Teach me to care and not to care.
In the last several months, I have been the guest on several podcast, two of which have only become available lately.
On this episode of The Path to the Academy, I was interviewed by Dr. Gary Jenkins on the subject of classical education.
On this episode of The Mind of the Early Church, I discussed classical education with Daniel Hanna.
And on this episode of The Notion Club Podcast, I discussed the difficulties of developing good taste with Justin Hall.
The latest episode of Proverbial is about travel and opens with an extended meditation on why talking about the goodness of travel has become so difficult over the last ten years.
“One of the most interesting differences between progressives and traditionalists is their rival beliefs about personal responsibility. Progressive philosophy is chiefly concerned with changing society, which usually entails changing other people whether they like it or not. It is difficult to imagine a lone progressive individual living out a progressive worldview in a society otherwise occupied by traditionalists. Progress requires massive fortunes, massive projects, and extensive laws to oversee it all, which makes it hard to live progressively by yourself on a Friday night. On the other hand, a traditionalist is capable of living a traditional life in a society otherwise occupied by progressives. On a Friday night, he can read old books, listen to old music, and teach his children old truths whether anyone else in the neighborhood agrees or not.”
-my latest for CiRCE is a preview of the classes I am offering this fall through Gibbs Classical. If you enjoy my work, this is the ideal article to share with friends.
The prodigal son realizes he must return home. The realization does nothing but begin a journey. The realization is not the journey. The realization is intellectual, abstract, spiritual. Then comes the physical agony of a potentially pointless journey home.
The potentially pointless nature of journey–this is what the Apostle means when he says, “We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.”
Might be overstating the case, but Promises is what Miles Davis’s In A Silent Way would be if it more listenable. Presently my favorite record of 2021.
Any government conceived of as a necessary evil will slowly make itself both more necessary and more evil.
“In mulling Mr. Collins over for the last several days, I have come (once again) to a rather sobering thesis: I might be a lousy father. It is a thesis which follows inevitably from two rather simple facts, both easily proved by an honest, unsentimental assessment of the world. First, lousy fathers exist. Second, lousy fathers are unlikely to be told, “You’re a lousy father.”
If you are a lousy father, you have to figure it out on your own.”
-from Becoming A Good Father In A Sentimental Age, my latest for CiRCE
Dustin O’Halloran isn’t as clever as Chilly Gonzales, but he is one of the most elegant living composers of solo piano pieces. O’Halloran’s Piano Solos 1 and Piano Solos 2 are among my favorite records of all time. Melancholic, contemplative, bookish: O’Halloran unapologetically borrows from the nocturnes of 18th century Irish composer John Field, though O’Halloran is far more lyrical.
For the last ten years, O’Halloran has spent much of his time doing work on motion picture scores, though a good deal of that work lacks the solemn, classical bent of his first several solo albums. I am happy to see he has a new record of solo piano work out this Friday. My hopes are quite high for this one.
Happier with this episode than anything I’ve done in a couple months.
There are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity.