Steven M. Moore's Blog, page 155
March 12, 2015
Cutting costs and charging you more…
[I apologize to my friends on Facebook, where I usually share these posts. Facebook has made it impossible to share. You can follow me on Google+. I recommend cancelling your Facebook accounts and creating Google+ accounts, if you haven’t already.]
American capitalism right now is ruthlessly efficient because there are few controls. From “new and improved” to “get this before your neighbor does,” marketing and ad campaigns woo the unsuspecting consumer. “New and improved” often translates to...
March 10, 2015
We’re losing the war…
[I apologize to my friends on Facebook, where I usually share these posts. Facebook has made it impossible to share. You can follow me on Google+. I recommend cancelling your Facebook accounts and creating Google+ accounts, if you haven’t already.]
While drone surveillance and attacks and Special Ops are a better military solution than “boots on the ground,” there’s no doubt that ISIS, al Qaeda, the Taliban, and other terrorist groups will only be defeated if the countries affected wage effect...
March 6, 2015
News and Notices from the Writing Trenches #82…
[I apologize to my friends on Facebook, where I usually share these posts. Facebook has made it impossible to share. You can follow me on Google+. I recommend cancelling your Facebook accounts and creating Google+ accounts, if you haven’t already.]
Item. Mary Jo is back! In case you haven’t noticed, we (Carrick Publishing and I) just released Silicon Slummin’…and Just Gettin’ By, the sequel to Muddlin’ Through. Ex-USN Master-at-Arms Mary Jo Melendez is a stay-at-home gal in this one, but her n...
March 5, 2015
Indie v. legacy recap…
[Note 1. Like all my blog posts, this is op-ed, even though it’s about the writing business. As such, I get first crack at expressing my opinions on things—I have lots of them, but you can only write so much! But, because they are only my take on a current event or news topic, you might not agree, so anyone can comment. Note 2. I apologize to my friends on Facebook, where I usually share these posts. Facebook has made it impossible to share. You can follow me on Google+. I recommend cancellin...
March 4, 2015
Doctor Carlos and the Black Hole Murder (short story)…
[Note: Readers who have perused a copy of Pasodobles in a Quantum Stringscape will have already met Dr. Carlos Obregon, chief medical officer of the survey and exploratory starship Brendan. His adventures take place in the same universe as the “Chaos Chronicles Trilogy,” occurring many years after the events depicted in that series. Often these stories are mysteries—did you know that sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov created the sci-fi mystery? His famous Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun, with Detec...
March 3, 2015
Eliminating the competition?
[Note 1. Like all my blog posts, even my ones on writing, this is op-ed. As such, I get first crack at expressing my opinions on things—I have lots of them, but you can only write so much! But, because they are only my take on a current event or news item, you might not agree, so anyone can comment, even Mr. Putin! Note 2. I apologize to my friends on Facebook, where I usually share these posts. Facebook has made it impossible to share. You can follow me on Google+. I recommend cancelling you...
February 27, 2015
Movie Reviews #11…
Item: Black or White. The first Kevin Costner film we saw recently is a mixed bag. White lawyer who drinks too much wants to keep his mixed-race granddaughter in his custody. Her father’s family (the father appears later in the film) wants the child to be raised in the African-American tradition. There’s a strong if screeching banshee performance by Octavia Spencer, but it’s better than Kostner’s. Too many stereotypes, racial and otherwise, make this a flawed flick, including the arrogant bla...
February 26, 2015
Literature, journalism, or MFA degree?
In my old day job, the young scientists and engineers would often ask about advanced degrees. They’d have a BA or BS, or even an MA or MS, and be wondering if they could further their career by receiving more training via an advanced degree. I’d often say two things: (1) the PhD is over-rated, unless you want to paint yourself into a very tight corner (aka over-specialization); and (2) experience in problem solving is the most valuable thing you can gain to further your career.
Now that I’m a...
February 25, 2015
Review of A. J. Hartley’s Tears of the Jaguar…
(A. J. Hartley, Tears of the Jaguar, Thomas and Mercer – Amazon Digital Services, 2012, ASIN B007CJUA84)
My readers probably know I do my “official reviewing” of books with Bookpleasures.com, but that’s often limited to new releases. I’m an avid reader, so I do a lot of casual reading too, some not so new, and I often write reviews for those books. Many of the latter are Amazon reviews (readers can look me up there and find almost all of my reviews, because the Bookpleasures reviews are often...
February 24, 2015
Is it radical Islam?
The verbal barrage from the far right-wing continues, with Giuliani stating that President Obama isn’t a patriot and Walker saying he’s probably not even a Christian (there’s no strong nexus between the two, of course). In conservatives’ haste to criticize President Obama for any utterance the man makes, they have also slammed the president for not calling ISIS and other terrorist groups radical Islamists (Walker would probably say that supports his statement—conservatives love non sequiturs)...
