Monthly Archives: March 2023

Accidental Theology (or Zoology)

Posted on March 10, 2023 by JE

Typo of the day: amle (for an intended male). Amle looks like a real word, but I’m not sure what it’d mean. In OI ama is “to vex, annoy” so maybe Amlé would be like Purgatory for Norse Gimlé (“High … Continue reading →

Posted in language, Typo of the Day, words, writing | Comments Off on Accidental Theology (or Zoology)

Old Moon 1 & 2

Posted on March 9, 2023 by JE

These monochrome beauties came in the mail today.

Posted in art, books, fantasy, fantasy art, sword-and-sorcery, writing | Comments Off on Old Moon 1 & 2

Them Dry Bones

Posted on March 9, 2023 by JE

I misread an Old Norse word bœnhús (“begging from house to house”) as beinhús (“bonehouse”), and now I can’t get that wrong word out of my head. Maybe, in an upcoming story, Morlock will be trapped in a bonehouse. It … Continue reading →

Posted in language, Morlock, Typo of the Day, words, writing | Comments Off on Them Dry Bones

Rocktrek Files

Posted on March 8, 2023 by JE

Some people say that Everything Is Star Trek. Some people say not. Some aren’t sure. But the evidence speaks for itself. In the upper left panel we see the Incredible Salt Vampire threatening Lt. Uhura in the guise of a … Continue reading →

Posted in mystery, sff, television | Tagged , | Comments Off on Rocktrek Files

Swords in the Mistletoe

Posted on March 7, 2023 by JE

I was reading Snorri’s Edda today, trying to sort out the story-differences between Snorri’s version and the poems in the Elder Edda. For instance, the famous story where Thor goes fishing and catches Jormungandir, Midgard’s Serpent, plays out differently in … Continue reading →

Posted in books, language, Myth & Legend, words | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Swords in the Mistletoe

The AI of the Beholder

Posted on March 6, 2023 by JE

I swear, if I see another article anthropomorphizing/deifying/demonizing AI, I will… well, not read it, I guess. This trendlet is really getting tedious. Adam Gopnik has something in the New Yorker this week about AI, which isn’t completely wrongheaded but … Continue reading →

Posted in AI is a misnomer, art, writing | Comments Off on The AI of the Beholder

Facebox

Posted on March 5, 2023 by JE

Facebork has put me in Facebook-jail for the 4th time in 4 weeks. I figure they’re trying to make the experience worse so that people will be interested in paying money for actual customer service. Not sure that’s a viable … Continue reading →

Posted in AI is a misnomer, social media | Tagged | Comments Off on Facebox

Swords Against Smog: SWORDS IN THE MIST by Fritz Leiber

Posted on March 5, 2023 by JE

In summary: This late-60s collection includes what many consider to be the two best stories about Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, as well as the earliest complete story about the Mighty Twain. As such it’s essential reading for the sword-and-sorcery … Continue reading →

Posted in books, fantasy, fantasy art, sff, sword-and-sorcery | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Swords Against Smog: SWORDS IN THE MIST by Fritz Leiber

Turn Up This Cruched Way

Posted on March 4, 2023 by JE

Typo of the day is cruch (where I intended to type crush). I figure cruching is like crushing, only with more crunch. And maybe you need a crutch afterwards.

Posted in Typo of the Day, words, writing | Tagged | Comments Off on Turn Up This Cruched Way

“Brain and Brain! What Is Brain?”

Posted on March 3, 2023 by JE

Some great demonstrations here of how chatbots don’t think. I especially like the bot’s explanation of why a pound of feathers weighs the same as two pounds of bricks. An entity that could think would recognize the issue there. The … Continue reading →

Posted in AI is a misnomer, grammar, language | Tagged | Comments Off on “Brain and Brain! What Is Brain?”