Is this blog kaput?
Answer: Be aware that this blog is not dead. It's very much alive. Occasionally, I add something new to the archive, which contains many profound or ridiculous things I have written. I just don't feel it is necessary to write something every day, and therefore I operate on a very leisurely schedule. I post something when I think it is worth saying.
What do you write about?
Answer: I write about a variety of topics that happen to interest me. There are book reviews. Some items are short recollections, opinion pieces, or short fiction. There are a few items about matters that I have researched. Many of my topics are connected to the recent history of Xnty in America, in particular the Jesus People movement and afterwards. My opinions are entirely my own, and I don't use anonymous "insider" sources.
Can I reproduce your entire blog post on my site?
Answer: No. I would prefer no more than an excerpt of a few sentences you found to be the most important in the article. Please attribute the source and include a link back to my post. Reposting an entire article is a form of copyright infringement.
Is "Oengus" your real name?
Answer: No, it isn't. It's what's called a "nom de plume" or "pen name." Believe me, my real name is very boring, which is why I don't use it. Famous authors sometimes go by pen names, the best example being the American humorist Mark Twain. I hope that my clever nom de plume will make me equally as famous. I derived the name from an obscure, 9th Century Irish saint named "Óengus of Tallaght," sometimes known as Oengus the Hagiographer.
Is the guy in the picture really you?
Answer: No, but if my beard were a little longer, the depiction would look very much like me. The picture was cropped from a painting by Henryk Siemiradzki entitled "Nero's Torches." The old guy in the picture is about to be incinerated.
Do any of the labels have special meaning?
Answer: Most of the labels are for a general categorizing of blog posts; however, one in particular does has a special meaning. Now in the majority of cases, most readers will be perceptive enough to realize when something is meant to be fictional. But I cannot count on all readers being equally perceptive, and there were a few blog entries where a misunderstanding might occur, especially when I am writing in a style emulating factual reportage. To avoid any confusion, these are marked with the label "fable". But in the majority of cases, this label is unnecessary because the reader would have to be a helpless blockhead not to realize what my intent was.
Do you have a comment policy?
Answer: This applies only when comments are turned on, which is not often. And it's a simple policy. Yes, I do read the comments. But I absolutely make no promises on what, if anything, gets published or not.
Can you tell something about yourself?
Answer: I am a retiree after working many years in software and technology related industries. The "flyover country" is where I reside. A more detailed biography about myself would be very boring to read.