Hidden in Translation: Downplaying the Seriousness of Civil Rights Threats

Last updated on: January 30, 2022 at 6:15 am By Jennifer Fitz

The following essay is a detailed discussion of the political implications of the meanings of cuss words. I’m not the one who made this an international civil rights issue? But the topic is crucially important, and a clean-version is not possible. Can I recommend Happy Catholic* if you’d like something beautiful and good to contemplate today instead? The Wine-Dark Sea is lyrical and thought-provoking, if you’d like to scroll some back issues and be edified. How about Siris, if philosophy... Read more

Clean Air Club, Solar Edition?

Last updated on: January 6, 2022 at 10:51 am By Jennifer Fitz

SuperHusband built us a Corsi-Rosenthal box the other week, which went quite well after I talked him off the ledge of compulsively re-engineering the thing. “But it was designed by guys with PhDs in compulsively-re-engineering exactly this thing,” I said. “It’s too late. It’s already been optimized.” He probably had to make a few tweaks anyway, but it went so fast there couldn’t have been too many improvements, I don’t think. Here’s a thread on how to make a version... Read more

Resolutions, Rebranding, and the Body You Have

Last updated on: January 4, 2022 at 4:26 pm By Jennifer Fitz

What caught the eye of your internet-mom this afternoon was a weird bit of cross-discourse about body image, fat-shaming, and weight loss. No links, I’m going straight to bullet point answers to the questions and arguments these various voices are circulating: Why yes, our culture is obsessed with body image, and it can’t help but fuel psychological hang-ups about being thin enough (women, generally) or muscular enough (men, generally). For women, in particular, take this challenge: Keep a tally of... Read more

In Jeopardy: What are the Real Differences Between Men & Women?

Last updated on: January 2, 2022 at 10:36 am By Jennifer Fitz

So my initial impression of the breathless coverage of Amy Schneider’s win on Jeopardy! was that it was just a fabricated story to give the NYT a chance to use the word “female” in a headline describing the accomplishments of a male-bodied human being. I know! They used not “woman” but full-on “female”, so I’m not sure what word is left in the Times lexicon to describe the existence of a biological fact, regardless of how you feel about gender as a... Read more

The Life-Changing Magic of Acting Like a Grown-Up

Last updated on: December 30, 2021 at 1:32 pm By Jennifer Fitz

There are many good things in your life that you may have to walk away from. Your marriage is not one of them. There are many taboos, and trends, and social pressures that may be chaining you down, and that you may find great freedom and fulfillment in rejecting. Staying faithful to your wedding vows is not one of them. There are many good uses for literary prose. Glamorizing the destruction of a family is not one of them. Don’t... Read more

Merry Christmas!

Last updated on: December 25, 2021 at 9:45 am By Jennifer Fitz

Artwork today is the Nativity by Robert Campin. I didn’t notice until I pasted it here that Baby Jesus is lying on the ground? Okay, so, that actually reminds me of the most amusing moment in all my experience of giving birth, but in this case looks like Mary’s done with that part and just decided to put her naked baby down on the dirt? He doesn’t seem to mind. Okay Mary, I’m cool with that, it turned out okay... Read more

What “Fatigue” is Like

Last updated on: December 22, 2021 at 11:18 pm By Jennifer Fitz

“Fatigue” is like this: You’re lying on your kitchen floor, which is logical and you have a good reason for it, that’s not up for discussion. No one’s even surprised by it anymore. But you’re lying there, and you start thinking, “You know, a nap seems like a good idea after all.” So then you silently hold an argument with yourself about Reasons Not to Nap on the Kitchen Floor. You come up with two: It would inconvenience the other... Read more

Epidemic of Personal Responsibility

Last updated on: December 20, 2021 at 7:34 pm By Jennifer Fitz

Today’s topic is me as your internet mom lecturing: You, personally, are responsible for taking care of the body God has put into your care. (Make that bodies, plural, if others in your family, your workplace, or your community are dependent on the decisions you make on their behalf. But today I’m mostly talking about the specific body your soul is animating, and then the rest will follow by extension.) Yesterday when I picked back up on the COVID-blogging, I... Read more

Omicron Antiphons

Last updated on: December 19, 2021 at 1:24 pm By Jennifer Fitz

TL;DR: Read this. I have gotten to where I skip nearly all press coverage of Omicron (even Stat, I know!) because it’s been nothing but clickbait non-information. Medical Twitter, though, is finally coughing up the beginnings of real information, and I think there are a few important points emerging that are worth taking under advisement. Alternately, consider opening an account where you do nothing but follow @catworkers. Biggest thing to know: Initial anecdotal evidence (buyer beware) is that neither vaccine... Read more

Life As a Person Who is Not God

Last updated on: December 18, 2021 at 9:30 am By Jennifer Fitz

Emily DeArdo, who is not just my hero but also my friend, writes the thing you need to read today, and probably every day: This is dangerous garbage. To tell someone who is desperate for healing that they aren’t praying enough, aren’t trusting enough, aren’t doing enough—that’s crap! It’s like the people who have told me that the reason I have CF is because I haven’t prayed enough. It smacks of the attitude of “Oh, there, there, just do X... Read more