Category Archives: Writing

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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Randomness Follows

Posted on February 2, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

This wild-looking mechanical contraption is a typewriter. It was designed in 1867 and then patented in 1870. For the time, the Malling Hansen Writing Ball was a technological marvel and years ahead of its time. The unique functionality of this … Continue reading →

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My AI Tale

Posted on January 28, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

To say that I am ambivalent about the rush to use AI in the arts would be an understatement. In many instances it seems more like an automated plagiarism machine than cutting edge technology. However, I was game to give … Continue reading →

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