Back when I was younger and more naive and made controversial Facebook posts (at least a month ago), I had a few friends say to me, “I don’t always agree with you, but I find your posts thought-provoking.” I should hope you don’t always agree with me. I see the world through my own narrow aperture; if you thought I made those posts for bland agreement, I’m sorry. (I do understand the disclaimer, though, and I won’t out you to the authorities.)

Here’s someone else you might have to not “always agree with,” Loren the Busybody. We’ve had a few pleasant conversations, but I don’t know him well, so maybe I don’t always agree with him. Actually, come to think of it, I had a minor issue with his essay on Carl Jung and Freud.

But if you are interested in religion, roleplaying games, horror movies, Doctor Who, James Clavell, and great expository writing, check out his blog. Until recently I didn’t appreciate that blogs of this caliber — better in my opinion than most commercial writing — existed. Hip, profane essays seem to be in vogue. I don’t have a problem with that; I’ve been impressed by a lot of them. But when you’re tackling really controversial material, that approach can be too on-the-nose, too strident, draining their impact, making them insipid. Loren’s posts are not insipid. They make me uncomfortable. They make me think. They let bracing air into my head, and they’re fun.

If you are interested in rpgs, especially, like me, if you were a churchgoer who played them in the eighties, you might find his essays on them a revelation. I did.

http://rossonl.wordpress.com/about/