Blog Archives

Today is my first son’s birthday. Last year on this day, I posted some recollections of our time with him. After reading Russell’s moving post about Tessa, I decided to bring my post out of the archives. You can find it here. My prayers go out to Tessa’s parents. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

In keeping with my general practice of coming very late to cultural phenomena, I finally read Tuesdays With Morrie last weekend. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

In an interesting editorial in today’s Chicago Tribune (reg. req’d), my friend Professor David Skeel of the University of Pennsylvania Law School discusses the use of faith as a defense to criminal charges by several prominent CEOs, including Bernard Ebbers of WorldCom Inc., Richard Scrushy of HealthSouth Corp., and Kenneth Lay of Enron Corp. David wonders, “How did it turn out that the leaders of three of the most scandal-ridden companies all publicly professed their faith?” Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

The topic of media bias comes up regularly on Times & Seasons. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

Mardi Gras is early this year. Now I am scrambling to find a King Cake in Madison. I lived in Louisiana for one year, and I was fascinated by the Christian calendar. So how many of you, besides Kristine, are looking forward to Lent? Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

The University of Wisconsin takes great pride in its tradition of academic freedom. As a new professor, I was told repeatedly the story of Professor Richard T. Ely (watch the video), a labor economist who was accused by Oliver E. Wells, Wisconsin’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction and a member of the Board of Regents, of providing a moral justification for strikes and boycotts. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

I was up late last night, watching the coverage of the Iraq elections. My favorite image from the elections is here. We have talked about the war in Iraq from time to time on T&S, but no matter what you think of the war, you have to be pleased for the Iraqi people, don’t you? I mean, even the New York Times smiled for a moment. UPDATE: If you want to see the upbeat paragraph that the New York Times took out of its story on the elections, read Instapundit. This is really disgraceful on the part of the... Read more »

As of this writing, the average visitor to Times & Seasons spends 7 minutes and 28 seconds on the site. In blogtime, that is simply unparalleled. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

As a father of two teenagers with three more children in the pipeline, I have received — and continue to receive — plenty of parenting advice. One bit of advice that I hear over and over is this: pick your battles. Standing in the middle of this experience, I haven’t yet decided whether this advice is merely self-evident encouragement, truly insightful parenting counsel, or complete hogwash. I am leaning toward the hogwash hypothesis. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

Very little regarding Christmas happens in the Smith household without my wife’s instigation. Although I enjoy our Christmas traditions, I too often free-ride on her efforts. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

This does not sound like fun. Then again, that’s to be expected at the ward Christmas party. 1 person likes this post. Like Unlike Read more »

Last year at this time I posted on the topic of “Tithing Settlement.” Although I strive to avoid repetitive posting, I trust that most of our current readers were not around at the time, and I never received an answer to my question. So I am trying again. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

Jed W.’s term as a guest blogger has come to a close, and I am sure that I speak for all us in thanking him for his insightful and provocative posts. I learned in Church today that Jed and his wife Shauna are expecting their first child next summer. The current debate in the W. household is whether to discover their child’s gender before the birth. I am quite certain that Jed and Shauna would appreciate your insights on this issue. In the meantime, best of luck to Jed. We hope that you will not be a stranger. Be... Read more »

By adding Wilfried as a permablogger a few weeks ago, we not only gained an interesting colleague, but extended Times & Seasons beyond the borders of the United States. Over the past 24 hours, I have been tracking traffic at Times & Seasons to get a glimpse at our readership around the world. Here is what I found. Be the first to like. Like Unlike Read more »

The streak is over: Ahead by $4,400 going into “Final Jeopardy,” Final Jeopardy!, Jennings stumbled on this Business and Industry clue: Most of this firm’s 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year. Jennings wrongly answered, “What is FedEx?” real estate agent Nancy Zerg of Ventura, Calif., responded, “What is H&R Block?” making her the new champ — and a likely future Jeopardy! answer. (She finished with $14,401; Jennings fell to $8,799.) Congratulations on a great run, Ken. For our 12 Questions with Ken, see here and here. 2 people like this post. Like Unlike Read more »