The life of the mind in Toronto
Another slice of life in higher education and in Canada: University of Toronto president under fire for remark. Read it—I have no idea where to begin.
James Kalb
John of Gaunt redux
More evidence that “this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England” isn’t doing so good: Kindly take that cigar outside Mr Brunel, do you think you’re some sort of hero?, on the unfortunate BBC poll to identify the 100 greatest Britons, and Constructing a value map, an account of how geography is … More ...
The Pater noster
I have no piercing insights on the Lord’s Prayer, but I should try to get my thoughts a bit more straight on the subject, so here are some reflections. (I’ll use the Latin version because it’s more Popish and so more in line with the blog’s theme.)
Pater noster, qui es in caelis,
It’s “our” … More ...
The fun’s over for the bishops
The second paragraph in a Times story today about the Catholic bishops’ deliberations on the threatened war with Iraq was innocently ironic:
… More ...This is the kind of global concern that used to preoccupy the bishops before this year, when the church was overwhelmed by the scandal over some bishops’ failure to discipline priests who had
Social justice starts at the top
It must be nice to be a black bigwig in South Africa and be able to pass off your personal demand for tons of money as something decreed by social justice: Rarity of Black-Run Businesses Worries South Africa’s Leaders. Somehow the personal interests of those making the demands (which are not the same as … More ...
Liturgy old and new
We continue to go through Ratzinger’s The Spirit of the Liturgy in “RCIA” (in fact, it’s a one-priest/one student affair). I found the historical discussion fascinating, for example with regard to the traditional orientation of Christian prayer to the East because of the association of the rising sun with Christ.
It seems to me that … More ...
News Flash! Women believe love, marriage connected
This has to be one of the least surprising news stories ever: Women Enjoy Best Sex Within Marriage.
“It didn’t happen” as a theory
Refusal to see what seems impossible to ignore is not restricted to politics: Danger on the seas as walls of water sink tankers. Apparently, enormous freak waves that can shatter any ship afloat are fairly common occurences at sea. Nonetheless, experts and authorities have shrugged off reports of the waves in spite of the … More ...
Pooh!
Actually, it seems the book might be worth reading as a brief guided tour of certain sorts of contemporary intellectual manipulation: Pooh-poohing postmodernism (on Postmodern Pooh, a long delayed sequel by Frederick Crews to his Pooh Perplex, a 1964 take-off on the schools of literary criticism then current). The man spent two years… More ...
Giscard demurs
One wonders when and how the EU fantasy will collapse. Even today, some seem dubious about the basic principle of managerial universalism, and if they’re French they sometimes say so: ‘Asiatic’ Turkey is threat to EU, warns Giscard. Among many interesting features of the article, note the response of the right-wing reporter (Ambrose Evans-Pritchard) … More ...