At the same time that the last leading lady of old Hollywood passed away, another veteran actor joined the great majority. Most people probably don't recognize the name John Saxon, but I guarantee you know some of his films. Saxon was one of those reliable character actors who throve in the world of B-pictures, with … Continue reading RIP John Saxon
The Last Star has Gone Out
Olivia de Havilland, star of Gone with the Wind, The Adventures of Robin Hood, and dozens of other classic films, has passed away at the age of 104. She was Errol Flynn's chief leading lady -- they starred in eight films together, including his star-making role Captain Blood -- one of the principle leads of … Continue reading The Last Star has Gone Out
Sunday Thoughts: The Treasure in the Field
Deconstructing fairy tales is like deconstructing a ming vase; it's easy to do, but it says more about you than about the subject itself. When some wag sniffs at the 'love at first sight' trope, or writes smarmy novels about Cinderella realizing how shallow her love for Prince Charming really is, it only shows the … Continue reading Sunday Thoughts: The Treasure in the Field
On Narrative
As noted, I’m reading Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s The Black Swan at the moment. One of the things he talks about early on is the narrative fallacy, which involves our need to create narratives and see patterns to explain the world around us. This seems a good chance to talk about the meaning and purpose of … Continue reading On Narrative
Fantastic Schools vol. 1
The first volume of Fantastic Schools is now live! Have you ever wanted to go to magic school? To cast spells and brew potions and fly on broomsticks and—perhaps—battle threats both common and supernatural? Come with us into worlds of magic, where students become magicians and teachers do everything in their power to ensure the … Continue reading Fantastic Schools vol. 1
Friday Flotsam: Black Swan
I'm reading The Black Swan by Nicholas Nassim Taleb at present. I haven't gotten very far, but it's quite interesting. A Black Swan event is one that is an outlier with a heavy impact which was predictable in retrospect, but not in prospect (that is, you can see where it came from with hindsight, but … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Black Swan
On the Purpose of Fiction
Actions are largely driven by emotional responses, which in turn are created by thoughts. Now, a man may, of course, act a given way through cool reflection: because he sees it is the thing to do. But he will not do so reliably. The head rules the hands through the heart. A man becomes moral … Continue reading On the Purpose of Fiction
Kaiju Appreciations; Kamacuras
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiHqBcKPYmY One of my hobbies is making music videos out of songs and film clips (though between one thing or another it's been a long time since I've actually completed one). In particular, I've been working my way through a series of tribute or 'appreciation' videos for the various Toho Kaiju ever since my college … Continue reading Kaiju Appreciations; Kamacuras
Sunday Thoughts: Failed Systems
There is an episode of the original Star Trek called "Ultimate Computer". The premise is that the genius Dr. Daystrom has built a revolutionary supercomputer that, he claims, can run a starship more efficiently than any human captain and obviates the need for a human crew at all. They install in the Enterprise for a … Continue reading Sunday Thoughts: Failed Systems
Friday Flotsam: Good and Bad or Social Types
One of the key dividing lines in the world, as I see it, is between those who think in terms of good and bad and those who think in terms of this or that kind of person. Of course, there's a lot of overlap there, and the latter would say that they are thinking in … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Good and Bad or Social Types
Serpent's Den 