It cost too much, staying human. and other six-word stories, here! (Some of them–esp. the political ones, sigh–are trite, but the good ones are really fun.) Read more

LIE BECOMES THE TRUTH: I recently amused myself by listing things that are true of me when I’m writing fiction, and at no other time. (Or, let’s say, at few other times!) Here are a few, posted in hopes that they will amuse you all as well. I’m a reactionary. You know, I’m really much more of a liberal than my fiction expresses. “How They Made the Manticore” is both a parable that really resonates with me, and a temptation... Read more

THE RATTLE OF THE CASTANETS: Horror movie notes. In the order I saw them. Soylent Green: Should be remembered as the great Edward G. Robinson’s last movie, since not only is he the only standout in the cast but his death scene is the only genuinely poignant and frightening moment in the film. Admittedly, this is one where pop culture may have ruined it for me. And there are some powerful images of overcrowding–casually jumping down the staircase packed with... Read more

CATHOLIC RADIO INTERNATIONAL is reading through Matthew Lickona’s Swimming with Scapulars. I… uh… still haven’t read his book (although he acknowledged that he still hasn’t read mine either!), but I’ve heard great things about it…. Read more

IN WHICH ARCHBISHOP CHAPUT DISCUSSES VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE FOR MORE THAN ONE PARAGRAPH. He’s an odd mix of cautionary and crypto-fannish, all “this isn’t just a game, it’s a complex form of storytelling to create an alternate reality!” (V:TM might be the only roleplaying game I’ve played; can’t remember if I also dipped a toe into Shadowrun.) About a week ago I got an email informing me that I’d been turned into a vampire. I like to keep up on... Read more

TODAY IS AN INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER FOR KENYA. Read more

Rosalind fulfills Christopher Isherwood’s definition of camp: she mocks something, her love for Orlando, which she takes seriously. Her supreme moment of high camp is the wooing scene, where she pretends to be what she really is–Rosalind.—Sexual Personae Read more

I’M IN A BOOK!: I contributed a chapter on various gay-Catholic stuff to Faith at the Edge: A New Generation of Catholic Writers Reflects on Life, Love, Sex, and Other Mysteries, forthcoming in March from Ave Maria Press. I know I rant and warble about this stuff all the time, but I think there are some new things in this piece, and specifically I think it’s different in both style and content from my big Commonweal piece. I don’t know... Read more

In self-love there is no energy of duality and therefore no spiritual progression.—Sexual Personae on Spenser’s Faerie Queene. Not entirely out of context! It made me think of my post on The Faerie Queene and the multiplicity of vocation, although I expect La Paglia would turn up her nose at such a chaste little post. I do wish she’d accept that there are ways of playing out existential dramas other than through sex (or at least, in addition to sex!),... Read more

EVERYTHING IS EITHER EVOCATIVE OR PROVOCATIVE. Read more