“Water / Sui”
The river follows
the open path, while the wave
gathers its force.
Steve D
The river follows
the open path, while the wave
gathers its force.
Steve D

Medieval British History is my wheelhouse. I’m not an expert by any means, but learning about the English royalty is actually what first sparked my academic interest in history during high school. Who was the Black Prince and how did he get such an awesome moniker? How accurate were the popular tales about Richard I’s crusade? I just wanted to learn more, and I did throughout college.
One oft-lamented aspect of the field of history by academics is the prevalence of popular history, particularly in film, television, and non/fiction. Popular history tends to take a wide, mass-appeal approach to the telling of history. The argument against these forms of history is that they are often more focused on a gripping narrative than on actual historical accuracy or objectivity. This is undeniable in many such works. Continue reading “Book Review: LIONHEART, by Sharon Kay Penman”
The moment whispers,
a feeling captured like an
imprint on the heart.
Steve D
At times I wonder
if my haikus will one day
be read as proverbs.
Steve D
February was pretty good for me. I’m about 100 pages from finishing Lionheart and have the makings of a draft review sitting in my dashboard. I realize that I did not meet either of those goals, but that’s mostly because I was focused on writing… and occasionally watching Justice League on Netflix. Continue reading “Almost Near the Near End: March Goals”

I watched The Martian last night for the first time. After reading the book by Andy Weir a couple months ago, I was excited to see what Hollywood would do with such a detail-rich and well-researched story. They glossed over most of the super-scientific information (understandably so) to get to the heart of the human interest story of an astronaut lost on Mars, and the NASA scientists and astronauts trying to bring him home. Continue reading “THE MARTIAN, the Oscar’s, and Rational Thought”
The flame flickers on,
ever dancing, reaching, yearning
to conquer the dark.
Steve D
Looking at that picture, most people would hear the water chiming over stones and logs, or imagine the animals that may be hidden behind that line of trees. I look at this picture and imagine the mountain spring that flows down into this river, or the wide expanse of the forest. Continue reading “Creativity Sessions: Not Seeing the Trees for the Forest”
To have real focus
is really just the absence
of good distractions.
Steve D
I saw The Revenant over the weekend with a friend. He had already seen it, and he raved about it on our way to the theater. I generally become more critical of films when I hear a lot of hype leading up to me seeing them. The stakes for The Revenant were already high. Continue reading “Quick Rip: THE REVENANT and Leo’s Oscar Hopes”