When I Am Weak, I Am Strong: Frodo’s Providential Heroism
The tiny figure of a hobbit stands on the edge of a precipice, shrouded in a surreal haze. With an eerie glare flickering across his face, he clutches a chain in his grimy hand,…
Year: 2015
Fighting the Long Defeat
Why do our stories March on before us? Those who remember them Oft times ignore us But our presence is there; Our spirit-borne breath Enlivens each telling Defying our deaths *** It is that! It…
Hope at Damietta
Cold dawn with its promise to transform into sweltering desert heat later that afternoon broke over the lines of sleeping, heavily-chained captives. My brother Juste and I were among them. It was several…
Emerald’s Interviews: Interview with an Elf-Lord
Emerald: Hello, and welcome to Emerald’s Interviews, where yours truly takes the time to interview characters from movies, TV shows, and books. No character is too secondary or obscure to get their fifteen minutes of fame…
The Development of Chivalry: From Medieval Propaganda to Catholic Virtue
In the beginning of the 11th century, there were many separate feudal states in Western Europe united by a common faith in the Catholic Church. The traditions of the Vikings, the Franks, the Italians, and…
The Sacred Heart of Jesus
Lord Jesus,The next time I am tempted to sin,Stop me before it’s too late.Help me think about what I am doing–What I am doing to You.And then, in the eyes of my soul…Lord Jesus, show…
Portsmouth vs. Plymouth: A Traveler’s Comparison
Well, here, we have it: my comparison of the two big naval bases in Britain: Portsmouth, also known affectionately as Pompey, and Plymouth, nicknamed ‘Guzz’ (and I don’t think anyone is exactly sure why!). I’ve…
Rose’s Thorn
It is quiet in the room. The low rasp of steel on leather mixes with the cool hiss of the sword itself as it is withdrawn from the simple sable sheath. Light flashes off the…
Mirror, Mirror, in the Wood: A Review of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare interweaves several convoluted plots in which the human world and the ‘Green Wood,’ or fairy world, meet. Critics often interpret the human world, under the leadership of Theseus and…
Intelligent Design Exists: A Summary of the Argument in “Darwin’s Black Box”
Everyone knows the story of how life began as a simple cell that formed by chance and gradually evolved into more complex organisms (aka “Macroevolution*”). Everyone also knows the story of how God created life…