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
Poetry – “A Psalm of Life”
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,Life is but an empty dream!For the soul is dead that slumbers,And things are not what they seem. Life is real! Life is earnest!And the grave is not its goal;Dust thou art, to dust returnest,Was not spoken of the soul. Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,Is our destined end or way;But … Continue reading Poetry – “A Psalm of Life”
Words of the Saints: St. John Henry Newman on the Hour of Death
"Well is the hour of death described as the evening. There is something in the evening especially calm and solemn, fitly representing the hour of death. How peculiar, how unlike anything else, is a summer evening, when after the fever and heat of the day, after walking, or after working, after any toil, we cease … Continue reading Words of the Saints: St. John Henry Newman on the Hour of Death
Serpent's Den 