I like documentaries, but I’m really picky about them. They are very easy to turn into lie-spouting propaganda based on the filmmaker’s agenda, e.g., Super-Size Me, which forced a change in a corporation’s behavior EVEN THOUGH it was based off bum science/single case study (i.e., the guy’s liver levels were high because he was an alcoholic, not because he was wolfing Big Macs). Also see: The Legend of Ron Jeremy, White Wilderness, Catfish, Tiger King, etc. In other words, it’s easy to get your point across when you provide the evidence, you present the straw man, you make the edits, you select the footage. So it becomes exactly what you…
-
-
Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Unlearned About Human Sexuality
So here’s an interesting story. At a certain Catholic Middle School, a student is telling people she’s transgender. She is very much not, and does this to get attention. However, one teacher thinks this presents a good opportunity. Her interest is Christianity of the Body, and the curriculum has no real material about gender or sex or related topics. I mean, forget contraception and STDs–these kids don’t even have definitions. And it’s everywhere. It’s on the news, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, feed after feed after feed, shoveling “for you” content from all over the world. But they don’t know what any of it means, except in a context which is…
-
Analyzing the Marvel Cinematic Universe Villains: Malekith (Thor: The Dark World)
Malekith Thor: The Dark World (2013) Characteristics and Powers: I think it goes without saying that all these characters have superhuman strength, durability, and agility (i.e., STR/DEX/CON). At this point, it’d be more exceptional to mention when someone doesn’t have that. Malekith doesn’t have much that makes him unique from others in the Asgardian realm until he obtains the Aether. His goal is to turn all matter into “dark matter” with it, but he can also project energy blasts and regenerate limbs, plus a stat buff. And I guess you can count that Aether cyclone he turns into at the end. Other weapons include a Dark Matter Dagger, which I…
-
What I Use AI For as a Writer
This comes as a reaction to a webinar I attended by Michael A. Jamin. Jamin is a well-heeled TV writer who has worked on Just Shoot Me, King of the Hill, and Beavis & Butthead. (How does one write for Beavis & Butthead? 90% of it is laughing and “this sucks/rules”?) But lately he’s been promoting himself for teaching services. I keep abreast of him because I think he’s a good writer. But now 90% of his content is always pointing back to his product–classes you can talk, instructional videos, and so on. One of those was a webinar about “Can AI write a King of the Hill spec script?…
-
The Books I Read: May – June 2026
The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century by Ian Mortimer I read this as research for all the fantasy books I write. It’s pretty good, but don’t expect it to take command of the premise, which is pretending that you’re a time traveler. It doesn’t act like a fun travel guide for places to go and people to see. It’s more of a non-fiction reference document. I was able to incorporate a few juicy tidbits into my writing. It’s not too dry, but it is mostly text. It stays squarely in a 1300-1399 timespan. And it’s a good resource for learning how…
-
The Little Trashmaid: Animated Pilot Kickstarter — BACK NOW
I really love The Little Trashmaid webcomic. It’s funny, it’s got mermaids, great art, dynamic characters, and barely any dialogue. And they have a kickstarter for an animated pilot going and I want to see it. So here I am doing my part: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/silly-studios-srls/the-little-trashmaid-animated-pilot
-
New Short Story: There Are Six Bullets
I have a short story, “There Are Six Bullets,” in Volume 14 of Bullet Points, a military-themed short story journal. And I get to share pagespace with Aggie Novak and Cat Rambo! That’s pretty cool. I’m pretty proud of this story. I wrote it during my short story era, but I got the idea way, way, way long ago, back in high school or college. But I was never quite sure how to write it. At least not in a way that did it justice (especially since I have no military experience). But it never left me. And one day I just decided to put it down on paper; at…
-
My Kindertrauma: Little Guys
My last kindertrauma entry was in 2023. Over time, I’ve been recalling little traumas one by one. Some, I’m not sure are worthy, even considered scary by my standards, but they sure do stick out. The Greedy from Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure is a fever dream from when I was little and watching Nickelodeon’s Special Delivery. What is Special Delivery? I’m glad you asked. The Nickelodeon documentaries don’t mention it. They just skip right to the child abuse. Special Delivery was a two-hour special that Nickelodeon aired in the middle of the afternoon every… Saturday? Sunday? I can’t remember. But…
-
What Happens When You Write to Amy Klobuchar (My Senator)
What happens is that you get two copies of the same letter, and they spell your name wrong. During the ICE crisis in Minnesota in January, I was looking for ways to help from my chair. I’ve given up on protesting–it doesn’t do anything, and if it does, the effects take too long to achieve. People were dying and getting kidnapped now. Plus it was a very cold Winter, and driving all the way down to Minneapolis is no longer something I wanted to do (fun fact: I went to a Twins game yesterday and with all the road construction, it took ninety minutes to get from eastern Lake Minnetonka…
-
There Are Never Any Good Stories About Sexbots
I saw Companion the other day. It’s quite good, but it falls into the trap that every… other… damn… robot… story… falls into. It makes the robot human. I don’t mean shaped like a human. That’s obvious. But it acts like a human in every way except for how it was created. It’s the protagonist. It’s the one who has to change. It’s the one who has all the obstacles to conquer. It’s making the hero’s journey. And it’s making all the mistakes. Human mistakes. But robots are not people. They’re robots. They don’t make mistakes. And they also can’t do anything outside their programming. Stories about robots are not…
