There are only so many decisions you can make in isolation. Without other people’s input, your perspective is limited and restrained.
Arts
The Arts are the quintessential expression of our humanity. In these articles we’ll dive deep in search of discernible patterns and defining moments in American culture.
Preserve. Honor. Create.
I’m sitting here on my bed reading the first few inspiring pages of Jon Acuff’s new book, DO OVER. It’s so inspiring, in fact, that I just set it down mid-reading page seven so I could type this out. Some things have to change around here. I’m not just talking about this […]
Why Writing Your Story Is So Important
I’ve already explained my reason for writing, journaling, and blogging my story. But something was missing. I didn’t hit the mark. I talked about some things I hope to accomplish. But I think there is a greater mission. At the core, I think we ALL should write at least part of our stories and […]
Growing Up with Harold Bloom
Going through my library this weekend, I came across an old copy of Harold Bloom’s classic, The Western Canon. When it was published, Bloom’s book was (and remains today) controversial among educators and academics for its unshrinking advocacy of intellectual elitism and its defense of Western canonical literature. That is, the […]
Critics In Love
This blog isn’t wont to dole out dating advice. Thinking upon my own predicament trying to find romance, however, I realized that there’s something unique and highly peculiar about trying to date a critic.
Movie Review: Intermission (2003) A “Romantic Thriller” That Parodies Itself
Intermission, director John Crowley’s first film, is supposed to be a film about “life is what happens in between” two major events; that is, an intermission. But the ending proves the reverse – that, no matter what happens during the intermission, the RESUMPTION of the pre-intermission process towards the MEANINGFUL CULMINATION […]
José Saramago and the Reconstruction of Novel as an Inner Monologue
After having weathered the post-modernist deconstructionist storm of the last fifty years, I think the novel format has found its reconstructionist master in the person of José de Sousa Saramago (pronounced Sa-ra-ma-YU in Portugese), the late Portugese writer who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1998 and passed away […]
Welcome Back, Dexter
It is finally October. Yes, my favorite month is here. Fall is in full swing. It is the one month a year my bat purse doesn’t make me odd, dark make up is okay, and I get to watch all the cheesy horror movies until I want to gouge my […]
Book Review: Warbreaker
lthough there is a sufficient number of titles to grant “fantasy” a section separate from science fiction in most bookstores, they are still grouped together. The irony is, in most cases, a fantasy novel has to incorporate many features of science fiction to create a new world or environment.
Growing Up with Science Fiction in the 1940s
When I was a kid, I bought my first science-fiction magazine at the age of thirteen. All older science-fiction fans remember when they bought their first magazine, and we were all about the same age – twelve, thirteen, maybe fourteen.