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In my book, The Polesworth Circle: The Education of William Shakespeare, I theorized that Raphael Holinshed, the great chronicler of England (and steward of the Burdett estate at Bramcote), taught William Shakespeare and Michael Drayton the art of storytelling.

To substantiate my theory, I asked Microsoft’s AI-assistant (Copilot) three questions. The first two were related to Holinshed’s relationship with the Burdett’s of Bramcote. Question #3 is the big one.

Question #3: If Holinshed lived at...

In my book, The Polesworth Circle: The Education of William Shakespeare, I theorized that Raphael Holinshed, the great chronicler of England (and steward of the Burdett estate at Bramcote), taught William Shakespeare and Michael Drayton the art of storytelling. To substantiate my theory, I asked Copilot (Microsoft’s AI assistant) three questions.

When responding to my first question, Copilot didn’t seem to know that Sir Robert Burdett (1510-49) had willed Holinshed some money when he died in...

In my book, The Polesworth Circle: The Education of William Shakespeare, I theorized that Raphael Holinshed, the great chronicler of England (and steward of the Burdett estate at Bramcote), taught William Shakespeare and Michael Drayton the art of storytelling. To substantiate my theory, I asked Copilot (Microsoft’s AI-assistant) three questions. The first, noted below, concerns where Holinshed lived during his life (London or Bramcote).

Question #1: I believe that Raphael Holinshed was...

This post is a review of I Went to Prison So You Won’t Have To: A Love and Lawfare Story in Trump Land by Peter Navarro and Bonnie Brenner (2025). The Foreword to the book was written by Stephen K. Bannon (another Trump senior advisor imprisoned because he invoked executive privilege when subpoenaed by the J6 committee).

During the first Trump administration, Navarro was the director of the White House National Trade Council before becoming the director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing...

My wife and I traveled to St. Louis last weekend to watch our granddaughter’s “club” volleyball team (from Tampa, Florida) play in the “2026 Nike Mideast Qualifier” (16 Liberty Division).

As our daughter and her family made it up to St. Louis (via plane, truck, and towed RV), we drove down from Omaha (444 miles) on Thursday. We then watched volleyball on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, before returning to Omaha on Monday. All and all, it was a fun trip – a nice visit with our daughter and her...

This is a book review of “A Revolution of Common Sense: How Donald Trump Stormed Washington and Fought for Western Civilization, by Scott Jennings (2025).

Who is Scott Jennings?

Scott is now a member of the media, a “senior political commentator” (or “pundit”) for CNN. He was hired by CNN in 2017 to “serve as an emblem of the average Republican voter that largely supported” Trump. This role contrasted with another CNN hire at about that time, JD Vance, who was to be the “Never Trump”...

This post is “kind of a review” of an article in the Fall 2014 issue of Shakespeare Quarterly by Meghen C. Andrews, entitled “Michael Drayton, Shakespeare’s Shadow.”

[See: Andrews, Meghan C. “Michael Drayton, Shakespeare’s Shadow.” Shakespeare Quarterly, vol. 65, no. 3, 2014, pp. 273–306. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24778583.]

I used the “kind of a review” phrase above because I had an alternative motive – to see if Andrews’ article provided any support for my theory that Raphael...

My blog is seven months old today. The photograph accompanying this post is what I initially posted on July 28, 2025. The full text of that initial post is repeated below:

As noted in my author bio, I am interested in genealogy (mainly my families), architecture, history, and religion. So, I may use this blog to comment on those topics. I will also use the blog to comment on my books (e.g., errors noted, new information, alternative wording, comments on reviews). Time will tell; if you have...

When I got to the end of my then nine-part series, I realized that I needed two more parts, to finish off my funeral planning. The first part was way up front in “Part 3” where I tried to explain some of the decisions that I made as regards my funeral service. The other part – this one – was required to finish things off. I couldn’t just end at lunch.

What’s the Meaning of Life?

I suspect that most people, from time to time, question the meaning of life. Dionne Warwick asked the question in the...

My favorite time at most funerals is the luncheon. The inherent tension and accumulated grief have started to subside – it is a time to kick back a bit and start smiling again.

The St. Wenceslaus Guild provides a great buffet lunch, featuring fried chicken and baked ham during most of the year, and herb baked tilapia and vegetable lasagna during Lent. Both lunches include several salads, fruit trays, roll baskets, and desserts: along with coffee and lemonade to wash it all down.

My kudos to the...

The Homily Continues – The Second Reading

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Use this introduction only if the funeral is NOT during the Easter season.

In the first volume of his “A Catholic Prays Scripture” series, Robert wrote a chapter entitled “A Prayer for Revelation.” In that chapter he wrote about apocalyptic literature in general, and some of the many scholarly interpretations of “The Revelation to John.”

In his book, Robert suggested that John, the author of “The Revelation to John,” had bobbed and weaved...

The Homily Continues

From the 47 biblical passages listed in the funeral guide, Robert selected the three passages that were read earlier, because they spoke of Catholic thoughts, doctrines, and dogmas that he considered important.

The First Reading(s)

Use below only if the funeral is during the Easter season.

The first reading was a very short reading from “The Revelation to John,” which is often referred to as just “Revelation.” The passage, just one verse of 37 words, was so short that I will...

In the funeral guide, I noted the following: “The Presider may or may not know the deceased very well. It is always welcomed to have input as to what would be important to be shared at the funeral.” I also noted that there was an inch or so of space on the “Funeral Worksheet” for “Homily Ideas,” with an instruction to “attach another sheet if needed.”

I decided to take advantage of this opportunity and have written out a complete funeral homily (starting below). I realize that this is just my...

A “Responsorial Psalm” is read or sung between the first (usually Old Testament) and second (always New Testament) readings. The funeral guide provided ten options. I almost went with the first option, Psalm 23 (The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want) but after some more reflection, I selected the third option (P-3) from Psalm 27, as I believe it describes God’s loving care for his people.

The seven verses from Psalm 27 (1, 4, 7-9, 13-14) that make up this responsorial psalm...

My funeral guide listed 47 biblical passages that could be read during the funeral – nine from the Old Testament (first reading), nineteen from the four gospels, and nineteen from the rest of the New Testament (second reading). In response to my question, Brian said that I could pursue other passages – but the guide’s selection proved sufficient.

The funeral guide listed one caveat – during the “Easter Season,” the first reading must be from either the Acts of the Apostles or the Book of...

Years ago, I was a fan of a television show called “Dragnet,” in which Los Angeles police detective Joe Friday often pleaded with the crime scene witnesses for “just the facts.” That line became kind of a running joke with the comedians of the day, “Just the facts, Mamm, just the facts.” Anyway, that is what I desire for my obituary “just the facts” – no need to get overly flowery and gushy. In the remainder of this post, I offer my suggestions.

Photograph: Let’s start with the obituary’s...

In the last part of this series I wrote that “for a variety of reasons, I have decided to be cremated and have a memorial service (without a Mass).” I intended to leave it at that and moved on to my obituary. When I was pretty much finished with my (then) nine-part series, I decided I needed to add another part to explain (to myself and possibly others) “why” I decided on a cremation with no vigil, and a memorial service with no Mass.

Cremation Pros

This is the easy part. Cremation eliminates...

The St. Wenceslaus funeral guide began with an introductory note from my pastor, Father Mike Eckley. In that note he reminded me that a Christian funeral “… is a statement of hope in the resurrection of the dead.”

The second section of the guide was entitled “Preparing the Vigil,” the vigil being a service that is usually held the evening before the funeral. The vigil has some of the same elements as a funeral (e.g., music, readings, homily). It also includes a “litany” of pre-written prayers...

Well, I finally got around to it. In my December 19, 2025 “Happy Holidays” post, I noted my plan to publish a series of essays in mid-January, regarding my planned funeral. I then hemmed and hawed as I attempted to write out those plans – going instead with a few book reviews to kill some time as I got my act together. So, here we are, in mid-February.

This is the first of a (planned) eleven-part story on my upcoming (date unknown) funeral. Note that this series is “Draft One.” The plans may...

A “Scholarly” CoPilot Review of “The Polesworth Circle”

As you may recall from my previous post, after reviewing my book The Polesworth Circle, CoPilot, Microsoft’s AI-powered assistant, offered to provide “a more academic version” of the initial review. I accepted CoPilot’s offer, and below is what I almost immediately received. If you care, you can compare the tone of the two AI-generated reviews. I loved them both and found them both insightful – RIGHT ON! I was, however, forced to look up...