WE’LL NAME HER MINNIE PEARL, JUST YOU AND ME…: I finally sat down last night and pulled together some random thoughts about the DC punk scene when I was in it–about 1993-1996. This particular part of the scene was bounded on one side by Positive Force/Fugazi (whose music I never liked), on the other by Riot Grrrl/Bikini Kill/Bratmobile/etc. I haven’t tried to organize these thoughts because, well, I didn’t have time; but I thought someone out there might want to... Read more

ST. BLOG’S PARISH: Apparently I’m the “parish philosopher to defend us from the Randians when they come a-callin’.” Heh! I’m reminded of that scene from “History of the World Part I,” with the philosophers in the unemployment line… “Did you bull$#@! last week?” “…No.” “Did you try to bull$#@!?” So anyway, just wanted to get that off my chest. Here, have some random links. I’ve got a lot more stuff for you in a bit. It’s Zorak’s birthday! If life... Read more

CONTEST WINNERS!!!: So you all rock. The fake blogs were fantastic. I can only hope that the next contest (which is really weird) will fire you up half as much. Creators’ names/blogs are in parentheses. I should note, too, that I was surprised that pretty much everyone actually set up new blogs on Blogspot–I only got two submissions (see below) in email form. Now the winners. THIRD PLACE: William Hague. (Peter Briffa) SECOND PLACE: P. Parker. (Jim Treacher) GRAND PRIZE... Read more

“Joe couldn’t find a prayer in the Bible.” –Kirk Douglas, “Out of the Past” Read more

WHOA. Ted Barlow links to this Scottish news story that details Pim Fortuyn’s advocacy of pedophilia. What??? Read more

TOTAL DEPRAVITY: WOOHOO! More reader emails, very informative, from Lauren Coats. Email #1: “The doctrine of total depravity was badly named – it doesn’t state that we are as bad as we could possibly be. “The so-called “5 points of Calvinism” were formulated as answers to Jacobus Arminius, Dutch theologian. To my mind, they suffer accordingly. Designed to answer specific things, they are rather fragmentary in nature. Arminius argued that not all of our faculties were affected by the Fall.... Read more

SMACKDOWN BY THE LORD MAGE OF GOOD: Christopher Badeaux gets on my case (he’s in bold, I’m in plain text): You’re sorta wrong. I mean that with all due respect. Specifically, you’re wrong about Star Wars, although I have to admit, the “prequels” are killing me. You’ve had a university education, so I don’t need to throw all of the Joseph Campbell stuff at you, and anyway, I’ve always found that the weakest reason to enjoy the Star Wars films.... Read more

ROCKET TO PLANET SHANK. THE INFLIGHT MOVIE IS…: There’s a (strong) possibility that I won’t post all the stuff I promised. Stuff over here is crazy. So instead here’s my 10 Favorite Movies list, as promised; plus I’ll post some reader email on “Braveheart,” “Star Wars,” and Calvinism (separate emails, sorry). Click here for Ben Domenech’s list. Note that this is a “favorites” list, not a “best movies ever” list. I excluded guilty pleasures (“Lair of the White Worm” and... Read more

“Hey, I like this. Early nothing.” –Gloria Grahame, “The Big Heat” Read more

OK, that vast blogwatch took a lot out of me. (From the peanut gallery: “Hope they don’t put it back in!”) Tomorrow, I promise to provide DC punk reminiscing, and The Politics of Dancing II!!! Wednesday, the winners of the Fake Blog contest!!! and a new contest accessible even to the Aquinas-impaired. And, as always, whatever other stuff crosses my plate. Oh, and I just finished And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic, which is a... Read more