First I have to get this out of the way: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgWr3hNXPhk And this: My main reaction has been simply an appreciation of the storybook quality of the events. Six months ago I would have said that Trump didn't stand a chance in Hell of being re-elected, and that the smartest thing he could have done … Continue reading Wednesday Politics: Post-Election Thoughts
Poem – “I Hear America Singing”
I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear;Those of mechanics - each one singing his, as it should be, blithe and strong;The carpenter singing his, as he measures his plank and beam;The mason singing his, as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work;The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat - the deckhand … Continue reading Poem – “I Hear America Singing”
Saturday Flotsam: Hammer Films and Not Much Else
1. My parents are in town visiting, so my schedule (such as it is) is thrown off, hence another Saturday Flotsam 2. I didn't have a lot of chance to get into the Halloween spirit this year, between work and other matters. I did get a chance to revisit Hammer Films' Horror of Dracula, starring … Continue reading Saturday Flotsam: Hammer Films and Not Much Else
Halloween Music
A little Halloween music for you to set the mood: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3QS0XfAQKM I can't believe this video is now ten years old. I keep meaning to make more like it, but don't find the time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Urajx_xCu8U The Jason Voorhees theme song, courtesy of the one and only Alice Cooper. (and all I'll say is that time … Continue reading Halloween Music
Poem – “The Witches’s Spell”
Round about the cauldron go;In the poison'd entrails throw.Toad, that under cold stoneDays and nights has thirty-oneSwelter'd venom sleeping got,Boil thou first i' the charmed pot. Double, double toil and trouble;Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. Fillet of a fenny snake,In the cauldron boil and bake;Eye of newt and toe of frog,Wool of bat and tongue … Continue reading Poem – “The Witches’s Spell”
“You’ll Never Guess Who Shows Up to Save the Day”
I generally have very little interest in contemporary AAA games, especially not involving post-Lucas Star Wars. But by all accounts, and from the playthroughs I've seen, Star Wars: Outlaws is embarrassingly awful: not only horribly written (the main character has a gratingly annoying voice of constant pauses, hesitations, and a tone of "I am trying … Continue reading “You’ll Never Guess Who Shows Up to Save the Day”
Friday Flotsam: Miracles, Art, Anime, Etc.
1. The big takeaway from my history classes this week was the story of St. Patrick engaging in a battle of the miracles against the druids of Ireland, including a memorable incident where the chief druid levitated with the aid of devils, whereupon St. Patrick prayed and sent the guy plumetting to his death. In … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Miracles, Art, Anime, Etc.
Poem – “The Planets”
Lady LUNA, in light canoe,By friths and shallows of fretted cloudlandCruises monthly; with chrism of dewsAnd drench of dream, a drizzling glamour,Enchants us–the cheat! changing sometimeA mind to madness, melancholy pale,Bleached with gazing on her blank count’nanceOrb’d and ageless. In earth’s bosomThe shower of her rays, sharp-feathered lightReaching downward, ripens silver,Forming and fashioning female brightness,–Metal … Continue reading Poem – “The Planets”
Some ‘West Side Story’-Based Immigration Thoughts
My school's going to be doing West Side Story this year for its spring musical, and accordingly I revisited the film version last night (the Robert Wise version, naturally). The story prompted some thoughts. The set up is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet among the street gangs of New York City, with the conflict … Continue reading Some ‘West Side Story’-Based Immigration Thoughts
Friday Flotsam: 5th Century Italy, Manga, and Election Songs
1. Lately I've been learning some about the 5th-7th century in Italy, which is really a criminally under-discussed time period. Most popular histories more or less just jump from "sack of Rome" to "Dark Ages," as if nothing happened in between. But boy, did it ever! Like how we have a rare instance of one … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: 5th Century Italy, Manga, and Election Songs
Serpent's Den 