SO I REALLY LIKE unusual baby names, as I made clear in this post about gender and naming. Nonetheless, this site–eight pages of real bad baby names–had me laughing ’til I cried. Really hilarious. Even if it did slam “Jelynne,” which is the only -lynne name I like. Read more

THE HIGH AND THE LOW: One of the sections in Deconstruction in a Nutshell (see below) concerns Plato’s Timaeus, and its description of the khora. The khora is… well, it’s there, and that’s about all it is. “Khora is the immense and indeterminate spatial receptacle (dekhomenon, hypodokhe) in which the sensible likenesses of the eternal paradigms are ‘engendered,’ in which they are ‘inscribed’ by the Demiurge, thereby providing a ‘home’ for all things.” And later: “For the khora is an... Read more

DERRIDA IS DRIVING ME NUTS. Well, not really–but I am about 10 pp. from the end of John Caputo’s Deconstruction in a Nutshell: A Conversation with Jacques Derrida, and I think the guy’s got some ‘splainin’ to do. The book is largely an attempt to refute misunderstandings of deconstruction (for example, that deconstruction aims to destroy reason, or religion, or science) while introducing us to deconstruction via six examples (six “nutshells”)–deconstructive approaches to institutions and “the right to philosophy,” Plato,... Read more

“This is bad.” –Leonardo di Caprio, as ship meets iceberg, “Titanic” Read more

AND THEN THERE’S DE FEO. Joseph De Feo, who is no longer turning and turning in the widening gyre, adds: “I think I would almost be comfortable with the term ‘Viennese Waltz Conservatism,’ except for the fact that the waltz is a bit risqué.” Read more

ACTUALLY, “JAZZ JUDAISM” SOUNDS KINDA COOL…: Got a good challenging email from Ben A., which I think will allow me to clear up some misunderstandings and give a much better sense of what “rock’n’roll conservatism” is and isn’t about. As always, Ben is in bold and I’m in plain text: “Rock and Roll Conservatism” is a catchy phrase, and I support the desire to tell Allan Bloom to suck eggs. But, at the risk of being hyperbolic, I think it... Read more

TELL TED BARLOW WHAT TO READ! Plus check out the other good stuff on his blog. Read more

PERSON WHO SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN THE 2002 NOBEL PEACE PRIZE: Harry Wu, in honor of this anniversary. I’d also be cool with giving the prize to Cardinal Ratzinger. His name has brought laughter to millions. Read more

THE NOBEL COMMITTEE SHOULD HAVE GIVEN JIMMY CARTER to Philip Roth, as a consolation prize. Roth could have eaten him or something. Read more

“What a crazy day! The first time I’ve seen you in three years and we’re buried alive!” –Woman to ex-boyfriend, “Cave-In!” Read more