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BEST POSTS



Responses from readers:
  • "I just wanted to thank you. I'm doing a report on the Faoladh for my 'Monsters & Demons' class, and I am the only person who found a 'monster' that's really not a monster! I couldn't have done it without this valuable information, though, so thanks again." (7 January 2016)
  • "This blog is a goldmine and a beacon. Deep, clear, multiperspectivist and enlightened. Congratulations." (23 June 2015)
  • "I am Les Barany, Mr. Giger's friend and agent. I was heartened to read this. Thank you in the name of his friends and family." (2 August 2014)
  • "I'm definitely a lurker. You have the greatest blog on the internet. ... You are a lighthouse." (26 August 2013)
  • "You just confirmed for me with this post that the much debated and anxiously awaited author rank algorithm via Google is less speculatiive, and actually, imminent. great post." (1 May 2013)
  • "I've just found out about your blog, and just can't believe the amount of information you have here, it's amazing! You cover a great deal of the events that correspond to the angsts and hopes of our age. A history of things to come indeed!" (30 April 2013)  
  • "There's been a void in my life without your posts!" (22 April 2013) 
  • "I'm going to just outright overlook the fact that you were browsing through issues of 'Popular Mechanics' from the 1970s." (18 February 2013) 
  • "Phenomenal post! I didn't realize the 'end of the world' had such a history!" (21 December 2012) 
  • My continuity (a history of a particular character in a serial fiction) for the DC Comics character Terra was cited at TV Tropes in their entry for the dramatic trope, Unfortunate Implications: "The star of the infamous New Teen Titans saga, The Judas Contract, Terra is subjected to this trope. She was a super-powered 16 year-old hired by the mercenary Slade Wilson a.k.a. Deathstroke the Terminator to infiltrate, spy on, and destroy the Titans (she was actually 15 when she started doing this). During her time with the Titans, it's revealed she's having a sexual affair with Slade, and the story's creators have confirmed that the purpose of this was to shock the readers at what a slut she is, never mind that nothing indicates she's ever slept with anybody else, she actually seems to think Slade loves her, and Slade might be committing statutory rape. When the time comes to betray the Titans, they try to reason with her and fail, and she dies while trying to kill them, destroyed by her own powers. The story becomes quite Anvilicious at how evil she is. She's explicitly called evil, the Narrator informs us that she's both completely insane and completely responsible for her actions (a contradiction in terms), even Slade later says her evil scared even him. Her death is essentially a teen suicide (in a series that was about, and originally intended for, teens) where everything is being blamed on the teen. And as for Slade, her boss and lover, the man who's decades older than her, a multiple murderer, who created the Evil Plan she was following, whose own stated intentions with that plan was to murder all the Titans, he is (comparatively speaking) Easily Forgiven by the Titans afterwards, and is treated by DC Comics as an Anti-Hero for the next several years. He's even treated as a father figure by several of the Titans he was trying to kill! This storyline exonerated the adult in this murderous partnership while trying to blame everything on the 16 year-old girl. The blogger tamaranorbust has a thorough, multi-part study on Terra, covering her appearances, her background, how she's referred to, the characters she affected, the histories of her two later namesakes and the implications of her story." (21 October 2012)
  • "I really admire your voice. This post is another example amongst many that I hope others think on, observe, and then act." (12 September 2012) 
  • "I am a bit in love with your blog in it's thoughtfulness, it's directness, it's informed discussion, and it's beauty." (25 June 2012) 
  • "(I) just thought I'd exit lurk mode for a moment to let you know that this blog is one of my very favourite things to read on the internet and in itself shores up my faith in the resilient complexity of language. Your posts are balanced, beautifully written, sometimes troubling and always thought-provoking. Many thanks!" (10 June 2012) 
  • "I've been reading your blog, everyday for the past few weeks -- great stuff. The Chernobyl/Artemisia article was excellent, excellent, excellent. Happy to have found an interesting blog, and your blogroll is cool as well." (24 May 2012) 
  • Your "comment about the rich was like a punch between the eyes." (11 March 2012) 
  • "Your writing and research never ceases to amaze me." (15 February 2012)
  • "[T]hat's my story. I had to post it. Thanks for listening." (13 February 2012)
  • "The actual explanation you've found is a lot more intelligent than the 'oh it must be global warming' I get everywhere." (31 January 2012)
  • "When I mentioned that yours is/was the only 9/11 memorial I intended to view, I meant it." (11 September 2011)
  • "Your posts always get the grey matter ticking." (8 May 2011)
  • "Your posts have been thought provoking and tantalizing. They have taken me deep into arcana that might otherwise have escaped my notice and, as well, scared and mystified me." (8 May 2011)
  • "Well, you just gained yourself a new fan." (20 October 2010)
  • "In my current state of mind and being, you are one of my very top favorite sites to visit. Your reports and your sources stay with me as I contemplate the meaning of it all." (25 September 2010)
  • "Fascinating. Terrific potential for understanding lies somewhere within this realm of multi-disciplinary thoughts. We need to bring the subject of cosmology to 'the person in the street', via dialogue that we can relate to. Thanks for keeping us in the loop with your posts." (1 August 2010)

Here are some of my favourite posts on understanding time and the Millennial Zeitgeist:

2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017

This list is current as of 20 May 2017.

Ruins of Persepolis. Image Source.

Persian ruins. Image Source.