StanleyWheeler

 Let's return to the Omnibus bill of 1850. Stephen Douglas succeeded where Daniel Webster had failed and brought the provisions through the Senate in small bites instead of at a single gulp. Getting the provisions through the House would be another battle. The laconic and handsome Linn Boyd would spearhead the effort in the House. Howell Cobb of Georgia was Speaker of the House, which contained members who were often hot-headed and undisciplined. Cobb picked Boyd from those clamoring for attention on August 29. Boyd moved to add creation of the New Mexico and Utah Territories as an amendment to the Texas border bill. He soon dropped the Utah amendment, and argued, so that none would doubt where he stood, that he was for union and the Constitution. He proclaimed that he was for union not only as protection against foreign aggression, but "for the more important reason that it protects us from on another." Joseph Root of Ohio wanted to add the Wilmot Proviso to the bill. Mc...

  See How They Run , 2022, directed by Tom George and written by Mark Chappell, stars Sam Rockwell as Detective Stoppard and Saoirse Ronan as Constable Stalker. This parody of the murder mystery genre is actually funny. We've recently watched A Haunting in Venice (2023), and Murder on the Orient Express (2017); within the past year we also saw Knives Out and its forgettable sequel. I would rather rewatch See How They Run than any of those others. It has been too long since I saw Death on the Nile (2022) (which I enjoyed tremendously) for me to include that one in my comparison. See takes place in the 1950s with a murder after the party celebrating the 100th performance of Agatha Christie's "The Mouse Trap." All the theater people as well as those connected with the possible movie based on the play are suspects. There's a certain predictability to events and to the humor--it is a parody of a formulaic genre, after all--and the ultimate callback is all the more...

  "There she is!" Christmas and New Years are visible through the Mutara Nebula. I'm doing my part to help you navigate the holidays without functioning sensors. Don't get caught in two-dimensional thinking. The first three books in the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire Series are on sale for only 99 cents through the end of the year. The three form a great story and set up the confrontations in the next three books. It's flintlock fantasy with kick -- and dragons. Smoke is at a reduced price for Christmas too. If you enjoyed Smoke , you'll want to read "Monica on my Mind," which is a short story that takes place shortly after the events in the novel. Here's a Christmas sale on books in a variety of genres .   And finally, the magazine above with my story "Tokens of Moonlight and Mist" just came out.  

  The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose. An evil soul producing holy witness Is like a villain with a smiling cheek, A goodly apple rotten at the heart. O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath! -- The Merchant of Venice , Act I, Scene 3. I object to the subversion of good and evil. It has become popular to retell old tales and make the evil villain a misunderstood hero or heroine. Likewise, symbols of good are subverted to malicious ends. It's one thing for a character to attempt to make use of such symbology and association for his malevolent purposes--that's exactly what we expect from a great villain, as in Richard III , Act I, Scene 3:   But then I sigh; and, with a piece of scripture, Tell them that God bids us do good for evil: And thus I clothe my naked villany With old odd ends stolen out of holy writ; And seem a saint, when most I play the devil. It's quite another to twist the story to make the villain the sympathetic hero of the story - which in turn, ...

  A still from the live footage of black Friday shopping.   Did you put away your dreams today, Fold them up and lock them away? Did you put them in a drawer at the close of day, Or consign them to the dustbin of never may? When do the things that you hoped could be Become the dreams you'll never see? Do they shrivel and starve by your consent, Or does their own weight assure their descent? How long must they languish before they decay? What makes their once bright bonds wither and fray? If your dreams breathe again tomorrow, What inspiration will they borrow? In pursuit of my withering dreams, I've completed the first draft of my adventure book for boys. The title remains uncertain, but it's a fun story filled with action and adventure. The two boys gain some skills, use their heads, and face their fears to overcome daunting odds and thwart the evil designs of a duplicitous pirate captain while avoiding a terrible dragon and her ravenous spawn.