Writing – The Beige Moth

Romacing SaGa 2: Personified Empire

June 1, 2025June 1, 2025 Robin VanGilderLeave a comment

Alright, let’s try something else. Again!

Those weekly blog posts weren’t really working for me. I don’t like the pressure of having something to talk about, and then they always felt too big and unwieldy and unfocused. Not the kind of work I can look back on with pride, just kind of filling time, y’know? I don’t like to post just to post. Brings back bad memories of trying to unlock privileges on message boards as a middle schooler by making enough posts, haha.

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Week 2: Hashtag The Discourse

May 12, 2025 Robin VanGilderLeave a comment

Well, here we are again, another week come and gone.

I’ve had some ups and downs lately. Trying to stay off of social media while I’m at work, which is nice because it exposes me to The Horrors less, but also makes me feel a bit more disconnected from the world. Kind of a trade off there, I suppose. Been swinging between an newly rejuvenated sense of self-confidence and some regular ol’ depression. I can accomplish anything I put my mind to, but it feels like that doesn’t matter a whole lot, y’know.

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Epilogue – But What Does It Mean?

April 20, 2025April 21, 2025 Robin VanGilder10 Comments

Well, here we are at last.

Friends, we’ve come to the end of the road. After this, there’s simply no more book to read. Oh, I may come around and do some sort of official wrap-up post, sum things up, but I would prefer to leave it all on the field, so to speak. Part of me can’t believe I actually got all the way to the end, much like when I read this book the first time, all those years ago. But I did! Or at least, I will shortly.

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Chapter 134: The Chase.—Second Day

March 30, 2025April 16, 2025 Robin VanGilder2 Comments

As we approach the end of this great tome, I find myself in a reflective mood.

Thinking back upon the story as a whole, its many detours and sidequests, and the thrust of its narrative. This past week I even went and read some other criticism of Moby Dick, to refresh my memory a bit. The… pacing of this project has definitely been lopsided, with my having covered more than half the book in the first year, and then slowly grinding out the last bit of it. But that feels appropriate, as Ishmael dithered and delayed in telling the end of his tale, so do I struggle to embrace the entirety of this enormous work with the inadequate span of my typing fingers.

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Chapter 133: The Chase.—First Day

March 23, 2025April 16, 2025 Robin VanGilder1 Comment

Ugh, man, I finally feel like I’m waking up again.

Last week I had some minor oral surgery. Nothing too serious, no teeth being removed or anything like that, but nonetheless I had to go under general anaesthesia; that is, I was knocked out cold. It’s always a strange experience, I haven’t had it since I had my wisdom teeth out, and I’ve been some time recovering from it. The last few days have felt a bit like an extended dream which I cannot fully sink into nor awake from. But now, I’m coming awake again, and none too soon: the hunt is on!

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This Shit Sucks So Bad, Man

March 18, 2025 Robin VanGilder2 Comments

So, hey. I need to get some things off my chest.

In recent weeks, I have found myself in despair over the current political moment which we are all currently living through. As an American, I was saddened when Trump won a second term, and I’ve been alarmed and feeling defeated and helpless as he’s run roughshod over the bureaucratic state built up over the last two hundred odd years, ripping out the copper wiring and selling it for parts.

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Chapter 131: The Pequod Meets The Delight

March 2, 2025 Robin VanGilder2 Comments

I’m on vacation!

Well, just about, anyway. I suppose it starts properly tomorrow, this is just a regular weekend where my sunday evening does not have any creeping dread. Or not for the usual reason, at least. I already feel myself decompressing a bit, able to open my mind beyond my usual routines. I always try to get completely out of the work mindset for these, though it can be difficult at times. Well, let’s get back to this ancient tome, I still want to keep this streak of posts alive.

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Chapter 130: The Hat

February 23, 2025 Robin VanGilder3 Comments

Another week gone by of 2025, and the world continues to fall into madness.

But at least my little slice of it is relatively calm and peaceful. It’s pouring down rain here today, and will be for the next week or so, and I love it. My favorite weather, as a lifelong resident of the Pacific Northwest. Even living in the middle of a city, there’s a certain peaceful coziness that comes from settling down inside on such a day that is utterly unmatched, at least in my personal experience.

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Chapter 128: The Pequod Meets The Rachel

November 24, 2024November 24, 2024 Robin VanGilder6 Comments

Where does the time go?

I can’t believe it’s late November already. Well, I suppose the time around the election was a bit warped, to my perception, but still. I feel like I’ve hardly had time to catch my breath lately, one thing or another going on. But this weekend, I had some time to myself, got a little caught up on some other reading, and on relaxation. So, I find myself once again in a mood to reflect upon some proper lit’rature. Let’s get to it.

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Chapter 127: The Deck

November 10, 2024November 10, 2024 Robin VanGilder2 Comments

Well, I’ve had quite a week, as have many of my fellow Americans, I would reckon.

There was about 24 hours where my heart was seized with despair and rage in a way that I have never experienced before, or at least not in a very long time. But I was able to channel that in some productive ways and otherwise burn it off, feeling resigned and determined now. The less said about events on the national political stage, the better.

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