Category Archives: Writing

everything at heaven’s gate is broken up into its component parts

Posted on February 25, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

“A Society of Scoundrels” by Franz Kafka Translated by Michael Hofmann There was once a society of scoundrels, or rather not scoundrels per se, just ordinary, average people. They always stuck together. When one of them had perpetrated some rascally … Continue reading →

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The Poetry of Coffee

Posted on February 24, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

As an amateur coffee roaster, I have been accused of being mildly obsessed with the magical elixir. So my antenna is always up for books about coffee. But I was not prepared to stumble upon a one-of-a-kind, single copy poetry … Continue reading →

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Commodified fantasy takes no risks

Posted on February 22, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

  “All times are changing times, but ours is one of massive, rapid moral and mental transformation. Archetypes turn into millstones, large simplicities get complicated, chaos becomes elegant, and what everybody knows is true turns out to be what some … Continue reading →

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The Magazine That Never Dies

Posted on February 19, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

This week marks the centennial of the founding of Weird Tales magazine. On February 18, 1923, the first issue of Weird Tales appeared on American newsstands. Subtitled “The Unique Magazine,” it was the first English language magazine dedicated to science fiction, horror, supernatural, … Continue reading →

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So You Wanna Be A Writer

Posted on February 17, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

-The narrator of the powerful video below is Tom Bedlam -The music  is Alice In Winter – Hold This Place. if it doesn’t come bursting out of you in spite of everything, don’t do it. unless it comes unasked out … Continue reading →

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A Brief History of Vampires

Posted on February 14, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

What could be more romantic on Valentine’s Day than the debonair modern vampire who was born with the publication of the gothic horror novel Dracula (1897) by the Irish author Bram Stoker. In the video below from the Victoria and … Continue reading →

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Just Another Sundry Sunday

Posted on February 12, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Old internet hands may recollect the early days of the web when it all seemed so clever and exciting. One of those interesting 1990s projects has just been relaunched and is worth a look on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The … Continue reading →

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Time keeps on slipping into the future

Posted on February 6, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

The very clever website Literature Clock will tell you the time via a literary passage. https://literature-clock.jenevoldsen.com.  

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Spoiler Alert

Posted on February 5, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

These days it’s nearly impossible to avoid spoilers for films, television shows, or books. Fortunately, some folks have the good graces to warn us with a “spoiler alert.” But have you ever wondered where the term “spoilers” came from ? … Continue reading →

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New Words For Readers

Posted on February 3, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

 

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