YESTERDAY I LEARNED that there’s a flower called a Lenten Rose. It looks like this. (It “thrives in low light”!) Read more

“Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew.’ The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit.”–John 3:7-8 Read more

FOOD SAFETY AND SMALL FARMS: John Schwenkler writes: Over the weekend, Tim Carney and Rod Dreher both had very nice columns on the controversy over the push for the implementation of a National Animal Identification System and other food safety measures being pushed in Congress that would likely pose serious burdens for smaller farmers and other producers who are unable to take advantage of the benefits of economies of scale. … What Rod wants, then, is a system that puts... Read more

The sayings of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings which are given by one Shepherd.–Ecclesiastes 12:11 Read more

NAGASAKI CAFÉ: I review Watchmen-the-movie here. I really could’ve written five times as much and not even touched on everything I have to say about this movie; so I’ve added a lot of geeked-out commentary over here. The NRO piece is vaguely spoilerous, but the stuff here is intensely so. My old post about Watchmen-the-comic, which I still think is pretty hot. So, posts at my spoilery site: My emotional arc after seeing the movie; what could I cut? (includes... Read more

WHY do people who say that respect has to be earned never withhold respect from themselves? Read more

AT THE END OF THIS TUNNEL OF GUILT AND SHAME THERE MUST BE A LIGHT OF SOME KIND: Helen’s most recent post on shame rounds up all of her arguments to date, and is therefore invaluable. I still stand by the argument I made in her comments box–humiliation often brings spiritual fruit to the shamed, but humiliating others is a form of cruelty which will condemn those who practice it–but I wanted to talk here about one way in which... Read more

MATCHMAKER MATCHMAKER: I got to thinking about my blogroll, and realized I would love to make connections between my readers and other bloggers. So this is an “If you like X, you might like Y” post, along the lines of my shilling for Love and Rockets. I’ll try to match reader categories with blogs outside those categories. So be aware that “like” probably means, “be fruitfully challenged by,” as vs. “often agree with.” If you read me for arts/comics/movie stuff,... Read more

FALLING IN LOVE (IS SO HARD ON THE KNEES): Out of all the responses challenging my half of that Commonweal piece on Scripture and homosexuality, I think Teresa Wymore’s might be the strongest. And not just because she says I’m “articulate, brilliant, and dangerous”! I’m going to respond to those portions of her post where I think I have something to say. So this isn’t a comprehensive response, should such a thing be possible; and if you want her full... Read more

THE FEAST OF SAINT LONGINUS: “…[T]he American military now earns a ‘great deal’ of trust from a larger swathe of the American public than the White House, Congress, the media, and organized religion combined.” Read more