Author Archives: awtraughber

Going Rogue with Trailers

Had some interesting back-and-forth at work yesterday about this trailer: I liked the first trailer quite a bit, as it had some great visuals and didn’t feel beholden to the main Star Wars story (even though it plays a significant … Continue reading

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Kubla Khan and Ecclesiology

Since the conception of “youth culture,” the tendency towards an entertainment-first focus has always been a danger.  Bells and whistles, light shows and rock music, spiritual highs and week-later letdowns have always been landmines in the field of souls.  The … Continue reading

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Co-opting William Blake

It’s not everyday that you get see a William Blake poem used for a car commercial . . .

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2016 in Twenty Twelve

In “preparation” for the 2012 Olympics in London, the BBC put together a “documentary show” titled Twenty Twelve.  It followed a dysfunctional version of the London Olympic organizing team during the five hundred days leading to the games opening ceremonies. … Continue reading

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In Class with Klosterman

This semester I’m trying a couple of new things with my students to try and engage them on an intellectual level that doesn’t necessarily feed the beast of academia.  We are currently in a unit where we talk about the … Continue reading

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Anybody Got a Match?

This past Sunday I was joking with a friend about how great a Lord of the Rings (extended edition) marathon would be just hours before students arrived to start the new year.  And while I was totally joking, I did … Continue reading

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On Liberty

Over the course of The Fractured Republic, Yuval Levin traces the recent history of both our country and the people who constitute it.  While government and big business and culture are huge movers in the story, the daily practitioners of … Continue reading

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The Difference between Community and Identity

One of the things that has been most beneficial for me from reading Yuval Levin’s The Fractured Republic is that it has given me better language to describe the situation we find ourselves in.  Case in point: Levin’s discussion of … Continue reading

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Ricky Baker in Middle Earth

One of the cinematic highlights in the summer of 2016 has been Hunt for the Wilderpeople.  Directed by Taika Waititi (of What We Do in the Shadows), Wilderpeople follows the adventures of a kid rejected by society making his way … Continue reading

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Inkling Lessons Learned (or: Generation Found)

While I haven’t listened to the interview to be found at the article’s end, I did enjoy the recent Forbes piece on “The Inklings at War” by Jerry Bower.  In the article, Bowyer traces the philosophical implications of the first … Continue reading

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