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Tuesday, September 13, 2005What I've been up to? Reading books of course!Yes, its true. In this age of technorati, blogs, and cable news, I do indeed have a bit of that nostalgia for ideas some can only get by sitting down with a coke, cup of coffee, or beer and sift through leafy pages of pre-Internet information. Call me old school, but I read books and I read 'em fanatically, and frankly prefer them to this whole Internet business. You know it's bad when the folks at Borders know you by name (and I'd like to think that's somewhat because my brothers worked there over the past few years, but deep down I know better), and I'm sure my wife thinks I own stock there. I should, but buying stock would only prevent me from buying more books, etc. You get the picture. So what has this book junkie been up to? I just finished 1453 and should have a few thoughts on some interesting parallels to current events I considered while reading it. Great, great work. If you like history, or are inclined to read historical fiction, pick it up. It's an historical account, an easy read, and it's presented remarkably well. I'm also reading a great book entitled The Fall of Rome which askes the question as to whether Rome, and with it civilization, really fall? The author argues convincingly enough that the collapse of the Western Roman Empire did indeed bring about a Dark Age. Yet another good book that I am reading is Reclaiming the American Revolution, which recently received good reviews. This centers around the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions nullifying the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1800, and where Jefferson and Madision played lead roles, ultimately asking the question when does a state have the right to trump or resist the federal government when it oversteps perceived boundaries. The book is entirely historical (thus far) and is a great exposition on how fragile and fiercely independent our Founding Fathers were in the early years of our country. One more: an Introduction to Phenomenology. I've read Derrida (deconstructionism), and I've read Heidegger, but I've never really been a fan of phenomenology, if for no other reason than (a) it wasn't a part of the Thomistic or neo-Thomistic circles I've learned in thus far, and (b) I had always viewed it as a sort of heretical neo-Kantianism. But as I've been reading more and more of Wittgenstein, I've grown an appreciation for linguistics as a field in philosophy, so off I've gone to learn more. Add to this the stack of journals I haven't read yet, and you see what I've been doing with my free time recently. Thus the advantage of being away from university; you get to read whatever you want, not what other people think you should be reading!
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JEFFERSONIAD POLL: Whom do you support for Virginia Attorney General?1) John Brownlee2) Ken Cuccinelli AboutShaunKenney.com is one of Virginia's oldest political blogs, focusing on the role of religion and politics in public life. Shaun Kenney, 30, lives in Fluvanna County, Virginia.ContactThe Jeffersoniad
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