1. My old apartment is almost bare, and my new one is nearly looking like something livable. Furniture goes tomorrow. 2. My first year of full-time teaching is officially over! Some takeaways: 3. It took me a while to figure out what I could actually ask of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders, and I'm still … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: First Year of Teaching Over and a Word on Audrey Hepburn
Thoughts
Sunday Flotsam: New Apartment and Classics
1. Last week I took possession of my new apartment and have been moving in piecemeal ever since. I won't be able to get most of the furniture until next week, unfortunately, but I have almost all of my books moved. In the meantime I live among chaos, my worldly goods vomited out upon the … Continue reading Sunday Flotsam: New Apartment and Classics
Friday Flotsam: Habemus Papam, Herzog’s Mindset, and Woodstock
1. Habemus Papam! Short hours ago, I would have taken it as axiomatic than an American Cardinal will never be elected Pope. We exert so much power and influence over the rest of the world that I took it for granted the Cardinals would never willingly give them the Papacy as well. I have no … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Habemus Papam, Herzog’s Mindset, and Woodstock
Sunday Flotsam
1. I seem to be doing a lot of Sunday flotsams these days. 2. The first requirement for intelligent political discourse is to distinguish political thought from political rhetoric. That is, we have to set aside the buzzwords and loaded language ('racist', 'imperialist', 'exploitative', 'equality', and, especially, 'liberty') and make it clear what concrete realities … Continue reading Sunday Flotsam
Saturday Flotsam: Easter Events and Amerigo Vespucci
1. Of course, the major news this week is the death of the Holy Father. My own opinion of Pope Francis's pontificate is completely irrelevant; let us all pray for his soul and for the upcoming conclave. 2. That and... 3. I successfully made it through a 'Black Fast' this Triduum; fasting from Holy Thursday … Continue reading Saturday Flotsam: Easter Events and Amerigo Vespucci
250 Years On
By the rude bridge that arched the flood,Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,Here once the embattled farmers stoodAnd fired the shot heard round the world-Ralph Waldo Emerson Exactly two hundred and fifty years ago today, British soldiers under Lt. Col. Francis Smith were sent by governor Thomas Gage to seize a stockpile of weapons which … Continue reading 250 Years On
‘Discarded Image’ Commentary – Part Three
Part Three of my commentary on C.S. Lewis's The Discarded Image is finally up at my Substack. Parts One and Two can be found Here and Here. Chapters three and four of The Discarded Image deal with some of the chief sources of the Medieval Model. Lewis starts off by stating that a thorough examination … Continue reading ‘Discarded Image’ Commentary – Part Three
Palm Sunday Flotsam: Christ’s Majesty and Lesser Matters
1. On Palm Sunday, Christ enters Jerusalem as a conquering king, His way strewn with palms. But He is a most unusual king: riding unarmed upon a borrowed donkey, His retinue being a motley bunch of fishermen, zealots, and ex-tax collectors. And when He enters the city, He does not take His seat or meet … Continue reading Palm Sunday Flotsam: Christ’s Majesty and Lesser Matters
Saturday Flotsam: RIP Val Kilmer, Kingly Saintly Families, and Miscellaneous
1. RIP to Val Kilmer, who passed away this week at the age of 65 of complications from pneumonia (no doubt exacerbated by his bout with throat cancer that left him almost incapable of speech in his later years). Mr. Kilmer was one of that rare brand of 80s action-star heart-throbs who were also legitimately … Continue reading Saturday Flotsam: RIP Val Kilmer, Kingly Saintly Families, and Miscellaneous
Religious Liberty Fisk
I haven't done a fisk in years, but a friend linked to this article, and I had thoughts. I had so many thoughts that I decided to do a fisk rather than a long comment. Then it kind of turned into a 10,000 word monster, so fair warning that this will be long. I thought … Continue reading Religious Liberty Fisk
Serpent's Den 