As the old cliche goes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  We all try to imitate someone we respect: a parent, a colleague, a teacher, a boss.  When we’re inspired by a person, we seek to emulate the things that brought them success and admiration.  This is true in all circles, and it rolls […]

Ding dong, the witch is dead.  2016 is behind us, and 2017 lies ahead.  New year, clean slate, inspiring quotes, et cetera.  But what does that hold for me?  Well, I can do this and sum up my own personal 2016 with the help of a furry aide. This is Talos Talos is one of […]

It’s not hard to find a billboard or Facebook post about “keeping Christ in Christmas” or “remember the reason for the season!” But the reason used to be quite different so I thought I’d spent a bit of time talking about some older myths about the season from other cultures. Krampus: Plenty of people have […]

When I was a kid, my dad watched horror movies all the time.  They were really a second love for him.  In fact, in the last years of his life as he took an interest in film-making, he created a feature-length horror film along with two shorts for the Indianapolis 48 Hour Film Fest.  One […]

Hello, friends.  Just a quick update: I have now moved in to the editing phase.  Admittedly, most of that so far has been scratching my head and wondering where to dive in at.  Fear not, though, I’ve done a bit.  When I complete major milestones, I’ll make an entry about them so you can stay […]

Hello, everyone!  I hope you’ve all prepared to stuff your faces if you’re American, and if not, well, I hope you’re enjoying another average Thursday.  I want to apologize briefly for my absence over the last couple weeks.  I put more than my nose to the grindstone, and I have an announcement to make. The […]

November 7, 2016 Despite what people had been saying about early voting wait times at the polling places, the line isn’t that bad.  I walk in and smile at the old lady sitting with the book of names.  She smiles back and asks my name.  I give it to her and produce a driver’s license.  […]

Once again, November has descended upon us.  That means it is, once again, National Novel Writing Month.  The challenge is for aspiring authors to write a 40,000 word story in a month.  The forums swirl with people exchanging ideas, and local groups spring up to encourage each other.  My opinion of it?  A little mixed. […]

Welcome to my digital corner of the internet.  In this first blog post, I’m going to tell you a bit about myself and what my goals are.  It may start off as a bit of a retread from the short bit in the “About” section, but we’ll go deeper. My name is Max Tarasov.  I’m […]