I usually ignore commercials. In fact, I do more than that. We have a standing rule in our house that there must be “alternative programming” readily available during all viewing. Watching sports (with commercials advertising the sorts of things in which modern, secular, sports-loving young males are usually interested) does not mesh well with having a … Read more
“O Prophet, tell your wives and daughters and the believing women that they should cast their outer garments over their bodies (when abroad) so that they should be known and not molested” (Koran 33:59). I have invented a new item of clothing for women of faith: a Security Suit™. This suit consists of three-quarter length … Read more
Time for a few morning links: NASA announced yesterday that they have discovered “alien life” in California: a bacteria that is partially composed of (and feeds off of) arsenic, in place of phosphorous — something previously thought impossible — raising the possibility of a “shadow biosphere” here on earth. That sound you just heard is … Read more
“When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.“ — Mark Twain Wes Anderson is a hard case. As a director … Read more
I am writing this in the Autumn, as the days grow shorter and the night temperatures inch toward the freezing point. When I drive my son around our neighborhood early on Sunday mornings, helping him deliver newspapers before the 7:00 o’clock deadline, we make our way in the dark until the very end, when the … Read more
Given my usual tendency to (over)indulge in a bit of “tin-foil-hattism,” it’s hard for me to read this sort of thing without freaking out: A special team will monitor 9-1-1 calls about people in danger of dying and they will travel directly to a person’s home without being summoned. … The team — composed of two … Read more
I don’t know much about Moldova, except that it’s sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine and is the poorest country in Europe. Massive economic migration is creating an entire generation of parentless children. Thousands of working-age adults have fled the country to find work, leaving their children with older relatives or in shelters. In some villages … Read more
Yesterday, I mentioned that two billboards in New York City were carrying on the Christmas Wars. Meanwhile, some billboards in Tennessee are carrying a very different religious message: “proclaiming May 21, 2011, as the date of the Rapture.” The Rapture is going to be a great day for God’s people but awful for everyone else, … Read more
Samuel Gregg of the Acton Institute says that Pope Benedict XVI’s new book-length interview, Light of the World, reveals him as a full blown Christian radical. The word “radical” comes from the Latin radix, meaning “root.” It’s in this sense Benedict is radical. His pontificate is about going back to Christianity’s roots to make, as … Read more
The Bible, decked with jewels and precious metals, was placed just above waist level — the perfect height for us to bow and kiss it. And that’s what would have happened in the Orthodox church for which the holy book was created. But if we’d tried that here, our lips would have bumped into a … Read more
Last week, I declined to chime in on the pope’s new book — though I should probably hurry up, since I still haven’t gotten a copy, which means that my perspective on it is still fresh and unspoiled, marked by the disinterested objectivity that comes with utter ignorance. Instead I tried to use the cacophony … Read more
This thorny topic dovetails nicely with Jeff Tucker’s morning piece about transparency, leaks, and the new Missal… Bill O’Reilly recently called for the head of WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange — or at least life in prison. Sarah Palin says he should be hunted like Bin Laden, and Hilary Clinton says he and his organization have endangered many … Read more
Recently, the American Atheists put up this billboard along the route to the Lincoln Tunnel in New York City: David Silverman, the president of American Atheists, confuses me with his explanation for picking this particular battle now: “Every year, atheists get blamed for having a war on Christmas, even if we don’t do anything,” he … Read more
New Zealand has implemented the people’s parts and the Mass ordinary of the third edition of the English Roman Rite Missal, while the United States can look forward to the replacement of the current lame-duck Missal, which dates from the Age of Aquarius, with the corrected translation this time next year. Dignity, solemnity, and the … Read more
I’m shamelessly stealing something The Anchoress did last year. Throughout the season of Advent, she posted a number of Christmas gift ideas that not only make shopping less hectic but support good Catholic groups and noble causes. So each week of Advent I’m going to highlight a few items that I believe Catholics — and … Read more
Every group has its code words. These words serve an important social function — they enable the members of the group to deliver a harsh judgment on others without accountability. In the Catholic world, when someone is called “divisive,” it means he is too conservative to be trusted. Those who are “divisive” threaten the “unity … Read more
At Our Sunday Visitor, our friend and longtime Vatican analyst Russell Shaw says Pope Benedict XVI’s new book-length interview reveals a pontiff who understands his role, and its limitations. When Seewald says the Catholic Church’s membership of 1.2 billion and its geographical extension throughout the world make him “the most powerful pope of all time,” … Read more
As we begin Advent, the Church confronts us with Jesus’ teaching about the Second Coming. His disturbing warning is well-known in our post-Protestant culture: As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and … Read more
Also, Merry Christmas! Oh, and Happy New Year! I think I may have just discovered the winner of the “most extraordinary link to be found on the Interwebs” contest for November (and a strong candidate for “Best Link of the Year,” as far as I’m concerned): Free downloads of the complete organ works of Johann … Read more
The new TSA regulations are on everyone’s minds, it seems; it was a big topic of conversation at our Thanksgiving dinner. But over at the Daily Beast, American Muslim author Asra Nomani is proposing an alternative that makes many people cringe: profiling. Nomani lays out her case: We have to talk about the taboo topic … Read more