I’ve got this friend you see who makes me feel

And I blogwatched more than I could steal…

Church of the Masses praises “Monster.” I’m not totally sure I can take this movie. I’m usually hardcore about stomaching horror in the service of story, but… eh… I knew a lot of people who related really closely to Aileen Wuornos in a way that makes me not so sure that I want to see this, no matter how good it is. Wrath is, as regular readers know, one of my besetting sins. We’ll see.

Krubner (who is back!) replies to me about the Healthy Marriage Initiative. Actually, there are quite a lot of anti-divorce programs out there (the ones I know best are Marriage Savers and Retrouvaille–please consider giving these groups your time and money). I should say that the ASOnline article comes across as less skeptical of the marriage initiative than I actually am. I think its potential problems are those of any sweet-minded big-government initiative. I would rather you all strengthened marriage on your own time, in your private capacity. Find out what your high school is teaching about marriage. Volunteer with a crisis pregnancy center. You don’t need to wait for Congress.

Sean Collins is right about Justin Timberlake. “Note the awkward use of the passive voice in order to place the blame squarely on Janet, and not her male counterpart (who I imagine is a bigger star than she is these days, saleswise). …Note that the violent and misogynistic overtones of the act are not even mentioned.” And there’s more: “Both these phony lesbian displays and Justin’s stripping of Janet’s clothes (invariably and inexplicably referred to by the media as ‘Janet’s stunt’) involve women tortuously convoluting their sexuality in order to please the male audience.”

Mark Shea: Let His blood be upon us, and on our children. Powerful meditation. “Every time we approach the Cup we ask for his blood to be upon us. Every time we baptize our babies, we pray his blood will be upon our children.”

The Old Oligarch: “So many universities stop with Plato or Aristotle and pick up with Descartes. Thus you only get the theory of forms at its most rudimentary stage (earliest Greeks) or in the fractured, compromised wreck you see in Descartes.” Yes, yes, YES. O.O. is like a million times harder core about this stuff than me, but I have the advantage of the literary background, which I think ought to push you both toward the attractions of Plato (objects in the world have intrinsic meaning) and toward Plato’s limitations (is there a form of dirt? of mud? of very watery mud? of very muddy water?). And some chastisement w/r/t the calling of Jeremiah: “If the text makes any point about charismatic vs. institutional authority, it refutes the mentality of those who would seek to use it as a ready-made symbol for their dissent.” Plus bonus attack on “faith alone,” whatever that means.

Letters to send to protest the introduction of sharia law in Iraq. Hasn’t happened yet. Might be worth your time. Via Hit & Run.

States visited: My map looks like the US is wearing an unraveling sweater. CA, CT, DC (home sweet home), DE (visit sunny Rehoboth), IL, IN (South Bend = small-town Iowa), IA (“It’s not just for deer!”), MD, MA, NJ (“I don’t expect much”), NY, NC, OH (Cleveland, Cincinnati, AND Dayton, beat THAT!), PA, RI, TX, VA, WA, WV (beautiful country and friendly people–don’t believe the anti-hype), WI (birth of the boom).