90% of everything is crap. That’s just nature; there is more attempt than skill, and even skill must be cultivated. So why do I complain that 90% of Christian art is crap? Because unlike the rest of the world, mainstream Christianity defends its crap. While this trend is thankfully changing, there are still a staggering … Continue reading Why Defending Bad Christian Art Shows Bad Theology
What makes a good villain? I've already written an article on what I call the Villainous Venn-Triagram, but there's an element I left out: hatability. It's the amount of deadness you want that person to suffer. For example: Voldemort is a good villain, but Umbridge is the one you want to strangle with piano wire. … Continue reading Top 10 Hatable Disney Villains
The best I've seen of all that I've seen (or played) in 2017. Why? Because art is awesome and we should celebrate it. Particularly, I'm looking at books, movies, video games, and anime. Note: these are not all things that came out in 2017, but things I experienced for the first time in 2017. So … Continue reading 2017: A Year in Art
We've all got 'em. From black-and-white classics like Miracle on 34th Street to it's-set-on-Christmas-so-yes-it's-a-Christmas-movie Die Hard, each of us has at least two or three Christmas specials we can't do without each year. So I'll keep this blog post short because I want to hear your answers more than mine: what are the Christmas specials … Continue reading What Christmas Specials Do you HAVE to Watch Every Year?
Despite the cutesy title, not all dogs go to Heaven. The bastard Dalmatian that chased me on my bike is an example. Or those Rottweilers that used to scare me. Or that massive Weimeraner that-- Ahem, but we're talking about the Don Bluth movie. If you can't see the picture, the quote at the bottom … Continue reading Top Five Hell Scares–#4, A Dog’s Death
Intros are for people with time on their hands and you're a busy person, so let's get right to it. How DO you turn a book into a movie successfully, according to this nerd's perspective? 1. Put the Book in the Blender and hit Puree Yes, fellow bibliophiles, if you want a good movie adaptation, … Continue reading How to Turn a Book into a Movie in Two Agonizing Steps
Some tropes we just love. We've seen them 8 million times and we'll happily see them again...if they're done right. This series explores good and bad tropes in books, film, anime, and video games. What was the very first twist ending? I'm guessing it was the whole Jesus-came-back-to-life moment, but plot twists are some of … Continue reading Trope Teardown: Good Twist, Bad Twist, Cheap Twist, Seuss Joke
"Noooo! No! No! Nononono, NYOOOO!!!" I wailed. My toddler son stared in confusion. What had caused his poor father to cry out in utter dismay? I was reading a novel, and two young-adult characters had just met and just started bickering. It was going to be one of those novels. And I was a contest … Continue reading Fighting vs. Bickering in Romance Stories
Romance is like Horror. Everybody does it, but not everybody's good at it. Plus, it can make you gag. I don't speak as some multi-award-winning romance writer or anything like that, but I'm a guy who's edited a lot of books, read a lot more, and seen countless romances in movies, TV shows, even video … Continue reading 3 Tips For Writing Good Romance in Any Medium
Once upon a time, there were two stories. Both were penned by authors of Christian faith, each eager to communicate a Godly message to the world. Book A became an international success, resonating throughout the decades, being read in classrooms across the world. Book B flopped critically and financially, and became the laughing stock of … Continue reading Why Bad Art Means a Bad Christian Message
Fencing With Ink 