I re-launched my site at jonathandanz.com after being absent for a year or so. I’d revived my old wordpress.com blog, just to have a place to jot things down, but I realize how much I missed having my site at my domain without having ads making it look extra janky. I can do that myself, …
Our neighbors down the street were moving out from a house they’d been in for 35 years. Apparently the wife had been holding onto her parents’ typewriters over the years and finally decided to get rid of this one, leaving it in a box by the roadside. My awesome spouse spied the treasure and I …
The immortal Rick Steves said this about traveling to Naples, Italy (probably Naples, Florida too): “If something’s not to your liking, change your liking.” After reading his Italy guidebook before traveling there for a friend’s wedding in 2016, I think about these words more often than is likely healthy. On the one obvious hand it …
Tip 1: Start writing. Pretty boring, right? Maybe, but showing up gets stuff done. Few things are finer than seeing the words and pages pile up over time. Without showing up, I wouldn’t get to enjoy one of my favorite experiences: Printing out an entire manuscript knowing I’m going to read through to discover what …
Last month my wife and I flew out to Idaho to join some friends on a seven-day trip on the Main Salmon River (not to be confused with the Middle Fork or the South Fork). The river runs through the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, the largest contiguous wilderness area in the United …
I’m working through the fourth draft of my latest novel, Flood, and have been leaning into the process, doing my best to not worry about the final product and timelines. It’s hard work. But it’s also good, gratifying work. The way I figure, we only have the time before us. The time that’s most enjoyable …
I’ve decided to bring back Words and Coffee using the most economical means possible. As a result, I’m back where I started on wordpress.com. I probably should bring in all the content between that last post I did on this platform in 2010(!), but we’ll see if I can find the old .xml export from …
I may have posted this before, but I’ve been thinking about it lately. Great story. Great animation. Steampunk at its finest. [youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCrQRHCoE4Q?t=5] Here’s the synopsis: Nominated for an Oscar and for a BAFTA award, Jasper Morello is a short feature made in a unique style of silhouette animation developed by director Anthony Lucas and inspired …
Life has gotten in the way of finishing my latest draft, so I’m still at it. I leave you with James Ellroy answering 10 Questions for Time Magazine. All I can say as I sip my luke warm coffee is wow. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHseb8JGNyA] I first heard Ellroy speak here.
This video is an hour long, or roughly two and half cups of coffee, but the first three minutes is worth it alone. In the rest of the video, Stephenson talks about Anathem. If you’ve got the time, watch. It’s fascinating to see how a sci-fi author delves the modern day for material. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnq-2BJwatE] Oh …