Happy Easter!

For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:16-17

The Grand Conspiracy, Part 1: Malice or Incompetence?

Remember the time before the pandemic, when “conspiracy theory” was still a dirty word? It still is in some quarters, but for many of us the term is now closer to “spoiler warning.” After all, what are we supposed to believe: that Epstein hung himself with a bedsheet that couldn’t hold his weight, from a… Continue reading The Grand Conspiracy, Part 1: Malice or Incompetence?

What’s really behind the “Mormon Church”‘s stance on the Respect for Marriage Act?

Earlier this year, the US Supreme Court overthrew Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs v. Jackson decision. This was a major legal and cultural earthquake. A big question that arose from this decision was how will this affect Obergefell v. Hodges, which codified same-sex marriage as legal back in 2015? Most of the conservative justices… Continue reading What’s really behind the “Mormon Church”‘s stance on the Respect for Marriage Act?

Three common tropes that I hate (and what I’d like to see more of instead)

So I’ve been reading a lot of books in the last few months, which means that I’ve been DNFing a lot of books too, and I’ve noticed some recurring patterns in the books that I’ve DNFed. A lot of these are tropes that I’ve either gotten sick of seeing, or that tend to make for… Continue reading Three common tropes that I hate (and what I’d like to see more of instead)

Why my pronouns are His Majesty / His Majesty’s

I am 90% certain that the views I am about to share are the reason that I was disinvited as a panelist from LTUE, Utah Valley’s local science fiction convention/symposium. LTUE used to be a fantastic convention, and I still have a lot of friends who are regulars there. But sadly, the convention has become… Continue reading Why my pronouns are His Majesty / His Majesty’s

#GiveThanks Day One

President Russell M. Nelson, the spiritual leader and prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, put out this message today about gratitude. In it, he invites all of us to turn our social media accounts into our own “personal gratitude journal” between now and Thanksgiving, which we celebrate next week here in… Continue reading #GiveThanks Day One

2019-09-19 Newsletter Author’s Note

This author’s note originally appeared in the September 19th edition of my author newsletter. To subscribe to my newsletter, click here. It’s September, which means (among other things) that it’s time to revisit my business plan and update it for the next year. Every January 1st, I print out a new and revised copy of… Continue reading 2019-09-19 Newsletter Author’s Note

Plans for My Personal Home Library

If everyone has a weird or quirky super power, mine is the ability to acquire books. Even when I was living out of a suitcase in a remote Caucasian village, or traipsing across the Middle East, I was constantly acquiring books. With my marriage to Future Mrs. Vasicek coming up, I’ve decided to put this… Continue reading Plans for My Personal Home Library

Extra Sci-Fi S3E4: The Return of the King

Okay, I think the folks at Extra Credits got it wrong with this one in a really big way. Gollum didn’t redeem himself. That’s the entire point. Redemption is an important and very Christian theme of Lord of the Rings, but so is the problem of evil. Several comments on the video point this out:… Continue reading Extra Sci-Fi S3E4: The Return of the King