Important Thought
Doc Holliday: Southern but Not Confederate
Do any reading about Doc Holliday and you’ll likely come across references to his “beloved antebellum” Georgia and/or South. Finding statements that Doc Holliday would have been just as racist as everyone else of his time, place, and class is also common. But would he? There is a certain “truthiness”…
Compel My Spirit To Bend Its Knee… wait, what?
This blog post started out as a meditation on the cyclical nature of time and the constancy of human nature. It evolved into a quest for truth, and ended in a revelation regarding… the constancy of human nature. It also ended up being a cautionary tale. Let us begin…. If…
Is Your Collarbone Size English, Irish, or French?
When I’m not playing Baldur’s Gate 3, I’m generally trying to do some work on my writing. And that requires research. I love doing research. So much so, I am often guilty of going down rabbit holes that have nothing to do with what I started out researching. I’m not alone…
Damsel is a Word not a Trope
I have noticed lately a trend in which the word “damsel” is used as short-hand to mean “damsel in distress.” As in: “I need you to scream for me.” “Like a damsel?” Or: “I imagined a story where I didn’t have to be the damsel.” This chaps my hide. “Damsel”…
Why Is It Always Planets?
I only recently was able to watch STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS. And I have a question about the Star Wars universe, in general. Why is it always planets? Original Star Wars (the 1977 movie) had the Death Star and destroyed Alderaan and I get that. Special effects of that…
Chatting with Lovecraft about Sex
SCENE: Young, exuberant REPORTER sits opposite quiet, horror-writing legend H.P. LOVECRAFT in a small New England sitting room filled with spindly antique furniture which has seen much use. Reporter: You can’t believe how excited I am to be here. There are so many questions, so many questions, that fans and…
The Unexpected Evil of Obesity
If you follow me on Twitter, you might have noticed it took FOUR MONTHS for my sick cat to be correctly diagnosed. Four. Horrible. Months. When I first noticed something amiss, I took my cat to the vet and told them he was losing weight very quickly. They weighed him…
The Cat Who Lived
My cat has cancer. Large cell stomach cancer. Had it been small cell, he’d have a good chance of recovery, they said. But this is large cell. Stop talking about What You Could Have Done If It Were Different and TELL ME WHAT TO DO WITH THE REALITY I HAVE,…
Of Cats And Veterinary Health Care Costs
As some of you may know, my cat is sick. He has a cardiologist appointment tomorrow. You know how there’s always people who, when you say, “I’m having my tonsils out.” they say, “I know someone who died from that.” instead of “good luck” or “I’ll be thinking of you”?…
Advice for Beginning Writers Part 3
Flying by the seat of your pants is old aviation slang for flying by instinct, by how it feels rather than using your (at the time rudimentary) tech instruments. In the writing world, starting your book with no plot pre-planning, just putting pen to paper and seeing where you go,…