Critical Condition is actually the beautiful and talented Mark Blankenship’s blog, and I’ve got a guest piece up over there about the return of Unsolved Mysteries.

Hi Sars,
Given your experience in both the blogging and publishing worlds, I’m hoping you can help me out with some questions about the relationship (or lack thereof?) between the two.
I am a writer who, since …

Hi Sars,
I read a science fiction book in my teens in the nineties, and I can’t remember the title.
It was about people genetically engineering their kids to not ever need sleep.For example, when they …

The prizing phase has begun; please make sure your spam filters will accept emails from me, and do get back to me as soon as you can if you get a win notification — we’ve …

The non-embarrassing: you guys, the Newsweek special election report is gripping stuff.   All day, I’ve given myself one page each time I finish something from my to-do list, but a little while ago I …

1. Thing the first: you know how you keep seeing the ads for Stylista and saying aloud, “Please, who would watch that?”   I would, as it turns out.     AND I LOVE IT. …

Dear Sars,
Here’s an etiquette question I can’t seem to find addressed anywhere online.
My in-laws are inappropriately invested in my thank-you-note writing.

In lieu of the regular Vine, a few words of advice: remember when this happened, and how awesome it felt. Remember that you, the Nation, have improved the lives of tens of thousands of people. …

Election Day is nigh at last; I can’t WAIT to vote.   And, honestly, to have this campaign madness over with at last…not to mention the last eight years’ worth.
In case it didn’t go without …

The Daily Beast does a story on the ’08 DC Challenge.
A few notes: 1) I did not invent the Blogger Challenge, which is kind of how the story makes it sound.   2) I super-hate …