Maverick Philosopher

The Strange Case of Gene Rosellini

Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild is not just about Chris McCandless and the people he met during the two years he was incarnating 'Alexander Supertramp.' It also about other oddballs such as Gene Rosellini. The term 'oddball' is not necessa...

A Note on Into the Wild, the Movie

Into the Wild, the movie, impressed me and held my attention for its two and a half hours. But I'm understating: it moved me and ought to be added to my list of most memorable movies, there to rub shoulders with the likes of Zorba the G...

Saturday Night at the Oldies: Philosophical Justification for a Drink or Two

From time to time it is perhaps appropriate that we should relax a little the bonds that tether us to the straight and narrow. A fitting apologia for a bit of indulgence and even overindulgence is found in Seneca, On Tranquillity ...

Maverick Philosopher 13th Anniversary

I look forward to tomorrow and the start of Year 14. Operations commenced on 4 May 2004. Can you say cacoethes scribendi? I've missed only a few days in these thirteen years so it's a good bet I'll be blogging 'for the duration.' B...

Prayer over Meditation?

This from a reader: As a theist who meditates, would you prioritize prayer over meditation or vice versa? For example, I'm a theist; I like to run, meditate, and pray before work every day. If crammed for time, would you say that one ...

Which Side Are You On?

I have criticized Rod Dreher and others for "floating above the fray," for trying to be objective and impartial in those practical situations in which immediate action is required and in which the requisite action is impeded by the other...

The Perils of Pleasure

Oscar Wilde, De Profundis: The gods had given me almost everything. But I let myself be lured into long spells of senseless and sensual ease. I amused myself with being a FLANEUR, a dandy, a man of fashion. I surrounded myself with th...

Journal Notes on Ed Abbey from May 1997

I purchased Edward Abbey’s posthumous collection of journal extracts entitled Confessions of a Barbarian (ed. Petersen, Little, Brown & Co., 1994) in April of 1997. Here are some journal jottings inspired by it. From the notebooks of Pau...

On This Date 31 Years Ago and 50 Years Ago: Jim Fixx and Bob Dylan

It was 31 years ago today, during a training run. Running pioneer James F. Fixx, author of the wildly successful The Complete Book of Running, keeled over dead of cardiac arrest. He died with his 'boots' on, and not from running but fr...

Saturday Night at the Oldies: The Perils of Pleasure on the Lost Highway

Oscar Wilde, De Profundis: The gods had given me almost everything. But I let myself be lured into long spells of senseless and sensual ease. I amused myself with being a FLANEUR, a dandy, a man of fashion. I surrounded myself with th...