As Columbia’s brave scions, in anger array’d,Once defy’d a proud monarch and built a new nation;’Gainst their brothers of Britain unsheath’d the sharp bladeThat hath ne’er met defeat nor endur’d desecration;So must we in this hourShow our valour and pow’r,And dispel the black perils that over us low’r:Whilst the sons of Britannia, no longer our … Continue reading Poem – “Ode for July Fourth 1917”
Friday Flotsam: New Job and Some Other Stuff
1. The first news is that as of this week I have a new job. Come August I'll be teaching with Regina Caeli Academy: a classical-education homeschool-hybrid where kids learn at home three days a week then come in for Socratic discussion two days. I'm taking on high school-level American History, US Government and Economics, … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: New Job and Some Other Stuff
NC Commentary: “Not Pretty, But…”
My first piece of commentary is up at Noble Cobra Magazine, discussing a trope I call "Not Pretty, But..." Films often run into a problem where the story calls for the heroine to either be not particularly attractive, or for her to at least appear to be so to start with. The trouble is that … Continue reading NC Commentary: “Not Pretty, But…”
Some Thoughts on ‘Anne of Green Gables’
I sometimes think that English teachers and professional writing gurus don’t read much, given how it seems that most of the great enduring classics eschew much of the advice they give. That is, unless they ever remember to say “make it interesting.” Rule one of martial arts is ‘don’t die’, rule one of writing is … Continue reading Some Thoughts on ‘Anne of Green Gables’
Poem – “Thou Shalt Not Kill”
I had grown weary of him; of his breathAnd hands and features I was sick to death.Each day I heard the same dull voice and tread;I did not hate him: but I wished him dead.And he must with his blank face fill my life-Then my brain blackened; and I snatched a knife. But ere I … Continue reading Poem – “Thou Shalt Not Kill”
Meeting Nancy
Yesterday I got to satisfy a long-held wish. Pretty much ever since I first saw A Nightmare on Elm Street - which is still one of my favorite horror films - I'd hoped to have the chance to meet the lovely Heather Langenkamp, who plays protagonist Nancy. See, I'm one of those odd people who … Continue reading Meeting Nancy
Lady Emma Worthing in “The Wreck of the Corbeau”
Missed last week, but got another short story up at Noble Cobra Magazine. This one's a quick pulp tale that I've had lying about for a little while, featuring another one of Lady Emma Worthing's adventures (some of you might remember her: that story will probably end up in the magazine as well, once I … Continue reading Lady Emma Worthing in “The Wreck of the Corbeau”
My Take on the ‘Titan’ Disaster
My essay on the tragedy of the Titan went up today at The Everyman: But what makes the Titanic a legend is less the fact of her sinking than the boast that she was ‘unsinkable’. The blasphemous (possibly apocryphal) claim that ‘God Himself could not sink this ship,’ followed by her sinking on her maiden … Continue reading My Take on the ‘Titan’ Disaster
Friday Flotsam: Box Office, Generational Lag, Education
1. Dipping into box office news, I'm glad to see that the lingering waste product of a failed and canceled franchise starring a violent lunatic is failing hard at the box office, despite the desperate presence of an overpaid relic from the days of comparative cultural confidence. Likewise the latest offering of the studio that … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Box Office, Generational Lag, Education
Thought of the Day
I wish they had done a crossover between Kojak and Kolchak, both because it would have been fascinating to see (not only crossing genres, but Telly Savalas and Darren McGavin going head to head would've been awesome), and because I'm always getting them mixed up anyway. "If you want a job done right, you just … Continue reading Thought of the Day
Serpent's Den 