VERY EXPENSIVE STONE. Sorry–as you can probably tell, the post below was unfinished. My computer crashed. I want to do a longer post looking at a bunch of Mangan’s columns, because she’s a vivid writer and a good opponent even where I disagree, but I don’t have time right now. For some children’s-book recommendations from me, you can go here, here, and (with caveat) here. Also, I don’t think I mentioned the Bagthorpe books for some reason; read those too!

Meanwhile, 1) it’s the feast of St. Justin Martyr, patron of philosophers!

and

2) I have very vague, and possibly false, memories of an article making the case that the Slits scene in Derek Jarman’s Jubilee “elected Thatcher” (by being emblematic of the ’70s glorification of public disorder, which isn’t the only reading of Jubilee, but whatev). Did I dream this, or does someone else remember the article? I need it for a thing.