Monthly Archives: November 2011

The Graduate: the time to act is now

  On Sunday night I loaded up the latest entry in Paul’s History of Cinema Festival: The Graduate, written by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry from a novel by Charles Webb and directed by Mike Nichols. I’d seen it once … Continue reading

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sketchbook: Sunday 27 November 2011

SUN 27 NOV 2011 7:35 a.m. BRACKENDALE In the dark and quiet of morning at my sister’s house. Kimmie reads a magazine on the sofa opposite. A clock ticks quietly above and behind me. Outside there is the heavy rush … Continue reading

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Satan by Jeffrey Burton Russell

Satan: The Early Christian Tradition by Jeffrey Burton Russell My rating: 4 of 5 stars In this second book in the series that began with The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity, Jeffrey Burton Russell picks up … Continue reading

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The Devil by Jeffrey Burton Russell

The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity by Jeffrey Burton Russell My rating: 4 of 5 stars (I originally posted this review to Amazon.com in April 2008.) Drawing on many different sources, the author suggests how the … Continue reading

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Bonnie and Clyde: the shape of things to come

In November 2008 Kimmie and I changed our regular Saturday-night DVD viewing. Having till that point watched movies in series picked by me with themes like “romantic comedies” or “movies of the 80s”, we decided to embark on a more … Continue reading

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sketchbook: Saturday 12 November 2011

SAT 12 NOV 2011 12:40 p.m. IN THE CAR Parked in the lot outside Michael’s craft store while Kimmie shops. Quick rattle of raindrops falling like rice-grains on the roof. Windshield misted over with lobes of fog, making the gray … Continue reading

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why this office is a poppy-free zone

The democratic state has seldom been tempted to undertake the burdens of empire without suffering from a discordance between its domestic and its foreign policy. Again and again, Thucydides describes the efforts of the Athenians to reconcile their imperialism abroad … Continue reading

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be a bookworm—save the world

So how am I coming along with my liberal education, you ask? You may recall from an earlier post that I put a high value on liberal education, and have been persuaded by the writings of Mortimer J. Adler and … Continue reading

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