The First Things article everybody’s linking to today: There is nothing wrong, or course, with fantasy or with what C.S. Lewis called Sehnsucht, the inconsolable longing in the human heart for “we know not what.” What makes Kinkade’s cottage painting so dispiriting is that rather than being created to challenge or even inspire, to evoke… Continue reading Thomas Kinkade and the Sentimental
Category: Commonplace Book
“To live in perpetual want of little things…”
“To live in perpetual want of little things is a state, not indeed of torture, but of constant vexation.” –Samuel Johnson
A consecrated soul can only be desecrated
“Priests have a power not of their own, and priests who abandon the priesthood carry with them a volatile power they cannot shed. A consecrated soul cannot be unconsecrated but only desecrated by pride and the guilt of pride. And when a desecrated priest ceases to offer worthy sacrifice, he may start to require sacrifice;… Continue reading A consecrated soul can only be desecrated
Homemade ingredients
From the prosaic (baking mix, baking powder, mayonnaise) to the esoteric (mascarpone cheese, marshmallows, Kahlua): ingredients you can make at home
Hate Mail from Third Graders
Elementary school students sound off on the demotion of Pluto HT Jen. When Hambet was in kindergarten, he came out of school one afternoon in tears because his teacher said that Pluto wasn’t a planet any more. He took that to mean that Pluto had been destroyed! It took a while to reassure him that… Continue reading Hate Mail from Third Graders
How Buck v Bell led to Roe v Wade
Great rant from Bride of Rove: Have you ever wondered why abortion was eventually approved as the law of the land? It did not begin with Roe vs Wade. It did not begin with women’s rights advocates. It began in a far darker corner of the US legal system building precedent upon precedent. In Buck… Continue reading How Buck v Bell led to Roe v Wade
For the feast day of St Thomas Aquinas
Three quotations from the Angelic Doctor: “Friendship is the source of the greatest pleasures, and without friends even the most agreeable pursuits become tedious. ” “Man cannot live without joy; therefore when he is deprived of true spiritual joys it is necessary that he become addicted to carnal pleasures. ” “Sorrow can be alleviated by… Continue reading For the feast day of St Thomas Aquinas
Muram aries attigit
Trust me, it’s funny: a Florida lawyer explains to his counterpart exactly why settling out of court is the prudent option. I am of the opinion that it is malpractice to file a libel suit without first serving a §770.01 demand, and any lawyer who does not even try to serve a §770.01 notice is… Continue reading Muram aries attigit