Monthly Archives: January 2016

Lifestyles of the Rich (and Poor) & Feudal – pt. 1 (Medieval Mondays #4c)

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Medieval fealty

The medieval times, we’re well aware, hardly boasted an equal society.

Rather, the feudal system saw a single, all-powerful monarch as ruler of everyone and everything; a couple handfuls of earls or other magnates – direct liegemen of the king – below that; many more subinfeudated lords of lesser nobility below the magnates, sometimes two or three levels down; and finally, at the lowest levels of society, the non-noble peasants who held land in exchange for their labour upon it in producing their lord’s food.

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On Predictability vs. Surprise in Fiction (or, How The Force Awakens forced me to change my position on the matter. Slightly.)

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Star Wars - The Force Awakens

**No movie spoilers**

A long time ago on a blog that’s now far away from a regular posting schedule, myself and a buddy had a debate about predictability versus surprise in fiction.

Quite unwittingly, this discussion arose on the heels of an entirely different examination of pantsing versus plotting.

(For the record on that account, I like to know where my story is going before I start and to rough out as much of the journey as I’m aware of up front, but I’m in no way wedded to it, nor do I subscribe to the notion that plotting will rob a story of the joy and magic of actually writing it.  But you can read more about all that yourself.)

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TV & Me (pt. 2) – Shows I’m Waiting For to Return

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Cat watching TV 2

Binge-watching is one of the great luxuries of the 21st century, but it does come at a certain cost.

In my previous post about TV, I discussed the shows I’m currently watching.  However, one thing about them that I neglected to mention is that they’re what I’m currently watching, not what’s currently airing.

Indeed, of the five programs, one’s next season isn’t starting until spring, two are on mid-season hiatus, one as of this moment has yet to be renewed for a second season, and the last one went off the air fifteen years ago, so I’m watching the DVDs on my laptop.

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What’s New for the New Year? (or, On My Ongoing Efforts to Get Sh*t Done)

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Toshiba factory reset

What’s new for me for 2016?  In a word, not a heck of a lot.

For all that that’s actually six words.

New Year’s is my favourite time of the year.  I love new beginnings and the opportunity to forecast what shape the coming year will take by setting goals to help chart its course and advancement.

Given this, I’m no stranger to New Year’s resolutions.  I even have a fairly decent record of achieving them.

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