy. As always, we offered our thoughts and prayers, and then went to our respective corners and came out demagoguing. The Left added the cry for an assault weapons ban to their litany, and the Right responded with a full-throated chorus of “From my cold, dead hands”. The progressives blamed the NRA. The conservatives blamed the president. The president wept. Everyone talked. No one listened.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

And I lost all hope. I entered a state of despair. Continue Reading »

Posted in Culture, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments »

Pearls Before the Optimist

09 Jun 2016 by KRAG

Pike Place OverlookFor as long as I’ve held an opinion on the matter, I’ve disliked oysters.

My first experience with them was as a main ingredient in a casserole. It was a dish of unappetizing, crusty brown…something…dotted by pale, rounded, rubbery oblongs that smelled of smoke and tasted of oily tinned fish.

I did not have a second experience.

Until last Sunday.

At which point, I thoroughly revised my opinion. Continue Reading »

Posted in Food, Seattle | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

The Changing Nature of War

31 May 2016 by KRAG

I spent this Memorial Day reading about war; specifically, about the “Great War,” the First World War.

One hundred years ago, Robert Graves, fresh from school, left his home in Great Britain and went to war in France. He recounts his experiences and observations in Good-Bye to All That, lauded as one of the best memoirs of the Great War. Graves, if you don’t know of him, is best known for his biographical novel, I, Claudius (or, as we pronounce it in this house, “Eye Clav Divs,” because of the Imperial Roman font used on the BBC dramatization). If you haven’t read I, Claudius, put it on your TBR list, as it’s well worth reading.

But my intention here is not to write a review, because in reading Graves’s memoir, the thing that struck me most was how much the nature of war has changed, just in my lifetime. The public’s attitudes have changed as well, but not always for the better. Continue Reading »

Posted in Books, Culture, Politics | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments »

Until Today

25 May 2016 by KRAG

fur of satin midnight
she is ever
aloof
wary
silent
an island of comportment
her tail-wrapped feet situated primly
at the boundary of our
all-too-human bustle
amber cabochons
blink in the sunshine
observing
studying
from the doorway
from the top step
intrigued but uninvolved
present but apart
until today
when she climbs up
nestles between us
curls in close
a nebulous shadow of rumbling warmth
dozing beneath my hand

 k

Mouse Road

Posted in Writing | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments »

The Death of Sunday Night (and Monday, too)

19 May 2016 by KRAG

Chairman MeowFor the longest time, I was a show killer. Do you love a particular TV show? Well, for years, if I loved it, too, it was doomed because, as soon as I started watching it, as soon as I fell in love with the show, its had maybe a year to live before it got canceled.

I’m serious. It got so bad that I would purposefully avoid a promising new show for an entire year, just to give it a chance to catch on. But even with this strategy, if I started watching in Season Two and loved it, it still had a higher risk for cancellation. Continue Reading »

Posted in Television | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments »

New Project: That’s a Wrap

11 May 2016 by KRAG

Dragons AheadI am a terrible businessman.

Last week, I submitted my outline for the proposed Fairbanks biographical novel. Along with the actual outline/synopsis, I sent a letter explaining some of the decisions that went into its creation. The family only has experience with writing non-fiction works about the life of their patriarch, sculptor Avard Fairbanks, so I felt it prudent to provide them with some insight into the differences between that and a work of biographical fiction. I also provided them with a quote of costs and timelines that was more realistic than the ball-park estimate I provided them early on. Along with this, I strongly encouraged them to do some research into ghost-writers, to confirm that my quote was not out of line.

The response was good, but measured. They were very pleased with the outline, but the details of costs and timelines introduced a strong dose of reality to the discussion.

This is as I believe it should be but, as I said, I am a terrible businessman. Continue Reading »

Posted in Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

New Project: The Outline

05 May 2016 by KRAG

Dragons AheadI am an outliner, and right now, I’m damned glad of it.

Prior to beginning a project, I create a fairly extensive outline. Some writers prefer a more organic method; they set up a character in a conflict and write to see where it takes them.

If I were a writer like that, this project would be a nightmare. I wouldn’t know where to start. As it is, though, I knew precisely where to start: with an outline.

Continue Reading »

Posted in Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

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