Why It Matters

Blog: https://wimwords.com/
Profile: https://wimwords.com/author/jostaffordjr/
Homepage: http://jamesostafford.com

The Time Traveler

Silicon transistors. When Bell Labs introduced them in 1954, Dr. Wainwright knew he had the last piece of the puzzle.
April’s Picks: February 2017

It’s been a little bit since we’ve heard from April, but that just means she had more time to find the good stuff.
He’s In Your Head (Zombie, Zombie, Zombie)

I don’t believe in writing magic.
From the Stacks: James Brown, ‘I Got You (I Feel Good)’ Muntz Stereo-Pak

When is James Brown not the star of his own “From the Stacks” feature? When he’s sharing the stage with Earl “Madman” Muntz.
Deep Cuts: Songs About Writing

It seems that everyone harbors secret fantasies of being a writer.
Top 1 Secrets To An Artistic Life (#1 Blew Our Minds)

Fantagraphics recently published The Complete Peanuts: Comics and Stories, the last of a 26 volume hardcover collection capturing, well, the complete Peanuts.
From The Stacks: ‘Introducing…The Gateway Quartet’

We don’t see many quartets anymore.
Deep Cuts: Songs For Heroes

Who are the good guys? They’re pretty easy to spot in books and movies, where ambiguity is a device rather than a sad reality. In everyday life, though, spotting heroes is more challenging. Sometimes bad guys strap on white hats and declare themselves heroes, for example. Other times we mistake dangerous or challenging jobs for…
Better Living Through Reading (and Watching)

Let’s use a simple story outline as a thought experiment:
Deep Cuts: Originals Less Famous Than Their Cover Versions

Mary Tyler Moore died recently, and as a tribute a friend of mine posted the song that became the Mary Tyler Moore Show theme song. Listening to that track got me to thinking about all of the great songs that have basically been erased from the collective pop culture consciousness through no fault of their…