Russellarbenfox
MY BLOGS
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In Medias Res
http://inmedias.blogspot.com/
Essays, notes, and fragments--personal, political, and philosophical--from the midst of things
LATEST ARTICLES ( 586 )
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Half Edward Abbey, Half George Grant, All Natural
[Cross-posted to Front Porch Republic]Farley Mowat has died. Long before I knew anything about alternatives to the late-20th-century American way of life, long... Read more
Posted on 08 May 2014 SOCIETY -
Saturday Night Live Music: "Summertime"
It's getting up into the 90s this weekend in Wichita. I'm done teaching, and thanks to my sabbatical may not be back in the classroom for eight months. Read more
Posted on 04 May 2014 SOCIETY -
Steve Martin's Five Best Movies
For no particular good reason, I found myself thinking about Steve Martin this morning. Now well along in his third (fourth?) career, the bulk of the movies he... Read more
Posted on 02 May 2014 SOCIETY -
(Civic) Myths Over (Religious) Markets: Defending the National Day of Prayer
[Cross-posted to Front Porch Republic] I don't often disagree with my old friend Michael Austin, partly because he's much smarter and much better read than I,... Read more
Posted on 01 May 2014 SOCIETY -
First of May, First of May...
...and, well, complete the rest of the old rhyme yourself. I first heard it from James Taylor during an concert back in 1991--who told us in the audience that i... Read more
Posted on 01 May 2014 SOCIETY -
Jesse Winchester, Southern Regionalist, RIP
Jesse Winchester, a tuneful poet from a small corner of southern America who had to flee America--at a time when it was going through one of its more... Read more
Posted on 12 April 2014 SOCIETY -
Saturday Night Live Music: "Steppin' Out"
A melodious, almost mournful, jazz reworking of the New Wave classic. This version has been around forever, thanks to the Joe Jackson's brilliant Live... Read more
Posted on 30 March 2014 SOCIETY -
Rod Dreher Speaking in Wichita, KS
[Cross-posted to Front Porch Republic] Of the very, very few people who regularly read this blog (when I actually bother to post something, which isn't often... Read more
Posted on 20 March 2014 SOCIETY -
Saturday Night Live Music: "If Not for You" and "Absolutely Sweet Marie"
I found myself spending some time this week listening to one of my very favorite concerts of all time, the huge Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration... Read more
Posted on 16 March 2014 SOCIETY -
Saturday Night Live Music: "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan"
I've been finishing up preparations for a class on gender and equality that I'll be teaching for the next eight weeks or so, beginning on Monday, and I found... Read more
Posted on 09 March 2014 SOCIETY -
A Genuinely Original Libertarian Argument?
[Cross-posted to Front Porch Republic]Yesterday evening, I participated in a symposium sponsored in part by Northfield School of the Liberal Arts, a private... Read more
Posted on 05 March 2014 SOCIETY -
Defending the Oscars (Sometimes)
It's easy to dump on the Academy Awards; doing so in practically a tradition, one that I've joined in with plenty of times. If you want this year's version, jus... Read more
Posted on 03 March 2014 SOCIETY -
Saturday Night Live Music: "Into Temptation"
Two fine Australian musicians--Neil Finn of Crowded House fame being the much better known, but Paul Kelly has quite a discography as well--singing a fine,... Read more
Posted on 02 March 2014 SOCIETY -
Still Great, Half a Century On
So, will you be huddled like sheep around the television set (or the laptop, though I'm not it'll be live-streamed) watching CBS this Sunday night, watching... Read more
Posted on 07 February 2014 SOCIETY -
The Ron and Hermione Problem
[Fan art by keerakeera]Okay, I didn't plan on writing anything about this, and there's no point in explaining anything to anyone who doesn't already know... Read more
Posted on 04 February 2014 BOOKS, CULTURE, SOCIETY -
Wrong Case, Wrong Reasoning, Right Principle
Late last week, the state of Kansas officially joined Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. by filing an amicus brief in support of the Hobby Lobby's effort to... Read more
Posted on 03 February 2014 SOCIETY -
Five Essential Philip Seymour Hoffman Film Performances
By now, everybody who is on the internet today knows: Philip Seymour Hoffman, the brilliant stage and screen actor, the first (and here I'm stealing a tribute... Read more
Posted on 02 February 2014 CELEB, CURRENT, ENTERTAINMENT, MEDIA, MOVIES, SOCIETY -
40 Years of Geeky Fun
As best as the best geek research available is able to determine, Dungeons Dragons--the game, the lifestyle, the way of appropriating and accommodating onesel... Read more
Posted on 26 January 2014 SOCIETY -
Saturday Night Live Music: "God Part II"
In my opinion, one of U2's best songs, a short neglected masterpiece from their most misunderstood album from their most ignored tour. Read more
Posted on 26 January 2014 SOCIETY -
"Be Quiet but Friendly; Proud, but Not Arrogant; Joyous, but Not Boistrous"
Via Slate magazine comes this revealing document, signed by Martin Luther King, Jr., exhibiting a brave and, in the very best tradition of America's civil... Read more
Posted on 18 January 2014 SOCIETY