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The worst dream I ever had was a lucid dream. I struggled to wake myself up, but only dreamed that I had woken up. So, I was dreaming that I had just woken up and was sitting on the edge of my bed trying to collect my thoughts. The situation progressed to the point where I was left with the...

That is to say, that rather than authors choosing to attack despotism through Magic Realism, that despotism is more likely to produce the mental attitudes which naturally find expression in fantasy, or Magic Realism.

I'd sooner think that Magic Realism is the natural reaction of any author to particularly desperate or miserable conditions. In the final analysis, their naarative, their thoughts as it were, are the only things they can completely control, the only things which are potentially immune to their...

I'm also quite a fan of Magic Realism. 100 Years of Solitude was my introduction to the genre, so it will always be special to me. However, there are plenty of others to be read. I am particularly astounded by Chuck Rosenthal's Loop Trilogy (all now sadly out of print). Calvino's Invisible...

Oh, I didn't mean to suggest that seeking fame via creative eBay listings was anywhere near as bad as volunteering for "reality TV".

It is also good to remember that, like any auction, things aren't always what they appear to be on eBay. People try all sorts of devious tricks to inflate prices, or gain notoriety (sp.?). There was a biker guy here in the States who listed his ex-fiance's wedding dress, which he modeled, who...

It may be a little out of your wheelhouse, but you should take a look at Barry Hughart's Bridge of Birds. There is also a guy who writes alternate history/detective books set in a world in which the Ottoman empire still exists, but I can never remember his name.

Yeah, I think I'd like to amend my pirate name just a little. I think Black Jack Rackham has a much nicer ring to it. Plus, it's got all those 'a's for a good long "Aaaaargh!".

Perhaps John Crowley's Little, Big.

Black John Rackham Like anyone confronted with the harshness of robbery on the high seas, you can be pessimistic at times. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!

Yeah, Diamond Age definitely had a more cohesive plot. It's probably not unfair to say that it is an all-around more professionally written book, more polished. Besides, I want one of those nanotech books for myself. Snow Crash, to the extent that it does have a plot, is full of loose ends...

I read both Chromos and Locos, though many years ago. I always liked the bit about the restaurant/cafe call "El Telescopio" because of the patrons long habit of examining their wine bottles to be sure that they had gotten every last drop.

I also rather liked The Diamond Age. It's not as "fun" as Snow Crash but there is something about it . . . but, I can't say what it is. It was just one of those books that kind of stayed with me.

My list would be something like: Coffee, Cigs (unfortunately), Books, Truck, the PC, and pen and paper, and about a dozen CDs.

Well said, Wabbit.

Here I thought I was the only one (though most of my family is the same way). There are worse causes than changing weather, but that is one of them. We've been having plenty of thunderstorms and rain the last couple of weeks. Even an F-3 tornado two weeks ago. Generally, I like thunderstorms...

Sorry. I meant to say Wabbit.

Couldn't agree more Rabbit. But, like I said, usually if I have my nose in a book people leave me alone. If they don't, and I find their questions either rude or ignorant, I'm just as likely to give them an answer equally rude. If nothing else, it insures that they won't be bugging me again.

I know what you mean about being interrupted while reading, though it rarely happens to me. In fact, I do most of my reading at work specifically to discourage people from talking to me. For whatever reason, it seems to work pretty well. My biggest book related pet peeves: people who use...

Mine is the name of a character from literature with whom I felt a peculiar sort of resonance.