Category Archives: Nonfiction

Toddler Cognitive Development: Magical thinking and bicycle riding

Posted on May 21, 2016 by Confanity

The Magic Word The kid is learning to say “please”! I’ve been making a point of prompting him when he asks for things or asks us to do things for him. First I try asking “What do you say?” (なんと言う?, … Continue reading →

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Magic Monday – the Sword of Life

Posted on May 16, 2016 by Confanity

(I’ve been slowly running out of steam on spell ideas for a while now… which is fine, all things considered. At some point it’ll be necessary to stop simply adding new things, especially when they start becoming variations on a … Continue reading →

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From hand (and foot) to mouth

Posted on May 7, 2016 by Confanity

Monday: I have lunch with my wife and then walk across campus to the Hillel building. There’s a quiet room there where I can study, get drinks and sometimes snacks, and even go chat with someone for a while if … Continue reading →

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Toddler Cognitive Development: Mirror Test

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Confanity

I read somewhere a while ago that some people did an experiment where they painted a spot on an elephant and showed it a mirror, and in response the elephant reached around with its trunk to touch, not the mirror, … Continue reading →

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Toddler cognitive / linguistic development, part 4

Posted on April 23, 2016 by Confanity

The kid has acquired glottal stops! For several days now, he’s been saying “niʔnn” (like a slurred “neaten”). The word appears to be entirely of his own invention, but we’ve figured out that he uses it when he wants to … Continue reading →

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A GOP Parable: On Neighborliness

Posted on March 31, 2016 by Confanity

On one occasion, Drumpf stood up to test Jesus. He wasn’t an expert in the law, but he sure had opinions anyway. “Teacher,” he asked, “What must I do to gain a facade of basic human decency?” “What is written … Continue reading →

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Pen-and-paper RPG thoughts: an “unlock campaign”

Posted on March 25, 2016 by Confanity

Impetus: Inspired by Delta’s post on “oil” as a weapon, found here. Long longago I read that and got to thinking, what if there were a fantasy campaign with some sort of weaponized flammable liquid (Greek fire, alchemist’s fire, wildfire, … Continue reading →

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A GOP Parable: On Strategies and Consequences

Posted on March 17, 2016 by Confanity

The word of the Constitution came to Mitch, son of Addison: “Go to the Senate floor and hold a vote on confirming a supreme court justice nominee, because a vacancy has come before me.” But Mitch ran away from the … Continue reading →

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A GOP Parable: On Teaching Mercy

Posted on March 10, 2016 by Confanity

The LORD appeared to Avraham and to Cruz near the great trees of Mamre while they were sitting in the shade during the heat of the day. They looked up and saw three men standing nearby…. The men turned away … Continue reading →

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A GOP Parable: The Taxman Cometh

Posted on March 4, 2016 by Confanity

On Taxation When the chief priests of the Grand Old Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they realized that he was talking about them. And although they sought to have him arrested and silenced, they feared the crowds, who held him to … Continue reading →

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