Culture Comment
The Biltmore Palace
After coming down out of the Tennessee mountains, Lena and I stopped off at the Biltmore Estate and visited the palace and grounds. Huge and grand and opulent beyond reason, the home is created entirely to impress visitors with the wealth of its owners, which it does well. This creates an interesting tension with the…
Read MoreChristmas Cards for the Un-Affronted
Every year Lena and I create a new Christmas card, and mail it to anyone who wants one. It’s fun, and we get a lot of feedback. Also, every year, Lena torpedoes a bunch of ideas I have for Christmas cards, on the grounds that they are too offensive to send to our friends, and…
Read MoreCulture Comment: Oh Ye Faithful, Heal Thyselves
In 2009, Herbert and Catherine Schaible watched their two year old son, Kent, die of pneumonia. While their son had been acting sick for some time, the couple are members of the First Century Gospel Church, which believes all healing comes from god, and going to the doctor’s office represents an act of faithlessness. The Schaibles went to…
Read MoreCulture Comment: Make My Day, Punk
I have two close friends (that I know of, I rather suspect there are more) who are gun owners. Well, one close friend and one recently less close friend. We’ll call them Arnie and Baracus, for “A and B.” Arnie is mellow. He carries a gun, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it. He…
Read MoreCulture Comment: And One More Thing to Kill Us All…
One thing it seems there is never a dearth of in the world around us, is some opinionated head in front of a camera telling us how this one stupid thing that no one cares about but him, is boing to be the ultimate destruction of us all. Texting will lead to humans no longer…
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