Joel Clarkson
@joelclarkson.bsky.social
Composer • writer • theological researcher • amateur nature photographer • Life in Oxford • PhD from Uni. St Andrews • Let’s have a pint and chat
It’s amazing until you find yourself eternally at the cliff edge of book two because at this point we’re never going to get Doors of Stone
September 24, 2025 at 6:14 AM
It’s amazing until you find yourself eternally at the cliff edge of book two because at this point we’re never going to get Doors of Stone
Astonishing and captivating. Loved it from start to finish.
August 13, 2025 at 9:07 AM
Astonishing and captivating. Loved it from start to finish.
This post is like shot and chaser, all in one. 😂
June 21, 2025 at 12:16 PM
This post is like shot and chaser, all in one. 😂
Looks fab! Major congrats!
June 13, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Looks fab! Major congrats!
I mean, Ratzinger’s main man Augustine is both the variation on the theme and the antidote to this, right?
February 26, 2025 at 4:28 PM
I mean, Ratzinger’s main man Augustine is both the variation on the theme and the antidote to this, right?
Matthew Shadle beat me to it, but Ratzinger emphasises the intrinsic human desire to transcend one’s self, and how the Cross opens that possibility by means of self-giving grace which transforms self-destruction into transfiguration and communion. Which is simply to say that innate desire matters!
February 26, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Matthew Shadle beat me to it, but Ratzinger emphasises the intrinsic human desire to transcend one’s self, and how the Cross opens that possibility by means of self-giving grace which transforms self-destruction into transfiguration and communion. Which is simply to say that innate desire matters!
This whole album is about divesting from the shiny promises of technocracy toward endless self-realisation and instead embracing the limits of human life - the joys and complications of love, the pain of age and death, the restorative beauty of nature. A sleeper, and one of the best of the 2010s.
January 24, 2025 at 7:55 AM
This whole album is about divesting from the shiny promises of technocracy toward endless self-realisation and instead embracing the limits of human life - the joys and complications of love, the pain of age and death, the restorative beauty of nature. A sleeper, and one of the best of the 2010s.
I am now just into Lake of the Long Sun (after finishing Nightside). As with New Sun, I am enthralled and yet constantly frustrated by the realisation that some ruse is happening under my nose and I just can’t quite hack it.
January 24, 2025 at 12:37 AM
I am now just into Lake of the Long Sun (after finishing Nightside). As with New Sun, I am enthralled and yet constantly frustrated by the realisation that some ruse is happening under my nose and I just can’t quite hack it.
Which is why the Clone Wars animated series is so fantastic. The first season and a half was kidsy but then went deep on character and world development. It achieved the heights toward which the prequels gestured. The final season is a masterpiece.
January 13, 2025 at 12:35 AM
Which is why the Clone Wars animated series is so fantastic. The first season and a half was kidsy but then went deep on character and world development. It achieved the heights toward which the prequels gestured. The final season is a masterpiece.
I am now nearing the end of Citadel of the Autarch. We must discuss New Sun whenever we next chat. Should I press on to the Urth of the New Sun?
January 3, 2025 at 5:29 PM
I am now nearing the end of Citadel of the Autarch. We must discuss New Sun whenever we next chat. Should I press on to the Urth of the New Sun?
Do I espy another WordleBot connoisseur?
Wordle 1,285 2/6*
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Wordle 1,285 2/6*
⬛⬛🟩⬛🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
December 25, 2024 at 1:30 PM
Do I espy another WordleBot connoisseur?
Wordle 1,285 2/6*
⬛⬛🟩⬛🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Wordle 1,285 2/6*
⬛⬛🟩⬛🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
One of these days!
December 16, 2024 at 8:33 AM
One of these days!
Brilliant. Thank you!
December 11, 2024 at 2:22 PM
Brilliant. Thank you!
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this one! What collection is this from?
December 11, 2024 at 2:17 PM
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this one! What collection is this from?
Haha—have you seen her newest, The Wood in Midwinter? It’s surprisingly short! I read it in one sitting. Was actually astonished when I realised I had reached the end.
December 9, 2024 at 8:25 AM
Haha—have you seen her newest, The Wood in Midwinter? It’s surprisingly short! I read it in one sitting. Was actually astonished when I realised I had reached the end.
Very much agree!
December 9, 2024 at 8:24 AM
Very much agree!
I liked it! I think it equally has to do with the sense that the world is suffused with meaning that exceeds the mere ‘givenness’ of things. Again, it’s been probably a decade since I last read it, so I should probably revisit it sometime!
December 8, 2024 at 6:43 PM
I liked it! I think it equally has to do with the sense that the world is suffused with meaning that exceeds the mere ‘givenness’ of things. Again, it’s been probably a decade since I last read it, so I should probably revisit it sometime!
(There’s more I could say, but not without revealing spoilers to unassuming passersby!)
December 8, 2024 at 6:40 PM
(There’s more I could say, but not without revealing spoilers to unassuming passersby!)
Interesting! It’s been a while since I’ve read it, but my takeaway was actually more about how the main character’s perspective has been opened up (and opens us up) to a grander vista about the nature of the world that remains compelling even as we become aware of the incidentals of his story.
December 8, 2024 at 6:40 PM
Interesting! It’s been a while since I’ve read it, but my takeaway was actually more about how the main character’s perspective has been opened up (and opens us up) to a grander vista about the nature of the world that remains compelling even as we become aware of the incidentals of his story.