Category Archives: Uncategorized

Let’s Look at One Another

In my previous post, I mentioned having read a number of good books recently, so here are two more. Thornton Wilder’s 1938 play Our Town could be a companion piece to the two volumes about near-death experiences in that post. … Continue reading

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Dreamt of in Your Philosophy?

As it happens, I’ve been reading some excellent books and want to share them with you. I’ll start with two on the provocative topic of near-death experiences (NDEs). Sebastian Junger is probably best known for his 1997 book The Perfect … Continue reading

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There at The New Yorker

A Guardian reviewer once wrote that one could probably get a Masters degree in New Yorker lit, i.e., books about the legendary New Yorker and its dramatis personae. I’ve been dipping into that canon recently, though I have a way … Continue reading

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Fascism 101

The word fascism is newsworthy right now, and its history is fascinating (no relation) and illuminating. A Roman fascis (plural fasces) was a mere bundle of sticks, often with an ax sticking out of the middle. This mere bundle took … Continue reading

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Is She?

My sisters and I used to laugh when our grandmother would tell us, “She is a cat,” as a reprimand for our using the pronoun she. Whatever was wrong with she? And who was a cat, and why was she … Continue reading

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IVF

In vitro fertilization is usually defined as taking place outside of the body. That is not what it means, however. In vitro means “in glass.” As in, inside a test tube, assuming the test tube isn’t made of plastic. The … Continue reading

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The Pits

In his acceptance speech at the Democratic convention, Tim Walz described waiting to hear the results of his wife’s IVF treatments like this: “The pit in your stomach when the phone would ring, and the absolute agony when we heard … Continue reading

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Come Together

After the 2016 election, my Pollyanna side (perpetually battling my inner Eeyore) posited a hopeful theory. Possibly, I thought to myself, Donald Trump will bring Americans together. Possibly, I thought, his very badness would open Republicans’ eyes, and we would, … Continue reading

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Political Patois

The eye-opening content and transgressive humor of Tim Miller’s Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell (2022) deserve attention, but they will have to wait for another day. Instead, I want to focus on Miller’s … Continue reading

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Way More Than You Wanted to Know

Why is a cobbler both a delicious dessert and also a little old man hunched over his bench making shoes? Inquiring writers, enjoying the former, wanted to know. This is not a riddle. It’s a gnarly etymological question that I … Continue reading

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