Given my obsession with the short story form and my irrationally conflicted emotions for all things eBookish, I’m a bit ashamed that I did not notice this story until yesterday afternoon: Starting on Monday, Amazon will sell two stories, one by Christopher Buckley and the other by Edna O’Brien, through its Kindle store. The stories have … Read more
Yesterday was the occasion of what has become my annual Christmas poetry luncheon at Buca di Beppo in Washington, D.C. This year I co-hosted the event with Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, whose Southern charm was needed to offset my post-60 gruffness. I intended to post videos of all twelve poetry … Read more
Yesterday was the occasion of what has become my annual Christmas poetry luncheon at Buca di Beppo in Washington, D.C. This year I co-hosted the event with Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, whose Southern charm was needed to offset my post-60 gruffness. I intended to post videos of all twelve poetry … Read more
Yesterday was the occasion of what has become my annual Christmas poetry luncheon at Buca di Beppo in Washington, D.C. This year I co-hosted the event with Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, whose Southern charm was needed to offset my post-60 gruffness. I intended to post videos of all twelve poetry … Read more
It’s not every day that a farmer and poet packs an auditorium so full that security has to turn people away. But that’s exactly what happened when Wendell Berry showed up at the University of Virginia last week, according to Ted Strong of the National Catholic Reporter. In his lecture, Berry outlined the need for small-scale landholders … Read more
Whatever hope the health care bill had of authentic Catholic support ended yesterday when the Senate defeated the Nelson-Hatch amendment. Mirroring the Stupak-Pitts amendment in the House, this amendment would have prohibited federal funding for abortion. Deacon Keith Fournier has written eloquently this morning about the significance of this moment in our legislative history. … Read more
Having properly celebrated the Christ child’s mother yesterday, Father James Martin thinks it’s only right that, during the Christmas season, we should remember to celebrate His earthly father, too. Poor St. Joseph gets short shrift sometimes — he appears in only one carol that I can think of, and it’s not a very flattering picture; … Read more
In keeping with both the season and today’s feast of the Immaculate Conception, here is Mateo Flecha el Viejo’s “Riu, Riu, Chiu,” performed by the Oxford Camerata. (The first and sixth verses are particularly relevant, if this version has the complete sequence. My Spanish is a bit rusty. Which means I don’t know any.) Translation:The furious … Read more
This has been getting passed around the past week or two, and I only just got to watch it today. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a brilliant little stage performance by a group of students posing as silent monks who have devised a clever way to perform Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus without uttering a peep… … Read more
Self. And this is never more evident to me than when I’m driving on the highway. Almost every time, I can count on there being at least one jackass…er… brother in Christ driving WAY over the speed limit who insists on tailgating the car in front of him until that poor schlep moves over and makes … Read more
A South Carolina priest has been making headlines lately for the unusual way he’s raising money for his parish — namely, by playing in a national poker tournament. With the blessing of his bishop, Father Andrew Trapp has already won $100,000 in the “PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge”; he recently taped an episode that could win … Read more