Norman Cousins’ “Anatomy of an Illness” and Taking Laughter Seriously
The Medieval scholastics observed that risibility, the propensity to laugh, is intrinsic to man. In other words, to be human is to […]
The Two Worst Things That Can Happen to a Child
Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Gardenis now considered a children’s story, but the work originally appeared as a serial for adult readers. […]
Teaching By Example: Does it Actually Work?
Childrearing is often treated in our culture as a competitive sport. Parents become overinvolved coaches running drills. The relationship between parent and […]
Toward Femininity and Stephanie Gordon’s “Ask Your Husband”
Stephanie Gordon, Catholic wife and mother, self-proclaimed retrograde, has launched her writing career—excuse us, written a book with the express permission of […]
The dawning of Idiocracy: It’s worse than you think
“Welcome to Costco. I love you.” -Costco greeter in Idiocracy The 2005 film Idiocracy is disturbingly prescient in its themes. The […]
The Surprising and Important Lessons from Children’s Adventure Stories
Good children’s stories, new and old, have wide appeal. Adventure stories and tales of epic quests are no exception. Of course, there […]
Surprisingly good life advice from child predators
Some social groups seem less likely to offer sound principles for living the good life than others. High on the list of […]
In defense of old houses
Likely anyone who has lived in an old house has been tempted to say that the whole exercise is a giant waste […]
Adulting is bull: a response
Adulting is bullshit. –dumb T-shirt A trip to Walmart can yield any number of interesting discoveries (such as native English speakers […]
The indulgence of self-loathing and William Blake’s “mind-forg’d manacles”
Recognizing oneself as inadequate and unsatisfactory has an appealing allure of maturity and self-awareness, but it is childish indulgence. Everyone knows people […]