If you know me at all, you probably know that one of my biggest weaknesses is over-thinking things. I have so many thoughts running through my head all the time and I can sometimes let them overwhelm and consume me in a destructive sort of way. Analysis paralysis, perfectionism, excessive rationalization, meloncholia - whatever you … Continue reading My Resolution to Write on Lander’s Forge
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A Eulogy for Tim Gilland
In the summer of 2019, I worked for the Shoshone National Forest as an ATV ranger. The job consisted of riding an ATV on the forest's motorized trails, making visitor contacts, checking permits, and maintaining and marking the trails. My coworker was Tim Gilland, a Wyoming native who had recently moved back to his home … Continue reading A Eulogy for Tim Gilland
On the Reading of Leo Strauss
When a Christian picks up Leo Strauss' work, two things strike the educated reader: 1) That this man knows his subject matter, and 2) He does not want to be read. Thus the experience of continuing to read Strauss, rather than tossing the book away with irritation and disgust, will not happen if the reader … Continue reading On the Reading of Leo Strauss
Emotions as Self-Justifying
This week, I have been contemplating an emotional phenomenon that I have seen in people of my generation: the justification of one's actions based upon an idea of positive emotion as self-justifying. The principle would be something like this: Positive Emotions are a) indicators of happiness i.e. they arise from contact with people/places/things that will … Continue reading Emotions as Self-Justifying
A Student’s Frustration and Confusion
In my recent studies, I have been dogged by a concern that I have had from the start of my undergraduate years: why is it that those who have presumably learned the most—those with PhDs or other intellectually high positions—seem incapable of writing or speaking in a manner comprehensible to plain persons? Rather than continue … Continue reading A Student’s Frustration and Confusion
Let’s Give Sense-Perception its Due: When Dialogue Might be Unnecessary or Harmful
Any graduate of Wyoming Catholic College is familiar with the scene from Augustine's Confessions in which he and his mother Monica converse "in the presence of Truth, which You [Christ] are, what the eternal life of the saints could be like, which eye has not seen nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the … Continue reading Let’s Give Sense-Perception its Due: When Dialogue Might be Unnecessary or Harmful
Podcast Alert!
It is with great pleasure that I announce the inaugural episode of our podcast, Lander's Forge: The Upper Room. If you want to hear the boys talk all about automated strike zones or "friendsgiving," (it's more interesting than it sounds), click below or look us up on your preferred streaming platform. Stay tuned for more … Continue reading Podcast Alert!
The Vicious Fantasy of Amazon’s “The Boys”
This past summer, I attempted to watch a show now streaming on Amazon's video streaming service, Prime Video, called The Boys. Many of the journalists I follow online dubbed it a "subversive" and "brilliant" take on the superhero genre. Since I am of a melancholic and cynical disposition, such a show seemed suited to me. … Continue reading The Vicious Fantasy of Amazon’s “The Boys”
A Subtle Regime: Tocqueville on the Tyranny of the Majority.
“Thought is an invisible and almost intangible power that makes sport of all tyrannies” [1]. Thus, Tocqueville, in Democracy in America, describes the Achilles heel of the traditional tyrant. No matter the physical constraints or social constructions that a tyrant might try to impose on his citizens, he cannot fully suppress thoughts hostile to the … Continue reading A Subtle Regime: Tocqueville on the Tyranny of the Majority.
Musings on Futility
I've been job hunting lately. My time at this job (which I consider more missionary work than a traditional job) has been very fruitful and fulfilling, but I believe it's time to move on. The question is: move on to what? My "indeed.com" searches first gained a kind of existential tinge, then became entirely symbolic … Continue reading Musings on Futility
Lander's Forge 