BUT YOU’VE GOTTA HEAR WHAT’S ON THE B-SIDE!: I missed my chance to link you to Bernini’s St. Laurence when the linkin’ was hot. But there he is. He was a smartmouth. I’m honored to be named after the same thing he was. (I’m “Laura Eve” in my even-less-professional life.) And because the Catholic Church is exactly as awesome as you always wanted Her to be… he really is the patron saint of rotisserie operators. Read more

Triple-X blogwatch, the double-X eyes… Sean Collins revisits Watchmen–which is what I’d be doing too, if I could find my copy! Whine. Anyway, interesting comments. Cigarette Smoking Blog: Oh, blender, won’t you help a first offender?–shattery noir photos, very fun. And I owe Books Do Furnish a Room a reply, but that probably won’t happen tonight. Soon! Read more

IT’S JUST A GLAZE, DEAR: KITCHEN ADVENTURES. (I’m so sorry.) I made a ridiculously good roasted chicken thing a couple weeks ago. Here’s what I did: I turned the oven to 350, took a half a chicken, and loosened its skin. I rubbed cumin, ground ginger, and a bit of cinnamon into its flesh. Maybe cayenne too, I can’t quite remember. Then I got a small bowl and put in (in about this order) honey, balsamic vinegar, minced garlic, and... Read more

ULTIMATE MARVEL TEAM-UP: PARMENIDES AND HUCKABEE BATTLE THE BLOB!: This very good post by Ryan Anderson is an opportunity for me to finally explain what I meant by saying that all culture rests on religion, “and by religion I mean an understanding of the nature of love”; and culture can’t be separated from politics. It’s pretty easy to jump from that statement to Huckabee’s, “I believe it’s a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change... Read more

HOW TO MAKE YOUR CHILD A GAY ACTIVIST: This is something I’ve had kicking around the hard drive for a while, and, well, better extraordinarily late than extraordinarily never. This is based on any number of true stories, with style somewhat ripped off from the Screwtape Letters…. I welcome email about this post, including challenging or hostile email. If you end up here via Google, please, please check out my sidebar under “Sicut cervus: Resources on God and homosexuality.” This... Read more

TIME IS LIKE A DREAM/AND NOW, FOR A TIME, YOU ARE MINE: Yet more reader comments on NFP and liturgical time (not using names b/c I haven’t asked permission, but if you see this and don’t mind, email me and I’ll add your name back in): #1: Hi Eve, It may interest you that if you go to Ethiopia today, you’ll find that few weddings take place during the fasting seasons (Lent, Advent, Apostles, Dormition,…) and during the rainy season... Read more

THIS IS GOING TO STING A LITTLE. In which the Pope talks about the only story I will ever be able to tell. Every sentence of this excerpt is amazing: In the modern era, the idea of the Last Judgement has faded into the background: Christian faith has been individualized and primarily oriented towards the salvation of the believer’s own soul, while reflection on world history is largely dominated by the idea of progress. The fundamental content of awaiting a... Read more

GOD BLESS RADLEY BALKO. Read more

OPERA–THE SUN LOVES IT! Via Ratty, a Guardian article on the Sun‘s promotion of the tabloid nature of opera; and a comments thread in which readers compete to summarize operas in Sun-style: DAD LEFT DAUGHTER HOME ALONE IN FIREPLACE(Die Walkure) CANOE BLOKE DISAPPEARS AGAIN(Peter Grimes) HE SHAGGED MY BIRD!(Ariodante) HE SHAGGED MY BIRD!(Tristan & Isolde) POLISH IMMIGRANT IN ROYAL ID-THEFT(Un Giorno di Regno) BANGED-UP LEFTY TRAITOR’S CROSS-DRESSING LOVER(Fidelio) FLOODING – WORSE TO COME(Goetterdamerung) (Unfortunately, the summary for Jenufa is weak,... Read more

PEOPLE SHOULD GET BEAT UP FOR SKATIN’ LIKE THE LEAFS. Never before have I had a dream involving: * my mother asking me, in deeply troubled tones, why I had changed my beliefs, no longer believing in the maximization of utilitarian happiness for the average person (she had an example involving grocery shopping), at which point I explained that I now cared more about “various kinds of excellence” than about happiness; * Canadians lion-racing (in fact, I suspect this is... Read more