Monthly Archives: November 2015

Advent Devotional — 30 November

For several years now, members of the Newberry College community have been invited to write brief devotionals for the days of Advent. The format is simple: We’re given a passage from Scripture, we write a little about it, and we … Continue reading

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With Unfriends Like These…

“Those are my principles, and if you don’t like them… well, I have others.” — Marx As I continue to work on my relocation to the sociopolitical desert, I find myself irritated? Saddened? Weary… of statements I find on social media … Continue reading

Posted in Culture, Politics, Why I Do What I Do | 5 Comments

We Gather Together…

… in more ways than one today. I’m in my downstairs den, which is livable once more, after having been offline for a month after the deluge. I’m thankful for that. Mrs. M is upstairs, having her coffee before she … Continue reading

Posted in Culture, Education, Faith, Family, Literature, Why I Do What I Do | 4 Comments

The Show that Never Ends

The Newberry Opera House got jolted last night, when progressive rock drum legend Carl Palmer came to town with his power trio, ELP Legacy. I got to the Opera House about 45 minutes before showtime, and I checked out the merch … Continue reading

Posted in Music, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Mottes, Baileys, and the Contemporary Scene

As the Yalies in the process of being educated beyond their intelligence have been throwing their recent tantrums, I’ve heard more than a few people argue that this is the sort of thing PC has wrought. Indeed, the sort of nonsense … Continue reading

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Destination Unknown

Headline from today’s Chronicle of Higher Ed (Alas, behind a paywall): “When Pursuing Diversity, Victory Is Hard to Define.” Well, duh! If you actually have a definition, you might accidentally achieve your goal, and then people would have to quit complaining/find real … Continue reading

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QotD: A Word from the Great Cham Edition

We’re heading into the home stretch of my 18th-C. course; we’ll spend the next two weeks reading Johnson, and finish the term with Boswell’s bio. Today, we talked about The Vanity of Human Wishes and a couple of essays from the … Continue reading

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Laying Down Markers

Not long ago, I mentioned that the University of Chicago’s Statement on Free Expression had been adapted into a model statement by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. It seems that such statements are needed now more than ever, … Continue reading

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The Cheapest House on the Nicest Street

In my youth, I read the autobiography of a Jewish comic or humorist in the stacks of Reader’s Digest that I plowed through one summer. I don’t remember who it was — (Update: Sam Levenson, from the October 1973 issue! Thanks, … Continue reading

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Where Rhyming Slang Meets Instro Rock

Fans of instrumental rock are of course familiar with Britain’s The Shadows, and their legendary guitarist, the bespectacled Hank Marvin. Even if you aren’t a fan of the genre, you’ve likely heard these guys: Well, as sometimes happens, the guitar hero’s … Continue reading

Posted in Culture, Music | 3 Comments