The Republic

Critical reflections on the issues of our republic (and a few others).

What’s That Song in Your Head?

January 25, 2010

Do random songs ever pop into your head? I’m not talking about how some catchy tune was being played on the radio recently, or when a buddy is singing something and, like musical cooties, you pick up the melody. I’m talking about some song just droning on, inside your head with no discernable origin. This [...]

Twitter Gets Weird

January 24, 2010

I got drunk with some friends who are associated with Twitter. Along the way, it suddenly seemed funny to me if all of our points in conversation were limited to 140 characters, just like a Twitter post. The drunker I got, the funnier this seemed, until, regrettably, I decided at three in the morning, still mid party mind you, to write about it.

¡Modern Sophist Returning!

January 9, 2010

Please note the interesting placement of an upside-down exclamation point at the beginning of the title (a little character which, no doubt, has its own name that somebody, somewhere, knows and cares about). I used just such a foreign mark to commemorate the imminent return of this little character from abroad (Spain, as of this [...]

A Brief Preview of Der Nederlands

January 2, 2010

I am in the Netherlands. Did I not mention that? Alas, I was busy packing and not learning any Dutch. I”ll have plenty to write about when I get back (Roughly the 11th, in case you were counting down), but meanwhile, here is a little preview of some things I’ve learned: The Dutch do not [...]

A Christmas Revolution

December 27, 2009

Really dude? I took this photo on Christmas day and it leaves me wondering so very much. For example, what’s more pathetic, spending the Christmas afternoon playing Dance, Dance Revolution at the Metreon arcade or being the guy watching the guy play Dance, Dance Revolution, both for at least an hour. Christmas was interesting this [...]

The Amber Room, as we know it, Is Closing

December 20, 2009

The Amber Room (some know it as Amber Bar or just Amber) is closing down after new years eve. Its owners will put it under renovations for two weeks where it will emerge as a slightly more accommodating, hipper, smoke-free bar. That’s right. No more smoking at Amber Room. This is a time for mourning. Let’s get right [...]

Hospital Approves Dirty Jesus

December 15, 2009

I’ve seen this painting on various walls at various church sponsered hospitals (in this case it’s the Seventh Day Adventists). It’s hard to really appreciate how amazing this picture is unless you regularly go into hospitals and have gone through some degree of training in following hospital policies on sterility. Let me tell you why most doctors [...]

You Killed the Polar Bears

December 11, 2009

Heard all of this on a special report by some scientist on NPR last night. It’s not the hunting, or the massive buildup of heavy metals in their bodies (did you know that eating a Polar Bear liver will kill you? I think that’s way sexy.), it’s the ice. The ice is melting. What’s funny [...]

Addiction or Why The Writing Habit Is Losing

December 3, 2009

Any writer will tell you that writing is a kind of discipline. Any fool with a pen can scribble out a few lines, even a few pages, when they’re feeling especially passionate. This is your epiphany on world politics or your treatise on “Why My Ex, Jane, Is Such a Cunt.” The true mark of [...]

Why Not Get the H1N1 Vaccine?

October 26, 2009

I think it would be a mistake, especially if you are a parent, to not get the H1N1 vaccine for you and your children. I actually think “dumb” is the correct word, as in, “It would be really dumb not to get it,” but I’ll stick with “mistake” in keeping with my general intellectual optimism with other people. [...]

Mr. Wood Goes to Washington

October 20, 2009

So I’m headed to DC tomorrow morning for the rest of the week. I really believe in being a good citizen. Besides voting, keeping abreast of and an open mind about the issues, and maintaining an active conversation with my peers about those issues, I think travel is a big part of it. This isn’t, by [...]

Is Objective Morality Possible?

October 9, 2009

In reply to a dear friend abroad, who asked if I thought Objective Morality was possible (that being a morality that was true, in virtue of itself, and thereby agreed by all who think rationally) I replied with a brief outline of some of the troubles I’ve come across, namely, how different values interupt this [...]

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