I am going to write something unpopular, something that in many circles will immediately be called politically incorrect, intolerant, perhaps even bigoted. I believe there…
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Author: Ian
The American Arts and Crafts Movement: Mission Style and the Search for an Honest American Design
At the turn of the twentieth century, the United States was becoming an unmistakably modern nation. Cities were expanding, factories were multiplying, railroads and electric…
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A Humanist Look at the Death Penalty
There are crimes that test nearly everything we believe about humanity. There are acts of violence so cruel, so deliberate, and so devastating that it…
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When There Is No Heaven: A Humanist Response to Grief, Death, and Dying
One of the hardest questions humanism has to face is also one of the oldest questions human beings have ever asked: What do we do…
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From Okinawa to Japan: How Karate Changed on Its Journey to the Mainland
Modern karate is often spoken of as though it were a single Japanese martial art with a common origin and a relatively uniform method. Historically,…
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The Art You Love Needs No Apology
There is a peculiar kind of insecurity that sometimes follows us into art museums. We may enter a gallery perfectly confident in what we find…
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How to Buy Art When You’re Not Wealthy
There is a persistent myth about collecting art that has probably kept more people from owning original artwork than almost anything else: the idea that…
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Why Sanchin Matters
There are kata in Uechi-Ryū Karate that are more dramatic than Sanchin. Seisan gives us more obvious fighting movements, while Sanseiryū asks us to coordinate…
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Homelessness Is Someone’s Problem — Ours
Homelessness is an uncomfortable subject. Most of us, I hope, want to help. We do not want people sleeping beneath overpasses, living in tents beside…
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Hojo Undo: Building the Karate Body in Traditional Okinawan Karate
Walk into an old-fashioned Okinawan karate dojo and you may notice that some of the most important training equipment looks as though it belongs in…
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