The Work

From Bill Kauffman’s Look Homeward, America: As (Eugene) Debs, (Carolyn) Chute & (Mother) Jones understood, the ennobling work we do is seldom renumerated in greenbacks. Bearing and raising a child, cultivating a garden, just being there for a sibling or friend to lean on: this “work” is compensated in a currency far more valuable than […]

Rain

Today will mark the seventh consecutive commute that has included rain at some point or another. I have ceased to care. Part of this new-found carefree attitude is my discovery of White Lightning chain lube. I had, for as long as I could remember, used the standard Cross Country lube, a viscous synthetic blend that […]

Reactionary Radicals

I received my copy of Bill Kauffman’s book, Look Homeward, America this weekend, and managed to get halfway through it between parties for Sebastien and a trip to the ER at Children’s Hospital (ruptured eardrum, yah!). Kauffman’s rollicking style is a pleasure to read. Kauffman sets out to examine reactionary radicals and front porch anarchists […]

Boy on a Bike

This is what I saw for nearly two hours yesterday afternoon: The boy never stopped for a minute. The pace at which he picked up the whole bike riding thing was pretty amazing.

Rain

4:45PM: It’s been raining most of the day. I really don’t look forward to riding in the rain. It never stops me, but I’m filled with a feeling of impending doom, especially today, given that I’ve forgotten to put the mudguards on the bike (I realized this halfway across the 62nd Street Bridge this morning). […]

Food As Rebellion

Via Michael Dougherty. Mother Jones has a profile of “Christian-libertarian-environmentalist-lunatic farmer” Joel Salatin. Two relevant quotes: In Joel?s view, the reformation of our food economy begins with people going to the trouble and expense of buying directly from farmers they know??relationship marketing,? the approach he urges in his recent book, Holy Cows and Hog Heaven: […]

Neocalvinism and the Church

The following is a response that the editors of Comment asked me to write following their series on Neocalvinism. It is slated to appear to in the June print issue of the journal. Perhaps I am a skeptic at heart. Of the four essays published, I found myself agreeing most with Daniel Knauss’ emphatic “No!” […]

Giro d’Italia

The Giro (the Tour of Italy) begins this weekend, with what appears to be the toughest parcours in several years. There will be several interesting story lines to follow: * CSC’s Ivan Basso will be attempting to win both the Giro and the Tour de France, a double that has not been achieved in the […]