Book Review: Till We Have Faces

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I was a little apprehensive about teaching C.S. Lewis’ Till We Have Faces in my literature class this year—I am usually nervous about any new texts—but this is proving to be one of my favorite selections of the year. I read the book for the first in 7th or 8th grade, and in retrospect I probably should waited a little longer. I remember being thoroughly baffled by it. It was one of those books I wanted to like and understand, but was just too confusing. One of my original problems was the confusion over names of characters. For a speed reader,…

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There and Back Again: Adventures of Teaching The Hobbit

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Last semester at Veritas Christi Hybrid Academy, in my 7th and 8th Literature & Composition class I’ve been teaching The Hobbit. There have been multiple times that my own knowledge of Tolkien’s world has been put to shame by students who are quickly becoming experts in Middle-earth lore! I used this as an opportunity to introduce the concept of summarizing, so each day of class would open with a review of the reading assignment they finished. Then the students would take a few minutes to write a one sentence summary of the chapter they read. I found that they enjoyed reading their sentences…

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Reflections on Paradise Lost

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Despite being a voracious reader, I’ve always been intimidated by Medieval and Renaissance literature. So I had somehow gotten this far in my life without reading Paradise Lost. But in preparation for teaching a British Literature class this fall, I decided it was time to overcome my fear. In the Christian Guide to the Classics series, I discovered that Leland Ryken had written a guide for Paradise Lost which I found invaluable during my reading. It broke the text up into manageable sections and provided a summary of the plot that helped me follow along. Additionally, the questions and ideas that Ryken explored made the book more fascinating…

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BBC Hamlet Review

David Tennant, despite being very intense and sometimes exaggerated, makes Hamlet’s character realistic. The mood of the written play, which can seem melodramatic, is compellingly demonstrated in his performance. The only performance of Hamlet I have seen is the RSC’s production with David Tennant, from 2008 Tennant is known for his intensity of personality, most notably seen in his role as the Tenth Doctor in BBC’s TV series, Doctor Who. Tennant brings this intensity to the stage in Hamlet. While it could be argued that his performance is exaggerated and detracts from the artistic intentions of Shakespeare, I believe Tennant skillfully manifested the intensity and drama…

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A New Journey

For the past few years my blog has been a reflection of what my life is about at any given point. From my old blog filled with pet pictures to this site where I’ve written on topics ranging from philosophy to Doctor Who (as a side point, I would argue that those two subjects aren’t really that different), my blog has evolved with my interests. So I decided it was appropriate to write about my newest foray into a completely different area… A few weeks ago (actually, a month today, to be exact) I was having lunch with a friend…

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A Brief Update

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The last couple months have been pretty busy as I finished up my Gadfly of Serenity paper for the MPCA/ACA conference that took place in early October. The conference was really interesting and the presentation of my paper went well! The version here on my site is the full essay, I had to do some heavy editing to get it condensed for the 20 minutes of time allotted for me during the panel.  And in the absence of a proper blog post, I’ll just give a quick update as to what I’m doing now. I am currently developing an economics curriculum for…

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Shepherd Book: Gadfly of Serenity

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I’ve had a lot of projects going on the past few months, so I haven’t had the time to write new posts. This weekend I am going to Indianapolis to the MPCA/ACA (Midwest Popular Culture Association/Midwest American Culture Association) to present a paper on the influence of Socrates and Kierkegaard in the Firefly character, Shepherd Book. I just uploaded the final manuscript to my portfolio, here.  So while it is a bit more academic than my usual posts, it will perhaps make up for my absence here recently!

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Report on Meeting with Transform Rockford

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When Mike Schablaske, the executive director at Transform Rockford, saw my recent posts through Twitter, he put me in touch with the group which had written the Shared Value statements. The team, Jay Sandine, David Sidney and Blake Musser, were very accommodating and willing to discuss my concerns. Although Jay was unable to make it, I met with David and Blake last week to talk about the questions I had raised. Before I get into the details, I just want to make a disclaimer. Although David and Blake are involved with Transform Rockford, not all the opinions they expressed represent…

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Highlights from Mises University 2014

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For new readers, Mises U is a week-long summer economics program hosted by the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama. The conference covers theoretical and applied economics, with lectures covering topics such as epistemology, entrepreneurship, comparative economic systems, political economy, and the history of economic ideas. To see the schedule and recorded lectures, visit this page. This was my third year at Mises U. I attended in 2010 and 2011, then went to the AERC (formerly ASC) for the past two years, and decided it was time for Mises U again. I remember seeing posts about Mises U 2013 last summer…

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Mises University 2014

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For those of you not aware of this…I am in Auburn, Alabama this week attending the Mises Institute’s Mises U. So far it has been just incredible, I am enjoying every moment of it. To follow the official posts, please visit the Mises blog. As time allows I am posting to my Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, so you can check it out there as well. I am excited to share more details next week, but the schedule is pretty intense and I can’t make any guarantees about additional posts this week. Just listen to the lectures and and follow along…

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