Russellarbenfox

LATEST ARTICLES ( 630 )

• Spider-Man, Batman, Rocket Raccoon, and Me

  

  In my 35 years of varying levels of involvement (sometimes intense, sometimes merely cursory) with comic books and the whole geek world it has given rise... Read more

  Posted on 26 May 2014 SOCIETY

• Public Schools, Family Schools, Local Schools

  

  [Cross-posted to Front Porch Republic]Yesterday was the final day of the school year at Peterson Elementary School, the public school which three of our four... Read more

  Posted on 23 May 2014 SOCIETY

• Six Months of Sabbatical (More Or Less)

  

  Yesterday was town-hall meeting for all Friends University employees; afterwards, our university's interim president invited me to serve on a summer committee... Read more

  Posted on 22 May 2014 SOCIETY

• Bringing the Idaho Stop to Wichita Since 2006

  

  Many thanks to David Watkins of Lawyers, Guns Money for bringing this superb article on the physics and practicality of making stops while bicycling along... Read more

  Posted on 12 May 2014 SOCIETY

• 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