Let’s start the week with something inspiring. CNN World ran a piece last week about a Scotsman who went for a beer at a local pub and came out with an idea that would change thousands of lives around the world. In 1992, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow and his brother saw a news report about Bosnian refugees. … Read more
I missed this June article by Fr. James Martin, SJ, about how our spiritual lives are affected by the digital age. (The piece in The Huffington Post was adapted from his new book, The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything.) Other articles like this one have come out detailing the ways electronic media is changing how … Read more
Woman Sues Disney, claims she was groped, molested by Donald DuckMissing chef’s body found stuffed in a freezerPolice: Man suspected in semen attacks Shock as GOOGLE Spy Cams capture girl’s ‘body’ lying on pavement These are four of the headlines on The Drudge Report today. There will be more like them tomorrow… and the next … Read more
I read Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love three years ago. The best thing about it was Gilbert’s writing talent — she’s definitely got that. The book was entertaining in parts, but despite its rave reviews, there was nothing the least bit profound there. Although I enjoyed the sights and sounds of her adventures across the … Read more
Girls are reaching puberty faster than ever before — by ages 7 and 8. That’s what a new study just published in the journal Pediatrics shows. Other studies have found this over the past decade, but experts have been at a loss to explain why. Increased levels of obesity are definitely to blame, but doctors now believe … Read more
Politics Daily Andrew Cohen has an impressive bio: He’s chief legal analyst and legal editor for CBS News Radio, and he’s won the Edward R. Murrow Award twice. He writes for well-known magazines. Which is partly why it was strange that two weeks ago his Politics Daily column was a personal love letter. Apparently, Cohen … Read more
One of the best examples of the battle between personal freedom and government regulation is the raw dairy issue. More people are turning to raw dairy — often for health reasons — and because of this, we’re seeing more crackdowns by regulatory bodies. Just a few months ago, an Amish farmer not far from me … Read more
Clergymen used to be a healthy and long-living bunch. But over the past few years, studies have shown that pastors are in worse health than other Americans. Their rates of obesity, hypertension, and depression are higher, and their life expectancy is lower. As The New York Times reports, experts don’t agree on any single explanation … Read more
Why do so many celebrities make sex tapes? It’s weird. It seems a clear sign that porn has infiltrated so many lives, and technology has made it easy. The “embarrassing” sex tapes may not be so accidental, according to Mary Elizabeth Williams of Slate who says these tapes are often publicity stunts to pave … Read more
A particular kind of market-driven capitalism is at the root of America’s success as a world economy and it was shaped and promoted by Puritans in Boston, according to church historian, Mark Valeri. Valeri’s new book, Heavenly Merchandize is an attempt to answer the question of how a people “who loathed market principles birthed a … Read more
Friday is a good day for a fish report. GOOD ran a short but interesting interview with author Paul Greenberg of the new book, Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food. Greenberg believes wild-caught fish should be treated like game, with specific places of origin. Here’s a short excerpt from the interview: GOOD: When it comes … Read more
News to warm my heart: Apparently, the hip, new thing is farming. CNN ran a short piece about educated young people who are turning in their Wall Street jobs and Ivy League credentials for the agrarian life. Roy Skeen, a 28-year old Yale graduate from Baltimore is one such example. A history major who also worked in finance, … Read more
Admittedly, I like Lady Gaga, or used to like her. She reminds me of a type of a younger Madonna – someone who is theatrical, a rule breaker, line crosser but talented and able to reinvent herself. Lately, however, her theatrics have become increasingly bizarre in a way that is following the trend toward … Read more
You’ve probably seen this story: The Alliance Defense Fund is suing Augusta University in Georgia on behalf of Jennifer Keeton, a 24 year old Masters in Counseling student. She has been ordered by the university to change her beliefs or be kicked out of their program. Keeton expressed her Christian views in classes at times, … Read more
Tolu Ogunlesi at 3 Quarks Daily wrote a fascinating piece yesterday called, “Five Things You Didn’t Know About Africa.” It’s short… and worth a read. Here’s a snippet: Ever heard of the Rift Valley? It’s the place in East Africa where scientists tell us humans first learned to walk on two feet, and from where … Read more
Two weeks ago, Slate‘s Amanda Marcotte wrote about how glad she is that women today feel free to opt out of childbearing. They’re empowered by “choice,” and that’s a great thing, says Marcotte. The problem, as she sees it, is that Americans increasingly believe it’s bad for society — the numbers are up 10 per … Read more
The Spectator just had this shitpile: “We’re going to have a public option,” Reid said. “It’s just a question of when.” Reid’s general comments reflected the same overall message to progressives that President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered earlier today. It essentially boils down to: We’ve done a lot of stuff, but we … Read more
This is cool: According to the BBC, astronomers have discovered a star “so big and bright that it stretches the boundaries of what scientists believed was possible”: The star, known so far only as R136a1, has an observed mass 265 times greater than our sun, and modeling suggests it was once 320 times bigger… But … Read more
Today, Patheos launches a week-long symposium on the “Future of Catholicism.” Numerous articles have been posted by various Catholic thinkers and writers, including Deacon Greg Kandra, Fr. James Martin, S.J., Thomas Peters, James Hitchcock, Barbara Nicolosi — and, coming later this week, the IC blog’s own Joseph Susanka. If I have time over the course … Read more
I can’t decide where I stand on the ban of the burqa (full veil) in France. I want to be against it — on the grounds of religious and personal freedom — but I see the challenges the niqab (face veil) poses to national security. It’s one thing to cover the top of your head, … Read more
