Month: March 2022

I’m Writing This on the Steam Deck

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Yes, I managed to get one. I pre-ordered it the first few minutes it was available and still didn’t get one until a few weeks after “launch.” That’s the world we live in right now – computer hardware is hard to get for gaming applications. I wonder if things will ever loosen up (perhaps after a few more bitcoin crashes?), or if the memory of going down to best buy and picking up a console when you decided for yourself to get one will be another one of those memories, like being able to show up to the airport a…

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Conceptual Inertia

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Inertia: objects in motion will stay in motion; objects at rest will stay at rest. I don’t blame my parents for sending me to public school, and I don’t blame the baby boomer generation for abandoning their children to the system. They assumed that the institutions and culture that they experienced remained intact and unaltered; there was never an assumption that in the years between 1970 and 1980 education in America would be totally converged into politicized indoctrination camps. There was never an assumption that universities would become value sucks whose certifications gave no economic security. Of course, you have…

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Odd changes in writing methods

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One of the things I started doing at some point was writing my books in the same format as the paperback, that is, on a 6×9 or 8×5 page (depending on the projected length of the book) with the appropriate margins and fonts. I’m not sure when I started doing this, but I think I started a year or two ago. Before that I always wrote in a more standard manuscript format: 8.5×11″ with 12 point Times New Roman font, single-spaced, with half-inch indents. I liked this form factor for a long time because it put a lot of words…

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A Propagandized View of War

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A viewer asked me about Starship Troopers on Saturday’s stream. I’ve done several videos on the book and movie, and written at least one article about it, but it keeps coming up. That’s probably the power of Heinlein’s ideas, but again, I want to push back a bit. Before that, let me sum up: Starship Troopers (the book) is known for its ideas. There’s not much story there, and I don’t care for it as a result. It’s not a great story by Heinlein. Lots of the ideas are in pop culture, primarily “power armor” and the “bug hunt.” But…

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Games that Inspire – The Legend of Zelda

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Usually, when an author discusses influence (or is asked about it), his focus is on books, not other forms of media. Perhaps there is some in-built prejudice against taking inspiration from other forms of media besides the mighty novel (although no writer ever seems to decry being inspired by Shakespeare). Maybe movies are too low-brow (certainly if you mention Star Wars); if so, games are positively Neanderthalic. Call me Ugg-ugg. There are many games that have inspired me as a writer, though not always for the writing that was within them. Games, since they utilize sound, music, visuals, words, and…

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Generation Y: The New Lost Generation

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Before I get there, let me quickly mention that I’m off of social media until Easter, and I’m very busy with moving preparations so there may be less YouTube content coming out. If you need me, shoot me an email at stu@dvspress.com. But to the point: Edited by JD Cowan, and containing content by him, Brian Niemeier, and myself… and available now for free! But what is this collection and what is it about? In short, it’s about the generation of people born in the late 70s through late 80s and their perspectives on the massive gulf between the world…

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A Kind of Lenten Fast

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The holy season of Lent is upon us, and as part of the tradition, people will give up specific pleasures for the duration of the period of fasting. I know many people who view this as an opportunity to reduce vice, and certainly, that is a good thing to do (and not just during Lent), but I think approaching fasts from such a perspective defeats the point a little bit. The point of penitence (as I see it) is not to improve oneself by removing vice, but to bring oneself closer to God by removing ease and pleasure – to…

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