My latest speed draw offering.
on byzantines, Uber, The Last Jedi, and gender politics
A while ago I created a video illustrating the evolution of Roman infantry down the centuries. I thought it would just be a fun, nerdy little thing. But now the comments section is a nationalist warzone, with accusations such as – I kid you not – Greek scum, filthy German, and Turkophile being slung back and forth, based on such things as who does and doesn’t count as Roman, and whether or not the word Byzantine is an objective term or a filthy, Latin slur. It took very little for the nationalists to get them set off; I’m guessing they’re just so full to bursting with ethnocentric, self-righteous indignation, so spoiling for a fight to show that their race (whatever the hell that means) is the best, and why it should stop being persecuted, that they’ll see this struggle in any damn thing they come across. Continue reading “on byzantines, Uber, The Last Jedi, and gender politics”
on the old airfield
It ends at the old airfield. I fall down and I bawl my eyes out, because it’s all gone and I can’t get it back. Then it starts raining and I have to get to the boat.
But no, that’s not right. That’s not how it ends at all. Continue reading “on the old airfield”
on faceless mooks
Houses on fire, screams in the background, heavily-armed, swastika’d soldiers and flame-spewing, mechanical beasts swaggering around.
“Monsters did this.”
“Not monsters – men.”
So starts the latest trailer to Wolfenstein II. The trailer itself is a gory, expletive-filled affair, but it deflates itself right off the bat. It fails to live up to its own rhetoric within the first few seconds. Continue reading “on faceless mooks”
warriors of the world
Kind of bittersweet, the culmination of years of Zen Brush drawings. I’d wanted to make these into an ebook at some point, but this will have to do. A very rough timeline(ish) of warriors from the dawn of civilisation to the age of wigs and gunpowder.
on craftsmanship
Too late in life I’ve discovered: I’m a craftsman.
By trade I’m a teacher, and though (on most days) I’d call myself a pretty good one, I’ve recently found that what makes me feel good is not teaching, but making things. Producing tangible things – my latest pet project is carving on rubber slabs with lino knives. I started small, but I am getting better at it everyday. I can see it. As I said, tangible. I also produce educational videos, digital art, which is… less… tangible.
This is what occupies my weekends these days. Only just a couple of months ago my weekends would be exclusively for recharging – my Monday to Friday would be so balls-to-the-wall that if I didn’t sleep all day Saturday and Sunday, I’d start feeling physically ill. Church became an exalted burden. Continue reading “on craftsmanship”
Romans in China? pt2
My latest video, refuting the age old mystery of the lost Roman legion in China, part 2 of a two-part series. Click here for part 1.
Daniel’s soap
My latest video, an old project that’s been a long time in the making. Based on a short story I wrote almost ten years ago.
Romans in China? pt1
My latest video, my take on the age old mystery of the lost Roman legion in China, part 1 of a two-part series. Call it going down the rabbit hole after my last video.
the Eagle and the Dragon
My latest video, speed drawing a hypothetical encounter between Roman and Chinese warriors. I had in mind HH Dubs’ fantastical but dubious theory on how some Roman mercenaries might have made their way to Han China.
Sadly, almost certainly didn’t happen though.
Remember, My Lord 