1. Is it just me, or do most motivational speeches sound exactly the same? “I had something I wanted to do, and I worked hard every single day, and I’m committed, and I have my teammates' backs,” etc. It is as if they are all made to pattern, formed by the same teacher or following … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Political Mobs and Some Other Stuff
Current Events
Friday Flotsam: Oscars Slap at the Everyman, Core Values, and More
1. My latest post went up on The Everyman earlier this week, this one talking about the Oscars slap. I take it as another sign that the social framework is breaking down: For my own part, I think the incident raises some interesting points. First, let’s have no illusions about Will Smith’s personal life, which … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Oscars Slap at the Everyman, Core Values, and More
The Problem with Boycotting Amazon
Those of us who sell things on Amazon are in a bit of a quandary these days. On the one hand, many people quite understandably don't want to support the great jungle of avarice and arrogance. Since it's become increasingly clear just how much power giant tech companies like this wield, a lot of people … Continue reading The Problem with Boycotting Amazon
Pseudo-Leadership
This video of a tense moment of border patrol agents meeting with their commander has been making the rounds lately. I share it both because it’s yet-another encouraging sign that the stranglehold is unravelling and because it’s an example of something that I’ve been noticing lately. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIMORHoe_m8 The commander’s attitude is what I would call … Continue reading Pseudo-Leadership
Flotsam: Of Kings, Clothes, and Inspiration
1. Yesterday was the anniversary of the martyrdom of King Louis XVI, so I made sure to go to Mass to ask his intercession, and that of all the royal saints, that we might have good leaders in Church and State. Or, failing that, at least leaders who aren't brain-dead swine. Appropriately enough, the first … Continue reading Flotsam: Of Kings, Clothes, and Inspiration
RIP Prof. Alice Von Hildebrand
I just learned that Prof. Alice Von Hildebrand, the Catholic philosopher and speaker and the second wife of the great Prof. Dietrich Von Hildebrand (who is one of my intellectual touchstones) has passed away at the age of 98. I actually had no idea she was still alive: I would have sworn that I'd heard … Continue reading RIP Prof. Alice Von Hildebrand
Thought of the Day
The fact that we cannot trust our current rulers - whether government, media, corporate, or Church - is itself one of the things that must be taken into account by any solution to the current situation.
Friday Flotsam: In the News, Invisible Man, and Folk Song
1. I have barely looked at the news in weeks and have frankly been much happier for it. After all, I have no power to affect anything that is in the news, and it’s going to affect me I’ll find out about it sooner or later. Not to mention that most of it is either … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: In the News, Invisible Man, and Folk Song
Meta-Knight Responds
Apparently, a code monkey with delusions of grandeur has decided to rebrand his evil corporation from 'Facebook' to 'Meta'. Because that doesn't sound presumptuous in the least, nor at all confusing given how common that word has become in our culture. Not least that I think a certain fan-favorite character - one known for his … Continue reading Meta-Knight Responds
Flotsam: Twenty Years Later
1. I try not to talk politics much here. I don’t have the background or knowledge as yet to say anything really worthwhile about it. So don’t ask me for a rundown of how the past twenty years have gone and what we as a nation have to show for it all, though I don’t … Continue reading Flotsam: Twenty Years Later
Serpent's Den 