I used to have a love/hate relationship with Amazon. I considered them a necessary evil. Sure, they have monopolized both the music and the literary industry, making it almost impossible for local music and book stores to survive, but on the other hand, they provides an outlet for independent creators who otherwise would not have... Continue Reading →
Let me get this out of the way: I hate reading reviews. I mean, I HATE HATE HATE HATE it! Even if it's a favorable review, which it usually is, I start to wonder whether there is some bias involved, or if the praise might skew my ego in the wrong direction. The only type... Continue Reading →
I delve deep into the themes of Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild, a nonfiction accounting of the life and death of Christopher J. McCandless, an idealistic college student who sought his life's purpose by escaping society, surviving alone for four months in the Alaskan wilderness until his untimely death. https://youtu.be/DZ5T-025N1Q
Charles Frazier's beautifully told Civil War drama deals with tragedy, hardship, and enduring love. It takes an unflinching look at the worst events in human history and people's worst inclinations in desperate times. More than a simple war story, Cold Mountain owes credit to The Odyssey, as Inman, the protagonist, spends years trying to get... Continue Reading →
Greetings, Aenya fans!!! I am back with another super-exciting update . . . OK, let's be honest, I am not getting a ton of followers here, and it's not hard to see why. I can't compete with the billion-dollar algorithms put out by Facebook, Instagram, TickTok, etc., or whatever new thing will be turning kids... Continue Reading →
Words are magic! They are the spell components authors use to build their worlds. Do you know these 81 words? Any good writer should! I made this handy dictionary of arcane nouns and verbs, with a few adjectives thrown in, to help give my writing that extra polish. If you’re an English geek like I am, feel free to steal it!
Words can be highly volatile, explosive even, and yet we rarely stop to consider their power. Use them incorrectly, and you can get yourself killed, in a bar, for instance; or in the face of a religious fanatic. Words also have the capacity to heal. Consider the consoling effect of a eulogy, the world shaping sermon of Jesus or the philosophy of Socrates. Mathematicians like to argue that their discipline trumps all other sciences. Psychology is rooted in biology, biology in physics, and physics in math. But without language to give meaning to all those numbers, math might as well be scratchings on a cat post.
In the hand of a brilliant writer, a pen becomes a wand, the words incantations, and the sentences spells. How else do you explain the transportive power of fiction? Its potential to bring tears to the eyes? But for a language apprentice, words can also backfire. This is particularly true of words that are not part of everyday parlance. If you’re always digging through your…
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If you're a naturist who has been following me, I regret to inform you that all of my naturist articles have been made private. This means you will no longer be able to access them or read them on THIS blog. All those articles have been moved to my new, naturist based blog at https://being-and-nakedness.com/... Continue Reading →
On October 7th 2015, I traveled five years into the future to interview my future self, and that day is TODAY! It's kind of mind-breaking if you think about it, because back then I thought of my current self as future Nick, but now future Nick is me, and the person who had been current... Continue Reading →
Greetings, fans! Aside from my new gaming channel, Let's Play D&D, I am continuing my YouTube series, Tales from Aenya, with bios about the people of Aenya. First up, I share my thoughts about Radia. Be sure to check it out, like, share, and subscribe! https://youtu.be/tZoxVKlPjtE
The ILMAR are a primitive human culture native to Aenya distinguished by their absence of clothing. Due to their rejection of social norms, and prehistoric ways of living, the civilized races of Aenya consider them a lesser subspecies. They are called savages, wild humans, feral children, or barbarians (despite their class). Ilmar are shunned where people gather, which forces them to live alone or in small bands of no more than a dozen individuals far from cities and villages, in forests, swamps, and grasslands. The prejudiced view towards the Ilmar is perpetuated by what little is known of their culture. Having lost their ancestral land to famine and changing climate, Ilmar who have not gone into hiding are often forced into service as soldiers and slaves, or end up as beggars on city streets. A small number of them adopt local customs, learning to wear clothes while keeping secret their…
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