Currently Reading:
Flickr Photos
Author Archives: awtraughber
Deep Enough to Dream
The summer is almost over for me. I don’t make it through a summer without thinking about the music of 1997: the self-titled studio release from Caedmon’s Call, the greatest hits album of Steven Curtis Chapman (which included “Not Home … Continue reading
Our Sclerotic Systems
Even though Yuval Levin’s The Fractured Republic is all about understanding modern-day America, it can also easily read as a parable for other institutions and organizations. Everything is connected, of course. So Levin’s description of our national systems and programs … Continue reading
Renorming (and who benefits)
I believe it was marketing guru Seth Godin who introduced me to the idea that history may not repeat, but it definitely rhymes. That’s the sense you get when reading Yuval Levin’s The Fractured Republic. Sometimes patterns and trends really … Continue reading
Pokemon Go as Reality Filter?
(Pokémon Go/Gustave Caillebotte, “Le Pont de l’Europe,” 1876 from CityLab.com) Nicholas Carr (writer of The Shallows and The Glass Cage) recently posted his own “take” on the Pokemon Go/augmented reality discussion, mostly from the vantage point of art and Instagram. … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Internet, Teaching
Leave a comment
You Are Here (When Is That?)
The first half of Yuval Levin’s The Fractured Republic is an attempt to explain the contemporary American landscape by revisiting the major trends of the twentieth century. It’s a tall order that, from my perspective, he handles well and without … Continue reading
Nostalgia and Our Fractured Republic
If there’s a book out this summer that’s worth your time and money, it’s Yuval Levin’s The Fractured Republic. I read it a few weeks ago and have been mulling over it ever since. In the book, Levin draws a … Continue reading
Pocket Monster Round-Up
The stakes aren’t all that high for me with the recent release of Pokemon Go as a mobile app. It’s at least two generations removed from what was important to my childhood (I draw the first line at the Teenage … Continue reading
Posted in Internet
Leave a comment
What You Find When You Look
Try as we might to make it otherwise, place matters. At our best, we are people rooted in place and time in a way that makes us mindful of the good and bad of our moment. This is less and … Continue reading
Posted in Faith, Internet, Travel
Leave a comment
Cinematic Comedy This Century
The folks at the A. V. Club recently put together a “top 50 best comedies since 2000” list. Like most lists, its an interesting read, particularly if it helps you see how your own tastes have changed over time. It’s … Continue reading
Posted in Internet, Movies
Leave a comment
Once More with Affection
Wendell Berry’s case for affection is an interesting and potent one, especially in light of a contemporary culture that seems content on consuming itself. And because of its limited use, affection could be a term that helps reinvigorate something vital … Continue reading
Space Enough, and Time 