Author Archives: davetcourt

Reading Journal 2023: Babel: An Arcane HistoryAuthor: R.F. Kuang The time period is the early 1800s. The setting is Oxford. The context is the colonizing interest of the British Empire. From here, following an immigrant who is sent to study at the Royal Institute of Translation, emblematic of the Oxfotd Library tower, the book beginsContinue reading “Reading Journal 2023: Babel: An Arcane History”

Reading Journal 2023: MonoThreeism: An Absurdly Arrogant Attempt to Answer All the Problems of the Last 2000 Years in One Night at a PubAuthor: JD Lyonhart From the opening page of this book I felt seen. Which is always a good sign when it comes to a worthwhile read. Why did I feel seen, orContinue reading “Reading Journal 2023: MonoThreeism: An Absurdly Arrogant Attempt to Answer All the Problems of the Last 2000 Years in One Night at a Pub”

Film Journal 2023: Ruby Gillman, Teenage KrakenDirected by Kirk DeMicco For me, Ruby Gillman represents a tale of two films. Or better yet, a story of competing expectations. Not entirely on it’s own, albeit, rather in relationship to another animated release this weekend, Nimona. Although from a small selection or voices, engagement with film TwitterContinue reading “Film Journal 2023: Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken”

Claim: the law of non-contradiction is fundamental. There is nothing higher that we could use to prove its existence, for it is already the highest law. Response: Could we not say that time, space, and causality might not be provable but that is because they too are fundamental? I mean, how could one prove theContinue reading “Two Claims, Two Applications: The Law of Contradiction”

Film Journal 2023: Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny Directed by James Mangold Let’s address the elephant in the room right off the hop; this is a whole lot of movie wrapped up in that nearly 3 hour run time. I imagine if it’s not working for you that will be a real stickingContinue reading “Film Journal 2023: Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny”

Film Journal 2023: Past LivesDirected by Celine Song Celine Song’s Directorial debut exhibits a quiet presence and a confident spirit in its studied look at the “stories” of our lives. Song’s sure handed approach to drawing out these characters is mesmerizing to watch, and given her own background (Korean-Canadian decent who moves to New YorkContinue reading “Film Journal 2023: Past Lives”

One of the things JD Lyonhart argues in his book MonoThreeism: An Absurdly Arrogant Attempt to Answer All the Problems of the Last 2000 Years in One Night at a Pub, is that every argument that exists between religious and non religious thinkers ultimately is rooted in the same conundrum that frames the idea ofContinue reading “Being and Becoming: Navigating a Necessary Conundrum in the West”

Film Journal 2023: Margrete den første (Margrete: Queen of the North)Directed by Charlotte Sieling Margrete: Queen of the North is made all the richer for the films apparent obscurity. Both the subject matter, which weaves a storied exploration of one of history’s most mysterious and fascinating Queens, and in the films release, which managed toContinue reading “Film Journal 2023: Margrete den første (Margrete: Queen of the North)”

Film Journal 2023: Sound of FreedomDirected by Alejandro Monteverde As a film it was fine. As a faith based film (and yes, in case it’s not clear it certainly qualifies as such) it’s a cut above the normal quality one might expect. Everythings on point when it comes to going straight for the emotions. TheContinue reading “The Sound of Freedom and The Problem of Polarizing Politics”

Film Journal 2023: Insidious: The Red DoorDirected by Patrick Wilson Prior to the release of The Red Door the only film from the franchise I had seen was the first one. So I decided to do a marathon over the last two days, culminating of course with the latest entry. If someone had told meContinue reading “Film Journal 2023: Insidious: The Red Door”