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Author Archives: Brendan
My writing plans for Autumn 2017
While I was in CZ this summer, not only was I editing my scifi novel and my logic textbook, I also started two new works of fiction, intending both of them to be short stories that I could finish in … Continue reading
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Brendan’s Socratic Dialogue Game
Last week, while working on the second edition of my logic textbook, it occurred to me that Socratic Dialogue, the method of philosophical reasoning used by Socrates, is a kind of game. Or, it could be turned into one. Of … Continue reading
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Earthquakes, Hurricanes, and the Problem of Evil
On 1st November 1755, a Sunday that year, a powerful earthquake struck Lisbon, Portugal. The quake itself and the wildfires and the tidal wave caused by it destroyed most of the city, and killed an estimated 60,000 people. Lots of … Continue reading
Is Optimism Still Possible In the Age of Trump?
Timing is sometimes everything. When I finished the final draft of Reclaiming Civilization and submitted it to my publisher, the US presidential election campaign was still in the party primaries. It looked likely at the time that Bernie would win … Continue reading
Twenty-seven days of solitude
Two years ago, I came to visit friends in Krenicna, Central Bohemia, and to look after the gardens and the dogs while they were away. I wrote the first 20,000 words of Reclaiming Civilization here. I returned again this summer, … Continue reading
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Ray Bradbury’s “Dandelion Wine”: A novel for all time, yet also of its own time.
Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury is a world. It’s the author’s fictitious Green Town Illinois, but it’s also a fairyland where boys are young forever. It’s a town where a new pair of tennis shoes can make boys run and … Continue reading
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Tagged books, literary criticism, ray bradbury
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Can book launches be as big as weddings? Some (slightly selfish) thoughts about celebrating books and writers
While attending my brother’s wedding last week, I had a rather selfish thought: no one has ever celebrated my life and accomplishments on a scale that big. Of course the reasons for this are obvious. I’ve never been married; I … Continue reading
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An expedition to the lake, and thoughts along the way
As often as I can, I like to walk from my house to Pink Lake and back; my usual route is about 12kms long, and I love every inch of it as much as I love my library and my … Continue reading
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Tagged ecology, environment, philosophy, photography, questions
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Kenny Klein: Guilty on all charges
Kenny Klein: pagan celebrity musician and songwriter. Arrested and charged for possessing child pornography; today, found guilty on all counts. Here’s the court docket. Not that there was ever any serious reason to suppose the conclusion would be otherwise, beyond … Continue reading
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Why I’m Writing Science Fiction Now
I used to write books about druids. Then I wrote books about philosophers. Then I wrote a six-volume urban fantasy series. Now I’m writing a science fiction novel, and a second edition to a college textbook on logic. A friend … Continue reading
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