Today is the feast of Blessed Karl of Austria, the last Hapsburg Emperor (for now). For those who don't know the tragic story of this holy monarch, Blessed Karl was the grand nephew of Emperor Franz Joseph and ascended the throne in 1916 at the age of twenty-six. He was an extremely pious and kindly … Continue reading October 21: Blessed Karl of Austria
Summary of Current Events
The Internet, Ladies and Gentlemen
In 2011, a couple years after the release of Minecraft, one of its many players came up with a little song while doing a Let's Play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-ePNomef68&ab_channel=BestYogscastMoments Not much, but it made a big impression on the fandom, especially after someone did a remix turning it into an actual song complete with an animated music … Continue reading The Internet, Ladies and Gentlemen
I’d Pay to See It
Norman and Saxon
(Posted this one before, but it seems timely. Everyone in a leadership position should be made to memorize this one) “MY son,” said the Norman Baron, “I am dying, and you will be heirTo all the broad acres in England that William gave me for my shareWhen we conquered the Saxon at Hastings, and a … Continue reading Norman and Saxon
Fantastic Schools Vol. 2 is Live!
Fantastic Schools Volume 2 is now live! Well, mostly. We're still waiting on the paperback. So, think of it as 'live' in the sense of Frankenstein's Monster when he first awoke, but was too disoriented and confused to form any kind of conscious thought or intention. It'll be a few hours before he can stumble … Continue reading Fantastic Schools Vol. 2 is Live!
“Sail On!”
Behind him lay the gray Azores,
Behind, the Gates of Hercules;
Before him not the ghost of shores;
Before him only shoreless seas.
The good mate said: “Now must we pray,
For lo! the very stars are gone.
Brave Adm’r’l, speak: what shall I say?”
“Why say: ‘Sail on! sail on! and on!’”
“My men grow mutinous day by day;
My men grow ghastly wan and weak.”
The stout mate thought of home; a spray
Of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek.
“What shall I say, brave Adm’r’l, say
If we sight naught but seas at dawn?”
“Why, you shall say at break of day:
‘Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!’”
They sailed and sailed, as winds might blow,
Until at last the blanched mate said:
“Why, now not even God would know
Should I and all my men fall dead.
These very winds forget their way;
For…
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Columbus Responds to His Critics
Thoughts on ‘Psychonauts’
With volume 2 of Fantastic Schools (featuring a story by your humble servant) coming out soon [UPDATE: It's alive!], I thought it appropriate to revisit one of my own favorite entries in the fantastic schools subgenre: the video game cult-classic Psychonauts. We open with a man in an army uniform giving a speech before the … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘Psychonauts’
Lepanto
White founts falling in the courts of the sun,And the Soldan of Byzantium is smiling as they run;There is laughter like the fountains in that face of all men feared,It stirs the forest darkness, the darkness of his beard,It curls the blood-red crescent, the crescent of his lips,For the inmost sea of all the earth … Continue reading Lepanto
Serpent's Den 