Every January I post the previous year’s reading list. Here is 2020’s list: Out of the Ashes — Anthony Esolen Be Obsessed or Be Average — Grant Cardone Lucifer’s Hammer — Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle Sapiens — Yuval Noah Harari Extreme Ownership — Leif Babin and Jocko Willink King of Capital — John Morris and David Carey The Return of the King — J. R. R. Tolkein Your Blue Flame — Jennifer Fulwile Father Elijah — Michael D. O’Brien Elijah in Jerusalem — Michael D. O’Brien Live Not By Lies — Rob Dreher Hillbilly Elegy — J.D. Vance Angels in Iron — Nicholas Prata I didn’t start out 2020 thinking an apocalyptic novel about a Catholic Carmelite priest who’d converted from Judaism would be my favorite read of the year, but O’Brien’s Father Elijah and Elijah in Jerusalem were the most engrossing of the bunch. Angels in Iron was a fun blend of the warrior ethos (a la Steven Pressfield’s Gates of Fire) and Catholicism. Esolen’s Out of the Ashes was a great mental follow-up (with practical advice) to the diagnosis of the problem by Rod Dreher’s Benedict Option. Trying to read 120 good books this decade, so I…Continue reading 2020 Reading List

In his July 20, 2020 podcast, my favorite podcaster Joshua Sheats played his personal affirmation in response to a listener question. I’ve never been an affirmation guy, but Joshua’s affirmation struck me so much I took the time to transcribe all 604 words of it myself: “I am a child of the King. I live each and every day in the will of God. I listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit in every moment of every day. And I am sensitive to His leading in all things. I pray without ceasing, asking God to give me the wisdom, discernment, and strength that I need in every moment. I can do all things through Christ, who give me strength. I claim the following attributes because I have the mind of Christ, the power of the in dwelling Holy Spirit. And I am a Son of the most high God, maker of heaven and earth. Although I am weak in some of these qualities, I am specifically commanded to let the weak say that I am strong. Thus, I am strong. By God’s grace, I am strong. Through Christ, who gives me strength, I am strong. By claiming and developing…Continue reading An affirmation

This post is long overdue and has been sitting in draft form as we adjust to the reality of being parents of two children. In the annals of a person’s life, there are banner days that rise to the to like weddings, baptisms, graduations, promotions, etc. Earlier this year, our family had one such day when my then-pregnant wife was welcomed into the Catholic Church. Her confirmation was one of the happiest days of my life. Given the pregnancy, signs of a potential early birth, and the growing Coronavirus pandemic, our priest wanted to move her Confirmation up before the Easter Vigil. In his mind, it would be better to do an unnecessarily-earlier Confirmation than to wait and have her miss the Easter Vigil. So, on a the First Sunday of Lent, my wife was confirmed into the Catholic Church. This was the culmination of a years-long journey of hers and, frankly, a lot of work to get through the RCIA program while sick, tired, and pregnant with a nearly two year old running around all day. Her decision to become Catholic was largely a private matter, so I won’t go into the reasons on this forum, but her grace,…Continue reading The greatest gift

I’ve been derelict in not updating this site to reflect the birth of our second child — a son. We are amazed. We are over-the-moon. We love him so much. In these odd times (Coronavirus “quarantine”), we have really been blessed to have a reasonably safe (although stressful) first few weeks with this little guy. So excited to see his personality grow over time. Our daughter has turned into a doting, loving older sister already — asking where her brother is when he’s out of the room and petting his hair (“gently” we tell her). And continuing to watch my wife blossom into an even more amazing mother has been a gift to my life I never expected to cherish so much. We live in an odd time of potential economic collapse and a very real viral pandemic, but the hope and focus new life brings to the world is invigorating. Our little son has energized us. More to follow, but needed to get this update and amazing picture up.

With the caveat that, to a man with a hammer everything, everything looks like a nail, I cannot recommend enough episodes 47, 48, and 49 from the Peter Attia, MD podcast. This three-part series with Matthew Walker, professor of neuroscience at UC Berkeley, emphasizes the importance of sleep for health and longevity. I do not listen to this podcast on a regular basis, so I cannot recommend it generally or vouch for Dr. Attia. But this series was a massive wake-up call to me on the (short and, importantly, long-term!) ill effects of sleep deprivation. Here’s the link to the first episode: During my time in the Marine Corps I developed a very unhealthy relationship with sleep. In fact, there were a handful of times I’d be so sleep-deprived that I would, and I mean this, hallucinate. Sitting in some Humvee or looking over some map, I would start tasting a specific pizza from Minnesota that I particularly like. “Power Through It” became my motto. And I’ve never really dropped that motto. “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” is something I’ve said many times in my life to many different people. If I had to guess, I’d say that I now…Continue reading Sleep when you’re dead?

My wife is due in just over 11 weeks. She’s beautiful. We cannot wait for this baby to join our growing family. But there’s something about making a family of four (we’ve been married for 27 months) that is incredible. Something about it feels so real. I only just last week felt the baby kick for the first time. My wife has been feeling the kicks forever, but I kept barely missing it. It’s one thing when you find out your wife is pregnant. It’s another when you see her belly begin to grow. And it’s a whole ‘nuther thing when you feel that baby kick. We are getting so excited.

As the responsibilities of fatherhood and work have grown for me, some things (like this web site) have fallen by the wayside. My reading in 2019 suffered. Yet I was overall happy with the books I chose to read. Perhaps less fluff than in previous years. Anna Karenina was the best, but I must say that Amor Towles’ A Gentleman in Moscow was an amazing treat. Of particular note is that Towles was an investment banker for his whole career until his writing took off. AGIM is the story of a Russian count confined to live out his days in the Metropol Hotel in Moscow and his relationship over the years with a young girl. I’ll say no more, but I highly recommend the book. Anyways, here’s the 2019 list. Lord of the World — Robert Hugh Benson Dune — Frank Herbert Poland — James Michener A Gentleman in Moscow — Amor Towles Be Obsessed or Be Average — Grant Cardone Angels in Iron — Nicholas Prata Anna Karenina–Leo Tolstoy In the 2020s, I will read 120 books, so I can’t afford many upcoming years where I only read seven books.

“We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.” —C.S. Lewis Living in a time of men without chests, maybe the courage of two teens can wake some people up: After the summer of shame, perhaps it’s telling that two of the three most iconic Catholic photos of 2019 (Notre Dame burning being the other) are of Catholic teenagers facing down the tyranny of the Left. Could it be that men without chests have ruined the West so pointedly that only boys with backbones can rebuild from the rubble?

Empowered by the media and tech giants, liberal elites are increasingly showing who they really are. They are not afraid. Here’s some stuff from just today, and I’m sure I missed other, more outrageous items: California appears ready to pass a bill that would require priests to break the Seal of Confession (in the case of child molesters). Bishop Barron of L.A. has said he would instruct priest to disobey this law. Then there’s this from pop megastar Kesha, who comes about one inch away from including Christians (and you know she wants to): [Verse 1]You could ride a unicorn to schoolAnd if you fall off, you’d have healthcare(No, you don’t)And if you finish school, you’d go to college for freeThat makes sense and that’s fair(No, it’s not)And if you were a ladyThen you own your lady partsJust like a man goes to a dealershipAnd then he owns a car [Refrain]Vroom, vroomF*** you (F*** you) [Pre-Chorus]What if life as we knew it was over?Guess what? God is a woman, I know her [Chorus]What if rich, white, straight menDidn’t rule the world anymore?(Hahahahahahahahaha)What if rich, white, straight menDidn’t rule the world anymore?(Hahahahahahahahaha) If you’re from another land, then come hereYou won’t…Continue reading The elites’ coming out party

A really busy March and busy April and May mean I have basically not posted anything of substance in almost three months. This video below is part of what kept me busy in May. I tried to watch this just now and got way more nervous than I was when I gave this speech. No chance I can watch it for a while.