My Wife just emailed me this note (just after asking if I minded whether she purchased a pitcher for an upcoming dinner party), and it's clear that she understands me completely: Hypothetical conversation with your hypothetical future daughter: --------------- 'Hey dad...can I borrow six dollars allowance?' 'Why?' 'Umm...because' 'Honey, why? You can tell me.' 'I want to ...

I've always been fascinated by Russia.  The nation has a remarkable history.  Some of the greatest thinkers, writers and scientists hail from Russia, but some of the worst men imaginable have been born of Russia as well.  It is a country of extremes; loved by its own people and perhaps ...

Historically Beer has played a major part in church history. Many of the best imported beers today were originally developed in Monasteries where monks devoted their lives to prayer, fasting and brewing superb Ales. In more recent years, however, Beer seems to have been cast away by much of the ...

Two favorite things of mine are superb fiction (and its defense, consumption and propagation) and good sophisticated beer (again: its defense, consumption and propagation). Take a few minutes out of your day to go read excellent posts on both subjects: On Beer and Redemption You see, I was about 23 years ...

R. Sherman has spent some time lately pointing out the unfortunate frequency that logical fallacies find their abhorrent way into common discourse. The two particular fallacies he notes as being especially common are the appeal to authority and more recently the dreaded ad hominem. Of course he’s right about how ...

I just finished reading the latest Tolkien book, Children of Hurin. I hadn’t planned on finishing it this quickly, but my untimely bout with the flu resulted in some extended downtime cozying up with the tome. Children sure didn’t brighten my spirits; the story is wild and viciously dark. Yet, ...