April 2012

Cannabis Sauvignon? How to Grow a Hydroponic Vineyard in Your Closet

April 30, 2012
Hydroponic Wine.

Typically, in Wine Country we only crush grapes. And dreams. Now, however, thanks to new vineyard rules approved by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors this week, we may also put the squeeze on the vineyards themselves. At question is soil erosion and the benefit deeply rooting trees provide in this regard. Vineyard owners tend [...]

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Writing Tips from Ian McEwan: Read and Avoid Creative Writing Programs

April 28, 2012

In this interesting interview with author Ian McEwan (Atonement, Solar), the Booker Prize-winning novelist offers advice to aspiring writers: READ. The admonishment comes after he roundly dismisses undergraduate writing programs as “a vehicle for mass ignorance” and “deathly,” which, having attended one myself, I’m in complete concurrence. McEwan’s observation (like his books) has a bit [...]

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5 Best Writing Prompt Sites

April 23, 2012

For creative writers, often the hardest words to find are the first. Fortunately, there are a litany of sites dedicated to writing prompts. For those who need a refresher, writing prompts are those pithy, literary starter breads that posit a point of creative meditation and goad you to explore it with words, words, words. Below [...]

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Slouching Toward Quadragenaria: On Turning 40 (Eventually)

April 20, 2012

The countdown has begun. In 90 days, I will be 40-years-old. It’s like the last trimester before I’m reborn as “quadragenarian,” which reads more like a dietary choice than an age past 39 but before 50. In many ways, it is a dietary choice. At least according to my physician, who would prefer I answer [...]

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