Image courtesy of GetArchive by way of a Creative Commons license. https://garystockbridge617.getarchive.net/
I’m known throughout the land as a pennypincher. A quarter of my paycheck goes to the 401(k). I stash money in savings every month. I grill insurance agents for the lowest possible premium. The T.Mobile rep said he couldn’t give… READ MORE
Image courtesy of Columbia Pictures. — “Battle: Los Angeles” Starring Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan. Directed by Jonathan Liebesman. 116 minutes. Rated PG-13. Mladen’s take Del and I exited the movie theater wondering why the flip no one in… READ MORE
Image courtesy of Touchstone Studios. — “I Am Number Four” Starring Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant and Dianna Agron. Directed by D.J. Caruso. 109 minutes. Rated PG-13. (Note: Mladen Rudman could not make the screening of “I Am Number Four.”) Sadly,… READ MORE
Image courtesy of Warner Brothers. — “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1” Starring Daniel Radcliff, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint. Directed by David Yates. 146 minutes. Rated PG-13. Mladen’s take The wizard in 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz” was… READ MORE
Monsters-movie-image
Image courtesy of Magnet. — “Monsters” Starring Scoot McNairy and Whitney Able. Directed by Gareth Edwards. 94 minutes. Rated R. Del’s take Late in the movie “Monsters” there comes a moment a literary book reviewer might call “luminous.” Ever notice… READ MORE
After a 25-year hiatus ...
... I have been re-admitted to college.
I’m not sure what I want to take; that’s been the stickler for me all these years. Northwest Florida State College has a number of certification programs I could explore, or I could get another AA and move on to a bachelor-level degree program at another school.
I DO know I’d like to attend class in situ - I’m not cut out for online curricula. I like the classroom environment. You get immediate feedback and develop relationships with people that enrich your life. The problem for me is I work days, so I’d be left with night classes or weekends. The unpredictability of my job makes even night classes difficult.
I DO want to take a basic English grammar class. While I can execute the mechanics of grammar well enough I need to brush up on the structural aspect as it’s been many years since I parsed a sentence!
I’d also like to be certified in some of the software I’m expected to use.
As for the overall drift of my studies, well, I don’t know. My last venture back to college brought me to engineering, of all things, but after two semesters I was missing so many classes due to work that I had to give it up.
I feel it’s important to keep my brain working, however, and a return to college would certainly do that.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone's stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra's Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year's Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone's comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled "December" for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman's Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone's novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild's award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida's best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn't look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
After a 25-year hiatus … … I have been re-admitted to college. I’m not sure what I want to take; that’s been the stickler for me all these years. Northwest Florida State College has a number of certification programs I… READ MORE
Image courtesy of Del Stone Jr.
This will be a short entry because while I did a lot yesterday, I didn’t do a lot of different “lot”s. Basically I wrote all day. I added about 2,000 words to my short story – gonna have to watch… READ MORE
The view from my upstairs patio overlooking the pool and courtyard of Bienville Square on Hughes Street in Fort Walton Beach. Image courtesy of Del Stone Jr.
This morning I slept in until the late hour of 7:25 a.m. And I didn’t make the bed immediately. My God, what’s happening to me? This is the day I usually become panic-stricken. It’s the first real day of vacation… READ MORE
Image courtesy of Flickr user Todd Martin by way of a Creative Commons search.https://www.flickr.com/photos/tmartin/
I woke up at 6:45 a.m. to another gray day. Whoever called Florida the “Sunshine State” sold us a bill of good. Wait a minute. We don’t live in Florida. We live in southern Alabama. Roll Tide. Today was to… READ MORE
The newly resurfaced tennis courts at Ferry Park don't offer much in the way of tripping hazards. Image courtesy of Del Stone Jr.
My vacations come and go so quickly I wonder where they went. THIS vacation I vow to keep track of every precious second. Hence, this “vacation diary.” Sooo … how did Day 1 of Vacationland go? Well, I charged out… READ MORE