Slow news…
…is good news. Have you noticed that for the last couple of weeks there’s been a lull in the news? This often happens in August. Congress is on recess, and can’t do much mischief. People are on vacation—and that has … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Getting philosophical: life, love, the universe
Fall cleanup
It’s the first day of September. Although not the official beginning of fall—that doesn’t happen for about three weeks—it’s the real beginning of autumn in my book. And this despite the fact that it’s well into the nineties today where … Continue reading →
Arthur Koestler: on heeding warnings
Arthur Koestler had his flaws, including a long devotion to Socialism. But, like his good friend Orwell (who shared that trait), he was a fierce opponent of Communism Soviet-style, having almost been burned in its fierce annihilative furnace early on. … Continue reading →
Parents and college freshmen: the long goodbye
Colleges are increasingly feeling the need to gently nudge parents of incoming freshman to take their leave of the campus, lest the older generation take up residence more permanently there, the better to breathe down the necks of their offspring. … Continue reading →
When I thought as a child
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. —1 Corinthians 13:11 Children have a lot of time … Continue reading →
The “does it make me look fat?” question
Quite a few people responded to my observation at the end of this post about “the admitted double-bind of that ancient question: ‘does this outfit make me look fat?’” So I thought I’d expand (pun intended) a bit on that … Continue reading →
Is there a racist in the audience?
Re the Shirley Sherrod video, commenter “cm” remarks: i thought the point of the video was showing the reaction of the audience (naacp ppl) when she mentioned not helping the white farmer. they laughed and said amen at this point … Continue reading →
First memories
[NOTE: I came across this old post of mine the other day, and thought it might be fun to repeat it, with some added thoughts.] I’ve always had an excellent recollection for early events in my life, with the peculiarity … Continue reading →
Abortion and sympathy, men and women
Today I was sent a link to this this piece, which discusses the enraged reaction of some radical feminists to the idea of sympathy cards (or even sympathy itself) for men whose female significant others have had abortions and are … Continue reading →
Father’s Day musings and poetry
[NOTE: This a slightly edited version of a previous post of mine.] Father’s Day. A sort of poor stepchild to Mother’s Day, although fathers themselves are hardly that. They are central to a family. Just ask the people who never … Continue reading →
Update on Clive Wearing: amnesia, a love story
Some of you may recall a post I wrote in 2005 about Clive Wearing, the man with such profound memory loss that he lived in a single repeating and ever-changing present moment disconnected from those that had gone before. To … Continue reading →
Another change story: sports, politics, and life
Here’s the story of a man whose political change was sparked by a kids’ basketball game, of all things. Roland Toy ran up against a group of liberal parents who wanted to protect their fourth-graders from the pain and struggle … Continue reading →