“In the [John] Adams formulation, aristocracies were to society as the passions were to the individual personality, permanent fixtures susceptible to disciplined containment and artful channeling, but never altogether removable.” —Founding Brothers Read more

Are you not loyal to your pride? Are you not on the blogwatch side? The Center for the Future of Russia has a blog tracking anti-liberal developments in that beleaguered country. Via Cacciaguida. Forager23: If I ran film grad school… “The movies shown will include canonical classics, pure period pieces, forgotten gems, as well as the occasional piece of utter crap, just to keep our students guessing.” Inappropriate Response: On same-sex marriage. Over the weekend, assuming my archives return, I’m... Read more

“Anyone ever tell you that you have a dormant, deep-rooted hostility complex?” –Henry McCoy, to a prehistoric guy riding a giant carnivorous bird, Essential Uncanny X-Men vol. 1 a.k.a. a big book made out of ice cream Read more

BROKEN RECORD (ME, NOT HIM): Unqualified Offerings on me on same-sex marriage. I guess I just find it odd that a hardcore libertarian like UO (that’s not an insult! seriously!) is defending SSM rather than simply saying marriage should be just another contract. I mean, unless we are starring in “Willard,” we all have intense personal relationships. Why do these relationships suddenly become the state’s business when we start sleeping together? Why do we need/seek/prefer state sanction and status for... Read more

U.S. OUT OF SAUDI ARABIA: Whoa. Wow. This is really important. Also, perhaps relatedly, an article on Saddam/Osama ties. I seem to recall some of these being significantly shaky. And if they weren’t shaky… I mean, everyone has to assume the Bush administration is wildly incompetent at something, right? People who oppose war in Iraq have to assume he’s screwing that up majorly, and people who support it have to assume he’s doing OK in the actual war but totally... Read more

TOP TEN SONGS BY FUGEES: CD player: still broken. Old cassette collection: still getting a workout. Thus, I’m thinking about which songs by Fugees members are the best. My votes: 10) (tie) “To Zion,” from “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.” Sweetest childbirth song ever. And “Gunpowder,” from “Carnival.” Cliched but still really affecting. I hate myself for getting all worked up by this song. “The preacher man told me, ‘Good things come to those who wait.’/Do good things come to... Read more

I REALLY COULDN’T MAKE MYSELF ENJOY GULLIVER’S TRAVELS, but this is cool nonetheless. Via the Shrubbloggers. Read more

“WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY”: My short story. You can read the story so far starting here; or just read today’s installment here. (Actually, I recommend reading from the beginning, because I made a fairly significant change in order to shorten the story.) I think there are about three episodes left. Next one should be posted Monday. Read more

DREAM SEQUENCES: COMICS REVIEWS. Raise your hand when you spot the growing obsession! Finder: Dream Sequence: A big and creepy story about the perils of being the audience or the artist–living in someone else’s dream, and being the one whose dreamworld attracts so many tourists. Magri is the creator of Elsewhere, a virtual reality filled with landscapes and lightning storms that he has never seen, but has imagined so vividly that everyone else wants a piece of the dream. Ayo... Read more

MARK SHEA WANTS YOUR MONEY. This guy provides a host of links, fulmination, theological sanity, and attitudinal wit, every single day. Why not kick in a few kopecks? Read more