1. I really wanted this to be a Friday Flotsam again, but again didn't get around to it. 2. It's a mark of how busy I've been that the Fourth of July came and went and it didn't even occur to me to write sarcastic comments about the Revolution. Not that I wouldn't have tried … Continue reading Saturday Flotsam: Various and Fourth of July
Thoughts
Annual Praise for ‘Independence Day’
For newcomers, I watch 'Independence Day' every year on the Fourth of July: the following is (mostly) an old post on my great fondness for the film. When Independence Day came out, it was a huge hit, but ever since then it’s kind of become the poster-child for the big, dumb, CGI-fueled blockbusters of … Continue reading Annual Praise for ‘Independence Day’
Saturday Flotsam: Moving, A Book, A Film, and Economics
1. Was packing yesterday and lost track of the time, so this is Saturday Flotsam again. 2. As of this writing, I still haven't gotten final confirmation on my apartment. Last time I spoke to them the application is in the final stages, but that was a day or so ago. I don't anticipate it … Continue reading Saturday Flotsam: Moving, A Book, A Film, and Economics
Friday Flotsam: ‘Narbonic’, Trope Humor, and the Penguin
1. Much of this week was spent wrestling with the apartment people over the phone to clear up one snag or another. Nothing is settled yet, as of this writing, but I'm hopeful it will be soon. All indications are that it'll go through fine, but who knows? 2. In spare time this week I've … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: ‘Narbonic’, Trope Humor, and the Penguin
Saturday Flotsam: Arizona, Anne, and a Shooting
1. Started working on this yesterday, then completely forgot about it. 2. This week I went out to Arizona to shop for apartments. My biggest thrill is that there are actual mountains visible from where I'm going to be living (at least from the city: not sure about the apartment itself). We don't have any … Continue reading Saturday Flotsam: Arizona, Anne, and a Shooting
Friday Flotsam: Fruit of Wisdom, Some (General) Political Thoughts
1. Still in Maine, though the siblings have all gone home, save for the ones who are home here. I'm staying on until next week, since who knows when I'll be up here next? 2. One common thread in all the wisest men I've read is this: you should not allow yourself to worry over … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Fruit of Wisdom, Some (General) Political Thoughts
Friday Flotsam: Various Thoughts and Grover Cleveland
1. Most modern social and psychological commentary and scholarship gives me the impression of attending a high-level film-studies class given by Uwe Boll; a complacent, confident assumption that you know what is right, delivered from atop a pile of unmitigated failure. 2. It occurred to me last night that I find the news repulsive. Not … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Various Thoughts and Grover Cleveland
Saturday Flotsam
1. I seem to be missing Friday Flotsams quite a bit lately. These are confusing times. 2. My first year of teaching has officially concluded in a chaotic rush of a 'center cleaning day'. It was truly a life-changing experience, and I've learned an enormous amount even in a single year. I feel that, at … Continue reading Saturday Flotsam
Ascension Thought
Today is the transplanted Feast of the Ascension: scooped up out of its place in the week and stashed away on a Sunday where it won't trouble anyone. This is rather the opposite of the meaning of the event itself. Christ's bodily Ascension into Heaven is far from His 'removal' from the world; the obnoxious … Continue reading Ascension Thought
Saturday Flotsam: Hodge Podge and Northern Lights
1. My first school year is almost done; just one more day of classes, then field day and a few odds and ends. It was certainly a learning experience, and I'm glad to have at last found a job that I feel I could make an actual career out of. The big test, of course, … Continue reading Saturday Flotsam: Hodge Podge and Northern Lights
Serpent's Den 