DENVER, COLORADO…. It seems like only yesterday that the New Urbanism was really new. But this weekend, with its annual meeting here in Denver, the Congress for the New Urbanism turned seventeen. Its founding texts are almost as
June 2009
I neglected to comment on the Illich post when it was timely (funny how the internet compresses time and reduces us all to servants of what Berry called the “absolute industrial present”), but I will forever wear this as a…
Many who are alarmed at the prospect of the “abolition of man” have found in Huxley’s Brave New World a dark and salutary warning – an imaginative rendering of our post-human future that, as that future continues to arrive, looks…
Media, PA.… Ladies and gentlemen, Ivan Illich is dead. Long may he live.
I don’t mean Tolstoy’s famous fictional decedent, Ivan Ilyich, although he is certainly dead, too. No, in this case I refer to the once-famous (or notorious)
Wichita, KS…
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res]
Michael Sandel’s giving of the prestigious Reith Lectures for the BBC (hat tip: the ever-watchful Harry Brighouse at Crooked Timber) has prompted me to return to an old post of mine on communitarianism,
Henry County, Ky. Those of us foolish enough to call ourselves “conservative” are forced to admit that culturally and politically at least we live amidst less and less worth conserving. We can and should continue to mind our own business, and…
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is probably the most popular center-left leader in the world, with an approval rating hovering near 75 percent. Elected in 2007, Rudd is more popular among Australians today than President Obama is here, despite taking…
BURNED-OVER DISTRICT, NY—”Here comes the summer!” as the Undertones rejoiced. The Muckdogs’ home opener is next Friday, and two days later the sun makes the season official. In preparation, today I checked out of the library Dandelion Wine. Why? Via First Principles……
A fascinating article in today’s Washington Post confirms the old adage that there’s always a bull market somewhere: right now, namely, in the seed selling business. The article notes that a combination of two factors has led to the dramatic…
Claremont, CA…. The Big Apple dreams of the organic apple.
Everywhere you look in The New York Times these days, somebody is talking about organic farming. A few examples – all from this Sunday’s paper:
1) On the cover
Readers of FPR will be readily forgiven if they have yet to reserve any time this year to celebrate the 500th anniversary of John Calvin’s birth. (If you are tempted, the day is July 10.) From Max Weber and the…
Irving, TX.… Somewhere, the Sage hath said, Philosophy is easy; plumbing is hard. The Sage is correct; we should be suspicious of systems that exist only in the mind, but are never seen on the ground. It is only on
My (real) friend and sometimes co-conspirator Tony Woodlief of Wichita has penetrated Wall Street with some front porch wisdom this morning:
“My 298 Facebook friends aren’t the ones who remember our dead daughter’s birthday or leave flowers at her grave.…
Phoenix, Arizona…. Because of my involvement with this darn site I have been attending to the blogosphere much more than heretofore, and lately have been trying to get a handle on its peculiar nature. One thing that stands out
I have been remiss in following up on some superb thinking that has been going on, partly prompted by my earlier link to his blog, but mostly prompted by the author’s own good sense. (Would that I could make my…
