Do you like cartoons? Specifically cartoons that appear in newspapers? Those little short ones that have a homely sense of wit about them? Then you'll love Radio Free Babylon.

http://www.radiofreebabylon.com/

Of course they do a bit more, with blogging and "Street Scenes" (inserting an astronaut character into various locations), plus some humorous one-off pictures. But the main draw - and the reason I made this topic - is "Coffee with Jesus," a short 4-square comic in which a small group of friends (and occasionally the Devil) sit around and chat with the Son of Man Himself. Don't be alarmed, this is a Christian creation, so there's nothing blasphemous. Sometimes the characters have strong opinions, and the Devil will fling his barbs, but the Lord always has the last word. Everything looks like it was taken from a religious tract, which I believe accentuates the humor; Jesus, of course, looks a bit doctored, but it doesn't subtract from anything. I'm subscribed to them on Facebook, and I love getting a new one every couple of days. They're actually quite smart and provocative - Jesus may not always say what you want to hear, but it's worth hearing. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do.

If you don't want to sift through a back catalog that may be difficult to manage, there's two fine paperback collections of these comics available to buy on Amazon, both in Kindle and paperback. I may not have them myself (yet), but as I love these comics, I highly recommend them.

Volume 1: https://www.amazon.com/Coffee-Jesus-David-Wilkie/dp/0830836624/ref=pd_bxgy_14_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0830836624&pd_rd_r=WVEWWVTAKCWTQM7MWEES&pd_rd_w=aGeIa&pd_rd_wg=zYRco&psc=1&refRID=WVEWWVTAKCWTQM7MWEES

Volume 2: https://www.amazon.com/Second-Shot-Coffee-Jesus/dp/0830836934/ref=pd_bxgy_14_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0830836934&pd_rd_r=REH2576RESSZFK4FZF7M&pd_rd_w=Q5YRT&pd_rd_wg=R59Zq&psc=1&refRID=REH2576RESSZFK4FZF7M

The latest (as of this post) entry on Christian horror writer Mike Duran's blog is an interesting piece on fanfiction and the evolving nature of story. Given the leaning towards collaborative storytelling on this site, I feel that it might be well-received here. I feel it's certainly worth a thought or two.

http://mikeduran.com/2016/09/what-fanfiction-reveals-about-the-nature-of-story/

Tell me what you think. If you have the chance, let Mr. Duran know as well.

This topic doesn't necessarily have to exist, and I don't mean to invade anyone's private business, but if anyone's willing, I thought we could bring up what we happen to be reading at the moment. There doesn't have to be any lengthy descriptions of a book - I wouldn't mind just hearing title and author. It's just something that I thought up at the spur of the moment, and replies can follow the same way.

For me right now, it's Treasure Island, spurred by the fact that I just finished a biography of Stevenson's fascinating life, and I also have each of his major works lined up as well. It's a bit of a cheat, I admit, since after bringing up my "Problems with Books and Reading" topic, my response is to read a book I've already read. On the other hand, I had read it only once back in the nineties as a project back in homeschooling, so it FEELS like reading it for the first time. As it is, I'm halfway done with it in just a couple days - it's a phenomenally fast read, "perfectly" plotted and paced. Some critics may find it flat, but I believe it accomplishes what it sets out to do, which is to tell a bare-bones yarn free of deeper (deliberate) philosophical insight. It's the perfect potboiler.

Recently, I feel that I've hit a snag. Of course, this snag has been felt before, but it feels really particular right now.

There are a lot of books that I want to read. Problem is, my concentration is really divided. I like stories, and I want to read more, but I'm always finding something else to occupy my time. Plus, even when I like a book, I can set it down and forget about it easily. Something "better" to do always comes up. I'm not sure how to handle it.

Also, I feel completely overwhelmed by what I want to get to. I make lists of authors I feel worth considering, and even when I try to condense it to favorites or potentials, it always ends up being huge. I want to get to them all, but for brevity's sake, I want to keep it succinct. But it never works out that way - I end up with pages of names and titles. Plus, there are some authors who are out of print, but I really want to pick them up. For a little bit, I felt that I had found what I wanted to do with my life - reintroduce these authors back into print, perhaps through a small press and/or starting my own - but then the lists come back, and I'm staggered by them. I just can't narrow it down, no matter how many times I try. Thus, I'm back to square one and further discouraged.

I don't really know what to do, nor do I expect any easy solutions, as this isn't an easy issue. It causes me a small amount of anxiety, and I feel held back by my own limitations and desires. In many ways, I don't even know what I'm asking for - even my questions are confusing. I guess I need focus but I'm not sure what to focus on or how to do it. I can't narrow it down by myself, but I can't expect anyone else to do it for me.

This is probably more likely to be found in a Facebook post, but I just felt like I needed to get it out there right here, for some reason. It's personal therapy. If you can understand what I'm saying (and I'm sure I've been really confusing), does anyone have any tips or advice that I could use?

Having recently heard that Raven has been reading the Earthsea series, I thought I might share this.

Mrs. Le Guin has some interesting opinions on fantasy. She's pretty particular about style, as her essay "From Elfland to Poughkeepsie" makes clear, and I'm not sure that I disagree. When it comes to writing anything, style is important - there are occasions when the rules can be bent, but there's a general adaptation that has to take place, a certain "flow" that has to be pulled off just right, for the story to work. It's not just the content, the meat's in the very telling of the tale! Fantasy, in particular, requires a specific diction and structure relative to the setting of the story for it to be believable; anything less betrays the immersion expected of the reader.

To spare you any more rambling, here's the essay in full. Feel free to discuss whether Mrs. Le Guin's opinions are worth their weight today or if style is no longer a factor.....or whatever. Just enjoy the essay, if nothing else.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzA5KaXxLuv6YjI2M2M1ZTMtOTYwZS00MjNiLTgzNWUtMGUyYWZmOTJkOTUy/view?ddrp=1&authkey=CIfm6_MP&hl=en#

Here's an interesting take on Biblical education - the entire Bible rendered in Legos. The text is the same as what's found in Scripture, but the accompanying pictures are of a humorous bent. Now I'm not sure is anything here is necessarily blasphemous, but I would still recommend caution, partly because the pictures don't shy away from depicting the frank "adult" material of the Bible that is often glossed over. Still, it's an interesting perspective, and you might get a laugh out of it.

http://www.thebricktestament.com/home.html

Here's something interesting - these guys made a 3D version of the original NES Legend of Zelda, complete with pixel-style renders. If you've played this particular game at all, you might be impressed with how accurately they've laid everything out. Officially, and unfortunately, Nintendo asked that it be taken down, which is a shame, because this would have been something if completed. But a demo version of it has been archived (for the time being), so check it out if you have the chance.

http://web.archive.org/web/20160405001433/http://zelda30tribute.com/

Brief legend:
Z = B button
X = A button
Arrows or A/S/D/W keys = directional pad
Start button is clicked manually on the screen (as far as I know)

Have you ever thought that the Bible was too hard to read, for one reason or another? I can say that I certainly have. It feels more like a textbook, with its layout of verses and cross-references, and I have to admit that, as interesting as they can be, some of the supplementary material in it (commentaries and discussions found in various versions) can be quite distracting, breaking me out of the narrative. My eyes are always going around the place. I'm less inclined to pick up a Bible than I am a novel or regular nonfiction book.

It would seem that a guy named Adam Lewis Greene feels similarly, and he has set up a solution through Kickstarter. Called Bibliotheca, the project seeks to present the Bible as a narrative only, stripping it down to a bare-bones text based on the American Standard Version (trying to get as close a meaning to the original Hebrew/Greek text as possible). It's set up on a custom-made font and printed on high quality paper, split into four volumes to replicate the state of the Bible before its present day organization. As of this writing, it's been funded but still remains in the physical development stage. How long it will be available, I don't know, but I think that it's worth thinking about.

There's always a place for a Bible arranged just as it is now, and I wouldn't think of belittling it altogether, but as an experimental alternative and for those who simply want to enjoy the story itself, this is a noteworthy endeavor, and I'll seriously consider whether I want a part of this.

Information can be found here: http://www.bibliotheca.co/#about

This is one of the more interesting sites dedicated to reviewing that I've come across, mostly for the subject matter. See, where most places just do straight movie or video game reviews, this one takes a more abstract approach, using the media to explore philosophical concepts (like 8-Bit Philosophy, which addresses problems of both antiquity and current events with an NES-style presentation), interpretation of film meaning (Earthling Cinema, where an alien analyzes film and television) and even a rather untapped avenue - book reviews (Thug Notes, in which a typical "thug" [gang member] breaks down significant titles of both classic and modern literature). I think it's definitely worth looking at, especially if you are inclined to explore outside of the proverbial box.

http://www.wisecrack.co/

Note: They also have a YouTube channel, if you'd much prefer that (https://www.youtube.com/user/thugnotes).

This was a quarterly fantasy magazine founded in 2000 which, according to Wikipedia, featured primarily original fiction up to novella length, as well as reviews of novels, comics/graphic novels and role-playing products. There were also several articles and columns discussing the past of fantasy as well as the future. Now it may seem weird to bring attention to a magazine that last saw print in 2011, but, thankfully, an official website was constructed that serves the same functions. I would highly recommend it for those who wish to do some quality scouting for fantasy material.

https://www.blackgate.com/

As an example of what you may find there, here are a couple collections of posts regarding a particular theme. The first gives some advice on writing fantasy.

Originality: https://www.blackgate.com/2010/07/08/on-writing-fantasy-the-quest-for-originality/
Style: https://www.blackgate.com/2010/07/21/on-writing-fantasy-a-timeless-style/
Plot: https://www.blackgate.com/2010/08/04/on-writing-fantasy-the-plot-thickens/
Character: https://www.blackgate.com/2010/08/10/on-writing-fantasy-character-is-king/
Setting: https://www.blackgate.com/2010/08/26/on-writing-fantasy-setting-the-five-senses/

The second is a discussion on where heroic fantasy began.

Part I: https://www.blackgate.com/2010/08/29/worlds-within-worlds-the-first-heroic-fantasy-part-i/
Part II: https://www.blackgate.com/2010/09/05/worlds-within-worlds-the-first-heroic-fantasy-part-ii/
Part III: https://www.blackgate.com/2010/09/12/worlds-within-worlds-the-first-heroic-fantasy-part-iii/
Part IV: https://www.blackgate.com/2010/09/19/worlds-within-worlds-the-first-heroic-fantasy-part-iv/

Remember this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE-1RPDqJAY

It's funny how people can take these seemingly throw-away lines in film and TV and turn them into these little "sensations" that become small pop culture milestones.

Here's an interesting site. His name is Mike Duran, and he's an ex-pastor-turned-professional-writer. I came across him one day searching for Lovecraft art. His topics include writing, theology, horror, the compatibility of horror and the Christian faith, and some current trends of the day. Maybe you'll find something interesting worth holding on to!

http://mikeduran.com/

This was part of the old website, with a section all its own, but considering how small this new site is, I would consider reviving that section to be up in the air. But I would like to see it expanded upon, so I'd like to give it a second try here in the forums. Maybe - just maybe - it'll get its own space in the future, but then that's not up to me.

I should also state that I have not read all of these authors, not for lack of interest but for a divided attention span. Therefore, these will often be people I have heard of but not personally experienced yet, or I have begun their work but let my mind wander to other places. I WANT to read them, of course, and beyond my recommendation, these are authors who are well regarded by critics and commercial audiences alike and have raised the benchmark on the genre significantly through their contributions. Also, I don't intend to be the only one who posts - everyone is free to participate.

The original entries were George MacDonald, J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. Therefore, I'd like to submit 6 authors from the same relative timeframe who, in some cases, have provided an influence on their development.


WILLIAM MORRIS (1834-1896)
One of the most well-regarded figures of the Victorian era, a committed socialist in the second half of his life,  Morris is known today for his textiles as well as his wallpaper, fabrics and other interior decorations influenced by the Neo-Gothic revival movement. But he was chiefly regarded in his time as a poet and a writer - drawing upon Icelandic sagas, he delivered acclaimed pieces such as A Dream of John Ball, The House of the Wolfings, The Roots of the Mountain, The Story of the Glittering Plain, The Wood Beyond the World, The Well at the World's End, The Water of the Wondrous Isles and The Sundering Flood; he also dabbled in sci-fi/utopian themes with the novella News from Nowhere. It is reported that Morris is perhaps the greatest influence upon Tolkien in prose style, as he greatly admired these romances and even felt he couldn't outdo them.

Offsite resources:
William Morris: The Soul of Arts and Crafts (http://www.williammorristile.com/morris_arts_and_crafts.html)
The William Morris Society in the United States (http://www.morrissociety.org/index.html)



E. R. EDDISON (1882-1945)
A Norse scholar, civil servant and close liaison of the Inklings, Eric Rücker Eddison is remembered, especially by both Tolkien and Lewis, for one of the earliest examples of otherworldly high fantasy - The Worm Ouroboros, a dense epic deliberately constructed in an archaic style reminiscent of Elizabethan drama, Icelandic sagas and Jacobean prose, chronicling the conflict on the planet Mercury (yes, that Mercury) between the nations of Demonland and Witchland. In close relation to this was his ultimately incomplete cycle concerning the world of Zimiamvia: Mistress of Mistresses, A Fish Dinner in Memison and The Mezentian Gate.

Offsite resources:
The Official E. R. Eddison Website (http://www.ereddison.com/)



LORD DUNSANY (1878-1957)
An avid chessman and supporter of animal rights, Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany, is one of the earliest worldbuilders, his style influenced by both the King James Bible and his native Irish dialect, among other influences. Long before The Silmarillion was started, Dunsany created a cycle of linked stories concerning the gods and history of Pegāna, as well as other stories of fantasy and horror; even his plays and poetry are tinged with elements of the fantastic. He is also regarded for his novels, chief among them being The King of Elfland's Daughter, The Blessing of Pan and The Curse of the Wise Woman.

Offsite resource:
Lord Dunsany: The Potency of Words and the Wonder of Things (http://pweb.jps.net/~sangreal/ld.htm)
Great Science-Fiction and Fantasy Works - Lord Dunsany (http://greatsfandf.com/AUTHORS/LordDunsany.php)



JAMES BRANCH CABELL (1879-1958)
Sort of a fantastic contemporary of Mark Twain and H. L. Mencken, Cabell is known primarily for The Biography of the Life of Manuel, a large cycle of novels regarding the imaginary French medieval country of Poictesme and the antiheroic character of Dom Manuel and his descendants. These are definitely fantasy works, but they are also severe satires of the mores and values of his native Virginia and its society. The most famous of his works is Jurgen: A Comedy of Justice, which follows an amorous fool through a fantastically absurd cosmic journey; it only increased in fame after being the subject of an obscenity trial in the 1920s.

Offsite resource:
James Branch Cabell: Overview and Personal Notes (http://www.cadaeic.net/cabell.htm)



KENNETH MORRIS (1979-1937)
Unrelated to William Morris, this Welsh theosophist is known both for his stories published under several pseudonyms as well as his own name, ranging over a wide spectrum of mythologies, and for his own personal retelling of the First and Third Branches of the Mabinogion over two respective books - The Fates of the Princes of Dyfed and Book of the Three Dragons - as well as an Aztec fantasy, The Chalchihuite Dragon. Aside from being well regarded for his particular prose style, it would seem that he remains a rather enigmatic figure.

Offsite resource:
Encyclopedia of Fantasy: Kenneth Morris (http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=morris_kenneth)
Theosophical University Press - The Fates of the Princes of Dyfed, Full Text (http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/dyfed/fates-hp.htm)
Theosophical University Press - The Chalchihuite Dragon, Full Text (http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/dragon/dragon-hp.htm)



H. RIDER HAGGARD (1856-1925)
A contemporary of Rudyard Kipling and Robert Louis Stevenson, Haggard is one of the pioneers of the "Lost World" story, mostly the ancient civilizations of newly colonized Africa, and a chief influence on mythopoeia. His most treasured works are the adventure story King Solomon's Mines, a prototypes of Indiana Jones which has led to quite a few homages, and She, a gothic fantasy highly regarded by Tolkien and Lewis as well as psychologists Freud and Jung. Other works well remembered are Nada the Lily, a historical novel of a Zulu prince and his tragedy in love, and Eric Brighteyes, a Viking epic.

Offsite resource:
The Rider Haggard Society (http://riderhaggardsociety.org.uk/)
Visual Haggard (http://www.visualhaggard.org/)

Has anyone found any good music lately? Any new discoveries or appreciations? I'm curious, because, since 2012, I've been collecting all kinds of music, going for as complete a collection as I can of a number of artists. As such, I feel I have quite an extensive library. Some I've found to like even more than I did originally, others I didn't expect to like as much but came off as quite a surprise. I'd sure like to know others' experiences.

So what have you found?