Kurt R.A. Giambastiani's Blog, page 69
August 5, 2013
Y’know…
Y’know, I get really depressed when my recipe for Chicken Noodle Soup a la David Chang continually gets more hits than my current posts on writing, culture, and current events… …but then a vee of Canadian geese fly in from the south,happy, crossing overhead, cheering each other onward, their chatter echoing across the cul-de-sac until […]
Tried and True
Some tips for your kitchen. (Sorry…best I can do this week.) Today: dealing with fruit flies, and storing your onions, and potatoes. I’m not fond of summer’s gifts, and the summery “gift” of which I am leastfond is fruit flies. Morning and evening, I would goaround, dishtowelin hand, thwackingthe cupboards and walls to rid the […]
August 1, 2013
Seattle Cops and Bad PR
The Seattle Police Department (SPD) has had some bad PR lately. The King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) has had its share as well. That’s assuming, of course, you call punching, kicking, and killing citizens “bad PR.” In fact, they’ve received so much of this “bad PR” that the SPD were investigated by the Department of […]
July 31, 2013
The Difference a Day Makes
Yesterday, champagne to celebrate of our 30th Anniversary. Late last night, a phone call. Today, calls to funeral homes, setting up final arrangements for my wife’s mother. Tomorrow? It’s a funny world. 
July 30, 2013
Three Decades On
In 1983, carrying a cellular phone was like walking around with a stick blender in your hand (except heavier), and cassette-playing Walkmanswere de rigeur. In 1983, we argued VHS versus Betamax (I lost that one), saw the birth of the internet, and wondered what Microsoft WIndows would look like. In 1983, M*A*S*H was ending but […]
July 29, 2013
Small Details, Big Solution
First, a welcome to our new subscribers. At some point we popped up over the 200 member mark, which I find pretty cool. So, thanks, all, for your interest. My free time this weekend was spentbacktracking. I’d started my research of Seattle’s history at 1860, heading up the years toward 1874, but it became clear […]
July 26, 2013
Chapter One
No, not my Chapter One. Sorry if I got your hopes up, there. (Did I? I hope I did, actually.) No, I mean Chapter Ones (or is it Chapters One, like attorneys general?), in general. What are the needs, what are the requirements of a novel’s Chapter One. A lot of writers paraphrase Chekhov. In […]
July 25, 2013
Thinking for Myself
Critical thinking is at an all-time low. Do you believe that? I just made it up. But it feels true. Especially after this week. This week I’ve seen a rash of posts, all expounding strongly worded views with the utmost confidence. Here! See this picture/statistic? This is what it means to you! Aren’t you outraged? […]
July 24, 2013
King vs Thesaurus
If there’s one thing that irks me, it’s applying rules to creative endeavors. I’m also not much for taking things out of context. Like this. Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule. — Stephen King A lot of writerstreat King’s advice […]
July 23, 2013
Getting it Right
…and why it matters. I’m still researching Seattle history for my next book, The Wolf Tree,trudging through Thomas Prosch’s bone-dry but fact-filled Chronological History of Seattle from 1850 to 1897. I’m up to 1871, which is within spitting distance to my target of 1874. Some people might say this is a bit over-the-top for what […]
