Blog

ByGD

Halloween “Fictian”

Halloween Fiction

As an adult, I’m pretty new to writing fiction. But I wrote a lot when I was kid. Here is a story I wrote in first or second grade. Above the picture it says: Gemma Alexander          fictian

Below the picture is the story: Read More

ByGD

From the Earth to the Moon

1889_Verne_posterOf course Jules Verne is most famous for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. It’s a brilliant piece of speculative fiction that predicted, perhaps self-fulfillingly, numerous scientific advances of the 20th century. Of course he wrote other extraordinary novels that continue to fascinate and inspire readers to this day. From the Earth to the Moon is not one of them. Read More

ByGD

Skipping Asgeir Trausti

Asgeir Kex3Ásgeir Trausti released his first album in spring of 2012 but I’ve already seen him five times. I was one of the first people to interview him in English. My post, Stalking Asgeir Trausti, about watching Ásgeir perform 4 times in one weekend is by far the most viewed item on this blog.

I loved Low Roar’s debut album. I was crushed when circumstances conspired against a planned interview and kept me from seeing his Airwaves 12 performance.

On October 21, Asgeir and Low Roar played the intimate Columbia City Theater, and I wasn’t there. Wild horses couldn’t have kept me from this show, so what was I doing instead? Read More

ByGD

Trip Prep

Lonely Planet early reader

My daughter prepares for her first international trip.

SeaTac Airport, 2010

ByGD

What to Make of Mozart’s Bad Boy? Don Giovanni at Seattle Opera

Don Giovanni booklet CoverDon Giovanni is tricky. Yes, the character plays tricks, but that’s not what I mean. At least for me, Don Giovanni is a tricky opera. An opera with the hashtag #MozartsBadBoy has immediate draw; the actual experience is complicated by the fact that in this story seduction is interchangeable with rape, and it was written when rape was still considered comedy. Read More