Jan 15Gamergate — A WarningI was on the fence about writing this for a very long time, but I think there are things here that need to be said. If nothing else, somebody has to send up a proper alarm. A second Gamergate is now very likely. And, if it happens, it will be…Gamer Gate8 min readGamer Gate8 min read
Dec 12, 2022A More Balanced Perspective on Book Covers with AI ArtThere’s a lot of heated discussion about AI art, people using it for creative projects like book covers, and a lot of people, frankly, talking alarmist nonsense about it. …Ai Art6 min readAi Art6 min read
Sep 3, 2022How The Rings of Power got diversity wrong (and House of the Dragon got it right)One of the truly remarkable things about Amazon’s The Rings of Power is not so much its focus on diversity, but the degree to which it managed to botch it. …Rings Of Power7 min readRings Of Power7 min read
Jun 22, 2022Amber Heard probably does NOT have a book dealYesterday, OK! Magazine published an exclusive story that Amber Heard, fresh off of her court loss for defamation against Johnny Depp, has inked a “Multi-Million Dollar” deal to write a tell-all book about her relationship with Depp. …Amber Heard4 min readAmber Heard4 min read
May 21, 2022“Resignation denied” — How a Single Scene Undermined the Worldbuilding and Credibility of Star Trek: Strange New WorldsOne scene. That’s all it took to undermine the worldbuilding of three episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. With a single scene, the series made its setting feel artificial and removed the weight from one of the show’s key sources of moral conflict — what one should do vs…Star Trek6 min readStar Trek6 min read
May 20, 2022An open letter from an abuse survivor to the mainstream media covering the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard trialDear mainstream media, Please shut your teeth. You heard me: shut your teeth. I’m the survivor of over thirty years of emotional and psychological abuse. The toll this abuse has taken on my mind and body is horrifying, and I will be dealing with its aftermath for years to come…Johnny Depp3 min readJohnny Depp3 min read
Mar 21, 2022Ahead of its Time — The Rise and Fall of the Original Battlestar GalacticaWhen we use the phrase “ahead of its time,” we tend to refer to ideas or products that appear progressive or new, or look to the future more than the present. …Battlestar Galactica5 min readBattlestar Galactica5 min read
Mar 18, 2022Star Trek Picard and the Road Not TakenThis is not about escapism. This is not about escapism because, at its best, Star Trek wasn’t really offering escapism. It was a show that explored the issues of the present using a framework of a bright, optimistic future — a future where we had solved the major social problems…Star Trek6 min readStar Trek6 min read
Mar 16, 2022“The Most Important Lessons of Life” — The Wisdom of Girls und Panzer“The most important lessons in life are all condensed into Senshado. But most people don’t realize that” — Mika, Girls und Panzer der Film As the father of a wonderful 3 year-old girl, one of my primary concerns is the life lessons that I will need to teach to prepare…Anime7 min readAnime7 min read
Mar 16, 2022Star Trek Picard: Can we be aspirational again, please?For background: This was originally posted on the Star Trek subreddit under the title “For Picard, can we maybe NOT do what it looks like it’s about to do?”. It was then immediately locked (and apparently removed) by the moderators. This is reproduced verbatim, with the only exception being a…Star Trek Picard5 min readStar Trek Picard5 min read
