Musings, Ravings, and Rantings | KGWhitehurst

Favorite Sessions

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 00:14:05 -0400

ON REREADING

This session took its title from the new book by Patricia Meyers Spacks. She’s professor emerita of English at UVa and the author of several noted works of scholarship on 18th century English literature. It’s her thesis that 18th century English literature is all about the intersection between the individual and society. I’ll buy that.

Professor Spacks discussed what one cant get out…

Space A

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 16:01:17 -0400

The Virginia Festival of the Book was held this year from 21 through 25 March. I went down for four of the five days. I had planned to attend eleven sessions, but wimped out and only went to eight.

Every year, the Festival is different. I perceive different things about it. Some random observations--The nonfiction sessions were stronger than the fiction sessions; The publishing sessions were…

"Political Arithmetick"

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:12:12 -0400

I spent this past weekend--Friday, Saturday, and Sunday--commuting--100 miles per day--to the University of Maryland at College Park for a historical conference. UMd’s History Department and the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture co-sponsored The “Political Arithmetick” of Empires in the Early Modern Atlantic World 1500-1807.

I have to confess that the whole idea of…

BABYLON 5

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:21:29 -0500

Brad and I just finished our yearly re-watching of BABYLON 5. It’s excellent SF; it holds up even through endless re-watchings; it’s an old friend. It is also, as THE NEVER-ENDING STORY emphasizes, never the same story twice. We are different people, different every time we come to the story, so the story always is different. We bring new things to the story; we see new things; we take new things…

Duds of 2011

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:54:50 -0500

What is a dud?

Like most words in English, dud has several meanings. Informally and plurally, duds means clothes. When was the last time that usage was in vogue? Nope, not that meaning.

In its noun form, a dud is a thing that fails to work properly--or in the case of ammunition, at all. In its adjectival form, it follows the same meaning. A dud book or movie is a book or movie that fails to work…

The Best of 2011

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:48:26 -0500

I’ve taken stock of 2011. I didn’t get as much writing done as I wanted. I have to make more time to write and, more important, believe that a) I have something to say and b) an interesting way to say it.

I also didn’t get published. I want to do that in 2012, but that is somewhat dependent upon others. Mind, if I don’t produce then there’ll be nothing to publish. If I submit stuff, then the…

What I've Learned from Yoga

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 23:16:27 -0500

I have now done two 21-day challenges at my yoga studio. I tried to go for a whole 30 days in both cases, but didn’t quite make that. I did make at least the 21 days the first time and 24 straight the next time. I do yoga most days.

I learned one big lesson in the first challenge round. I don’t challenge myself enough. I have tried to pick that, not let things go slack. That was hard, and I…

Top TV Themes

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 23:35:36 -0500

It’s hardly light or fun today in the Mid-Atlantic, rather rainy and chilly. Added to that, the holidays are right upon us. Who else wants to dive back under the bedcovers, pull them over the head, and hide out until January? In honor of that sentiment, let’s have some fun with TV themes, some of which are pretty damned good music.

The idea for this blog on music themes has been kicking around in…

Bouchercon II--Interviews

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 20:02:04 -0400

First, the weather update--yes, it snowed today in Frederick CO, MD. Historic, probably; rare, certainly; unprecedented, no. Could I have done without it? Absolutely. I’m ready for snow in December, not the day after the World Series finished.

The horrible Cardinals, to use Sara Paretsky’s words, won. I’m bummed. So, probably, is she. Cubs fans are like Red Sox fans: I have two teams; Boston…

Favorite Sessions of Bouchercon--Spirit of St. Louis

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 21:11:01 -0400

This year, Bouchercon ran from September 15 through September 18. It had a very different buzz from last year’s conference in San Francisco. By the Bay was merry. This year’s had a frenzied, frenetic, and slightly forced feel. Or maybe it simply felt that way because I was operating from behind the 8-ball because I arrived on Thursday morning and went straight into the conference.

Lesson: Arrive…

Other Things I Won't Do

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 17:21:40 -0400

One of the things authors were discussing at this years Bouchercon, held ten days ago in St. Louis, was the horrific violence against women we're seeing in crime novels. Crime novels, particularly contemporary ones, have become more violent in general. As I've commented earlier, I think that is to be lamented--for lots of reasons.

That doesn't mean these authors, who are mostly women, are wrong.…

Things I Don't Like and Won't Do

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 15:57:37 -0400

Dear Gentle Reader, there are literary things in which I will not indulge or with which I will not waste your time. I won’t do these things because I, myself, don’t like them. I don’t read, and by extension write, gratuitous violence or sex or excessively grim or bleak settings. I’m not going to use difficult or clichéd narrative techniques.

1. Excessive violence and/or sex

Gratuitous violence (or…

Villains

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 13:20:28 -0400

There are probably as many types of villains as there are types of heroes, but, to me, villains have to abide by certain fixed rules.

1. Villains must be smart, ruthless, cunning, and respectful of the hero (or at least his/her/its ability to capture said villain; ditto for the hero).

2. Villains don’t necessarily have to be explicitly evil. The smart, amoral villain might be the best of all.

3.…

Heroes

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 18:15:08 -0400

What makes for a great hero?

Alexandra Sokoloff in her SCREENWRITING TRICKS FOR AUTHORS has her readers/workshop participants make lists of great heroes, villains, endings, etcetera from films or books. Mostly, these lists show the participants what they like/want in a hero/villain/ending.

These heroes, in no particular order, comprise my list: Odysseus, Aeneas, Hector (y’all know I like epic…

Moments of Transition

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 14:15:12 -0400

Yes, I’ve taken the title for this blog from JMS’s Babylon 5. Delenn and G’Kar spoke about moments of transition, both personal and political, both profound and powerful. Above all, they are scary moments, particularly for the people who have to live through them. How’s it going to come out? Will we survive?

We’re living through a protracted period of transition. Is it an end or a beginning? In…

Six Novels

Tue, 31 May 2011 16:45:58 -0400

John Floyd over on CRIMINAL BRIEF (a website for the mystery short story) told readers about six novels that have stayed with him or became permanent favorites. They weren’t perfect or even the best among the complete works of that author. They hit home--wherever home was or is.

Here are six that have stuck with me over the years.

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD--Who doesn’t want to be Atticus Finch? Who…

What Else You Got?

Mon, 16 May 2011 17:32:33 -0400

James M. Cain asked that question--What else you got?-- repeatedly in his conversations with Henry Sapienza and John McAleer. It comes across as curious, demanding, and engaged--even in his 80s. These conversations were interviews for a potential biography that never came to fruition. The notes and transcripts disappeared until Professor McAleer had his son pull the files on P. G. Wodehouse.

…

Malice Domestic 23

Wed, 04 May 2011 17:46:09 -0400

Malice Domestic--Malice for short--is the annual fan convention that celebrates the traditional mystery. Hard-boiled, noir, and gritty crime novels need not apply. On the other hand, a wider range of mystery fiction than I expected did appear. Woo-woos, cat mysteries, comedic romps, historicals (some with quite dark edges), puzzles, espionage, PIs (a distinct minority), police procedurals, and,…

PARIS REVIEW INTERVIEWS--Vol. 1

Sat, 16 Apr 2011 18:49:02 -0400

I came to THE PARIS REVIEW INTERVIEWS by way of a course from The Teaching Company called “The Art of Reading”. It was a good course, I liked the instructor, and he was enthusiastic about the interviews. So I got volume 4 on Kindle, and began reading. I was hooked.

In THE PARIS REVIEW, the interview is its own art form. It’s got as much drama and richness as any short story, play, or essay. …

What Is a Book?

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 14:36:28 -0400

What is a book? Simple enough question. It’s a text between two covers, right? That text can be a story (A KISS BEFORE DYING) or it can be philosophy (NATURAL HISTORY OF RELIGION). It can be anything and everything in between--so long as it’s got pages between two covers.

Well, the answer gets considerably more complex than that. Who made the book? The author? the publisher? the compositor? the…