A friend of mine, Jodi, recently asked if I would use a pseudonym/pen name if my book is ever published. OK, so my name is boring. Samuel Smith is my name, along with, according to the N.A.M.E. (Naming Association of Maladroit Educationists) four and two-thirds trillion other people (in Japan alone). So she suggested S.D. Smith. D is my middle initial, and yes, I was named after a woman named … [Read more...] about Initial Discussion
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“…and looks the whole world in the face…”
The Village Blacksmith by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Under a spreading chestnut-tree The village smithy stands; The smith, a mighty man is he, With large and sinewy hands; And the muscles of his brawny arms Are strong as iron bands. His hair is crisp, and black, and long, His face is like the tan; His brow is wet with honest sweat, He earns whate'er he can, And looks the whole world in the … [Read more...] about “…and looks the whole world in the face…”
Wordlessness
"Wonder is involuntary praise." Edward Young picture by Gina Smith quotation HT: Ryken … [Read more...] about Wordlessness
Happy Christmas
9:2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. 3 You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. 4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as … [Read more...] about Happy Christmas
Discrimination is Good?
"In the field of aesthetics, all that is necessary for kitsch to triumph is for men to fail to discriminate" (Theodore Dalrymple, In Praise of Prejudice, p. 75). … [Read more...] about Discrimination is Good?
Honk if you like peace and quiet
Item: It is my custom to specify, when ordering at a drive-through window, that the order is to go. It is helpful to repeat this as if you have no confidence that the person taking the order will get it right. Item: What’s the deal with this team? Item: Mark Twain said "Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society." … [Read more...] about Honk if you like peace and quiet
“…be not coy…”
To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time by Robert Herrick Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying: And this same flower that smiles to-day To-morrow will be dying. The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun, The higher he's a-getting, The sooner will his race be run, And nearer he's to setting. That age is best which is the first, When youth and blood are warmer; But being spent, the … [Read more...] about “…be not coy…”
Tolkien on Writing as Sub-Creation
"What really happens is that the story-maker proves a successful 'sub-creator'. He makes a Secondary World which your mind can enter. Inside it, what he relates is 'true': it accords with the laws of that world. You therefore believe it, while you are, as it were, inside. The moment disbelief arises, the spell is broken; the magic, or rather art, has failed. You are then out in the Primary World … [Read more...] about Tolkien on Writing as Sub-Creation