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Meta
Monthly Archives: July 2015
Inside Out (and Upside Down)
“It’s a charming movie. It is also distinctly American.” That’s the assessment of Tanya Luhrmann in the New York Times recently. (See her column here.) I like that way of putting it, because all the things I disliked about the … Continue reading
What to Do if the World Burns Up
I didn’t start out to think about the topic of suicide. [1] Actually, I started with the destruction of the entire surface of the earth, courtesy of Neal Stephenson’s recent SevenEves. [2] The death of all the humans on the … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Living My Life
Tagged choosing an end, keep calm and carry on, Seveneves, the world on fire
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Believing and Believing IN
I love it when this happens. I have watched Secondhand Lions maybe half a dozen times. Some parts, probably well over a dozen times. And always there is the sense that some part of my mind is receiving some really … Continue reading
Did the Media Go Too Far?
This is mostly a rant about how television “news” operates. If you’ve never watched news programs on television or if you do watch and like what you are seeing, this is probably not the essay you want to read. On … Continue reading
Men learn from Hobbes and Women from Rousseau
OK, so it’s never going to replace Mars and Venus. Also, it’s not precisely true. But it is mostly true—more often than not—and it has the same principal virtue that John Gray’s Mars/Venus books have. It teaches that there are … Continue reading
They Could At Least Have Warned Us
I do like democracy. I don’t like how very limited our democracy has become. I would like for us to be better. I’m a fan, a booster; but I think our team has lost a lot over the last few … Continue reading
Reading Strategically
I am a strategic reader. It is the scandal of my book group. Last month, my grandson, who is headed off to college, drew back from me when I described what I meant by that term and said something on … Continue reading
Posted in Books
Tagged a library of friends, a style for each purpose, author's intention, Harper Lee
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No More Buildings Named after YOU
When we moved to Portland, we moved into the Wilson High School attendance area. As a result, I am the proud father of Wilson alums. Wilson is named for President Woodrow Wilson. [1] It’s a thing in Portland. We also … Continue reading
My Inner Wormtongue
Gríma, son of Gálmód was Théoden’s chief staff. Those of us who are familiar with bureaucratic organizations are likely to read through that line and fill in the missing word, “of” and never notice that it wasn’t there. Others may … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Getting Old, Living My Life
Tagged enfeeblement of power, J R R Tolkien, Théoden, the dotard kind, Wormtongue
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Win the Day
When Chip Kelly was football coach at the University of Oregon, he was interviewed frequently by sports stations in Portland. He quickly gained a reputation as a terrible “interview,” as the stations put it. They kept asking him question he … Continue reading
Posted in Getting Old, Living My Life
Tagged Chip Kelly, depression, physical decline, The Lion in Winter, win the day
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