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Eric Scheske

Humorous

H.I.F. Conan: Today John McCain said the shutdown was, quote, one of the most shameful things he's seen as a senator. That's from a guy who saw Lincoln get shot. In a new interview, the Dalai Lama endorsed medical marijuana. So now we know

Interesting

H.I.F. As long as I'm mentioning podcasts, I should mention this recent episode of Econtalk: The Sports Gene [http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2013/09/david_epstein_o.html]. One of the best episodes of the year. Excerpt: At "6'10", you have

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Mike Duncan has fired up his new podcast: Revolutions [http://www.revolutionspodcast.com/]. TDE readers know that I've long been a fan of his History of Rome. Based on what I've heard so far, Revolutions will be just as good if not better. Possibly the best

Max and Gilbert

These words by Max Beerbohm kind of summarize my idea behind my quote-driven mini-essays: "How many charming talents have been spoiled by the instilled desire to do 'important' work! Some people are born to lift heavy weights. Some are born to juggle with golden balls.

Humorous

H.I.F. Conan: Pope Francis is reportedly selling his Harley-Davidson motorcycle. When asked why he was selling it, he said, "When I get it over 30 miles an hour, it's hard to keep my hat on." This week at New York's Comic

Interesting

H.I.F. The benefits of empire? Roman charioteers earned far more than even the best-paid footballers and international sports stars of today, according to academic research. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7942699/Wealth-of-todays-sports-stars-is-no-match-for-the-fortunes-of-Romes-

Kiekegaard and Philo

"The real individual is face to face with a real God: that is the quite simple truth that Kierkegaard is never weary of repeating." de Lubac. I think that's the metaphysical angle to Philo's famous quote: "Be kind, for everyone you meet is

TIL

Today I Learned, from Reddit [http://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/]: "TIL in 2011 the city of Portland, Oregon discarded 7.8 million gallons of drinking water, not because of the dead animals 'regularly found in the drinking supply,' but because a drunk 21-year-old peed

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"Theories, when they have gained credence, become vested interests. The prestige and livelihood of schools and teachers are bound up in them; they tend toward enclosed doctrine, not open to fresh information." Isabel Patterson.

The Fascist

H.I.F. For those who haven't made it over the TDE Twitter account, fascinating excerpts from Thaddeus Russell's Renegade History: "[W]hen the New Deal was created, few of its supporters in the United States were as effusive in their praise as were German