Revisiting history in search of an analogy
There’s a piece in The Guardian today called “Should We Even Go There?” in which historians discuss whether it’s wise to compare Trumpism and fascism. For my part, I doubt that “Trumpism” even exists as a coherent concept, and...
Not bitter, not quitting: Done playing the old game
A dear friend from college (I won’t say “old” friend, since she’s anything but) recommended a link to a piece on The Bitter Southerner the other day. Here’s the engine driving the thing, crafted in response to the suggestion that we...
Things we lost in the fire
What did we lose yesterday? We lost the environment, and by extension, all hope of dampening the accelerating impact of global warming. To my mind, that dwarfs all the other suffering that’s headed our way. We lost the Supreme Court for a generation, and with...
Hey GOPers: Just how dumb do they think you are?
I don’t know whether this has shown up in your personalized news feed, but on December 16, Donald Trump is scheduled to appear in federal court in the state of New York. The topic: A civil lawsuit alleging that Trump and a former friend/associate —...
Leaving Boone, 1984
Originally published on Facebook on Oct. 15, 2014, on the 30th anniversary of my departure. dc Exactly 30 years ago this morning, I kissed my beautiful 21-year-old wife and sent her off to class, tucked a change of clothes and a paperback copy of the Nick Adams...
What’s in a name? I’m really not so sure
Let’s talk about names in fantasy stories. Not just character names, but place names, plant names, animal names. Any kind of name, for any kind of thing you can imagine. Make a thing too exotic, your readers won’t remember them. Doubt me? OK, thought...
The story of Frank Luke Jr., troubled propaganda tool
Today is Sept. 29, the 98th anniversary of the death of an American pilot named Frank Luke Jr. At the age of 21, over the span of about six weeks, Luke went from unknown ferry pilot to squadron pariah to national hero to suicidal martyr in a stunningly tragic arc that...
Burying the lede on the first Trump/Clinton debate
After a little reflection, I think the most obvious observation about tonight’s event is one that I just haven’t seen stated yet on the news sites I visit: Never in the history of televised presidential debates has the American public witnessed a major...
My engine won’t start: A BSM Visual Coping Guide
Q: My (tractor/tiller/chainsaw/trimmer/weedeater/truck/gas-powered-vibrator) won’t start. What should I do? Asking for a friend. — Random Internet Person A: I generally find that ignoring it for a while works wonders. If it still won’t start later,...
The Deep Dive and the need to breathe underwater
Back in early 2012, I jammed out the first draft of my third novel, Bokur, in exactly 40 days. I didn’t take that long to plot out, either. My fourth book, Another Goddamn Novel About the Collapsing Quantum Multiverse, was similarly quick, with essentially no...
Dan Conover
Howdy
Howdy! This is my current blog, and the best place to find out about our ongoing adventures here at rustic Black Sheep Manor. It’s also not a bad place to keep track of the work on my latest novel, find out more about my first four books, and otherwise just generally browse whatever happens to be flitting through my mind at any given moment. You can also find me on social media via the links below, get all sorts of information on my previous incarnations via my personal website here, or mainline directly into my index of media futurism essays here. Thanks for stopping by.