The worst grade I ever got in graduate school wasn't an F or even a zero; it was "crucifixion." No, I wasn't strung up on a wooden scaffold to be slowly suffocated. But my professor did write on the back of my paper, "If you submitted this to any historical journal, YOU WOULD BE CRUCIFIED!"... Continue Reading →
As a Greek storyteller and history buff, you know I had to offer my take on the latest Greek epic to grace the silver screen. And I am happy to say, Christopher Nolan delivers. While it is far from the Lord of the Rings-perfection audiences were hoping to see, this version of The Odyssey ranks... Continue Reading →
Note: So I guess I made the mistake of posting this piece on Reddit (you know, the forum for informed and nuanced discourse) and pretty much got downvoted to oblivion. As expected, the discussion revolved around the contentious issue of Helen's historicity, entirely missing the point of this piece, namely that I will see the... Continue Reading →
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption proves why King is a master storyteller. This novella is a masterclass in storytelling technique, demonstrating flawless pacing, excellent use of dialogue, and natural character development. While King can be overly descriptive in his other works, he shows remarkable restraint here, stripping everything from the writing but the bare essentials.... Continue Reading →
Me and my crazy ideas . . . OK, so, after reading Stephen King's The Long Walk, I thought it'd be a neat idea to recreate some of the story for my podcast by taking . . . a long walk. Now, to be fair, I didn't have anyone following me around in a Jeep,... Continue Reading →
Unless you've been living underground awaiting the coming apocalypse, or maybe you just don't like movies, you've probably seen the famous scene with Charlton Heston and the Statue of Liberty. Or perhaps you're a lot younger than me, and you watched the newer series with James Franco and the CGI apes. There is even a... Continue Reading →
Hatred for the latest installment in the Star Wars saga, Episode VIII: the Last Jedi, is turning into a frenzy on YouTube, with fans petitioning to have Lucasfilm remove the movie from canon. We have not seen this level of vitriol since the prequel films. But what people tend to forget, time and time again,... Continue Reading →
Whoo-Boy. A lot's been going on, so let's get to it. Ages of Aenya As you probably know, Ages of Aenya finally became available last month, and sales have been brisk. It's great knowing people from as far as Europe and the UK have read the story and have had nothing but good things to... Continue Reading →
I feel that I owe J.K. an apology. I had always felt that her depiction of evil was a bit naive, 2-dimensional, "comic-booky." I had long taken the liberal stance that real evil doesn't exist, or if it does, it's very, very rare. People are genuinely good, I thought, and genuinely want to do good... Continue Reading →
I know what people are going to say. First, I am going to get accused of click-baiting. The only reason I am criticizing this film is to get attention, they'll say. This is, perhaps, what is most depressing. Social media creates peer pressure, to the point where you're afraid to voice your true feelings. Whether it's 97% for Star... Continue Reading →
The Art of Storytelling 
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