I’M IN NEW JERSEY and will be here until the fourth. Posting is unlikely until the sixth or so. See you in the New Year! Read more

THAT WAS THE YEAR THAT WAS: Best-ofs. (Last year’s list.) Best movies I saw in ’06: Apocalypse NowThe ApostleWithnail & II Walked with a ZombieEndgame Best books read–non-fiction: The Imitation of ChristOn the Passion of Christ (more Thomas a Kempis)The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O’ConnorThe Unmasking of Oscar WildeSpiritual Friendship everything else a.k.a. Real Books: Anna KareninaSilenceThe End of the AffairThe Man in the High Castle (more)Bloodchild and Other Stories things I said: In which I attend an... Read more

And that is all that is known for certain about the appearance of Mankind on this Earth. He was an anomaly from the beginning. He was a Perfect Creation in a world specially made for him: and yet he fits it badly.–RA Lafferty, Serpent’s Egg Read more

THE ESSENTIAL TALLIS SCHOLARS: I’m listening to this cd now, and it is fantastic. If it weren’t nine minutes long I’d put the first track, Gregorio Allegri’s “Miserere,” on every mix I ever make for anyone. That shivering soprano gives it a science-fictiony, interstellar sound–a theremin-y thing maybe?–how repentance would sound in outer space. (…That’s a compliment, yeah.) Just really great stuff. Read more

A DESPERATE MOTHER IGNORES THE ODDS. Via The Rat. Read more

(Somewhere in those days there was also an Italian snackery. The professor was walking me one evening–an unfortunate coincidence–and Irma crept by, just covered–no, overgrown–with spaghetti. I pretended not to know the dear, which bothers my conscience now. The prof, with many disdainful noises, tugged me away from this walking, dripping Italian meal. It was their first encounter, and led to many complications. At any rate her employment at Manrico’s Blue Grotto was short, and somewhat disgusting too.)—Irma and Jerry Read more

Sometimes I feel I’ve got towatch a blog… Daniel Mitsui: “The feast of 18 December was commonly called, even in the liturgical books, S. Maria de la O, because on that day the clerics in the choir after Vespers used to utter a loud and protracted O, to express the longing of the universe for the coming of the Redeemer.” Family Scholars: The Washington Post has three articles on sperm donation and new family forms. This is the line that... Read more

In my own opinion, a lot of humans, and animals, spend too much time in “finding themselves.” They often don’t like what they find.—Irma and Jerry Read more

“I’M A RADICAL FEMINIST. NOT THE FUN KIND.”: I propose a new rule for the internet: If you have not read at least four books by Andrea Dworkin–read them stem to stern–you are not allowed to type her name. If you have read zero books by ditto, typing her name will cause you to spontaneously combust. This rule would make the world a better place. I mean… in a shocking coincidence, four is exactly the number of Dworkin books I’ve... Read more

APOCALYPSE NOW REDUX: Saw it on the big screen yesternight. The most important thing to say is that you should see any version at all of Apocalypse Now on the big screen, any chance you get. It’s a breathtaking movie. The other thing to say, though, is that the “redux” version pretty much sucks compared to the original release. It is more political, which is fine; but also more sentimental, lax, and bloated. The new scenes add crapulence without adding... Read more