There is nothing subtle about what happened to my blog this weekend. It exploded. Against all norms — i.e., weekends are supposed to be quiet and forgettable — and expectations, my post on Fr. Z took off and indicates that July 2013 will be a record month. My pragmatic feelings about this are wholly positive. The end of summer teaching term brings a pay gap. I could use the spare change that the extra web-traffic generates on the Patheos payment... Read more
Fr. John Zuhlsdorf, also known (and hereafter referred to) as “Fr. Z,” will surely dispute the claim of this headline, however, this post will show that the proposition “Father Z equates Catholic Bishops at WYD 2013 with Nazis” is true, by examining the words used by Fr. Z in today’s post at his web log, “Your Excellencies? REALLY?!?” Fr. Z’s post begins with the YouTube video (below) of a large group of Catholic Bishops, dressed in ecclesial attire, rehearsing hand movements to an... Read more
For some time now we’ve all seen how much Pope Francis reiterates the central theme and problem of idolatry treated at length in Elizabeth Scalia’s book, Strange Gods. He even “endorsed” it! (I endorse it too, by the way, and hope to give a full review of it here very soon.) Nathaniel Peters agrees in his recent review of Lumen Fidei, at First Things. Much to my surprise and delight, I discovered that Francis took time to endorse my own book,... Read more
Katrina Fernandez was raised by hippies in Northern Virginia. A self-professed snob, abhorrent of hippies, she writes the delightfully anti-Puritanical web log, The Crescat, on the Patheos Catholic Channel. Ms. Fernandez displays a pointed point of view, delivered in expressive and colorful posts that provoke and, oftentimes, astonish. She is the Liberace of the Catholic blogosphere. While certainly shocking, Ms. Fernandez is not a shock jock. But she is a jock: she played rugby for seven years at the position of prop, one of the two pillars... Read more
The easy, short answer is that I don’t have time. It really is that simple, too simple. Unclear. I worry that some of my more critical readers have confused the difference between simplicity and oversimplification. Of course things often reduce to a simple core reality. At the same time, these simple things can rarely be accounted for with “simple” talk. Perhaps silence is best. But that leaves much to be desired, too, sometimes. I value clarity as a form of... Read more
Max Lindenman was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, and grew up in Manhattan. He’s spent significant time in China and Russia, as a teacher and student, respectively, and presently resides in Arizona. He is the author of the Patheos web log, “Diary of a Wimpy Catholic,” on the Catholic Channel. This interview took place on Facebook, over three sessions of online chatting that included a fourth, brief exchange where he almost gave up on the whole thing. A shy, insecure, and... Read more
Read this first. This post is about that post. +++ It is not my first time being (mis)understood as a curmudgeon, provocateur, and a snob. I’m sure it won’t be my last and I am not proud of that. I’m actually quite ambivalent about it. Polemics are a refuge for me, I feel at home in a debate. It comforts me. But I also grow weary and bored of the routine. More than anything else, debate is a routine. At best... Read more
I love Mexican food. Bordertown street cuisine, Tex-Mex comfort food, and Southwestern red and green chiles and sopapillas… Tacos al pastor, tortas, elote (en vaso), carne guisada, frijoles a la charra, CABRITO AL PASTOR. I love the drinks, the tamarindo, the key lime, cilantro, the salt. Heat that actually isn’t too hot. Mariscos, fresh. Una coca bien fria — a Coca-Cola in an ice-cold glass bottle. The soups: from a clear, crisp fish soup to a beefy sopa de res. Or the spicy... Read more
A category mistake occurs when one thing is misidentified as another. This is often a matter of semantics, of word usage. But the reason why a category mistake is problematic is because the semantic confusion can lead to an ontological mistake, a situation where more than language is at stake. When we try to communicate, I think we often have to admit that the two (or three or nine) sides of the discussion are at least partially guilty of making... Read more
Last night I played the first all-original set I’ve played since 2006, at Acadia Cafe in Minneapolis, at The Empire theatre in downtown Grand Forks, North Dakota. The show lasted just over an hour and a half and I played songs I’ve written from 2003 to the present. I was joined by my brother-in-law, Shawn Kolles, on drums. Here is most of the full show (with part II below) and, below that, I’ll add links to the individual songs as... Read more
Sam Rocha
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