I hate Fair Trade. Maybe hate is too strong of a word. Let’s try again. I do not, nor will I ever, agree with Fair Trade. Fair Trade is one of those things that sounds like a good idea at first blush. Instead of paying the lower price for goods produced from “exploited” labor, let’s pay a higher price for the goods and the extra … Continue reading In which our hero voices an unpopular opinion

Hello Gusties! It seems that my favorite thing to write about lately is splashy, bigger topics. In the last column I wrote, I came out to all fifteen or so of my readers SPOILER ALERT saying: I’m gay. Let me then preface the title with a description of what I am not doing: I am NOT agreeing with the positions Phil takes. Quite often I … Continue reading Defending Phil Cleary

Following a past week’s article on words, this week I’ll focus on action. Using the narrative third person, I’ve written this piece. 2011. The date typed on the page no longer sparked her memory. Unlike 1998, 2001 or even 1989, 2011 brings to mind few thoughts beyond confetti of the millennium and perhaps the pleasing, parallel rhyming of two 1s next to each other. The … Continue reading A mirror for the twenty-first century

There’s a big why in the world. Aristotle remarked that we never can know a thing until we know why it’s there. We can know its form, its composure, its construction, but until we know its function we cannot understand the thing. “Why,” it seems, is tantamount to our finding meaning and purpose in the world we live. Why is a hard question to ask. … Continue reading The big Why

There are some things that I would like to hide about myself. I have a few guilty pleasures, a couple little obsessions and one or two nasty habits that I indulge in behind closed doors. Conversely, I have a few things that I absolutely detest, yet pretend to adore for the sake of others’ opinions and my own reputation. For example, I really try to … Continue reading What you will or as you like it

I distinctly remember walking back to my dorm on Sunday, March 5 around midnight. Apart from the crunch of my shoes in the newly fallen snow and the passing of Campus Safety vehicles, the college streets were perfectly silent. An eerie orange glow reminiscent of ‘50s horror movies reflected off the buildings and snow banks. I tried to keep in the open, well-lit parts of … Continue reading Facing the fear

In my sophomore year, I enrolled in a class on existentialism. The first thing the professor said as he walked into the classroom was directed to me: “My god, you’re the most wholesome looking individual I’ve ever seen.” And I was branded as such for the rest of the semester, for the rest of the year. His statement didn’t make much sense to me, not … Continue reading I could fall madly in bed with you

There are few weekends when all members of the Kranz family are home, when the two college-aged hooligans have both returned to do laundry, when the dad and the older brother are not at the cabin and when the mom isn’t out of town. These weekends usually make the dog really confused. “Why are all my humans home at the same time?” I can tell … Continue reading What’s your family routine?

I am up to my eyeballs in thinking about my thesis these days. I’m a philosophy major, so thinking is sort of what we’re destined to do, but don’t let anyone tell you that it’s easy work. Formulating complete ideas is tough. My thesis is about experience and knowing, and although I won’t bore you with the details, I’m taking a close look at the … Continue reading How can we know God?