As I was typing it up I realized I hadn’t included Prince of Egypt. Still not sure if I should have swapped it in. Too many good movies.

Top Ten Animated Movies Today’s category: Animated. A genre that people still occasionally dismiss as “for kids,” which is wild because some of the most emotionally devastating, visually creative, and flat-out hilarious movies ever made live here. Animation is also one of the purest forms of storytelling. If you can imagine it, you can put it on screen. There are no limits except budget, time, and how much sleep the animators are willing to sacrifice.

Not your ordinary cartoons. Animated #topten

Top Ten Fantasy Movies Today’s category: Fantasy. Possibly my favorite genre across all media. The stakes are usually world-ending, and the stories live on metaphor and cultural commentary. Fantasy has always been my comfort zone. Books, movies, games, D&D, Magic: The Gathering… if there are dragons, magic, or morally questionable wizards, I’m in. This is also the genre that probably shaped my writing the most.

Let’s make some magic! Fantasy #topten

Top Ten Adaptations We continue our journey through my ever-growing pile of movie lists. Today’s category: Adaptations. Books to movies. The eternal battlefield. The place where readers go to be disappointed and filmmakers go to be judged. The book is often better. Almost always. But sometimes the movie does something different. Sometimes it captures the spirit instead of the details. And sometimes it pulls off the impossible and actually improves on the source material.

Book or Movie? Both? Adaptations #topten

Top Ten Drama Movies I’m back with another list. Turns out when you start making movie lists, it’s very hard to stop. I’m pretty sure this is how addiction starts. I didn’t realize how carried away I’d get doing these. They’re all done, but no one needs that much in their face at once. No one. Today’s genre: Drama. Probably my least favorite genre after horror.

So the drama. #topten

Top Ten Romance Movies The other day a coworker mentioned to me that he’s been into romance movies lately, and as with all things entertainment, I had suggestions. So I made a top ten list. After finishing the list I was like, dang, that was fun. Let me do another genre. And another. And another. Now I’ve got lists coming out the wazoo. What does one do with a plethora of lists?

Romance is in the air! #topten

At a vigil for Alex Pretti.
#ICEOutMN

I live in the outer Minneapolis burbs. Had to run an errand. It’s like a ghost town. I hope people are locking their doors and staying safe, and those in a position to be at the protests are giving ICE the what for.

Bea Wolf by Zach Weinersmith. Clever, hilarious, and the most refreshing retelling of a classic I’ve read in a long time.

For those who haven’t read Bea Wolf by @zachweinersmith.bsky.social, I cannot recommend it enough. Clever, funny, just a delight front to back.

2025 Recap Another year in the books, another year of successes and setbacks. Highlights! Publications This year I had two pieces that went the distance. The first was a dream pub in F(r)iction Magazine. Echoes from the Abyss was based on a character from a novel idea I had, and when I saw they had an oceans themed issue I had to submit.

2025 Recap

Another year in the books, another year of successes and setbacks. Highlights! Publications This year I had two pieces that went the distance. The first was a dream pub in F(r)iction Magazine. Echoes from the Abyss was based on a character from a novel idea I had, and when I saw they…

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays all you phone addicted people :)
I’ll be playing games (Gloomhaven, Payday, and Flamecraft) and doing puzzles with family. I hope you all have a fun and restful day.

Me to a student who’s been pissy all day: why are you so upset?
Her: I don’t want to be.
Me: then think about red pandas falling over.
Her: how is that going to… oh. Hehehehe.

The only disappointing thing about #kpopdemonhunters is that I didn’t find out who the dad was. Sequel?

Watching the Great Mouse Detective. Pretty sure whoever came up with Jon Hamm based him on Ratigan.

Well this sure looks interesting.

Michael Eisner @Michael Eisner X.com Where has all the leadership gone? If not for university presidents, law firm managing partners, and corporate chief executives standing up against bullies, who then will step up for the first amendment? The "suspending indefinitely" of Jimmy Kimmel immediately after the Chairman of the FCC's aggressive yet hollow threatening of the Disney Company is yet another example of out-of-control intimidation. Maybe the Constitution should have said, "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, except in one's political or financial self-interest." By-the-way, for the record, this ex-CEO finds Jimmy Kimmel very talented and funny. 10:17 AM • 9/19/25 • 208K Views

Michael Eisner, who served as CEO of Disney for 21 years and acquired ABC while he was in charge, slams his successor Bob Iger for bending the knee.

Stories at the Station - August 2025 Join local author, Mubanga Kalimamukwento, for a discussion of her books. Sponsored by Story Line Books. The event will include complimentary appetizers and a cash bar. This event will be held on the ...

If you’re in the Twin Cities and want to support a local author, come to Mubanga’s reading tomorrow night. She’s a damn good writer and just won a MN Book Award.
#twincities #reading #supportlocal

www.ticketleap.events/tickets/unio...

I’m in the New F(r)iction Issue! My lifelong writing goal has always been simple: walk into a Barnes and Noble and see my name on a book. Well, I’m almost there 🙂 Instead of seeing my name on a book, I can see my name in one. F(r)iction’s newest issue, Oceans, is out, and unlike every other print magazine I’ve been published in—which were only available online—F(r)iction is stocked in Barnes and Nobles stores across the country!

I’m in the New F(r)iction Issue!

My lifelong writing goal has always been simple: walk into a Barnes and Noble and see my name on a book. Well, I’m almost there 🙂 Instead of seeing my name on a book, I can see my name in one. F(r)iction’s newest issue, Oceans, is out, and unlike every other print…

Publication Announcement!… A Poem? I’ve always said poetry and I don’t get along. Unless we’re talking about Shel Silverstein or Lewis Carroll. Maybe some Wallace Stevens. Anyway, poetry wasn’t something I ever wanted to write. But this spring, I was at a reading and heard someone (apologies for forgetting exactly who) perform a poem about Kobe Bryant—and I got inspired. Around the same time, Ichiro Suzuki had just been elected to the MLB Hall of Fame.

Publication Announcement!… A Poem?

I’ve always said poetry and I don’t get along. Unless we’re talking about Shel Silverstein or Lewis Carroll. Maybe some Wallace Stevens. Anyway, poetry wasn’t something I ever wanted to write. But this spring, I was at a reading and heard someone (apologies for…

Unanimous — The Under Review Unanimous, they said he would be. How else do you name someone who could turn a fastball into a haiku? ash against leather cleats whisper across the dirt the outfi...

I’ve got a new poem out in @underreviewlit.bsky.social inspired by one of my all-time heroes, Ichiro Suzuki. Check it out!

www.underreviewlit.com/new-blog/una...

#seattlemariners #poetry #ichiro

The End is in Sight…. Farewell Hamline This is it. One more day and I’ll have my MFA in hand and a noticeable amount of time now available to write things of my choosing. I don’t want that to sound like I’m complaining about the work I did in the MFA—many of my published short pieces came directly from assignments. But I do have drafts of four different novels that I haven’t had time to go back to, so this summer will include a fair amount of editing and revising.

The End is in Sight…. Farewell Hamline

This is it. One more day and I’ll have my MFA in hand and a noticeable amount of time now available to write things of my choosing. I don’t want that to sound like I’m complaining about the work I did in the MFA—many of my published short pieces came directly…

Sherlock Holmes—if Holmes were a cynical dark elf with a gambling addiction, Watson was a grieving human bent on revenge, and Moriarty was a beautiful elven noblewoman who already framed them both. The murder is personal. The poker game is rigged. And the truth hides in the odds.
#QuestPit #A #F

Thesis… defended.

Accidental Inspiration Hey all. This’ll be a quick one. While at AWP I was talking with a horror writer and we were sharing setting ideas. We both have personal history in rural settings, and after I described my setting and a general idea to go with it, he full body shivered and told me to write the story. ASAP. Now that thesis is in, I think that’ll be a good mental reset before I finish drafting the novel.

Accidental Inspiration

Hey all. This’ll be a quick one. While at AWP I was talking with a horror writer and we were sharing setting ideas. We both have personal history in rural settings, and after I described my setting and a general idea to go with it, he full body shivered and told me to write…

On the Streets in Santa Monica, and Thesis too. Two weeks ago I flew to LA to attend this year’s AWP Conference and Bookfair. AWP itself was about the same as usual: some good panels (yay Juan Carlos Reyes), some not-so-good panels (I’m too nice to name names), and too many books finding their way into my backpack (who’s excited for Gods?!). A few AWP firsts:

On the Streets in Santa Monica, and Thesis too.

Two weeks ago I flew to LA to attend this year’s AWP Conference and Bookfair. AWP itself was about the same as usual: some good panels (yay Juan Carlos Reyes), some not-so-good panels (I’m too nice to name names), and too many books finding their way…

Libraries sure are different in Kentucky…
#libraries

I may have killed a tree, but thesis is printed and ready to turn in. Whew.

Hamline MFA Under Attack Twenty-two years ago I moved from Washington State to St. Paul, Minnesota, starting my adult life at the small liberal arts school, Hamline University. My expectation was that I would obtain an aca…

taverenbooks.com/2025/03/13/h...

Hamline MFA Under Attack Twenty-two years ago I moved from Washington State to St. Paul, Minnesota, starting my adult life at the small liberal arts school, Hamline University. My expectation was that I would obtain an academic education (at the time I thought I was going to be a journalist) and that Hamline was the next step in my journey. While I did get that academic education, Hamline also provided me with community.

Hamline MFA Under Attack

Twenty-two years ago I moved from Washington State to St. Paul, Minnesota, starting my adult life at the small liberal arts school, Hamline University. My expectation was that I would obtain an academic education (at the time I thought I was going to be a journalist) and…