Bless Max Lindenman, who is still steering the ship while I’m kind of below decks throwing up. Hope to be back on my feet soon, as I must tape a couple of In the Arena’s tomorrow, and then, finally, come up from the poop deck on Friday! I have so much to write about, but am not competent to the task, just yet, but I wanted to do a quick recon of the internet and find stuff for you about... Read more
Shortly after 9/11, Adam Gopnik published an essay in the New Yorker titled “The City and the Pillars.” In it, he strolls the streets of New York in the days immediately after the attacks, noting the reactions of the man on the street, as well as his own sensory impressions. Of the smell wafting from the fallen towers, he writes: The smell, which fills the empty streets of SoHo from Houston to Canal, blew uptown on Wednesday night, and is... Read more
For my curtain call, I’d like to solicit thoughts on an essay that appeared several months ago in the Times. Critic Katie Roiphe argues that this generation of male novelist writes lousy sex toys. A bold previous generation, including Norman Mailer, Philip Roth and John Updike, regarded sex — particularly transgressive sex, like adultery, hate-couplings and some liaisons that come dangerously close to rape — as material deserving thoughtful explication. This new generation, including Michael Chabon, Jonathan Franzen and the... Read more
Full fathom five thy father lies; Of his bones are coral made; Those are pearls that were his eyes; Nothing of him that doth fade, But doth suffer a sea-change Into something rich and strange. Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell: Ding-dong. Hark! now I hear them — Ding-dong, bell. In the Tempest, Shakespeare makes a great case for sea burial. I don’t know about any of you, but I’d much sooner suffer a sea-change, at least as he describes one,... Read more
All packed to come home and once again too excited to sleep! The Vatican/Blogger Meet-up was exceedingly well put-together, both panels were interesting– the second gave great information on i-developments coming out of the Vatican, and I believe most bloggers in attendance came away with a strong conviction that Rome is very serious about building a cohesive, co-operative relationship with the purveyors of Catholic social media. It was a real treat to meet so many bloggers and writers whose work... Read more
Ever since Osama bin Laden’s death became generally known, the country’s mood has felt like spring break for grown-ups. In front of the White House, at Ground Zero, at the Phillies-Mets game, people were celiebrating. Strangers were hugging. In the long run, it might not turn out to be one of those events for which everyone recalls his wherabouts, but then, it might. (For the record, I was fast asleep.) But then, the Vatican weighed in. Speaking as the Church’s... Read more
Our guys got him — in Pakistan, of all places. WASHINGTON – Osama bin Laden, the face of global terrorism and architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, was killed in a firefight with elite American forces Monday, then quickly buried at sea in a stunning finale to a furtive decade on the run. Long believed to be hiding in caves, bin Laden was tracked down in a costly, custom-built hideout not far from a Pakistani military academy. “Justice has... Read more
Or, actually, just a bit outside St. Peter’s Basilica, where I am attempting to prepare for the big Vatican/Blogger Meet-Up that begins around 9:30, eastern, which is proving a bit of a challenge, on little sleep. I took a brief nap yesterday after the beatification and an alternately amusing/troubling adventure that had me wandering around an unfamiliar part of Rome like a chicken with the staggers, (and I really can’t wait to write about all of that in the coming... Read more
Dear readers, unlike the original, your substitute Anchoress can be such an airhead. It just occurred to me that I’ve been so preoccupied with John Paul’s beatification, and with worrying about what I should write, that I spaced the chance to plug my Patheos buddies’ columns. Am correcting that oversight toute de suite. Julie Davis, happiest Catholic in town, reviews some Mesopotamian fanfic — Robert Silverberg’s Gilgamesh the King, written in the Sumerian hero’s own voice. Deacon Greg Kandra hawks... Read more
Two minutes of history, y’all: Benedict formally asks that his predecessor be included among the blessed. It’s official: CBS News: Cardinal Wuerl weighs in; some shots of pilgrims in the rain. Can anyone spot Elizabeth? Footage of the vigil. (Yes, the announcer mispronounces “Dziwisz,” though not so badly as the other one): Update: World News offers its overview. It estimates the number of attendees at 1.5 million. I’m not sure, but I think that’s a record. And yes, the Poles... Read more
The Anchoress
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