They asked me as though they were mystified: Is it true your friend’s hands are like clouds? [clipped] –Solomon Ibn Gabirol, tr Peter Cole Read more

SOME LINKS which strike me as important reading for those following the discussions of Pope Benedict XVI’s role in the sex-abuse crisis. (This old post of mine may give some sense of where I’m coming from on any theological questions here.) John Allen at the National Catholic Reporter has a historical analysis, “Will Ratzinger’s Past Trump Benedict’s Present?”: …In retrospect, the Burresi and Maciel cases crystallized a remarkable metamorphosis in Joseph Ratzinger vis-à-vis the sexual abuse crisis. As late as... Read more

“ZOUNDS! FIVE REFLECTIONS ON THE WOUNDS OF CHRIST.” My latest for Inside Catholic. The last two are my favorites. Read more

CAMASSIA REVIEWS (PART OF) DEFIANCE: This, probably more than anything, is what keeps the story from being a Tarantino fantasy. The Bielskis want to die like men, but they also recognize their own impotence. As much as Tec highlights the importance of their resistance, in contrast to the more typical images of Jews as passive victims, the Bielskis are ultimately also waiting for a much bigger war machine to rescue them. And so they have neither the moral purity of... Read more

“SUICIDED: THE ADVERSATIVE PASSIVE AS A FORM OF ACTIVE RESISTANCE.” Language is changing at a torrid pace in China, and it’s not just a massive infusion of English words that is to blame. Nor can we simply ascribe the dramatic changes in language usage to rampant, wild punning for the purpose of confusing the ubiquitous censors. Creative manipulation of lexical and grammatical constructions is another way to express ideas that are not permitted under the harsh social controls imposed by... Read more

“Turn around, Ti-Jeanne,” said Tony from the doorway, in the voice of someone who had looked into hell and seen his own face. “Turn around so I can see your hands.”–Nalo Hopkinson, Brown Girl in the Ring Read more

SAUL ALINSKY’S LITTLE PLATOONS: A fascinating piece from Jesse Walker. Summary: “Critics of the expiring activist group [ACORN] say it was driven by the vision of Saul Alinsky. If only that were true.” But there’s lots more inside. Read more

“BUT EVEN IF HE WILL NOT…”: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar,“There is no need for us to defend ourselves before youin this matter.If our God, whom we serve,can save us from the white-hot furnaceand from your hands, O king, may he save us!But even if he will not, know, O king,that we will not serve your godor worship the golden statue that you set up.” –from the readings for yesterday Read more

THE MADDEST STORY EVER TOLD! I watched Spider Baby (1968!) two nights ago and zomg, is this the best movie ever made?? Lon Chaney Jr. is the tenderhearted guardian of two We Have Always Lived in the Castle-style crazy chickadees and their manchild of a brother. Mayhem ensues when a conniving aunt arrives, lawyer in tow, to steal the family manse by having the kids committed. There is spider-, cat-, and person-eating. There is scream-queen lingerie. There is a theme... Read more

RELIGIOUS EXEMPTION IN HEALTH CARE REFORM? More info in the comments. Read more