About

What You Can Expect Here:   Writing that will please you.  The pieces range from the absurd to the somber.  A lot of it makes me smile.

You have to like reading.  Most people don’t like reading on the internet, nothing more than the 140 Tweet, anyhow.  With that in mind, fair warning that this site will ask a lot of you.

I believe in on-the-spot philosophy, in challenging our language and perspective and, above all, at being able to laugh about things.

• Essays & Stories – What it sounds like, some essays I’ve written as well as personal non-fiction.
• Language – I love looking at common phrases and words and figuring out what they really mean.
• Modern News – More often than not, mock news, but sometimes it’s more serious punditry.
• Modern Podcast – A hodgepodge of audio recordin.  Expect some real growth in this category
• The Comedies – It’s supposed to be funny
• The Republic – The catchall for all things Modern Sophist from random observations to internet dialog.

Look at a few pieces, see if any headlines catch your eye.  Try listening to the podcast if you’re the type that likes radio and voices.  If you like it, share it, comment, let me and others know.

Meanwhile: I take  no claim to any wisdom.  I have as much to learn as everyone else.

The “Sophists” were the teachers of the aristocracy in Athens before Socrates and when we talk about them now it’s usually to say that they were sort of “selling” wisdom instead of reaching any solid, philosophical conclusions. To some, it’s one who cares more about the convincing than the strength of the actual argument.  For me, for the purposes of this site as a place for my writing, it’s about asking questions, and enjoying the process more than the actual truth of anything.

I’d like to make a note to those of you I’ve offended:  I generally consider myself thoughtful of others, in person and in writing.  However, when trying to gain a balanced perspective on topics, I have two general tendancies which work against me in my goal of not being misunderstood and/or pissing people off: Firstly, I tend to write quickly and passionatley when I sit down to write something out, and post just after for the sake of keeping content fresh.  This has the unhappy risk of leaving many of my thoughts unpolished, unclear, and understated.  Secondly, I often find myself taking on a point, a joke, or a satire, and running with it, so that in the same way some idle musing becomes a voice, and the voice becomes a character all its own, I find my writing taking on a voice perhaps different from one I might hold given more reflection.  Some people call this playing Devil’s Advocate.  I prefer intellectual improvisation.  I offer these two points not to detract from any personal responsibility, but as a way of explaining that, while I always stand by my endeavor to express ideas and see where they take me, I consider them, always, works-in-progress.  Please read for the sake of curiosity, enjoyment, and interest, but know that I don’t claim any great authority on what is right or wrong.  At least in my life, I feel that some subjects are too serious not to laugh at.