This past Tuesday I started reading “The Consolation of Philosophy” by Boethius. (In English translation—it’s been a long time since I studied Latin.) In hindsight, that may have been a mistake. For those who haven’t read it, my very reductionist summary is this: Boethius, in exile and about to be executed, gaslights himself into believing […]
Yesterday, I was laid off after 10 years at the same company. This is my first official day of unemployment. I guess this post makes me “that guy” — i.e., the one who aspires to document the experience in some effort at exerting control, refining my thoughts and emotions, and picking a way forward. One
One of the mysteries that J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay have set up for the first season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is the identity of the unnamed character who comets to Middle-earth near the encampment of the nomadic Harfoots. Known simply as “The Stranger” (Daniel Weyman) in marketing materials
The highest achievement of my academic career thus far is having defined what I call the “cabin scenario” – a cinematic horror trope in which one or more characters are trapped in a remote structure and menaced by some monster. The upshot of this is, like a Wookiee life debt, I am honor-bound to keep
A few months ago I started a side project which I have called The Laserflail. Think of it as a satirical news publication that covers the various speculative multiverses that we are aware of, and some which we are only just now discovering. Head on over and give it a read. You will surely like it.
In the last week or so, I’ve recommended the Bullet Journal system to several people. It’s something that I’ve found helpful in my own life for keeping track of things – such as around this time last year when I was both finishing up my thesis at Signum University and looking to buy a house (which I
I went to see Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi on Thursday night. It’s taken me longer to sort through my thoughts than expected, but I figured I’d put down a few non-spoilery reactions for those who haven’t seen it yet, as I did for Episode VII when it came out a couple years
International Cat Day was a few days ago. Being a fan of Robert Heinlein – who frequently included cats in his stories – I started a discussion on Facebook about which of his stories do not have cats in them. While a number of people provided feedback on stories in which they remembered (or didn’t remember) with
From about 15 – 10 years ago, I was very active in the Project Gutenberg community. I’ve long been a fan of both books and open culture, and I wanted to help spread some of the joy I felt from those areas of my life by contributing to the cause. A lot of the work I
As it turns out, 2016 was an exceptionally bookish year for me. According to my Goodreads stats, I read more books in 2016 than any year since I’ve started keeping track (though, not more pages – 2013 has 2016 beat by about 350 pages). But my year in books page only tells part of the book story. Sure, you
