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The Philosopher’s Skull
Plato said it once, or might have saidwe wake in darkness, born as if some wholebone were brusquely dropped on an old floor,with empty holes for eyes to watch the lightsgavotting on the wall — he may have meantit otherwise, I can’t be sure, I haven’tread the scrolls he scribbled epsilonsand sigmas on, but under Continue reading
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The Small Season
Consider the following Christmas lines (emphasis added): When what to my wondering eyes did appear,But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny rein-deer, With a little old driver so lively and quick,I knew in a moment he must be St. Nick. I cannot be the only person who was ever struck by these lines in the Continue reading
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The friendly freeways
It’s important to be alert while driving, and the reasons are so obvious that it would be silly to list them here. A wise driver (and we all aspire to wisdom behind the wheel) maintains an awareness of the doings of people who are likewise traveling in multi-ton aluminum monsters, an awareness which should only Continue reading
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The secret to Democrats’ future political success does not lie in selling out transgender people
One of my more self-destructive behaviors is plugging myself in to a social media stream for part of a day and exposing myself to other people’s “takes.” These “takes” are what we call the bite-sized pronouncements of opinion in reaction to the news of the day, as posted by people hoping their particular phraseology will Continue reading
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History’s Plague
I speak of the plague, the pale, terrible plague,and surely you know the one of which I speak – the one you remember, the one from the history booksand the old tale of the dreadful red masquerade,the one with the frogs, the frightful angel of deathwho came on the backs of creeping rats and the Continue reading
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Now that that has happened
There isn’t a whole lot more that I have to say about what happened on November 5th this year, except that I meant every word I said two weeks ago, and that while I remain loath to predict anything, I will predict that it won’t be a month after Inauguration Day before Donald Trump gives Continue reading
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Opera Night at the Miller House
As I write this, I’m taking a break from cleaning and tidying in preparation to receive company at our home this evening. It’s November Second, but this is a Halloween party of sorts, and a themed one at that: Ariele and I are screening an appropriately spine-tingling opera, Bluebeard’s Castle. This is actually the third Continue reading
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What is at stake in this election
I’m not in the business of making political predictions anymore. That isn’t to say that I don’t have ideas about what will happen, just that I am too well aware of all the things that might happen. The only thing you stand to gain from making these kinds of predictions is a reputation as a Continue reading
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The Classics Mindset
The other day – maybe it was yesterday – I was driving Ariele to work, and we were talking about one of my cranky old man traits. By these I mean the features of my personality that make me resemble a stern, inflexible codger, which are also features I’ve possessed since I was at least Continue reading
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The Little Librarian
This past summer I bought a Little Free Library, nominally as an anniversary present for Ariele. I say “nominally” because she, as a library employee and bona fide Bachelor of Library Science, had long expressed interest in having one; however, the essential function of one of these outdoor boxes is to allow a whole neighborhood Continue reading
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Ink Tea Stone Leaf 