HOT LINKS FOR HORROR CHICKS. I revisit Night of the Living Dead. (Also contains comments on Paranormal Activity, so you might want to avoid this post if you’re avoiding fairly general yea-or-nay commentary on that flick.) Lotsa horror-bloggers list the tropes which always freak them out! Fascinating. I will say a) my thoughts about Zelda in the movie of Pet Sematary can be discerned from my thoughts about the mother in the Willard remake (which I otherwise loved–and, in fact,... Read more

…D’Addario was a rare breed of supervisor for a paramilitary organization. He had learned long ago to suppress the first impulse of command that calls for a supervisor to intimidate his men, charting their every movement and riding them through investigations. In the districts, that sort of behavior usually resulted from a new supervisor’s primitive conclusion that the best way to avoid being perceived as weak was to behave like a petty tyrant.–David Simon, Homicide: A Year on the Killing... Read more

LESBIAN CHRISTIAN WHATNOT. Disputed Mutability is back!!! “Celibacy I could accept. Assimilation never!” and Miss Ogilvy seeks novel recommendations. Read more

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: A TERRIFIC DATE MOVIE! Unless you’re heterosexual or something. No, an actual review is here. Probably too long, probably chewing a bit too hard, but there you have it…. Read more

“MOTHERING GOD.” Read more

YET ANOTHER POST ABOUT THE END OF “EYES WIDE SHUT” (AND MY CONVERSION): The fundamental anthropological truth of the Gospel is not that we are sinners, but that we are loved. Repentance is not grasping that I am a sinner, any fool with a modicum of self-knowledge and awareness knows that about himself. No, repentance is knowing in a deep and personal way that I am loved. (the rest) Read more

PURGATORY IS A ROMAN A CLEF, AT BEST: Elie Wiesel’s play The Trial of God is amazing, and if you’re reading this blog, you probably should read it. It’s based on a real thing that happened: Wiesel, fifteen years old, was taken under the wing of some fellow Auschwitz prisoners who were rabbis and Talmud scholars. One night they put God on trial, as Job did. God did not deign to appear in the dock as He did with Job.... Read more

THREE DEFENSES OF THE BUTCH MANTILLA: This is not a post about sincerism! But in my previous vast post on the subject, I said this: My strong impression is that sincerism is connected to a belief that ethical discourse is the only valid philosophical discourse. Talk of right/wrong always trumps talk of beautiful/banal. (I hope this formulation indicates that I do think sincerity–like ethics-talk!–is frequently appropriate.) If you say, “Women covering their heads in church is just another sign of... Read more

KITCHEN ADVENTURES: PEAR AND BRIE. Before we get to the adventures, a quick beer review: I’m sipping a Lagunitas “Little Sumpin’ Extra” ale, and the overwhelming smell and flavor is of… walnut husks. Green walnut husks. I am unconvinced that this will become a regular beer for me. Anyway, some sandwiches! Basically, I did a bunch of variations on one basic toasted cheese sandwich containing pear, Brie, balsamic vinegar, and some form of sweet onion. The basic procedure was to... Read more

IRAQI MUSIC AND ETIQUETTE SCHOOL. Read more