I've mentioned this before, but Pilgrim's Pass is rapidly becoming one of my favorite YouTubers: he's very intelligent, well-read, has a fun sense of humor, and an interestingly fresh perspective that eschews the dying left-right dichotomy. His latest video (which follows others on Aragorn, Frodo, and Gandalf) deals with Gollum as an example of failed … Continue reading Pilgrim’s Pass: Gollum as the Failed Man
Recommendations
Thoughts on ‘G.K. Chesterton: A Criticism’
This is really one of the most valuable books on Chesterton that I think I have read. Coming from a loving, but clear-sighted brother, it avoids the two errors that many people fall into regarding GKC; that of overpraising him as an infallible or only semi-fallible prophet and of simply dismissing him as an out-of-date … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘G.K. Chesterton: A Criticism’
Black Friday / Cyber Monday Recommendations
It is now time to think seriously about buy Christmas presents for all the leech-like parasites people we love. If you're here, then many of you probably have readers, or film lovers, or sci-fi enthusiasts on your list. With that in mind, I've got a few recommendations for you to consider. First of all, and … Continue reading Black Friday / Cyber Monday Recommendations
Perseus Corbett Review!
The irreplaceable Caroline Furlong has provided a flattering review for Perseus Corbett and the Forbidden Valley! Go check it out at her blog, then consider picking up the book either for yourself or as a handy Christmas present for any adventure fans in your life. Also, while you're there, consider picking up her excellent sci-fi … Continue reading Perseus Corbett Review!
Review: ‘The Thing’
It’s October, moving toward the Halloween season, and you know what that means: time for horror movies! And kicking off the season for me is a film I’ve been meaning to get around to seeing for years: John Carpenter’s The Thing, the 1982 remake of Howard Hawks’s 1951 classic, The Thing From Another World, both … Continue reading Review: ‘The Thing’
Review: ‘The Guardian Cycle, Vol. 1: In Dreams and Other Stories’
Anyone whose been following her blog or catching her entries in different anthologies over recent years will have been wondering when Caroline Furlong was going to favor us with a book of her own. At last she has obliged with this rich little collection of imaginative, emotionally taught short stories. (Full disclosure, I served as … Continue reading Review: ‘The Guardian Cycle, Vol. 1: In Dreams and Other Stories’
Thoughts on “The Greatest Game Ever Played”
Historically-based sport movies were all the rage for a while in the early 2000s. Off the top of my head you had Remember the Titans (football), Miracle (hockey), Cinderella Man (boxing), Seabiscuit (horse-racing),Invincible (football again), The Rookie (baseball) and I’m sure about a dozen others that I’m forgetting or never saw. Coming in the midst … Continue reading Thoughts on “The Greatest Game Ever Played”
Friday Flotsam: Mostly About ‘Forbidden Valley’
1. Most important news of course is that Perseus Corbett and the Forbidden Valley is up at last! 2. When you buy the book (as I must assume you will, being readers fond of adventure and romance in darkest jungles full of ancient secrets), you’ll find that I include epigraphs in ever chapter and one … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Mostly About ‘Forbidden Valley’
Low-Effort Blogging: A Breakdown of ’12 Angry Men’
12 Angry Men is one of the great American dramatic films and an absolute master-class in writing: an enthralling story set almost entirely in one room and consisting of nothing but, well, twelve very different men debating back and forth. It's what happens when you have a first-class director (Sydney Lumet) leading a first-class cast … Continue reading Low-Effort Blogging: A Breakdown of ’12 Angry Men’
Thoughts on ‘Flatland’
You have almost certainly never read a novel like Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott (under the name ‘A. Square’). It depicts a two-dimensional world, and the narrator’s experience of being granted visions of other dimensions. About two-thirds of the book consists in simply describing the nature and some of the … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘Flatland’
Serpent's Den 