Author Archives: Joshua Gibbs

One Good One

It would make for an interesting list: Wretched Bands That Have One Uncharacteristically Lovely Song. I think “Blackmail” lovely. There’s nothing else in the Swans catalogue that sounds anything like it. The rest is all lip-curlingly awful. But this one, this one is something else.

When Is A Standing Ovation Warranted?

“When the standing ovation is thought permissible for any and every performance which wins the heart of the audience—even a lot of first graders doing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”—the performers are likely to be disappointed and even insulted in the future when a more reasonable audience offers more modest praise. But great praise ought toContinue reading “When Is A Standing Ovation Warranted?”

The Secret Life Of

“Almost all our faults are more pardonable than the methods we resort to to hide them,” said La Rochefoucauld. In the latest episode of Proverbial, I return to one of my favorite subjects: secret sin. Episode 82 is available now.

Dear

In the last several years, it seems that the conventional greeting “Dear” has become stigmatized, and so emails now begin, “Hey Josh,” “Hi Josh,” “Hey there,” “Hey,” “Hi ya Josh,” and so forth. Really, though, we should all use “Dear.” Unless you’re in fourth grade, “Dear So-and-So” isn’t a sign you’re in love. It isContinue reading “Dear”

The Growing Use Of Classroom Catechisms

The use of classroom catechisms has become widespread enough, my name is no longer attached to the idea. I learned the other day that there are classical institutions out there offering tutorials on authoring and implementing catechisms. Apparently, there is sufficient demand for catechism-oriented consultation that others are offering it. For what it’s worth, IContinue reading “The Growing Use Of Classroom Catechisms”