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The Barbershop

More Articles in The Barbershop

Every Town has a Story Worth Saving: A Review of Hello, Bookstore

Establishments like The Bookstore, when at their best, are not exclusively or perhaps even primarily in the business of providing people with printed texts. They are places in which proprietors like Tannenbaum…

The Sower and the English Instructor: A Hobbit Roadside Colloquy

I interrupted his weed-pulling to gently rebuke him for perceived carelessness regarding his health, but like the mother of Christ, I was the one needing correction—for Pastor was simply “about his Father’s…
June 16, 2022

The Overlooked Lens of Multigenerational Communities

For many Americans, especially those on the coasts, in cities, and with advanced educations, life has improved in recent decades. Meanwhile, in many rural and interior parts of the country, economic growth…

The Life of Tiger: A Midwesterner’s View

Woods may be Californian by birth, and a Floridian by residence, but I believe there’s something in his latest comeback capable of stirring the soul of even the most reticent, celebrity-wary Middle…
May 23, 2022

Redeeming the Polis in Matt Reeves’ The Batman

The majority of Americans want peace and prosperity and cooperation. The biggest question is—and this is a question that The Batman does not answer, except by implication—where are the heroes willing to…
April 18, 2022

Actions Speak Louder than Words, or a Midwestern Accent

On return trips to Illinois, or when talking to relatives on the phone, I can tell the difference. Life is a little slower where I grew up, and the people are often…
March 31, 2022

Forest Rebel Cinema

With this love and materiality, these two films express the pure reality to which their protagonists are so devoted. In a world of frictionless unreality, endless abstractions, and tepid and timid loves,…
February 14, 2022

Livin’ la Vida Litúrgica

A final benefit of the liturgical lifestyle is its uniting force. Liturgical and sanctoral calendars vary among Christian confessions, echoing more divisive pieties and doctrines. But when the things Christians have in…

Buddy from Belfast: Pondering How to Belong

Belfast is a lovely movie for remembering the power that places have in defining who we are and the beauty of belonging well, even to a broken place.
December 22, 2021

The Lessor of Two Evils: How Fracking Damaged the Landscape and Entrenched Cultural Divides In Pennsylvania Communities

There aren’t easy answers to the problems fracking creates, and, like many industries, fracking generates losers and winners. But by spending time up close with the issues, Jerolmack models a good approach…

“Oh, Wow.” A Benediction for Ed McClanahan

Immortality might not last forever. But I contend that Ed will—through his words and through the lives of those he touched with his generosity and his grace. All of which leads, to…

Columbiana: In Want of Cram

Neither Columbiana nor Sewickley perfectly realize the role of Cram’s ideal walled town, but Sewickley comes much closer. While not perfect, it offers a real-world example of an economically vibrant, urban community.
November 29, 2021
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