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Marty’s photo of the day #2753: One shock for Americans visiting countries like Spain and Italy is that you can’t always eat when you want to eat. I love that different countries have diverse traditions and cultures. Still, I have to admit to getting frustrated wanting to eat dinner at five or six o’clock and […]
Marty’s photo of the day #2751: While in Italy, I spent quite a bit of time comparing and contrasting the country to the United States. Here are my observations for today—probably letting on a bit too much how my mind works: In Italy, the toilets in most public restrooms do not have seats. This guarantees […]
Marty’s photo of the day #2750: While in Italy, I spent quite a bit of time comparing and contrasting the country to the United States. Over all, the list in my mind was quite equal. For instance, I found the driving there similar to driving in highly populated areas of the United States. Italy is […]
Marty’s photo of the day #2748: Greetings from Seattle! Never in my wildest dreams did I think Deb and I would be here today. Our early morning United Airlines flight out of Milan, Italy was cancelled at the last moment. So instead of taking United Airlines from Milan to Newark to Denver to Missoula, we […]
Marty’s photo of the day #2746: Greetings from Arona, Italy. Last night, in Milan, Deb and I savored Within Temptation in concert. Over the years, I’ve seen the best—from the Rolling Stones to Bruce Springsteen to Tina Turner to Garbage to Grace Potter—and Within Temptation is right up there with all of them. The concert […]
Marty’s photo of the day #2745: Greetings from Milan, Italy. Tonight is the night that brought us to Italy in the first place: Within Temptation in concert! Deb and I have a hotel room about a block and a half from the concert hall. The Fabrique is kind of like First Avenue in Minneapolis or […]
Marty’s photo of the day #2744: Greetings (again) from Genova, Italy! This is the only city on our trip where we are spending two consecutive nights. Yesterday, I posted about meeting Anna and Andrew after Deb and I ended up locked out of the apartment we were renting. We could only enter by punching in […]
Marty’s photo of the day #2667: This is the Castle of the Sad Countess, in Spain. Now that Time Is Irreverent 2: Jesus Christ, Not Again! is at my editors, I’m already thinking about having Marty Mann and Nellie Dixon go back to 1461 to visit this castle in Time Is Irreverent 3. In the […]
Marty’s photo of the day #2665: Today’s photo doubles as a Paul Bunyan-sized Happy Birthday to my wife, Deb Essen. When I took this photo of her, a while back, we were just having fun. In today’s light, it’s actually political. Melania Trump is infamous for appearing in photos that are incongruous for the occasion: […]
Marty’s photo of the day #2657: I took this photo on Deception Island, which is near Antarctica. You are looking at the remains of the Hektor Whaling Station. This short excerpt from my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents, provides more information: We went ashore instead at the more sheltered Whaler’s […]
Marty’s photo of the day #2583: I was flipping through my photo files this morning, trying to decide what to post, when I came across this shot. Several years ago, I helped with an after school program at the Stevensville, Montana library. The kids are holding Eve, my seven-foot-long rainbow boa. Most were touching a […]
Marty’s photo of the day #2576: One advantage I have over other science-fiction writers is that before switching to fiction, I wrote two nonfiction eco-travel books that took me to all seven continents and numerous islands. Even fiction writers write what they know. So in Time Is Irreverent, when Marty Mann and Nellie Dixon went […]
One thing I find disturbing about Republicans is how they can’t let their hate for Hillary Clinton go away. Think about it: After Barack Obama beat John McCain and Mitt Romney, liberals basically forgot about the two defeated Republicans and moved on. But since Republicans apparently believe that hate is a Christian value, they just […]
My books have always received great reviews from both amateur and professional reviewers. Cool Creatures, Hot Planet has received 88% 4 to 5-star reviews, Endangered Edens has received 94% 4 or 5-star reviews, and my latest, Time Is Irreverent is currently at 79% 4 to 5-star reviews. Because Time Is Irreverent is a controversial satire, I […]
Marty’s photo of the day #2562: I will let a short excerpt from my second book, Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico, explain this shot: Shortly after returning to the gulf, we spotted a domed object—roughly the circumference of a trash can lid—on the surface of […]
Marty’s photo of the day #2558: I will let a short excerpt from my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents, explain this shot from Spain: If medieval real estate agents existed, they would have listed the Castillo de Monfragüe as a “starter castle.” Built in the fifteenth century, it was much […]
Marty’s photo of the day #2539: This excerpt from my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents, explains today’s picture: I was looking forward to a nap until Ashley, the camp manager, mentioned over lunch that she had recently seen both a Mozambique spitting cobra and a spotted bush snake on […]
Marty’s photo of the day #2519: This is me with the late-great Stewart Brandborg, who died last Saturday. Here’s what I wrote about Stewart in my book, Endangered Edens: Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico: Before we move on to the next section of our journey, I […]
Marty’s photo of the day #2502: To get to or from Antarctica, you must cross the Drake Passage, which is famous for having the roughest seas in the world. Why? If you put your finger on the globe, just a little below the southern tip of South America, you will touch the Drake Passage. Now […]
Marty’s photo of the day #2496: From my novel, Time Is Irreverent, in the year 2020: “Can I drive?” “I’ve read about how you human males always like to be in control. But in my society, pilots are chosen based on skill, not sex.” Reminiscent of the big ship, the cruiser had a vertical cockpit. […]
