I hope I may be excused for revisiting a poem I have posted on before, along with some of my previous observations about it. It is a sports poem that brings to mind my oldest son, who died 11 years ago on this day. Dabney Stuart’s “Ties” is out of season—it’s about football—and Justin’s sport was baseball. Nevertheless I feel awash in sadness and sweet memory when I read it.
Monthly Archives: April 2011
Memories of My Son, the Baseball Player
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Ties", Baseball, Dabney Stuart, death of a child, Football, Sports Comments closed
American Hollywood Had Its Own Princess
I’m not a Royal Wedding enthusiast, but as a cultural historian I’m interested in it as a social phenomenon: why are so many Americans are fixated by British royalty? The Hollywood star system can be seen as an American version of the British monarchy. This gives me an excuse to talk about Aubrey Hepburn, whose signature film “Breakfast at Tiffany” celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
Confessions of an Addicted Bloglodyte
Yesterday was the two-year anniversary of this blog’s website, which gives me an opportunity to reflect upon what I have been doing these past 24 months. I’ve also come up with a label for myself: I am a bloglodyte.“Troglodyte,” which etymologically means cave dweller, has come to describe those who live their lives in seclusion. This is not a bad way of describing bloggers, who spend much of their lives in the caves of their laptops.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged blogging, Francois Rabelais, Gargantua and Pantagruel Comments closed
The Cosmic Meaning of Flushing Flies
I don’t know how deep my father’s qualms go about flushing a fly down a toilet bowl. At the very least, the prospect makes him think twice and look for a larger message, as he does in the following comic poem.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Fly Flushed Down the Toilet Bowl", Humor, Scott Bates Comments closed
Ayn Rand vs. America’s Social Safety Net
Normally I prefer to write on great literature, not on novels that make our lives worse. But given the outsized impact that novelist and social philosopher Ayn Rand is currently having on current American political discourse, literature blogs need to pay attention.
Rise, Heart, Thy Lord Is Risen
I write this the night before our sunrise Easter service where, as members of our church choir, Julia and I will arise before dawn to sing in the rising of the sun/son. No matter how early we get up, George Herbert’s “Easter” reassures us, the Lord is always there before us
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Christianity, Easter, George Herbert, Religion, Resurrection Comments closed
Before Michael There Was No GAME
By capturing a player as unpredictable as Michael Jordan within a verse form as rigidly formatted as a sestina, poet Jay Spoon makes it appear that “his airness” operated to the dictates of a higher law. Within the rigid confines of the boundaries of the court and working to deposit a round rubber ball within a small metal rim 12 feet above the floor, Jordan made magic happen.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged "Sestina for Michael Jordan", Basketball, Jay Spoon, Michael Jordan, Sports Comments closed
Faith in the Face of Terrorism
Today I recommend Of Gods and Men (2010), an extraordinary French film that I saw last month. It is about a small community of Cistercian monks in rural Algeria who must decide whether to stay or leave in face of rising terrorism. Good Friday is a good day to write about it since it deals with Lenten themes.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged Christianity, Film, Islam, Of Gods and Men, Religion, Terrorism Comments closed
