Epic Psychosis: Reviews of Brandon Sanderson’s “Mitosis” and “Firefight”

Last updated on: August 6, 2016 at 1:07 pm By Michael Pezzulo

If you read my take on Steelheart you will know that I found the book gripping, even though I had major plot spoilers beforehand but that I also kept the review free of significant spoilers. I will continue the low-to-no-spoilers policy and have obscured certain plot elements from Steelheart for this review. I actually read the short story Mitosis after Firefight – as I expected, you can jump right in to the second volume without the short, but when I picked up Mitosis I could confirm it does... Read more

Steel Magnificat Is Not Endorsing Anyone

Last updated on: August 5, 2016 at 6:55 pm By Michael Pezzulo

But that is no reason I can’t share this article endorsing the ultimate protest candidate! Read more

Taxidermy, Canon Law, Olympics and Noodles: Things I Learned On the Internet Friday, August 5, 2016

Last updated on: August 6, 2016 at 1:01 am By Mary Pezzulo

(all images for this post are courtesy of Pixabay) Here we go with my semi-regular round-up of stuff I thought was cool on the internet, presented to you in trendy new slideshow format. First things first. Got an extra six thousand dollars? Don’t want to give it to me? I think you need a wearable, bobblehead-size hyperrealistic wool cat mask with moving eyes. Fortunately, they have those now. An artist makes them for cosplayers and you can purchase them online. It... Read more

The Missouri Public Defender System Breaks My Heart – And Its Director, Michael Barrett, Just Made My Day

Last updated on: August 5, 2016 at 1:52 am By Michael Pezzulo

(Image: Missouri State Seal) Although born in the state of Georgia, I have no real childhood memories outside Missouri. My mother and grandfather were both born there and I was raised in my mother’s hometown. So when Missouri shows up in the news it feels like news from home. I was heartbroken when the evils of structural racism, government exploitation of the poor, and police violence in Ferguson came to national attention. And I am saddened by not surprised that... Read more

You’ll Never Believe What Catholic Bloggers Do

Last updated on: August 3, 2016 at 6:01 pm By Mary Pezzulo

(Image via Pixabay.) I’ve only been a blogger for a few months. I don’t know if the Catholic blogging world is always as tempestuous as these months have been, but these months have been kinda tempestuous. It seems that there’s a whole sector of the Catholic Internet which feels they’re glorifying God if they can ruin somebody’s reputation. They’ve even mentioned me, occasionally, and I’m barely on the map. They’ve done a lot worse to some more famous bloggers. Just the... Read more

Pope Francis Is Acting All Papal Again – To Me This Triggers No Alarms

Last updated on: August 4, 2016 at 3:46 pm By Michael Pezzulo

(Image via Pixabay) By now everyone has probably heard the news that Pope Francis is establishing a committee to study the possibility of the ordination of women to the diaconate. Reactions have been similar to the reactions we saw when Pope Francis mentioned the idea earlier this year. A seminarian acquaintance of mine simply re-shared an article from a couple months ago which, while civil in tone, had the apparent purpose of predetermining the work of the committee, PRIOR to the... Read more

Please Read

Last updated on: August 3, 2016 at 3:43 am By Michael Pezzulo

This letter from channel editor Sam Rocha. Many thanks. Read more

On Trump, Babies, and The Marginalization of Women

Last updated on: August 2, 2016 at 10:33 pm By Michael Pezzulo

(Image via Pixabay) I saw these words of Amadi Lovelace posted publicly on Facebook and I think she is quite right: “In talking about Trump and the baby, people seem to be focusing on the idea of “who yells at a baby?” And it is kind of in line with our questions about his temperament to frame this as Trump yelling at a baby. But he didn’t yell at a baby. He yelled at a woman who had a baby.... Read more

Blessed Is The Kingdom

Last updated on: August 3, 2016 at 2:31 pm By Mary Pezzulo

Poor people come and go in a day’s time, sometimes, and you never see them again. They rent or squat rather than buying homes, and when things go badly for them, they disappear. My friend I met in the worst part of the neighborhood, when he had nothing but beans and rice to feed his picky children, stopped to talk to me whenever I passed his apartment for the whole summer. He introduced me to his boy and girl; he... Read more

Pope Francis says, “If I Speak of Islamic Violence, I Must Speak of Catholic Violence.”

Last updated on: August 1, 2016 at 9:43 pm By Michael Pezzulo

In light of the recent slaying of Fr. Jacques Hamel, Pope Francis was asked about the appropriate response to “Islamic Violence”. (Apparently established narratives, either about Islam being violent or about the acts of few extremists among Muslims have led to many not noticing the dubious connection of this murder with Islam.) The Pope’s reaction was deeply insightful: “I don’t like to speak of Islamic violence, because every day, when I browse the newspapers, I see violence, here in Italy… this... Read more