Here’s a story after my own heart: An exemplary organic farm run by a group of nuns. Villa Maria, on the border of Pennsylvania and Ohio is like a small town, with a Post Office, and a 23 acre plot of land housing a convent, an apartment building for seniors, and a retreat center full … Read more
Camille Paglia had an article in The Sunday Times yesterday (subscription required) about pop icon Lady Gaga and — to put it mildly — Paglia is not a fan. She calls the singer the first major star of the digital age, but believes she’s a charlatan, a “manufactured personality,” and unsexy. Furthermore, despite showing acres of … Read more
Salon staff writer Tracy Clark-Flory thinks Americans need to be more like the Dutch when it comes to teenage sex. In a recent column, she wrote that Dutch parents can teach their U.S. counterparts about “respect and acceptance of teenage sexuality.” Clark-Flory finds her views supported by a couple of studies, including one from 2003 … Read more
This is probably the best defense of traditional marriage that I’ve read. The writers are respectful of the views of same-sex marriage proponents, which is unusual in pieces like this. One section about the role of the state particularly caught my attention: …Although it is still a radical position without much purchase in public opinion, … Read more
Boy does this video bring back memories… Bermuda. 2001. A Crisis Magazine cruise hosted by Deal Hudson and staff, with yours truly playing the role of Julie (Love Boat, anyone?) The Crisis Cruise (possibly the most unsaleable name in maritime vacation history) always attracted a lovely group of people, and the speakers that year included … Read more
This article in the UK’s Mail Online is two years old, but a fascinating read. It’s a personal account by Rebecca Walker — daughter of poet, writer, and radical feminist Alice Walker — about what it’s like to grow up believing that men and motherhood are a woman’s chief enemies: My mother’s feminist principles coloured … Read more
I’m not sure about you, but as I was thinking about how to spend my time today, the thought crossed my mind: What exactly is Labor Day anyway? Apparently, this holiday became official in 1894, after 13 railroad workers died at the hands of the U.S. military in Illinois during the Pullman Strike. The holiday … Read more
If people are the problem, let’s have fewer people — so goes the thinking of some environmentalists. (Joe Hargrave touches on this in his piece today called Man Vs. Nature.) Our own Simcha Fisher turns this “have fewer kids” solution on its head in an article she wrote in Faith & Family. She begins like … Read more
In Stephen Hawking’s forthcoming book, The Grand Design (co-written with American physicist Leonard Mlodinow), he says: Because there is a law such as gravity, the Universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the Universe exists, why we exist… It is not necessary … Read more
The Christian Post reports that over 100 religious groups are protesting a piece of legislation that would ban faith-based groups from receiving federal funds if they use religion in their hiring practices. The language can be found in HR 5466 – a bill introduced in the House in May by Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI). The … Read more
According to ABC, a Yemeni national named Ahmed Mohamed Nasser al Soofi was stopped by airport security in Birmingham, Alabama, before boarding a flight to Chicago: …al Soofi was found to be carrying $7,000 in cash and a check of his luggage found a cell phone taped to a Pepto-Bismol bottle, three cell phones taped … Read more
According to an article in The New York Times last week, there’s a debate going on in academic circles (mainly among psychologists and sociologists) as to whether a new developmental stage should be officially acknowledged. It’s called “emerging adulthood” and it covers the 18-29 age range. It could happen the same way the stage of … Read more
Many articles today explore the question of what technology and modern gadgets are doing to our brains. How do they affect learning? Memory? Focus? Productivity? Health? This article in The New York Times says some research shows that constantly stimulating the brain isn’t a good idea: Cellphones, which in the last few years have become … Read more
Have you ever purchased a fake Gucci bag, Rolex, or pair of Ray-Bans? New research suggests that wearing knockoffs makes you less honest and more cynical. Sound far-fetched? I thought so, too, until I read more details. Three psychological scientists have been studying the way fake adornment affects attitudes and behavior — Francesca Gino of … Read more
In the coming decades, India is expected to surpass China as the most populous nation on earth. Worried local Indian governments are using soft sell tactics to reduce family size, according to this article in the New York Times. Previously charged with coercing women to sterilize themselves in some regions, government officials are using new … Read more
According to a new study by the University of Copenhagen, people with blue eyes most likely share a common ancestor who lived 6,000 to 10,000 years ago: “Originally, we all had brown eyes,” Professor Hans Eiberg of the University of Copenhagen said in a press release. “But a genetic mutation affecting the OCA2 gene in … Read more
Even in Texas, they’re building them smaller these days. The era of the McMansion is ending, and I can’t say I’m disappointed. Whether you call them McMansions, Starter Castles, or Faux Chateaus, these 3,000 plus square foot homes — which were often cheaply built on tiny plots of land — were in high demand across … Read more
Unless you see a practicing Catholic ObGyn, 35 is the magic age… the one you start getting one of two questions every time you visit: what you’re doing to prevent more pregnancies (because you have two kids already so you better start acting mature and stop all that baby-making nonsense!) or what you’re doing to … Read more
I’m reading a book I’d recommend to all parents: Hold On To Your Kids: Why Parents Need To Matter More Than Peers, by child development expert Dr. Gordon Neufeld and physician Dr. Gabor Mate. The authors’ views fly in the face of many modern parenting books that focus on behavioral changes and skill-building. Neufeld and … Read more
Did you start your morning with a little high fructose corn syrup? If not, better hurry because soon you may need to settle for that old fashioned substance called cane sugar. Sarah Gilbert has a piece in Daily Finance about the latest in the battle over high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). For a long time, manufacturers … Read more
