My Blog | Prose and Context

Woman in red dress holds a rifle and white bonnet, with text "Nolite te Bastardes Carborundorum" on brown-gray background, creating a rebellious mood.

Dystopia & Privilege

Exploring meaning beyond the binary of right and wrong, and how dystopian fiction can help us recognize real world oppression.

Ideas in Context

Apr 244 min read

Mysterious figure with a glowing red cross on chest, set against a dark, abstract background. Moody and enigmatic atmosphere.

The Symbol of the Cruciform in Dan Simmons' Hyperion

One story from Dan Simmons' 1989 novel involves faith and resurrection, though Jesus is nowhere to be seen. A fitting exploration for Easter Sunday?

Ideas in Context

Apr 204 min read

Transhumanism IV: Digital Consciousness in Black Mirror

Black Mirror has focused a lot on digital consciousness over the years. What morals do these depictions present regarding transhumanism, when taken as a whole?

Apr 176 min read

Posters for: Murderbot, Love Death and Robots, Black Mirror, Stranger Things, A Handmaid's Tale, Alien: Earth and The Last of Us

Is 2025 the Year of Speculative Fiction on TV?

There's lots of exciting TV coming our way in 2025! Hopefully it will mean more important ideas being shared with more people in the future!

Film and TV Rec's

Apr 133 min read

How ADHD Corrupts the Purpose of Guilt

Useful, adaptive guilt vs. toxic, maladaptive guilt: How do we tell the difference? I explore examples from The Stormlight Archive.

Ideas in Context

Apr 104 min read

Touching Allegories in 'The Tomb of Dragons'

From interpersonal communication to the responsibility we have to victims of colonization, Addison's novel offers us a lot to think about!

Ideas in Context

Apr 65 min read

Escaping the Unconscious Collective

How do we recognize our role as cogs in a massive system? Looking at Senlin Ascends and The Masquerade books and The Banality of Evil!

Ideas in Context

Apr 34 min read

Clarity from the Worst Possible Advice

Why does it feel easier to learn from the worst possible advice than from straightforward, positive guidelines? Let's get evil & miserable.

Ideas in Context

Mar 304 min read

(Universali)Tea in Speculative Fiction [Swift Riffle]

Tea is near-omnipresent in stories of speculative fiction! I take a look at why, by looking at real world history and a number of examples.

Swift Riffle

Mar 275 min read

Managing Expectations (Severance Season 2)

It's easy to get lost in excitement for a story and forget that things might not turn out the way you expect – as happened with Severance.

Film and TV Rec's

Mar 234 min read

There is Still Time: How 'I Saw the TV Glow' Illuminates Trans Experiences

This film offers a human, soulful glimpse into the experiences of trans people at a time when hate and alienation are at a sickening high.

Film and TV Rec's

Mar 204 min read

Taravangian & Saviours No One Asked For

Taravangian lives two lives – one gifted with intelligence, another with empathy – that never meet. Here are parallels in our own world.

Mar 165 min read

Welcome! Master List of Posts & My Promise to Readers

What, why and when I write. My promise to myself and to my readers and what I hope you can get out of my work. With a Master List of posts.

Starting Points

Mar 135 min read

Person stands on cliff edge under stormy sky, holding glowing orb as lightning strikes. Dark atmosphere with rain and mist.

Journey Before Destination [I]

Stormlight helped teach me that improvement is gradual and non-linear. There will be setbacks, but we can overcome them.

Journey Before Destination

Mar 94 min read

Tranquility in Strength (Thara Celehar)

Exploring the relationship between power and conduct, with insight from 'The Witness for the Dead', my life with ADHD and real world evils.

Ideas in Context

Mar 65 min read

Book cover for "The Saint of Bright Doors" by Vajra Chandrasekera. Features ornate door on yellow/blue background, with intricate patterns.

The Saint of Bright Doors: Lost in the System

The melding of form and content can produce powerful imagery in books, film and video games. In this case, it brings a fever dream to life.

Mar 25 min read

Man with wide eyes, hunched over a desk in a cluttered room, holding a pen. "House of Leaves" text above, colors evoking a tense mood.

What is House of Leaves? Part III: Johnny Truant & Pelafina

Wrapping up our exploration of the House by meeting our faithful unreliable narrator Johnny Truant and his even more questionable mother.

Ideas in Context

Feb 276 min read

Blue sketch of a bearded man with long hair, expressing a somber mood. Text reads "Zampaño 6/5/23" on left of beige sketchbook.

What is House of Leaves? Part II: Zampanò

Let's delve into the mysterious mind of the man who invented The Navidson Record, the House and so much more. Who is Zampanò?

How we Read

Feb 235 min read

What is House of Leaves? Part I: The Navidson Record

Welcome to my exploration of 'House of Leaves', what this experimental novel is, why you should try reading it and how we can learn from it.

Ideas in Context

Feb 205 min read

Who Are You, Really? Fractured Identity & 'Ancillary Justice'

Who are you? Does your answer change depending on the day? On your mood? Has your DNA shaped you into your current form, or has the world?

Ideas in Context

Feb 166 min read