A friend and fellow Villanova faculty member, Bud Drago, has just released his band's (Freeze Time) latest single, "Is This the Best We Can Do?". His band has put out five albums, the most recent, Sub Zero, was released earlier this year. Here is an excerpt from an email he sent me, along with the … Continue reading Is This the Best We Can Do?
"Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption" by Bryan Stevenson was a New York Times best seller, has won numerous awards, and was the recent selection in Cory Booker's book club. Even though I'm only 34% of the way through the book (thanks Kindle), I can see why. Here is an excerpt from a review … Continue reading WWW: Wednesday’s Word of the Week – Jeremiad
When I heard about the recent death of Elie Wiesel, I realized I knew very little about him. After reading his obituary, I wanted to learn more about him, so I decided to read Night, a book based on his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps. The book is a short … Continue reading Indifference: The Most Insidious Danger of All
This is the 68th in a collection of newspaper ads written by Harry Gray, then CEO of United Technologies, that appeared in the Wall Street Journal from the late 1970s through the early 1980s. Here is the text from that ad. There's nothing more awkward than a misunderstanding left unresolved. And nothing more unnecessary. It … Continue reading Clearing the Air and Festivus
Congratulations on winning the recent Mega Millions lottery! I'll make no secret of the fact that I was also trying to win the jackpot, but I don't want to be a sore loser. It was a hard-fought battle, but you won fair and square, beating out millions of other contestants. I can't imagine what your … Continue reading Dear Mega Millions Winner,
Before their time on this planet is through... If you know what song those lines are from, then you must be a member of the Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat fan club. My wife and I, and two of our sons, had a chance to see the show this afternoon down in Raleigh, where … Continue reading Some Folks Dream of the Wonders They’ll Do
Shocked, outraged, sad, angry. Those were my initial reactions when I read the Wall Street Journal headline about suicide rates among U.S. veterans. It seems like this should be front page news in very newspaper, and the lead story on every news broadcast. As David Shulkin, the VA’s undersecretary for health notes, “one veteran suicide … Continue reading U.S. Veterans Commit Suicide at Rate of 20 a Day
One of the great things about the Internet is that it enables the open sharing of one's opinion on virtually any topic. Unfortunately that open sharing has also led to what is referred to as an Internet troll. According to Wikipedia, an internet troll is a person "who sows discord on the Internet by starting … Continue reading Internet Trolls Are Everywhere
A few weeks ago I wrote about the choice that writers face between using a word or phrase that perfectly describes something, but very few readers would understand, versus using a simpler, less sophisticated term, but that most readers would understand. For the most part, I came down on the side of using the simpler … Continue reading “Élan vital” and Gravamen: New Words Wednesday
“It’s kind of shocking.” “Lmao I’m so done my friends parents got snapchat.” “It’s weird.” Those are just a few of the reactions of teens when learning that their parents and other "old" people are starting to use Snapchat, long the almost exclusive domain of the under-24 crowd. But that is starting to change. According … Continue reading Oh No! Grandma Is Using Snapchat!
Borden's Blather 