Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, and he then went on to try to sell rifles to the Army. His rifles were special…
InTeRchANgeABlE pArTs
The land of the brave
After the United States bought the Louisiana Territory from France, Thomas Jefferson sent explorers to find their way across. The main purpose of the Lewis and Clark expedition was to find a navigable water route across the continent that would facilitate commerce.
There is no navigable water route across the continent. A meandering line runs the length of North America, and no water crosses it. We call this line the Continental Divide. (more…)
The dispensation of suffering
There are things in life we do not get to choose. We can choose our response to a given situation, but fate has a major hand in deciding what situations we will encounter in the first place. I say this because I have recently rearranged my thinking on an old idea.
(Note: this is not a cheerful post. It’s not for children, either.)
High tea in Kandahar
The first thing I have noticed is the light. In the late afternoon the sun is low in the sky. Its light streams in through the window, and from where I sit the sun will traverse the gap between the top of the window frames and the top of the outer wall outside. The window frames, an elegant bit of fancy woodwork, hold dozens of panes of glass, and throw convenient shadows for my eyes to hide behind.
It is summer in Afghanistan, and the sunlight comes right through the window, directly onto me. I should cook, and yet through some architectural magic, the light is soft, cool, and diffuse. There is a notebook in my hands, and if I hold it one way, it is bathed in light. Tilt it slightly, and it plunges into shadow. Balance it just in between, and the texture of the paper pops up into high relief. Every fiber stands out, and the graphite letters all but glow. (more…)
The sword is mightier than the pen
In an obscure corner of the Humanities, they study a place called Serindia. Serindia appears on no map, as it had no political identity. It was a region defined by a common and very unusual artistic culture. It was a fusion of two great cultures, actually, and it produced some stunningly beautiful artworks. Serindia had no definite geographical boundaries, it was just a curious borderland.
The I.Q. of a dandelion
Meeting aggression with aggression, I have gone out every day to tear up the dandelions that want to conquer my back yard. We all know that dandelions must be removed root and all if they are to be defeated, but usually the roots stick stubbornly in the ground. Nevertheless, if I pluck off the leaves and flowers every day, I think the root must eventually die. But my dandelions are learning…
Declining the senator’s request
“…There is a profound irony in what you are asking from me… it hinges on the truth that when a man sees evil and does nothing, he becomes a part of it…”
The historicity of Jesus
Did Jesus really exist, or is he just a rehash of older myths? Check out the debate I’m having with my new pal xenlogic over at The World According to Xenocrates, where we’re scrutinizing the Metternich Stele and studying star charts…
