Southern Born and the Best Thing Since Sliced Bread (regional identities are complicated)

A while back, I posted a 10-List of US Southernisms—words and idioms I’ve always associated with the southern United States. I even had people from farther afield, like Canada, say they were familiar with most, if not all, of them. In the comments, though, I learned that at least one person from Kentucky doesn’t consider […]

\m/15-Minute Hellmouth\m/: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 2, Episode 17: “Passion” (airdate: Tuesday, February 24, 1998): Part 2 of 3

15:01 – 30:00 Previously on \m/15-Minute Hellmouth\m/ . . . Part 1 & Part 3 This episode’s story started with an Angelus voiceover. He prattled on about passion while the teaser was just letting the viewer know the depths of Angelus’s obsession with Buffy Summers. He doesn’t want to just kill her. No, that would […]

10-List: Pilot Episodes I’ve Watched (since January 2026)

This is a weird idea for a 10-List. There is so much content available to watch on both broadcast television and all the streaming platforms. I’m always on the hunt to find new series to add to my queue—things I know I want to watch in the future. To find these entertainment choices, I rarely […]

Comic Art: Spotlight on Winsor McCay (Little Nemo in Slumberland)

For a future writing project, I’ve been doing some deep-dive research into comic books. Which, naturally, sent me tumbling backward—way, way backward—into the long, winding history of sequential art itself. One minute I’m looking at Jack Kirby, the next I’m staring at ancient friezes, and then—fast-forward a millennium or so—I land squarely in the era […]

Too-Many-Ideas Redux: another work-in-progress update

A while back, I wrote a post about a peculiar writer’s malady I suffer from. Too-Many-Ideas Syndrome. Maybe you know it. While the unwashed horde of wannabes are forever asking where you get your ideas—as if ideas are precious, rare objects—some of us understand that ideas are everywhere. They’re abundant. The real trick isn’t having […]

“New Pages,” by Firewater — a short story

The cameras weren’t rolling yet, but he could feel them—the unblinking eyes watching his every move. That quiet pressure, like a hand against the back of his neck. The hum of cables underfoot. The low throb of light rigs waking up, their heat just beginning to rise. He rubbed his eyes, trying to clear the […]

F is for February (and B is for Bots)

And also… F is for Firewater. February 2026 was absolutely my month. Thanks to a sudden surge of boisterous bots, I racked up more views in that one month than I had in the first three full years of my WordPress existence combined. I’m using the word bots as if I know what I’m talking […]

If I Had a Brain, I’d Take It Out and Play with It

I’ve always had a good memory. From as early as two years old, I have flashes of images and emotions—fragments of experiences that somehow stuck with me. I don’t have an eidetic memory—no photographic snapshots of life—but my brain has been a fairly reliable friend. Memory, for me, has always been about storytelling. Give me […]

\m/15-Minute Hellmouth\m/: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 2, Episode 17: “Passion” (airdate: Tuesday, February 24, 1998): Part 1 of 3

00:00 – 15:00 On this day in history . . . Part 2 & Part 3 Elton John was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. Henny Youngman died at age 91. I knew of Youngman, but his heyday was before my time. Antonio Prohias also died. His death struck closer to home. The […]

Diner (1982) — movie review

Somehow, I managed to avoid Barry Levinson’s Diner for more than four decades. I’d heard about it, sure—its reputation as a “guys-talking-about-nothing” movie, its cult status among screenwriters, the fact that it launched half a dozen careers—but I’d never actually seen it. Then TCM aired it, and I recorded it. Now I’m convinced that Diner […]

Firewater’s Work-in-Progress Update (Feb 2026): Journal of a Book

Monday, February 23, 2026 This morning, I wrapped up the discovery draft of a novel-in-progress that, until today, lived under the working title Superhero Novel. As I’ve said before, the story isn’t really about superheroes or comic books, though they loom large in the plot. I’ve decided the new working title is Secret Origin, though […]

10-List: Scottish Musical Acts

Or, This Whole Thing Happened Because I Didn’t Know the Bay City Rollers Were Scottish It’s true. I was watching an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer—as one does—and the character Rupert Giles, the very British librarian with a side hustle as a Watcher, was grumbling about the techno workout music favored by his young […]

Changes (Turn and Face the Strange)

We have a hound named Cooper. Here’s a picture of him when he was younger—the Nintendo Wii was at the height of its popularity around 2008, but Cooper’s not that old. I’m thinking this was taken around seven or eight years ago. Cooper thought the Wii was designed for him, although I can’t imagine it […]

\m/15-Minute Hellmouth\m/: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 2, Episode 16: “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” (airdate: Tuesday, February 10, 1998): Part 3 of 3

30:01 – THE END Previously on \m/15-Minute Hellmouth\m/ . . . Part 1 & Part 2 Xander Harris wants Amy Madison to cast a love spell on Cordelia Chase, who broke up with Xander at the Bronze’s Valentine’s Day dance. Amy needs something personal that belongs to Cordelia, so Xander asks for the return of […]

Shoes I Have Known (Introspection is Good for Your Soles)

I’ll freely admit—up front—that the following statement might be exaggerated for effect. Slightly. For most of my first sixteen years, I logged more hours barefoot than I ever did in shoes. This was in South Carolina, I should add. And, well, I had a regional stereotype to maintain. None of us were sneakerheads back then. […]

Welcome, Bots!

I’m happy that the bots like to read my posts, but couldn’t they “like” just a few of them?

Comic Art: Spotlight on Drew Struzan

Oh, I can hear the chorus of complaints about this post already. Drew Struzan isn’t famous for comic books or comic strips. In fact, while he did illustration work for publications and advertising that overlapped with comic and pop culture circles, he never contributed to the sequential storytelling found in comics. What he did provide […]

Firewater’s Vignette #4: Racist Road Trip

When I volunteered to help open a new Target store about twenty years ago—as a seasoned logistics manager, no less—I met Tony. He was assigned as the hardlines manager. For those who don’t speak fluent Target (especially vintage Target from two decades ago), here’s how the store hierarchy worked back then. At the top, you […]

“Onboarding,” by Firewater — a short story

From a distance, Todd Vesprin—the regional HR director for Rhine-Mart—looked every inch the thin white duke: ramrod posture, tailored suit, gravity-defying blond quiff, and the petroleum smile of a game show host. But as John Downey, the new general manager of Store #1030, crossed the parking lot, his first impression shifted. Vesprin had the hair, […]

A Model of My Mind in My House (The Library Closet)

this is not my library closet—well, not exactly I’ve always believed that a writer’s library is a reflection of the writer—almost a visual model of the writer’s mind. This belief isn’t based on any deep research or study; it’s just one of those things you hear somewhere and think, Yeah, that sounds about right. If […]

Looking Forward (February 2026): First Brain Inventory Since 2025

This is the quadmonthly happiness report for February 2026. Our belief here at FirewaterCorp is that happiness is defined as always having something to look forward to. In our world, choices in entertainment play a huge role in this pursuit. Our company motto is “Read. Play. Watch. Listen.” And then, of course: “Write About It.” […]

\m/15-Minute Hellmouth\m/: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 2, Episode 16: “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” (airdate: Tuesday, February 10, 1998): Part 2 of 3

15:01 – 30:00 Previously on \m/15-Minute Hellmouth\m/ . . . Part 1 & Part 3 The students of Sunnydale High School are all pumped up about the upcoming Valentine’s Day dance at the Bronze. Willow Rosenberg is enjoying telling everybody that her boyfriend—Daniel “Oz” Osbourne—is playing in the band for the party. We find out […]

In the Writers Room (with Firewater) #18: Kill ‘Em All on the Page (where to dig up your fictional villains)

My relationship with my blood family is complicated. I don’t think I’m unique in that. Most of us carry some mixture of love, resentment, and bewilderment when we think about where we came from. And if you’re a writer, all that baggage has to go somewhere. For me, it went straight into my villains. My […]

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