HELLO PEOPLE OF THE FUTURE! (WAVE HELLO TO THE NICE FUTURE PEOPLE, SWEETIE): What will people centuries hence want to know from your blog? What will frustrate them–“Why couldn’t she have written more about ‘Metrobuses’?” What will delight them–“Oh, so that’s what a Fudgsicle is!” What was the flu like? Fiction lives in the details. So too does history. Thus I’m super-intrigued by the “Pepys Now Project” (link via Tepper), which gives suggestions for bloggers wondering what future-folk might want... Read more

“SPIDER-MAN“: Saw it last night. Okayish. Not my thing. Tobey Maguire was much fun, though, very Boy Scout/nerd. I really liked how his first few Spidey-stunts look awkward, even clumsy–they’re breathtaking, but still very gawky and adolescent. And there were several funny moments, several sweet ones, some fun (the NYC man-on-the-street reactions), some chills (Norman Osborn vs. his mirror): the usual Chinese-menu approach to moviemaking. But I think it’s a problem that I identified most strongly with the becoming-evil (evilescing?)... Read more

SATAN SUM, ET NIHIL HUMANUM A ME ALIENUM PUTO. Finished Mark Twain’s “Letters from the Earth,” on the recommendation of a (practicing) Jewish friend. It’s basically Twain’s complaint against God, framed as letters written by Satan to the other angels based on Satan’s observations of humankind. Mostly, it got up my snout. If I had to summarize it in one word it would be “shrill.” Some of the passages on disease and Old Testament God-driven killings were powerful, but overall,... Read more

MY IMPULSIVE AND CHAOTIC LIFE was more impulsive and chaotic than strictly necessary yesterday and today. Hence the dearth of posts. Tomorrow things should be settled down, and I’ll do some lawblogging, post mail about vouchers, and explain what my wisdom teeth have to do with abortion restrictions. For now, why don’t you read this (for fun) and this (not for fun)? Read more

IRANIANS BLOGGING THE PROTESTS. EDITED TO ADD: With a rebel yell, she cried, more, more, more! Read more

ANNUNCIATIONS on the laity and the bishops. Good read. Plus a wild anecdote about what some supposed “messages from Mary” really mean. Via Amy Welborn. Read more

MORE SUBCONTRACTING CHILD ABUSE: Inside the Tranquility Bay, Jamaica “tough love” camp for kids. Expect more on this subject from me later this week. Read more

SO THE NYC SMOKING BAN means that two barbers step outside their barbershop to satisfy the nicotine cravings. Then they get ticketed for loitering. Outside their barbershop, where they work. “‘Blame it on Bloomberg,’ they said the cop told them before driving away.” This is true. Via Gene Healy. Read more

THE FINAL COMEDOWN: God of the Machine has a bunch of interesting drug-related tidbits stored in one sadly permalinkless post (scroll down to “Smack, Crack, Pot”). Excerpts: (Q: Mr. Haspel, how many times have you experimented with marijuana? A: Several thousand times, sir. Science requires replicable results.) …Theodore Dalrymple [non-legalizer and congential pessimist, by the way–ed.] points out, by way of prologue, that heroin withdrawal isn’t all it’s, er, cracked up to be: “I can’t tell you how many people... Read more

HILARIOUS slap at The American Conservative, via Los Volokh. Seriously, if you have ever leafed through this misbegotten mag, read John Holbo’s take. I annoyed The Rat no end by reading their recent “The Smiths Are Conservative!” piece over lunch and alternately laughing hysterically and quoting lyrics at her to convince her that this piece was truly weird. I mean, I love the Smiths. And you can, I guess, point to “Sweet and Tender Hooligan” as a slam on the... Read more