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Food crops up a lot in literature. The mushrooms and cakes in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, the lovingly-depicted meal with the Beavers in C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the extravagant descriptions of holiday dishes in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol all remind us that… Read more »
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Did Orwell Have It Wrong? Did Huxley Have It Right?
by John Herreid
August 11, 2016 11:54 pm 3 Comments
George Orwell comes up regularly in political conversation. Often his invocation is apt, as when we speak of the twisting of language to favor the powerful. But often it isn’t, with attempts to portray any political opponents or governmental actions we happen to dislike as ruling with an iron fist…. Read more »
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Olympians: Some of the Greatest Stories Ever Told
by Meryl Kaleida
August 5, 2016 2:24 pm Leave a Comment
Today is the opening day of the XXXI Olympiad in Rio! And I am beyond excited. Television sports and I don’t usually mingle very well (except for maybe baseball), so this is the only time every 4 years that you’ll see me cheering at the T.V. over athletic bravado…. Read more »
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“Welcome, O life! I go to encounter for the millionth time the reality of experience and to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race.” — Stephen Daedalus, A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man by James Joyce Chance readers of my contributions to… Read more »
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The other day I saw an article being shared on social media that stated that talent is a “myth”. The author, one of those marketing and sales gurus you see often in online business journalism, argued that with hard work, anybody can do anything. And those who insist otherwise are… Read more »
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My fellow writer, John Herreid, posted recently about the importance of stories in family life. John’s article has many helpful resources to help you find appropriate literature and movies for kids. Stories with values, morals, and important lessons are what shape your children into the adults they become. What you… Read more »
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When It Comes to Marriage and Family, Stories Matter
by John Herreid
April 8, 2016 3:02 pm 6 Comments
I’ve finished reading Pope Francis’ new Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia. I’m sure there will be much discussion of the document over the next few weeks, and much reflection. As the Pope says in the introduction, “Given the rich fruits of the two-year Synod process, this Exhortation will treat, in different… Read more »
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The third annual Walker Percy Weekend is being held in St. Francisville, Louisiana. The first was at the time briefly noted in this space, and an organizer recently reached out to say “come on over” this year. (Not “come on over and we’ll cover the entry fee”, alas.) If crawdad… Read more »
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Is there a common thread between Christians and other “enemies of the faith” murdered by the scores in the Middle East, Africa, and elsewhere; “enemies of the state” beaten or disappearing in Russia, China, and North Korea; and many other states where a failure to conform to the orthodoxy of… Read more »
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“The used book store, unlike the catalogue or even the library, puts us in a place where we can come across and buy some unsuspected title that turns out to get at the essence of what is.” —James V. Schall, S.J., Another Sort of Learning “We are all coming to… Read more »