Can we enjoy the process of puzzling things out when we’re not sure, at the end of it, that there’s an answer?
Debra RienstraMay 1, 2020
Maybe this is why my favorite songs on the album are the most melancholy.
Debra RienstraNovember 9, 2019
Earlier this week, Gillette dropped a new advertisement called “We Believe: The Best Men Can Be.” Well, you would think they had dropped a match in a puddle of gasoline. Using all the slick production values a $17 billion corporation can muster—including a lush musical…
Debra RienstraJanuary 19, 2019
I couldn’t even watch one whole episode. The first season of the new Marie Kondo television series, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, dropped on Netflix this week. Obviously, Netflix timed this premier to capitalize on our New Year’s ambitions before they fade into Februarian disappointment.…
Debra RienstraJanuary 5, 2019
But perhaps individual virtue-modeling (what we used the call “the character question” in American politics) is not the only question. What if we also ask whether our leaders create an atmosphere that cultivates virtues?
Debra RienstraNovember 10, 2018
Shakespeare is right to show us that there is no guarantee of reward for choosing integrity and mercy. Over against the example of his sources, Shakespeare eschewed a reparative ending. In Shakespeare’s final scenes, the noble among the younger generation pay a heavy price for…
Debra RienstraSeptember 29, 2018
Part of my fascination, I suppose, is that we are talking about a face here. The article nicely rehearses the significance of the human face while visually explicating the devastating destruction of Katie’s. What’s compelling here is the idea of coming face-to-face, so to speak,…
Debra RienstraSeptember 1, 2018
