Spring bursts forth, sometimes from fresh seeds and sometimes from roots that were established many years before. During my first semester at George Mason University, I was fortunate enough to stumble into a college course that had a profound effect on me. The course was listed as “Altered States of Consciousness in American and English Literature.” It turned out to be a … [Read more...] about A Rite of Spring
Book Reviews
Animal Farm – Pick It Up Again
Arriving home late one evening I sat at the kitchen table eating a warmed-up plate of food when I spied a little paperback perched on a pile of papers. I flipped it over to see Animal Farm by George Orwell. It seems my teenage daughter was supposed to have read the classic fairy story and it had now been tossed aside. Napoleon and Snowball. Indelible marks of division and … [Read more...] about Animal Farm – Pick It Up Again
Pirates Crews and the Constitutional Republic
In economics, the invisible hand of the market is a metaphor conceived by Adam Smith to describe the self-regulating behavior of the marketplace. In The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates, economist Peter Leeson plays off the metaphor to examine how life aboard pirate vessels mimicked self-regulating behavior and examines how the impact of their sociopolitical … [Read more...] about Pirates Crews and the Constitutional Republic
Blue Plate Books – A Tasty Bit of “What Have We Here?”
Despite predictions that digital publishing would lead to the demise of printed books, the form is alive and well. The adverse effects of the digital revolution have instead led to the demise of bookstores. When Borders closed its retail locations, it was a real wake-up call for the industry, but it was particularly jarring for readers. The tactile experience of reading a real … [Read more...] about Blue Plate Books – A Tasty Bit of “What Have We Here?”
Truth is Scarier Than Fiction in ‘Methland’
A few of my friends have asked me if I watch Breaking Bad, the meth-fueled, catastrophe-in-progress drama that has grabbed fans' attention as the final eight episodes are metered out. I initially stayed away from the series because it struck me as depressing. It looked like a voyeuristic journey into depravity and moral ambiguity, and frankly, that’s not my idea of … [Read more...] about Truth is Scarier Than Fiction in ‘Methland’