I haven’t, and I’ve made it a point not to know what’s going on. Why not? Because it’s not important to me. Me, as a layman with a job and a family and a personal conscience that keeps me busy enough all by itself. And if you were honest, you’d admit that it really isn’t important to you, either — not unless you work directly for Burke, or are his personal friend and will miss him when he moves to sunny... Read more
Congratulations to Serena Sigillito! Serena, be on the lookout for an email from me so you can claim your prize. Thanks for playing, everybody! Read more
Pumpkin muffins. This is our favorite, no-fail recipe: Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread. Today we were short a few eggs, so we just mushed up a couple of bananas in their place. Sometimes I put demerara sugar on top, sometimes I add wheat germ, sometimes I add walnuts, almonds, or (to everyone’s chagrin) raisins, but mostly I just make the recipe as is — except I double it, which yields 24 muffins and two loaves. They are lovely and moist, and very... Read more
If you write, you will know that there is nothing more throw-uppy than losing everything you just wrote. I finally got around to installing Lazarus, a free extension for Google Chrome. (I believe you can use it for other browsers, too; I just always use Chrome.) Here’s the description: Autosaves everything you type so you can easily recover from form-killing timeouts, crashes and network errors. Ever had one of those “oh $*#@” moments when you’ve finally finished filling out a... Read more
We kept hearing the phrase “irregular marriages” during the Synod on the Family, and I kept thinking to myself, “Whose marriage isn’t irregular?” Obviously they meant people who have kids before marriage, or whose annulment hasn’t come through, but man, even when things go by the book, I got your irregular right here. Ignatius Press has a new novel, The Accidental Marriage, about a marriage that is highly irregular: Scott and Megan are both involved in separate same-sex relationships. When Megan... Read more
The great Elizabeth Scalia points out that prophets, like seminarians, tend to have something in common: they are mighty reluctant to take the job that heaven foists on them. They may certainly feel called, but they do not feel worthy — and they do not expect to slither comfortably into their vocations. We start with our unworthiness, and we proceed to God’s mercy. That is the only path. There is no other path. Read the rest at the Register. Read more
PIC local candidate with “flu shots cause autism” car I’ve had it. I’m sick of it. I’m sick and tired of telling these people, “Yes, please, this is what we want. No, thanks, I won’t insist on you even pretending to represent me in the most important issue in the world. I’ll vote for you because I always vote for you, because I always vote for you, and you know I always vote for you. Oh, I’m sorry, was this... Read more
PIC Dunham green hair When my son was three or four, he used to stand by an open window, waiting for someone to walk by. As soon as he spotted someone, he would shout, “Hey! Hey! Hey!! HEY!!!!” And as soon as they would look at him, he would shout, “Leave me alone!” That, in a nutshell, is Lena Dunham’s career thus far; and I predict that this latest flap will disappear without a ripple within the week. We... Read more
I used to try to make extra money selling used books online. I would go to library book sales and try to spot rare and unusual volumes that people would be willing to pay a fortune for. Using only my intuition, I paid $1 for a probable first edition of a biography of Charles de Gaulle, which I turned around and sold for $80. Wildly encouraged, I used that same intuition to buy another fifty or sixty likely-looking books, also for a dollar each.... Read more
A few years ago, Max Lindenman asked “What saints can’t you stand?” The responses are pretty interesting: There are some saints that no one likes, because they were unpleasant weirdos. Then there are some that inspire and enchant some people, while repelling and disgusting others. For me, St. John Vianney is one of these repellant types. Every time I hear a saint quote that makes me go, “WHAT?!?!” it turns out to be St. John Vianney. Oh, well—there are plenty of other... Read more
I Have to Sit Down
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