All Purls. No Swine.
This post requires a bit of imagination. It involves what used to be called a "poetic conceit," in the days when it was allowable to speak in simile and metaphor, or to employ metonomy or synecdoche, secure in the knowledge that your audience didn't have to know what any of those things actually was, or… Continue reading The Headwaters of the Mississippi, and a Few Other Things
As reported in several places: XX= Woman XY=Man YYY=Delilah In an effulgence of political correctness/cowardice, the Welsh Rugby Union has announced that the Tom Jones hit song Delilah will no longer be played as part of its approved song list. Because, you know, "misogyny." Thankfully, and as I had hoped, it's foolish and pointless to bet… Continue reading Meme: YYY, Delilah!
I like Jordan Peterson. I don't agree with everything he says, but I think he's generally on the side of the angels, and that the young men of the world would do far better to listen to and follow, Jordan Peterson than--say--Andrew Tate, especially when it comes to their understanding, and their treatment, of women.… Continue reading Jordan Peterson On the Differences Between Men and Women, Not Quite in a Nutshell
Today, February 2, 2023, I'm celebrating Candlemas Day, the one on which Christians marvel at the return of light, protection, and prosperity, that which wards off death, evil, and end times. Let us today bless candles in church for distribution to the congregation. Or, if that's a bridge too far, let us at least celebrate… Continue reading Groundhog Day? Love the Movie, but Otherwise, No Thank You
Finding myself wakeful in the middle of the night, I listened for a second time to an excellent discussion--which was brought to my attention on a Ricochet post from a few days ago--between Jordan Peterson and Victor Davis Hanson. It's an erudite (I would expect nothing less) romp through both mens' minds when it comes… Continue reading It’s Still Good Advice From ‘The Moderator’
Yes, it's a marvelous conundrum: I remember Christian teachers telling me long ago that I must hate a bad man's actions but not hate the bad man: or, as they would say, hate the sin but not the sinner...I used to think this a silly, straw-splitting distinction: how could you hate what a man did… Continue reading On Hatred: What Did CS Lewis Have To Say?
Well, that was fun. I've just returned from a day in Pittsburgh with friends, and lunch at the African Cuisine Restaurant in the Squirrel Hill section of the city. It's a small, informal, place featuring Nigerian food, the first of its kind in the Steel City, and which opened in March 2021, when things were… Continue reading Restaurant Review: African Cuisine in Pittsburgh, PA
Whatever the cause, my memory is my memory, it does what it does, gathers and curates as it sees fit, and there's just as much truth in what I remember and how I remember it as there is in so-called objective facts. Things like chronology and cause-and-effect are often just fables we tell ourselves about… Continue reading Quote of the Day: On Narcissism and Truth
I've not made any secret, over the years, of the fact that I love Thai food. Or of the marvelous opportunity--almost five years ago now--that I enjoyed an actual cooking class in actual Thailand. But I sometimes suffer the consequences of living in the northeastern United States, far away from some of those luscious and… Continue reading Thai Basil Hack
Cross-posted from Ricochet: And a conclusion: If you only buy one book in 2023, make it this one. I hope I’m not alone in my annual habit of buying myself the occasional Christmas present, wrapping it up, and labeling it “with love from the dogs–we tried not to slobber on it” or “from the sheep–thanks for the hay!” or “affectionately,… Continue reading From Utmost East to Utmost West: A Very Preliminary Book Review