Author Archives: JE

About JE

James Enge is the author of the World-Fantasy-Award-nominated novel Blood of Ambrose (Pyr, April 2009). His latest book is The Wide World's End. His short fiction has appeared in Black Gate, Tales from the Magician's Skull, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and elsewhere.

IT’S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!

Thank God. This has been a rough semester (for personal more than academic reasons: my pancreas trying to kill me in January and Lennie’s death in April).

Posted in academia, music | Comments Off on IT’S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!

Rule 34

Below is an unmoderated comment on the previous entry. Poor Lydia: an internet full of porn and she has to touch herself thinking about me.

Posted in AI is a misnomer, music | Comments Off on Rule 34

Vintage Archaeology

Emlyn Dodd has a nice piece up today at The Conversation about a newly excavated winery from the later Roman Empire. The property originally belonged to the Quintilii brothers, and then became part of the emperor’s holdings after Commodus had … Continue reading

Posted in ancient art, history, Roman history, Rome | Tagged , | Comments Off on Vintage Archaeology

Truth or DARVO?

I was reading a harrowing story (at Vox.com) about the Vallow-Daybell murders which mentioned the concept of DARVO. It wasn’t brand-new to me, but I had sort of forgotten about it, even though the thing itself is as common as … Continue reading

Posted in language, politics, Roman history | Comments Off on Truth or DARVO?

Paranoia Will Destroy Ya

I just got the Hofstadter volume from the Library of America and I’ve been enjoying/suffering through a reread of “The Paranoid Style in American Politics”. “Enjoying” because Hofstadter is a knowledgeable and deeply insightful writer with a dryly witty style; … Continue reading

Posted in books, history, politics, review or meta-review | Comments Off on Paranoia Will Destroy Ya

Gormless Gomes on the Ground

This afternoon I was reading up on Danish King Gorm (a.k.a Gorm the Old, a.k.a. Gorm the Lazy, a.k.a. my new role model), and idly wondered if it was the same root as the gorm in English gormless “clueless”. It … Continue reading

Posted in art, history, language, words | Tagged , | Comments Off on Gormless Gomes on the Ground

Is this SALAMI Intelligent?

This is not exactly new, but it’s always fun to watch Cory Doctorow sticking a pin in the AI-hype bubble. I especially enjoyed the proposal of an Italian ex-M.P. to rename AI as “Systematic Approaches to Learning Algorithms and Machine … Continue reading

Posted in AI is a misnomer, science, writing | Comments Off on Is this SALAMI Intelligent?

What Counts and What Doesn’t

In certi momenti, non sono le parole scritte che contano. Una voce, una carezza, un gesto di tenerezza, saranno sempre più forti e risolutivi di un miliardo di parole scritte dal più grande poeta di tutti i secoli. Noi viviamo … Continue reading

Posted in words, writing | Tagged , | Comments Off on What Counts and What Doesn’t

A Ganelon By Any Other Name…

Typo of the day (which I discovered in an old slideshow from earlier this year): Gabolen. I’d intended to write Ganelon (the sinister traitor-knight in Charlemagne’s court). But Gabolen sounds like a pretty convincing name; maybe he/she/it will appear in … Continue reading

Posted in books, Morlock, Myth & Legend, Typo of the Day, words, writing | Comments Off on A Ganelon By Any Other Name…

The Final Problem

This is going to be a tough post to write—no easier because I’ve seen it looming for a while. Lennie Briscoe, the Great Detective, has gone to investigate the ultimate mystery. His spine gave out last night and we just … Continue reading

Posted in art, dogs | Tagged | 2 Comments