Author Archives: JC

A Review of Modern Japanese Short Stories

Posted on January 12, 2022 by JC

Modern Japanese Short Stories edited by Ivan Morris, Tuttle Publishing, August 1st, 2019 (first published in 1962) Modern Japanese Short Stories is a collection by twenty five Japanese authors with stories published from early to middle of the twentieth century. … Continue reading →

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Believing in Science

Posted on January 7, 2022 by JC

The rhetorical phrase, “I believe in science” or “I trust the science” and other variations has been with us for a while but has become especially common of late for reasons that aren’t hard to guess, and which I have … Continue reading →

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The Games of 2021

Posted on December 31, 2021 by JC

This is a continuation of what I did last year, where I offer a brief review of the new games I played this year. For many reasons, the last two years have seemed to blur together and the quality of … Continue reading →

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The True Lies of True Lies

Posted on December 24, 2021 by JC

I would usually make more effort in thinking of a title but there really isn’t a better way to discuss a film that reveals itself so openly. True Lies was released in 1994 which was seven years before the events … Continue reading →

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Scattered thoughts on Ayn Rand

Posted on December 14, 2021 by JC

My early introduction to Ayn Rand was a chapter devoted to her in a book titled Architects of the Culture of Death by Donald De Marco and Benjamin Wiker (her chapter was written by De Marco). This is a Catholic … Continue reading →

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Paying for Pleasance

Posted on November 27, 2021 by JC

One of the many cultural curiosities about Japan that I was never able to understand while living there was the existence of hostess bars and clubs. Such places are found all over the world but tend to be hidden from … Continue reading →

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A Long Short Journey

Posted on November 14, 2021 by JC

One of my goals for this year was to read Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, yet another book I have had on my shelf for many years and had yet to read. But also a much beloved and … Continue reading →

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Force and Discomfort

Posted on November 6, 2021 by JC

There has been a lot misuse recently of the idea of “being forced”. That is the subtle but important difference between “being forced” and “being compelled” or “coerced”. With the way dictionary definitions are being changed this is not completely … Continue reading →

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The Last Years of America

Posted on October 30, 2021 by JC

Top Gun was a a staple movie of my household growing up. It was one of the first VHS tapes I remember my father buying and he used to play it over and over again — but I don’t remember … Continue reading →

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The Example of Eleazar

Posted on October 14, 2021 by JC

The First and Second Books of Maccabees are the last books of the Old Testament and detail the resistance of the Jews to the Seleucid Empire under Antiochus IV. I was completely unfamiliar with them until I began preparing to … Continue reading →

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