January 2013
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This is where man's greatness lies; only the mind can do that: to perceive the separation between what he is, what he does, what he gives himself, and what he wants, what he can hope for. Even in the lower courtyard I can look beyond the gate; I can hear a call (perhaps I cannot…
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The Bankhead Tunnel is one of the two tunnels under the Mobile River in Mobile. It was built in the late 1930s and the entrance is not high enough to accomodate today's big trucks. There is an elaborate warning system telling truck drivers not to attempt the entrance. Yet they regularly try it, and the…
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A month or two ago I was browsing in the used book store run by the Friends of the Library at one of the local libraries and happened across two volumes which are the sort of thing I'm always hoping to find, and the main reason why I do such browsing: matched volumes of Ogden…
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"I just think we chose the wrong future." Great line from Peter Hitchens (in the third section of that page, "Mrs. Cable"). I have read in several places that violent crime in general is actually several times higher in the UK than here, though our homicide rate is higher.
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Weekend Music From the time I heard it as a teenager I've always thought this early British Invasion song had a beautiful tune, and am sort of pleased that guitar master Pat Metheny apparently thinks so too. And if you don't remember or never heard the original, or just would like to hear it…
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Interesting. "Because we have to go to work, commit ourselves to relationships, care for our children and explore our own minds, we cannot allow our sexual urges to express themselves without limit, online or otherwise; it would destroy us." At The Wall Street Journal, of all places.
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The title of this piece caught my eye the other day when it appeared on Google News: "The Blessings of Atheism." I wondered what those might be, so I read it. It's by Susan Jacoby, one of those activist atheists. And the purported blessings she offers are pretty thin stuff. I certainly sympathize with her…
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As you may know, the University of Alabama (Roll Tide!) won the national championship in football last night (Roll Tide!!). And you may have heard that one of the announcers for the game, Brent Musburger (who is by no means young), raised eyebrows with some remarks about Bama quarterback A.J. McCarron's girlfriend. If you've ever…
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That's Christopher Tolkien's opinion of Peter Jackson's movies. I agree more than disagree with him, as I've said here more than once. The piece in question (from Le Monde) is full of fascinating information about Christopher Tolkien's work and the course of Tolkien-related events after the writer's death. I think it's a bit misleading in describing…
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Warning: dogs are gross. (Via my daughter Ellen.)
Light On Dark Water 