Wise tyrants don’t forbid: they tame. An oppressor with a surfeit of honesty or a deficit of cunning will proclaim that the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day is to be forbidden under pain of law in the hopes that the name of Patrick and the fruits of his labor shall eventually be forgotten and the … Continue reading The Taming of St. Patrick
Thoughts
Thoughts on ‘Rampage’
A couple weeks ago, my movie night was revisiting Rampage, the 2018 video game adaptation starring Dwayne Johnson, Jeffery Dean Morgan, and a giant cgi gorilla. When I first saw the film in theaters, I found myself unexpectedly pleased by it, at least for what it is. Keep in mind that I saw it just … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘Rampage’
Friday Flotsam: Depression, Self-Help, and Not Your Ferret
1. More depression flare ups this week. The tendency in these cases is to latch on to some external factor and blame that as the cause, so that if one can only get rid of that, things will be okay. Right now it’s my job, which I dislike immensely, but I remind myself that, however … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Depression, Self-Help, and Not Your Ferret
Scene Dissection: ‘Jaws’ on Dialogue Serving Multiple Purposes
Like the contents of a bug-out-bag, every detail of your story should serve a purpose, and preferably more than one. This doesn’t just apply to plot points, but ideally to the individual elements and dialogue that go to make up a scene. For instance take the introductory exchange of dialogue from the Brodys in Jaws … Continue reading Scene Dissection: ‘Jaws’ on Dialogue Serving Multiple Purposes
Let Them Starve
Apparently, the first teaser for the 5th Avengers movie dropped recently. I haven’t seen it and I really don’t care, since I’m pretty much done with the MCU (unless there is very good word of mouth, as with No Way Home), but a friend of mine, a passionate Marvel fan, was feeling quite upset about … Continue reading Let Them Starve
Friday Flotsam: Mostly Book Release Stuff
1. Most importantly, The Walk Home And Other Tales of Suspense is now officially available for purchase! Get your copy today: (By the way, in case you were wondering, the above are *not* Amazon affiliate links, because maybe I'm over scrupulous, but doing an affiliate link for my own work feels tacky). 2. You know, … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Mostly Book Release Stuff
Thoughts on ‘The Secret of Chimneys’
Dame Agatha Christie was a highly prolific authoress. In addition to her cozy mysteries featuring M. Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple, she also wrote plenty of other mysteries and a number of books that could be classified more as thrillers or spy fiction. These tend not to be regarded as her best work on … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘The Secret of Chimneys’
Ash Wednesday: The Importance of Being Miserable
I think a large reason why the world is in the state that it is in is because we Christians have lost the art of doing penance. Our predecessors, even those of a mere century ago, would have regarded us with utter contempt in this regard. I mean, we’re the kind of people who consider … Continue reading Ash Wednesday: The Importance of Being Miserable
To Build a Fire
I sometimes visit my sister, who lives in Maine. The cabin on their land has a wood stove (fireplaces aren’t used much in Maine, since they don’t radiate heat very well), so I’ve had a fair amount of experience making up fires. You start by arranging a pile of kindling: ‘fat wood’, sticks, pieces of … Continue reading To Build a Fire
Friday Flotsam: Disney, Kafka, and Lovecraft
1. The Wisdom of Walt Disney re-release went off with very few hitches. There was a close call where I thought none of the updates (including the discount) would be available by the release date, since, at least as far as I can tell, Amazon doesn’t provide the ability to precisely control when the book … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Disney, Kafka, and Lovecraft
Serpent's Den 