When I was ending my time in service in the Army, I had a moment of clarity on my final day of active duty. When you finish your time in service, you go through about a month long process of clearing- it's a bunch of paperwork, confirming you turned in gear, attended a few transition …
Continue reading Out of The Army: A moment of clarity on my last day in uniform
I'm a one man shop here, so there isn't too much in the way of "editorial decisions". I have a log of articles that I've written and ideas for articles to write, select some graphics and try to keep things relatively fresh. One thing I've realized is that the writing process itself does not have …
Over the next few weeks I'm going to be updating the site a bit and might even start some social media accounts for better outreach. I've never been too concerned with numbers; I like to write, and if a few people enjoy what I write, that's great! When I started the website, it was a …
Very few people finish their career in the same industry, let alone with the same company. The internet has revolutionized how we conduct business, wage war and even read and write. Obviously other economic and external factors unconnected to the rise of the internet played a part in this, but the internet career mobility is …
Occasionally we will review books here. Sometimes it's a non-fiction book, other times it's a Science Fiction novel. Lately though, in my own personal reading I've tended to read the "classics" more than anything else. Whether it's a SciFi novel from the "Golden Age" or the 70's and 80's, or Livy's account of the War …
I was overseeing a surgical procedure using one of my company's products today, and the doctor got everything right the first time (which is pretty rare). He turned around and looked at me and said "Hey, I'd rather be lucky than skilled any day of the week!"... Somehow, I hope my doctor is both lucky …
People are continually shifting how they create and consume their media and information. Cave paintings were once the pinnacle of human media, but we've come a bit further since then... With each new iteration of media though, there is bound to be some criticism. Video games are for weak minded man-children that never grow up …
Continue reading Video Games, Film and Books: Criticisms of Media Mediums
Allegory is as popular as ever. Unfortunately, I think it is overused. In the latest article I talk about two authors who successfully wrote allegorical works, and why I think it resonated so well. Nowadays, most allegory is low hanging fruit. It's all "Drumpf is just like Voldermort!!" or "Muslim refugees are just like the Orcs …
One of my favorite books is The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. It's an allegorical tale of his time in Vietnam, set in the "future" of 1996 (the book was published in the 1970's). A soldier goes on a journey through multiple planets, engagements and thousands of years to finally reach the conclusion of the war. …
Continue reading Criticism Through Literature: Science Fiction and a Combat Veteran Writer
Roman History is one of my favorite subjects. I have read about the Roman Legions, Caesar and the Republic since I was a boy. In college, I never really took any Ancient History courses, or studied Rome formally, but it is one of my favorite subjects to read up on and to write on. I …
Steel and Stylus 