It is very weird to be writing this about Ann Crispin, but now that she has gone public with how serious how illness is, I thought it better to put down my thoughts while she is still here to hopefully see them.Ann has been a working professional for some 35 years and I first met […]
This weekend, I will be back at the Baltimore Comic-Con and thanks to Roger Ash – the con’s programming guru and my editor at Westfield Comics – I’ll be moderating three panels. Here’s my schedule for those interested.Saturday, Room 302-30311:00-12:00 – The British InvasionIn the 1980s, a number of British writers and artists started producing […]
Somewhat snurched from my pal, Michael Burstein:AboutSF.com, is a resource center currently under construction by Thomas Seay. The main page lays out a mission to provide “services related to speculative literature, science fiction, and education.” On his blog, Seay says, “AboutSF is intended to serve as a sort of ‘volunteer coordinator’ for the speculative fiction […]
Monday morning came quickly enough and the new routine has me up at 5:50, dressed and walking the dogs before driving to school. I’m arriving around 7 and have some time to get settled before the kids begin coming at 7:30. My schedule has me teaching 9th grade periods 1 and 2, including a 10 […]
We’re at four weeks and counting since DC and I parted company and I figured I’d report on what’s been going on.First of all, the house gets very quiet between 7 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. – that’s when Robbie is at high school. I come downstairs after seeing him off and boot up the computer […]
So, let’s catch up a bit. The last few weeks have been packed as I have prepared and begun my new career.The week of the 19th, the teachers were reporting back to Owings Mills High where the veterans greeted one another warmly. Thankfully, with at least eight other newcomers plus a new principal, there was […]
Since I signed the contract a week ago Friday, I’ve been working fairly steadily on preparation. Still feeling the butterflies, especially with each day bringing me closer to that pivotal first day with the students.Last week, it helped to remember I was not alone. Tuesday and Thursday we had county-wide New Teacher Orientation. There were […]
I find it hard to comprehend that it has been five years since Robbie died. But here we are, half a decade removed from those horrific days. It was at approximately 8:20 p.m., nearly an hour after we turned off the machinery that he took his final breaths. He was surrounded by aunts, uncles, grandmother […]
Blame Aaron Sorkin.Not only did he raise the benchmark for hour-long dramatic television, but he clearly raised our expectations for political discourse. As a result, Commander in Chief has paled by comparison to his once brilliant West Wing. Rod Lurie, who created the series, got it off to a nice, taut start but then floundered […]
The whirlwind continues unabated.As you know, I accepted my teaching position a week ago Friday then headed out to Shore Leave.In the past week, I have been steeped in academia. First, last Tuesday, I headed back up to Towson where I was fingerprinted, injected, inspected, detected, infected, neglected and selected. Or had my prints digitally recorded […]