SPEAKING OF FOOD: Jamie Oliver: …Every so often, he apologises. He keeps saying, ‘Sorry–I’m ranting.’ He tells me not to quote him when he curses too much. He develops his theme, getting more and more animated. As he keeps saying, the problem of nutrition is very easily solved. But circumstances conspire against it. He tells me that, when he lived in east London, a lot of his neighbours were unemployed. And what was in their trolleys? Packets of processed food.... Read more

The ancient world had dimly perceived that man’s real food–what truly nourishes him as man–is ultimately the Logos, eternal wisdom; this same Logos now truly becomes food for us–as love.—Deus Caritas Est Read more

MORE SNAKES! MORE PLANE!: Hee hee hee. …”Who wants to be in a movie called ‘Snakes on a Plane’?” asked one talent agent at the time, seeming to echo the studio’s concerns. But once production began, a funny thing happened. Movie fans began noticing the black sheep of the New Line slate. They seized upon the title and created fan sites, blogs, T-shirts, poems, fiction and songs. The title itself, sometimes abbreviated as “SoaP,” has emerged as Internet-speak for fatalistic... Read more

WHAT IS FORGIVENESS?: Not a trick question. Those who know me well might know that this is something I’ve puzzled about for a while. I want to know when it’s over!–when have I finished forgiving these people who irk me?! …Which is not really a helpful approach. Still… here are some very scattered thoughts about how to forgive, for people, like me, for whom this is far from obvious. a. Act to promote the other person’s well-being. Seriously. Take some... Read more

ABDUL RAHMAN: Please keep praying, writing to officials, and praying some more. This Web-Elf roundup also has a lot of links on the more general situation for Christians in Afghanistan, and is very much worth your time. Read more

YOU’VE PROBABLY SEEN THIS ALREADY, but just in case: SADDAM’S ULTRA-LOYAL Fedayeen martyrs were ordered to carry out bombings and assassinations in London, Iran, and “self ruled areas” of Iraq in May 1999, according to a newly released Iraqi intelligence document. One such operation, codenamed “Tamooz Mubarak” or “Blessed July,” was apparently intended to hunt down Iraqi dissidents and bomb other unspecified locations. more Read more

Thus the Song of Songs became, both in Christian and Jewish literature, a source of mystical knowledge and experience, an expression of the essence of biblical faith: that man can indeed enter into union with God–his primordial aspiration. But this union is no mere fusion, a sinking in the nameless ocean of the Divine; it is a unity which creates love, a unity in which both God and man remain themselves and yet become fully one.—Deus Caritas Est Read more

ABDUL RAHMAN—very updated, many links, inc information on contacting your local Afghan embassy. Read more

I picked up a blogwatch–he’s good with a knifeSays anaesthetic’s a waste of his timeWorks in a hurry but always worthwhileKnows they won’t be back for a long long time…. Andrew Sullivan: It’s rare that I get to agree with Sullivan on Gay Stuff, so I’m commemorating the occasion with a link: If Paul Cameron told me water is wet, I’d run to the tap and check. Get Religion: If you read anything about Ben Domenech’s resignation from the Washington... Read more

The man who enters the whorehouse is seeking God.–GK Chesterton (or possibly just attributed to him? I don’t know where it’s from…)–and fairly influential in my conversion. Read more