THERE IS A LIGHT THAT NEVER GOES OUT: A couple thoughts on Deus Caritas Est. EDITED TO ADD Amy Welborn–tried to add her yesterday, but Blogger wigged on me…: Benedict’s appealing to 3000 year old texts to weave his case: that eros is a dimension of divine love, evidenced by the paradigmatic Original Couple, created for each other for companionship and procreation, as well as in the revelation, through various insights of the prophets and Wisdom literature, that something about... Read more

TWO CAN BE AS BAD AS ONE; IT’S THE LONELIEST NUMBER SINCE THE NUMBER ONE…: So a friend is working on a paper about Faulkner. Yeah, I’m sorry too. But she asked me some questions about doppelgangers, and why they’re such a fixture of literature, and I thought maybe you guys could help out. So: Why are doubles so freaky?! My tentative answers: 1. doubles can feel like they’re a way of revoking irrevocable acts–they’re the path not taken, what... Read more

Bright college years, with pleasure rife,The shortest, gladdest years of life!—alma mater What seems like an interlude nowCould be the beginning of love….—Morrissey/Siouxsie Off to Sunny New Haven in a few hours. When I return, expect a review of Achilles in Vietnam (finally); reax to Popishness, if I have anything useful to say; and maybe the beginning of a new story. Working title, “Saint Blonde.” If you have lived in any of the Hollywood-area canyons at any time, and would... Read more

Arriving at the blogwatch, I am going it alone… Amy Welborn: Looking for a good RCIA program in Columbia, SC? Need suggestions of short stories for a high-school Christian Literature class? Post your question, or reply, on Amy’s “Catholic Craig’s List” thread! A great idea and a fascinating thread. “You’ve Got Confessions: An impromptu art project invited the public to share its secrets on postcards. The anonymous mailings may surprise you.” Newsweek article on PostSecret. Via Thunderstruck. “Navahoax: Did a... Read more

True, eros tends to rise “in ecstasy” towards the Divine, to lead us beyond ourselves; yet for this very reason it calls for a path of ascent, renunciation, purification and healing.–Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est I’m about 1/4 of the way through. Here are someone else’s excerpts/notes; here’s an address where the Pope talks about what the encyclical’s about. Read more

Don’t turn around, oh-oh,Oh, Der Blogwatcher’s in town, oh-oh… Two things I learned this weekend:1. “Dave Chappelle’s Show” is awesome. And he’s a hometown honey! 2. How to make delicious scrambled eggs. I’d been making these very dry, unfortunate eggs. With ample additions of whole milk and salted butter (stirred into the eggs prior to cooking), plus turning the heat way down once the eggs started to bubble and clump, I managed to make a delectable fluffy buttery treat. With... Read more

COME ON, SHAKE YOUR BODY, MAKE IT DO THAT CONGA/I KNOW THE GNOSTICS COULDN’T HAVE BEEN ANY WRONGER…: For those in the DC area–the St. Matthew’s Cathedral Young Adult Ministry (which covers twenty- and thirty-somethings) is running a bimonthly course on JPII’s theology of the body, starting February 25. The course will meet on the second and fourth Saturday of every month at 10 a.m. (does that hour even exist???) in the East Conference Room of the cathedral. Questions addressed... Read more

Everything abortion touches, it corrupts. It has corrupted family life. In the war between the sexes, abortion tilts the playing field toward predatory males, giving them another excuse for abandoning their offspring: She chose to carry the child; let her pay for her choice. Our law now says, in effect, that fatherhood has no meaning, and we are shocked that some men have learned that lesson too well. It has corrupted the Supreme Court, which has protected the abortion license... Read more

You blogwatched me too–But not as much as I blogwatched you… Amy Welborn: “And Jordan baptized Jesus in the john.” Hee!! I know some people find this kind of thing cheesy, but I love it like whoa. (And yes, I used to own at least two volumes of Anguished English, and one of English As She Is Spoke.) Church of the Masses: Toward a theology of the movies. Dappled Things: What is a vocation? (Marriage compared to the religious life,... Read more

Like me, Scott [Bryan] is conflicted on the issue of the French. We like to minimize their importance, make fun of their idiosyncrasies. “It’s a different system over there,” he said, talking about the work habits of the surrender-monkey. “You start young. For the first ten years of your career, you get your ass kicked. They work you like a dog. So, when you finally get to be a sous-chef, or a chef, your working life is pretty much over.... Read more