Chris Palladino’s Blog

Recently, ten students and my wife and I met at PBU to discuss this book. This was the first Wells novel I have read, and it piqued my interest to read more. His writing style made the reading easy.

We began the discussion with some very basic questions such as “How would you rate the book, on a scale of 1-10?� and “Would you recommend it?�, etc. We also listed several words that would best summarize the text. As we elaborated, the ethical and moral dilemmas that the book confronts emerged. Some of these included the following:

Where is the ethical line when experimenting with animals?
Do we and should we consider the origins of the animal products that are consumed? If we do, what should we do about it?
Why did Moreau think it was necessary to establish religion among his “animals�?

I appreciate the student interest in getting together to discuss books and other literature. I am continuing to be enriched by the students here at PBU and I am grateful for the role they play in my life. The next scheduled book club is The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck. If you have some time, I highly recommend it.

Posted by Chris Palladino at 4:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I love snow. No … I really, really love snow.

Last week we had an absolutely beautiful snowfall. On Tuesday evening we packed our car with all seven sleds and sent emails to all my spring students inviting them to the top of the hill near one of the entrances to campus. More then twenty people showed up including one of my students who had never gone sledding before. It brings us joy to celebrate the winter in such a fashion.

Furthermore, I had several opportunities to be the first to explore the local trails. Running through the woods in several inches of newly fallen snow brings me great satisfaction. I enjoy stopping and looking through the trees either at the ice and snow covered creek or at the undulating trails on the side of the hills.

I am including one of my favorite poems, Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening, by Robert Frost. Enjoy!

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Posted by Chris Palladino at 10:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Space, light, color, height, rooflines, ceilings, tiles, steeples, pulpits, and altars and other architectural elements were all analyzed and discussed recently in my World Civilization II class. We have been studying the Protestant Reformation in the context of 15th and 16th century man.

I began class by illustrating how the Reformation had an impact on the architecture of churches as the Church splintered into many different denominations. Often what is lost in this analysis is the impact on our buildings for worship. I was pleased with the student responses to the question at large and the engagement with one another as differences of opinion became obvious.

Together we looked at medieval Romanesque and Gothic Cathedrals, Quaker Meeting Houses, Baroque structures, Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier commissioned buildings, Frank Gehry structures, and contemporary evangelical sanctuaries.

However, one of the most intriguing points that was made was along the lines of the “acoustic� beauty in a church. The student wondered out loud, “Why do we care a great deal about the beauty of sound but not visual beauty when it comes to our church buildings?� I think many of us left class with some disequilibrium.

*The Sunday prior to this discussion several of the members of the class had joined me on the regional train to the city to attend a worship experience in a cathedral as a voluntary class trip. We also go to the Philadelphia Museum of Art afterwards because it is “pay what you want� all day. Several students toured the Impressionist gallery with me where we had several intriguing discussions.

Posted by Chris Palladino at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)