Midway through one of my political science courses at the University of Alberta, my professor pulled me aside for a chat after class.  ...

  I was fortunate enough to meet Norman Kwong when he took over from Lois Hole as Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, and I wrote speeches for h...

Until this week, my attempts to write fiction have been undisciplined; typically, I just start writing. I usually have a theme in mind, and ...

I don't know exactly how Letterboxd defines a writing credit for the purposes of their database, but I suspect it's broader than jus...

Skills on Gilligan's Island Like all humans, Castaways possess a wide range of skills thanks to natural aptitude, many hours of practise...

Here's the manual for the software that got me through the first two years of university: Paperclip . Paperclip was pretty primitive com...

Previously on Jedi/Superman ... Last Son of the Republic Growing Up Under Twin Suns Chariot of the Gods The Emperor's New Genocide The Q...

Here's another fellow I painted recently, a bearded academic or monk of some kind. I dub him Zyrian Pilgarlic, not-so-humble seeker of t...

Here's a horrifying thought: After I paint all of my miniatures, I'll feel compelled to give them all names and attributes and backs...

Aunt Barbara couldn't do everything: friendly guests helped; I joked knowingly; ladies made new onion poppers; quiet Ralph sliced tomat...

Although bananas contain delicious enzymes, few gastroenterologists have included jade kiwis, lecturing many nurses on proper quality refre...

“Abracadabra!” bellowed Caesar, disintegrating every foe galloping hither, incensed jugglers keeling lengthwise, maddened Numidians on poni...

Wow, it's been over 20 years since I was publishing my own little newsletter, Blazing Earl News. I sent it out to about two dozen fri...

Here's the bottle of ink itself, removed from its box. I should see if I can find myself a fountain pen to match. 

When Mom visited Manitoba last month, she bought me a present: this fountain pen ink. The packaging is in great condition, considering i...

My friend Meric reached out to some folks for some brainstorming ideas: come up with some titles of novels that might have been written by ...

Now this is a cool idea: s ometime later this year, CBS will release four "Short Treks," 10-15 minute episodes of Star Trek: Dis...

Last night I screened Lilies of the Field , a 1963 Best Picture nominee, featuring the performance that earned Sidney Poitier the Best Act...

I've long maintained that fictional universes, if the worldbuilding is solid enough, can support an almost endless well of good stories...

On Friday, I coined a new term: the impostrophe, which I define as any misused apostrophe, such as the infamous "it's" for ...