I’m cleaning out various “I write things” notes and stubs from my “drafts” folder and “WriteMe” list. These might not be recent reads. J.R.R. Tolkien, Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary. I read this to my younger son last Fall. I’m not a Tolkien scholar or a Beowulf scholar, but this was a very interesting read […]
I Read Things: Public Choice, Racism, and Political Capitalism
Anton D. Lowenberg and William H. Kaempfer, The Origins and Demise of South African Apartheid: A Public Choice Analysis. This is an important study that I’m embarrassed to say I wasn’t familiar with it until recently. Randall G. Holcombe, Political Capitalism: How Economic and Political Power is Made and Maintained. Political capitalism, Holcombe argues, is […]
I Read Things, Or At Least Listen to Them on Long Road Trips
Thomas Sowell, Charter Schools and Their Enemies. I reviewed this for Regulation and Forbes.com. It’s not Sowell’s best work (here’s my guide to Sowell), but even Sowell’s worst work is better than a lot of people’s best work. That’s to say you should still familiarize yourself with it. Charters are an off-the-shelf education reform that […]
I Watch Things: The Lego Movie 2, Anthony Hopkins as King Lear, Woody Woodpecker, AAF Livestreams
The Lego Movie 2. I actually never saw the original in its entirety even though we own it. Maya Rudolph as the mother is a pleasant surprise. I’m a bit exasperated by the continued depiction of fathers as buffoons. The plot is interesting, and I don’t think I can write much about it without spoiling […]
I Play Things: Monopoly (Two New-to-Me Versions) and Mastermind
Monopoly Junior. David, my youngest, has wrecked me at this version of the game three games in a row. Every time, he has reminded me that “Monopoly isn’t everything.” It’s dramatically simplified, with a smaller board–two property groups and a chance space on each side, no railroads, no utilities, no houses or hotels–and it makes […]
I Eat (Too Many) Things: From Shoney’s to Chez Fonfon
Shoney’s. It was a childhood institution when I was growing up. On drives to and from visits to family in Nashville and Alabama (from our home in Ohio), Shoney’s—usually the one in Elizabethtown, Kentucky—was the place where we stopped to eat. I thought Shoney’s had disappeared, but one has opened recently just off I-65’s exit […]
I Watch Things: “Ralph Breaks the Internet” and the Worst Christmas Movie Ever
Alone for Christmas. You know how people refer to Under Seige as “Die Hard on a boat” and Speed as “Die Hard on a bus?” Alone for Christmas is “Home Alone with a dog.” It’s one of the most painfully bad movies I think I’ve ever seen. Naturally, the kids loved it. And I have no one to blame but myself […]
I Watch Things: Teen Titans GO! To The Movies
We’ve been waiting for Teen Titans GO! To The Movies for quite some time now, and we’re glad we got to see it on opening day. It doesn’t disappoint. It’s very self-aware: the movie hits a lot of superhero movie tropes and has a lot of fun at the expense of the genre. You can pick […]
I Write Things: 2018 Stuff for Forbes.com
Since 2010 I’ve been a contributor to Forbes.com. I agreed a few months ago to publish more, and ideally I’ll be producing 1-2 articles per week (at least). One of my major goals in this will be to summarize and apply research (recent and classic) in articles suitable for classroom use. Here’s what I’ve written […]
I Eat Things: Brats & Burgers & Fries
We’ve taken to rotating who gets to pick where we eat after church on Sundays, and during my wife’s recent weeklong trip I let each kid pick where we ate dinner one night. Here are some highlights. Brat Brot. I wasn’t expecting much on my first visit–I figured it’d be another overpriced hipster joint with […]