“Hold it for me,” he said quietly, in English. Christina knew that her mother couldn’t see them from the other room–and she didn’t need to unfold the handkerchief to know that it was wrapped around the little statue, for she could feel the cold of the stone through the linen. She gave him a quizzical glance, for earlier he had said that he carried the thing around with him now–and he had told her not to touch it. His expression... Read more

“WAS ANYONE HERE LIVING IN A COMMUNIST COUNTRY BEFORE 1989? IF SO, WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE REVOLUTIONS?” Via SKTJ. Read more

LAVATORY SELF-PORTRAITS IN THE FLEMISH STYLE. Read more

CULTURAL BIAS IN INTELLIGENCE TESTING. You have to put up with some obvious leftist bias (e.g. attributing to Western “acquisitiveness” what seems at least equally attributable to social trust) and I admit I already agreed with the basic point this site is making. But the alternative intelligence mini-tests are intriguing and a memorable way to make an important point. Read more

SPEAKING OF LATE LINKS: Make your Easter eggs look like your dad in the ’70s! Via Unequally Yoked. Read more

THIS IS HOLY THURSDAY, BUT I DIDN’T POST IT IN TIME. Where did I find it? Via Wesley again? Anyway I really like it. Read more

Let none lament his failings,forgiveness has risen from the tomb.Let none fear death,for the death of the Savior has set us free.–St John Chrysostom, via Wesley Hill …and speaking of WH and Easter, this made me laugh, perhaps inappropriately. Read more

“ANOTHER VERY GRITTY DISPLAY HERE”: I meant to post this on his actual birthday, March 30, but: Happy birthday, Christopher Bowman. May your afterlife be as lyrical as “Maria” and as uninhibited as “Woolly Bully.” “The Americans never disappoint their American fans….” Read more

SERODISCORDANCY: I spot Chad a few minutes later, a dark-eyed waif on the sidewalk. It’s been three weeks he’s been gone, and he’s lost so much weight. Everything about him looks burnt-out, the way refugees on TV look with farms smoking behind them: translucent skin, an uncertain balance something like shellshock. I notice he’s wearing a necklace, one he wasn’t wearing last time. A ring and a small cross. I tell the driver, “That’s him.” The bus slows, but the... Read more

“12 GREAT SMALL PRESS BOOKS.” Some intriguing finds here. Read more