I know this is a Christmas hymn, but bear with me. It’s a hymn that’s been on my mind all day, for reasons I’ll explain. Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67uTQX-OJro “I wonder as I wander out under the sky, how Jesus the Savior did come for to die, for poor ornery people like you and like I…” What’s that supposed to mean? Am I a poor ornery person? Are you and I both? I didn’t used to think I was. I didn’t used... Read more
Rebecca over at “Suspended in Her Jar” is talking about modesty again. Rebecca’s cool. I want to sit at her table and talk about modesty too. But modesty gets talked about so often. There are so many things you could say about modesty, so many tacks you could take on the subject. You can agree with the most conservative folks, that women ought never to show their elbows or hair in public, or you can agree with Rebecca that modesty... Read more
It’s a cool cloudy day in Steubenville; as I write this, it’s threatening to storm. I like storms these days. I used to be afraid of them. Want to hear a storm story? Too bad, I want to tell a storm story. The rest of you can come back tomorrow. I want to tell you about the time my cousin was nearly struck by lightning for his irreverence, or maybe not. I was nine years old that summer. My... Read more
Χριστὸς ἀνέστη ἐκ νεκρῶν, θανάτῳ θάνατον πατήσας, καὶ τοῖς ἐν τοῖς μνήμασι, ζωὴν χαρισάμενος! Christ is risen from the dead, Trampling down death by death, And upon those in the tombs Bestowing life! For the unity of all Christians, let us pray to the Lord. Lord, have mercy! (Image courtesy of pixabay) Read more
I have a confession to make: I am extremely plain. That is to say, I’m unattractive physically. In fact, I’ve been called ugly to my face plenty of times. I think of myself as not hideous, but physically average or below-average looking. Okay, now I want you to think about how you reacted to that statement. Chances are there are some mean trollish people who are giggling at what a disaster I am, and those of you who are polite... Read more
I threw a wood block at a child the other day. I had to. He was trying to break in my window and he didn’t run when I screamed. I went downtown and ratted him out to the police this afternoon. I had to. I didn’t want to. But I can’t just talk to his parents because they’re drunks, and they’re on drugs. They don’t even let him in the house during the day. He bikes around the neighborhood... Read more
So now I’m expected to have an opinion on Michael Voris, am I? Everybody on Patheos has an opinion on Michael Voris, and no matter what their opinion there’s an army of combox warriors with the opposite opinion. Opinions on Michael Voris are hot these days. Even the great Michael Voris is talking about them. I’m tired of missing out on clicks and shares; it’s time I had an opinion on Michael Voris. Let me see if I can think... Read more
No doubt you’ve heard the good news: the fearless Harriet Tubman is going to be on the twenty dollar bill. Perhaps you’ve seen some of the many tweets going around lately, complaining that Harriet Tubman isn’t smiling or posing nicely in any of her portraits and will look ugly on the twenty dollar bill. There are also lighthearted memes poking fun at the new picture for the dollar, going around Facebook, and I confess I shared one of them myself.... Read more
It’s finally here. Tale of Tales, Matteo Garrone’s first English language film, has finally been released on demand in the United States, so at long last I get to see it. I was excited about this one; I love myths and fairy tales and am especially fond of those rare dramatizations that bring the wild, dreamlike qualities of the stories to life. I don’t even care what liberties they take with the plots of the original stories, as long... Read more
Let’s say you’re in the desert. Most people wind up in the desert at one point or another. Let’s say you’ve been in the desert alone for months. And this is an imaginary desert, so let’s pull out all the stops. There’s nothing here. No scrub grass, no cactus, no tumbleweeds, no interesting rock formations where you can take a selfie pretending to hold them up. There’s nothing but white sand rising up to the horizon, blue sky from one... Read more
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