The pre-Socratic philosophers are, to be blunt, intensely fucking exciting. They really are. And I think it’s because they’re trying to answer, in an understandably limited way, the same questions we’re still addressing, for...
Thinking about this some more, it appears Andrew has missed my point entirely. The aesthetic argument was not my defense of Benedict at all. My defense is simply this: the Pope is innocent until...
It may be unfair to tar Philip Blond with David Cameron’s policy proposals, but this grab bag of measures intended to “give society a helping hand” gets at a criticism I tried to articulate...
Andrew writes that my defense of the Pope is ‘incredibly wrong-headed and simplistic’ and then focuses entirely on the argument I made regarding the aesthetics of Benedict. My point in so arguing was that...
The Sand Pebbles and The Great Escape are two of my favorite movies , so I’m not sure how I missed this collection of essays from The Cooler on Steve McQueen’s career. But you...
“[T]his basic truth remains: the moral authority of Catholic church’s central authority is over. The only two options are denial and defensive p.r. (the current knee-jerk response) or open repentance and total transparency, led...
In the Western* Christian Liturgical Calendar we are in the midst of Holy Week and fast approaching Easter Sunday or rather Resurrection Sunday (Pascua as it is called in Spanish). This is a particularly...
[updated] “I read the coverage of the Pope every day in the newspapers and listen to the BBC news and as a Catholic and a journalist I feel like crying out pathetically: “This is...
Laurie Anderson’s releasing her first new studio album in ten years on June 15. Guests on it include Lou Reed (no huge surprise) and Antony Hegarty. (!!!) Anderson’s Strange Angels is a favorite in...
by: Dan Summers “The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.” — Voltaire While reading Jason’s predictions about the health care reform bill, I was struck by one...
So young white conservatives are still making political rap videos. At least the production values on WOLVERINES’s “One Term President” are leagues beyond last year’s Young Con Anthem, which Michael E. Van Landingham described...
Via Galley Slaves, here’s an amazing story on the exploits of an international art thief. The intro:
Can anyone say they were surprised? A leading Canadian psychiatrist who kept accusations of gross human rights abuses in apartheid-era South Africa hidden has been charged in Calgary with sexually abusing a male patient…...
Mark Thompson makes an excellent point below: Once we have embarked on a particular social program, it becomes fiscally responsible to minimize the costs of that program, whether by placing strings on participation in...
Jonathan Chait points to this entertaining article on Hall and Oates’ hipster comeback. I think we can locate the roots of their popular revival here:
Sappho is one of the first and greatest poetic singers of romantic longing and the ‘bittersweet’, an image she apparently coined. Along with the Greek lyric poets (Archilochus, Sappho, Mimnermus, Alcaeus) of the Archaic...
This is more for my own satisfaction than the edification of our readers, but I can’t let a great meme go to waste. I tried for the ‘gut instinct’ approach, but that left me...
In the comments to E.D.’s post on a hypothetical tax on alcohol, Michael Drew writes: A significant portion of the negative externalities come in the form of medical costs from DUI and long-term disease,...
When I read E.D.’s piece on maybe teaching less math in elementary school, I figure that since I studied math in college and still do some recreational math, I should have something to say...
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on Open Mic for the week of 3/31/25Heh, I'm not entirely sure I get the comment even if I get the gist? Seems any plan by Trump can be… on Open Mic for the week of 3/31/25Yeah; I think you are right that he sees the American Empire as a thing that was being managed to th…
on Saturday Morning Gaming: MetroidvaniasThe "Can a MV be 3D?" debate has resulted in many broken hearts and broken bones, but I think that i…
on Saturday Morning Gaming: MetroidvaniasHollow Knight is great. It was one of the first non-console games I had played in a long time and on… on Saturday Morning Gaming: MetroidvaniasHollow Knight does not hold your hand. I'm not calling it a "soulslike" or anything like that becaus…
on Saturday Morning Gaming: MetroidvaniasI was a massive fan of Castlevania while the vast majority of my friends were into Metroid and Rygar… on Tariffs Making China Great AgainI wonder if the market is pricing in the probability of a suit like this eventually succeeding (and…
on Tariffs Making China Great AgainI believe that you can have standing recognized on the basis of imminent harm. Though even then, I d…
on Open Mic for the week of 3/31/25https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/417e58aa2d61f2e01a40847ad106f08f4d61361cf51ae8658e6ca910ea1dcbb… on Tariffs Making China Great AgainOh wait, that's for the February tariffs -- probably too early for the most recent ones, right? Stan…
Danny Dreamer: It’s a Dog’s Life
April 5, 2025
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A Would-Be Buyer at an Automobile Show
April 2, 2025
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on Tariffs Making China Great Again on Read It For Yourself: How Trump Admin Defines “Gang Members” For Deportation
on Open Mic for the week of 3/31/25 on Open Mic for the week of 3/31/25 on Read It For Yourself: How Trump Admin Defines “Gang Members” For Deportation
on Open Mic for the week of 3/31/25 on Open Mic for the week of 3/31/25
on Open Mic for the week of 3/31/25 on Open Mic for the week of 3/31/25
on Open Mic for the week of 3/31/25
