tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32020569884202716422024-08-30T21:34:47.259-07:00The Blog of a "Master of English" who Writes Poetry and Fiction, Editorializes, and Reviews Movies - all while Using Wikipedia as a "Reliable Source."Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12145766754582888771noreply@blogger.comBlogger171125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202056988420271642.post-6608578919224689872014-06-07T14:04:00.002-07:002014-06-07T14:04:59.939-07:00

Hello dear reader, the blog you have come to enjoy is no longer here. As of today A Glass Darkly will continue over at WordPress. The new address is http://glarkly.wordpress.com. I'm making the move to take advantage of WordPress' various features, and because it's a more powerful community platform. That's not to say that Blogger hasn't been good to me. It's hosted this blog from its

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12145766754582888771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202056988420271642.post-18536973356587823802013-01-13T21:08:00.001-08:002013-01-13T21:08:56.129-08:00

I'll make this short, and sweet. I'm no longer going to be updating this blog regularly. I will post editorial pieces and reviews (of movies, games, and books) as they get written, but for now all of my blogging energy is going to Tongues in Jars and Going Box by Box. So, enjoy what's here, and check out my two other blogs as well!

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12145766754582888771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202056988420271642.post-43178472787707303522012-12-12T20:09:00.002-08:002012-12-12T20:16:27.181-08:00

I know that I originally planned to re-launch this blog and Tongues in Jars for December, but recently my time has been short. I'll spare you the regular spiel about working three jobs and planning to move out and etc., etc. The shortest possible version is that I just haven't really figured out exactly what I want to do with A Glass Darkly going forward. Now, I'm still going to blog (as is

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12145766754582888771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202056988420271642.post-27604031645173837452012-12-03T22:13:00.001-08:002012-12-03T22:13:18.370-08:00

A proper update/entry is coming soon! For now, all I can say is that the purpose of this blog, and of Tongues in Jars is going to change come the new year. Plus, I'll be starting up a third, much more minimalistic blog as well. Details coming soon!

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12145766754582888771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202056988420271642.post-70986146991207421592012-11-11T18:28:00.001-08:002012-12-12T20:16:09.402-08:00

Because I'm using National Novel Writing Month to launch myself back into writing my fantasy series, my blogging time has been short lately. So, instead of pushing through and getting out some sub-par entries, I've decided to put my blogs on hold for the rest of November. However, I will be posting the entry for Stanza 8 of "Dum Diane vitrea" this coming Tuesday, while the final wrap-up entry

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12145766754582888771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202056988420271642.post-65637294804395969922012-11-05T19:42:00.001-08:002012-11-05T19:42:56.809-08:00

Context Gazing Across Prairies Closing {The prairie's amber wave. Image found on Bridal Buds.} Back To Top Context Inspired by a lovely face, this is another poem I composed out West. It's been modified from its original to bring some more unity to the over all metaphor of face as prairie field ready for harvest, but still needs some work. If you've got some suggestions, leave them in the

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12145766754582888771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202056988420271642.post-47216268656012052652012-11-03T21:47:00.000-07:002012-11-03T21:54:43.769-07:00

1. Rosner, Hillary. "A Chemist Comes Very Close to a Midas Touch." The New York Times 15 October 2012. Web. 3 November 2012. Paul Chirik, a chemist at Princeton University, has successfully managed to make iron react like platinum in certain chemical reactions. Though shy of changing the base metal into gold, Rosner describes this as a kind of alchemy and gives a brief glimpse at some of the

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12145766754582888771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202056988420271642.post-29117692731240725812012-11-02T20:30:00.004-07:002012-11-03T21:47:49.459-07:00

{The Room's movie poster, found on Wikipedia.} Plot Summary The Good The Bad Judgment Closing Back to Top Plot Summary Everything in the life of Johnny (Tommy Wiseau) seems to be going well: he's lined up for a promotion at work, he's about to marry his girlfriend of seven years (Lisa, played by Juliette Danielle), and he's surrounded by friends. However, little does Johnny know that his

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12145766754582888771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202056988420271642.post-61750807876377121162012-10-29T23:32:00.001-07:002012-10-29T23:34:34.903-07:00

Context The Monk and the Box Closing {A mysterious box, and a bit of foreshadowing. Image found on the blog Siblingshot.} Back To Top Context Tonight's story is a bit of a long one, and, as was the case two weeks ago, it is an early version of a short story related to the larger world that I'm building for my novel series. It's something that could maybe be a prologue or first chapter to a

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12145766754582888771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202056988420271642.post-60819407364289241542012-10-27T22:48:00.001-07:002012-10-28T00:10:44.693-07:00

1. Anders, Charlie Jane. "What would a Random House/Penguin merger mean for science fiction and fantasy?" io9 25 October 2012. Web. 27 October 2012. Anders offers a handful of insights into what a merger of Penguin and Random House might mean for publishers, imprints, writers, readers and those aspiring to be writers. She also includes a link to an in-depth article about what mergers in general

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12145766754582888771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202056988420271642.post-41736141248486757882012-10-26T23:56:00.001-07:002012-10-26T23:56:35.505-07:00

{The Convent's movie poster, found on IMDb.} Introduction Plot Summary The Good The Bad Judgment Closing Introduction In today's entry, we take a look at the Mike Mendez' horror flick, The Convent. With its low budget effects and costumes, it's a great film for the end of October (and Part 4 of Shocktober) since the best Halloween costumes are often made on a budget. So, let's see if the

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12145766754582888771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202056988420271642.post-46213307928794168782012-10-22T20:00:00.000-07:002012-10-22T21:01:37.018-07:00

Context West Coast Yawp Closing {Some beeswax, taper candles. Image found on Waxing Lyrical.} Back To Top Context Today's poem is one of several "yawps" I wrote while living over in Victoria, BC. Like this majority of these pieces, this one combines two of the larger hurdles of that experience: the weather and the burden of grad school. In true yawp-like fashion, it might not make perfect

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12145766754582888771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202056988420271642.post-21225245918704051402012-10-20T22:25:00.000-07:002012-10-20T22:28:45.727-07:00

1. Ramstad, Evan. "Are Koreans the Irish of Asia? Here’s a Case." Korea Realtime (Wall Street Journal) 16 October 2012. Web. 20 October 2012. Ramstad recounts the recent visit to Seoul of Eammon McKee, Ireland's ambassador to the Koreas, and a speech he made there wherein he fleshed out the Korea-is-Ireland cliché. He quotes McKee's speech selectively, compiling a brief list of the ways in which

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12145766754582888771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202056988420271642.post-84003753104131555702012-10-19T22:38:00.003-07:002012-10-19T22:46:22.740-07:00

{Silent House's movie poster, found on Wikipedia.} Introduction Plot Summary The Good The Bad Judgment Closing Introduction Based on Gustavo Hernández's independent horror film, Casa de Muda, this week's movie is a chilling one. Back to Top Plot Summary Sarah (Elizabeth Olsen), her father (Adam Trese), and her uncle Peter (Eric Sheffer Stevens) have returned to their old vacation house to

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12145766754582888771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202056988420271642.post-25753918135554806092012-10-15T22:05:00.000-07:002012-10-19T22:39:22.226-07:00

Context Blue Bricks Closing {A replica of a medieval ship. Image found on the Seasalt Cornwall blog.} Back To Top Context Today's story is one of the many shorts that offers some insight into the backstory of the fantasy series that I'm currently working on. In fact, it's a kind of world building story, in the sense that it (once it's as finished as it can be) will offer a glimpse into a

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12145766754582888771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202056988420271642.post-59441983625991025632012-10-14T00:21:00.000-07:002012-10-20T22:17:35.476-07:00

1. "Scholars finish dictionary of ancient Egyptian language." ScienceBlog 19 September 2012. Web. 13 October 2012. The Chicago Demotic Dictionary, developed at the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute, has finally been completed. The article details how the Ancient Egyptian common language has contributed to Modern English, as well as how it sheds light on how the common people of Ancient

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12145766754582888771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202056988420271642.post-22842481459733999532012-10-12T23:51:00.003-07:002012-10-12T23:51:40.232-07:00

{Leprechaun in the Hood's movie poster, found on Wikipedia.} Introduction Plot Summary The Good The Bad Judgment Closing Introduction Welcome to Part Two of Shocktober - a look into the litanous Leprechaun series. Specifically, as requested, this week's review is a foray into the fifth movie in the Leprechaun franchise: Leprechaun in the Hood. Interestingly enough, after four previous movies

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12145766754582888771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202056988420271642.post-44863322952478853202012-10-08T22:17:00.000-07:002012-10-08T22:19:12.297-07:00

Context Child in a Church Closing {The sort of chancel that a child might run up to. Image found on chancel.org.uk.} Back To Top Context A poem that was written a few months ago, and that is based on some lines that came my way one day. I can't say what, if anything, directly influenced this poem, but I had the image of a child walking up to the front of a church and just let a pen finish

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12145766754582888771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202056988420271642.post-67442811479325952542012-10-06T21:22:00.000-07:002012-10-06T21:30:00.965-07:00

1. Koh, Yoree. "Novelist Murakami Weighs In on Japan Territorial Rows." Japan Real Time (The Wall Street Journal) 28 September 2012. Web. 06 October 2012. Koh recaps Haruki Murakami's stance on Japan's current territorial disputes as they appeared in an essay that made the front page of the Asahi Shimbun. Murakami argues that these territorial disputes are threatening the cultural ties that the

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12145766754582888771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202056988420271642.post-16337562754160876602012-10-05T23:34:00.000-07:002012-10-05T23:34:49.700-07:00

{The movie poster from The Screaming Skull, found on Wikipedia.} Introduction Plot Summary The Good The Bad Judgment Closing Introduction Well, it's October proper now, and so there are a few movies that I've scared up for the month that hosts Halloween that I've just got to check out. First up in the four part Shock-tober film fest is the 1958 fright-fest, The The Screaming Skull. Back to

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12145766754582888771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202056988420271642.post-57474103621929769742012-10-01T21:39:00.001-07:002012-10-01T21:42:38.197-07:00

Context All an Act Closing {A traditional ransom note - probably from a real cut-up given its content. Image found on Free the Maps.} Back To Top Context This is another draft from my time spent at the local creative writing group. It's a story that carries on with the mystery element from the previous fiction entry, but that is completely unrelated to that piece. Since it appeared

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12145766754582888771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202056988420271642.post-64207855411879738312012-09-30T22:43:00.002-07:002012-09-30T22:43:32.368-07:00

These look back/look ahead entries have proven to be less useful than anticipated. Because the lists that get posted here are seldom worked on over the course of the week, and part of each of the last three Sundays have been consumed by these entries to little avail, I'm going to be stopping their posting all together. However, as one final list, here's what I'm planning on doing between now

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12145766754582888771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202056988420271642.post-31420144813637648812012-09-29T19:44:00.001-07:002012-10-01T21:39:31.606-07:00

1. "This is Not a Real-Life Pokemon, Just the Poodle Moth." TechEBlog 23 September 2012. Web. 29 September 2012. This article focuses on an image of the poodle moth in nature, and as a pokemon card. It's a brief article that includes no extra description of the animal or an external link. Nonetheless, this link is included because of its weirdness and how it shows the world's wondrousness. 2.

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12145766754582888771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202056988420271642.post-54912271925863479812012-09-28T12:15:00.000-07:002012-09-28T14:36:22.737-07:00

{The Samaritan's movie poster, found on IMDb.} Plot Summary The Good The Bad Judgment Closing Back to Top Plot Summary Foley (Samuel L. Jackson) has just finished his 25 years in the joint and he's eager to start fresh. He meets with his parole officer, gets himself a job - and reconnects with his old partner's son, Ethan (Luke Kirby). But Foley's chance meeting with Ethan almost causes his

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12145766754582888771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202056988420271642.post-30979234926772149162012-09-24T21:38:00.000-07:002012-09-24T21:41:28.088-07:00

Context Sun and Moon Closing {A rare sighting, but a jackpot for the celestial paparazzi. Image found on the blog Wish You all the Best.} Back To Top Context Tonight's piece is a sample of my poetry from 2010. This was when I wrote poetry that stuck to a fairly regular form. This specific poem is also an example of my stuff on love that's written in an Elizabethan style; in fact, it's

Nicholashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12145766754582888771noreply@blogger.com0