Category: Non-fiction

Storycrafting, part 1: The Basic Elements of Story (video)

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Here is the beginning of a new video series detailing what elements go into the creation of an effective story. In this video I give a working definition of a story, then give its three basic components: setting, characters, and plot. Enjoy!

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Conversation: Pro-drug, but certainly not pro-reason

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crazydrugs

The conversation on the left is a recent one, the one on the right is one I found from awhile back. I do so love the irony of when somebody tells me to “educate myself” whilst being incomprehensible and showing themselves incapable of using 4th grade grammar. You can’t make this kind of stuff up. A few more notes:

  1. the post on the bottom left is the original second-to-last post on the left. I guess he revised it, not realizing I have a record of the original.
  2. I guess this guy hates me and wants me to die. Not bad considering he has never met me and (I believe) didn’t even watch the video these comments are present on.
  3. “No you educate you’re dumb fucking mind.” Gaze into the abyss.
  4. “video games are evil, heavy metal is evil…” Hard to know if this is an attack on things I like or sarcasm with the assumption that I don’t like those things. Clearly, written communication and rational thought are not this person’s forte.

You can watch the video (a little reflection of mine) here:

There is No Such Thing as a Bleeding Heart Liberal

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Love of the poor. Care for the infirm. An infinite metric of the empathy of one human to another. And yet, not.   The term “bleeding heart liberal” gets thrown around from time to time, as often as not from the “bleeding hearts” themselves, but it represents nothing of the position of the American left. The belief in government assistance programs, and their targeting of the “underprivileged” in America seems to imply an excess of empathy. That excess of empathy is derided by the right and worn as a badge of honor by the left. The reality, however, is that…

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The Slave Morality of Socialism

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Socialism is that idea that if you steal and murder enough, equality will emerge. It is an utter sacrifice of the means to the end. On the surface, this seems like consequentialism at its worst, but even a cursory glance of history reveals that this is not the case. This is because 100 years of socialism have yielded tangible consequences, and they are horrific. Not only are the process costs immense, some 100 million dead due to socialism and communism in the last century as a conservative estimate, but the ends of equality and social justice that would justify the…

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My Pool is a Swamp!

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Lessons in Social Endorsements and Services So this week was interesting. I went out to my pool on Sunday, hoping to do a little swimming since it was 100 degrees (and I have a foot injury that makes running a bit difficult at the moment), and saw that my pool had turned green, and was just short of the opacity of pea soup. I went down to the water, frustration burning my throat like the first drag on a clove cigarette, and retrieved my chlorine floater. Not a tab or pellet was to be seen. I dusted off my test…

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Everyday Skeptic: Our Mission Orders Have Been Flawed

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Convincing our fellows using reason and evidence is a bridge too far.   A few recent encounters out on the wide world of the internet, as well as social media, have enlightened me to a great failing in my personal perspective and my assumptions when dealing with others. That failing, that misjudgment, is in believing that other people value reason, demand evidence of claims, and have a desire to discover the truth. That failing was revealed through hateful and emotional reactions that people had to simple claims that went counter to their own stated position. The immediate reaction to reasonable…

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How to Play Flamenco: An Introduction to Terms and the Major Forms (YouTube)

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American Doublethink

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Democracy is the best political system. I’m glad the courts threw out that voter initiative.   Discrimination is wrong. We need hiring and admissions quotas to correct past injustices.   I care about the poor. Let’s raise cigarette, sales, and gas taxes.   I believe in charity. We need to collect more tax money for assistance programs.   The war is evil, but I support our troops.   A volunteer army victimizes the poor. We should conscript the troops.   I would never assault someone just because they are doing something I don’t care for. I’ll call the police instead.…

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Sex and Society part 2: Monogamy!

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Previous A man’s commitment to reproduction is short and pleasurable; a woman’s is long and arduous.   From this simple truth arises most of our social conventions, societal norms, and expectations when it comes to the sexes interacting with one another. In the absence of the state (whose interference will be discussed in a future installment), it becomes imperative that women not only choose fit partners, but require those partners to contribute resources and support offspring. The problem is that the fun, fulfilling part of male reproduction happens first while all the work that arises from it happens afterwards. There…

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Deep Time: Prophet of the God Seed, Author’s Reflection

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Another work of size is finished, and so it is time once again to reflect on the work – a service I do for myself as well as for any readers that might be writers themselves. It helps to think critically about a work immediately following a release when it comes to making future plans and improving the craft. Since I have the ability to edit and revise work post-hoc, such a reflection can also serve as the first baseline for revisions when and if the work changes formats (for example, if I publish a work using traditional means in…

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