“By stripping down an image to its essential ‘meaning,’ an artist can amplify that meaning in a way that realistic art can’t.” —Understanding Comics Read more

You are just a figment You are just a dream You’re just another blogwatch for the new regime… The Agitator: Pregnant girls being pushed out of classes–and, the Agitator notes, some of them are likely heading for the abortionists. A whole lot of ugly here. Journalista!: Very helpful thing about comics, panel layout, and rhythm. Inspired me to check out Understanding Comics and Reinventing Comics from the library; will report back if/when I have anything interesting to say. Kairos: KairosBaby!... Read more

I’VE STARTED POSTING STUFF at the MarriageDebate blog. FYI. Read more

PICTURE PAGES, PICTURE PAGES, LOTS OF FUN WITH PICTURE PAGES!: Yet more comics reviews. Lots this time. Like, lots-lots. Astro City: “Confession.” Forgot to review this last time around, even though it’s the reason I bought the other Astro City book. I was super-leery of “Confession” because of the Catholic imagery–when that stuff’s done poorly, it sends me up a wall–but ended up getting it anyway for various reasons. It’s… goodish. Nicely reactionary, with its whole “repress your intense desires... Read more

PAGE LAYOUT AND POETRY: I feel stupid. Previously in this space, I wondered why I had the intuition that page layout (in comics) is more “verbal,” more like reading a novel or a poem, than pictures (in comics). A conversation last night with a friend helped me figure out one piece of the answer, which was probably obvious to you if you read comics a lot, but I’m new to this: Layout–the placing and shape of panels and word balloons–is... Read more

WORDS HAVE MEANING! Was thinking the other day about how much of philosophy relies on vocabulary. If certain key concepts are unintelligible to you, you will not be able to work with them; and most of philosophy is not defining terms (that turns out to be wildly hard to do through reason alone) but extrapolating from terms, linking concepts, and working out the consequences of terms we already accept. I’m becoming too abstract here, so let me give some examples.... Read more

JUDICA ME DEUS (JUDGE ME, O GOD): Part two is here. To read parts one and two in order, just click on the main blog. Part three (of five) will arrive Thursday–it’s already mostly written. Sorry the site looks so ugly…! I’m really glad I started doing this, by the way; it’s giving me much-needed discipline in my writing. Read more

OH WOW. An anti-agricultural subsidies weblog! It’s run by the Guardian newspaper. I found it via InstaPundit. It makes all the wonkiest cockles of my heart just shiver with joy. (Wait–did I say that out loud?) Read more

I’m sick of you blogwatching somebody else… The Old Oligarch: Warning about a possible PayPal scam. Unqualified Offerings: Review of Finder—sounds pretty swift. Sheep-Free Zone: Melkites? Who they? Dear Raed = must-read. And Assumption posts from Cacciaguida and Dappled Things–good stuff. Read more

WORDS I USE TOO OFTEN: attenuated wildly awesome insightful um? vivid striking useful worthwhile up-front inspiring Read more