Ed talks about where here is in relation to the supernatural domain: With rare exception, all of the Christians I’ve ever met ascribe to some version “Heaven” as somewhere different from here and now. But it seems most of the time a mere idea. It’s not part of their calculus of life. They act as … Natural and Supernatural Co-Location
TED Talks are the pinnacle of bourgeois cheesepuff and self-back-pattery—a ‘roided up NPR with visuals. As a prole, I’m supposed to be floored by the priesthood coming out from behind the Veil of the Holy of Holies to radiate their revelations to me. Their videos are mildly interesting at best, but this one I couldn’t … Teach Your Kids Not to be Dicks
From Neil Gaiman’s American Gods: A sad cockroach lay on its back in the middle of the tiled floor. Shadow took a towel and cleaned off the inside of the tub with it, then ran the water. Besides being in the same paragraph, there’s nothing syntactically linking the cockroach to the “it” in the second … Bug Cleaning
There was a survey-type of form at work I was filling out, and one of the questions was if I “needed” resource X. The few questions preceding this one had to do with resource X, and it was something I already had. Depending on how I regarded the question, it could require two different answers. … The Meaning of “Need”
RIP, Eco. I haven’t read The Name of the Rose, his most well-known book, but it’s currently in the “to read” stack. I did see the movie version, with Sean Connery and Christian Slater, but I was too young to really appreciate it. I’ve only read Foucault’s Pendulum (free PDF here). I liked it so … Umberto Eco Just Died
One of the best songs, lyrically, on dealing with a tragedy. Most popular music lyrics that tackle depressing a subject focus on three certain kinds: unrequited love, death, or whatever the mental pathology du jour is popular. I don’t think I’ve heard a song deal with vocational or occupational tragedy before. Contrast this with the … Lyrics: Rush’s Losing It
I just finished playing Dishonored. Good game! It was my first stealth FPS, so I had adjustment issues after gorging on Halo installments for so long. Dishonored has high art direction value, taking a lot of aesthetics from Industrial age British fashion. That, and the dystopian decay plot point lends itself well to the alternative … Dishonored Completed
The quote below is from Children of the Mind (free pdf here), the last book in the The Ender Quartet series, Chapter 7, page 101. This is part of a chapter of the book that stuck with me, since it describes a material and technological phenomenon in mythical language. “Myth” has been transformed into a … Orson Scott Card’s Myth-Language
Nothing fancy-pants this time around–just another email with some quote images. I don’t even have a quote under the email title! But there is some actual news to share: there will soon be a first-draft chapter of Pale Blue Scratch available online soon. It’s called “The Flights at Bridge Zero,” and yes, the chapters have … Images. And Words. Part 2 – Pale Blue Scratch Email Newsletter #5
When there’s as decent amount of accumulation of snow or ice, especially on the street, and it rains, parts of the snow or ice on the ground melt and some doesn’t. It depends on the thickness of the snow/ice, how dirty it is, the grade of the hill it’s on, the type of ground it’s … A Possible Metaphor
The Ghost Box is Mike Duran’s third full novel, about Reagan Moon, a journalist of the paranormal who gets caught up, to put it mildly, in some otherwordly happenings in SoCal. I don’t dabble too much in modern science fiction or paranormal (see below), so I can only really competently comment on Moon’s first person … Book Review: The Ghost Box
Here’s the official back cover copy for Pale Blue Scratch, which got sent out to those of you on the email list last Monday morn. It’s no Amish Vampires In Space, but what is? “I would disassemble this body and cast it onto the coronal burn of the sun if it means I get answers.” … Pale Blue Scratch Email #1 – Back Cover Copy
There’s a sticky post at the top of the site (or go here) where you can sign up for the email list for my new book, Pale Blue Scratch. It’s currently being drafted but will soon be advancing to the later, less unattractive stages. Most of what I send out on the list will be … Feign Interest in My Writing and Sign Up For My New Book’s Email List
A few months ago I read an excerpt of Wright’s Awake in the Nightland and it delivered the creep factor of Kubrick’s 2001 with a hint of Lovecraft’s pantheon in its first pages. I don’t know much about Wright but as an ex-atheist, current Christian, he expresses irritation with spiritually didactic literature in a Castalia … John C. Wright Doesn’t Like Preachy Novels
Not that I am particularly prolific on here, but I’m going to be taking a shortish break from posting while I finish up the first few drafts of Retardo Montalbán. There will be more drafts while Jill does her editing thing but that writing won’t be as rigorous or demanding…unless the bean bang completely misses … Taking A Short Break
I received an email asking to promote the results of a poll, as seen in this post from the Daily Beast. Even though I’m actually doing what was requested by linking to it in this post, I responded to the email and declined because I’m not into charities I’m not personally involved with, and because … A Stupid Poll About Writing
I am currently on the first draft stage of Retardo Montalbán, and I have onboarded Jill Domschot as the semi-formal editor of the project. We have a verbal agreement for services and payment, where I will remite payment at the end of her editing duties. So this public post carries with it the accountability factor—mostly … An Update on the Works In Progress
From My Inventions (free pdf here): I was about twelve years old when I first succeeded in banishing an image from my vision by willful effort, but I never had any control over the flashes of light to which I have referred. They were, perhaps, my strangest experience and inexplicable. They usually occurred when I … Nikola Tesla Was A Weird Guy
I was tagged by Jill Domschot, who wrote Anna and the Dragon (read my review here), to write a post on what I’m working on. I barely talk about current book stuff so I badgered asked her to tag me when she was soliciting to be badgered asked for participants on Facebook. 1. What am … What I Am Working On
If Seth activated comments on his blog, I might write something like this on a recent post of his. Instead: I think it’s helpful to recognize and factor in for scale. Some software dev firms are too small to really have a “human touch” to be of value (I personally don’t think any company would … Words Mean Things