Monthly Archives: September 2012

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rob-goodman/five-reasons-why-stoicism_b_1925670.html * * For all the press that Bill Clinton has gotten for his epic, seemingly-half-improvised convention stem-winder, one of the most revealing lines has barely earned a mention at all. We were surprised to hear Clinton call Barack Obama … Continue reading →

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Shawshank_Redemption * Remember, Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies.     *      I will be hoping that this letter finds you, and finds you well.     … Continue reading →

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_and_prejudice#Major_themes * Many critics take the novel’s title as a starting point when analysing the major themes of Pride and Prejudice; however, Robert Fox cautions against reading too much into the title because commercial factors may have played a role … Continue reading →

Norman flaunted Norman’s rich/powerful friends & Norman’s wealth by lining them up in the front rows at Norman’s mother’s funeral services,  overarched by expensive wreaths.   It’s not hard to fall for temptation to Mammon [materialism is the only thing which … Continue reading →

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-swift/shakespeare-and-the-book-of-common-prayer_b_1885211.html?utm_hp_ref=religion * One of the last mysteries left in the study of Shakespeare’s plays is the biggest of them all: How do they achieve their particular magic? What can explain their hold over us? One answer to this question lies … Continue reading →

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/18/science-god-biology-astronomy-physics-deity_n_1894010.html?utm_hp_ref=science * Over the past few centuries, science can be said to have gradually chipped away at the traditional grounds for believing in God. Much of what once seemed mysterious — the existence of humanity, the life-bearing perfection of Earth, … Continue reading →

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-backman/how-god-makes-us-civil-people_b_1880456.html?utm_hp_ref=religion * Alas, civility is not our first instinct — at least not at this point in history. Our first instinct, rather, is toward defensiveness, anger and debate. When people take issue with us, we simply speak louder, which makes … Continue reading →

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/janice-harper/personal-development_b_1874960.html?utm_hp_ref=gps-for-the-soul&ir=GPS%20for%20the%20Soul * Yet sometimes there are events in our lives which truly cannot be surmounted. There is no righting the wrong, undoing the tragedy, restoring that which has been taken away. Yet even the insurmountable can be survived. But how? … Continue reading →

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-raushenbush/were-gonna-die-and-it-will-be-ok_b_1880963.html?utm_hp_ref=religion * “Who do you think you are to be immune from tragedy? What makes you so special that you should be unscathed?” It sounds harsh, but it made the artist confront some fundamental presumptions she had maintained about her … Continue reading →

http://www.lvrj.com/living/to-best-traverse-life-s-road-we-need-to-travel-together-169080106.html * It occurs to me that, for my entire life, I have been crippled by the fear of being needy. Or worse, seen as needy. Somehow the worst criticism I could imagine would be overhearing someone say, “Boy oh … Continue reading →