Category Archives: Doing it Wrong: Reviews and Advice
Review: Bad Religion
In the 1950′s and early 60′s, the three greatest English-speaking poets were all Christian converts (Auden, Eliot, and Robert Lowell). Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh, Walker Percy, and Flannery O’Connor, and Dorothy Day were all writing high-brow literature. Tolkien and Lewis were both writing some of the 20th century’s most enduring works of fantasy. Reinhold Niebuhr, [...]
Reading: A Memory of Light
Can you grow old with friends you’ve only met in books? Do you grow apart from your book friends as time passes like you do from real friends? I just finished the last book in a series 23 years in the making. It’s called The Wheel of Time and it’s a massive fourteen-book (plus prequel) [...]
Advent is for Seekers
The purpose of Advent is that we prepare for the coming of Jesus. As we look forward to the celebration of his birth (anachronistic as the calendar may be), we should challenge ourselves to look for him with new eyes. Advent reminds us that whether we are believers or skeptics, Jesus draws near to us this season.
Book Review: Afterlives of the Saints
A couple years ago I hosted a small group at my house with some friends. We decided to study a classic Christian text called The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks which has organized short stories and sayings from monks by topic such as Greed, Pride, Lust, etc. At the beginning of each group we’d struggle to articulate how utterly backwards we found these holy desert fathers. Their stories seem to advocate extreme, dangerous even, forms of Christian asceticism that no good pastor would recommend. So should we treat this book which is treasured by the church? Were we being exposed to how weak and pathetic our American Christianity had become? Or was there another purpose in reading these stories?
Vampirism and The Arcadian Trap
Written by Drew Curle, Esq.
I recently watched “The Lost Boys” for the first time. It was on TV, and it was very late. I did not really want to be watching this movie. And yet it pulled me in. This is because what I had assumed to be nothing but an 80′s camp-fest is actually an insight into the mind of the contemporary hipster.
How to Run a Marathon Ironically: Part II-Run Home
Part II of the award winning story of Al Cedeno’s victory at this weeks marathon. He was the only participant able to brave the storms of fate. Cue the sunlight. Cue the wind. Cue red leaves and soda-pop air and shin splints and luna bars, and Dunkin Donuts tuna melts. Cue comments that Elgin looks [...]
How to Run a Marathon Ironically: Part 1-Truly Believe You Are Better Than Everyone at Everything
I never thought I would get this fat. Truth be told, I am a vain man. I love mirrors. And let’s face it, they love me back. But now I weigh 215 lbs (97.5) kilos. On my 5’11” frame, that is called, obese. You and I both know it is all muscle gained from my life of reading books and writing novels on my couch intermixed with grading papers, grading papers, grading papers, and teaching.
I Finished This Marathon 10 Years Ago
They say that the key to incredible athletic performances is equal parts physical and mental discipline. But those people are stupid. They obviously didn’t graduate cum laude at 18. Tsegaye Kebede finished the Chicago Marathon in 2:04:38. Oh, wow. Well, I bet he never produced a 20 page research paper in less than 24 hours for an A. “Excellent Paper.” That’s what the prof said. You know what? Did I mention I did all the research during that time too? I was averaging like 1 complete page per hour. Those are sick stats. You don’t just wake up and decide you are going to do that. That’s pure talent.
Everyone Hates Marathon Runners
Everyone on earth hates marathon runners, including themselves. We hate their sanctimonious fundraising, their sub 20 BMIs, their comments like, “I just feel happier when I exercise.” Well, listen-we don’t. We hate exercising; we love eating food; we read too many books or watch too much TV or drink an extra beer or two without [...]
An Open Letter to Our Wives
It has been said that the two of you find our possible future quest to be stupid. We will try to explain it. Sometimes in life, we men need grand gestures or at least grand adventures. At our age our ancestors had sired children whom they carried on their backs across the Beiring Strait. They [...]
