Selection Box

Distracted by other things, I've had less time for this blog recently, and my idea for a website, though not exactly shelved, is at least on hold.

But I've found myself thinking of this blog a good bit in the last few days, and of particular things I wrote in it. I've been writing it for a good few years now, and I'm very grateful for the reaction it's got. I'm especially grateful that, no matter how adventurous or reflective or digressive I grew, people kept reading. And-- risking a thunderbolt striking me down for my pride-- I'm quite proud that I didn't confine myself to polemics or reactions to the news, or to popular culture, but actually branched out and tried to be thoughtful.

As I've said many times before, what pleases me the most is that my poetry got a good reception. (After a little while-- the first few poems I posted didn't go down well at all, and I was rather crestfallen, but I'm glad I persevered.) Probably everybody who writes at all considers himself or herself a poet, above all else. (Indeed, perhaps we are all poets before anything else, whether we write or not.)

But, in terms of prose, I like to think of myself as an essayist, and my favourite posts to write-- and the ones where I felt I articulated something worth articulating-- were in the form of essays.

So, not knowing how active I am going to be in the immediate future, I am putting up my favourite of the essay-style posts I wrote over the years, with an emphasis upon the older ones. Maybe newer readers might like to come on them, and maybe older readers might like to revisit them.

And thanks for visiting!

Star Trek, Faith and Conservatism. Why a conservative Catholic like me would not only enjoy Star Trek: The Next Generation, but find much of it in harmony with his view of the world.

Does Technology Destroy Wonder?

Why Groundhog Day is the Best Movie of All Time.

A three part post explaining why I am a traditionalist conservative, which had at least one fan:

Why I am a Traditionalist Conservative (1).

Why I am a Traditionalist Conservative (2).

Why I am a Traditionalist Conservative (3).


An essay on television, the good and the bad.

Why Didn't C.S. Lewis Become a Catholic? Published in Annales Australasia magazine.

The Contradictions of Modern Life. How it seems to me that so many of the ideologies and practices of modern life are self-defeating.

Our Avenue. Why I think we should be patriotic about even the smallest places.

My Little Purple Notebook. About the little moments of wonder in everyday life that surprise us and stick in our memory forever.

What's New about the New Testament? On the atmosphere of freshness and vigour that seems to hang around Christianity, even after all these centuries.

Campaigns I Wish Existed, including the campaign to protect lunch-time.

The Humility of Organized Religion.

Two Tugs on the Heart. Or why I love and hate modern, suburban life.

Why Mammon Needs God.

Remembering the Allen Library. A phase in my life recalled.

Thoughts on the subject of debates. Better than it sounds, I think.

About my name.

Thoughts on All Saints Day.

My ideal of what a man should be.