By Adam Katz I have had an odd thought rattling around in the can about Stradivarius violins. I’ve never been a violinist; I don’t remember doing more than picking up with their permission a friend’s violin (or maybe it was a viola) and trying it with the bow. I probably made a sound like aContinue reading “That’s it. I’m done with Stradivarius Violins”
Category Archives: Love the Questions
June Preview-Welcome to Pride Month 2021: The Ivory Tower Boiler Room Celebrates, Reflects, and Memorializes
Book spines with different LGBTQ* Pride Flags This month is a big deal for us. We are keeping to the established pattern–a big think every Monday, a podcast every Saturday, and shorter content in between. But leading up to this, the 52nd anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, we will be using those established patterns toContinue reading “June Preview-Welcome to Pride Month 2021: The Ivory Tower Boiler Room Celebrates, Reflects, and Memorializes”
Mass-Grave found in Canada Dates from only about 45 Years Ago
By Adam Katz It gives me little pleasure to write this article, but I could not see failing to respond. Throughout most of the 20th century, Canada ran “Residential Schools” meant to deprive the aboriginal population of their culture. Yesterday, Friday, May 28, 2021, a mass grave was found beneath one of those schools. ThisContinue reading “Mass-Grave found in Canada Dates from only about 45 Years Ago”
Whitman’s Thrush
Walt Whitman at 202 By Adam Katz I guess most school-age kids read “O Captain, my Captain” at some point. Looking back at it now, it’s a poem you have to read quickly, I think. The line “O heart! heart! heart! / O the bleeding drops of red” does not really admit slowing down andContinue reading “Whitman’s Thrush”
May Wrap Up: The month of May was come
By Erika Grumet when every lusty heart beginneth to blossom, and to bring forth fruit. -Thomas Malory Lusty for clicks and comments for sure… When I sat down to write this, I had a cat at my feet, a cat at my head, and one under my right elbow, who was also insisting on sharingContinue reading “May Wrap Up: The month of May was come”
Your Reading Homework
First, we’d like to thank you for the site-traffic. Our most recent post, Nikole Hannah-Jones gets a Seat at the Table. Maybe. For now., has had over 200 unique views since it went up last night. That’s unprecedented for us. Tomorrow, we are carrying on with the release of Part II of our Writing RoundtableContinue reading “Your Reading Homework”
Nikole Hannah-Jones gets a Seat at the Table. Maybe. For Now.
By Adam Katz When did we become a news site? We didn’t, but there will occasionally (read: no more than once every 10 minutes) be an item in the news that bothers us so much we have to talk about it (or boost the signal of people who are already talking about it). This willContinue reading “Nikole Hannah-Jones gets a Seat at the Table. Maybe. For Now.”
May is Mental Health Awareness Month
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and today specifically is Mental Health Awareness Day. The Ivory Tower Boiler Room has brought you two episodes about the importance of mental health (Part 1 and Part 2) and we are committed to continuing the discussion around mental health. Caring for your mental health is no less importantContinue reading “May is Mental Health Awareness Month”
Author Kyle Lukoff Spoke about being Censored
By Adam Katz I met Kyle in college, before he was a recognized author. It’s been weird watching this controversy roil around him. I may say more at a different time. But for now: Kyle just gave the following speech about his books being banned from schools in Utah, Texas, and presumably elsewhere. The speechContinue reading “Author Kyle Lukoff Spoke about being Censored”
We Stand with Fran’s House
Recently, 20 members of a disbanded franternity at Bucknell university attacked and harassed the residents of Fran’s House, Bucknell’s LGBTQ+ house, while campus safety officials did nothing or next to nothing to help. These students were minding their own business in their own home, which the university had provided for them after the building’s previousContinue reading “We Stand with Fran’s House”