scop (noun): Old English – bard, minstrel, storyteller
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The Power of the Known
The Power of the Familiar Two days ago, during my presentation at Duquesne University (see my previous post for more details), I asked a student to recall a passage that had effectively drawn him into a piece of writing. Without hesitation, he identified the opening of Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle.” Whoever has made a…
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Ideas
Back to the River You can’t step into the same river twice. So said the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus. It’s not just that the river changes. We do as well. And the change becomes more pronounced with time. I made that point a few months back in a post about rewatching John Carpenter’s They Live.…
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Movies: Best of the Longest
Est Picture Winner Last week the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced its Best Picture nominees for 2025. Only one came in at 120 minutes—the length that many have come to regard as the ideal length for a feature film. (Although a recent poll conducted by Talker Research says the majority favors 92…
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The Longest Movies
Est Things We’re fascinated by est things. You know, like the biggest, smallest, longest, shortest, tallest, what-everest things in the world. Such est fascination is certainly why the Guinness Book of World Records has sold over 150 million copies (making it one of the best-selling copyrighted books of all time) and why Roadtrippers Magazine has…
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Minute-Men, Werewolves, and Poe
The Minute-Men Locus Magazine’s People & Publishing Roundup for January includes an announcement of my upcoming novel Minute-Men: Execute & Run. The book will be released this fall by Caezik, the science fiction and fantasy imprint of Arc Manor Books. As mentioned in a previous blog post (find it here), Execute & Run is…
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Ignoring the Inner Critic
While the Critic Sleeps I like to write in the morning. The earlier the better. It’s not just because the world is quiet then. My thoughts are as well, mainly because the critical part of my brain–the part skilled at finding fault–is still sleeping. As a result, if I start early enough, I might get…