Steven M. Moore's Blog, page 143
October 14, 2015
Steve’s shorts: Mayhem, Murder, and Music’s Sunday Mornin’…
[Note from Steve: July 2015 data show 58, 270 homeless people, including 13, 875 families and 23, 490 children slept in NYC’s shelters. These are the sheltered; the numbers don’t count the many who wander aimlessly and sleep on the streets, heating grates, and park benches. Many of them have mental and health problems. A good number are veterans. Mayor De Blasio recently changed his opinion and recognized the problem, but it isn’t just a problem for NYC. Nevertheless, in this story, the homel...
October 13, 2015
This is not a book review…
It’s an ode to biographers instead, and maybe a dirge for the death of an empire. I just finished Manchester and Reid’s Churchill, Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965 (Last Lion #3). Phew! Manchester died before this was finished, and Reid completed the tome. And tome it is. Goodreads had it listed as 1237 pages. That’s a wee bit off because approximately 200 pages are dedicated to notes, bibliography, and index. Still, with about a 1000 pages of real text, all in a tiny, tiny font, this is a ma...
October 9, 2015
News and Notices from the Writing Trenches #105…
[Note from Steve: this blog newsletter appears most Fridays. If you miss an issue, back numbers are filed in the blog category with the same name.]
Wattpad. I’m trying it. I posted “The Call,” a short, short story seen here in “Steve’s Shorts.” It’s probably not going to do much for me. AFTER I joined, I googled “pros and cons of wattpad” and found it’s a mixed bag. It seems to be used more by authors seeking traditional publishing contracts, and focused on romance-related stories. I’ll be a...
October 8, 2015
Does winning a book prize help sales?
This was part of a two-part question in a discussion thread on Linked In—the two questions were this one and whether Author Guild serves self-published authors. There are good discussions on this social media site about the book business, but I’m usually a lurker because the monitors often have obvious agendas I find annoying (many aren’t writers, of course, but PR reps and marketers, cruising for clients). I came out of the shadows for this thread and answered the person’s two questions with...
October 7, 2015
Steve’s shorts: Mayhem, Murder, and Music’s The Tightrope Walker…Part Three of Three
[Note from Steve: I’ve decided to title this series of short stories suggested by musical pieces as above, so don’t be surprised to see a short story collection later on that sports this title. For now, you can read them for free and find it, along with the others, in “Steve’s Shorts.” This one is inspired by the Second Movement of Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G. If you think that dude is an impressionist/jazz composer, think again. This music is about as romantic as you can get. Enjoy.]
The Tig...
October 6, 2015
Irish Stew #45…
Item. One scary dude. While watching the 60 Minutes interview, I decided that Vladimir Putin is one scary dude. I was looking into the eyes of a narcissistic sociopath with psychotic tendencies. That this man has his finger on Russia’s nuclear codes should make the world tremble. After conquering Crimea and invading other parts of the Ukraine, he’s now invading Syria. His excuse? Going after ISIS. The reality: He’s supporting Assad by attacking NOT ISIS but legitimate Syrian rebels. The man i...
October 2, 2015
Movie Reviews #19…
[Note from Steve: This week’s featured movies were both directed by women. That’s probably a good thing. Men tend to make high testosterone action flicks; women more pensive flicks about social situations. Which is better? Dunno, but maybe the day will come when we turn these stereotypes on their heads. These films are comfortable both comfortable fits—you won’t be dropping your box of popcorn.]
Learning to Drive. Isabel Coixet, dir. Ben Kingsley does well in every movie he’s in, even as a fa...
October 1, 2015
Cliches, stereotypes, and oxymorons…
Stereotypes can be misleading. They’re often originally based in some truth. NYC used to have a lot of Irish cops, for example—maybe not so much anymore. Maybe blonds do have more fun, but with both sexes dying their hair all the colors of the rainbow, who can say that this is still true? Oxymorons can mislead too. Intelligent politician, ethical businessperson, fair media, and so forth can be a lot of fun, but whether they’re true isn’t often so obvious.
I guess a stereotypical oxymoron is d...
September 30, 2015
Steve’s shorts: Mayhem, Murder, and Music’s The Tightrope Walker…Part Two of Three
[Note from Steve: I’ve decided to title this series of short stories suggested by musical pieces as above, so don’t be surprised to see a short story collection later on that sports this title. For now, you can read them for free and find it, along with the others, in “Steve’s Shorts.” This one is inspired by the Second Movement of Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G. If you think that dude is an impressionist/jazz composer, think again. This music is about as romantic as you can get. Enjoy.]
The Tig...
September 29, 2015
The environmental pope…
Let’s give the old guy credit: he was received in the U.S. like a rock star and showed more resilience and stamina than men half his age. Moreover, he’s speaking out on progressive issues. On the plane en route to the U.S. from Cuba, a reporter asked if he was a leftist. He replied something to the effect that everything he does is commensurate with the gospels. Translation: Christ was a progressive revolutionary AND a religious man. The two went hand and hand, no matter what conservative won...
