Matthew Arnold Stern's Blog, page 45
December 9, 2016
Uncertain times need art
Every hostile tweet. Every head-scratching cabinet nomination. Every missed intelligence briefing. But every sense that this is the new reality we’re heading towards. We can’t depend on a recount or the Electoral College to change the outcome. There are no do-overs or returns and exchanges with a receipt. We can’t Kübler-Ross out of this one. We …
December 4, 2016
2016 Parody: All We Talked About Was Trump
This past year was frustrating, exasperating, heartbreaking, and just plain aching. It was a challenging year for our family and many people I know. However, there is one person (and only one) who had a wonderful year in 2016. You know who it is. He might not think it was so great after January 20. (We sure won’t.) …
November 27, 2016
NaNoWriMo 2016: What exactly did I win?
I won NaNoWriMo 2016. My prize is the first 50,000 words of an unfinished first draft. It is very difficult to write a novel in 30 days, and 50,000 words doesn’t qualify as a full-length novel. So, what exactly do you win when you win NaNoWriMo? You win a start. Getting started is typically the hardest …
November 19, 2016
If you’re thankful for something, fight for it
If there was ever a year we needed Thanksgiving, it’s this one. This Thanksgiving does not call for platitudes about how we should be grateful for what we have. Gratitude demands something more. If we are thankful for something, we have to fight for it. The soldier is the ultimate symbol for fighting for something we …
November 11, 2016
NaNoWriMo 2016: Writing while the world changes
I started writing Offline in the spring of 2001. In my initial draft, I set the story in mid-September 2001. When 9/11 hit, I had a lot to think about. Somewhere near the bottom of that list was Offline. Should I even finish it? Did the story still make sense in this new, uncertain world? I did finish and publish …
November 9, 2016
The pendulum swings
Whether the outcome of the election fills you with joy or despair, we feel like we’re moving into uncharted territory. What will a Trump presidency really be like? Will it really make America great again? Or will it become a catastrophe? It’s time for perspective. We’ve been here before. In just the small portion of American history I’ve lived through, we’ve gone …
October 30, 2016
NaNoWriMo 2016: Why Amiga?
During NaNoWriMo, I’ll write an occasional post about the experience of writing my new novel, Amiga. (These won’t be too frequent because I’ll be busy writing the actual novel.) Since I have a little time before the madness starts, I’d like to describe why I chose the Commodore Amiga as the centerpiece of my book. My computer career started …
October 25, 2016
NaNoWriMo 2016: What do you do while waiting?
I’m doing it again! I’m participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) this year to kick start my new novel, Amiga. It’s a novel I’ve been planning for some time, and NaNoWriMo gives me the opportunity to put it into words. But NaNoWriMo doesn’t officially start until November 1. What do I do in the meantime? The …
October 17, 2016
Enough
Just when we thought this hostile election cycle couldn’t get worse, this happened. A Republican Party campaign headquarters in North Carolina was vandalized and firebombed. I’m a Democrat, and this sickens me. Just as I don’t want to be threatened because of my political beliefs, I don’t want to see others be threatened because of theirs. We …
October 6, 2016
Thirty things I love about Orange County
On October 14, 1986, I got up early and drove from my house in Reseda to my new job in Irvine. This would lead me to move to Orange County where I met my wife and started our family. That reason by itself is why I’m glad I came here. Although I’ve been spending a lot …
