Tag: SubscribeStarSaturday

SubscribeStar Saturday: Pulp Magazine?

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One morning while driving into work I started thinking about short stories.  The Based Book Sale is running a sale on short stories and short story collections this week.  My book The One-Minute Mysteries of Inspector Gerard: The Ultimate Flatfoot is one of the collections in the sale, and I’ve purchased a couple of works from other authors (and will likely buy more).  $0.99 for a Kindle eBook is excellent.

Here’s the problem:  I don’t like reading anything over about 2000 words on a screen.  I will, but if I have the option to purchase a $10 paperback over an eBook, I almost always will, unless the work is fairly short and I can read it on the toilet (lol).  I don’t have a Kindle device, which might make the reading experience more pleasant, but I suspect I am a physical media man when it comes to long-form writing (a bit of an irony, considering I write almost exclusively for an online audience).

That got me thinking:  what if I created a fifty-page monthly fiction magazine in the spirit of the old pulps?  Something about 4″x6″ that could be carried in a bag or a large pocket, packed with short stories of various genres from up-and-coming authors?

Further, what if I paid those authors decent money, not just “exposure”—$50 at least per story, and preferably $100.  I could always toss in some stories of my own to keep my costs down, and it would be printed very cheaply on pulp-grade paper, probably entirely in black and white.  I’d commission artists to design the covers, which would be eye-catching (and possibly in color).  Then I’d mail copies to paid subscribers and distribute others through independent bookstores, comic bookstores, etc., on a consignment basis.

I asked Microsoft’s AI, CoPilot, how feasible it would be, and its answer surprised me.

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SubscribeStar Saturday: SCISA Music Festival 2026

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Another SCISA Music Festival is in the books, and it’s a bittersweet occasion for yours portly, as it’s the last one as a music teacher at my current school.  I’ve been taking kids to Columbia, South Carolina for the SCISA Music Festival every year since 2012 (except for one year when I had to stay on campus for our reaccreditation visit, and during the COVID year, when we hired a judge to adjudicate our pianists on campus).  My Instrumental Ensembles, whether in the “Small” or “Large” categories, and either High School or Middle School, have earned Gold medals every year since 2013 (the High School Small Instrumental Ensemble in 2012 earned a Silver for an instrumental rendition of “The Circle of Life”).

Because we are not a traditional concert band, there’s a good bit of “tech” that goes with the group.  Essentially, my Music Ensembles are large rock bands, often with multiple guitars, basses, pianos/keys, and whatever other instruments happen to be enrolled in the class.  One year, I took an ensemble that consisted of the following mélange of instrumentation:  piano, electric piano, viola, alto sax, euphonium, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, electric bass guitar, and ukulele.  It was one of the oddest mixtures, but it worked.
This year, my High School Ensemble featured the typical guitar (all electric), keys, basses (three of them!), and drums, but also alto sax, violin, clarinet, and guzheng.  The last of those is a traditional Chinese stringed instrument.  We incorporated all of that into a cool arrangement of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic “My Favorite Things.”
That selection itself came about as a result of organic creativity.  I was stumped as to what piece to pick for the High School this year, until one of the students came for an after-school lesson and asked to sightread some jazz piano pieces.  We found a Jamie Aebersold book with a number of pieces, including “My Favorite Things.”  He had immense fun playing it.
Just a day before, my older brother had texted me a lengthy live recording of John Coltrane playing the piece.  It seemed serendipitous that my student was also drawn to the piece, so I decided we’d try it as a group.
It began to morph from there.  Our alto saxophonist is phenomenal, and I worked out an odd little “Middle Eastern” scale for him.  Essentially, it’s an E Phrygian scale, but instead of a G natural as the third interval, it’s a G#; to wit:  E F G# A B C D E.  That raised third creates a really interesting interval.
My guzheng player and I also collaborated.  He is a delightful international student from China, and he will often practice during my afternoon planning.  The guzheng typically uses a kind of “open” pentatonic tuning, so he contrived a unique blended tuning in order to get the pitches he needed to play the melody.  I told him that I wanted the piece to sound like “East meets West.”

It all fell into place from there.  One thing I will miss about teaching music in a group is that very process of collaborative creation.  The molding of our arrangement felt like a musical conversation that unfolded gradually, each element falling into place at its appointed time.  The process was truly magical.

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SubscribeStar Saturday: God’s Judgment, Timing, and Provision

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Today’s post is a SubscribeStar Saturday exclusive.  To read the full post, subscribe to my SubscribeStar page for $1 a month or more.  For a full rundown of everything your subscription gets, click here.

On Wednesday, 4 March 2026 I led the men’s devotional, Master’s Men, at my church. Master’s Men meets the first Wednesday of each month, and men in the congregation take turns leading.

I wasn’t sure what to discuss, so I turned to a devotional my late paternal grandmother gave me many years ago. I flipped to the verses for 4 March, and it prominently featured James 5:10. The other verses emphasized how Christ Will Bear our burdens. Given that my wife and I are in the midst of moving while she’s finishing her residency and I’m entering the busiest part of the school year, that seemed like the natural direction to take.

However, as I dove deeper into James 5 itself, I realized there was so much more to discuss. I came away with a very different message (although it does, of course, touch upon how Christ Bears our burdens). The result is included below. —TPP

James 5 (NKJV)

Rich Oppressors Will Be Judged

1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. 4 Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. 5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.

Be Patient and Persevering

7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

9 Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! 10 My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. 11 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment.

Meeting Specific Needs

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

Bring Back the Erring One

19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

Lesson: God’s Judgment, Timing, and Provision

Let us pray.

The Book of James is, perhaps, one of the most challenging books of the New Testament. James does not pull any punches, but exhorts believers to be doers of the Word, not merely hearers of it in James 1:22—and to take joy in our strife and suffering in James 1:2.

Indeed, each chapter of this short book offers up warnings for the reader. James 2:20 tells us that “faith without works is dead.” James 3:1-8 always convicts me; I have set far too much ablaze with an unruly tongue in my life. James 4 cautions against pride and encourages humility, reminding us that we cannot boast about tomorrow because God Controls and Numbers our days.

I think part of the appeal of James, particularly for men, is that it calls us to action—that our faith, if it is true faith at all, will show itself through our actions. If the faith we claim we have is true, then our deeds will reflect our faith. We are not saved by works, but works are evidence of our faith. As Christ Says in Matthew 7:16a: “You will know them by their fruits.”

So it is that we come to James 5, the final chapter in this useful little book. This chapter strikes me as a culmination of everything before it. So much of James is a reminder of our own limitations as fallen, sinful humans, and how dependent we are upon Christ’s Grace. James 5 demonstrates this dependence upon Christ by emphasizing God’s Judgment, God’s Timing, and God’s Provision.

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Lazy Sunday CCCXLXVIII: Imperial Ambition

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While I was focused on moving most of my junk to the new house (and yet, there’s more bric-a-brac left to move), the United States and Israel let loose the dogs of war against Iran.  In light of that, I thought I’d cast back to some posts from earlier this year about nationalism, imperialism, and the like.

Let Loose the Murph of War

This edition of Lazy Sunday is largely a rehash of Lazy Sunday CCCXLXIII: Empire, but I’m tossing in some spicy Mongol content, too:

Happy Sunday!

—TPP

SubscribeStar Saturday: Lingua Anglaise

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The formation of England’s new Restore Party under the auspices of Rupert Lowe has electrified the Right worldwide.  Naturally, the party is already polling well in England—three years away from the next expected parliamentary elections.

One Lowe’s major points is that foreign migrants who are unable to speak English—remember, this language is named for England and the English people, the descendants of the Angles—must leave England.

If it sounds extreme, it’s because we’ve been conditioned to believe that citizenship and the concept of the nation are abstract ideals with some vague, dotted-line borders attached.  There’s also this belief that, if we just get people onto our magic dirt—which, despite allegedly possessing magical properties, is simultaneously not special enough to protect with hard borders—they will shed their benighted ways and become good center-Left classical liberals with six-figure salaries running socially beneficial non-profits.

Because of such magical thinking, people will either a.) learn English or b.) not learn English; either way, everything will be fine.  Besides, expecting immigrants to learn the language of the native people is racist, probably.  We should be using our “privilege” to learn their language.

I’m not opposed to learning foreign languages—far from it.  But I’ve been thinking a great deal about language since listening to Dr. Edward Dutton—“The Jolly Heretic”—give his take on Lowe’s announcement:

 

Here’s a quick transcript of the key excerpt(s) from Dr. Dutton’s thoughts on speaking English:

“I find this extraordinary—the concept of not being able to speak English…. If you are remotely educated for a foreign country, then you will of course… speak English, and you will speak it well, because it is in the lingua franca.”

Indeed, English is the lingua franca—the universal, common language—of the twenty-first century.  Students travel to the United States and Britain to hone their English skills; I know because I teach quite a few of them (and, I’m ashamed to admit, many of them speak and write English better than native-born Americans)!  It is the language of international commerce, diplomacy, and scholarship.

It’s a beautifully adaptable language, too.  It’s flexible, bendable, changeable, while still retaining an essential grammar.  Of the many accomplishments of the English-speaking peoples of the world, our language—along with concepts like freedom of speech and religion—is one of our greatest gifts to humanity.

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SubscribeStar Saturday: Epic Universe: Super Mario World

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My family and I took our annual-ish trip to Universal Studios earlier this week (Dr. Wife, sadly, is still in the depths of residency, so she was unable to join us).  This year’s trip was a bit different from those of yesteryear, however:  we visited Universal’s new park, Epic Universe, on our last day in Orlando.

Epic Universe has been in the works for years, and suffered (I believe) some delays due to The Age of The Virus.  The wait and the delays were worth it—it was truly, as my younger brother put it, the “theme park of the twenty-first century.”

The premise behind Epic Universe is that a central hub of celestial-themed rides and attractions leads to various “universes” or worlds.  Each one is accessed through a portal, and once you’re in one of the worlds, you are in it.  You can’t see the other worlds or the main hub until you leave that specific world.  Instead of areas blending together gradually, they’re distinct little pocket universes.

That separation greatly enhances the immersion.  When we were in Super Mario World—the subject of today’s post—it felt like we were inhabiting the world of Super Mario Brothers.  When we were in Dark Universe, the monster world, it was like being in an old Universal or Hammer horror flick.  The Harry Potter Ministry of Magic was akin to walking the streets of Paris—and so on.

Epic Universe consists of four separate worlds:  Super Mario World; Dark Universe; the Ministry of Magic (Paris); and the Island of Berk, from the How to Train Your Dragon film franchise.  There is also the Celestial Park hub area, which features the park’s signature coaster, Starlight Racers, and a celestial carousel at the center.

Today, I want to dive into the first of these worlds, the world of Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, Bowser, and the rest—Super Mario World.

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SubscribeStar Saturday: Moving, Minnesota, and Music

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After a couple of weekends of failing to post, yours portly is back with three subscriber-only posts only after SubscribeStar.  That makes up for the two missed weekends and offers something fresh for readers.

This week, I have posts on moving, Minnesota, and music:

  • “Moving Pains” – the story of my doomed foray into hiring a professional moving service (and the complaint to the Better Business Bureau that followed).
  • “Mayhem in Minneapolis” – my analysis of the situation in Minneapolis and the needless deaths there (spoiler alert:  if you interfere with law enforcement and attempt to hurt them, it probably won’t end well); it was so incendiary my own brother cancelled his subscription (so you know it’s good).
  • “Rosy Reds” – a preview of a piece for my work-in-progress album Koi Dance, “Rosy Reds” depicts the flitting about of rosy red minnows in our koi pond.

Subscribe for one buck a month and you can read all of these posts—and hundreds more!  It’s so cheap, I think I’m actually turning people away; they must think the low price means the quality stinks.  Or maybe it’s my recent unreliability that keeps potential subscribers at bay.

Of course, you could risk a single dollar to find out!

Happy Saturday!

—TPP

Lazy Sunday CCCXLXIV: Fire and Water

The Portly Politico12 Comments

It’s a quick Lazy Sunday this week as Dr. Wife and I hunker down in the cold.  I’m casting my gaze back to two posts from earlier this week, one based in the coolness of the watery depths, the other in the fiery crucible of the modern restaurant industry:

Happy Sunday!

—TPP

Memorable Monday: Daybreak in America: Trump’s Inauguration, MLK Day, and a New Hope

The Portly Politico16 Comments

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in America, and tomorrow will mark one year since President Trump’s Inauguration.

It seemed fitting that Trump would be inaugurated for his second non-consecutive term on the day set aside to commemorate King, a man who very likely would have descended into grifter status had he lived much longer.  Trump election also continued the rollback of the affirmative action racialist system that King’s successors endorsed.

Most importantly for yours portly, it’s a day off—and a cold one!  I’m looking forward to a quiet morning with Dr. Wife before Murphy and I make the frosty trek back to the South Carolina.

With that, here is 20 January 2025’s “Daybreak in America: Trump’s Inauguration, MLK Day, and a New Hope“:

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Lazy Sunday CCCXLXIII: Empire

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It’s been the week of American imperialism here on the blog, and I don’t necessarily mean “imperialism” negatively.  Here are some posts about how the United States is embracing its destiny (and the peaks and pitfalls of doing so):

Happy Sunday!

—TPP