That’s Punny!

I’m pretty upset with myself.  I grew up in the Austin area (and yet!) I never once heard of El Arroyo restaurant, not until a few days ago. Since the 1980s, besides serving fine Tex-Mex cuisine to countless customers, the eatery has been posting imaginably funny and clever signs in its parking lot.  In fact, … More That’s Punny!

“We Know What We Are, But Know Not What We May Be”

Who Am I? Depends Who You Ask Barring a few Zen Masters, all of us spend virtually every waking moment (and every non-waking moment) in our own heads. These accommodations may strike you as lightless prison cells, bright, soft palaces, or something in between, depending on your moods and/or medications. Hamlet claimed, “I could be … More “We Know What We Are, But Know Not What We May Be”

New Podcast!

It’s Tuesday! That means we’ve posted a new podcast. In this episode, I have a cool conversation with Jack Canfora, one of Wise & Shine’s writers and our resident humorist. We discuss writing, blogging, the writing process, humor, and sundry related topics. Check it out. Show Notes: About the participants: Troy Headrick started writing before … More New Podcast!

New Podcast!

Check out Wise & Shine’s new podcast.  In our latest episode, I talk with Wynne Leon about “Finding My Father’s Faith,” her memoir.  Enjoy! 

Building the Muscular Mind (Final Installment with Exercises)

Note:  I’ve included some thinking exercises in this piece, toward the second half of the blog.  Please participate in completing those and leaving your answers in the comment section. I hope you don’t feel that I’m beating a dead horse here, talking so much and with such passion about thinking.  It’s just that I’m reminded … More Building the Muscular Mind (Final Installment with Exercises)

Zugzwang

First of all, let’s just take a moment to enjoy the aesthetic decadence of that word. It’s zippy, it’s got zest. In some ways, as we will see, it captures a greater than zero percentage of the zeitgeist. It is every bit the equal of “zozzled,” a Jazz Age term for drunk. But “zugzwang” isn’t … More Zugzwang

The Wise & Shine Podcast:  Coming Attractions

If you’re a regular reader, you know I’ve been posting recently about the new Wise & Shine podcast.  We’ve published four episodes, and I’m working hard to plan and record others.  Our goal is to begin posting a new episode each Tuesday.  I’d like to preview a few upcoming episodes.  This weekend, I’ll be talking … More The Wise & Shine Podcast:  Coming Attractions

A Radical Idea. (I’m Going To Write a Book.)

Just imagine, you’re sat fat, dumb and happy when BAM! Your engine shits itself. (And so do you.) Suddenly you’re forced to divert. You need to get on the ground pronto! Before you know it, there you are. Grounded with a bum engine – a million miles from the original destination you had in mind.  … More A Radical Idea. (I’m Going To Write a Book.)

Why Sports Help Me

Not me doing sports, obviously. That’s bizarre and more than a little disquieting to even picture. But for many people, sports, or more precisely, following a particular sport, team, or player, is something for which they feel a deep abiding passion. For me, it’s baseball. And even though I’m about to relate something specific to … More Why Sports Help Me

A Stoic difficulty: developing love for humanity (philanthropy)

In previous posts I’ve been expanding on four difficulties probably faced by those of us attempting to practice Stoic philosophy. Here is the fourth: a certain lack of effective exercises for developing “philanthropy,” meaning a love of humanity or love of human beings. This “philanthropy” is itself a great topic and matter for reflection, but … More A Stoic difficulty: developing love for humanity (philanthropy)

Goodbye Spunky

My wife and I take care of a few feral cats that live in our neighborhood.  They move quietly and gracefully into and out of our backyard and remind me of lithe shadows.  We feed and water them, and when it got summertime hot back in early June, we constructed a crude but effective cat … More Goodbye Spunky