A.C. Flory's Blog, page 186
February 14, 2013
Why exactly do lobby groups wield so much power?
I just heard a snippet of a speech by NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre. The NRA [National Rifle Association] is one of the most influential lobby groups in the US, and has been instrumental in sinking every attempt to rein in gun proliferation. I am strongly anti-guns but this post is not about the rights [...]
February 12, 2013
‘Smoke on the Water’.. and in the air.
It’s quite a lovely day today, with clear skies, very little wind and not too much heat, but I’m sitting at my desk with dry eyes and a blocked nose. Am I coming down with a cold? Nope, there’s just a lot of smoke in the air. None of that smoke is coming from nearby [...]
February 11, 2013
Supertramp concert dates in Australia. :D
Okay, I’ve just received an email from Linda Tyler of Harmonic Management… and I’ve got goosebumps. As you can see from the list below, Roger Hodgson and his band are not only coming to Australia, they are coming to play in all the major capital cities, including Melbourne. This has to be serendipty! Show Dates [...]
February 9, 2013
Supertramp – The Long Way Home
After the fiasco with ‘Dreamer’ I made sure this second offering worked. I was tossing up between the Logical Song and this one. I love both, but I think I love the contradictions in the Long Way Home just a little more. The melody is so cheerful and yet, when you listen to the lyrics [...]
February 8, 2013
Supertramp weekend. This link works!
Apologies everyone. This link definitely works. It’s Saturday here in the Antipodes, so the weekend has already begun Downunder. It began particularly well for me because Chris James, fellow science fiction writer and Indies Unlimited regular, just made my day. His post, The homophone game, ended with a video clip of ’Dreamer’, one of my [...]
February 7, 2013
Book review – Vokhtah
Today is definitely Christmas. Vokhtah has received its fourth review, and this one touched me more than I can say because it was written by someone who normally avoids science fiction! Jennifer is a fellow Aussie who makes beautiful things with her hands instead of with words, but I think her words are pretty good [...]
February 6, 2013
Sport – guilty until proven innocent?
Sport is not my area of expertise. Most of the time, sporting news goes in one ear and out the other. But not today because ABC 774 [bushfire warnings radio station] has been flooded with news of the findings of the Australia Crime Commission. In a nutshell, the Commission found that ’legal’ drugs are permeating [...]
Reviews of Vokhtah
I”ve been very quiet about the reviews of Vokhtah. Not because they were bad, far from it, but because I grew up in an era in which boasting was considered to be very rude. “Only uncouth people boast.” So I hoarded my wonderful reviews like a miser. I know, I know… missed opportunity, stupid, old-fashioned. [...]
February 5, 2013
An alpaca update and… a favour
I’ll start with two pictures of our alpacas minus their winter coats. And yes, I am trying to butter you up. They’re strange looking beasts without all that wool aren’t they? Like a cross between a giraffe and a deer. This first photo is of one of the females with her cria, Andy. Andy isn’t [...]
February 2, 2013
The Ups and Downs of Being Dead – a review
Back in December 2012, I wrote a review on a feel-good novel about dying. That novel was ‘Don’t Tell Anyone’, by Laurie Boris, and it’s still one of my favourite stories, but today’s novel comes a close second. It’s all about being dead. ‘The Ups and Downs of Being Dead’ was written by M.R. Cornelius, and [...]
