A longish Post with much good in it, both the bold and the regular typeface sections. Out of all that, "sort of terrifying" lingers and bothers. Hoping it is only that famous inner butterfly, with larger wings than usual.
GK, you have linked us quip-writers to you and you have requipped them back with links we had never thought of, but all the better for it. "Keep 'em flying" was the Battle Cry in WW2. For us now it's "Keep 'em thinkin.'" You link those thoughtful chains among us all. Amen
As a side-note, while reading articles on Substack, such as Post to the Host, I simultaneously listen using their auto-generated voice option.
It’s really quite good, but —being a very literal reader— it makes the occasional error. (A common examples are items like “[T]he” —which occurs often in, for example, Heather Cox Richardson’s articles— which is read as “tee-hee”.)
In any case, I wanted to mention on amusing example in today’s post when the name of one of the writers John V. Was read as “John the Fifth”.
The correspondent who appreciates "your version of Americana" catches my attention, as I'm about to teach a course called "Americana: Streams of American Experience "and it occurs to me that your work has indeed contributed importantly to the generic life and lore of the nation. Your late-life turn to an explicit embrace of "cheerfulness" could be seen as a natural extension of your perennial celebration of "small" experiences as intrinsically value-laden. Small-town life can be constricting and narrowing, and it makes sense that you've looked back on all that now from an urban perch. But small and meaningful experiences are everywhere.
And: a lot of the music we've lately learned to call "Americana" had a fine platform on your show. So thanks for that too.
For anyone who may be interested, the reading list for my course includes Doug Anderson's "Philosophy Americana: Making Philosophy at Home in American Culture"; John McDermott's, "Streams of Experience: Reflections on the History and Philosophy of American Culture"; Carlin Romano's "America the Philosophical"; and John Kaag,'s "American Bloods: The Untamed Dynasty That Shaped a Nation"
A longish Post with much good in it, both the bold and the regular typeface sections. Out of all that, "sort of terrifying" lingers and bothers. Hoping it is only that famous inner butterfly, with larger wings than usual.
GK, you have linked us quip-writers to you and you have requipped them back with links we had never thought of, but all the better for it. "Keep 'em flying" was the Battle Cry in WW2. For us now it's "Keep 'em thinkin.'" You link those thoughtful chains among us all. Amen
As a side-note, while reading articles on Substack, such as Post to the Host, I simultaneously listen using their auto-generated voice option.
It’s really quite good, but —being a very literal reader— it makes the occasional error. (A common examples are items like “[T]he” —which occurs often in, for example, Heather Cox Richardson’s articles— which is read as “tee-hee”.)
In any case, I wanted to mention on amusing example in today’s post when the name of one of the writers John V. Was read as “John the Fifth”.
Thanks! I’m up here on Whidbey Island and just saw a truck go by called “Back Breakers” —We break our backs so you don’t have to.” (Junk movers)
The correspondent who appreciates "your version of Americana" catches my attention, as I'm about to teach a course called "Americana: Streams of American Experience "and it occurs to me that your work has indeed contributed importantly to the generic life and lore of the nation. Your late-life turn to an explicit embrace of "cheerfulness" could be seen as a natural extension of your perennial celebration of "small" experiences as intrinsically value-laden. Small-town life can be constricting and narrowing, and it makes sense that you've looked back on all that now from an urban perch. But small and meaningful experiences are everywhere.
And: a lot of the music we've lately learned to call "Americana" had a fine platform on your show. So thanks for that too.
For anyone who may be interested, the reading list for my course includes Doug Anderson's "Philosophy Americana: Making Philosophy at Home in American Culture"; John McDermott's, "Streams of Experience: Reflections on the History and Philosophy of American Culture"; Carlin Romano's "America the Philosophical"; and John Kaag,'s "American Bloods: The Untamed Dynasty That Shaped a Nation"