Friday Flotsam: From Napoleon to Puss in Boots to Writing Advice

1. It's Bastille Day, commemorating that great day in the cause of liberty when an urban mob stormed a mostly-empty prison that was already slated for demolition, freed a handful of criminals and lunatics, then burned it to the ground. Sure, why not? 2. Speaking of which, Ridley Scott is apparently coming out with a … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: From Napoleon to Puss in Boots to Writing Advice

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

Friday Flotsam: Life Stuff and ‘Merchant of Venice’

1. Talking with my counselor this week, we discovered that I may underestimate my own productivity. I'm not sure about that myself, but I'm starting to track it. Supposedly, the act of tracking behavior alone tends to lead to improvement, sort of a Heisenberg-Maximized-Potential Principle. 2. A couple weeks ago some idiot ran into my … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Life Stuff and ‘Merchant of Venice’