Poetry – “The Conscript”
I am a peaceful working man—I am not wise or strong—But I can follow Nature’s planIn labour, rest, and song. One day the men that rule us allDecided we must die,Else pride and freedom surely fallIn the dim bye and bye. They told me I must write my nameUpon a scroll of death;That some day … Continue reading Poetry – “The Conscript”
Another Loyalist Meme
A combination of historical reading and skimming a few contemporary and near-contemporary political essays led to this image taking form in my mind:
Friday Flotsam: World War II, Political Theory, and Tarzan
1. My US History class finished up the Second World War this week. There is really nothing like that event in all of history, certainly not in living memory. The whole world goes to war, and against an incredibly evil ideology on one side of the globe and what might be described as a civilization … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: World War II, Political Theory, and Tarzan
Thought of the Day: Unequally Wrong
Both major 'sides' of a given issue may well be wrong, but they're unlikely to be equally wrong. To say they are is usually a sign that the speaker is less interested in the issue itself than in his own rhetoric.
Poetry – “The Road Not Taken”
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair,And having perhaps the better claim,Because it was grassy and wanted wear;Though as for that … Continue reading Poetry – “The Road Not Taken”
Friday Flotsam: Miyazaki, Shakespeare, and Lame Pulps
1. I am shamefully behindhand when it comes to the work of Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki; so far Spirited Away is the only one I'd seen. A week or so ago, I took a step to remedying this by seeing Whisper of the Heart, an intensely charming, thoughtful little film about adolescent love blossoming … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Miyazaki, Shakespeare, and Lame Pulps
Songs at the Heights of Empire
In 17 B.C., having brought peace and prosperity to the whole Roman Empire after centuries of non-stop war, revolution, and upheaval, having, indeed, brought peace to the Mediterranean world for the first time since man began to live there, Caesar Augustus decreed the holding of the Secular Games: six days of athletics, entertainment, and religious … Continue reading Songs at the Heights of Empire
Poem – “Solitude”
There is in stillness oft a magic powerTo calm the breast, when struggling passions lower;Touch'd by its influence, in the soul ariseDiviner feelings, kindred with the skies.By this the Arab's kindling thoughts expand,When circling skies inclose the desert sand;For this the hermit seeks the thickest grove,To catch th' inspiring glow of heavenly love.It is not … Continue reading Poem – “Solitude”
He Is Risen
Alleluia!
Serpent's Den 