Archive for the “Living in America” category
A Song in the Brain
by Glenn on May 3, 2018
One of the quirks of the human brain, or at least my brain, is the stuff that is buried in there that comes up for reasons I can’t explain. Last night as I was washing dishes, here was the song (…)
Considering Mr. Trump—Part One
by Glenn on March 25, 2018
A month or so ago, I worked at a conference where a speaker said, essentially, “I don’t care what Donald Trump thinks or says. I care about what he does.” The speaker was Jewish and he referenced Harry Truman who (…)
Sabrina: In the World and of the World
by Glenn on September 17, 2017
I like to think of old movies as a kind of refuge for the Christian. When they were produced, there were standards of decency which, in comparison to what is commonplace today, are not overtly inconsistent with the life of (…)
Just for Fun: Allan Sherman
by Glenn on September 1, 2017
Earlier this week I was between audio books in the car. I needed a palate cleanser and turned to an artist from my childhood, Allan Sherman. Not sure how many times I played Sherman’s My Son, the Celebrity on the (…)
Great Traditions: King’s Cambridge and the Vienna Philharmonic
by Glenn on January 2, 2017
I don’t have many consistent traditions in my life, but for years now, two events have served as cultural bookends for my year. One is secular, the other is sacred. One comes at the beginning of the year, the other (…)
Election Notes
by Glenn on December 18, 2016
From the time that the primaries determined that the choice of our next president would come down to Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, until now—just over a month after the election—the only position that I’ve understood is the one that (…)
Firefly and Unconditional Love
by Glenn on August 6, 2016
Television is better and worse than it used to be. We watched an old Perry Mason episode the other night. I will always be a fan—partly from the nostalgia of remembering it was my grandmother’s favorite television show. Obviously, the (…)
Remembering Mr. Reagan
by Glenn on July 31, 2016
I miss Ronald Reagan. For a project earlier this year I had occasion to visit a couple of his most famous speeches, his 1964 speech on behalf of Barry Goldwater and his First Inaugural Address. In his October 27, 1964 (…)
On memorizing the Declaration of Independence … again
by Glenn on July 10, 2016
Eight years ago, I memorized and recited The Declaration of Independence for a school and a church gathering. Among other reasons was the desire to see if I could do it. I wanted to be the kind of person who (…)
NPR and Faith
by Glenn on June 12, 2016
I haven’t listened to OPB/NPR public radio for about 17 months, now. Tuned in yesterday morning briefly as I was driving to work, remembering when it used to be part of my Saturday morning routine. As a reasonably serious generalist, (…)
My no resolution resolution
by Glenn on January 2, 2016
This is the time of year when people ask each other about goals for the coming year: “Do you have any New Year’s Resolutions?” My resolution is not to admit having any resolutions. At the end of 2014 someone asked (…)
Thinking About the Minimum Wage
by Glenn on December 29, 2015
The Wall Street Journal yesterday (28 December 2015) had an interesting opinion/commentary article on the minimum wage. The writer, Andy Puzder, is the CEO of CKE Restaurants, which includes Carl’s Jr. One thing that seems clear to me in the (…)