Steven M. Moore's Blog, page 183
June 18, 2013
Putin vs Obama…
Northern Ireland is playing host to a high-stakes sporting event: Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama will see verbal combat in a heavyweight bout. Neither one is John Wayne’s “Quiet Man.” Neither combatant likes the other. This time, Maureen O’Hara’s role will be played by Bashar al-Assad. The stakes are high because Russia and the U.S. have been posturing and fighting in the Middle East for over fifty years, and neither one has delivered a knock-out blow.
Proud Putin is between a rock and a hard...
June 14, 2013
News and Notices from the Writing Trenches #51…
[Note from Steve: A long newsletter today. I thank you for your patience. Maybe you’ll want to read only a few sections each day today and over the weekend, especially if you’re a Papa or you’re a family taking Papa out to some special event.]
#280: Free ebook…for all reading fathers and summer readers everywhere! Angels Need Not Apply, where Detectives Chen and Castilblanco play dangerous games with al Qaeda terrorists, a Mexican cartel, and a neo-Nazi militia, will be available as a free dow...
June 13, 2013
Yes, I Cry for You, Argentina…
[Note from Steve: Allende, Borges, Garcia-Marquez, and Vargas Llosa are four great South American authors. There are many more, of course, and many of them are unfamiliar to U.S. readers, even though many of us consider Spanish our country’s second language. Here is a note from Vargas Llosa about political incompetence in Latin America and the current political nexus between Argentina and Venezuela. Any similarities of the former to our political situation in Washington D.C. might not be coin...
June 11, 2013
Protecting the nation’s secrets…
Here’s to Pfc. Bradley Manning and NSA contract worker Edward Snowden! These two sniveling publicity seekers unilaterally took it upon themselves to put me, my family, and my friends in danger. In fact, they’ve put everyone in danger. They say the public should decide about counterterrorism issues. The public, for better or worse, elects the government in this country. The idea is that national security issues are decided by a consensus of people who possess a far bigger picture than these eg...
June 7, 2013
News and Notices from the Writing Trenches #50…
#272: Time to celebrate? This is installment #50 of my sometimes cynical and acerbic newsletter about the writing business as seen through the eyes of this indie writer. Although it’s targeted more towards writers, I also hope readers enjoy it too, because I think it helps everyone understand the idiosyncrasies of those people like me who strive to bring some enjoyment to your lives beyond the droll drivel found on TV these days. Or, maybe everyone just has fun laughing and crying with me abo...
June 6, 2013
The weekend writer…
In Tuesday’s post, I began to reminisce a wee bit about my modest beginnings as a writer. Like many others, I had to steal moments to write because of a demanding day job. While many would argue that my career as a scientist uniquely prepared me for writing sci-fi thrillers, I can only say that it does make it easier, sometimes. Moreover, every day that’s less true. If you want to write a sci-fi thriller and it contains new scientific or technological themes, you can probably google the key w...
June 5, 2013
Review of Darden North’s Wiggle Room…
(Darden North, Wiggle Room, Sartoris Literary Group, 2013, ISBN 978-0-9889474-7-4)
This thriller is full of oddities, but in the positive sense. I often said to myself, “Sure, why not?” when they popped up, as the author takes us from the Iraq War battlefields to Mississippi. Even that’s an oddity. Iraq is not needed. Except for a few regional meals, the rest of the book could take place anywhere in the U.S., so Mississippi is not needed either.
The plot is simple: good (blanks) discover bad (b...
June 4, 2013
Where has the wonder gone?
You win a few and lose a few in this life—and you just hope by the end the balance is positive. I’ve always felt this wonder about life and the universe around me. If you haven’t looked in the mirror in the morning and asked “Why am I here?” something is terribly wrong with you. My “why?” was often projected outwards, a pitiful soliloquy to an unresponding Universe that seemed to pose great mysteries I must strive to solve, a scientific sleuth tracking down answers. I did my small part and re...
May 30, 2013
The effects of student loans…
Whether good or bad, our economy depends on consumers. When young people have to enter the working force with tens of thousands of dollars in loans, it’s a drag on the economy and detrimental to their future security. How can we attack the problem?
First, let’s analyze the root of the problem: higher education in this country suffers from the same disease that the medical system does—the incorrect idea that colleges and universities have to make a profit. Whoa! you say. Aren’t they non-profit...
May 28, 2013
Obama’s “Mission Accomplished”…
Politician’s are known for irresponsible hyperbole—for example, Dubya’s famous “Mission accomplished.” Now Obama is guilty of bowing to media pressure and ready to declare an end to the war on terrorism. My distrust of politicians grows day-by-day. While the public should never expect too much from people who are mostly failed lawyers, I’m amazed at how politicians are so accustomed to bend in the wind that they continue doing it when it’s no longer necessary. Obama will not run for re-electi...
