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August 2016

August 17, 2016

The Universe in a Coffee Cup

If you are fond of a cup, say “I am fond of a cup!” For...

August 05, 2016

What is a Podcast?

I remember clearly the morning several years ago when a colleague from the English department,...

June 2016

June 19, 2016

What I inherited from Mad Eagle

On this Father's Day, I'm remembering my Dad with whom I had a complicated relationship...

May 2016

May 25, 2016

Ordinary Lives

There is no greatness where there is no goodness, simplicity, or truth Leo Tolstoy Although...

May 06, 2016

It’s That Time Of Year

On Monday, one of my Providence College faculty colleagues posted this on Facebook: Today was...

April 2016

April 23, 2016

An Introspective Day

In our three years in Milwaukee, our first years together as a married couple trying...

April 11, 2016

Forty-Seven Books

Last June as my sabbatical officially began, I decided to keep a running list of...

April 07, 2016

Adepto Ex Meus Visio

Jeanne and I are headed to Florida this evening to spend a week with family...

March 2016

March 11, 2016

Back in the Saddle Again

We in southern New England have been spared a tough winter. Shit can still happen,...

February 2016

February 15, 2016

A Lenten Valentine

I don’t know whose idea it was for Valentine’s Day to fall on the first...

February 03, 2016

The Wisdom of Violet

All this thinking is highly overrated. Violet, Dowager Countess of Downton Abbey As "Downton Abbey"...

February 01, 2016

Hope in Exile

As is the case with any profession, the life of an academic includes some great...

January 2016

January 04, 2016

Reading and Writing

My twenty-plus years teaching at Providence College have afforded me an opportunity every semester for...

December 2015

December 29, 2015

One Thing

In the 1991 movie City Slickers, Billy Crystal plays New York executive Mitch Robbins, whose...

October 2015

October 14, 2015

Reading the Fine Print

As predictable as the change of seasons is the point in any given semester when...

August 2015

August 31, 2015

The Sea of Ignorance

People tend to think of not knowing as something to be wiped out or overcome,...

July 2015

July 30, 2015

Pope Ivan–Remembering a Mennonite Catholic

Monday morning--early. The 30th Street Amtrak station in Philadelphia is not the sort of place...

July 08, 2015

Someone with Skin On

The story is told of a little girl who was afraid of the dark. After...

June 2015

June 14, 2015

Sowing the E-Seed

Today's gospel is about sowing seed--a promising but ultimately inefficient activity, both in the field...

June 03, 2015

Unvisited Tombs

I saw a bumper sticker once that said “So many books, so little time.” I...

May 2015

May 13, 2015

Resembling the Picture

Another academic year is in the books, and as I will gladly be shifting into...

May 11, 2015

There It Is

I did something a couple of weeks ago that I have not done in four years—present...

March 2015

March 23, 2015

Strange and Beautiful

Forgive me for name dropping, but I went to dinner with a New York Times...

February 2015

February 20, 2015

A Trip to Middle Earth

Everyone has an unforgettable teacher or two in his or her history; I aspire to...

January 2015

January 19, 2015

What I Would Love to Find

In Bird by Bird, the best book on writing that I have read, Anne Lamott...

January 02, 2015

Random Resolutions Revisited

Last year on New Year's Day I posted several random resolutions for the new year--today...

December 2014

December 12, 2014

Being Uncomfortable

Final exams begin next week, so I'm getting ready for the next round of reading...

November 2014

November 19, 2014

Celebrating Life

I recently submitted two grant proposals related to my sabbatical that will begin next July....

September 2014

September 12, 2014

Stuffed Soul Mates

I have a good friend and colleague in the philosophy department whose twin daughters have...

July 2014

July 09, 2014

Tell Me a Big Story

A retreat at a Benedictine hermitage means the opportunity to plug into the daily cycle...

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