I have known others dealing with tragedy who cope by focusing on their work, putting all their concentration into the various tasks at hand. That isn’t me. In many ways I wish it were, but as we move out of the semester and into the “research months” (as I call […]
Monthly Archives: May 2013
Convallaria majalis. Wikipedia tells me that it “is also known as Our Lady’s tears or Mary’s tears from Christian legends that it sprang from the weeping of the Virgin Mary during the crucifixion of Jesus.” I did not know that. I knew, of course, that our English translations of Song […]
I have two recent posts on my PhotoBlog. The first was about taking pictures where you are and the second…well, is the same, except this past week where I was was Utrecht, Netherlands.
Last night Chelsea beat Benfico 2-1 in the UEFA Europa League Final. I watched it from a hotel room in Utrecht and the game was played just a short train ride away in Amsterdam Arena, where just 10 months ago Mack and I watched Ajax beat the Celtics 4-0. Needless […]
I don’t usually post the speech I give at the Medals Ceremony, but this time the message was a bit different. Good afternoon scholars, Parents, and friends, trustees, President Erickson and Provost Pangborn. Congratulations to you all! Each one of you has played a significant role in getting to this […]
Today I was talking with a colleague about another tragic death of a young person. The runner collapsed and died during the Pittsburgh Marathon apparently with a “coronary artery abnormality.” No one was to blame for his death. He was born with this condition, although he was unaware of it. […]
From Dorothy L. Sayers. Again, I am struck by how contemporary and relevant her decades old criticism is. (Does that make me a romantic or her a prescient thinker?) A glib speaker in the Brains Trust once entertained his audience (and reduced the late Charles Williams to helpless rage) by […]