20 11, 2020

Ragnarök in the Norse Myths and the Power of Dystopic Fatalism

By |2021-05-14T18:33:31+00:00November 20th, 2020|Arts & Letters|0 Comments

The Norse myths are singular among mythic narratives for a fascinating reason: the gods lose. They do not just lose a treasure, nor just a battle. They lose everything. Fatalism, the idea that the future has already happened in the sense that it is fixed, feels primitive to the modern mind. Dystopic Fatalism, the belief everything we have known and have experienced will one day be annihilated in a disaster of apocalyptic proportions, seems even more distasteful. And yet, it may be the only thing left with any hope of saving us from ourselves.

31 10, 2020

Recognition by the Father: Montreal’s Favorite Son Leonard Cohen and an Ancient Story of Homecoming

By |2021-05-14T18:32:01+00:00October 31st, 2020|Arts & Letters, Theory|0 Comments

The themes of homecoming and the father-son relationship have received a lot of literary attention recently. Marilynne Robinson just published Jack, the fourth novel in her Gilead series, about the Ames and Boughton families’ complicated stories of homecoming, fatherhood, and sonhood in an American small town beset by racial and religious tension. The tensions between fathers and sons, and the son’s struggle with finding his way back home are timeless and cross-cultural, and trigger some of the deepest issues we have with identity and belonging. Look to any cultural literary tradition, whether of the West, the East, or the Middle East, and you will find tales of fathers, and those sons who attempt to find their way back into their recognition. Songs by the Canadian musician Leonard Cohen, who died four years ago at the age of 82, suggest that he grappled with the father-son relationship, and with the emotional desire for home and homecoming. Cohen might not at first seem to have much in common with an ancient Greek figure, but a comparison yields rich and provocative similarities between Cohen and Odysseus, the hero of Homer’s poem of homecoming, the Odyssey. Odysseus, a fictional warrior with talents, like Cohen, as a language-artist, is better-known for his homecoming as a husband, but he ultimately returns to his broken father as the honored and beloved son. Homer’s and Cohen’s poetry have some surprising parallels on this theme. The fictional character of Homer’s ancient epic and the real-life contemporary poet and musician speak to each other across time and space.

31 10, 2020

A Visit From The Donald

By |2020-11-20T18:17:17+00:00October 31st, 2020|Arts & Letters, News|0 Comments

‘Twas Election Day eve and all through the states, / Strange forces were brewing, motivated by hate; / Guards ordered to precincts in order to scare / The minority voters that might show up there. / The children, who were lying dead tired in bed, / Dreamt of zoom calls and masks and had feelings of dread. / My wife in her shirt, and I in my shorts, / Were viewing the news channel’s latest report, / When over the sound waves there came a long beep… / The news was the latest on a new POTUS tweet.

8 10, 2020

When Is The Right Time To Nominate a Supreme Court Justice After One Has Passed Away – A Flowchart by the RNC

By |2020-10-31T15:33:04+00:00October 8th, 2020|Arts & Letters, Practice|0 Comments

A totally non-partisan and not-at-all-self-serving flowchart to SCOTUS nominations beginning with the question: Which Party has Control of the Senate?

10 07, 2020

Collectivism & Consensus in a Post Covid-19 World

By |2020-11-20T18:54:43+00:00July 10th, 2020|Arts & Letters, Justice, Theory|0 Comments

Death is a great leveler and, a virus that strikes at individuals indiscriminately, a potent reminder of just how precarious life can be and why, much like the pioneers, it might be in humankind’s best interest to re-invest in a philosophy that acknowledges man’s ability to understand the real world around him. Ayn Rand’s maxim that “nature to be commanded, must be obeyed” seems particularly appropriate (9). The question is, do we have the courage and the humility to subject ourselves to the laws of nature and identity?

18 06, 2020

Various thoughts about recent race-related protests and riots

By |2020-06-19T01:52:22+00:00June 18th, 2020|Arts & Letters|0 Comments

I think that sometimes people (myself included) have unintentionally caused misunderstanding with the use of terms related to BLM. I definitely don’t have all the answers. Nevertheless, here are a few of my thoughts, which I hope will be helpful.

18 06, 2020

An Open Letter to Abraham Lincoln Regarding his Tragic Dedication to the Theater

By |2020-06-18T19:32:38+00:00June 18th, 2020|Arts & Letters|0 Comments

I hope you enjoyed the first two acts of the play, “Our American Cousin,” on April 14th, 1865, because American’s have been living the nightmare of the tragic third act ever since.

Go to Top