CONSECRATED WIDOWS. Very cool. Read more

HAVE I NOT YET LINKED to Kairos? I should have. Start here with a Memorial Day thought, and scroll down. Lots and lots and lots of good stuff. (Yet Another Catholic Blogger.) Read more

BERRY VS. AFRICA: Here are two links that may make my stance in the post below clearer. U.S. Exports Misery to Africa With Farm Bill (Link via Peter Maass.) This is a fantastic article with a good, quick summary of the subsidies –> overproduction problem. Seeking Trade, Africans Find Western Barriers Both links require (free) registration; sorry. Anyway, so, if Wendell Berry has addressed this stuff, let me know. Because I read these articles and get sad, furious, and in... Read more

HAYSEEDS AND STRAW MEN: I just finished reading two articles by Wendell Berry. Someone I respect a lot finds Berry wise and compelling. I have only read one slim book of his essays, and was not convinced; but realized that I didn’t have much to go on. These two essays, though, really got to me, and made me wonder, What is up with this guy? So I will take you on a tour of the essays. They are about globalization,... Read more

THIS ROCKS. I’m a big, big fan of the relevant Borges quote. (Link via Pigs and Fishes.) Read more

THE NAME OF THE ROSAMOND: Interesting mailbag in response to my post about trends in girls’ names vs. boys’ names. Here are some samples: “There’s a marketing-packaging aspect to many of the non-traditional names — the image of the sun-tanned popular pretty sexily dressed teenage girl needs a name like Alexis or Britney or Samantha to go with it. Girls in soft drink commercials aren’t named Mary. “My wife and I compromised our Jewish and Catholic traditions by going strictly... Read more

Why are there so many blogs about rainbows And what’s on the other side? Rainbows are visions–but only illusions– And rainbows have nothing to hide. I’ve watched it too many times to ignore it– It’s something that I’m s’posed to blog… (I seriously hate that song–and I don’t care for the relativist, hippie movie it’s stuck in either–but it’s in my head and won’t come out, so I’m inflicting it on all of you. Grrr!!! –If you want a Muppet... Read more

“I told you I was no good. I didn’t kid you, did I? Well, now you know. I’ve been kicked around all my life, and from now on I’m going to start kicking back!” –Peggy Cummins to John Dall, “Gun Crazy” Read more

ARGH! I wanted to post on why horror movies so often include eerie clips of children singing, and what that has to do with the Enlightenment (no, really, I promise!), but I don’t have time. Will post on Monday. For now, I’ll just draw your attention to NRO’s summer books symposium–bookly bigwigs tell you what’s on their reading lists. Read more

WHAT’S MY NAME???: Virginia Postrel has been posting a bit about fashions in naming. Girls’ names tend to fluctuate in popularity much more than boys’ names–there’s much more variety in girls’ names, and so names like Madison and Ashley come out of more-or-less nowhere and skyrocket to the top of the charts. Then suddenly there’s six Ashleys per classroom, and the name gets overexposed, so parents back off and seek fresher names. A nifty little baby-naming book called Beyond Jennifer... Read more