Mark L. Van Name's Blog, page 272

Machete

is the most fun available at your local megaplex this summer--as long as you can appreciate this type of movie. The night we saw it, the audience spontaneously erupted with applause and raucous laughter many, many times throughout the hundred and five minute film.

In case you're not sure what I mean by this type of movie, let me give you a few example moments: Danny Trejo hacking off the heads of bad guys in one sweep of his machete. A naked girl stabbing Trejo with that same machete and ...

A sense of belonging

I rarely feel like I belong in a group. Even in those, such as my company, to which I possess an inarguable membership, I still find myself wondering what it's like to be part of the others, to belong.

Tonight, Sarah's symphony orchestra played its annual Labor Day pops concert on the lawn in a quad. We went, of course, both to support Sarah and because I found last year, to my surprise, that I quite liked the show. Part of what appeals to me, of course, is that this is not in any sense a...

Flights

When News & Observer food critic Greg Cox gave four (of five) stars to this hotel restaurant, I was both intrigued and concerned. I've been disappointed by the quality of several of Cox's four-star picks, and we are talking a restaurant in a Raleigh hotel, not some big-city establishment, but I ultimately decided to give it a try.

Walking into the Renaissance Raleigh North Hills provided another of those "my town is growing up" moments. The lobby is lovely and on par with what you'd expect f...

To J.

The other night at Quail Ridge Books, a woman waited until the signing line was empty and then came over to me. She'd been in the store to pick up some CDs, heard me start talking, and stayed. When I finished, she bought a copy of Children No More.

She asked if I had ever served.

I said no. Nixon canceled the draft a few weeks before I would have had to decide what to do.

She nodded. Would I, given all the bad things that happened to me in the Young Marines, have gone into the Marines? Sh...

One of those nights

Out of a clear and happy night a fog of melancholy settled on me, and I can barely see across the office. Time to go stick holes in my arms: my every-three-weeks allergy shots.

To keep you company, here's a lovely song that feels right just now.



Me, I have a date with a couple of needles.

My reading/signing at Quail Ridge Books

This fine local bookstore has been a part of Raleigh for over two decades, and I've always appreciated the chance to do a reading there. At the same time, I feel guilty begging my friends to attend these things, particularly given that most of them already know the books.

Most of the roughly two dozen people who came tonight were friends, but a bit over a third were not, which was a nice treat. To offset the darkness of some of the things I've been reading and discussing in support of Childre...

Lessons from a militarized childhood: There are only two ways out

(In this entry, I assume you are aware of my goal of raising a lot of money to help child soldiers by donating all of my earnings from sales of the hardback of Children No More to Falling Whistles. If you're not, you can go to the Children No More site and learn more there. I'll be here when you return.)


What I experienced in my three years in a militaristic youth group is nothing compared to what true child soldiers undergo. I believe, however, that they and I, as well as many abused children...

Lessons from a militarized childhood: Anger will save you

(In this entry, I assume you are aware of my goal of raising a lot of money to help child soldiers by donating all of my earnings from sales of the hardback of Children No More to Falling Whistles. If you're not, you can go to the Children No More site and learn more there. I'll be here when you return.)


What I experienced in my three years in a militaristic youth group is nothing compared to what true child soldiers undergo. I believe, however, that they and I, as well as many abused children...

My reading/signing at McIntyre's

One of the crueler lessons of writing is that unless you're quite well known or you have someone heavily shilling for you, you tend not to draw many people to a reading. So, on the one hand, the attendance of 14 at McIntyre's yesterday was quite respectable. You can see many of them in this photograph, courtesy of Gina.


For those wondering, the guy with his back to the camera who is taking his own shot of the space is my friend and fellow author, David Drake.

The true story, however, is tha...

UFC 118: How we did

Even though quite a few of its fights went to a decision, UFC 118 proved to be a great card. Before I briefly recap the matches, however, let me get to the bottom line: Kyle and I disagreed on three picks, and he won two of them. Kyle wins for the second time in a row. I clearly need to improve my game.

Now, the undercard.

Mike Pierce vs. Amilcar Alves

This fight never made it to TV, so I have to rely on published reports. From them, it appears that Pierce dominated with for over two rounds ...