Rev Dr Sparky on Real/igion

Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

  • Everything Old is New Again

    Time to tidy the world It always makes me glad to find a really good thrift store. For me, thrift shopping is a treasure hunt, a therapy session, a trivial defiance of consumerism and materialism, and a way to live beyond my actual means. I felt thoroughly vindicated when Macklemore’s song hit and made thrift shopping…

  • Is Reading Ruining Your Writing?

    A 7-step program for recovering word junkies Writers are almost always devoted readers, and we know that exposure to good writing will help us in our own work. I firmly believe that reading widely and wisely is essential to being a good writer, despite everything else I’m about today. Reading is a good thing; it teaches…

  • No jury, no justice

    A true cautionary tale This is a true story about an experience I had months ago, and I still don’t know what to make of it. One morning, in a modest county courthouse, a roomful of adults allowed their personal feelings to prevent them from helping a child find justice. Here’s what happened. Photo by…

  • Welcome to Notes On the Way Up

    And sometimes down. But then up again. It used to be that to write, one needed “some money and a room of one’s own.” It appears that one also needs a page of one’s own, and so the Rev Dr Sparky has caused to be created Notes on the Way Up. Photo by Jungwoo Hong on Unsplash…

  • 40 Things I Love

    Mostly not things at all. Thanks to Cyndi Rooney for inviting me to compile a list of 40 things I love. Though it was harder than I thought it would be, it stirred a surprising and welcome rush of gratitude, affection, and hope for the world. I’d love to see the 40 Beloved Things of Jack…

  • “Here, Now — What’s the Meaning of All This?”

    We really must strenuously object… My equally judgy alter ego. From Creative Commons on Flickr In the tumult of these times, I confess I sometimes retreat into daydreams, scenarios where I cast myself in the role of imaginary characters better able to cope. Lately, as I look at a world that defies logic and good sense,…

  • The future of cussing

    A PG rant about R-rated language Like all of us in this writerly space, I love words — words flowing through books or blogs, words bounced around a dinner table, words launched from a stage like tractor beams to reel the audience into a new world. And I admit that throughout my adult life, I’ve particularly enjoyed using…

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