Published in Plethora Of Pop·13 hours agoMember-onlyTen Morose Yet Peppy Songs From The Smiths That Are Perfect for MondaySometimes all you can do is survive the day — Over the past year or so, I’ve written several articles with the goal of making Mondays a little bit less of a suck-fest with music that will lift your mood (I’ll link to them at the end). I realized very early on this Monday morning, however, that sometimes Monday simply…Mondays3 min read
Published in Blow Your Stack·1 day agoMember-onlyIt Must Have Been a Slow News Week If We’re Fighting About Fake SausageOnly in America… — I tend to not follow what’s trending on Twitter, having destroyed enough brain cells with Wild Turkey in the ’80s and ’90s to last the rest of my life, but sometimes the nonsense is impossible to avoid. In the past few days, as war still rages in Ukraine and inflation…Rant3 min read
Published in The Book Cafe·3 days agoMember-onlyLooking for a Brief History of the Papacy? ‘Ten Popes Who Shook the World’ is the Place to StartA book review — If you are interested in the history of the popes of the Catholic Church, the reading options can be daunting, and not just because there have been 266 of them over the past 2,000 years. The sheer size of the volumes are enough to give the most committed reader pause…Books4 min read
Published in Plethora Of Pop·3 days agoMember-onlyRate-A-Record: Classic TV Show Theme Song Cover Versions EditionI think I’m addicted to this prompt — Most of the prompts/writing challenges you’ll find on this site are one-offs; you accept the challenge, publish, and move on to the next article. The very nature of most of them dictates that they’re a one-time thing; for example, I can only write once about my favorite songs from the…Music3 min read
Published in Perceive More!·4 days agoMember-onlyTen Common Historical Myths That Simply Refuse to DieThese are stubbornly persistent — “And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth.” — Galadriel, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Myth and history have been intertwined for as long as humans have walked the earth. In ancient times they were often…History9 min read
Published in Blow Your Stack·5 days agoMember-onlyRon DeSantis Changes a Well-Known Bible Verse to Fit His Own AgendaChristians should be outraged, but are we? — Politicians quoting the Bible in an effort to garner votes or appeal to the religious beliefs of their supporters is nothing new; politicians quoting a verse completely out of context is equally common. For example, a favorite verse used when appealing to Christian voters is 2 Chronicles 7:14, which says: …Rant6 min read
6 days agoMember-onlyA Few Thoughts on the New Medium Tipping FeatureIt’s not a game changer, but… — As you probably know by now, Medium has rolled out a new feature that allows readers to tip writers for stories. I rarely write about Medium or its inner workings (most readers could care less how the sausage is made), but there are a few things about this newest development…Writing Life5 min read
Published in Artisanal Article Machine·6 days agoMember-onlyThe Book of Judges is a Case Study of People God Used In Spite of Their Massive FlawsPart Six of the ‘Not Many Mighty’ series — When I started this series about the flawed heroes of the Bible six weeks ago, I said that the series title, “Not Many Mighty,” came from the following passage in 1 Corinthians: “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty…Christianity6 min read
Published in Rock n’Heavy·Aug 1Member-onlyFor Me August Is Special for Only One Thing: Springsteen’s ‘Born to Run’ AlbumAnd what a magical thing it is — For some people, August means one last month of summer fun before school starts back and fall sets in. For others it means that football season is almost upon us. For me, though, it only means one thing: the anniversary of the 1975 release of The Greatest Album Ever. If…Bruce Springsteen3 min read
Published in Plethora Of Pop·Jul 31Member-onlyThe Rate-A-Record Edition of the Five Worst Novelty Earworm Songs EverLet’s end the month with a laugh — We’ve finally reached the end of July and good riddance to it. I was tempted to close out the month with a rant, but after being beaten down all month by the normal political nonsense, 58 days without rain in D/FW (and counting), and insane Springsteen ticket prices, I feel…Music4 min read