Blog

Various ventures into Mr. Scott’s mind.

Cemetery of Memories

The first time I approached the cemetery in Lipnica Wielka was November of 1996, and I headed up for my first experience with All Saints' Day in Poland. I took pictures and made mental notes for my journal: I left my apartment around 4:30 and headed up to the cemetery...

Trstená Supermarket

Just across the border from where I lived in Poland (Lipnica Wielka) and where my wife grew up (Jablonka) is a Slovak town called Trstená. We go there every time we visit family in Poland. I love Trstená because unlike much of Central Europe, it seems frozen in time....

Warszawa Centralna

Looking at some old pictures, I found a shot of Warszawa Centralna train station from about 2002. It was an exterior night shot, and there was little indication of what the station looked like inside. What it looks like now is vaguely similar, but there have been so...

Grave New World

We can now make anyone appear to say anything on video.

Chess

Chess

As I am the sponsor of the Hughes chess club, it's fairly obvious that I love chess. I try to share that love with everyone, including my four-year-old son. Right now, we're working on learning how...

Election Soundtrack

Election Soundtrack

Chopin's "Etude in E minor, Op. 25 No. 5" -- in some ways, a very fitting soundtrack to today's election. At the start, a little bumpy and a bit discordant. In the end, beautiful. No, don't take...

Doorbell

Let's just make it a White Stripe weekend.

White Stripes

Back when you were in kindergarten, I thought this was a fantastic song. Now that you're in eighth grade, I still think it's a fantastic song.

John Fullbright

The most talented young musician currently working today is a young man from Oklahoma named John Fullbright. He writes music that's mature and self-assured, and his lyrics sound like he has at least...

Krauss and Plant

Krauss and Plant

What I'm listening to as I grade your short story projects...

A Trip to Zab

A Trip to Zab

One of my favorite bike rides while I lived in Poland was a trip to Zab, which means "tooth." The ride began in the small village in which I lived and climbed to the highest village in Poland, Zab....