Leaving Minneapolis on the morning of July 9, I arrived in Houston, TX, shortly around 4:00am on Thursday, July 11. Spending the night parked, sleeping in the grass, the sounds of the Texas night yielded to the sunrise. I was too groggy, my eyes drooping, to fully appreciate it, but even then I knew that … Continue reading On and Off to Houston
(February 4, 2013) The following is a flash fiction submission for a contest hosted by the Loft Literary Center. I was looking for an exercise to keep me busy since, when the semester starts, my creative writing (basically) stops. The mystery genre is worlds removed from my comfort zone but, having thought more about the … Continue reading Flash Fiction: “The Night Before the Madness”
After reading about the upcoming film Lincoln, which is being directed by Spielberg and is slated for release on November 9, 2012, I noticed that it is being based on the book Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. specifically, it will be based on the last few chapters of her book detailing the final … Continue reading Two brief excerpts from Team of Rivals: Turtles and Ambition
I was reading the blog of the New York Times Review of Books and came across a particularly interesting article about author and translator Bill Porter ("Finding Zen and Book Contracts in Beijing"). In it the writer talks about Porter's growing popularity in China given not only the burgeoning middle class that is able to … Continue reading Reading “The Narrow Road to the Deep North” by Matsuo Basho
A friend of mine posted the following on Facebook, and even though it shouldn't be too shocking it does serve as a reminder of the choices we have when it comes to planning our diet. Now, the McDonald's option factors in neither the health care costs for the individual nor for society as a whole, … Continue reading It’s really not that expensive to eat healthy
Recently the 2011 Nebula Awards were announced by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, which was only brought to my attention because a Doctor Who episode written by Neil Gaiman won the Bradbury Award. While sifting through some of the winners to get a feel for what constitutes some of the top Sci-Fi … Continue reading “The Paper Menagerie”, winner of the Nebula Award.
I've always been impressed with those individuals who, when talking of their favorite novels, say something to the effect of, "I love it so much I read it every year." While there are certainly some books that I look forward to reading again (if only because it has been so long that some of the … Continue reading “I love it so much I read the book every year” – Yeah? Well, I read stuff on the internet a lot.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Joshua Preston, Chairman of the Student Senate Email: Prest202@morris.umn.edu Contact: Kate Brickman, Press Secretary, Minnesotans United for All Families Phone: 815-343-9299 Email: Kate@mnunited.org UNVERSITY OF MINNESOTA STUDENT SENATE OFFICIALLY OPPOSES MARRIAGE AMENDMENT On March 1, 2012, the University Student Senate, which represents all 67,000 students of the University of Minnesota across … Continue reading UMN Student Senate Opposes Marriage Amendment
Hey everyone, My name is Joshua Preston and I am the Chairman of the University of Minnesota Student Senate, which represents all 67,000 students of the University system. One thing that we will be doing this Thursday, March 1, is voting on a resolution saying that we believe the marriage amendment to be antithetical to … Continue reading UMN Student Senate to reject proposed marriage amendment
Recently Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales' request for input on what the Wikipedia community should do in response to the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act, which I am sorry to say was supported by both of Minnesota's senators and has only recently lost traction given the Obama Administration's opposition to it, and even though there is division within … Continue reading Wikipedia joins internet blackout; watch out for the Research Works Act
Joshua Panduro Preston 