Recently, a gentleman from Japan reached out to me regarding the pronunciation of “De Casseres.” He was writing an essay about Albert Stieglitz’ early 20th century photographic arts magazine, Camera Work, to which Benjamin De Casseres had contributed a number of articles from 1911 – 1913, and he needed to know the pronunciation in order to properly translate De Casseres’ … [Read more…]
Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been out for a week of public consumption now, and there have been reviews, a lot of them very positive. I’ve even written my own spoiler-free review, and I’m planning to write a more spoilery one after I see the movie again tomorrow. Incidentally, this review will likely contain spoilers and … [Read more…]
I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens on Thursday with a theater full of fellow fanatics, and it was pretty awesome. Over the last few days, I’ve been thinking about it and talking with people. As quite a few people still haven’t seen it yet, I’ve had to tailor my conversations somewhat so as not to provide … [Read more…]
The Star Wars vs. Star Trek debate is one that has been going on for decades. Recently, however, with the impending release of The Force Awakens and a new Star Trek movie coming out next July in time for the franchise’s 50th anniversary, the debate has been renewed quite a bit. Fuel has been added to the fire by statements from prominent science advocates like Neil … [Read more…]
So, a few days ago I received in the mail my first physical Benjamin De Casseres book. I’ve been collecting tons of his writings from online sources, but this is the first dead-tree version that I’ve collected. The book is Spinoza: Liberator of God and Man, and as a bonus, it’s a signed edition – … [Read more…]
When the topic of the Oxford comma comes up, there are typically two reactions: Exuberant support Resounding indifference There are, however, few people who argue vociferously against the Oxford comma. I am one of those few people. The Oxford comma is unnecessary. Here, I refute the most common arguments people repeatedly use to show the … [Read more…]
I have written before about my obsession with Benjamin De Casseres. I lay the blame for this obsession squarely at Mythgard‘s feet, as I first discovered him through a 1936 pamphlet he wrote titled “The Individual against Moloch” while researching the paper I went on to present on Moloch at Mythmoot II. And I blame the … [Read more…]
The Guardian book blog posted a piece earlier today arguing that fantasy cannot build its imaginary worlds in short fiction. The crux of the argument is that fantasy authors need not just novels, but mega-novels (single stories split into multiple volumes, like The Lord of the Rings or A Song of Ice and Fire) to build out their ideas. Rather than simply acknowledging that … [Read more…]
Several discussions, occurrence and articles over the last few months have led me to develop a unifying thought about the concept of linguistic prescription and its manifestation in the social and political realms. In particular, it seems to me that many of the world’s great debates, and the problems that arise from them, are centered … [Read more…]
So, today my essay “‘I’ve Never Met Anyone I Didn’t Disappoint’: In Your Eyes‘ Flaws and Fortes” came out as part of the revised and updated edition of Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion, making this my second essay published on Whedon’s works. And of course, in a Whedonesque twist, it’s already outdated. Don’t worry, there’s nothing too … [Read more…]