Swine Flu’s Real Exposure
Claremont, CA. The most haunting, awful scenes in Thucydides’s history of the Pelopponesian war are those describing the Athenian plague.
The plague emerged in the...
John Gardner’s October Night
"I think a writer who leaves his roots leaves any hope of writing importantly"---John Gardner
Those so favored by the Good Lord as to be...
Basque in It
BURNED-OVER DISTRICT, NY. I have never really given a damn about my own mongrel ethnicity—I care about place, not race—and besides, there are many...
Subsidizing Localism?
A great post over at the League of Ordinary Gentlemen by "Will." Beyond his reliance on a clearly excellent source (ahem), I strongly endorse...
The Booth Tarkington Appreciation Society
Hillsdale, MI. I propose the creation of TBTAS, “The Booth Tarkington Appreciation Society.” If we take the liberties some have with the Tetragrammaton (Y*H*W*H)...
My Hair, My Self?
Cincinnati, OH. Standing before the dripping bathroom mirror while the shower haze slowly melts, I’m startled once again that my beard’s gone missing. It lasted...
Sharing the Kids Equally
Wichita, KS
So, Melissa has flown the coop, escaping to Washington D.C. for the next four days to hang out with friends old and new,...
Academic Porn
The latest from the University of Maryland is a brohaha over the effort by a state legislator to discourage (through the threat of withholding...
Frank Rich Slams Harvard
Frank Rich goes after the "go-go" ethos that has been deeply etched in our elite institutions and advanced by the cultural elite - regardless...
Dirt, Dollars, and Devices
Holland, MI. I confess: I hate farms. I hate everything about them. I hate the malodorous smells that take days to wash off. I...