Shows
Avalon MentorsEp 008 The Serpent, The Eagle, and The ChristRead the Oresteiaor see the playThe Patreon Page:https://www.patreon.com/user?u=211291792025-03-3006 min
GravyWhat’s in Store for the Pawpaw Patch?In “What’s in Store for the Pawpaw Patch?” Gravy producer Anya Groner examines the pawpaw, a long-overlooked fruit that’s now being domesticated, making its way into farmers’ markets, restaurants, and even beer.What plant has leaves that smell like green pepper, fruit that can taste like pineapple or turpentine, and bark that can be woven into baskets? Enter the poor man’s banana, also known as the pawpaw. Two decades ago, you’d be hard-pressed to find a nursery with a pawpaw tree for sale, but these days the mid-sized tree and its fruit has...2025-03-1229 min
Deconstructing DisneyMeet the RobinsonsEpisode SummaryErin and Rachel travel to a frenetic future to discuss Meet the Robinsons (2007), a fever dream of a film that performed poorly at the box office despite intervention from John Lasseter, newly seated Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios. Sexist and fatphobic content are only minimally present, but that doesn’t mean Erin and Rachel enjoyed this chaotic whirlwind of characters and colors any more than the critics who panned it in 2007. Episode BibliographyA Day with Wilbur Robinson. (2023, December 1). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Day_wit...2025-03-041h 22
Grit#229 Former CEO Activision Blizzard, Bobby Kotick w/ Bing Gordon: Change the GameGuest: Bobby Kotick, former CEO of Activision Blizzard; and Bing Gordon, Advisor at Kleiner PerkinsIn 2020, when President Trump signed the executive order that would ban TikTok in the U.S., Bobby Kotick called his old friend Steven Mnuchin. The former Secretary of the Treasury told him that, if TikTok’s U.S. operations were to be sold to an American company, Microsoft would be the only bidder.A couple calls later, he reached ByteDance founder and CEO Zhang Yiming, who said he’d rather sell to Bobby than Microsoft. Concerned about his ability to get...2025-02-101h 51
Avalon MentorsNow our charms are all overthrownA quick analysis of the final speech in Shakespeare’s the Tempest.
Visit the Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21129179
2023-06-0813 min
Avalon MentorsGood Hobbit Morning Episode XVIII, chapter 18, "The Last Stage"The conclusion of the novel and of this series. Why a stage? Is it actors we are? Or is this stages as in "egg stage; larval stage; chrysalis stage; imago stage"? Journeys home - the nature of "home" - where is that place, anyway?
"Not in entire forgetfulness, And not in utter nakedness,But trailing clouds of glory do we come From God, who is our home..."
Wordsworth writes.
Perhaps he is correct.
Were all the adventures in order to get there? Were all the prophecies for the sole benefit o...2023-04-291h 54
Avalon MentorsThe Scholastic Collapse (part 2)So what exactly was the debate between the Nominalists and the Realists?
Who were the Nominalists and the Realists?
What exactly happened in 1277?
Why should you care?
"Scholasticism" by Rickaby - https://www.amazon.com/Scholasticism-Joseph-Rickaby/dp/1477478930/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3NMXKW8058BV2&keywords=scholasticism+rickaby&qid=1674010821&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjAwIiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=scholasticism+rickaby%2Caps%2C108&sr=8-1
"Scholasticism" by Pieper - https://www.amazon.com/Scholasticism-Personalities-Problems-Medieval-Philosophy/dp/1587317508/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1TK6OON4F3CQO&keywords=scholasticism+pieper&qid=1674010886&sprefix=scholasticism+pieper%2Caps%2C92&sr=8-1
2023-01-1839 min
Avalon MentorsThe Scholastic Collapse (part 1)What happened in the 13th century philosophical world that radically changed the nature of Western European culture (hint we are still dealing with it today)?
What did these people believe about the nature of mathematics (and why should you care)?
Who was Joseph Pieper (and for that matter Romano Guardini) (and why should you read both of them)?
"Scholasticism" by Pieper: https://www.amazon.com/Scholasticism-Personalities-Problems-Medieval-Philosophy/dp/1587317508/ref=sr_1_11?crid=3SRLJVZDEV80P&keywords=scholasticism&qid=1674002053&sprefix=scholastici%2Caps%2C517&sr=8-11
"The End of the Modern World" by Guardini: https://www...2023-01-1833 min
Avalon Mentors"Everything that rises must converge" by Flannery O'Connor (a reading)Mary Flannery O'Connor (March 25, 1925 – August 3, 1964) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. She wrote two novels and 31 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries.
Writing to a friend in the mid-1950s, O'Connor noted that we live in an age in which "the moral sense has been bred out of certain sections of the population, like the wings have been bred off certain chickens to produce more white meat on them....This is a Generation of wingless chickens, which I suppose is what Nietzsche meant when he said God was dead." In...2022-11-211h 05
Avalon MentorsFathers and Sons - a reflection on Shakespeare's "Hamlet"Read the play. Is it about nominalism vs. realism? Is it about fathers & sons? Is it Shakespeare's love letter to his own son, Hamnet?
"Hament died when he was eleven years old, in August 1596, due to unknown causes., It’s thought that he possibly died from the bubonic plague that killed around one-third of all children below the age of twelve in Elizabethan England."
https://nosweatshakespeare.com/resources/family/hamnet-shakespeare/
The name Hamlet occurs in the form Amleth in a 13th-century book of Danish History written by Saxo Grammaticus, popularised by François de Bellef...2022-11-1024 min
Avalon MentorsMacbeth Act I, scene 3 - Concerning witchesMuch thanks to Neil Oliver for his recent youtube video on witches and the hunt for witches. This discussion is about the mania that swept through England in the 15th, 16th, and 17th century. How does collective madness occur? How does Shakespeare mollify that madness? Could Shakespeare be suggesting that our own actions and choices, not witchcraft or fate, determine our lives?
As Banquo says to Macbeth;
oftentimes, to win us to our harm,
The instruments of darkness tell us truths,
Win us with honest trifles, to betray's
In deepest consequence.
or...2022-10-0813 min
Avalon MentorsAmazons “Rings of Power” vs Tolkien’s LegendariumOne guy’s insights and opinions about the ongoing debate of whether or not Amazon has done justice to Tolkien’s works.
Visit the Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21129179
2022-09-201h 02
Avalon MentorsKing Crimson & the artistic responseA quick reflection on the nature of art and its response to contemporary issues.
Visit the Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21129179
2022-09-1516 min
Avalon MentorsChristian FriendshipA talk I delivered to the young adults at Holy Family Parish. We discussed Filia vs. Agape, the role of Koinonia, and why it is important for Christians to befriend the downtrodden and miserable (b/c most of us are downtrodden and miserable).
For more on friendship (and Christian Friendship) I highly recommend:
Aristotle: Nichomachean Ethics
Cicero: de Amicitia
C.S.Lewis: The Four Loves
Visit the Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21129179
2022-09-121h 15
Avalon MentorsGood Hobbit Morning Episode XVII, chapter 17, "The Clouds Burst"In which we talk about war, man's propensity toward war, the war in our hearts, and how wonderful Gandalf (Gandr) is.2022-09-061h 20
Avalon Mentors“Hate and Suffering” - Luke 14:26Quick observation on the translation of “miseo” and possible implications of an alternate interpretation.
Visit the Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21129179
2022-09-0610 min
Avalon MentorsGood Hobbit Morning Episode XVI, chapter 16, "A Thief in the Night"In which our heroes discuss Bilbo's maturation, Thorin's insanity & whether the Arkenstone is really the last of the three Silmarils. Could Bilbo be holding both the Ring of Power and the Last Silmaril at the same time? Minds will be blown.2022-08-301h 44
Avalon MentorsGood Hobbit Morning Ep. XV, Chapter 15 "The Gathering of the Clouds"All about crows - and ravens - and crows vs. Ravens. With a bit of Odin thrown in there and some reflections on the nature of the novel.2022-08-1751 min
Avalon MentorsGood Hobbit Morning Episode XIV, chapter 14 "Fire & Water"The killing of the dragon, Smaug (and all that that entails)! Have you ever noticed that the killing of Smaug (seen here in Tolkien's own pencil sketch) looks a heck of a lot like Led Zeppelin's iconic "Icarus" logo? What's up with that? Here Dr. Cameron and I discuss the nature of the dragon, the cosmogonic elements of fire and water, and the difference between a Master (of Laketown) and a King (Bard) - b/c there is definitely a difference.2022-07-061h 35
Avalon MentorsGood Hobbit Morning Episode XIII, chapter 13 "Not at Home"In which Dr. Cameron and I address the issue of the dragon again; the Fay world; and not laughing at live dragons. Something screwy happens at some point in the video and we become a comic book. Artwork/Myth/Imagination as central to humanity • Gorecki “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs” • Artwork as discovery not mere creation The Ring in relation to the Dragon • Gyges’ Ring • The realm of shadows (thaumatapoioi) The Dragon as a creature of despair The 6 Sins against the Holy Spirit2022-06-251h 32
Avalon MentorsGood Hobbit Morning Episode XII, Chapter 12, "Inside Information"In which Dr. Cameron Thompson and I finally meet the dragon ... and he is us.2022-06-091h 57
Avalon MentorsGood Hobbit Morning, Ep. 11, "On the Doorstep"Dr. Thompson and I discuss the 11th chapter of Tolkien's great novel, "The Hobbit".2022-06-051h 24
Avalon MentorsGood Hobbit Morning Episode 10, chapter X, "A Warm Welcome"In which our hosts discuss songs, The Master and a city on stilts.2022-05-161h 48
Avalon MentorsGood Hobbit Morning (with Dr. Cameron Thompson) ep. VIII, chapter 8 "Flies and Spiders"In which Dr. Cameron Thompson & I discuss spiders (not flies), mirk, white deer and being caught in a net (and how, with a little luck, to perhaps be disengannoed therefrom). There are some funny outtakes at the end and perhaps some wisdom as well.
"Flies & Spiders" chapter 8 in the Hobbit
The escape from the webs of the spiders is reminiscent of the escape from sin and slavery that we all long for.
Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. - Psalm 91:3
Perhaps that white deer...2022-05-062h 03
Avalon MentorsGood Hobbit Morning (with Dr. Cameron Thompson) ep. VII, chapter 7 "Queer Lodgings"The one where we discuss Beorn & berzerkers & eagles & Russian novels and what a queer thing man is, what a queer thing language is, and what one has to do with the other. And also totemistic bear spirits.
Did Tolkien read Dostoevsky? The protagonist in Dostoevsky's “The Double” is a fellow named Golyadkin (Голядкин); a neurotic individual on the verge of a nervous breakdown who has conversations with himself very similar to Gollum/Smeagol in Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings". Coincidence? Golyadkin debaters with himself,
Everything, apparently, and even nature itself, seemed up in arms against Mr. Golyadkin; but...2022-04-261h 56
Avalon MentorsBrightburn and the problem of unlimited powerA review of the Movie "Brightburn" and an examination of the nature of power. The question of whether absolute power necessarily corrupts absolutely was addressed by Plato in his 4th century BC work "The Republic".
Brightburn
Mob Psycho 100
One Punch Man
Chronicle
Republic Book II
General Zod
Bizarro
Michael Daugherty's "Bizarro"
Visit the Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21129179
2022-04-091h 10
Avalon MentorsGood Hobbit Morning (with Dr. Cameron Thompson) ep. VI, chapter 6 "Out of the Frying Pan Into the Fire"In which our hosts follow the little hero as he narrowly escapes being scorched by heoruweargs and goblins, only to be carried aloft to dizzying heights by fiercesome eagles.
The antipathy toward wolves seems to go deep into human consciousness, and when we read a passage such as this from 19th century author, Willa Cather, we can understand why:
A black drove came up over the hill behind the wedding party. The wolves ran like streaks of shadow; they looked no bigger than dogs, but there were hundreds of them.
Something happened to...2022-04-041h 24
Avalon MentorsGood Hobbit Morning (with Dr. Cameron Thompson) ep. IV, chapter 4 "Over Hill and Under Hill"In which our heroes get carried away talking about goblins, cosmogonies, weapons, artwork, the Tehom and the nature of the underworld & Dr. Thompson gets carried off by goblins.
Hobbit Chapter 4: "Over Hill and Under Hill"
http://thefreeonlinenovel.com/con/the-hobbit_chapter-iv2022-04-011h 05
Avalon MentorsGood Hobbit Morning (with Dr. Cameron Thompson) ep. V, chapter 5 "Riddles in the Dark"Our heroes delve deep under the earth and confront the Gollum of the second self.
The big question to ask in Tolkien's works is
WHAT IS THE RING?
Well, it is like
the Ouroboros
the SAMPO in Kalevala (w/Vainamoinen)
the ring imagery in Nibelung
the Gyges’ Ring story in Plato’s “Republic”
We know that it is
Golden (like a mini sun)
Continuous (like the Ouroboros)
a Treasure that Makes one invisible
fits on the finger (not the neck or chest like a hauberk)
formed by The Dark Lord Sauron (dece...2022-04-011h 25
Avalon MentorsGood Hobbit Morning (with Dr. Cameron Thompson) - chapter 3: "A Short Rest"Dr. Cameron and I discuss Tolkien's work including
The nature of DREAD in the works of Tolkien; the nature of elves; maps and their usage and moon letters ("what are moon letters?")
Fear (along with anger and love) is one of the deepest human emotions. In his article at Electric Lit, “The Literature of Dread”, John Broening distinguishes between Dread (or Terror), Horror, and Revulsion.
Dread = fear of the imminent, of the inevitable. The unseen thing. Terror. The feeling of apprehension at the possibility of something frightening.
Horror = the shock and repulsion of seeing the frightening thing
Revulsion = the gross out fac...2022-03-141h 18
Avalon MentorsGood Hobbit Morning (with Dr. Cameron Thompson) - chapter 2: "Roast Mutton"Dr. Thompson joins me again to discuss the novel,"The Hobbit" by JRR Tolkien. We continue the journey to chapter 2, "Roast Mutton", and when we get to the end we will stop.
In this episode Bilbo runs out in the morning without a pocket handkerchief, meets some big ugly trolls, and gets a new sword.
"The Hobbit" was written by Tolkien in 1937 for his children, though he began the work after finding a blank page in a composition book while he was grading student compositions. There began history when the philologist, amazed & relieved at seeing th...2022-03-081h 37
Avalon MentorsGood Hobbit Morning (with Dr. Cameron Thompson) - chapter 1: "An Unexpected Party"Dr. Thompson joins me again to discuss the novel,"The Hobbit" by JRR Tolkien. We begin at the beginning, chapter 1, and when we get to the end we will stop.
In a hole in the ground is where it all begins - when suddenly BOOM! Dwarves. But "no thank you, we don't care for adventures around here," says our little hero, and so the journey to free the long enchanted gold almost ends where it begins. Thank goodness he is more of a burglar than a grocer.
"The Hobbit" was written by Tolkien in 1937 for his...2022-03-011h 27
Avalon MentorsThe crisis of the Chryses.Maturity in the ancient world was depicted through the metamorphic cycle of the butterfly; pupa to chrysalis to adult butterfly. Each of us goes through such a series of changes. Hopefully we emerge as a sublime creature.
Visit the Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21129179
2021-11-2811 min
Avalon MentorsThought Bites - Clovis and the Norse Heroic IdealIn his essay "BEOWULF: THE MONSTERS AND THE CRITICS" (1936), J.R.R. TOLKIEN wrote that
"In the epoch of Beowulf (produced between 975 and 1025) a Heroic Age more wild and primitive than that of Greece is brought into touch with Christendom, with the Sermon on the Mount, with Catholic theology and ideas of Heaven and Hell."
This "fusion-point of imagination", as Tolkien calls it, which united the Norse heroic ideal with the Christian idea of sainthood found its inception in the baptism of Clovis I in 506.
And yet the ideals of the Norse hero a...2021-10-1919 min
Avalon MentorsLDL - Interview with Todd MikkelsonIn this episode of Let’s Do Lunch I have a discussion with Mr. Todd Mikkelson.
I had the pleasure of meeting Todd when we taught together at a local classical school here in Minnesota. He is a teacher of 25+ years experience steeped in culture, politics, history, religion & art.
We discuss the current situation in America from an outside perspective; The current situation in Australia; The UKUSAUS alliance and the threat posed by the CCP; the vaccine mania sweeping our nations; and how we all might attempt to craft a hopeful way forward in ou...2021-10-081h 27
Avalon MentorsMorimur (Bach's Partita in D minor for solo violin)A commentary on the human artistic endeavor. Helga Thoene proposes in her essay that Johann Sebastian Bach embedded into the ciaccona (Partita in D minor for solo violin (BWV 1004) numerous mathematical and musical references making the work a memorial, or trombeau, to his deceased wife, Maria Barbara Bach, who died in 1720.
Check out a recording of the Partita here
The album Morimur by the Hilliard Ensemble can be found here
More about the research by Thoene can be found here, here, and here.
The Patreon Page:
ht...2021-10-0511 min
Avalon MentorsLet's Do Lunch: Raymond RiethmeierIn this episode of Let’s Do Lunch I have a discussion with Mr Raymond Riethmeier.
I had the pleasure of meeting Ray when I worked with his incomparably talented wife at a local parochial school in Minnesota. Ray is a man of many talents; he is on the board of the Sherlock Holmes Society “The Norwegian Explorers”, is vice president of the “Friends of Sherlock Holmes” and was recently inducted into “The Baker Street Irregulars” out of New York. He contributes to various fiction collections and worked on a publication about the character, The Shadow. Ray and I share a...2021-09-231h 32
Avalon MentorsLet's Do Lunch: Dr. Cameron Thompson (round 3)In this episode of Let’s Do Lunch I have a discussion w/Dr. Cameron Thompson.
I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Cameron when we taught together at a local classical school here in Minnesota. He is an anthropologist & teacher steeped in literature, philosophy, history & theology. We discuss
· the current situation in America from an outside perspective;
· The Benedict Option and how it prompted his family to move to Italy to create an authentic life for the future
· And how we all might attempt to craft a hopeful way forward in ou...2021-09-171h 02
Avalon MentorsThe Return of the King and the EucatastropheThis episode is a discussion of Tolkien's third book in the Lord of the Rings series, “The Return of the King.”
The episode introduces Tolkien’s concept of The EUCATASTROPHE as an embracing of suffering. We also discuss the nature of kingship especially as it involves this embracing of suffering & the confrontation with nothingness.
How is The One Ring an escape from suffering?
How might mythology offer us a response to the temptation of the Ring of Power?
And why was Tolkien so adamantly opposed to C.S.Lewis’ statement that myths ar...2021-09-131h 37
Avalon MentorsThe Two Towers: Tolkien, Duality, and the tendency toward deceptionThis is a recording of the fourth lecture in a five-part series on Tolkien.
In this episode we discuss Tolkien's knowledge of Sacred Geometry, the crisis posed by Scholasticism, the treachery of images (with a nod to Magritte), and how our tendency to think in duality has the propensity to lead us into deception - even deceiving ourselves.
There exists (even in Tolkien's mind) a bit of confusion about which towers the title of the work is referencing.
In a letter to Rayner Unwin (the publisher) from Aug 17, 1953 (Letters #140), Tolkien wrote:"The...2021-08-241h 41
Avalon MentorsThe Fellowship of the Ring; Isolation, Community, and the path toward HumanityThis episode is a discussion of Tolkien's first book in the Lord of the Rings series.
The episode gives a history of the text and introduces the literary concepts of The FOUR-FOLD METHOD OF EXEGESIS by Dante Alighieri & NATURAL & CONVENTIONAL SYMBOLISM. We also discuss further the nature of dragons & of the confrontation with nothingness. A brief reading period results in observations from participants leading finally into a discussion of The One Ring.
FOUR-FOLD METHOD OF EXEGESIS
Outlined by Dante Alighieri in his Letter to Cangrande the 4 levels trace their roots back to Jewish...2021-08-131h 13
Avalon MentorsSeven Bridges RoadA recording of the Eagles song. Unlike the Dude, I do not hate the Eagles.2021-08-1202 min
Avalon MentorsThe Hobbit: The Dragon, the Ring and the Confrontation with NothingnessThis is a recording of one of the sessions on Tolkien held this summer, 2021. Of the topics considered, the nature of dragons is paramount. What is a dragon? Tolkien said
"I desired dragons with a profound desire. Of course, I in my timid body did not wish to have them in the neighborhood . . . . But the world that contained even the imagination of Fáfnir was richer and more beautiful, at whatever cost of peril.”
Tolkien's dragons are of the Western variety. Treasure hording, highly intelligent, they cannot ignore riddles but are inhuman in their destructive nature...2021-08-081h 35
Avalon MentorsThe Silmarillion: Evil, Friendship, and the Power of WordsThis episode is a recording of a talk I gave recently on JRR Tolkien's "Silmarillion". Begun even before the Great War, this work was considered by Tolkien to be the work the closest to his heart; his magnum opus. Yet the work wasn't even published until 1977, four years after Tolkien's death. Why is it a significant work? Would it be significant without the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings? What is Tolkien saying about the nature of evil? Hope? Friendship? and the power of words to convey a vision of the world?
The Oath of the Silmaril...2021-07-231h 35
Avalon MentorsThe Silmarillion (with Dr. Helen Freeh)In this episode I discuss with my sister, Dr. Helen Freeh, the nature of the great epic The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. Dr. Freeh illustrates how, amidst the numerous depressing works of the 20th century, Tolkien stands as a literary beacon of hope and a prophet of the coming age of struggle in the latter part of the century and the beginning of our own era.
Dr. Helen Freeh received her B.A. in Politics and Masters in American Studies from the University of Dallas. After working in the business world, she entered Baylor University’s g...2021-07-181h 21
Avalon MentorsRevelation (Flannery O'Connor)In this episode I read the short story "Revelation" by Flannery O'Connor which tells the tale of a self-satisfied woman who encounters a nasty shock forcing her to take stock of who she really is.
"Revelation" was written during the last year of the author's life, a time she knew she was dying from her fourteen-year battle with lupus. The work was first published in the Spring 1964 issue of The Sewanee Review. The author was notified shortly before her death in August 1964 that her work won the O. Henry Award first prize for 1965, and the story was su...2021-06-3058 min
Film met Cineville#31 - Wolfwalkers en de magie van handgetekende animatieIn Cineville Podcast #30 hebben Fien, Jesse en Jente het over Wolfwalkers. Over de comeback van handgetekende animatiefilm, over kinderfilms waar we nog steeds wakker van liggen en over de meest gehate man uit de Ierse geschiedenis. Én we spraken de makers van Wolfwalkers, regisseurs Tomm Moore en Ross Stewart van Cartoon Saloon.In deze aflevering hoor je de volgende titels langskomen:Wolfwalkers (2020) - Tomm Moore, Ross StewartMy Octopus Teacher (2020) - Pippa Ehrlich, James ReedTwilight (2008) - Catherine HardwickeThe Breadwinner (2017) - Nora Twomey Mulan (1998) - Barry C...2020-12-0250 min
Avalon MentorsPlato’s Republic book 1BDiscussion of Thrasymachus’ challenge to justice and Socrates answer.
What is wrong with the idea that "might makes right"? How is the definition of Justice as "the advantage of the strong" a flawed definition? How, moreover, is it a spiritual poison that causes death to the soul? How could Socrates, Plato, defeat such a seemingly damnable vision of the world?
The Patreon Page:
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2020-12-011h 00
Avalon MentorsPlato’s Republic book 1ADiscussing Plato’s Republic we get into the opening text discussing setting and character and how the conversation about justice commences.
"How can you persuade us," says Polemarchus, "if we refuse to listen?" Indeed, how can anyone be persuaded if they block out the images and arguments presented to them. As Glaucon says, "it is not possible" & thus he reveals the growing disease within his own heart that makes him an image of Eurydice whose imprisonment in the world of the dead must be cured by the Orphic mythopoesis of Plato through his character, Socrates. Thus begins the g...2020-11-1755 min
Avalon MentorsPlato’s Republic introductionA general introduction to the Republic by Plato in which we look at historical setting character of Plato and the structure of the work.
The Patreon Page:
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2020-11-1527 min
Avalon MentorsSlavery and the proper feeding of the soulRe-entering the world of podcasting with a new purpose. A brief discussion of one of the ideas from Hamlet and how slavery of the mind is the worst kind of slavery.
The Patreon Page:
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2020-11-1313 min
Total Movie RecallTMR 043 – Aladdin (1992) This week on Total Movie Recall, Steve and Ryan offend approximately 1/7th of the world’s population, which has historically gone very well. Ryan’s love of fairy tale settings don’t truck with Steve, who favors Disney’s gritty, street-level crime drama Aladdin. Ryan gets vulnerable about the deterioration of his mental health in this dumpster fire world we have, and Steve, ever a good man and a good friend, reaches out. We encourage you to reach out too. Because everything sucks right now, and you need to connect with your fellow humans to survive. Also, this is...2020-10-191h 25
Avalon MentorsBlade runner and isolationA brief discussion about that great classic movie blade runner from 1981 and its current relevance to our situation.
The Patreon Page:
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2020-04-2122 min
Avalon MentorsThe covid perspectiveWhat legacy do we leave? Does history teach us anything about the unforeseen consequences of our fear?
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2020-03-2115 minAvalon MentorsLet's Do Lunch - Cameron Thompson Round 2So here we are again
It's always such a pleasure
The Patreon Page:
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2020-03-101h 18
The Marchese di Carabàs PodcastHow to Survive in the Cave, and Maybe, how to wake others: A Conversation with William Lasseter.A lively conversation with the ever-knowledgeable William J. Lasseter, literature guru, educational specialist, and all around great guy. We get into all sorts of things, including lost cultural practices, meaning of names, capitalism and liberalism and Christianity, and how to get back to practices that root you into the real world. Hope you enjoy.
Don’t forget to subscribe to this podcast now, and we’ll continue the conversation and work together to renew a culture of human flourishing.
Thanks for listening!
As always, you can visit http://cameronmthompson.com to find out more. Reach out and connect with me on s...2020-03-051h 19Avalon MentorsLet's Do Lunch - Ben BlackhawkBen and I have been working together since 2001. We met at Patrick's and had a lively discussion about language, culture, mathematics, religion and the pathways that led us both to our understanding of our place in the universe.
The Patreon Page:
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21129179
2020-02-201h 47Avalon MentorsLet's Do Lunch - Laura LeonardI have known Laura for many years working first with her as a colleague at Providence Academy in Plymouth, MN. She attended Hillsdale College in Michigan where she was first exposed to the great books and classical thinking. Currently Laura is a middle school teacher at Saint Jerome Classical School.
In this episode we met at the Panera Bread at Shingle Creek Pkwy in Minnesota. I had a coffee and their good Cuban Sandwich & our conversation explored her background in education and journey toward the classics, as well as discussing the current nature of education and parenting in the moder...2020-02-101h 21
Avalon MentorsHenry V & Imposter SyndromeDiscussing the strange sense that I am a fraud who will one day be exposed before my peers.
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2020-02-0436 minAvalon MentorsLet’s Do Lunch: Adam SchmalzbauerAdam and I have known each other for many years. In this episode we met at Claddagh Irish pub in Maple Grove. The conversation ranged from Arthurian stories to modern literature to movies and culture. We both agreed the teaching although a risky and subversive profession is also the noblest. We would both rather be Achilles than Ares. I had the shepherds pie and a Guinness; Adam had the fish and I got him to try scotch eggs for the first time. I highly recommend the Claddagh.
The Patreon Page:
https://www.patreon...2020-02-0352 min
Avalon MentorsThe Peaceful Messiah (with Margaret L)Margaret and I discuss the paradox of the Incarnation as a peaceful Messiah. There doesn’t seem to be any precedent for this event in history. Nor is there any parallel in any other religion or culture. And like all paradoxes it raises more questions that it resolves.
The Patreon Page:
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21129179
2020-01-3026 minAvalon MentorsLet's Do Lunch - Dr. Cameron ThompsonI first worked with Dr. Cameron Mikael Thompson, anthropologist and moral psychologist, at Chesterton Academy in Edina, MN.
Cameron specializes in human formation (the applied science of personalistic psychology) and culture. His recent focus has been the restoration and revival of authentic Christian culture. You can find him at http://cameronmthompson.com, and his podcast, The Marchese di Carabas, can be found here:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-marchese-di-carab%C3%A0s-podcast/id1449507745
We met together for this interview at the excellent restaurant, Augustine's in St. Paul; 1668 Selby Ave. to be exact. I highly recommend the STEAK AND EGGS B...2020-01-2640 min
Avalon MentorsStonehenge abidesReflection on Stonehenge and other neolithic structures. How long they’ve lasted and what in our culture will last when we are long gone.
https://www.foxnews.com/science/swedish-stonehenge-ancient-stone-structure-spurs-debate
https://www.ancient.eu/Newgrange/
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180923.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_of_Brodgar
https://astronomynow.com/2016/08/19/britains-pre-stonehenge-megaliths-were-aligned-by-astronomers/
https://www.livescience.com/41349-ley-lines.html
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/articles/europe-megalithic-monuments-france-sea-routes-mediterranean-180971467/
The Patreon Page:
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21129179
2020-01-2312 min
Avalon MentorsEp 010 The Enlightenment & futuristic writingThen it struck me why is there no futuristic writing before the 1800s?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Man
http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/18247/pg18247-images.html
The Patreon Page:
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21129179
2020-01-1518 min
Avalon MentorsEp 009 Twelfth Night (and the Scholastic Debate)This is a novel way to read the play - through the lens of the Scholastic Debate of the 13th century. Inspired by the Shakespeare 2020 project initiated by Ian Doescher (of Shakespeare Star Wars fame) I invite you to see this great work as influenced by the struggle between Nominalism and Realism.
Shakespeare 2020: https://iandoescher.com/shakespeare/
Nominalism: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nominalism-metaphysics/
Realism: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/realism/
Twelfth Night: http://shakespeare.mit.edu/twelfth_night/full.html
The Patreon Page:
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21129179
2020-01-1032 minAvalon MentorsAvalon Mentors (Trailer)2020-01-1000 min
Avalon MentorsThe Life You Save May Be Your Own (Flannery O'Connor)A reading of this great short story by Flannery O'Connor.
The Patreon Page:
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21129179
2019-04-1732 min
Avalon MentorsEp007 The Life You SaveReflections on Flannery O'Connor's great short story, "The Life You Save May Be Your Own."
The Patreon Page:
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21129179
2019-04-1615 min
Avalon MentorsEp006 Apocalypse Number 2More on the Book of Revelation
The Patreon Page:
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21129179
2019-04-1622 min
Avalon MentorsEp005 Apocalypse Number 1Something something something Apocalypse!
The Patreon Page:
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21129179
2019-04-1619 min
Avalon MentorsEp004 The Three AnimalsEach episode of SCRIBBLEBIBBLE attempts to bring to bear the great works of human culture from the past upon the dilemma of living in the present age.
"Dorothy Sayers, in her excellent book, The Mind of the Maker, divides creative activity into three stages: the idea, the implementation, and the interaction. A book, then, or a computer, or a program comes into existence first as an ideal construct, built outside time and space, but complete in the mind of the author. It is realized in time and space, by pen, ink, and paper, or by wire, silicon, and ferrite. T...2019-03-2324 min
Avalon MentorsEp003 The Power of WordsEach episode of SCRIBBLEBIBBLE attempts to bring to bear the great works of human culture from the past upon the dilemma of living in the present age.
William Carlos Williams "Red Wheelbarrow"
Dorothy Sayers "The Mind of the Maker"
Charles Williams
The Patreon Page:
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21129179
2019-03-1917 min
Avalon MentorsDante: The Inferno - Canto 2Canto 2 of Dante's Divine Comedy.
Read along at this link: Digital Dante
Music by Aitua; "The Grey Forest IV"
The Patreon Page:
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21129179
2019-03-1910 min
Avalon MentorsDante: The Inferno - Canto IThe opening canto of Dante's Divine Comedy.
Read along at this link: Digital Dante
Music by Aitua; "The Grey Forest IV"
The Patreon Page:
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21129179
2019-03-1509 min
Avalon MentorsEp000 Opening Bumper MusicThe original music is my own performance of a piece by 16th century composer, Luis de Narvaez, which I first heard on this excellent album by Rolf Lislevand.
Various clips over the music create a montage of reflections on what it means to be human. Here are the clips:
Helena Bonham Carter as Ophelia from Shakespeare's Hamlet
Psalm 8:4-6 (My own reading)
Sailing to Byzantium by William Butler Yeats (read by Cyril Cusack)
Walker Percy - "Lost in the Cosmos" (My own reading)
Alan Watts - "You M...2019-03-1402 min
Avalon MentorsEp002 IntroductionEach episode of SCRIBBLEBIBBLE attempts to bring to bear the great works of human culture from the past upon the dilemma of living in the present age.
Then thus replied the prophetess divine:
“O goddess-born of great Anchises' line,
The gates of hell are open night and day;
Smooth the descent, and easy is the way:
But to return, and view the cheerful skies,
In this the task and mighty labor lies."
-Vergil; the Aeneid Bk VI:124-129
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the e...2019-03-1415 min
Avalon MentorsEp 001 The Dark WoodEach episode of AVALON attempts to bring to bear the great works of human culture from the past upon the dilemma of living in the present age.
Dante Alighieri wrote The Divine Comedy in the early 14th century. His extended poem consisting of 14,233 lines divided into three cantiche of 33 cantos each helped establish the Tuscan language and granted us one of the most vivid articulations of the afterlife, hell, purgatory, heaven. But what relevance does this work have for anyone today? Who can read that many lines of poetry? Who even takes these realms of the afterlife seriously anym...2019-03-1315 min
Rules of the Frame009 | The Prince of EgyptJoin Connor & Riley as they tackle Dreamworks' animated epic: The Prince of Egypt. Where they discuss questions that naturally come with each viewing such as: Is it Ramses or Rameses? Why is there a pop cover at the end of every 90's animated movie? And why is Jeff Goldblum in a Biblical epic? Listen in to the conversation.
WARNING: Major spoilers for The Prince of Egypt & minor spoilers for Exodus: Gods & Kings
Films mentioned in this episode:
The Prince of Egypt (1998) | Dir. Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, Simon Wells
Antz (1998) | Dir. Eric Darnell, Tim Johnson
...2018-12-231h 29
Rules of the Frame006 | WALL·E ft. Zack ReedConnor and Riley get a bit emotional in this episode. They're joined by Connor's brother, Zack Reed, to discuss one of their favorite Pixar films: WALL-E. Childhoods are reminisced and tears are shed in this next episode in the series on the art and importance of animated films. Apologies in advance for the sniffles and stuffed up voices.
WARNING: Full spoilers for WALL-E and minor spoilers for 24 & The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Link to Andrew Stanton's TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxDwieKpawg
Films mentioned in this episode:
WALL-E (2008) | Dir...2018-12-021h 09GravyThe Chili Powder Cheat: A Tex-Mex Story Texas: the land of BBQ, breakfast tacos…and of course Tex-Mex. But what if we told you Tex-Mex wasn’t created by a Texan or Mexican, but a German immigrant? On this episode of Gravy, we tell you the story of William Gebhardt, the inventor of chili powder. Gebhardt loved the chili con carne of the streetfood sold in the plazas of San Antonio. He adapted it back at his café, but quickly ran into a problem: chili peppers proved expensive and difficult to import. So he devised a solution. Gebhardt dried the peppers in an ove...2017-03-2232 min
Animation Addicts Podcast - Disney, Pixar, & Animated Movie Reviews & Interviews | RotoscopersMeet the Robinsons - "Blame You" Wins Hands Down!Mason and Chelsea join the Rotoscopers new writer, Alex Parker, as they discuss Disney's CGI animated film Meet the Robinsons.Highlights:Chelsea tweets Robert Lopez and Mason meets Don Bluth. CATCH AND FIRE WITH GRR ALEX!Nerdy Couch Discussion: “You can do anything you want” theme in animated films. (*Note some spoilers to other movies). Main Discussion: Meet the Robinsons. The stats, Disney's 47th animated feature, John Lasseter's influence. What is "Real D" vs 3D? More stats, commentary on the visuals, and music.Where did the term "Easter Eggs" come from? Based on a...2013-08-301h 40
Discover the Best Sellers Audiobooks in Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & MusiciansJohn Lasseter: The Whiz Who Made Pixar King (Legends of Animation) Audiobook by Jeff LenburgPlease visit https://thebookvoice.com to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.
Title: John Lasseter: The Whiz Who Made Pixar King (Legends of Animation)
Author: Jeff Lenburg
Narrator: Stan Jenson
Format: Unabridged
Length: 3 hrs and 43 mins
Language: English
Release date: 06-27-13
Publisher: Jeff Lenburg
Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 9 votes
Genres: Bios & Memoirs, Artists, Writers, & Musicians
Publisher's Summary:
A two-time Academy Award-winning director and animator, John Lasseter is a founding member of and the creative force behind Pixar Animation Studios. Pixar is responsible for ushering in the age of computer-animation and revolutionizing the industry, having produced blockbuster features...2013-06-273h 43