Mur Lafferty's Blog, page 87
October 5, 2009
News From Poughkeepsie – Sunday Edition #4
Yeah, yeah, it's Monday. Maybe I should just just merge the Sunday and Monday into one massive, monstrous post. Shout out in the comments if you have opinion on keep Sunday separate or not.
The theme was "Westerns" which got alot of strong responses. My favorite was by David Niall Wilson, which just cracked me up to no end:
The creak-wheeled wagon rolled into town leaning heavily to one side and smelling of dust and gun oil. The horse plodded ahead slowly, as if he knew where he was heading...
October 2, 2009
News From Poughkeepsie – Day 120
Western…as high fantasy
"Merlin! I'm callin' you out!"
Merlin did not come out of the tavern. Merlin wanted nothing more than to crawl back into a bottle of whiskey, and forget about the dark wizard who waited on the dirt road outside. He had a shot in his hand, and by the gods, he was going to keep drinking until he blacked out.
Only, Arthur was there, wasn't he? The boy deserved a better role model than a drunken wizard. If he was to be the future of this land, then Merlin had to show him...
October 1, 2009
News From Poughkeepsie – Day 119
Western…in modern times.
"Hello, I saw your ad on the message board? 'Have BFG, will travel?' That's you, right?"
"That's the part everyone focuses on, yes."
"You do have the gun, right?"
"In game? Yes…but I prefer not to use it."
"But you will use it, right?"
"I will. If the situation calls for it."
"You're gonna need it. I'll just tell you right now, you're going to need it."
"Miss, can you tell me what the trouble is?"
"Oh, yeah, sure. See, it's about my brother. I think he's fallen in with...
September 30, 2009
News From Poughkeepsie – Day 118
Western…on the schoolyard
Big Lucy's Black Hats were the terror of recess. No snack cake was spared their greed, no shin spared their wrath. The teachers were useless. The Black Hats were the queens and kings of Tombstone Elementary, and they knew no one could challenge them.
No one, that is, until the new girl arrived. Her name was Marshal, and she wore a white hat…
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September 29, 2009
Banned Books Week
Banned Books Week
Happy Banned Books Week! This week is the time when we celebrate the freedom to read what we like, a right that we have embedded in our Bill of Rights.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Course, that's Congress. People try to ban books all the ...
News From Poughkeepsie – Day 117
Western…as religion
Bobby Joe believed in The Gun. He had met other Marshals, men and women who appeared pious, but who threw aside the Lessons of The Gun as it suited them. To them, wielding the gun was about power. To Bobby Joe, however, it was about salvation. Out here in the Wild, it had to be.
Bobby Joe said a prayer for every bullet as he loaded his weapon. He thought about about the two marauder gangs outside his door, ready for war. He though about the town they were about to tear...
September 28, 2009
The News From Poughkeepsie – Day 116
I don't watch a whole lot of television, but I don't dare miss an episode of PROJECT RUNWAY. As an examination of the creative process and an intriguing character study of the kind of people who chose to make creation their life, it's hard to beat. Plus, you get fashion shows and the idiosyncratic charm of Tim Gunn. It's hard not to like such a program.
But I was watching last weeks episode and I almost punched the screen. The contestants were challenged to come up with an outfit based on a...
September 27, 2009
News From Poughkeepsie – Sunday Editon #3
This week's theme, "The New Adventures of…" was alot of fun for me, being a history nerd. Anytime you can make our only peglegged founding father talk like teenybopper is good time, as far as I'm concerned.
Jason (Anthraxus) provided the sole prompt in this week's comments, so he gets the post by default. Luckily, it's delightfully sideways look into John Slidell's work in annexing parts of Mexico:
Slidell smoothed the new map out on the expansive desk. Numerous small towns and missionaries...
September 26, 2009
ISBW PDF and more
You thought I forgot, didn't you?
The deal with freelancing and spinning a lot of plates means some inevitably get neglected. I continue to update the ISBW PDF but I just hadn't gotten around to actually editing and getting it turned into PDF format. Thankfully, the mighty Phil Lunt has come to my rescue and created some awesome ebook files for me! You can get the first three chapters now in PDF or PRC format.
Did I mention it's free?
(intro, chapters 1,2 and …) Chapter 3- Ideas are EASY. Work...September 25, 2009
News From Poughkeepsie – Day 115
The New Adventures of….
Dear Diary,
Today was ever so fine, as I was finally able to woo the Lady Westword away from her husband and to join me for some discrete necking and some indiscrete innuendo under the pear branches. Clearly Charles knew nothing when he said my cravat made may face look bloated. Lady Westword certainly did not think so!
Charles, you are a fathead.
Once again, my restating of how I wrote the "We the people" part of the Declaration of Independence got me a f...
