Eric Scheske

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Diagnosing James Martin Way Ahead of Time

Diagnosing James Martin Way Ahead of Time

Okay, I'm no seer, but I was pleased with myself when I found these notes from 2009 that I wrote after reading James Martin's My Life with the Saints: "I wasn't bowled over by the book, and Fr. Martin is, I fear, a

Philip Rivers Hangs with Eric Scheske

Philip Rivers Hangs with Eric Scheske

Thanks to Archangel Radio for having me on their morning show. The video is below. The interview starts at 5:40. Archangel Radio is also the home of the St. Michael's Cardinals football team, which is where Philip Rivers is the new coach. That, like, makes Philip Rivers

Looking for a Book Curator?

Looking for a Book Curator?

If you hadn't noticed, there are tons of books out there. It can be hard to find new stuff that's also "reliable" (whatever that means). I highly recommend Eighth Day Books out of Wichita, Kansas. They're devoutly Greek Orthodox and "reliable&

Who is This Ennui Guy Anyway?

Who is This Ennui Guy Anyway?

Any why is he such a dick? Reinhard Kuhn (the author of The Demon of Noontide: Ennui in Western Literature) defined ennui as “the state of emptiness that the soul feels when it is deprived of interest in action, life, and the world (be it this world or another), a

Dostoyevsky's Mock Execution

Dostoyevsky's Mock Execution

In 1849, political radicals were taken out of their jail to be executed. They were lined up in front of the firing squad. Right before the guns were fired, a courier galloped up with an imperial decree, commuting the death sentence to a term in prison camp. The whole thing

Orwell Anniversary, of Sorts

Orwell Anniversary, of Sorts

"A Farthing Newspaper," the very first of George Orwell's articles to appear in England, was published on December 29, 1928, in G.K.'s Weekly. [Michael Shelden, Orwell, London, 1991, p. 127]

From Johnson's Dictionary: Neckweed, Siren, Pudder

From Johnson's Dictionary: Neckweed, Siren, Pudder

Neckweed: Hemp. To pudder: to perplex, to disturb, to confound. Couple-beggar: One that makes it his business to marry beggars to each other. Siren: a mischievous enticer.

GKC on Waugh

GKC on Waugh

Evelyn Waugh liked to send out satirical Christmas cards, and the apex (or nadir] of this practice was reached during the Christmas season of 1929. Waugh's card that year consisted of extracts reprinted from unfavorable reviews of his first novel, Decline and Fall. The harshest passage of all

Legislative Process, the Left Hemisphere, and Hayek

Legislative Process, the Left Hemisphere, and Hayek

F.A. Hayek looking ahead 75 years to the world of COVID: "[A] socialist government must not allow itself to be too much fettered by democratic procedure." F.A. Hayek, The Road to Serfdom The parallel to the Hemisphere Hypothesis is stunning. The left hemisphere hates to be

St. John of the Cross Feast Day

St. John of the Cross Feast Day

He arguably wrote the most Zen-like passage in the Christian tradition To reach satisfaction in all desire its possession in nothing. To come to possess all desire the possession of nothing. To come to the knowledge of all desire the knowledge of nothing. To come to the pleasure you have