War is a Failure of Imagination
I’ve been reading St. Teresa of Ávila’s The Interior Castle, not because I’m a Catholic but because I’m always looking for perspectives on how to lead a meaningful life. She was a mystic with a lot to say on the subject and she had a lively mind. She didn’t put it exactly this way, but… Continue reading War is a Failure of Imagination
Nightmare Rush
Read about the Guillermo del Toro adaptation of Gresham's classic noir novel: https://www.splicetoday.com/moving-pictures/nightmare-rush
Dominance and Submissions
Let's say you've labored long in the fields of creative writing and the People Who Know (or maybe just the people who've noticed) have appreciated your talent. Some have appreciated it loudly and publicly, some quietly to friends in ways that eventually come back to you, some through amazing feats of jealousy, and others through… Continue reading Dominance and Submissions
Machines Can’t Teach Us To Be Human
Attending an all-boys school felt like prison. Read my latest on Splice Today:
The Good Hustle
Today, I was advised to get an editing and proofreading certification from one of the many professional associations available to show potential clients that I am all business and not, as one would otherwise assume, a crank. Three decades of professional writing, editing-for-hire, and proofreading won’t do it. The representative who cold-emailed me on social… Continue reading The Good Hustle
Interview with the Vampire Reconsidered
I rewatched Interview with the Vampire last night and it just doesn't seem dark enough. Maybe that's a reflection of how my emotional self has darkened after Covid, rapacious politics, and so much social turmoil. But it seems to me that the story, the myth, of the vampire is dangerous because it is Dionysian and… Continue reading Interview with the Vampire Reconsidered
The New Puritanism Isn’t Without Precedent
Read my latest on Splice Today: https://www.splicetoday.com/on-campus/the-new-puritanism-isn-t-without-precedent
Convicting Kyle Rittenhouse Shouldn’t Be Easy
Read my latest on Splice Today: https://www.splicetoday.com/politics-and-media/convicting-kyle-rittenhouse-shouldn-t-be-easy
Mapping the Swamp
Today, I think I overcame my hitherto impassable mental block, the one I always get between pages 50 and 70, that indicates I've hit the "swampy middle." The term "great swampy middle" wasn't invented by me. In fact, I have no desire to discover who first coined the term because I have no desire to… Continue reading Mapping the Swamp