Posts by webmaster
There is no such thing as “Need.”
Or, rather, there is no such thing as “need” in the sense that people commonly think they mean it. I was taught very early, by some well-meaning but not very sophisticated grade-school teacher, the difference between “needs” and “wants;” that a need was something one had to have to live and everything else was a…
Read MoreSarcasm
Sarcasm is like profanity or drunkenness. It is socially acceptable, sometimes socially celebrated, but it is not and never has been good, beautiful, or positive. It is ugly, and you are a lesser person for indulging in it.
Read MoreSwearing Oaths
By the way, isn’t it odd that we refer to profanity as “swearing” and uttering “oaths.” That’s not what those words mean, though, is it? To swear an oath is to make a promise, specifically a promise guaranteed by some collateral outside oneself. I swear an oath on the Bible, or on my mother’s grave,…
Read MoreProfanity
I figure there is enough ugliness in the world without my contribution. I have heard, many times, from people who swear a lot, about the study which supposedly indicated a positive correlation between the use of profanity and the use of language overall—the implication being that people who swear a lot, contrary to what one…
Read MoreStress, PTSD, and a stress-free life
In popular discourse, people use the word “stress” to mean several different things. “Stress” refers the factors which impose upon us. “I’m under a lot of stress at work.” “This is a stressful time in my life.” It refers to one’s experience of those factors. “I’m stressed out.” “My stress level is high right now.” …
Read MoreThe Ride
An excerpt from the new novel, Outsiders, by William Collier It is one of those peculiarities of military air travel that, in a cargo aircraft, one often sits with one’s back to the side bulkhead, facing perpendicular to the aircraft’s direction of travel, such that as it accelerates or decelerates, one is thrown sideways into…
Read MoreMeeting the Parents
An excerpt from the new novel, Outsiders, by William Collier Doran had offered to drive, which meant that he would be picking her up. They had been dating now for several months, and the thought of him still made a very girlish part of her go giggly. Waiting for him now only exacerbated it. That…
Read MoreThe Mission
An excerpt from the new novel, Outsiders, by William Collier Bulbous, faceted eyes, blown wildly out of proportion, huge, reflecting an oily rainbow of green, orange, and brown hues, leaving room only for the tiniest bit of head to support them—just enough head to attach also what it had in place of a mouth: this…
Read MoreHow Writing Works
A short(ish) explanation of why you were taught to write the way you were taught in English class, the art we call Rhetoric…
Read MoreHumans are social animals
This does not make them good. The instinct which promotes social unity is the same instinct which promotes ritual cannibalism, human sacrifice, torture and oppression of the weak, and so forth. The social instinct is the precursor both of your good and of your evil, and evil comes more easily. You are a social animal;…
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