About

About Me

I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA. A gritty, working class town that drinks a little too much, obsesses over sports, but generally isn't a bad place to live. One can eventually find their place in the mixed politics and diverse neighborhoods of the old Steel Town.

After a delay of sorts [more on that in the future], I eventually graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a BA in Philosophy, and then again from the same school with a Masters in Library Science.

I've since followed family to Massachusetts, where I work in a library at a small college in downtown Boston. It's not a career that could have been foretold. I was never a reader (although that's changed), I hated school (until college), and I'm generally disorganized (still working on that). But I respect the idea of a library and its mission: a world in which universal, free access to great literature is a better world for all.

Side note | I'm here to report that the stereotypes about librarians turns out to be mostly true. We are a bookish bunch, somewhat shy, generally left of center, and want to help guide your discovery of self and the world through an exploration of great literature. Our superhero, if we have one, wears a plaid skirt, glasses, and carries in her arms that book you didn't know about, but were nonetheless hoping to find.

image created with DALL-E

About the blog

This has been a difficult section to write. My inclination has been to summarize my entire life history as a framework for what motivated this project to begin with. After many attempts, I've not made much progress. But I guess it doesn't matter. The lure of the blog-o-sphere, after all, is the near zero bar to entry. Just type and submit! So I'll skip the justification (even though I feel this is lazy), and instead just say what I plan to do.

A mission statement, of sorts

I feel (intensely) the meaning crisis. I'm in search of a way out. And I've devised a plan. This blog is an attempt to chronicle my journey.

So what's the plan? In short, an exploration of self through the science and philosophy of human nature, history and politics, and the philosophy of life. I will interweave this investigation with my own life story, which, admittedly, is unique only in its arbitrary particulars. My primary sources will be the literature (books, essays, podcasts and videos) of those authors and intellectuals who have had something compelling to say about

• human nature: what is the human condition?
• history and politics: how do I understand the context of today's world?
• meaning: in a godless world devoid of divine inspiration, how can I locate a sense of connection to the world that is deep and meaningful?

Another way to ask these questions

• who or what am I?
• where am I?
• how should I live in light of the above?

A note on organization

Below is a list of the categories that will organize my writing, which you will find as Labels, over on the right.

• Live Blogging Books: real time summaries of the books and other bits of media/literature I'm reading or listening to or watching.  
• Reviews: notes and essays about how this literature has informed my view of self and the world and how to live. 
• Autobiography: narrowly focused on my past, present, and hopes for the future.
• Random Musings: just what it seems: a miscellaneous collection of thoughts on stuff I often think about. 

 Here we go!

-Brian

12/31/2022