The Strange Power of Autocrats When it comes to rising above, tyrants, rebels, and regime changes provide a thermal updraft. Power struggles swell the fortunes of revolutionaries and their cabinets. They challenge the status quo and loosen its grip. As a … Continue reading The Bootstrap and the Iron Crown: How Rapid Shifts in Power Gave Rise to Opportunity
The Problem with Our Critical Language The sitcom, or situational comedy, receives much scorn for its stale tropes, stock characters, and cliches. Nevertheless, it continues to be made. The genre, defined as a comedy with a fixed location and cast … Continue reading Big Bang Theory on Stage: The Debt Sitcoms Owe to Greek Comedy
Behold the Mighty Air Balloon! “Some [in the 18th century]considered that there might be an arms race in [hot air] balloon technology. . . . Much more menacing, however, especially for the British Isles, was the possibility that they could … Continue reading Ballooning, Aerostation, and the Tragedy of Newton’s First Law
In a previous article I expounded on stealing and artistic borrowing in music. Well, “expound” may be misleading. It was a meditation on the challenges of inspiration, the central question being “When does a piece of art become ours?” Here, … Continue reading The Art of the Steal in Western Literary History and Writing
Introduction Societies dug up and studied the bones of ancient Rome for wisdom, but those bones come from an alien cultural body. As a result, those societies didn’t always interpret them correctly. Whether they know it or not, today’s students could … Continue reading Key Concepts About Power and Religion in Ancient Rome
Salem, Oregon Salem is the capital of Oregon, though it doesn’t look the part. The government and medical enterprises take up most of its trade. Few buildings exceed one story in height. The town opts for horizontal expansion, but if … Continue reading Travel Guide: The Small Town Charm of Salem, Oregon
Introduction image source: J.R. Skelton (1865-1927) The first copyright battle (as far as we know) was waged not by lawyers, but swords. In the 6th century, Irish Abbot Saint Columba copied a religious text belonging to missionary Saint Finnian. Saint … Continue reading The Art of the Steal in Music History
Some see their story in the firs, in budding green and fallow earth. I see my story in the stone which creaks and grinds and gnashes slow,for life is long and living short. We measure years by walking … Continue reading A Poem to the Orkney Island of Rousay, Scotland
It’s Been Rough 2020 left its mark on Portland. My wife and I saw it in the boarded-up windows and graffiti. We saw it in the empty buildings of businesses shuttered during the pandemic. We saw it in the mask-framed … Continue reading Travel Guide: Hidden Gems in Portland, Oregon