The Year of the Books About Stoics, or the Continuing Stoic Revival

A new book on ancient Stoicism is due in September.

At least three books about ancient Stoicism have been re-released in paperback this year.

Several more books about Stoicism or the thought of individual Stoics have been released in the past few years.

Why are people into the Stoics these days? I'm trying to answer that question for an upcoming article in LiturgicalCredo.com, but for the moment, I'll give a broad-brush backgrounder and then get back to this year's books.

Founded in ancient Greece by Zeno of Citium in Cypress (344-262 B.C.), this philosophical school lived about 600 years through Roman Imperial times. The writings of Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor who lived 121-180 A.D., are considered key texts for Stoicism as we know it today.

Due in September is Stoicism and Emotion (University of Chicago Press, 2007) by Margaret R. Graver.

The book "shows that they did not simply advocate an across-the-board suppression of feeling, as stoicism implies in today’s English, but instead conducted a searching examination of these powerful psychological responses, seeking to understand what attitude toward them expresses the deepest respect for human potential," according to the description at Amazon.com.

The three books re-released in paperback this year, suggesting an ongoing interest in the subject matter, are:

Stoic Warriors: The Ancient Philosophy Behind the Military Mind (Oxford University Press, 2005, 2007), by Nancy Sherman

The Stoic Life: Emotions, Duties, & Fate (Oxford University Press, 2005, 2007), by Tad Brennan

The Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness, and Effectiveness (HarperSanFrancisco, 1995; HarperOne, 2007), which was co-authored by Epictetus, an ancient Stoic, and Sharon Lebell, a writer and musician who lives, in our time, in Northern California.

Note that two of the three paperback re-releases were published just two years ago.

Graver's books and those paperbacks are priced within a range one might expect to pay for a book.

However, if you really wanted to dig deep into this subject matter, you could buy one of these expensive academic books, released this year:

The Corinthian Dissenters and the Stoics (Studies in Biblical Literature) (Peter Lang Publishing, 2007) by Albert V. Garcilazo for $71.95 at Amazon.com, or

Spinoza and the Stoics: Power, Politics and the Passions (Continuum Studies in Philosophy) (Continuum International Publishing Group, 2007) by Firmin Debrabander for $120 at Amazon.com.

The priceless online Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy has an entry on Stoicism here: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/stoicism/ .

-Colin Burch

Singha Lager

Singha lager from Bangkok, Thailand, makes me think of Budweiser made a little bit smoother, and with a little more of the malty sweetness I find in Mexico's Modelo Especial. BeerAdvocate.com gives it a "worth a try," and I agree.

Red Brick Ale from Atlanta Brewing Co.

Red Brick Ale from Atlanta Brewing Co. in (guess) Atlanta is a high-gravity brown ale, not a red as the name might suggest. Actually, all the names of Atlanta Brewing Co. beers begin with "Red Brick," so that explains it.

Red Brick Ale is definitely worth of try. Its potency is just under 7 percent alcohol by volume, but you would never know it. The strength I experienced in this beer was its smoothness and malt sweetness and medium-to-full body.

Check out Atlanta Brewing Co. at http://www.atlantabrewing.com.

Mitt Romney, the Republicans, and the number of wives they have (had)

Last week's edition of The Economist had a chart that compared the number of times leading and likely Republican presidential candidates have been married, including the Mormon candidate Mitt Romney.

The tongue-in-cheek chart, titled "Who's the true monogamist?", played the (sort-of) bygone practice of polygamy in Romney's Mormonism against the family-values record of other high-profile Republicans.

The chart went something like this:

Newt Gingrich: Three wives so far

Rudy Giuliani: Three wives so far

John McCain: Two wives so far

Fred Thompson: Two wives so far

Mitt Romney: one wife so far

Terrapin Rye Pale Ale rocks

I found Terrapin Rye Pale Ale on tap down at Hangin' Ten, a bar in Surfside Beach, S.C.

Many beers have unique flavor profiles, but some of those flavors are more like experiments, like when over-hopped India Pale Ales taste like mouthfuls of food seasoning.

Terrapin Rye Pale Ale was different and better for it.

This brew woke up my mouth without overwhelming me, and made a serious statement about rye while remaining smooth. Tip of the hat to the rye, the four types of non-rye malt, and the five hops Terrapin included in this mix.

Check out Georgia's own Terrapin Beer Co. at www.terrapinbeer.com.

Terrapin Rye Pale Ale rocks

I found Terrapin Rye Pale Ale on tap down at Hangin' Ten, a bar in Surfside Beach, S.C.

Many beers have unique flavor profiles, but some of those flavors are more like experiments, like when over-hopped India Pale Ales taste like mouthfuls of food seasoning.

Terrapin Rye Pale Ale was different and better for it.

This brew woke up my mouth without overwhelming me, and made a serious statement about rye while remaining smooth. Tip of the hat to the rye, the four types of non-rye malt, and the five hops Terrapin included in this mix.

Check out Georgia's own Terrapin Beer Co. at www.terrapinbeer.com.

What the ale is this Mike-garita?

Did you see that Mike's Mike-garita drinks are labeled, at least in a single spot on the bottles, as "Flavored Ale"?

Technically speaking, maybe they are ale, but I'm just not down with the idea of giving the name ale to a "malt beverage" that's flavored to taste like a cocktail. Let the tradition be pure!

That being said, I liked it. I hate to admit it but I rimmed a glass with salt, filled it with ice, poured on the Mike-garita, and it was quite good. These Mike-garitas have some punch, too -- they're 8 percent alcohol by volume.

Self-renewal in science and free societies

"The life of the scientific community consists in enforcing the tradition of science and assuring at the same time its continuous renewal. A dynamic free society lives as a whole in this way. It cultivates a system of traditional ideas which have the power of unlimited self-renewal."
--Michael Polanyi, from the preface to the Torchbook edition of Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy

This might explain the success of Christianity, which could be described as "a system of traditional ideas which have the power of unlimited self-renewal."

Frank Zappa explains the necessity of beer

"You can't have a real country unless you have a beer and an airline -- it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer."
-Frank Zappa

Westmalle Trappist Ales

Westmalle Trappist Ales from Belgium are not everyday beers in the U.S.

But every beer drinker ought to try them.

Last night I had a glass of Westmalle Tripel and a glass of Westmalle Dubbel, as part of my continuing celebration of the new laws in South Carolina that allow higher alcohol levels in beer.

Both are beers that fill the mouth -- medium-to-heavy bodies and sweet maltiness.

Be careful, though. The easy-to-drink, yummy character of these two can catch up with folks who aren't used to drinking Belgian imports. The Dubbel is 7 percent alcohol by volume, and the Tripel is 9.5 percent.

Westmalle Trappist Ales

Westmalle Trappist Ales from Belgium are not everyday beers in the U.S.

But you really ought to try them.

Last night I had a glass of Westmalle Tripel and a glass of Westmalle Dubbel.

These are both beers that fill your mouth -- medium-to-heavy bodies and sweet maltiness.

Be careful, though. The easy-to-drink, yummy character of these two can catch up to you. The Dubbel is 7 percent alcohol by volume, and the Tripel is 9.5 percent!

Myrtle Beach Moment, No. 8

The managers of Barefoot Landing are concerned about high-heel shoes.

Barefoot Landing is a shopping-dining-entertainment complex on the southern-most end of North Myrtle Beach. Many of the shops and restaurants are connected by a massive boardwalk, or maybe more like a giant, sprawling deck.

Apparently, someone was concerned that the back end of high-heel shoes might get stuck in the cracks between the wood planks, but the way the warning was worded doesn't seem to have come off with quite the same meaning.

Engraved on steps near the Christmas Mouse shop, the warning reads:

"High Heels May Cause Injury."

The first image in my mind: An angry woman beating me with the sharp end of a stiletto heel.

The second image in my mind: An extremely attractive woman in high heels.

Either way, I whole-heartedly agree: high heels may cause injury.

The pros and cons of Miller Chill

Miller Chill was an iffy experience.

Light and drinkable, with the advertised touch of lime and salt in the chelada tradition, Miller Chill isn't exactly a beer-drinking experience.

It's more like a refreshing counterpoint to summer weather or a mouth-cleaning accompaniment to Mexico-inspired foods.

The very light nature of this light beer leaves a bit to be desired in the malt department.

Arcade Fire's prophetic insight

Art plays a prophetic role in our time as much as it has in any other. Whether out of the mouths of babes and sucklings, or from the mouth of an ass, or from the conviction of the faithful, a true insight is chipped from God’s truth. Insight, presented poetically, is what I see in the song “Intervention” by the Canadian band Arcade Fire. The song describes a substantial part of my church experience, as well as the experiences of many others. Here are a few lines from the song:

Working for the Church while
your life falls apart.
Singin’ hallelujah with the fear in your heart.
Every spark of friendship and love
will die without a home.
Here the soldier groan, “We’ll go at it alone.”

(See www.arcadefire.com and www.neonbible.com.)

-Colin Burch

The pros and cons of Miller Chill

Miller Chill was an iffy experience.

Light and drinkable, with the advertised touch of lime and salt in the chelada tradition, Miller Chill isn't exactly a beer-drinking experience.

It's more like a refreshing counterpoint to summer weather or a mouth-cleaning accompaniment to Mexico-inspired foods.

The very light nature of this light beer leaves a bit to be desired in the malt department.

Crisis at Starbucks locations in Myrtle Beach

I've got the credentials to slam the espresso at the Starbucks locations in my area.

I owned and operated a coffeehouse for three years, and during that time, we timed shots on our La Cimbali espresso machine, and adjusted the grind throughout the day.

Also during that time, I received my Intermediate Barrista certificate from the Specialty Coffee Association of America -- which, all giggles aside, is nothing like advanced french-fry training.

So there.

A properly made espresso will have nutmeg-colored crema on top. A little spoonful of sugar will take three seconds to slip through the crema.

Not so at two Myrtle Beach Starbucks locations.

The espressos I have ordered at the two Ocean Boulevard locations came with a pallid crema on top, and the sugar endured a terrifying free-fall into the bottom of my cup.

Starbucks has to get this right, or their world-domination campaign must be stopped.

Otherwise, the goodness, beauty, and truth of espresso will be lost.

Gordon Biersch to plant restaurant-brewery at former Myrtle Beach AFB

The Gordon Biersch Restaurant Group, which bought Rock Bottom Brewery in downtown Charlotte, plans to bring a restaurant-brewery to the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, which is rapidly developing into a shopping, dining, and residential area. The restaurant-brewery should be open in 2008.

Could solution to Islamic extremism breed cynicism?

In an article headlined “Islam’s authority deficit,” the June 30 edition of The Economist opened with the following three paragraphs:

Governments worried by Islamist extremism ought to get the message: the only real answer lay in more Islam — deeper, sounder, more careful readings of the Muslim faith, from scholars who could use the weight of collective experience, accumulated over 14 centuries, to solve the dilemmas of life in the modern age.

Such, broadly, was the argument laid out in London recently by Ali Gomaa, the grand mufti of Egypt, before a gathering of Islamic scholars and pundits. And his hosts took him seriously. The case for using scholarly Islam as a counterweight to the radical, hot-headed sort is familiar in the Middle East, but this time it won an unusually clear endorsement from a Western leader, Tony Blair.

In his parting thoughts (as prime minister, anyway) on Islam, Mr Blair lauded Jordan for its efforts to make the various legal schools of Islam respect each another and stop calling each other infidels. And just like Mr Gomaa, Mr Blair said how important it was to ensure that only qualified people could issue fatwas, or rulings on how to follow Islam in specific situations. Emboldened by his welcome, Mr Gomaaa offered to help Britain set up a post like his own: state-certified grand mufti.

I worry about Tony Blair’s role, not Ali Gomaa’s role, in the discussions and possibilities mentioned above.

Those possibilities are outstanding. My concern is that any perception of Western-influenced official Islam would breed cynicism among the more conservative elements in Islam as well as the extremists. Blair and Gomaa are wise men who realize something constructive must be attempted in our time. However, isn’t the nature of Islamic extremism, and even some especially conservative elements within the religion, to be suspicious of anything that might water-down the message? Will the attempt backfire?

-Colin Burch

Visit http://www.liturgicalcredo.com

Price report: The good kind of Delirium Tremens

Expensive and worth it, Delerium Tremens has shown up in my neighborhood since South Carolina's beer law changed to allow high-gravity beers. It's a crisp Belgian blond beer, 9 percent alcohol by volume, made with three yeasts.

I bought a bottle at a restaurant, and I should have expect the price: $9. Ouch. This isn't everyday drinking.

Of course, the four-packs of 11.2-ounce bottles are $15.98-$16.98. A 750 milliliter bottle is $8.99-$9.26.

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Happy Fourth! Here's a thought

"Nothing ever tasted any better than a cold beer on a beautiful afternoon with nothing to look forward to but more of the same."
-- Hugh Hood

And while we're doing that today, let's turn to the east and lift a can to our friends and family serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, in hopes that next year they'll be back here.

Thought for the Day

"Beer was so popular with medieval priests and monks that in the thirteenth century, they stopped baptizing children with holy water and started using beer."
-Ian Lendle, in Alcoholica Esoterica

The silly uproar about beer prices

Prices for take-home beer rose 3 percent in May.

Are you shocked?

If so, you probably don't buy beer often enough to notice any price increase.

May was, after all, more than a month ago.

The Labor Department's new report on prices was picked up by the media, and the beer increase stood out the most, so now media junkies will be hearing about this for the next 24-36 hours.

To be sure, the price increase was greater than the economy's overall inflation rate, and beer poured away from home, in the safety of one's neighborhood bar, increased 3.8 percent, according to USA Today.

Early this morning, CNN explained it this way: The high gas prices have increased the demand for ethanol, so farmers have committed more land to corn than barley. As barley has become a little more scarce, prices have increased -- an increase of 17 percent on average since the beginning of the year, according to USA Today.

So it is a big deal to the beer industry. But not the shocker the media wants it to be this morning.

Here's the full USA Today article: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070703/BUSINESS/707030336/1003/BUSINESS


In other news, according to the Associated Press:

"With metal prices rising, beer makers say they expect to lose hundreds of thousands of kegs and millions of dollars this year as those stainless steel holders of brew are stolen and sold for scrap.

"The beer industry is coupling with the scrap metal recycling industry to let metal buyers know they can't accept kegs unless they're sold by the breweries that own them. They're also pushing for legislation that would require scrap metal recyclers to ask for identification and proof of ownership from would-be sellers."

Read the full story at http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Disappearing-Kegs.html?_r=1&oref=slogin (This link should be good for seven days.)

Sierra Nevada goes to pry-off cap

You've gotta have a bottle opener to drink Sierra Nevada. The old twist-off caps are gone. Allegedly the new bottle caps have a better oxygen barrier, and the new bottle cap liners are more environmentally friendly that those used in twist-off caps.

I've often called Sierra Nevada the Rachel McAdams of beers. I don't mind using a bottle opener.

http://www.sierranevada.com

Beer's influence on human events

Here's a good one:
"In my opinion, most of the great men of the past were only there for the beer."
-A.J.P. Taylor, British historian

Breweries: Quigley's Pint and Plate in Pawleys Island, S.C.

I recently visited Quigley’s Pint and Plate, at 257 Willbrook Boulevard in Pawleys Island, S.C.

Josh Quigley, the owner, has six brews on tap and will soon release another. Fortunately, Quigley offers Nips, or 8-oz. glasses of his beer, for $2 each. That way I could try all six with a meal and still drive home later in the evening.

Quigley thought of everything: The 8-oz. Nip comes in a 10-oz. glass, so even with head, I was still getting 8 ounces. The 16-oz. and 20-oz. beers also come in slightly larger glasses to accomodate the head.

Longboard Lager: The lightest, with a bread-like taste, which Quigley said comes from malted barley that is mostly uninhibited because of light hopping.

Peach Beer: This unnamed beer, flavored with a puree and served with a peach slice, was determined not to be sweet. It has a dry finish with the kind of bitterness that some beer drinkers like.

Shakedown Wheat: Served with a slice of lemon, made from standard American ale yeast, this is my choice for summer.

Waccamaw Neck Red: This lager is rounded out by caramel malt, which turns the beer red, Quigley said. It’s lighter in body than I expected from the color.

Nut Brown Ale: Less bold than I expected, this nut-brown ale finishes dry. Quigley brewed it in the English nut-brown tradition, which calls for a dryer taste and earthy hops.

Swamp Fox IPA: Thank God for this 7-percent India Pale Ale. Brewers are hopping IPAs to the extreme these days, which Quigley called “just a typical American more-is-better thing.” But Swamp Fox is balanced with solid malting, making it less like an experiment and more like a beer.

And coming soon: Billy Boch, a summer boch brew that Quigley said will reach about 8 percent.