Culture

. Nice Things Done Most of the nice things some people will do,Are done partly for their own benefit too.But...

  The Bachelors' Debate When I am put before my friends, around the dying flame, And we have burnt through...

  Angel I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set free. —Michelangelo (attributed) One wonders what...

  J.K. Rowling’s Response to the Assassination of Charlie Kirk If you believe free speech is just for people with...

Unjust Trade   I. An endless wet: Earth’s gathered sea-salt tears Wept-swept before a rising, darkening gale, As dim horizon...

. When Helen Keller Met Mark Twain ---a poem about America Date: November 2, 1934, Place: New York City: Madison...

. The End of Fred the Thief ---based on various news reports Twenty-eleven was the year When they put Fred...

  And These Two Despots Smile “where organs switch one human to another, where one stays live, and one’s a...

  St. Philip Neri “Go take a hike out passed the Catacombs of St. Callistus. Celia once was there. Cornelius...

.   Bleed, Saxon Blood "Þær wæs sang || and sweg samod ætgædere, fore Healfdenes || hildewisan; gomenwudu || græted,...

. Old School ---for an elite British boarding school The rooves are dark and lichen-strewn and damp,the window panes are...

. We Love You Charlie Charlie, Charlie, Charlie We’re so sad to see you die. Sorry, Sorry, Sorry Couldn’t even...

. Utilization Another person’s misdeeds or their flaws,Are rarely pleasant sights when they are shown,But I try making such ordeals...

. Monsoon in the Jornada _Months of unwavering stillness, _Parched powder seared by the sun, Pitiless taunts from New Mexico...

. The Pentagon Panama Plan A place in turmoil—Panama_In nineteen eighty-eight—Was where the strongman Noriega_Was busy tempting fate. The Pentagon...

. Free Won’t ---Hypothesis in a 2007 study in the Journal of Neuroscience Perhaps it’s false, about “free” will—_A myth...

. Michael Michael, heaven’s handsomest, most decorated strategist and highest-ranking officer, having vanquished Lucifer was faced with long-term unemployment. Seeking...

. In the Name of Whose God “If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people...

. La Vie en Rose  I came across that daft old ditty “Tiptoe Through the Tulips”And wondered why its lyrics...

. The Vile Monkey and the Patient Buffalo ---adapted from a Jataka tale of India A powerful old buffalo Once...

. Blood, Sea ---after Italo Calvino Beyond the blight of urban sprawl, About six hundred yards from shore, A pod...

. On Charlie Kirk and His Assassins Make people think. Engage them in debate. Allow them to articulate with reason...

. Why She Broke Up with Him Not long before their college graduation, His bright and beautiful four-year girlfriend, With...

. Thy Servant Elizabeth _“Well-done, unswerving servant,” _All the church bells rang _On all the roads of England, _While all...

. Black Holes Some say the universe is full of holes That suck in all that is. At warp-speed, gone....

. Prefab Tabernacle They placed their prefab tabernacle there Between the supermarket and the gym And come each Sunday, clad...

. Ned's Bad Day The gear that he intended was reverse,But to his detriment, he put the carIn drive. At...

. Meddling A pair of cardinals build a Maytime nest outside my home, deep in a boxwood tree. My window...

. Hypnos Wraiths of twilight-conjured mist: At last, a prospect of release. Come child, keep our nightly tryst. To you,...

. Surviving the Cultural Revolution Why should this tourist want to take my picture? I’m just a woman who is...

. At Brown University, 14 August 2025 It is a fitting name, at least, For every building that I see...

. Band of Brothers A picture of two soldiers in their prime. A scribbled note in cursive on the back....

. Coming Attractions (1994) Black is white, white is black, two and two is three. Put your common sense away,...

. Listen Britannia! Listen Britannia! All ye who would never be slaves. Hear the word of the Lord, He who...

. A Rant . I. Pay for a surrogate to birth you a kid. Feed it on formula falsely construed....

. When Prices Surge What happens to the prices when demand outstrips finite supply? Well, you’ll be darned to know...

. Gull Pacing the parapet hungrily eyeing papers and plastic cups in the dust, her kin overhead, wheeling, crying, watching...

. Shackled I crave a morning hit when I rise up, A trifle touch to take the edge away To...

. Farewell Colbert Late-night TV, when it started, didn’t have a path yet charted, but had teams of wise advisors...

. News of a Coup The news of a coup hits the headlines. No ears prick to listen or hear....