Ib First Things, George Weigel calls Otto von Hapsburg, son of Austria-Hungary’s last emperor, who died at the age of 98 this past July 4th, “The First– and Last European.” I have a feeling Hapsburg’s cousin, Juan Carlos de Borbon y Borbon-Dos Sicilias, who continues to reign in Spain — I think she’s got it! — would deck him for that. Still, I’m glad someone’s paying attention. As far as dethroned royalty goes, Hapsburg, who was 98 when he died,... Read more
“A comedy of bad manners” — that’s how the Roundabout Theater Company describes this mashup of the Importance of Being Earnest and Jersey Shore. Santino Fontana and David Furr, who play Algernon and Jack in Roundabout’s production of Wilde’s last, best play, stay in character as they recite some of the reality show cast’s most distinctively Jersey lines. As a Wilde fan and a native of Montclair, I found this more fun than a barrel of absinthe. Yeah, I know... Read more
Jani Lane, former lead singer of Warrant, who died yesterday at age 47 of unknown causes, often expressed regret for writing “Cherry Pie.” He needn’t have. It was as catchy as it was mindless, which is probably why it made the top 10. It came out the year I went to college, and I can remember thinking, as I heard it played in the dorms, that if college was full of people who listened to this schlock, I might be... Read more
In one of the Simpsons’ earlier seasons, Marge writes to the producers of Itchy and Scratchy to complain about the show’s rampant and graphic violence. After some finagling she gets what she wants — in spades. A typical episode of the new, socially responsible Itchy and Scratchy finds the former antagonists sitting side-by-side on a creaking porch swing, drinking (probably sugar-free) lemonade. In National Catholic Reporter, John Allen, Jr. reports that relations between the Vatican and Rome’s chief rabbi have... Read more
You know you’re in a country with a solid civil-rights tradition when, four days into a massive riot, the authorities begin to talk about using water cannon. British Prime Minister David Cameron announced today that “we now have in place contingency plans for water cannon to be available at 24 hours’ notice.” Meanwhile, the rioting, which began in London, and had already spread to Bristol, Liverpool and Birmingham, has spread even farther. Police have arrested 108 suspected rioters in Manchester... Read more
The cover of this week’s Newsweek features Michele Bachmann. As many observers noted, it is not a flattering photo. Anyone old enough to have seen the movie Hot Resort, starring a very young Johnny Depp, will recal a minor character who is in thrall to some Maharishi figure. The expression she wears when venerating his image is the same look Bachmann wears — that is, exalted, credulous and completely out to lunch. Was it nice of Newsweek to depict the... Read more
In today’s Patheos column, I write about popular piety, how the forms of devotion that go viral, so to speak, among the people run to the melodramatic, the sensational and the sentimental. It’s easy to wince at this kind of thing, but easier still, sometimes, to wince at the people who are wincing. In his short story, “The Angel, Esmeralda,” Don DeLillo has a mob of South Bronx residents, relatively few of them observant Christians, claiming to see the face... Read more
Whether reacting to the welfare cuts in Prime Minister David Cameron’s new austerity budget or gripped by simple lust for mayhem, Londeoners have carried their rioting through its third straight night. Parliament’s recess has been cut short; the England-Netherlands football match has been cancelled. Police — of whom 16,000 are now patrolling London’s streets — are now reporting one fatality, 14 serious injuries and 525 arrests. Smaller mobs in Bristol, Birmingham and Liverpool have been smashing windows, looting stores and,... Read more
Today in Slate, William Saletan that our country’s left-right ideological divode will soon be rendered irrelevant — by its creditors, of all people. The deal they force on America will involve both tax hikes and entitlement cuts — in other words, the worse of both worlds. As he explains: Their message was delivered on Friday by Standard & Poor’s, which issues global credit ratings. S&P is downgrading the U.S. because our debt is out of control. The company explains: When... Read more
“Narcissist” is the new n-word. Unmatched for versatility, it can mean everything from “won’t text me back” to “queer as a three-dollar bill.” Once upon a time, disagreeable people could hope to be labeled neurotics or paranoiacs; no longer. Members of my generation are fully committed to watching each other watch themselves. Just recently, Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny deployed the term against the Vatican. Referring to a letter from the Holy See to the bishop of Cloyne, purportedly relieving... Read more
Diary of a Wimpy Catholic
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