Wasteland Wrap-up #37

A book, a trip, a concert?

It has been awhile since I have written an update! There are many things afoot right now, and they have kept me VERY busy, and some will only be revealed in time, but the most exciting of which is that I have finished editing the proofs of my next book, which will be released in December from HarperCollins.

Look at how real it appears to be!

Editing proofs is a very depressing activity because while the book is typeset and looks very professional, and has been edited by several people several times, one still finds very stupid typos and errors in it, like labeling Truman’s daughter Margaret as “Margeret.” I mean, really. And usually I finds that the fool who made the error was… me! That’s right, the source of all my problems. Well, at least I caught that one.

I have been creating, bit by bit, a personal website for the new book. You are welcome to check it out. It doesn’t have too much at the moment, but I have been bit-by-bit adding photographs to it (the actual book itself could not accommodate too many images), and will eventually add a collection of documents.

Lyndon enjoys the view at Riverview-Fisk park in Jersey City, July 2025.

Lyndon is doing well; he had a strange growth that turned out to be a very simple cyst/infection and went away after he was on antibiotics. Otherwise he has been enjoying the sunshine, even if there are days that are too hot and humid for him to get much of a serious walk in. He’s 12 and a half, after all. But he still enjoys his long walks; we just have to make sure he doesn’t get too overheated.

Lyndon enjoys a backyard nap on a Sunday afternoon.

In case you missed it, I had two Doomsday Machines posts since I last wrote a wrap-up column. The first was part 2 of my “brief history of Preppers” series (I will get to part 3 in my good time), on the Retreaters:

And timed for the 80th anniversary of the Trinity atomic test, I created a compilation of depictions of the test used by Hollywood. I admit that this is really about dunking on Nolan’s “Trinity” test in Oppenheimer (2023) most of all, because I found it very underwhelming, but the really interesting depictions are those from The Beginning or the End? (1947), which use very compelling practical effects for the 1940s:

I’m not sure when my next update will be — I am just buried in obligations at the moment — but I am eager to write more here, especially now that the book is off my plate.