More proof that Education degrees ought to go the way of Phrenology: “The findings show that TFA [Teach for America] teachers are more effective, as measured by student exam performance, than traditional teachers. Moreover, they suggest that the TFA effect, at least in the grades and subjects investigated, exceeds the impact of additional years of …
This is why I don’t often answer emails or phone calls. Money quote: “In 2005, the BBC reported on a research study, funded by Hewlett-Packard and conducted by the Institute of Psychiatry at the University of London, that found, ‘Workers distracted by e-mail and phone calls suffer a fall in IQ more than twice that …
From loyal reader John T., following an exchange about bears, and the penchant among wildlife authorities for valuing their lives over the lives of hikers: “When it comes to the safety of my family, I have relegated the government to an advisory role only.”
In national news, we are out of gasoline. That recent tankful you got will be your last. We are also out of money. Your local bank will soon be converted to a pawn shop. Finally, we are out of food, because everything but corn is poisonous, and all the corn is going to ethanol production. …
This is a belated thank you for David Anderson of Iowa, who was kind and generous enough to visit my Amazon Wishlist and send me a copy of Hem’s Funnel Cloud. I heart Hem. I’m not sure if this makes me a girl (either the adoration of Hem, or the employment of “heart” as a …
A quote from my patron saint, were I to have one, which maybe I do and simply don’t realize it: “A time is coming when people will go mad and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him, saying: ‘You are mad, you are not like us.’” — St. Anthony the …
Those of you who enjoy fiction, or who enjoy supporting artists, or who simply like the cut of my jib should head on over to your local Barnes and Noble to pick up a copy of Image, issue 58, which carries my third ever published short story. The title is “Name,” and I’m quite fond …
We found ourselves in Wichita last night, where we did some last-minute grocery shopping. My wife and I are southerners, and thus no Fourth of July can be celebrated on our property without watermelon. As we wandered through the wide produce section of the fancy Dillons, I spied this abomination: “Personal Watermelons.” Apparently some farmer …
My last two essays at World on the Web have concerned wisdom offered by Dorothy Sayers and Henri Nouwen. In each instance commenters raised the rumor that the writers were gay. It’s disappointing that we continue, in the Christian community, to have this outsized, paranoid obsession with homosexuality. It’s also fascinating that so many Christians …
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One year ago, Isaiah John Woodlief came into the world, which is better for it. Today he will have presents, and Daddy’s homemade spaghetti, and an ice cream cake, with which is brothers are eager to help him. Happy Birthday, little squawker.
Modern politicians talk a lot about working. We must “work together” to build a future for our children. Elect me and I’ll “work tirelessly” to give you this or that good thing. Here is the lawyer Obama, newly minted expert on energy economics, arguing that we need to work with a range of favored scientific …
Occasionally I’ll see a woman driving with her rear-view mirror turned cockeyed, so she can do her make-up, or generally just keep an eye on the Wonder of Herself. But today I saw a guy (I’ll not apply the word man to this creature) driving with his mirror twisted leftward. He was working on his …
Wife and I saw M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening last night, which when you factor in the price of gas and babysitting and popcorn, makes us more investors in Shyamalan’s flick than viewers. Without giving anything away, I can tell you the movie continues Shyamalan’s trend of coming up with fascinating ideas, drawing us in …
National Review carries today an article about shameless behavior by a number of politicians and judges in my state of Kansas. Despite its conservative reputation, the state has some of the higher taxes and spending in the region, and worse, it tolerates an abortion regime that civilized people might be forgiven for expecting to find …
I want to offer a thought about this multiple-wives business, which every married man in America has thought to himself, but perhaps not voiced. And that thought is: “More wives?!? Are these men nuts?!? I can understand how it might work on paper. You love your wife, she is essential to your life, most good …
I had a gun in my hand today, and a snake at my feet, and I didn’t shoot him. Had he been in my house, on the other hand, with no way to exit him but to make physical contact, I can’t be so sure there wouldn’t be gunfire. But still.
“Done Living,” by Justin McRoberts, from his Deconstruction album:
“Songbird,” the Rosie Thomas version, from her album, These Friends of Mine.
“Upward Over the Mountain,” by Iron & Wine (Sam Beam), from his album “The Creek Drank the Cradle.” You can enjoy a slightly different live version below. Ignore the annoying girl’s laugh at the beginning, which isn’t actually part of the song:
“We know that we are less than our names: we are our names minus whatever belongs in the empty place. And the question a man is apt to ask in the darkest moments of his life is what salvation can there be, from anywhere, for the man who is less than his name.” Frederick Buechner, …
“Lookin’ Forward,” by Over the Rhine, on their Drunkard’s Prayer album.
My new friend Greg sent me this video. You can see him in what to me is the most touching part. And if you haven’t yet watched “Hotel Rwanda,” tonight would be a good night, don’t you think? Be sure to watch the documentary that is part of the DVD. It puts all of our …
Several of you, like me, have forsaken the news as an irritant, but wrote to tell me that you appreciated my recent rundown of the U.S. presidential campaign. So as a public service, I’d like to offer my latest installment of News by Osmosis: In election news, Barack Obama was discovered to be a member …
By now we’ve all heard that America’s productivity takes a dip because of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The most widely touted estimate comes from Chicago research firm Challenger, Gray, and Christmas, which estimates this year’s tourney will cost up to $1.7 billion in lost productivity. I think we’re missing the silver lining. There’s a …
I came to work late this morning, as part of my protest against daylight savings time, which I refuse to reify with capital letters. I have nothing against daylight that knows its place, nor against saving time. What I protest is that a country as technologically advanced as our own can’t figure out how to …
I’ve been watching with one eye the travails of Kelvin Sampson, coach of the Indiana men’s basketball team. Sampson has been tripped up by the pharisaical system of NCAA rules, which pays close attention to who pays for a player’s meals, but scrutinizes less closely whether the player ever receives an education. In Sampson’s case, …
Though not yet an industrial or vacation magnet, we have great hopes for the fine state of Kansas. Newcomers may find themselves perplexed by the local norms and practices of highway driving. Periodically out of the goodness of our own hearts, as well as various court orders and private settlements, the management of this website …
