Plague Poems – The Thirtieth Week
In confusion and consternation a fatigued people cry out “What is happening?” “I am” replies the plague. * Do not pray for a powerful man to recover. Do not pray … Continue reading
Theses on Doomscrolling
‘Tis sweet, when, down the mighty main, the winds Roll up its waste of waters, from the land To watch another’s labouring anguish far, Not that we joyously delight that … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Twenty-Ninth Week
On this day of awe we set aside our excuses our frail justifications so that we may atone and so that we may forgive the transgressions against us. Sitting in … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Twenty-Eighth Week
A country that does not stop to mourn two hundred thousand deaths is a country that does not have long left. * I understand (how could I not?) why you … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Twenty-Seventh Week
The clearer it becomes that the future for which I had always prepared has vanished the more confused I am by the ways in which day after day I continue … Continue reading
Flamethrowers and Fire Extinguishers – a review of “The Social Dilemma”
“The myth of technological and political and social inevitability is a powerful tranquilizer of the conscience. Its service is to remove responsibility from the shoulders of everyone who truly believes … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Twenty-Sixth Week
Do not allow yourself to believe that it was inevitable that a week would begin with the terrible news that the plague has claimed its one hundred and ninety thousandth … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Twenty-Fifth Week
One can be excused for failing to be ready when the unimaginable strikes by their very nature such calamities elude most minds. Yes one can be forgiven for lacking foresight … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Twenty-Fourth Week
This morning my love left me dressed formally clutching old keys bag nervously in hand returning to the campus where their classroom of masked pupils awaits. This evening my love … Continue reading
How to Prepare for This (totally normal) Fall Semester
The start of a new academic year is a thrilling and exhilarating moment! Professors and students come together to explore new topics, investigate complex issues, and continue down the path … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Twenty-Third Week
You need not be a sagacious prophet wizened in interpreting the motions of the heavens in order to understand that it is an ill omen for a week to being … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Twenty-Second Week
Those who did not know the answer to the Sphinx’s riddle were devoured for their incorrect response. We cannot claim not to know the answer to the plague’s riddle as … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Twenty-First Week
If our leaders truly believed that our lives had any value they would not be debating whether six hundred dollars is too grand a sum. * That which was unthinkable … Continue reading
What teaching online taught me
“In the race between education and catastrophe, which Mr. H.G. Wells pointed out long ago, we can already see the finish line. And at the moment, catastrophe is in the … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Twentieth Week
A considerate teacher the plague has provided our leaders an opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned. Alas it appears the lesson our leaders have internalized is that they should … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Nineteenth Week
When the plague first appeared experts and commentators projected possible deaths the optimistic ones assumed that deaths would be few the pessimistic ones feared that deaths would be many but … Continue reading
It is later than you think – the COVID-19 catastrophe is already here
“Don’t be a coward. Have the courage to be afraid. Force yourself to produce the amount of fear that corresponds to the magnitude of the apocalyptic danger.” – Günther Anders. … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Eighteenth Week
A hallmark of a civilized society (or so we were told) is that it sends its young to the classroom not to the sacrificial altar. How then to understand our … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Seventeenth Week
So long as the sate of the world causes you anguish you need not despair. For your anguish is a sign that some buried part of you still know that … Continue reading
Facing Facebook
“Manufacturers and promoters always stress the liberating attributes of new technology, regardless of the specific technology in question.” – Ursula Franklin While sailing through the cold waters of the … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Sixteenth Week
In the times before the plague a weekend spent inside was a guilty pleasure, to tell others that you had just stayed in made you seem a bore. Under the … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Fifteenth Week
Though the carnival barker fumed at the numerous empty seats at his rally the plague was quite satisfied with the turnout. * If more of your neighbors had only been … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Fourteenth Week
Upon being asked to accept the sacrifice of having to wear a mask many decided they would rather sacrifice their neighbors instead. * While buying groceries I overheard a man … Continue reading
TikTok Will Not Save Us
Have you heard? Social media is good again! The last several years have been rather rough for the social media companies. These companies—Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and others—have gone from being … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Thirteenth Week
From history there is much we must learn for there is much we have failed to learn. Study the years of the past let those events leave their imprints upon … Continue reading
How to Move Your Books in the Middle of a Pandemic
When the world is gripped by a pandemic, there are many activities that need to be approached with a new level of caution. Masks, gloves, social distancing, especially thorough handwashing, … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Eleventh and Twelfth Weeks
Some say that history will be made this week. Was not history made last week? Yes, history was made last week but this week we will not be able to … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Tenth Week
Only fools and optimists fail to make preparations for tragic possibilities. For every Plan A there must be a Plan B For every Plan B there must be a Plan … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Ninth Week
From the wreckage of the fall we shall look back upon these days and remember them as having been the good times. * None should be surprised to learn that … Continue reading
Plague Poems – The Eighth Week
Freedom is not a concept that can be easily defined. But I am sure that there must be more to freedom than shopping. * You who enjoy the parks while … Continue reading
