Category Archives: Commentary

Every good fiddler has a distinctive sound. No matter how many play the same tune, each can’t help but play it differently. Some might use an up stroke where another would a down. One might bow a series of quick … Continue reading →

That had been a little more than forty years past. Fatma was born into the world al-Jahiz left behind: a world transformed by magic and the supernatural.  ― P. Djèlí Clark’s A Dead Djinn in Cairo Cat says for some time … Continue reading →

Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; … Continue reading →

People need belief systems, Barnaby. Druidism is as good as any.― Caradoc Singer to Dectective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby in the Midsomer Murder’s “The Sleeper Under The Hill” episode I could smell  lamb being braised with garlic, cumin, ginger and butter as I approached our … Continue reading →

Luxury always comes at someone else’s expense. One of the many advantages of civilization is that one doesn’t generally have to see that, if one doesn’t wish. You’re free to enjoy its benefits without troubling your conscience.  ― Ann Leckie’s Ancillary … Continue reading →

Sometime she forgot what subculture she was living in. — Dagmar Shaw in William Jon Williams’ This Is Not A Game The Kitchen this morning decided to take upon themselves to turn out a most excellent batch of pumpkin cream cheese muffins. Now, the … Continue reading →

And when I feel alone, like no one understands what I’m going through, I remember my friends who get it. I never thought I’d be able to do any of this stuff, but I can. Anyone can wear the mask. … Continue reading →

The storyteller in me asks: what if? And when I try to answer that, a story begins. ― Jane Yolen, author of The Wild Hunt That lovely aroma is smoked ham cheddar biscuits with a dusting of unsweetened cocoa powder baking in … Continue reading →

Every book tells a different story to the person who reads it. How they perceive that book will depend on who they are. A good book reflects the reader, as much as it illuminates the author’s text. — Charles de … Continue reading →

I forbid you maidens all that wear gold in your hair To travel to Carterhaugh for young Tam Lin is there None that go by Carterhaugh but they leave him a pledge Either their mantles of green or else their … Continue reading →