I have been in the thick of the classical Christian school movement from the very start of it, and I like to think I have been around. I have been to all the ACCS conferences. I have browsed more vendor tables than Carter’s got pills. I have visited numerous classical Christian schools, both the start-ups …
An Unhappy Lot
“He does not eat ‘low’ because he has no awareness of what he is doing, like the fellow who has only ten taste buds for every square inch of his tongue and struggles to determine the difference between hot and cold” (Writers to Read, p. 117).
Born to be Mild
Let me tell you a secret. I want to explain to you what it takes to be a bad boy in a relativistic age. A bad boy is one I define as a man who appears to disregard certain basic societal rules. Back when society had standards, the bad boy was the motorcycle gang leader …
A Simple Church Year
“During the first half of the Christian year, remember the five evangelical feast days – Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Ascension and Pentecost. Do not look for any commemoration of St. Alphonse the Lesser, patron saint of three-legged cats. When everything is special, nothing is” (God Rest Ye Merry, p. 112).
Refined Past the Limit
“One of the great problems with developed sensibilities in any area is the temptation to preciosity. Overrefinement in art, music, language, or any area does not create the true artiste but rather the insufferable boor. The task is not to cultivate high standards; any lout can do that. The trick is to cultivate high standards …
Hypocrisy on Stilts and Steroids
So then, Fidel Castro, fixture of my Cold War childhood, has now gone where Manhattan elites can do nothing whatever for his reputation. St. Peter does not take the Times. At least not anymore. Viewed from any conceivable angle, that man was a murderous thug and a one-man poverty-dispensing F5 tornado. And the reality that …
Review: Self-Publishing Success: A Handbook for New Writers
Self-Publishing Success: A Handbook for New Writers by Mary Rosenblum My rating: 4 of 5 stars As I said in Wordsmithy, I like reading books on wordsmithery, and this was yet another one. A lot of good sturdy advice here about writing generally, but also a good bit of advice for those looking at the …
Review: Christ and the Caesars: Historical Sketches
Christ and the Caesars: Historical Sketches by Ethelbert Stauffer My rating: 4 of 5 stars Greatly enjoyed this. It is a history of the relationship of Rome and the early Church over the course of the first three centuries. Much of it is taken up with the politics of numismatic interpretation, and it is quite …
Review: Thinking, Fast and Slow
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman My rating: 4 of 5 stars All of it well-written, although much of it was not in my areas of great interest. Still, there were some fascinating stretches. View all my reviews
Not How the Game Is Played
I would like to propose a toast to the Electoral College, one of the very best things the Founders put in the Constitution. Not only so, but in order to amend the Constitution, it would require the consent of all the states that would be promptly disenfranchised by the move. What this means is that …