It has been a while. Like you, I have been preoccupied with how our world has been changing. I hope that I will be seen by my descendents as remaining on the right side of humans and history. At the same time, I have been thinking about my own interactions. It took me a long … Continue reading Grace 🖊
What’s a Coronavirus, anyway? 🖊
Every schoolkid learns that DNA is the code for building living beings. It is the master code, first translated into a similar structure called RNA, which then is cut to size and used as a template for every protein needed to create organic life: from the proteins which make up the structure and function of … Continue reading What’s a Coronavirus, anyway? 🖊
Central Characters and Celestial Calculations 📗
Ologrin, the protagonist of LHOSA, advances from a childhood fascination with the sky to becoming the leading expert in his world on the movement of celestial bodies. It is a fair question from the in-depth reader to wonder if his discoveries and conclusions are realistic accomplishments in a late bronze-age society. From the beginning, Ologrin … Continue reading Central Characters and Celestial Calculations 📗
On Words and Worlds 📗
Tolkien, in many ways, invented modern high fantasy literature. As an expert in the history of the English language, it was natural for him to create entire languages and cultures for his characters, which has become a high bar for fantasy writers ever since: if you can’t do it as well as Tolkien, then you … Continue reading On Words and Worlds 📗
LHOSA Sojourner 📗
Several years ago, my oldest son Daniel suggested we build a fantasy world he could use to create Dungeons and Dragons adventures for his friends. He was interested in more than a bare-bones framework, and soon we were deep into speculations about the geography and mythological back-story of our new world. At the time, a … Continue reading LHOSA Sojourner 📗
Lost and Found…and Lost 💎
Two thousand years is a really, really, really long time. My great-grandmother lived 109 years, the definition of a long time. She was born while Lincoln was campaigning for office and died while Nixon was campaigning for office. Shakespeare was born 455 years ago, which is a really long time ago. (I anticipate a big … Continue reading Lost and Found…and Lost 💎
On a Snow Globe, Old and Worn 🖋
The author of Matthew’s gospel must have believed in magic. Only in Matthew do we find the story of wise men bringing gifts suitable for a king, a martyr, and a god. Were they mystic scholars from Persia, versed in Zoroastrian spell-casting? Or were they Sabaean spice merchants, “kings of Sheba,” in which case Matthew’s … Continue reading On a Snow Globe, Old and Worn 🖋
The Epistle of Nicodemus 💎
The Vatican Secret Archives are not, Dan Brown movies to the contrary, very secret. For one, they have their own website, not the best strategy for staying hidden. In this case, secret means private: they are the private archives of the Popes, and by extension, of the Catholic Church itself. What the Secret Archives are … Continue reading The Epistle of Nicodemus 💎
In Defense of the Semi-noble Semicolon 🖋
My good friend Nate wrote to tell me he enjoyed the blog, but added “I hafta go with my man Kurt V. & say don’t use semicolons – they aren’t a real thing.” What Mr. Vonnegut actually wrote was “Here is a lesson in creative writing. The first rule: do not use semicolons. They are … Continue reading In Defense of the Semi-noble Semicolon 🖋
Gallinipper 💎
In Michigan, where I live, we are blessed with beautiful weather eight months of the year. Summers are sunny and warm, but the temperature rarely climbs above 90. At 43 degrees north latitude, our summer days can be almost an hour and a half longer than those in, say, Houston. Thunderstorms are infrequent and often … Continue reading Gallinipper 💎
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