"No, Benny, I'm positive: apart from you and me, Ted's the only one who knows anything about it." "That's easy to fix. Ted can't tell no one about it if he's dead!" "Well, unless you get a medium or somethin'." "A what?" "A medium. You know, a psychic. Someone who can talk to the dead. … Continue reading “Just to be Safe…”
Masterful Heroes
I was trying to decide what made the hero in The Monster Men feel different from most other fictional heroes I’d encountered recently and I realized that it was a quality of masterfulness. Without spoiling too much, Number 13 is not only able to engage small armies of pirates in pursuit of his heart’s idol, … Continue reading Masterful Heroes
Thought of the Day: Twitter
Progressives: "It's horrible that Twitter is now owned by a rich businessman!"Me: "Uh, who do you think owned it before?"
Poem – ‘Opportunity’
This I beheld, or dreamed it in a dream:—There spread a cloud of dust along a plain;And underneath the cloud, or in it, ragedA furious battle, and men yelled, and swordsShocked upon swords and shields. A prince's bannerWavered, then staggered backward, hemmed by foes.A craven hung along the battle's edge,And thought, "Had I a sword … Continue reading Poem – ‘Opportunity’
On the Honesty of God
It is sometimes asked whether God couldn’t have just forgiven mankind by a direct miracle following the Fall. Whether He couldn’t have simply declared that man was saved and foregone the Cross. I’ve heard many people, including priests and writers I respect, saying that He could have, but chose the Cross for other reasons. With … Continue reading On the Honesty of God
Thoughts on ‘The Monster Men’
"Let those who will say that I have no soul, for I am satisfied with the soul I have found...And if the savage men who came tonight to kill have souls, then I am glad that my soul is after my own choosing—I would not care for one like theirs." I had started to read … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘The Monster Men’
Friday Flotsam: Generation Y and Then Some
1. I’ve often longed for a Professor Kingsfield-style class of fiction writing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx22TyCge7w&t=12s&ab_channel=TheIowaStateBarAssociation 2. At work today, someone brought up the African Shoebill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93xRBQHPfWs&ab_channel=AnimalTales Add it to the list of things that ought to be too ridiculous to really exist. 3. Reading lately has included Generation Y: The New Lost Generation, a collection of essays … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Generation Y and Then Some
Musings: On Certainty and Uncertainty
There is an idea – almost an axiom in our world – that strong, dogmatic belief leads to intolerance, social oppression, and the decay of reason, while an uncertain agnosticism that subjects everything to reason and logic leads to tolerance and open-minded harmony. Actually, it’s almost the opposite. I say almost because dogmatism certainly can … Continue reading Musings: On Certainty and Uncertainty
Low-Effort Blogging: Mst3k Shorts
For your amusement, a few shorts from Mystery Science Theater 3000: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmjegYYYlUE&ab_channel=BoBalderson A spendthrift teenager gets financial advice from the ghost of Benjamin Franklin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEY9uRknRRc&ab_channel=Flaggboy42 A farm family spends the day at the fair (which is held on the fairgrounds, in case you were wondering) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNJdWWDkjOs&ab_channel=jjpistols Joe Doakes goes before the Eternal Judge to see … Continue reading Low-Effort Blogging: Mst3k Shorts
Actions Make Words Speak Louder
One mistake that a lot of writers make is to over-explain things (hey, that's me!); to put everything you want the audience to understand into dialogue so as to ensure that they ‘get it’. To be fair, this isn’t (usually) a huge deal; just clumsy and amateurish. But it’s more elegant and often much more … Continue reading Actions Make Words Speak Louder
Serpent's Den 