As is happily the norm, I am inundated with CD releases that demand your attention. The music spans the 18th to the 20th centuries, so I shall proceed chronologically, having no other principle of organization at hand. This way you can simply skip the centuries you deplore and get to the good stuff. (That is … Read more
Those in homeschooling circles are probably familiar with the education system in Germany, which requires all children to attend an officially recognized school or face fines and penalties. The story of one German family, the Romeikes, has also gained some notoreity here: After attempting to homeschool their children and being threatened with thousands in fines, … Read more
First: Way to go, Canada! Much to the shame of my Canadian family, I’m a hockey dunce. But I watched my first game in 20 years yesterday — and wow, I picked a good one! Team U.S.A. looked broken-hearted after their loss, but they should hold their heads up. It was a close game. Silver … Read more
According to the Centers for Disease Control, African American women have 40 percent of the nation’s abortions, but make up only 13 percent of the population. That black children are being aborted at such a high rate has not been a subject of discussion among the Democrats in the Congress and the White House, who … Read more
Gags abound in part eight of 1960’s ten part action-comedy serial “Uncle Harry’s Gold Mine” by Frank Borth. (There’s a little surprise on page 4, too.) As always, these pages come from Catholic University’s online archive of Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact. Â Â I can just see Uncle Harry being played by Dick … Read more
A few days before the New Year Chippy and I spent the day studying Shakespeare. In the morning we looked through “Shakespeare’s Complete Works” from my college days at the University of Texas, complete with my teenage marginalia. Then, I asked Chippy to read from the balcony scene in “Romeo and Juliet,” and later that … Read more
A few days before the New Year Chippy and I spent the day studying Shakespeare. In the morning we looked through “Shakespeare’s Complete Works” from my college days at the University of Texas, complete with my teenage marginalia. Then, I asked Chippy to read from the balcony scene in “Romeo and Juliet,” and later that … Read more
A couple of weeks ago, I posted a fascinating/disturbing video from Stargate Studios that revealed the increasingly unrecognizable use of CGI and digital backlots in TV and film production. (“Don’t worry. No reality was harmed in the making of this film. In fact, I’m not even sure any was used.”) Now, courtesy of /Film, here’s a … Read more
A new bill called The Dietary Supplement Safety Act (DSSA) of 2010 (S. 3002) has been introduced by Senator John McCain (R-AZ). The bill, cosponsored by Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND), will curtail free access to dietary supplements (like vitamins) and give the FDA full control over the supplement industry. The DSSA would undo the protections … Read more
All utopias are alike; but every utopian is unhappy in his own way. Â A new movie, Michael Hoffman’s The Last Station, attempts to portray the last days of Leo Tolstoy, when the great writer had turned from delving into the complexities of individuals’ loves and sorrows to the more streamlined task of issuing treatises … Read more
Good Friday morning! A few links to get the day started: The school-reform debate gets serious: When one low-ranked school in Rhode Island couldn’t agree on a plan for improvement, the school board sacked all 75 teachers at once. That’s one way to get their attention… Woman live-tweets her experience taking RU-486 to abort her … Read more
At a party back around Christmas, a man I hadn’t met before asked me what I do. I said I was a writer who, among other things, wrote fairly often about the situation of the Catholic laity in the Church. “Oh,” my new acquaintance responded innocently, “so are you a eucharistic minister in your parish?” … Read more
Much has been made of Detroit’s recent efforts to cope with its badly damaged economy and plummeting population. A number of high-profile photographers have documented the encroaching loneliness with devastating effect, a number of radical rezoning strategies have been suggested, and Michael Moore is always willing to give his opinion on the matter. Now, the city’s mayor is … Read more
Damian Thompson at the Telegraph isn’t happy with the English bishops for their silence in the face of the sex education bill that went before Parliament a few days ago. The leglislation will require Catholic schools to provide information to students on how to access contraception and abortion. Thompson reports “an astonishingly ignorant and sneering … Read more
Seen on the streets of Baltimore the other day (don’t worry, traffic was stopped when I snapped this picture). If you can’t read the text, it says, “The Light is ON for You. Catholic Churches around the Archdiocese of Baltimore will be open for confessions each Wednesday during Lent (www.ArchBalt.org).” This outreach program has been … Read more
Now this is interesting: American foreign policy is handicapped by a narrow, ill-informed and “uncompromising Western secularism” that feeds religious extremism, threatens traditional cultures and fails to encourage religious groups that promote peace and human rights, according to a two-year study by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. The council’s 32-member task force, which included … Read more
Those wondering why Francis Cardinal George suddenly announced his condemnation of New Ways Ministry on February 5 should take note of a meeting held a few days earlier in Washington, D.C. During the last weekend of January, a group of Catholics, lay and religious, met in Washington to launch “Catholics for Equality” (CFE). New Ways … Read more
It’s not often I take the time to recommend a book I haven’t written, but this one is too much fun for me to hold its authorship against it: Secret Places, Hidden Sanctuaries: Uncovering Mysterious Sights, Symbols, and Societies, by Stephen Klimczuk and Gerald Warner. I can see how the writers sold this deeply Catholic … Read more
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of unmarried couples cohabitating shot up to 88% from 1990 to 2007. The New York Post reports that this trend has sparked an increase in pre-prenups — cohabitation agreements drawn up to protect each party and their interests should the relationship end. These agreements are particularly popular … Read more
Crunchy Con blogger Rod Dreher was crushed last week when his 41-year-old sister Ruthie was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. While the news has been devastating to his family, it has also drawn them closer in love, prompting Rod to wonder why, when life is so fragile, we insist on holding on to … Read more