In a minute I’m going to inject a non sequitur into this post, but I promise it will make sense eventually. Just brace yourself. A Facebook friend of mine recently posted a story about the election and the unpleasantness that surrounds it with the comment, “What’s happened to this country of ours that I love so much?” She was talking about the hateful rhetoric that the two major campaigns and their backers are spewing in their quest for the presidency. Okay, she was only t

In the last week in Cincinnati, a guy ran out onto the interstate in only a pair of shorts and flung himself at trucks until one of them killed him. Another guy went out and got into a gun battle with the police so that he could die, and unfortunately took a cop with him before he succeeded. In South Carolina last week, a guy shot nine people at a church and the country went nuts over the issues of race, gun control, and the Confederate flag. And all over the United States t

Today's blog, more than most, is an exercise in futility. I want to communicate an idea to you, an endeavor that is doomed before I begin. In today's world, communication can happen quicker than ever before in human history. I type my words here and press "Post" and you will have access before I leave the room. That's true wherever you are, be it your own home in Cincinnati, or halfway around the world in a Malaysian coffee shop. (Hey, Jason!) And yet, the probability tha

They say a magician NEVER reveals the secret. Magicians love secrets, especially knowing them. We love thinking we're smarter than everyone else in the room. We giggle to ourselves about it, in fact. We love to smirk when people say, "How did you DO that?" We love it so much that the International Brotherhood of Magicians (yes, it's a real thing) wrote it into the Code of Ethics so we can say, "Sorry. Can't tell you. Union rules." A MAGICIAN NEVER REVEALS THE SECRET. It

When I show my writings, my drawings, or even my magic to people they will (I hope) admire it, and then they'll often say something like: "Gee, I wish I was creative." The assumption they make is that creativity is a binary state, a condition that either exists or not, and because they cannot or do not make things just like mine, their personal creativity circuit breaker is flipped. ("Right here's your problem; ya got this thing set to 'Uncreative'.") Even more disheartenin

Once upon a time, I ran a fantasy rpg campaign (GURPS, of course!) set in the capital city of a great empire called Daedalos. This is the journal and newsletter of that campaign, which ran off and on for about ten years. As I recall, the main influence on this campaign was Harry Turtledove's Videssos Cycle, an excellent fantasy series featuring a Roman Legion transplanted in a fantasy world. I borrowed (read: stole) names and plot ideas directly from the books. Then I stol

Do you ever feel joy? Family legend has it that my mother, heavily pregnant, went to a concert of classical music. When they played Beethoven's immortal Ode to Joy, the child in her belly (spoilers: me) roused, kicking in time with the music. I first heard this story at age 20 or so after seeing Die Hard, and being strangely moved by the film score. To this day, it stirs feelings of, well…joy. I listen to it, and I feel good. But is it really joy? Not necessarily. Turns

Mission Control, this is Ticonderoga 2; we are go for creative launch. Commencing countdown at T minus 4… 4...) FUEL PUMPS ARE GO. Everyone knows that without fuel, a rocket just sits on the launch pad like a high-tech grain silo. The same is true for creative people, and the fuel is called IDEAS. Ideas are highly volatile, evaporate quickly if exposed to the open air, and sometimes they stink. 3...) OXYGEN TANKS ONLINE. Take a whole bunch of rocket fuel into outer spac