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The Attic
FOR A KINDER, COOLER AMERICA
A LEARNED JUDGE AND HIS "POETRY OF LIBERTY"
A LEARNED JUDGE AND HIS "POETRY OF LIBERTY"

With America at war, Judge Learned Hand deftly defined “The Spirit of Liberty”

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HEROESThe AtticSeptember 11, 2025Judge Learned Hand, Spirit of Liberty, "Spirit of Liberty" speech, Tolerance, immigrantsComment
AUGUST ENCORE:  ONCE MORE TO THE BEACH
AUGUST ENCORE: ONCE MORE TO THE BEACH

One last weekend, one last summer -- remembered.

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WONDERS, WondersThe AtticAugust 27, 2025Labor Day, Summer, Beach summer, Parenthood, Kids at the beach Comments
AUGUST ENCORE: HOW BURNING MAN GOT SO HOT
AUGUST ENCORE: HOW BURNING MAN GOT SO HOT

From a small bonfire on a beach, Burning Man has grown to 75,000 joyous Burners in the Nevada desert. Why not?

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American Places, DREAMERSThe AtticAugust 21, 2025Burning Man, Larry Harvey, Black Rock City, Burning Man 2021 Comments
AUGUST ENCORE:  "IN PRAISE OF BOREDOM"
AUGUST ENCORE: "IN PRAISE OF BOREDOM"

Dartmouth grads expected the usual boring commencement speaker. But Joseph Brodsky spoke about boredom itself, aka “your window on time.”

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BOOK-ISHThe AtticAugust 14, 2025Joseph Brodsky, Nobel Prize, American literature, Boredom, In Praise of Boredom Comments
AUGUST ENCORE:  THANK YOU, RAY BRADBURY!
AUGUST ENCORE: THANK YOU, RAY BRADBURY!

Born into a world of radios and Model T’s, he envisioned a fantastic future. And you can’t say he didn’t warn us.

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DREAMERS, BOOK-ISHThe AtticAugust 7, 2025Ray Bradbury, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451 Comments
THE AMERICANS WHO SAID 'NO!' TO EMPIRE
THE AMERICANS WHO SAID 'NO!' TO EMPIRE

When war made America a colonial power, eloquent voices recalled “the spirit of 1776.”

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REBELSThe AtticJuly 25, 2025Anti-Imperialist League, American Anti-Imperialist League, anti-imperialism, Spanish-American War, Mark Twain, William James, Jane Addams Comments
THE WOMAN WHO BUILT THE GRAND CANYON
THE WOMAN WHO BUILT THE GRAND CANYON

Back when women did not build, Mary Jane Colter wove the ancient and the modern into canyon wonders.

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The AtticJuly 7, 2025 Comments
NO QUESTION TOO STRANGE OR STUPID
NO QUESTION TOO STRANGE OR STUPID

What if the sun went out? What if we all aimed laser pointers at the moon? Got a question? Ask Randall Munroe, “thing explainer.”

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WITSThe AtticJune 24, 2025Randall Munroe, What If?, What If 2?, xkcd, physics Comments
BATTER UP FOR BANANA BALL
BATTER UP FOR BANANA BALL

How the Savannah Bananas became the hottest, and hip-hopping-est team in baseball.

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WITSThe AtticJune 12, 2025Banana Ball, Savannah Bananas, American baseball Comments
MILLION, BILLION -- WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?
MILLION, BILLION -- WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?

Decades ago, John Allen Paulos described the consequences of “innumeracy.” We failed that test. Now what?

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BATTLING THE B.S., Battling the B.S., TEACHERS, teachers & healers, TEACHERS & HEALERSThe AtticMay 29, 2025Innumeracy, John Allen Paulos, Math literacy, Ignorance, American ignorance Comments
THE GRAD SPEECH WITH 'CAPITAL-T TRUTH'
THE GRAD SPEECH WITH 'CAPITAL-T TRUTH'

Twenty years on, “This is Water” still brings David Foster Wallace’s wisdom to the world.

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TEACHERS, TEACHERS & HEALERS, BOOK-ISHThe AtticMay 15, 2025David Foster Wallace, DFW, Infinite Jest, This is Water, Commencement speeches Comments
DOWNSHIFTING
DOWNSHIFTING

When a hurried America needed answers, three books helped us put on the brakes.

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BOOK-ISHThe AtticMay 1, 2025Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance, Blue Highways, A Walk Across America, Bestsellers, American zeitgeist, Popular philosophy Comments
THE MAN WHO BROKE JIM CROW
THE MAN WHO BROKE JIM CROW

Jokes about lawyers and “activist” judges. Time to remember when Thurgood Marshall took the law and Constitution at their word.

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HEROESThe AtticApril 18, 2025Thurgood Marshall, Brown v. Board of Education, NAACP, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Jim Crow, School segregatoin, Civil Rights, Civil Rights Movement, Supreme Court, SCOTUS Comments
WAVE THEORY
WAVE THEORY

For decades, sports fans cheered, booed, and everything in-between. But how did they come up with The Wave?

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WONDERSThe AtticApril 1, 2025The Wave, Baseball's Wave, Krazy George, Krazy George Henderson Comment
CARDS AS WONDERS
CARDS AS WONDERS

Some play cards, others collect them. But Ricky Jay made miracles with an ordinary deck.

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WONDERSThe AtticMarch 20, 2025Ricky Jay, Ricky Jay sleight of hand, Sleight of hand, Cards as Weapons Comment
THE AMAZING SUPER CHIEF -- "SANTA FE ALL THE WAY"
THE AMAZING SUPER CHIEF -- "SANTA FE ALL THE WAY"

Trains came and went but Santa Fe’s Super Chief was one of a kind.

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WONDERSThe AtticMarch 5, 2025Super Chief, Santa Fe railroad, Santa Fe Super Chief, American railroads Comments
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