Category: Curmudgeon’s Corner
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Curmudgeon’s Corner: Trust Today
Written by Sanford Begley Trust. According to research, our society is considered a high trust society. This means that if your new neighbor comes over and wants to borrow a pair of pruning shears you don’t think twice, you let him. This is made possible because our society is a high trust one. We do…
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Curmudgeon’s Corner: Stick-in-the-Mud
written by Sanford Begley I’m a Stick-in-the-mud. I have to admit it, because it is true. I don’t usually think of myself as one. Not that I think I’m with it or anything, just that none of us like to think we can’t keep up with the times. Some days you get it rubbed in…
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Curmudgeon’s Corner: The Ring
Written by Sanford Begley Rings have a long history of significance in human culture. Whether as signs of wealth or insignia, or tokens of magic and love. They are so significant in northern European culture that one of the old names for a chieftain is Ring-Breaker. That is one who breaks a ring off his…
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Memorial Day’s Meaning
Written by Sanford Begley We’re going to stand on a sidewalk and watch the parade, today. And we will remember. A lone snare drum slowly tapping, tapping The flags on the graves snapping, snapping The children run around and play Too innocent to feel this day While others know and softly weep A widow feels…
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Curmudgeon’s Corner: Extreme Idiots
Written by Sanford Begley I saw a video on FaceBook today, a line of people in wingsuits lined up and jumping off a mountain. It happened to be titled Crazy White People. I agree…
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Curmudgeon’s Corner: Breakup Counseling
Written by Sanford Begley Breakup counseling, should it be a thing? A young couple I know is going through a breakup. Not quite a divorce because they never married and were only together for a few years, but a hell of a lot more than the typical date for a few weeks or months and…
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White Gravy
One of the things my First Reader loves to cook is a white milk gravy. No sausage, he insists, it’s better without it. His mother taught him to make it, his grandmother made it, and each generation has complained that their gravy was never as good as the one that came before it. How far…
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Curmudgeon’s Corner: Eyes of a Doll
Written by Sanford Begley I believe I reviewed Rob Howell’s first book A Lake Most Deep earlier. If I didn’t I should have. Howell makes an interesting combination of Noir detectives and Byzantium locations that is funny and straight at the same time. His latest, The Eyes Of A Doll is no exception. I must…
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Curmudgeon’s Corner: Expectations
Written by Sanford Begley I’m reading the second book by a new author. I won’t tell you who because it doesn’t matter. I have barely started it and am already disappointed. Not because it isn’t a good book, it is so far. And not because it isn’t as well written as the first, actually I…
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Curmudgeon’s Corner: Honor in an Orwellian World
Written by Sanford Begley Originally published at the Otherwhere Gazette in March 2015 Most SF fans believe in honor. How can you read stories about heroes and not? I think we all believe we are honorable, I know I do. We can’t be certain though, we all fall short of our ideals, all we can…
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Curmudgeon’s Corner: Love is… One Man’s Opinion
Written by Sanford Begley In the seventies most papers carried a series of Love Is… cartoons, mostly things like cooking together or sharing a drink, that sort of thing. All of these were visible things that people in love could do. Sadly, they never really said what love is, just things people in love could…
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Curmudgeon’s Corner: Vittles an’ Sech
Written by Sanford Begley Vittles, a funny little word I have seldom heard in real life.When I have heard it, it has been used to evoke a certain type of ignorant redneck hillbilly, or to mock the stereotype. I probably haven’t heard it more than a few dozen times total outside of an old sitcom…