Didn’t think today would be a “day off” but it quickly became that as I slept in to the impossible hour of 9AM then proceeded to really do next to nothing for most of the day yesterday. I finally got around to some productive stuff around dinner, planning to hit the sack early for a…

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This is the first debate video I’ve shot with my new wide angle lens for my now ancient, but very handy videocamera. It’s a commercial camcorder, which, as anyone who has watched video on YouTube about making videos will tell you, is a terrible choice. Everyone says to use a DSLR or Mirrorless camera and…

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Well I finally missed one – it was bound to happen. Yesterday was a very long travel day and although I did have time to write while waiting for a flight in Denver, I just didn’t really feel like it. I ran out of cold medicine Sunday night, so I knew Monday would be pretty…

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To understand judging you need to buy one of those cheap anthologies of literary criticism, the dominant form of judging right now is New Criticism. I think I’ve finally found a way to teach debate that might have value that doesn’t make me nauseated before and after I’m done.  This is about teaching thought and…

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Here’s my most recent version of a talk I wrote about three years ago and have altered over time. This was the talk I gave at Cornell University on September 11, 2017. I thought it would be somewhat interesting to put a few of the recordings here for comparison.  I play pretty loose with a…

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What most of my flights look like Of all the things you could read in the world, why the London Review of Books? And why is it particularly important for those who practice debating?  1. Global Historical Context There is not one writer for this publication that is not an expert in the context and…

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Travelling West is always a good time. Long, but good. Started the day in Laguardia Airport which is creeping its way toward civilization one blocked lane at a time. At least there was a source for drinking water in this terminal. Made it to Denver then out to Helena without any incident, except I think…

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I wait for the Cornell shuttle at the NY Public Library on a really amazing September day. Bryant park is not that crowded, mostly tourists taking photos with the fountain, with the food stands, with one another, with anything really. I like this so I take some pictures too. I wish I took more pictures…

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Trying to defend your ideas on cold medicine should be added to the graduate curriculum. I wish i was feeling a bit better, but i was called by my colleague to defend a lot of the critiques i make about debating. I should have recorded it.  Not because it’s good or worth preserving,  bit could…

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Finish a two and a half hour lecture, head to the hotel for some decongestant and Emergen-C. Then type a blog post. Party time. Exactly how I imagined post-PhD life.  This trip to Cornell University has really sparked a lot of things to write here. I really enjoy coming here and teaching these students about…

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