Monthly Archives: August 2005

Gilead

August 30, 2005
I finished reading Marilynn Robinson’s novel Gilead over a month ago, the same day that I finished reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Since then I’ve been on a hiatus from reading fiction, though I’m not sure why. Either Harry Potter cast a spell on me or the melancholy beauty of Gilead lulled me into a contented stupor. All I know is that I was on a fiction-reading binge for months, and it felt good. Now other responsbilities are squeezing me a bit. I’m not even managing to keep up with all the New Yorker issues that keep streaming in through my mail slot…
Posted in language | 2 Comments

Crowning Achievement

August 18, 2005
A few months ago I received a large manila envelope in the mail. It came from my mother, and it contained an award certificate that I had apparently received. In the 7th grade. My mother, bless her heart, is somewhat of a packrat. And I mean that in the best, most positive sense of the word…
Posted in self-indulgence | 4 Comments

Musical Guilty Pleasures

August 10, 2005
Inspired by my friend Drew’s suggestion in a recent comment, I’ve put together a little list of songs that I really enjoy despite my better judgment. These are songs that are too trendy or too goofy or too *something* for any “serious-minded” music fan to admire. But I like them anyway, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Maybe just a little embarrassed. But, hey, no more caveats from me. Here they are, my musical guilty pleasures, along with explanations of why they are “pleasures,” and why they are “guilty”…
Posted in music | 10 Comments

Merton’s Prayer

August 8, 2005
As I was flipping through a couple of my old Thomas Merton books the other day, I came across this prayer that he wrote. I remember printing it out a couple years ago and giving it to my students who were about to graduate from high school (it was a parochial school, so no separation of church and state issues there). It seemed especially relevant to their situation in life, but it also seems relevant to just about every situation in my life so far…
Posted in miscellany | 11 Comments

Strepping Out

August 6, 2005
The entire day yesterday consisted of long, fitful sleep punctuated by bleary wakefulness. The culprit: strep throat. For some strange reason that nobody can figure out yet, our family has been especially susceptible to the bacteria, especially this year. Since February all four of us have been bitten by the bug four times. This time, my fifth…
Posted in self-indulgence | 5 Comments