Since I entered postgraduate education, I’ve been exposed to a literary viewpoint emphasizing that there is a certain formula for academic writing that ought to be followed. It roots in a clean, spare style, eschews adjectives and adverbs, and favors a sentence order of subject, verb, object–“Politicians believed in a two-party system”–that feels somewhat dry to me. Now, I readily acknowledge that my writing can bleed purple at times; one professor memorably wrote on one of my papers that my... Read more

The pursuit of one’s “dreams” plays a major role in the American mind as it contemplates education and vocation. Many of us have grown up privileged with opportunity, and so it comes naturally to plan large and think big for ourselves. There’s nothing inherently wrong with hope; in fact, the Bible exalts it, albeit after it has defined it in Christward categories. But as one carries one’s hopes and chases those wispy dreams, it seems wise to consider that which... Read more

A recent article in World magazine outlines the current efforts of US military to train the Iraqi national forces. Now, every mag has their bent, and World likely sees the US withdrawal as premature and so writes with that tone, but things don’t look very good. One has to wonder if we aren’t leaving Iraq early due in large part to pressure from the left to call off our involvement. From the day the first bomb exploded, we’ve heard incessant... Read more

I’ve been blessed to have a great mom and dad in this game called life. It’s time for a tribute to my dad, a native Mainer, a forester, and a great guy. Get the kleenex, kids. Here are several reasons why my dad is great. 1) Dad played all sorts of catch with me growing up. Seemingly whenever I asked, Dad would walk out to the barn where his humongous mitt lay, usually next to my tiny glove. We’d then... Read more

A hustler, in my vocab, is one who works hard to make things happen. Hustlers are often “good at life,” one could say, and possess uncommon pluck, drive, and a knack for accomplishment. This blog is inspired by the rapper Cassidy’s song “I’m a Hustla,” where Cassidy shows various ways in which he hustles to get by. I’m blogging on this because I think this term, hustling, is worthy of inclusion in common parlance. To break this down, when an... Read more

Tom Wolfe has a perceptive passage in his latest book, I Am Charlotte Simmons, where he talks about college weight-rooms packed with young men packing muscles on their sweaty bodies. I read that awhile ago and have thought some on the nature of weight-lifting. We’re all so domesticized these days; most of us have no war to fight, no enemy to slay, and so we slay the mirror, we conquer the weight-bench, we pound the treadmill. We men still yell... Read more

consumed introduces a new feature: the Google find-it game. I give yall a subject to research, and you have to do so. Or actually, you don’t, cause there’s neither a need or a way to enforce that rule, but you can if you want. You don’t need to report it or anything, you can just check out the subject, learn about it, and go on with your life. I think it’s a fun idea. So those are the stipulations. Today’s... Read more

The cliche is worn so as to be threadbare. But that doesn’t keep it from being true. Here’s proof. 1) Mom was right about getting a mouthguard. I should have bought it so very long ago. Now I have two gray teeth. 2) Mom was right about paying bills on time. Why is it that it is so simple to pay bills, and yet I, a college graduate, struggle in the fashion of a tragic hero to pay them? The... Read more

After watching an uncharacteristic three movies (Braveheart, Forrest Gump, Batman Begins)this weekend, and considering my emotional response to each, I’ve realized that it’s easy for people to want to live “movie lives.” The movies present a vision of life that is so neat, so clean, so glamorous that it leaves this life feeling dry, rote, and listless. This goes beyond escapism. There’s a part of us, I think, that wants not simply to make an exciting escape to fantasy-land, but... Read more

As a basketball fanatic, or perhaps a recovering fanatic (some days it’s debatable), I have to point out something slightly hilarious about the draft. It’s all hyped up and stuff, like sports usually are, but here’s the deal: the best part happens in the first five minutes. In other form of media does this occur? In music, the first five minutes often functions as an intro; in movies, the first five minutes only begins to set the scene; in a... Read more