“THE NEW BRIGHTON ROCK: BAD ROMANCE.” In which I review a movie. Read more

IN THE NIGHT KITCHEN: A genuinely illuminating interview with Maurice Sendak. I was wary at first, thinking he might come across as self-impressed, but that really didn’t happen (in my opinion): …At 83, Sendak is still enraged by almost everything that crosses his landscape. In the first 10 minutes of our meeting, he gets through: Ebooks: “I hate them. It’s like making believe there’s another kind of sex. There isn’t another kind of sex. There isn’t another kind of book!... Read more

I GOT MYSELF A GUN/AND I CAN SHOOT DOWN EVERYONE/THINKING I JUST INVENTED SOME RELIGION: Pinker’s attempt to ground the hope of peace in science is profoundly instructive, for it testifies to our enduring need for faith. We don’t need science to tell us that humans are violent animals. History and contemporary experience provide more than sufficient evidence. For liberal humanists, the role of science is, in effect, to explain away this evidence. more (via A&LDaily;) Read more

“YES, THAT IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT.” Read more

KEEPING IN MIND THAT I SPEAK ABOUT AS MUCH RUSSIAN AS A BOX OF ROCKS, and a box of Amerikanski rocks at that, can anyone recommend songs in Russian on YouTube? I’m trying to listen to things which are easy to understand and remember. Thanks…. Read more

A FORTUNATE FALL… SALAD: KITCHEN ADVENTURES. Now, with puns even worse than usual! Anyway, dinner tonight has been delicious. I chopped some kind of farmer’s market crisp red apple–not too sweet or lush. Added thinly-sliced onion, fresh oregano, chopped black pepper Bellavitano cheese, and roughly-torn toasted baguette. Topped with a vinaigrette of ex-vir olive oil, a splash of sesame-ginger bottled dressing, and some spicy brown mustard. This was awesome. Best when I got a little of everything on the fork.... Read more

TWO ANONYREADER COMMENTS ON FORDHAM-RELATED THINGS: Anonyreader #1: I just listened to the panel you were on at Fordham, and I wanted to note something regarding one of the questions you were asked — namely, the one concerning “celibacy as a sanction.” The traditional teaching of the Catholic Church is actually that celibacy is the highest way of life. See Session 24, Canon X of the Council of Trent. (That link goes to http://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/ct24.html, in case the link doesn’t work.)... Read more

“I worry that on Judgment Day my punishment will be that God will read aloud all the poems I could have written had my life been good.”–character of WH Auden, in The Habit of Art, now playing at the Studio Theater [I don’t actually recommend this play, I don’t think–it’s too baggy, there’s too much on-the-nose dialogue, and while I get that the sordidness is a major part of the point, it isn’t great enough to make me want to... Read more

REALLY FANTASTIC INTERVIEW WITH ROCCO PALMO. Via WAWIV. I initially skipped this but went back to it on his recommendation and it was completely worth it. Read more

VIDEO OF MY PANEL AT THE FORDHAM “MORE THAN A MONOLOGUE: SEXUAL DIVERSITY AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH” CONFERENCE. I’m sorry for how scatty I am here. This turned out to be the unofficial test-run of a newer and better version of my standard Gay Catholic Whatnot talk, and I kept adding and subtracting things almost right up to the moment I got up to speak, which did not serve the overall organization or coherence well. That said, I did say... Read more