Inspiration – Stealing from the Best of Both Worlds in Firefly

As I’ve mentioned on this blog before, I am a huge Joss Whedon fan. Joss Whedon, something of a cult icon in the worlds of fandom and television, is probably now best and most widely known as the director of the unbelievably successful Avengers film, which came out in 2012. But Whedon was creating compellingContinue reading “Inspiration – Stealing from the Best of Both Worlds in Firefly”

“The Second Greatest Force in the Universe” – Ownership of Property and Personhood in the 19th Century (Part 1 of 3)

Walter Lippmann, the famous American reporter who was among the first people to introduce the concept of the Cold War, once said that “Private property was the original source of freedom.  It still is its main bulwark”. From the earliest days of enlightenment philosophy, the right to own property and the effects that such ownershipContinue reading ““The Second Greatest Force in the Universe” – Ownership of Property and Personhood in the 19th Century (Part 1 of 3)”

Inspiration – Growing Up with Motion City Soundtrack

Everyone has those bands that stay with them forever. I’m sure some people much smarter than me have tried to figure out what it is about certain songs heard at certain points in our lives that make them so precious to us. It must be something more than a way of reliving a memory ofContinue reading “Inspiration – Growing Up with Motion City Soundtrack”

Freedom Through Language in The Awakening

Ingrid Bengis, a writer best known for her collection of essays on love, hate, titled Combat in the Erogenous Zone, once said that “Words are a form of action, capable of influencing change” (Quotationspage). In her most controversial novel, The Awakening, Kate Chopin was well aware of the power that words can exert over theContinue reading “Freedom Through Language in The Awakening”

A Reputation of Deceit: How Moll Flanders Beat the Gossip Game (Part 2 of 2)

However, it wasn’t always clear to Moll Flanders how to build up a good and useful reputation such as this. When her second husband, a thief, flees the country, Moll finds herself entirely at loose ends for perhaps the first time in her life. She seems to instinctively know that if she stays where, andContinue reading “A Reputation of Deceit: How Moll Flanders Beat the Gossip Game (Part 2 of 2)”