Monthly Archives: March 2016

Goodbye to a Berry

Posted on March 30, 2016 by

My former colleague at Newberry College and one of the four original Berries, K. Douglas (“Doug”) Cook, died this afternoon after an extended physical decline. Doug was a veteran of the Vietnam War, where he was wounded, and worked in … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Music, Why I Do What I Do | 2 Comments

“Swiper, No Swiping!”

Posted on March 29, 2016 by

What happens when you find out someone has filed the serial numbers off your novel and is selling it (at a brisk pace, or at least an amble) at Amazon? Eilish O’Hanlon can tell you, and she does at The Independent. … Continue reading →

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“We’re Only In It for the Money”

Posted on March 28, 2016 by

… well, it’s one of my favorite albums, and I can confidently say I’ve listened to it hundreds of times over the years, but it sure as heck doesn’t apply to my career. Each year the Chronicle of Higher Ed rolls … Continue reading →

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Happy Easter, 2016

Posted on March 27, 2016 by

Teaching at a small school in the buckle of the Bible Belt, my students are sometimes startled when I talk about the Christian mythos as a comic story — an idea I learned from Northrop Frye. The story of love, … Continue reading →

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Poetry Corner: Good Friday

Posted on March 25, 2016 by

Today’s poem is by one of my favorite poets, Edwin Arlington Robinson. From his second published volume, The Children of the Night, the poem was published in 1897. It remains true. Calvary Friendless and faint, with martyred steps and slow, Faint … Continue reading →

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Greek to Me…

Posted on March 24, 2016 by

Night before last, the Spawn was initiated into one of Mondoville’s three sororities. We’re happy for her, and for her sorority as well — she wound up in the one I had always figured would best suit her. She learned … Continue reading →

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Art Bar After-Action Report

Posted on March 20, 2016 by

Got up a little while ago after a late night of Berries-related activity, and most of the world missed a really good show in Real City last night. For their benefit, the following… Got my gear loaded up at six, … Continue reading →

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“Go-go Getter”

Posted on March 18, 2016 by

I’ve been called a lot of things over the years, but “go-getter” isn’t among them. I never had the ambition to become a titan of industry or finance, and while when I was a kid I thought it might be … Continue reading →

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Goodbye, Mr. Emerson, and Saturday Potpourri

Posted on March 12, 2016 by

I was blindsided yesterday afternoon when I heard about the apparent suicide of Keith Emerson, one of rock’s greatest keyboardists, and possibly primus inter pares based on seniority and innovation. With the Nice, and most notably with Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, Emerson’s … Continue reading →

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“All You Need Is Ears”

Posted on March 9, 2016 by

The grammar isn’t all that great (at least to speakers of American English), but that’s the title of Sir George Martin’s autobiography. Mr. Martin, who died yesterday at the age of 90, was the producer of all but one of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Music, Why I Do What I Do | 3 Comments