Warning Signs

When writing: Thinking, "I need to finish this," rather than just writing for the session and then stopping.

When wondering about how much weight I have lost since I started my low-carb diet: Thinking, "I should weigh myself," rather than concentrating on how my body feels and how my clothes fit.

When someone asks me to do something I don't want to do: Thinking, "I can't say no," or that I have to pretend to want something that I don't, rather than speaking directly about what I do want.

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F.B.

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Mysterium tremendum et fascinans

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What would you do if you found yourself in the presence of the divine? 



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Why Dorothy Kim Hates Me

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I have never met Dorothy Kim. I do not know why she decided to make me her target in January 2016. Since it is clear that many even in our field of medieval studies do not know – or are refusing to admit that they know – what she has been saying about me on social media, I will show you.

On June 5, 2015, I posted a short blog post, listing three “cheers” that I suggest we talk about as products of Western, a.k.a. European, a.k.a. “white” civilization. I entitled it “Three Cheers for White Men.”

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1. When white women (see Marie de France and Eleanor of Aquitaine) invented chivalry and courtly love, white men agreed that it was better for knights to spend their time protecting women rather than raping them, and even agreed to write songs for them rather than expecting them to want to have sex with them without being forced.

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3. When white women (see Christine de Pizan, Mary Wollstonecraft, and the suffragettes) invented feminism, white men supported them (see John Stuart Mill) and even went so far as to vote (because only men could vote at the time) to let them vote, not to mention hiring them as workers and supporting their education.

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READ FIRST: Why Dorothy Kim Hates Me, The Color of the House of the Lord

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Game of Threads

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I don’t play video games.

Yeah, right, who am I kidding?*

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