Archive for 2009
Phil on Hol’s Inaugural Issue
This is it. This is where it all started. Shirley Freud. Rational Reconstructions. The Phlogiston in the Forest. poh vol 1 no 1_001 This is the issue that we still think of as containing the “classic philosophers on holiday” kinds of pieces–the kinds of pieces that illustrate the trouble philosophers get into when they try […]
The Poodle-ote Issue!
poh vol 1 no 2_001 Patient readers, your patience is rewarded. We promised you, back last spring, that the Poodle-ote would ride again, and now, here it is. This classic, early issue (check out the typeface!) tells of our intrepid philosophers’ trip to Burlington, Vermont, in search of John Dewey; a harrowing traveler’s tale from […]
The St. Cholestera Issue
poh vol 1 no 3_001 An early present for the winter holiday season is this issue of Phil on Hol. Not only does it contain the life of Cholestera, the patron saint of cookies, but it also contains a certain juvenile work of Editor O’Connor, “The First Animal Christmas” (which includes the memorable line “they […]
Den Philosophy
Some time ago, I had occasion to Chat with a Young Person seeking admission to college. In the course of our conversation, the young man (learning that I was a philosopher) reported that he had recently written an essay on “Plato’s ‘Allegory of the Den.’” Even while nodding encouragement for him to tell me more […]
Twisted Feminist: the Tornado Issue
poh vol 1 no 4_001 I know I say it all the time, but this truly is a big, big issue. It includes several stories related to the tornado that tore through St. Peter and Gustavus. But it also includes an interview with feminist philosopher Lorraine Code and a musing on Audre Lorde’s essay “The […]
Citizen of the Refrigerator
Have you ever returned a container to the fridge that was so nearly empty no reasonable person could have denied its emptiness—and all because you didn’t want to throw it out?
The Wittgenstein in Ireland Issue
poh vol 2 no 1_001 This issue takes you to Ireland, where Peg and Lisa haunted the trail of Peg’s man Ludwig. This food-heavy issue also includes Lisa’s complaints of restaurants named things like “X Factory” and “Y Hut,” a report on French bread in Ireland (yeah, we know; quixotic), the story of an inflatable […]
The Fruitlands Issue
poh vol 2 no 2_001 In which our readers will learn about Fruitlands, the museum created at the site of the former utopian community founded by Bronson Alcott, and frequented by his Transcendentalist pals like Emerson. They will also learn about a certain catalogue company that used Wittgenstein to hawk a certain product, a certain […]
“Most disappointing”: a new way to rate a restaurant
Some months back, a restaurant meal to which I had been particularly looking forward sent me on an in-depth, ten minute study of the nature of disappointment. My extensive, multi-screen scan of google, using several forms of the word “disappoint” quickly led me to the concept of quality. According to the quality management professionals, quality […]
The Up, Up and Away Issue
poh vol 2 no 4_001Peg leads off this issue with her Phileas Fog-inspired adventure in a balloon. You’ll also read what it’s like to be part of the entertainment crew on a certain Mouse-Related Cruise Ship, how to toss a rock into the water so that it makes a really cool sound, what it’s like […]