Kay Nielsen draft of a shipwreck, ca. 1940

6,074 words

It was a dark and soon-to-be stormy night on the Gulf Coast some years ago, when my other half and I sat on our porch chairs, gazing toward the sea. He held a cigarette — a bad (thankfully short-lived) habit he’d picked up during his year-long research sabbatical in Valladolid; paired with his fedora, I’m sure he knew that it lent him a (pretentious) air reminiscent of interwar Europe (more…)

3,735 words

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.

— Matthew 6:24

There must be an immediate and permanent cessation of all immigration into our nation, from this point forward. We do not need immigrants from anywhere, for any occupation, especially given that many have no occupation. (more…)

Carl Spitzweg, Der Bücherwurm, 1850.

864 words

I have to admit it. I love the restrictions and hope they continue indefinitely. Social distancing works for me. There is something vulgar about shaking hands and the incessant hugging that seems to be de rigueur these days. Bowing and the Roman salute are much more civilized methods of greeting.

Since the quarantine, society seems to be much more polite and thoughtful. People are more serious, and America has not been a serious country since about 1962. (more…)

2,155 words

I took an interest in architecture a few years back, after reading Crawford’s The World Beyond Your Head. The book described the effects of the arrangement of space on how we perceived and acted in the world. The effects of arranged space could be negative—the distraction of eye-catching advertisements and flashing lights—or positive—the machine-like feeling of cooking in a well-stocked and well-organized kitchen. (more…)