Russellarbenfox

LATEST ARTICLES ( 622 )

• Lazy Late Summer Workday #5

  "[T]he press was still the last resource of the educated poor who could not be artists and would not be tutors. Any man who was fit for nothing else could... Read more

  Posted on 31 July 2015 SOCIETY

• Lazy Late Summer Workday #4

  

  "[T]he press was still the last resource of the educated poor who could not be artists and would not be tutors. Any man who was fit for nothing else could... Read more

  Posted on 30 July 2015 SOCIETY

• Lazy Late Summer Workday #3

  

  "[T]he press was still the last resource of the educated poor who could not be artists and would not be tutors. Any man who was fit for nothing else could... Read more

  Posted on 29 July 2015 SOCIETY

• Lazy Late Summer Workday #2

  

  "[T]he press was still the last resource of the educated poor who could not be artists and would not be tutors. Any man who was fit for nothing else could... Read more

  Posted on 28 July 2015 SOCIETY

• Lazy Late Summer Workday #1

  

  Well, it's definitely the dog days of summer now. Temperatures in the upper 90s and 100s. Summer teaching is over, and the fall semester won't begin for three... Read more

  Posted on 27 July 2015 SOCIETY

• Seven (only Moderately Short but Hopefully Somewhat Syllogistic) Statements on...

  

  Well, it's been exactly one week since Obergefell v. Hodges was handed down by the Supreme Court, and the legal recognition of the marriages of gay and lesbian... Read more

  Posted on 03 July 2015 SOCIETY

• My Weird Al Favorites

  

  Weird Al Yankovic is performing a sold-out show in Wichita tonight, and I snagged front-row balcony seats from my daughter Alison (our own "weird Al") and I. Read more

  Posted on 01 July 2015 SOCIETY

• Pixar Films, Ranked

  

  This year Pixar is 20 years old, and with the release of Inside Out, they've now made 15 films. Over five years ago, I wondered, in complete admiration, "when... Read more

  Posted on 23 June 2015 SOCIETY

• A Presidential Proposal Worthy of the Porch

  

  [Cross-posted to Front Porch Republic]The blogger, pundit, screenwriter, and all-around mensch Noah Millman has come up with a brilliant idea--Bernie Sanders,... Read more

  Posted on 28 May 2015 SOCIETY

• Saturday Night Live Music: "I Like to Live the Love"

  I saw B.B. King once, at Snowbird Resort in Utah, in 1992 I think. He was the concluding act of a big blues tour, and the penultimate performer was Buddy Guy,... Read more

  Posted on 17 May 2015 SOCIETY

• Hanging Out With, and Learning From, Some Thoroughly Material Benedictines

  

  [Cross-posted to Front Porch Republic]A few weeks ago I was able to, once again, do something that I enjoy doing immensely--take a group of students out on a... Read more

  Posted on 15 May 2015 SOCIETY

• Top Ten Reasons I Have to Say, as of Next Wednesday: Thanks, Dave.

  

  Next week, David Letterman will host his final show. And so, of course, there are numerous tributes to be found all over the internet. Do I have one? Read more

  Posted on 14 May 2015 SOCIETY

• Broken Soil, Broken Hearts

  

  [Cross-posted to By Common Consent]This week, I prepared our small garden space, as I do every year, for the tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, and more... Read more

  Posted on 04 May 2015 SOCIETY

• Saturday Night Live Music: "In the House of Stone and Light"

  Something a little different this Saturday: no live video, just an audio recording. But this is such a fine recording of such a wonderful, haunting pop tune fro... Read more

  Posted on 12 April 2015 SOCIETY

• The Most Important Element of Tonight's Win for Marijuana Sentencing Reform

  

  Tonight, a ballot issue here in Wichita, KS, to reduce the penalty for a first-time arrest for the possession of a small amount of marijuana won. Did it win big? Read more

  Posted on 08 April 2015 SOCIETY

• Mid-Sized Meditations #7: Why Cities Ought To, Sometimes, Challenge Their States

  

  [Cross-posted to Front Porch Republic]On next Tuesday’s ballot here in Wichita, KS, voters will be able to, whether they realize it or not, directly contribute... Read more

  Posted on 02 April 2015 SOCIETY

• I'm Getting Older Too

  

  I saw Fleetwood Mac on their "On With The Show" tour here in Wichita last night. What a fantastic show it was! It was obvious that both the band and the sold-ou... Read more

  Posted on 01 April 2015 SOCIETY

• Should Mormons (or Anyone) Hope to Change the World?

  

  [Cross-posted to By Common Consent]For many decades at least--and maybe, depending on whose history you most trust, maybe ever since our beginning--the... Read more

  Posted on 29 March 2015 SOCIETY

• Power, Sex, and the Real Story of House of Cards

  

  Be warned: spoliers follow.I finally finished season 3 of House of Cards late last week, and I have to say that I was, at first, disappointed. Read more

  Posted on 16 March 2015 SOCIETY

• Why Local Elections Ought to Be Partisan

  

  Here is the original and slightly longer version of a piece of mine which appeared in the Wichita Eagle this morning.Last week the Kansas Senate approved a... Read more

  Posted on 06 March 2015 SOCIETY