Texas No More
In which we say farewell to the Lone Star State and return to where it all began.
We’d been talking about it on and off for a few years now, and just over a year ago, we started to put plans into motion. Over the last couple of weeks, it all came together as we sold our house in Texas, and moved into a hotel for a week, before heading out earlier this week for a three-day drive north - Destination Maryland.
We were worried that leaving Texas after seventeen years would be an emotional wrench, but it all just seemed so natural. Sure we will miss all the great friends we made over the years (but several of them have already moved on), some distinctly Texan cuisine, and places. But to be honest, Texas isn’t the Texas we fell in love with all those years ago, and Austin isn’t the Austin we knew anymore. Gone is the eclectic, bohemian town of writers, artists, and musicians to be replaced by a glass and steel tech-driven culture. Many of our favorite haunts have been lost, along with a lot of the city’s history, and a sizeable chunk of the soul of what made Austin, Austin.
We will be returning regularly as we still have family in the area, as well as hoping to attend some of the conventions and writing-related events that have been a part of our lives for over a decade and a half.
But it was time for us to return home.
On reflection, home had always been Maryland. It’s the first place in the USA that I visited, it’s the place where I made the declaration that we were going to come to the USA, and when that opportunity beckoned it was Maryland that provided our first home in the States. It’s also the place we return to. This will be our third time living there.
It may be twenty years since we last lived in Maryland, but every visit since then has felt special. As I write this it’s about 24 hours since we drove past the “Maryland Welcomes You” sign on the state line, and we feel we are once again where we truly belong.
For many years Texas was ‘home’ and we’ll always be grateful for our time there, the friends we made, and the experiences of living in such a unique culture - but right now it feels that Maryland is really our Home after all.
Alan
Other Stuff
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Pages and Screens
Books Read in 2024 - “The Accidental Scientist” by Graeme Donald.
I liked the idea of this book, a collection of fun light-hearted essays on how serendipity played its part in various scientific discoveries. Unfortunately, it didn’t really work for me for several reasons.
Firstly, most of the examples were chemistry-based, a branch of science I famously have never really understood.
With some essays what was presented here varied significantly from accounts I’ve read in other works, so I was left questioning the validity of what I was reading.
Which leads to my biggest issue in that none of the essays had any references or citations as to how these accounts were sourced, and the included bibliography is minimal at best.
I know it was meant to be a light-hearted fun read and not an academic text, but it still needed something to give it a sense of authority.
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If you enjoy the books I review here, you may want to check out my Instagram account where every book I read gets a quick review as I finish it.
We’ve also updated our online bookstore at Bookshop.org with a list of the books read in 2024 to date, so you can pick up copies of any that interest you, while also helping out local independent bookstores
Podcast Procrastinations
Doctor Who: Dot and Bubble Review | Earth Station Who
I recently had the honor of joining the Earth Station Who podcast to dive into the recent Doctor Who episode "Dot and Bubble," examining its commentary on social media and the impactful twist ending. It was a pretty deep discussion as we explored the emotional depth, character development, and societal issues presented. The episode's monsters, psychological horror, and practical effects were also discussed, along with setting details and foreshadowing.
You can listen To The Podcast at by clicking HERE
Bond Briefings
In the latest edition of our James Bond Lexicon newsletter, we discuss recent encounters with the numbers, 0, 0 and 7.
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Before They Were Beatles Updates
The latest issue of the Before They Were Beatles newsletter in which we take a sidebar and look at the history of the Liverpool suburbs that John, Paul, & George called home.
If you don’t want to miss out on the expanded story of the early Beatles' history when they are published, you can sign up for a subscription below.
Weekly Web Round-Up
Batman On The Cover - The journey through Batman’s comics publishing history continues this week as we move on to March 1969 with new issues of Detective Comics, Batman, Justice League of America, and World’s Finest.
All four books that month featured covers by Neal Adams but the one that caught my eye was Batman #210 with its slightly dated ‘Battle of the Sexes’ tagline and an unfamiliar Catwoman costume.
This cover also has a bit of a back-story in that it was first assigned to regular Batman cover artist Irv Novick, but his design was rejected, with a last-minute call went out to Neal Adams to help out (as if also penciling covers for the there other Batman related books that month wasn’t enough!)
According to the Grand Comics Database, credits for pencils and inks from DC Comics Editor-in-Chief, Julius Schwartz's records state that both Irv Novick and Neal Adams were paid for the cover. Novick's version of the cover, based on Art Director Carmine Infantino's layout, can be found in Carmine Infantino: Penciller, Publisher, Provocateur (TwoMorrows, 2010). But it seems clear that Neal Adams alone did the pencils and inks for the published cover, though based on the same Infantino layout,
Motor Sport in the Comics - I’m continuing to work through posting the collection of early British Annuals I found online - this week’s addition being the Champion Annual for Boys from 1956 featuring some mountain road side-by-side race car action.
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See you next time
Alan J. Porter
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