I haven’t read All the Sad Young Literary Men, and I’m not confident that I’ll get around to it eventually, but in Scott McLemee’s column/podcast about the book and its author, he quotes the following paragraph: The trouble is that when you’re young you don’t know enough; you are constantly being lied to, in a…
All posts in April 2008
Waiting
No news on job fronts, dealing with father’s-death-stuff, keeping up with daily obligations, feeling a little down-hearted for the past day or so.
Dreaming of Rome
No, not in the sense of swimming the Tiber; just because the Centre of Theology and Philosophy is holding its conference in Rome, with a provocative list of speakers, and a dearth of input (so far as I can tell) from the side of biblical scholars. I respect the roster of stars, and I sympathize…
Me And Cheney
I can see why the Vice President likes this “undisclosed location” shtick. We’re enjoying the chance to unwind and to sleep and eat and watch movies or whatever on our own whimsical schedule.
From Hiding
Margaret and I are camped out at an undisclosed location one train stop away from Princeton, for a two-day escape from the tumult that has surrounded us for the past two months (yes, it’s a two-month tumult). I’d be more present online, but I left my power cord at home (rolls eyes), so I can…
Wow
The latest phase of the Seabury story is playing out now. The seminary will shortly release an announcement that they’re terminating the contracts of the entire faculty (though they expect to be able to continue operating a doctoral program in preaching and congregational development). I find this announcement baffling, but perhaps the days to…
Speaking of Music
I bought a few downloadable music files the other day, and the experience reminded me of one of the baffling aspects of the digital-music controversy. Why is it that, when the format(s) for digital music files are now well-established, music sellers don’t take full advantage of the medium? Why (for instance) do some sell files…
Morning Selections
Since Apple laptops with iTunes, and various other devices, now enable you conveniently to set an alarm to begin your day with particular songs, what are the leading candidates for that role? Obviously, the Beatles’ “Good Morning Good Morning.” I thought about this topic while listening to the Boo Radleys’ “Wake Up Boo!”; there’s…
From Paul
“Truth cannot impose itself except by virtue of its own truth, as it makes its entrance into the mind at once quietly and with power.” Pope Paul VI, Dignitatis Humanae.
Opprobrious Characterization
I have a short essay half-formed in my mind, developing my argument from “La Misère du Littéral” to make the point that the whole discourse of what counts as “literal” interpretation or “biblical literalism” has gone off its rails. The same may be said of “fundamentalism,” as shown by the Revealer’s recent post about “Britain’s…
My Type
Micah sent me a link to this rant about typographic “mistakes.” I think it more charitable and more accurate to think of these as short cuts or simplifications, since few people know how to generate the more precise typographic glyphs, and most people experience no confusion when reading text typeset in the way the blogger…
Bookmark
It’s not exactly a commonplace strictu sensu, but I can never remember the title of this Cat and Girl comic when I want to look for it. I was reading an article in Inside Higher Education that cited Malebranche as saying, “Attentiveness is the natural prayer of the soul”; that seemed worthy of remembering,…