to be a man who is brisk about his food and his work,” Kierkegaard admonished in 1843 as he contemplated our greatest source of unhappiness. It’s a sobering sentiment against the backdrop of modern life, where the cult of busyness and productivity plays out as the chief drama of our existence — a drama we persistently lament as singular to our time. We reflexively blame on the Internet our corrosive compulsion for doing at the cost of being, forgetting that every technology is a symptom and not, or at least not at first, a cause of our desires and pathologies. Our intentions are the basic infrastructure of our lives, out of which all of our inventions and acti... posted on Jul 2 2023 (5,774 reads)

it as a gash or a crack in the road that forbids continuity, right? Like a fissure, a rift, a metabolic rift that is not a place of inadequacy but is a place of generative spillage and excessiveness in which Wendell Berry would often say that the impeded stream is the one that sings. So this idea of an obstacle and impediment that proliferates errancy, a strain away from the familiar. That is the monstrous. We often think of the monster, which is a cultural tool, a pervasive, multicultural technology. We use it, we use the monster in our stories to mark boundaries. “Don’t go here. This is where you stay.” But there comes a time when we are invited to those edges, to th... posted on Jul 3 2023 (2,075 reads)

of motorized transport, along with the attendant speed and freedom it offers, which has become such an integral part of our contemporary lifestyle. It likewise speaks volumes about us and about the nature of the choices we make daily. Gone perhaps are the days of poetic musings over the merits of walking versus riding. Yet one can’t help but wonder if we have lost something essential along the way—a connection with the world that only a leisurely walk can provide. So, while technology continues to shape our lives, perhaps it is worth revisiting the inner struggle once posed by Davies by embracing the joy of walking seen through the eyes of the renowned author C.S. Lewis.... posted on Nov 22 2023 (2,355 reads)

enjoy the sound of the organ, but on special occasions they call in long-time cave organist Otto Pebworth. After years playing the organ—which, like any instrument, has its own unique quirks—he has seen how this incredible feat of engineering, music, and nature continues to inspire generations of listeners. If you have a little extra time I highly recommend you take a few minutes to watch this video from musical YouTuber Rob Scallon. He not only dives deeper into the history and technology of the organ, but gets to play the Great Stalacpipe Organ and brings his own guitar to play alongside Otto in what can only be described as one of the most beautiful and unique concerts on ... posted on Apr 25 2024 (3,710 reads)