PARENT OF PERSONS, OLD YALE: You can hear “Mother of Men” and even “Daddy Was a Yale Man” here. Much thanks to TKB of the Yale Free Press. I suspect I should give some kind of explanation of how I can love “Mother of Men” and the theology of the body and women’s leadership all at once… but you know, it’s late, and I’m going to put this one off for the moment. Remind me! Read more

IT’S RARE THAT I AGREE WITH DAN SAVAGE. I am not being paid to tell you this, but the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy has a model adoption statute which institutes marriage preferences (PDF) without prohibiting anyone from adopting. Given that more states prohibit marriage preferences than require them (PDF), I suppose we can be grateful that the Arkansas total prohibition on unmarried adoption is a bizarre outlier. I doubt that will comfort any children whose adoption is prevented... Read more

THE CHISEL ON THE ROCK: A reader kindly provided the full Italian text of the Michaelangelo poem I cited earlier: Giunto è già ‘l corso della mia vita, con tempestoso mar, per fragil barca,al comun porti, ov’a render si varcaconto e ragion d’ogni opra trista e pia.Onde l’affattuosa fantasiaChe l’arte mi fece idol e monarcaConosco or ben com’era d’error carcaE quel c’à mal suo grado ogn’uomo desia.Gli amorosi pensier, già vani e lieti,che fen or, s’a duo morte m’avvicino?D’una so... Read more

The new slang sense of north from the 1800s on, meaning strong, where drinks were concerned, came from the Navy. Grog that was due north was absolutely neat, no water in it at all. Too far north–desperately, incapably drunk–now carried the sense of being hopelessly lost up there in the ultima Thule of booze. Elaborated into a jovial saloon-bar or shipboard witticism, it even brought together the degrees proof of spirits with the degrees of north latitude. Another point north,... Read more

hi, I’m really really sick, so while I do have fun stuff to post (like notes from that Theology on Tap thing I did, and two book reviews), it will have to wait… check back soon…. Read more

JEUX SANS FRONTIERES, OR THE PAST REPUBLICAN TICKET IN ’80s VIDEOS: I don’t think anyone can dispute that McCain/Palin was the “Games Without Frontiers“/”Big Time” ticket. I think even Reagan might have cued up “Land of Confusion” instead. Read more

The Berkeley historian Yuri Slezkine argues, in “The Jewish Century” (2004), that Yiddish did not evolve typically: if you study its form and structure, you discover its deliberate and fundamental artificiality–it is the language of people who are interested, in Slezkine’s words, in “the maintenance of difference, the conscious preservation of the self and thus of strangeness.” –The New Yorker, via Ratty Read more

oh and I’m out of town, so posting will resume on Tuesday, when I hope to have a lot of interesting stuff for you all. Read more

SEE ME IN NYC: I will be speaking at Theology on Tap in NYC this Monday, about blah blah blah gay Catholic blah! It’ll be awesome! Details: It takes place at Metro 53, which is located at East 53rd Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue — much closer to 2nd on the north side of the street. Happy hour starts at seven. The talk will start at 7:30pm, and “we typically aim for about a 45-minute talk followed by 15... Read more

IN THE DESERT, MAYBE YOU CAN REMEMBER YOUR NAME!: Seven silver linings for right-wingers. #1: Your hangover will go away eventually. I suggest sports drinks if you can (I never can), Tylenol, and sleep. Tomato soup, esp. w/curry powder, might help. Cancel all your appointments except those with the Porcelain God and/or the confessional. #2: A big-government candidate who thinks the First Amendment is really more of a suggestion lost! …To another big-government candidate who etc etc. But hey, #3:... Read more