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I love writing the Time Is Irreverent series of novels, because the characters allow me to demonstrate how things would be different with a single change to history. For instance, in the first novel time-traveling protagonists Marty Mann and Nellie Dixon show how life today would be different if Christianity hadn’t taken hold, and in […]
Marty’s photo of the day #3187: If I were able to go back in time and re-do my trips to all seven continents, the first thing I would do is buy a different camera for my Borneo adventure. I always travel with two cameras, and for a while I was updating one new camera each […]
Marty’s photo of the day #3184: This is Eve, my nineteen-year-old rainbow boa. I thought of her last night when I watched a BBC show about polar bears that have developed an unusual way to hunt beluga whales (they perch on big rocks at low tide and then wait for the whales to swim by […]
Republicans frequently state that they don’t care about Donald Trump’s behavior; they only care about his results. That sounds innocent enough—until you realize that people made similar claims during the reigns of the worst autocrats in history. Even Robert Mugabe had his fans. Where Trump will ultimately rank among the world’s authoritarian rulers is yet […]
Marty’s photo of the day #3161: The following short excerpt is from my second book, Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico: As a writer, I know it’s my duty to add excitement here by spelling out the sound of the call—with lots of dashes and exclamation […]
I took the New York Times Democratic candidate quiz, and for me it showed Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren tied at the top, followed by Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar. In a normal election I would agree with those results, but this is not a normal election. What the quiz did not ask was, “How […]
Marty’s photo of the day #3149: A leopard seal on a foggy day. This excerpt from my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents, summarizes the many leopard seal encounters Deb and I had when visiting Antarctica: As inviting as the water looked, its temperature wasn’t the only reason to stay dry—a […]
Marty’s photo of the day #3131: The following excerpt from my second book, Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico, describes the shot: When we planned our hike to the farmhouse, I immediately thought of the two-story farmhouse my grandparents had owned in northern Minnesota. I knew […]
Marty’s photo of the day #3127: In this photo, Deb is at the top (elevation 4,300 feet) of the Salmon Glacier in Alaska. It’s the fifth largest glacier in North America. The following excerpt from my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents, describes our adventure: Unlike other mountain roads I’ve driven, […]
Marty’s photo of the day #3103: Throughout our marriage, Deb and I have done some crazy things on the spur of the moment—from suddenly deciding to move to Montana to suddenly deciding to travel all seven continents for my first book—but one of the craziest happened the night I introduced Deb to the Dutch band […]
Marty’s photo of the day #3069: The following story, “Russians and the Cottonmouth,” comes from my second book, Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico: After a great day of alligators, snakes, and birds, I reluctantly turned my car around and headed west on the Loop Road. […]
So it’s going to be one of those tours! Yesterday I had a full day’s worth of flights from Missoula, MT to Syracuse, NY. I had the early morning United Airlines flight out of Missoula (the tackiest, most incompetent airport in America). First my Missoula flight was delayed because of a cold air plane, then […]
Marty’s photo of the day #3059: Yesterday’s photo of the day was about photos people had stolen from me. Today’s post is about the opposite. Back in 2016, Arturo Chávez, a well-known, award-winning painter from Taos, New Mexico, asked permission to use one of my zebra photos for a painting. I was honored to say […]
Marty’s photo of the day #3058: Every once in a while people steal my photos. I’m not talking about a Facebook or Twitter share (which is perfectly fine). I’m talking about actual stealing. For instance, a guide company in Puerto Rico stole one of my photos for use on their website, and in the instance […]
Marty’s photo of the day #3055: I recently read a blog about how important it is for writers to have a special writing room. I think I have that covered. During the day, I have a stunning view of the snow-covered mountains, and at night I work by candlelight. Regarding my writing: Time Is Irreverent […]
Marty’s photo of the day #3049: You’re probably wondering: what the hell is this picture about? When my wife and I were in Belize, we went horseback riding with one of the locals, and he took us to a cave, where we could see vampire bats up-close. This was one of the other sights inside […]
Marty’s photo of the day #3036: I took this photo in a tiny town in western Spain. The below excerpt from my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents, explains the significance of the shot—and how a simple request can offend an entire country and get you fired: We ambled back to […]
Marty’s photo of the day #3032: In honor of the Minnesota Twins being back in the playoffs tonight (vs. the dreaded Yankees), I thought I’d share one of my favorite Twins stories. Deb and I were living in Minneapolis in 1991, and we scored last-minute tickets to the most exciting World Series game ever played: […]
Marty’s photo of the day #3013: I can’t believe it! Deb and I have been married 35 years as of today. This is one of my favorite photos of her, and here’s why: I could never be married to a woman who wasn’t intelligent, outspoken, brave, and adventurous. I wish you could have seen how […]
Marty’s photo of the day #2995: The Amazon Rainforest is burning, and while the Amazon has experienced major fires before, there is no doubt greedy right-wing politicians and nearly 40 years of climate change denial are major contributors to the devastation. With that in mind, this week I’m featuring photos I’ve taken of animals in […]
