I’m not sure how it happened, but I missed most of Banned Book Week, only noticing it late in the week. I’ll blame it on the ACLU, which doesn’t seem to be doing much locally to promote the event. They are certainly doing their share to prevent the banning of further books, though, through their [...]
I am happy to report that through the efforts of NicFitKid and my own fevered brain leeching off the collective unconscious, Hidden City is ranked #4 by Google among sites referencing Cuban Robots, and we’re steadily increasing our rankings for Edwardian erotica. This almost makes up for being ranked third for Nutristorage, which is bringing [...]
It’s almost time for the 2006 Miami Book Fair International, South Florida’s annual orgy of reading and writers. I was getting worried —— the committee is quite late in getting membership materials out to previous contributors, and in spreading the word about this year’s authors in attendance. While I recognize that the fair is a [...]
Passing through my rather extraordinarily overworked, overstimulated, and overwrought brain these days are the following streams, many of which are actually — and oddly — job-related: incidence of divine influence among otherwise unremarkable artists impact of housing costs on executive recruitment in South Florida connections between Southern Gospel music and Greek tonalities the Spanish Influenza [...]
Here’s an event to make me consider leaving my cave. Tomorrow night in Coral Gables will be the Gifted Rums Tasting Event. Hosted at Katrine’s [Warning: Flash and audio], the tasting will include sampling of premium rums from around the world, as well as dinner. The price is $69 a person, which isn’t at all [...]
Well, the blogination thing is over, and it seems to have worked fairly well. Some new sites got fresh exposure, and some old sites were shaken up a bit. (I’m sure you all enjoyed MG’s post here.) I admit that I’m not very happy with my own contribution, but I already knew that my style [...]
[The following is Miami Gringo's guest post on this site, as part of Miami Cross Blogination Day. Personally, I have contributed to a lowering of the standards at All Purpose Dark. – mkh] It’s not often I post regarding other’s misfortunes, but it does happen occasionally. This morning’s winner of the “Daily Dope” award involves [...]
Tuesday is the big Miami Cross Blogination thing. Instead of my words (or lack thereof) you will be treated to a post from the Miami Gringo. My own musings (such as they are) will be found on All Purpose Dark. But check out all of the bizarre mis-matching of writers the day has to offer. [...]
Following the recent burglary of my car, I had to make a trip to a body shop to get an estimate on replacing the ashtray (also know as parking pass and loose change storage compartment). Across the street from the shop is Southern Memorial Cemetery, a place I’d passed many times before, but never stopped [...]
The first time I was involved in a “blogging community” it was pretty geographically diverse. We were brought together by common interests, or just mutual admiration of the writing we produced, not by neighborhood. And back in those proto-blogging days, when all the world’s bloggers could probably fit into a high school gymnasium and still [...]
The Escapist has an interesting interview with an OGM, “online guerilla marketer,” one of those people who are paid to insinuate themselves into on-line communities and then manipulate the members into buying their masters’ products. It’s a perfect example of why I tend to rail against the insidious influence of the marketing-industrial complex. Gradually marketing [...]
Please accept my apologies for my poorly timed fade, but the general hoopla surrounding September 11 — and the near-homicidal rage induced by hearing semi-sentient politicians utter the phrase “war on terror” in hushed and reverent tones — pushed me deeper into hermit mode than usual. And when I go into hermit mode, I try [...]
It’s a fact of life on the web: personal sites close down. The demands of off-line life may necessitate a hiatus, or perhaps the author simply loses interest in writing. Most bloggers create and distribute their work for free, so when faced with adversity it can be difficult to make publishing a priority. Of course, [...]
“Security is mostly superstition. It does not exist in nature. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold.” — Helen Keller Share/Bookmark
Sixteen years in the making, this month Top Shelf Productions finally published Lost Girls, a classic bit of pseudo-Edwardian erotica (or pornography, if you prefer) involving three women of three ages in a hotel, discussing their amorous exploits in explicit detail. While porn isn’t exactly hard to come by, and even erotica has become commonplace [...]
No, it isn’t your imagination. The Labor Day post didn’t appear on Labor Day due to some technical difficulties on my end. But it is published now, for what it is worth. Today is an election day. If you have the inclination and haven’t done so already,m go and vote. More importantly, though, if you [...]
When I was eighteen I had a job as a “deluxer” for the soon-to-open Sears at the Broward Mall. The job entailed prepping and setting up the display model appliances on the sales floor: removing the carton, cleaning off the tape, assembling any parts shipped disassembled, and so on. It was only a short-term job, [...]
I usually have a cup of coffee and read my e-mail first thing in the morning. Well, second thing, actually, after feeding the feline horde. At about 8:30 this morning I put down the chow for the insiders, and then grabbed a cup of food for the hangers-on on the porch, opened the blinds, and [...]
Given that political maneuvering has pushed election regulations toward the complexity of Federal tax law, I thought I would provide a few tips and point out some common misconceptions about the process. Please note that the following applies to Miami-Dade County in September 2006 only. In Florida every county gets to make its own set [...]