I love the Orthodox Church, but sometimes when I read editorials and proclamations that come from the highest levels, I want to scream.
Case in point: This editorial in today’s Wall St. Journal written by the Greek Patriarch. Titled “Our Indivisible Environment,” the piece speaks of the Orthodox Church’s commitment to environmental issues, noting that last […]

Don’t you hate to waste a lovely spring day on a bad mood? But the sun is glistening outside, lawnmowers are humming, … and I’m bummed out.

It’s probably my own fault. Last week I looked in on a series of YouTube videos that I should’ve known would bring me down. They were a panel discussion […]

Post-apocalyptic piano bar?

Nope, it’s the lobby of a long-abandoned hotel in Detroit, beautifully photographed by two French photographers as part of a haunting collection called “Detroit’s Beautiful, Horrible Decline.” You can see it HERE.
Are ruins ever beautiful? The answer, I think, is yes. There’s something appalling, to be sure, in seeing something that was […]

Greg accuses me of ‘going meta’ at the drop of a hat. He can do a pretty good imitation of me noticing a new flavor of ice cream and turning it into a case against postmodernism. He’s probably right that I get a little loony sometimes, judging from the fact that a bit of gardening […]

There’s an essay called “Born to Suffer” in monastic newsletter I get called ‘The Veil,’ (monastery listing HERE) and in it I read:
Our sufferings come in many forms, both collectively as a people or a nation, and also as individuals. As a nation/people, we do not have to look far into the past to see […]

The dog and I have retired to the den. My office is a prettier room, but right now it’s also a colder room which trumps other considerations. Missouri isn’t being hit as hard as other Midwestern states with this nasty cold front. But it’s still cold enough to make me say what I always say […]

I asked Greg what he thought of the Fred video I posted here, and it turned out he didn’t like it, even though he usually likes All Things Fred. Greg didn’t like the switch from Fred’s usual folksy wisdom to this arch bit of sarcasm. But more to the point, he didn’t see how a […]

Conservatives are supposed to be being conciliatory right now. We’re supposed to be acting classy and doing all that elegant stuff like congratulating Obama and taking our rightful place as the losers with the ‘good sport’ pin on our lapel.
That’s baloney. I’m a sore loser, and I’m honest enough to admit it.

In a way, though, […]

A lot of little blogworthy musings on my second-favorite topic have been bouncing around my head. Given that Fr. Alexander observed “Everything in and of our culture is about the Kingdom of God, either for or against,” it may just be that these thoughts dovetail with thoughts about my most favorite topic.

Culture and . . […]

Our overcast day turned stormy, so it’s a good thing I pulled dandelions yesterday. The neighbors might’ve thought I was just being an overanxious gardener, but in truth I was trying to harvest enough of the roots to get me through the week.
Inspired by a book called “Healing Teas,” I’ve been trying to have a […]