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Category Archives: Culture
Better Together
Katie Wells Take a minute and pretend you’re in the woods. You start out confident, trusting in your capability to take an axe to a tree trunk or whatever you’re supposed to do to make a home for yourself. But, … Continue reading
The War on Thanksgiving
Every year the news fills with examples of the war on Christmas, citing examples that are serious, but many that are silly. We, however, often overlook the more pervasive and damaging war that is waged against Thanksgiving. This is a … Continue reading
For Crying Out Loud
Just as weddings aren’t about what grooms want, funerals, I suppose, aren’t about what the dead want. Okay, that could be a bad comparison. I get that my funeral isn’t really for me. Nonetheless, here’s what I don’t want: a … Continue reading
Anonymous Knights
It is often not until late into each Arthurian romance that Chretien de Troyes reveals the name of the main character. I first thought this was only a silly literary convention to build suspense in the readers as they try … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, On Faith
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Disney’s Inside Out and Altar Calls
Recently Teckla and I watched the movie Inside Out. Being an analytical and philosophical scholar, I would have liked more sword fights and explosions, but I must admit the movie made me think. I liked how Joy and Sadness teamed … Continue reading
The Joy of the Court
The Arthurian romances of Chretien de Troyes are perhaps the best examples of bad medieval literature. Nonetheless, the story of Erec and Enide ambushed my heart with its conclusion. Erec progresses through the story defeating giants and vanquishing one knight … Continue reading
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Been There, Haven’t Done That
About ten miles from town and up some logging roads is a mountain meadow called Euphoria Ridge. I have been hiking and botanizing it for 12 years. Today the larkspur, death camas, and fawn lilies were blooming. As much as … Continue reading
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The Death of a Salesman and the Joy of Repentance
I recently taught Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, a modern American tragedy about the ways we lie to ourselves, rationalize our moral failures, and substitute popularity for actual character. Time and consequences eventually catch up to the Loman family … Continue reading
Blue Armpits
Recently pictures of dyed armpit hair have sprouted on the internet. Although there might be more noble causes, a “Free Your Pits Manifesto” has accompanied the pictures. We have, it seems, a movement. Regarding women dyeing their unshaved pits, I … Continue reading
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The “From” and “To” of Freedom
I have a love-hate relationship with the word freedom. I fully realized why only recently while teaching a short story called “Pain” by Carlos Fuentes. The main character of the story is a Mexican college student studying at Cornell University. … Continue reading
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