Steven M. Moore's Blog, page 207

Are they listening?

I know now why Congress cancelled the SETI program.  The pompous buffoons in our national welfare program for failed lawyers were afraid that the ETs would listen to Americans more than they do.  Oh, they pretend, but they are deaf and dumb (I use the non-PC word because its double meaning is appropriate here).  I've begun to wonder if the lobotomized zombies in DC aren't the ETs.  They don't seem to understand or be able to speak English.  The chasm between us and Congress seems to be...

News and Notices from the Writing Trenches #11…

#69:  Time is running out!  You can buy the entire "Clones and Mutants Series" (Full Medical + Evil Agenda) for $5.98 by using the Smashwords coupon on my "Steve's Writing" page.  The coupon gives you Full Medical for $2.99 (normally $4.99) and Evil Agenda is already $2.99.  This is a holiday sale only.  Happy holiday reading!

#70:  Have you introduced your children to eBooks yet?  Want to be sure they're not reading stuff you wouldn't approve of?  Check out my sci-fi thriller for young...

Herman Cain for SecDef?

Now that he's withdrawn from the GOP race, Mr. Cain is still looking for attention.  I guess he became too used to the spotlight.  When the grand old witch of American TV reporting, Ms. Walters, asked him which cabinet post he might like, he said Secretary of Defense, her jaw dropped, and I choked on my second cup of coffee.  Now that I'm considering it without the distractions of Cain and Walters, and looking at it backwards and sideways and upside down, I'm of mixed emotions.  At first...

Blogging and social reform…

"Rally Defying Putin's Party Draws Tens of Thousands" says the headline in the NY Times.  As a follow-up to my post "Why Blog?" (Nov. 22), I now present another reason: blogging can be an instrument for social reform.  You just might make a difference!  Many of those tens of thousands were there protesting against the despotic Mr. Putin because of a Russian blogger, Mr. Alexei Navalny, currently in prison on trumped-up charges.  His plea urging protest against "the party of swindlers and...

News and Notices from the Writing Trenches #10…

#61:  For writers, readers, and others who want to know a bit more about me and peek into my insane writing world, check out my guest post "When, where, and how do writers' ideas originate?" posted yesterday at Erin O'Riordan's blogspot: erinoriordan.blogspot.com.  Note:  Erin's genre is a bit orthogonal to mine, but erotica and romance novels have a big following.  She's a master of her trade, wielding her pen (or laptop) along with the best.  Clearly, we have a common interest, the...

The internet and the eBook…

I have made some noise in this blog about the fact that I'm going all eBook.  I have a list of reasons, but there is always that alter-ego of mine called "buyer's remorse" who is telling me that I'm killing myself.  Read on, Barry Eisler and Joe Konrath, and console me.

Let's enumerate the reasons again.  The top one is that I can't afford to keep on paying for POD.  Even though prices have come down and service has gone up (I have no complaints about Infinity Publishing's production of trade ...

Eye of Newt from the GOP warlocks?

"Fillet of a fenny snake in the caldron boil and bake; eye of newt, and toe of frog, wool of bat, and tongue of dog…double, double, toil and trouble; fire burn, and caldron bubble."  The clue to which Macbeth the GOP warlocks will come up with for their nominee is hidden like some Da Vinci code in these lines of Shakespeare.  The man who is leading the pack indeed has cast his evil eye on the nomination.  In fact, he guarantees he's going to get it.  If he does, and he wins the presidency...

News and Notices from the Writing Trenches #9…

#50:  I hope you caught my guest blog post on Donna Carrick's Carrick Publishing website.  If not, take a look.  It's a brief look into my career as an indie author.  Somewhat related was my blog post "Why blog?" posted on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  These two posts are directed more to writers, but readers might enjoy this glimpse into what makes writers write.  [Note: Donna Carrick is author of the award-winning The First Excellence and her hubby, Alex, has several collections of...

I want your XBox…

The crowds forcing their way into stores on Black Friday or Blue Thursday confirmed my prescient labeling of Thanksgiving and the day after as black-and-blue events.  People fought and were trampled, shots were fired, pepper-spray was used—it was as if we were in Egypt but with consumerism as the goal, not democracy.  What do people outside the U.S. think of us when we become so mesmerized by the ownership of goods?  "I want your Xbox!" or "That's my wide-screen TV" takes the place of "Down w...

Senate Bill 1867…

Senators John McCain and Carl Levin are the author-sponsors.  The bill was passed in closed-door committee meeting without a single hearing.  It is further evidence for the need of term and age limits in Congress.  These guys have either taken Himmler's Little Fascist Pep Pills, mistaking them for their Viagra, or they belong in a mental institution wrapped up tightly in straight-jackets.  The bill—in particular, Sections 1031 and 1032—gives extraordinary powers to the military, all in the...