It's alive! My second book, The Perfect & The Wicked is available on Amazon.
Thank you to everyone who gave me feedback and their kind words, as well as to my family and my God for his guiding hand.
Below, I've added some thoughts others have had. Enjoy
"Read banned books"
"Can't, they're banned."
"No, see, you can buy them pretty much anywhere or get them at any library easily."
"Then how are they banned?"
"They're on a list of books that were banned."
"How would you feel if the books weren't banned?"
"But they're banned"
Nikki Haley complains about "how hard it was to grow up in the Deep South as a brown girl"
"I was teased every day for being brown"
She then touts her anti-racism record:
"From the high desert and the great American Southwest, its Coast to Coast AM. I'm Art Bell, and my guest tonight claims that there is a race of advanced humans living in a hollowed out Antarctica in a place they call Hyperborea."
"Yes, Hello."
Hey, do you kids like Westerns? Me, too. Especially that Clint Eastwood trilogy that goes over the opening of the West, it’s heyday, and the closing of the West. “I didn’t know the dollars trilogy did that?” you’ll say, but that’s not the one I’m talking about.
Jordan Peterson almost died and his response was to secure the bag. Totally respectable position, looking out for his family. Many would do the same. A great man would not. His legacy will now be a foot note. Doubtful he will ever have anything interesting to say again
There should be a sitcom where an American family moves to Mexico City. Boomer father who feels like a big shot because his dollar stretches far and acts like he's in Cabo. Panama hat and sunglasses. Tips everyone he sees. Refuses to learn Hola. Blasts NFL games at all hours 1/
OJ Simpson died this morning, surrounded by family and friends. He'll be remembered as a legendary NFL runningback, a comic actor, and avid golfer. Oh and there was that other thing
Looking back, GOT was doomed from the beginning. "What is his tax policy?" is a meme, but also shows Martin's lack of knowledge around feudal monarchy. Monarchy is a balancing act between the King and his Lords, best represented in "The Song of Roland". 1/
@KillToParty
Hey, I saw a homeless guy shittin' on the subway and I didn't even call the cops on him. Then, I injected heroin into his arm for him. Cause we stick together in the big city
I recently recommended "Stoner" as a book one should read to understand the loss in standards in Academia and I stand by that assertion, but there is much more to this novel than the protagonists fight for academic rigor and his eventual demise toward that pursuit 1/
Massive rioting in France over the last few days have local gypsy communities furious about the lack of police response, stating it is no longer safe for them to pan handle and pickpocket locals and tourists
Fun fact: The clothing manufacturer that produces 60% of the apparel with "negative messaging about Donald Trump" is owned by a shell company owned by... Donald Trump.
But with magic in the world, how anyone can scoff at the idea of God or God's is ludicrous. In the real world, we have no such proof of God and yet most people in the world believe. Martin's edgy atheism cannot allow him to take his own world seriously and that is the root 4/
Contrast him with one of his heroes, Dostoevsky. Setenenced to death, he takes the opportunity to reflect on how he got there and asks forgiveness from all of his friends. When the Tsar's mercy shines through, he dedicated himself towards finding God in his work
"Honor" is not just a nice trait for lords to have but an essential currency in the relationship between a lord and the King and more importantly, between a lord and God. GOT has complex religions that no one except fanatics follow and they are treated like they are insane. 3/
...of his failure. There are very good things in ASOIAF, but there is a reason why he will never finish the books and will let some poor ghost writer fall on the sword that he sharpened himself 5/5
Even mighty Charlemagne cannot order Ganelon's death without upsetting the lords. GOT tries at this, but writers' convenience allows the oath breakers and dishonorable to get away with whatever they want and the audience is supposed to find it subversive rather than stupid 2/
Funny shenanigans ensue like "Daughter becomes drug mule but thinks she's hired for a Instagram model retreat". "Dad calls the police because someone stole his lawn gnomes and he tips the cops, who then assume he's a kingpin." "Mom tries to buy a tesla but can't charge it".
Wife is the fun wine mom who thinks she's a bad ass like all those powerful women she's seen on TV. Constantly failing upward at her corporate HR gig. Tries to seduce the help, but never seals the deal 2/
I've written and published a book. I'd like to thank God and my friends and family for all they've given me. A special shoutout to
@0x49fa98
who has been a great friend and mentor to me since I started putting my work out there.
@LastThings4
Counterpoint: YA is fake and gay and is a marketing term foisted on books conceived with minimal effort or talent. You would never call Tolkien or Lewis YA. Oliver Twist is not YA, nor Demian. Yet these are all stories for or about young people
Beauty is worth aiming high for
There has been too much cringe. Too much coal. None here are without sin. But I have an honorable compromise. Just buy the book. Give me your money. Just buy the book. I will give you great fiction in the wasteland. Just buy the book and there will be an end to the horror.
"If Ukraine has always been Russian, why didn't you invade sooner?"
"You applied to be a CIA agent but were denied. Do you wonder why? Let's begin with your preschool art class. This macaroni picture lacks perspective, here let me show you where you went wrong."
I speak of course, about what I’ll call the “Man with Many Names” trilogy. The first entry in our trilogy is “The Outlaw Josie Wales”. We see in the beginning of the film, the protagonist is a farmer at the start of the Civil War. But, those damn Yankees come and kill his family.
I did my BA in English Studies at Trinity College Dublin (2015-2019), then globally ranked the 35th best degree of its kind.
0 hours on how to write, how to tell a story, textual analysis, or language itself. It was sociology and politics, top to bottom.
That's what happened.
(Another reason Westerns are based is their unabashed hatred of the North. There are several reasons for this, but chief among them is that Westerns define themselves as the frontier,
@baltic_dan
It's why I recommend reading the Oompa Loompa Archipelago. It took me fifteen years to really understand it and when you do, the implications of working in a chocolate factory are terrifying. But what are you going to do, stay in loompaland and get eaten by vermicious knids?
so the industrial North, being it’s polar opposite, is distasteful to those whose destiny is found manifest out West. The Death of the Frontier is done for the benefit of industrial society, which we’ll get to later.)
@FistedFoucault
"The tide will turn, but we can't let it turn too much. In fact, let's not turn the tide, but instead threaten to turn the tide while never intending to turn the tide."
Settlers of Cataan would be more fun if you could raze your enemies settlements to the ground. First one to invent the chariot gets a victory point called "Namaste"
Josie is a skilled horseman and shooter as well as a fierce warrior. He is able to take on many enemies at once; using his wits to outsmart his would be captors at every turn. At the climax of the film, Josie encounters the Comanche Chief Ten Bears and offers him peace or death.
This is Kyle Rittenhouse. He likes to kill unarmed people for Trump. He’s practicing for Project 2025 door to door enforcement where he’ll get to shoot more unarmed people with full immunity.
This is Kyle Rittenhouse. He likes to kill unarmed people for Trump. He’s practicing for Project 2025 door to door enforcement where he’ll get to shoot more unarmed people with full immunity.
Pale Rider finds Eastwood as a nameless character (an homage to the Dollars Trilogy no doubt) only referred to as Preacher. This represents the allure of safety and peace in the Old West, however it cannot be yet obtained because it is still untamed and wild.
"What if my dopamine receptors are fried, but I want to start reading fiction?" -
@CinderMountain
A great question that deserves a thread of recommendations.
By no means exhaustive, I believe these are good onramps to engaging with the fruits of Western Civilization
@astralflightpod
"Ah, the French riot has always been celebrated for its excellence. There is a Minnesota riot by George Floyd, inspired by that same French excellence."