I read a lot about Ambrose of Milan while researching my books, including his own theological works. It’s fascinating to read things in “his own words” (I’m sure a lot is lost in translation). One thing that became clear to me pretty early on is … Continue readingSaint Ambrose of Milan was kind of Antisemetic (part 1)
Conspiracy theories are tempting. It’s smart to question the official narrative of what’s happening in the world. And it feels even smarter to speculate on what the actual truth might be. It’s all too easy to piece together a head canon of what’s “really happening” … Continue readingDon’t get sucked into conspiracy theories.
The year is turning once again. Seems like a good time to talk about past, NOW, and future. And why it’s all kind of bullshit. * The spiritual obsession with NOW When I spend time in spiritual circles, I always hear talk about being present … Continue readingThe NOW is your point of power. It’s also bullshit.
One of my friends warned me Dune was a total snoozefest. As much as I respect his opinion, I’m thrilled to say he was wrong. Dune is not a snoozefest. It’s epic, well-paced, beautiful, subtle—and it’s movie-making for grown-ups. Don’t get me wrong, I have … Continue readingHow to know if you’re a human or a wild animal
Listen to an audio recording of this post or read the text below. * Sometimes one of my characters takes another one of my characters captive. It happens. Then I’m faced with the proverbial problem of what to do with a captive in the 4th … Continue readingWhat were Ancient Roman prisons like?
Once I worked as a personal assistant for an escort. I wrote a blog about it awhile back. The blog wound up being more popular than I’d anticipated, and a lot of people became regular readers. (I can’t find the blog anymore. I think the … Continue readingAn inoculation against being cancelled.
It’s not wrong to want attention and validation. It’s not even shallow. Babies and young children who don’t receive attention will die. So we develop mechanisms for getting attention from the time we’re infants. It’s a must-have for the survival of the individual, and the … Continue readingForgive the attention seekers. But still ignore them.
How the Roman Patrician Class Purified their $$$ by Giving it to the Church * Listen to an audio version of this post or read the text below. * In the year 394, a super-rich, famous Roman abandoned his wealth. His name was Paulinus of … Continue readingGive your $$$ to St. Felix the Unwashed (so you can go to Heaven)
Quoth our man Marcus, “Don’t ever forget . . . that you are part of nature. And no one can prevent you from speaking and acting in harmony with it, always.” We can take this in a few ways. Maybe Marcus is talking about the … Continue readingNothing unnatural exists.
Behold this epic commenter: This comment is funny as hell. And it made me think of Marcus Aurelius. (Some people’s obscure knowledge includes factoids about little blind transparent fish in subterranean pools. Mine includes random ancient history stuff.) Quothe our man: “Ignoring what goes on … Continue readingOMG Kim and Kanye nevermind this is dumb