The same sultan submitted this problem to [Francis]: “Your Lord taught in his gospels that evil must not be repaid with evil, that you should not refuse your cloak to anyone who wants to take your tunic, etc. (Mt 5,40): All the more Christians should not invade our land!”. And Blessed Francis answered: “It seems to … Continue reading Words of the Saints: St. Francis Meets the Sultan
‘Rama’ Soundtrack
Gather 'round children, and I will tell you a tale. In 1973, author Arthur C. Clark came out with Rendezvous with Rama, about an encounter with an enormous alien ship. It was followed in 1989 with a sequel Rama II, about the second encounter with the ship. In 1997, the two books were adapted into … Continue reading ‘Rama’ Soundtrack
Friday Flotsam: Disney, Kafka, and Lovecraft
1. The Wisdom of Walt Disney re-release went off with very few hitches. There was a close call where I thought none of the updates (including the discount) would be available by the release date, since, at least as far as I can tell, Amazon doesn’t provide the ability to precisely control when the book … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Disney, Kafka, and Lovecraft
Tips On Formatting Your E-Book and Paperback for Amazon
I haven't self-published anything in a long time, and prepping Wisdom of Walt Disney for paperback and re-publication has required me to learn or relearn a lot of things. Though the experience still hasn’t been nearly the nightmare it was the first time I tried it. To make it easier on any of my fellow … Continue reading Tips On Formatting Your E-Book and Paperback for Amazon
‘The Wisdom of Walt Disney’ Now in Paperback
Exciting news: my book, The Wisdom of Walt Disney (freshly edited and revised) is now available in paperback. To mark this momentous occasion, the book will be available at a reduced price all this week through Wednesday March 2nd. The normal price is $3.99 for the Kindle version, $8.99 for paperback. For the next week, … Continue reading ‘The Wisdom of Walt Disney’ Now in Paperback
On Bad Analogies
There was an article in the Wall Street Journal a few weeks back about original novel of Bambi, by Felix Salten. The gist of the article was regarding how different the book was from the film, and in particular how the book had a strong theme of the experience of minority groups (Salten was an … Continue reading On Bad Analogies
The Crossover Event of the Century
Poetry – “Tommy”
I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer,The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I: O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away"; But it's … Continue reading Poetry – “Tommy”
Words of the Saints: St. Augustine on Beauty
"Question the beauty of the earth, question the beauty of the sea, question the beauty of the air, amply spread around everywhere, question the beauty of the sky, question the serried ranks of the stars, question the sun making the day glorious with its bright beams, question the moon tempering the darkness of the following … Continue reading Words of the Saints: St. Augustine on Beauty
Thought of the Day: Unbelievable Premises
Audiences will accept even the most ridiculous and unbelievable premises for a story, provided the storyteller knows what he's doing. For instance, the premise of Rear Window begins with "There's a man who doesn't want to marry Grace Kelly..."
Serpent's Den 