Sailing the Last Voyage with Newton and Pascal
Not this again: John Wash, president of club operations at the International Polo Club Palm Beach in Wellington, was arrested shortly before midnight Wednesday and charged with battery, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office records. The 51-year-old Wellington resident was taken to jail and released Thursday on his own recognizance. According to the sheriff’s …
Continue reading "Battery, the Characteristic Crime of Polo People"
Ever since World War II, most Americans have taken for granted that we should have a strong military establishment befitting a world power. That wasn’t always the case; in fact, it took some serious reality checks to convince a critical mass of the American body politic that any substantial military establishment was even necessary. In …
Continue reading "Book Review: The USS Essex and the Birth of the American Navy"
This, from the Egyptians, the Middle East's stand-up comedians: Hosni Mubarak, Barack Obama, and Vladimir Putin are at a meeting together when suddenly God appears before them. "I have come to tell you that the end of the world will be in two days," God says. "Tell your people." So each leader goes back to …
This post is something of a departure, in that it features the pencil sketch art of my great uncle, William H. Warrington (right, from his carte de visite.) But first some background is in order. William H. Warrington was born 17 September 1846, grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He became the manager of the Vulcan …
The setting of the novel The Ten Weeks was exactly forty years ago. This is one of a series of excerpts from the novel, one for each week (except for Weeks Two and Three, which were combined). Click here for more information on the book, including the new e-book version. The First Baptist Church of …
Disclaimer: in posting this, I feel like Sarah Hey at StandFirm did when she posted this gem: "I'm sorry. I was unable to resist." So with that out of the way we come to this, from the Shiny Sheet: The 33rd annual Boar’s Head will have two performances at 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. Sunday at …
Continue reading "Celebrating the Boar's/Bore's Head at Bethesda-by-the-Sea"
One of the points that the late scholar Allan Bloom used to make is that Americans are no longer impacted by great books. Music, other cultural influences, yes, but books? I would have to confess that, much of the time, that was the case for me, too. But in the spring of my junior year …
Continue reading "Book Review: Dante's Divine Comedy (Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso)"
I’ve been putting off writing and posting this, but Sanctus’ post on the Southern Baptists debating this issue has forced my hand, if you please. So it’s time for this blog to broach a subject that not so long ago wouldn’t merit discussion in Evangelical circles. Should Christians drink? (I obviously mean alcoholic beverages.) In …
Westminster Cathedral sees a mass defection from the Church of England: Up to 50 Anglican clergy, some of whom oppose women bishops, could convert to Catholicism by Easter under a new scheme approved by the Pope. The first of the converts, including three former Anglican bishops, two of their wives, and three former Anglican nuns, …
Continue reading "The "More Catholic Than the Pope" People Head to Rome"
The setting of the novel The Ten Weeks was exactly forty years ago. This is one of a series of excerpts from the novel, one for each week (except for Weeks Two and Three, which were combined). Click here for more information on the book, including the new e-book version. Verecundan papers had spilt a …
Continue reading "The Ten Weeks: Week Four (3-9 January): Dinner with the Freemasons"
Positive Infinity 