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 sometimes think that Russia just sits around thinking, “Is there any way we can be just a little more grim today?” According to NPR’s Morning Edition, a subway mural project is stirring up some controversy: The Dostoevskaya station — which opened this summer in memory of Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky — met a fair … 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
That’s the name of this fascinating little film from Will Hoffman and Daniel Mercadante, produced by their production company Everynone in conjunction with a Radiolab episode. It takes a while to figure out, and I had to watch it several times to “catch everything.” But it’s worth it. [video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0HfwkArpvU 635×355] (Hat Tip: Jeffrey Overstreet)
Time for some Friday morning links: Judge Vaughn Walker extends the stay on gay marriages in California until August 18th, at which point the defendants must either appeal the decision or gay marriages will resume. Meanwhile, Walker himself isn’t convinced that they will have standing to appeal the decision in the first place. Read an … Read more
If you are able, I urge you to join Bill Donohue at the Catholic League rally in New York City on August 26 at the Empire State Building. I will be there, I wouldn’t miss a chance to join the protest against the landlord who decided to pull the plug on the lights honoring Mother … Read more
Despite a Gilbreth-esque voice in the back of my head suggesting that this topic is “not of general interest,” I thought I’d share one of the more unusual ways the members of the Susanka household keep themselves amused on Friday evenings: a little game I like to call “Melodic Homage or Hijacking.” First, a quick … 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
A while back on the blog, we had an interesting discussion about Catholic funerals and paring back the lavish accretions that seem a mandatory part of the modern funeral industry. By way of an alternative, several commenters mentioned St. Joseph’s Abbey in Covington, LA — a monastery that supports itself in part by building and … Read more
Michael Tanner, senior fellow at the Cato Institute and author of the excellent Leviathan on the Right: How Big-Government Conservatism Brought Down the Republican Revolution, has some advice for the GOP on the upcoming elections. Stop me if you’ve heard this before… Despite their repeated threats to stay home if Republicans deviated from a commitment … 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
From the Ohio Columbus Dispatch comes an odd tale of warring protests: Employees at a local strip club were tired of the members of a nearby church protesting outside their club every week, so they organized a protest of their own outside the church. Fed up with the tactics of Dunfee and his flock, they … Read more
To my eye, nothing is more powerful in films than the depiction of the love parents have for their children. Sometimes this love pops up in unexpected cinematic places. Unable to sleep this morning, still jet-lagged from my trip to the Holy Land, I watched what many consider to be Wim Wender’s masterpiece, “Paris, Texas.” … Read more
This statement from Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix on the federal court decision striking down Prop 8 is the strongest I have seen from any prelate. It will be published at the diocesan web site later today. Marriage: a “hang up” or God’s plan? Bishop Thomas Olmsted The misguided decision of Judge Vaughn Walker, striking … Read more
The column Brian links to below makes for discouraging reading. In an attempt to lighten the mood, I offer the following, as a sort of “bright side” to our current economic woes: With less money to spend, people are finding that they may in fact be happier without it. [T]he practices that consumers have adopted … Read more
Today’s Wall Street Journal has an important op-ed by Michael Fleisher, president of Bogen Communications, entitled “Why I’m Not Hiring.” It makes for discouraging, but important, reading. Meet Sally (not her real name; details changed to preserve privacy). Sally is a terrific employee, and she happens to be the median person in terms of base … 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
As a cranky old man trapped in a once-young-but-now-mostly-just-flabby man’s body, I’ve always been … well … cranky when it comes to participating in the games of BlogTag that burrow their way through cyberspace every now and again. Frankly, I’m still at a bit of a loss as to why anyone else cares about what … Read more
By now, most of the world knows something about human trafficking. Basically, if you’re not dwelling among consumers, you’re likely at a place of origin or along a transit route. But this story drew my attention yesterday: In this impoverished town in central Mexico, a sinister trade has taken root: Entire extended families exploit desperation and … Read more
A few months ago, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), speaking to a Catholic audience, said that her favorite word was The Word, as in the Incarnate Jesus Christ, and that she wanted to pass laws “in keeping with the values” of that Word. More recently, Speaker Pelosi was doing an interview where a Catholic News … Read more