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Childish vs Childlike
At first it may appear that these two terms are very similar as they deal with children. But that is not really true, as we use them many times to describe adult behavior. To be childish has a very negative connotation whereas childlike has a positive connotation. When I think of childish, I think of regression, selfishness, immature, absorbed in one’s own interests in a harmful way. On the contrary, when I think of childlike, I think of curiosity, innocence, smiling faces, youth, energy, trust, amiability, playfulness with a sense of experiencing true leisure, exploration, honesty, and love. The former is more destructive and in opposition to growth and maturity. The latter is a good quality that we should attempt to nurture throughout our life. Let’s face it, there is more to this world and life than we will ever know. When we decide to stop looking at the world around us, exploring and discovering both our inner selves and those around us, we start regressing. It is all how we look at the world. When we give up on the world and think it owes us, or we have taken the measure and found it wanting, when we have…
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Self-Reflection on a Previous Post
I am trying to understand why my post yesterday titled “Rerum Novarum” did not match the potential that I anticipated. I had high hopes for yesterdays blog. It was to be my first blog after of course my opening prayer. So, what happened? Why, when reading it back, do I feel so disappointed? When I read the encyclical for class, I used a printed copy. I made underlines and notations throughout the document. I ended up with several pages of notes and felt prepared to discuss it in class on Saturday morning. We spent part of the class discussing this document. Now, I was really fired up about this encyclical and I expected others to be too. They were, but for different reasons. I almost wondered if we had read the same work. How could someone see something different? Well, as we know, that happens all the time. We all have different life experiences and we come from different perspectives, or viewpoints, when we approach something. When I decided to write the blog, I sat down with my notes and started to write. It is so easy to suffer from indecision. Everything sounded so good in my head until I…
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The Beginning
Every journey begins with the first step and I believe the best way to start is with a prayer to God.
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Book Review: Social Problems by Ezra Thayer Towne (1929)
Title: Social Problems: A Study of Present-Day Social Conditions Author: Ezra Thayer Towne Published: New York: The MacMillan Company, 1929. 406-pages. About the Author[1] [2] Ezra Thayer Towne, an American economist, was born on April 1, 1873 in Waupun, Wisconsin and died February 27, 1952 in Grand Forks County, North Dakota. He was the son of William Hammond and Marion (Kingsbury) Towne. His education and career is as follows: an advanced course at the State Normal School in Oshkosh, Wisconsin (1894); Assistant Principal at De Pere High School in Wisconsin (1894-95); B.L. University of Wisconsin (1897); Graduate work at the University of Wisconsin (1897-99); Studied at the New York School of Philanthropy (1898); Superintendent of Schools in Sharon, Wisconsin (1899-1901); Studied and traveled in Europe (1901-03); earned his Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Halle, Germany (1903); acting professor and professor of economics and political science at Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota (1903-17); Head of the department of economics and political science, and director of course in commerce at the University of North Dakota (1917-24) and later Dean of School of Commerce (1924-48); Doctor of Humanities, University of North Dakota (1948). He was the author of several works, including: The…
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My Thoughts on Aristotle’s On the Soul
Title: On the Soul (De Anima) Author: Aristotle translated by J. A. Smith Published:. Preamble It was the summer of 1983 that I walked over to the Ohio State Fair from the trailer park where I lived. The newest edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica had just released, and they had a booth. With my love of books, living on my own, and just a few days into the ripe wise age of twenty, I was easily convinced to take a loan and purchase a library. This collection consisted of a thirty-volume encyclopedia, a fifty-four-volume set of Great Books of the Western World, a three-volume Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, and a twenty-one-volume collection of the Annals of America. Since then, I have lugged these 108 books from one end of the country to the other. I have never regretted this purchase. This collection was my Wikipedia. It gave me incite into the world around me. The Great Books, encyclopedia, and the dictionary I have used consistently over the years. The Annals, for some reason, have been referenced or read very rarely, some volumes not at all. But, to get back to my topic, Aristotle. Two books, in this collection, are dedicated to his…
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Review: The Scholar’s Mission
Title: “The Scholar’s Mission” in The Works of Orestes A. Brownson Collected and Arranged by Henry F. Brownson Volume XIX pages 65-87. Author: Orestes Augustus Brownson Published: New York: AMS Press Inc., 1966. An oration pronounced before the Gamma Sigma Society, of Dartmouth College, Hanover, N. H., July 26, 1843. Preamble I was introduced to Brownson in The Conservative Mind by Russell Kirk. Since then, I bought the twenty-volume collection of his works assembled by his son. I am surprised I had never heard of him before, but what usually happens after I find someone like this, is his name will suddenly start appearing in other works I read. It is just the fact that now I am aware of him. That is true with so many other things in life. Think of many of the great discoveries made throughout history, once they are known, then it is easy to see. It is like the old tale about Christopher Columbus and the egg. Supposedly he was sitting around with some other people after he discovered America and they were saying how it was not really a big deal. He asked for an egg and requested that they each try to…
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Book Review: The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft by George Gissing
Title: The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft Author: George Robert Gissing Published: London: Phoenix House Ltd., 1953 (First published 1903). Forward by Cecil Chisholm. Pages-220. Preamble There are books that help me understand who I am, this book is one of those. Now I cannot identify exactly with the character of Henry Ryecroft, but, there are moments of truth that encapsulate certain aspects of myself that Gissing clarified. Gissing portrays Ryecroft as a humble, contemplative, and very mature Englishman of fifty-three. He himself was only forty-three when he wrote this story and he never lived to be the age of his character, Ryecroft. I am convinced that Gissing did not just happen to stumble on the portrayal of Ryecroft, he has a very well-defined sense of human character. This must have come from many hours of contemplative thought and self-reflection. The character is very humble, knows what he enjoys, recognizes his age, and has on overall very mature look on life. Here is a man who can stop and smell the roses, one who can appreciate what he has done in his youth, and yet knows those days are gone, and accepts it. He does not pine away on the…
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Book Review, English 20th Century, Europe 18th Century, Europe 19th Century, History, My Ramblings, Social Commentary
Book Review: The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot
The cornerstone of Kirk’s essay is that Edmund Burke (1729-1797) was the founder of Modern Conservatism. I have read two of Burke’s works, Speech on Conciliation with America (1775) and Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790). I found them both to be profound. Kirk takes up the conservative conversation starting with Burke and expounds upon it. He goes into depth explaining what he feels are the key points that Burke stressed and how these were continued in both the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
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My Poetry: I Have a Book I Carry
I Have a Book I Carry I have a book I carry, much older than myself. I always take it with me, wherever I may go. I’d never dream to leave it, just sitting on a shelf. It is just a little thing, of poetry and prose. Whenever I go out to eat, I always pull it out, And read aloud a page or two, alone or with a guest. They never seem to disagree, or throw a temper fit. But rather marvel at the thought, at what I might present. There is so much to tell you, about my little book, The lessons that it taught me, are many and sublime. I wish to share these treasures, with everyone I meet, So they may appreciate, the wisdom held inside. I have memories of reading, to loved ones who are gone, The lines that made them laugh and smile, and sometimes shed a tear, Will stay with me through all my life, as treasures held most dear, I would not trade this little book, for anything I fear. And this book is filled with more, of that which I adore, Little pieces of the truth, to help me understand; I…
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Anatomy of a Boys’ Life Magazine from December 1966
I came across one of my uncle’s old Boys’ Life magazine in a box of old mementos. I took a gander through it and found some interesting points that I thought I should share with you all. The advertising is what struck me as most significant. In it there was an abundance of gun ads. Mind you, this magazine is targeted for boys from age 11-18. The physical size of the magazine is almost as big as our modern newspaper, being 10.375 inches wide and 13.25 inches tall compared to our Cincinnati Enquirer, which is 10.5 inches wide by 14.5 inches long. It was a monthly publication and sold for $0.25 a copy individually or $3.00 a year by subscription. The magazine consists of one hundred pages, including front and back cover. Inside the front cover is a Coca-Cola full-page ad with Santa Claus sitting at a small bureau with a glass bottle of Coke in his hands. In the small print above the ad is a notice, “America pauses to see “A Charlie Brown Christmas” on CBS-TV, December 11, 7:00-7:30 EST.” The magazine consists of: several articles by guest writers; regular features, such as Hitchin’ Rack, Hobby News, Gifts…
