Periscope Depth

your circuit’s dead; there’s someting wrong

Ferrett, whom I respect as a writer*, has an interesting post up about the term “speculative fiction.” He takes it to task for being “a bloodless nothing of a phrase that encompasses everything and yet evokes nothing.” Speculative Fiction is, well, accurate as far as it goes. We speculate about things that break (or at [...]

you hit me once, I hit you back; you gave a kick, I gave a slap

I referred to the escalating protests against the Mubarrak regime as a “Twitter revolution” to Marie. She thought I was trivializing it, but I meant the opposite. I think the use of Twitter as a means of coordinating protest against a dictatorship elevates Twitter, rather than demeaning the protest. I’m excited to see this happen, [...]

we got ‘em going down for the count

Part Two of my exploration of the ten best mash-ups on Girl Talk’s “All Day” is now up on Overthinking It. Mashing “Cecilia” with “Get Low” makes a terrifying song friendly. Suddenly, you have something everyone can enjoy. Lil Jon’s commands to “back, back, back it up” now have a spirit of fun behind them. [...]

you make me feel like I’m living a teenage dream

James Wolcott in Vanity Fair (February 2011): A blogger named David Seaton provided the keenest insight into the tactical superiority of Beck’s home-brewed surrealism. “To understand what Beck is doing, to understand him, you must suspend your capacity for rational thought and just let the emotions wash over you and try to take note of [...]

darning his socks in the night when there’s nobody there

The weather reports for Friday escalated from flurries to a few inches to a snow emergency in a matter of hours. I stopped by the Shaw’s in Porter Square to pick up a few things in case I got snowed in. Then I started remembering groceries that I needed, one by one, and soon ended [...]

I sold what your whole album sold in my first week

I didn’t get the point of LivingSocial’s viral promotion on Wednesday, though that didn’t stop me from participating. Buying a $20 Amazon gift card for $10 is, essentially, like buying a $20 bill for $10. Someone offers you this deal; your first instinct is to look for a catch. Your second: to act on it [...]

that’s a one hot album every ten year average

Sean reminded me this morning that it took Illmatic seven years to sell one million copies. Widely considered the best hip-hop album of the 90s, and it wasn’t certified platinum until 2001*. Add to that the fact that the release of Jay-Z’s The Blueprint was overshadowed by planes flying into buildings that morning**. Add to [...]

we can see a new horizon built on all that we have done

* If the World Pavilion at EPCOT taught me anything, it’s that every culture offers both a reason, and a means, to drink in public. * Me: “Do you want a picture with Donald Duck in a sombrero?” Rachel: “YES.” * Chinatown featured a troupe of performing Chinese acrobats. One little girl balanced a table [...]

tomorrow’s child is born today

* While we waited along the shoulder of the road on Saturday morning for the Disney Half-Marathon to start, we heard a deafening CRACKLE CRACKLE CRACKLE behind us. Some gentleman had tried to step into the dead palm fronds surrounding the highway to pee in private. A thousand heads turned to watch him as he [...]

a dream is a wish your heart makes

As a capper to my Disney visit, some highlights and notables: * Flew out with a bunch of college kids, presumably also going to the Disney marathon. Their twee method of bowdlerizing themselves: “We’re all in the same row? Shut the front door!” * Walt Disney World now fingerprints you when you enter the park. [...]

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  • Periscope Depth

    The website of John Perich, author of TOO CLOSE TO MISS and editor for Overthinking It. He's learning about writing, marketing, publishing and promotion, and he encourages you to learn along with him.

    perich@periscopedepth.com

  • TOO CLOSE TO MISS




    "... opens with a bang and never relents ..."
    "... from chapter one, I couldn't put the damn thing down ..."
    "... already looking forward to Perich's next book ..."

    Mara Cunningham knew that sleeping with a married man was a bad idea. But when her lover shows up in the hospital after his wife and son are murdered, the rumors about her turn dangerous. Now she's the prime suspect in a double homicide, and the real killers will stop at nothing to silence her ...

    Buy the book that readers are calling "a great, suspenseful thriller" at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other online retailers.



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