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The Long View 2009-04-24: Witch Hunts & Purges

Last night on Twitter/X I suggested that John J. Reilly may be the prophet of our times. John died in 2012, but his writings offer us useful concepts for understanding our times based on history. In this 2009 blog post, John shows us what a modern day purge would

Trap Line by Timothy Zahn

"Trap Line" might just be the perfect introduction to Timothy Zahn for those who are unfamiliar with him. This short story has Zahn's signature style, a hybrid of Campbelline science fiction with adventure, and often a little bit of mystery and intrigue too. His characters [and

WBH Digest 2025-04-25: The Campaign Continues

Welcome back friends to the With Both Hands Digest! I logged off of Twitter/X for Lent and that ended up turning into a sabbatical from WBH as well. I spent my time engaging in spiritual disciplines, thinking different thoughts and doing different things from my normal routine, and I

The Uses of Convention

Nick Cole's Strange Company 3 is coming out April, so I started reading the first Strange Company again this week. And that got me to thinking about the use of convention in telling stories. We cannot truly understand literary genres without understanding the conventions that comprise them. Yet

WBH Digest 2025-02-14: Saint Valentine's Day

I have an essay on how to win at D&D, Kickstarters for your consideration, the Based Book Sale, along with some literary thoughts. Captain_Hook's Brolog: Wargames are not 'Playing Toy Soldiers' An excellent reflection on how good games make a tradeoff between simulation

WBH Digest 2025-01-17: Agony and Ecstasy

Unfolding the World – Agony and Ecstasy I've said in the past that great men are often ridden by their obsessions. Based on this story from J. Daniel Sawyer, pain can also serve as a spur to accomplishment. The old humility was a spur that prevented a man from

Adrian Cole's The Dream Lords

The 50th Anniversary Edition of Adrian Cole's The Dream Lords will release on Amazon on January 15th, 2025, and you, my loyal readers, simply must pick this up, because this is the book for anyone who wanted Dune to be a comedy instead of a tragedy. If you

WBH Digest 2025-01-03: Welcome to the Party Pal

Welcome to 2025! When I started my commentary on Northrop Frye's The Anatomy of Criticism, I thought to myself that I could write about it for a year at least. That has absolutely come true, with the first post coming just over a year ago now, and I&

Northrop Frye on Symbol as Archetype: The Mythical Phase

With my recent comparison of two D&D-inspired anime using a method of genre analysis, this is a good time to get into Northrop Frye's fourth phase of interpretation, the mythical phase. In the mythical phase, we will interpret literary symbols as archetypes. This phase of interpretation

The Long View 2009-04-17: Spengler at the Zombies' Tea Party

Fifteen years ago, I probably wouldn't have taken a bet that the Boston Globe would still be in business in 2024, but they are still chugging along. On the other hand, the loss the New York Times took to sell the paper was staggering. The Times bought the

Frieren and Dungeon Meshi: Beyond Romance's End

The society emerging at the conclusion of comedy represents, by contrast, a kind of moral norm, or pragmatically free society. Its ideals are seldom defined or formulated: definition and formulation belong to the humors, who want predictable activity. We are simply given to understand that the newly-married couple will live

WBH Digest 2024-11-25: Books!

As part of the launch of John J. Reilly's The Perennial Apocalypse I am cross-promoting John's books with Hans Schantz' 2024 Black Friday/Cyber Monday Based Book Sale. 2024 Black Friday/Cyber Monday Based Book Sale by Hans G. Schantz Running Now Through Tuesday December

The Long View 2009-04-10

John J. Reilly died before the hostage incident he mentions in this blog post got turned first into a movie starring Tom Hanks and then into a meme, but this now fifteen-year-old blog remains topical. John didn't name his blog idly. One of the big questions of late

WBH Digest 2024-11-17: The Perennial Apocalypse

Today the With Both Hands digest returns with exciting news! I have re-released John J. Reilly's The Perennial Apocalypse! The book is available as a paperback and ebook on Amazon. Those of you who are members of my mailing list also have access to free downloads of both