A Very Big Wow

 

A Book for Our Times

 

The Modern Churchman

An interesting excerpt from Decline and Fall, the 1928 novel by Evelyn Waugh:

Besides this, I have had a letter from Mr. Prendergast stating that he too wishes to resign his post. Apparently he has been reading a series of articles by a popular bishop and has discovered that there is a species of person called a 'Modern Churchman' who draws the full salary of a beneficed clergyman and need not commit himself to any religious belief. This seems to be a comfort to him, but it adds greatly to my own inconvenience.

Remember The Yellow Vest Protests?

 Regarding the November 2018 "yellow vest" protests in France:

"Supported by a majority of French public opinion, it has brought together people from very different backgrounds: industrial workers, office workers, small business owners, farmers, young people, middle-aged members of the labor force, retired men and women. These ordinary people, mainly from the working class but in any case unprompted by class consciousness, all have the sense of having been demoted to the status of second-class citizens."

- From Twilight of the Elites: Prosperity, The Periphery, and the Future of France by Christophe Guilluy (2019)

Please Distribute to All Presenters

Nicholas Bate has a key message: Presenting is not PowerPoint.

PowerPoint should be a last, not a first, resort.

Our Sunny Future

 

Europe's Absence

What did the crowd of young people shout to Jacques Chirac in 2004, during the first visit by a French president to Algeria since decolonization? "Visas, visas." A malicious wit might say they drove us out and now they all want to come live with us! That does not cast doubt on the legitimacy of their independence, but it does explain this disturbing truth: Europe got over the loss of its colonies much more quickly than the colonies got over their loss of Europe.

- From The Tyranny of Guilt: An Essay on Western Masochism by Pascal Bruckner

Confession

 

The Question Is Asked Again

 

A Cup of Ginger Tea

Ginger tea made with ground ginger is great for clearing the sinuses.

It's also a nice companion when you're setting priorities and analyzing issues.

I am sipping it while considering the role of literature in life.

More on that later.

[Photo by Milada Vigerova at Unsplash]