There are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity.

The Divine Comedy for Beginners starts tomorrow. You can still register to audit the class. There’s no reading to do for the first lecture and the video will show up in your inbox Wednesday morning. Like magic.

I don’t know why everyone was iffy on the third season of The Bear.

As of this morning, there’s only one spot remaining open for The Classical Teaching Institute’s Fall Literature Retreat. If you want to claim the last spot, it won’t last long. You can register here.

Tom: That’s your ninth taco.

Harry: But I’m praying for you while I chew. It’s called servant gluttony.

Scene 1:

Dad: Much like Christianity, the rise of video games took place in the margins of society, not in the Palaces of Power. It was the poor and despised of the world who devoted themselves to video games, not the elite and wealthy.

Boy: I’m so glad those early gamers persevered, Dad.

Dad: Gamers were often mocked for their devotion to entertaining themselves, as well. People in lofty positions told gamers, ‘You’ll never make anything of yourself if you waste your life on those ridiculous games.’ But the gamers could not be stopped. The more “sophisticated people” made fun of them, the more their numbers increased.

Boy: The early gamers must have been really courageous, Dad.

Dad: They were, son. What they did in the darkness, we can now do in the light.

Scene 2:

Dad: A long time ago, many of the greatest video game players died penniless and alone.

Boy: I don’t understand.

Dad: I don’t either, son.

Scene 3:

Dad: In bygone days, video games were quite expensive. If you owned a game, you had played it, beaten it. Now, sadly, many people have video games on their shelves just for show. Video games have become so common, so cheap, that people don’t really respect them.

Boy: That’s sad.

Dad: I know, son. I know.

Tom: You know what they say. “History is always written by the winners.”

Harry: Who said that? A winner or a loser?

Tom: Probably a loser.

Harry: Then it seems losers get their say.

Tom: Actually, it was probably a winner.

Harry: Then it’s not actually true?

Tom: Actually, it was neither.

Harry: And yet it’s an old saying?

Beggars can be choosers if they are also willing to be martyrs.

Teacher: Most people like chocolate.

That Kid: I don’t like chocolate.

Teacher: And most people know what the word “most” means.

They’ve got more than one thing in common.