Category Archives: Humor

December 10, 2011 · 5:00 am

Bibliophilic Blather Redux, The Globe, GIMP, and Other Miscellany

I’ve made the big time again. Twice in two weeks!

Karen Wojcik Berner, author of A Whisper to a Scream (Available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble), has once again highlighted one of my pieces for her popular Flash Fiction Friday blog.

Last week was my Christmas tribute to Edgar Allan Poe, in which a sales clerk met an untimely end. This week is the inevitable sequel—the solving of the crime as if written by Mickey Spillane (with a good dose of humor in the mix, of course).

The Globe—On Monday I announced the upcoming release of my latest murder mystery, The Globe, and displayed a couple of prospective book covers I threw together. Those two covers were universally panned, so I’m teaching myself GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) and seeing if I can come up with a better design before resorting to hiring a graphic design artist. Hopefully I’ll have something to show by next week. If not, I’ll be shelling out a few bucks to get it done correctly.

As for GIMP, so far I’m impressed. It appears to have many of the features I’ve grown accustomed to in Adobe’s Photoshop Elements, but with one vitally important difference—GIMP is FREE!!! As often as Photoshop Elements gets upgraded (you can go broke trying to stay with a current edition), that’s a very important consideration.

Unfortunately, GIMP also appears to be far more sophisticated than am I, and the learning curve is rather steep. If I can get a grasp on this program, I’ll be reviewing it in a future photography blog.

And, one other thing before I go. I have a very demanding cat named Max. Max knows he’s beautiful, and he likes showing off. He’s been after me to post his picture. So, here’s Max saying, “Hi,” to all his new fans:

My name's Max. I like nature (fish & birds), piña coladas, and long walks on your back when you're trying to sleep.

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Filed under Author, Humor, Writing

September 5, 2011 · 12:05 am

Summer’s Last Day—Don’t Squander It

The vernal equinox is the astronomical end of summer, which this year falls (pun intended) on September 23. It is the first day of September that marks the end of meteorological summer, that point when we expect the temperatures to begin their inevitable decline from summer’s heat to winter’s cold. But it’s the Labor Day weekend that signals like no other event the end of summer for those of us here in the United States. That is because Labor Day represents the symbolic last day of picnics, beaches, and perhaps a long weekend with the promise of travel and leisure before buckling down in school or heading back to work.

Enjoy this day, the last hurrah of summer. Take in the blue skies and bright yellow sunlight. Sit back and watch that softball game, hit the golf course, or visit the local park or zoo. Commune with nature and enjoy the fading sounds of the birds’ final songs before they take flight south. Stop and enjoy the final flowers of approaching fall. Let your nose command your mouth to water at the smell of broiled hamburgers and perfectly prepared porterhouses. Cherish these sights, scenes, scents, and sounds, and let their memory warm you during the coming long, cold winter nights ahead.

Take full advantage of today, for the months ahead will bring you this: