The Fake Solitude of Walden Pond

Walden Pond isn’t like it used to be. As I walked the two mile loop that Henry David Thoreau’s Walden describes as a “narrow shelf-like path in the steep hillside… as old probably as the race of man here,” my gut reaction was one of disappointment. Some time in the past 160 years, Walden has been … Continue reading

In Ancient Rome, Was Zeus Sorta Like Santa Claus?

A post on the parenting site Cafe Mom poses the one verboten question regarding  the Christmas season’s favorite scarlet-suited chimera: when should you expect your kids to stop believing in Santa Claus? (Actually, tons of mommy boards take up this issue; I like the Cafe Mom one best because of the exuberant fonts and GIFs) As … Continue reading

Modern Day Heresies

Apple recently made waves for firing a longtime star of their software design team, Scott Forstall. Though purportedly axed for crashing and burning with Apple’s now notorious Maps application, many think Forstall was destined for the exit because, as Slate.com describes it, Forstall liked for “a calendar app [to] look like a calendar.” You know, … Continue reading