Movies I've watched with foreign-language subtitles

Specifically, Spanish and French subtitles

A review of “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” (1939 film)

"Your friend Mr. Lincoln had his Taylors and Paines. So did every other man who ever tried to lift his thought up off the ground. Odds against them didn't stop those men - they were fools that way. All the good that ever came into this world came from fools with faith like that. You know that, Jeff. You can't quit now - not you! They aren't all Taylors and Paines in Washington. That kind just throw big shadows, that's all. You didn't just have faith in Paine or any other living man. You had faith in something bigger than that. You had plain, decent, everyday, common rightness; and this country could use some of that. Yeah, so could the whole cockeyed world - a lot of it!"

- Clarissa Saunders, a character in the movie

So I was recently watching the movie "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington" with my family. This is my second-favorite Hollywood movie, after the Christian classic "Ben-Hur." I love the patriotism of this movie, because patriotism is like a religion for me.

The Founding Fathers and the History Channel

The History Channel has made a few documentaries about the lives of the Founding Fathers. There is one in particular that I would like to talk about here, which is their three-hour program simply entitled "Founding Fathers."

My interest in modern languages

I was actually interested in foreign languages from a very early age. I thought: "How cool would it be to speak another language?" I suppose that many monolingual kids fantasize about being able to speak another language, usually without the slightest clue of how hard it is to do so. But for me, the interest never waned, and the only thing limiting me was the opportunity.

How I learned to play piano (the way I play it)

"I never had much interest in the piano until I realized that every time I played, a girl would appear on the piano bench to my left and another to my right."

- Duke Ellington, jazz pianist and composer

I have often been asked how I learned to play piano the way I play it, so I wrote this explanation of how I acquired my style. I also talk a little bit about my piano influences.

Me in my youth with my piano teacher

Some thoughts on separation of church and state

It has recently struck me how many liberals have spoken in favor of getting rid of laws with a religious basis. In the name of separation of church and state, many liberals try to get rid of laws against gay marriage by pointing to the religious basis of many arguments supporting them.

This seems to me a fundamentally flawed interpretation of separation of church and state, for the following reason: Many laws supported by atheists and agnostics are, for many people, grounded in religious belief. The Ten Commandments say "Thou shalt not kill" (the basis of laws against murder), "Thou shalt not steal" (the basis for laws against theft), and "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor" (the basis for laws against perjury). If we were to discard any law with a religious basis, we would have to do away with laws against theft, perjury, and murder, which are supported largely on the basis of religion. The harm to society of doing such is self-evident, and so clearly, discarding laws with a religious basis is unwise.

My passion for history

"History is about high achievement, glorious works of art, music, architecture, literature, philosophy, science and medicine - not just politics and the military - as the best of politicians and generals have readily attested. History is about leadership, and the power of ideas. History is about change, because the world has never not been changing, indeed because life itself is change ... History is the course of human events. And it must therefore be, if truthful, about failure, injustice, struggle, suffering, disappointment, and the humdrum. History demonstrates often in brutal fashion the evils of enforced ignorance and demagoguery. History is a source of strength, a constant reminder of the courage of others in times more trying and painful than our own."

- David McCullough's "The Course of Human Events" (2003)

Most of my Facebook and Blogger friends have seen my posts about history. Whether it's talking about the latest historical book or documentary that I've watched, or noting the anniversary of an important historical event, or even posting about a major historical individual on their birthday, I love posting about history. A few people have given me positive feedback on these historical posts.

But I have never, as yet, talked publicly about how I got interested in history. At the risk of boring my readers, I will now share some of the story about how I acquired my passion for history.