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David Mills is former executive editor of First Things.

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Sentimental Rounding & the Hall of Fame

From First Thoughts

“In cases like Craig Biggio’s (74.8% of the vote) should the Hall of Fame round up to the required 75%?” asked an ESPN poll of its readers. And as you may have guessed, a big majority of 69% said yes. Which only proves that 69% of people who vote on baseball matters on the ESPN . . . . Continue Reading »

The Rite of Blessing Automobiles

From First Thoughts

Fr. Joseph Wilson has let us publish his “Rite of Blessing Automobiles,” or rather the rite produced some years ago by Diocese of Ostergothenburg as a addition to the Book of Blessings, of which the assiduously document-collecting Father Wilson had a copy. Here, thanks to him, is . . . . Continue Reading »

New York Encounter

From First Thoughts

For those in or near New York City, I commend this year’s New York Encounter, beginning on Friday evening, January 17th with a talk and a concert and ending on Sunday evening with a concert. I went to most of last year’s Encounter, as did a couple of our junior fellows, and was both taught and . . . . Continue Reading »

Oriented Dogs

From First Thoughts

The world has its mysteries, and one of them is that dogs seem to know where magnetic north is, as shown by their orientation when they relieve themselves. The Cinch Review has the report. It includes at the end an interesting discussion of dogs’ intuitive knowledge of basic . . . . Continue Reading »

The Hobbit in Yiddish

From First Thoughts

Today’s eccentric item: How The Hobbit Learned Yiddish from Jewniverse. Computer programmer Barry Goldstein translated the book for fun, the work being “much less stressful than wrestling with a recalcitrant computer.”“This translation marks the book’s . . . . Continue Reading »

T. F. Torrance and Orthodoxy

From First Thoughts

The latest issue of Participatio takes up the relation of the work of the Scottish theologian T. F. Torrance and Orthodoxy. The very rich (and thick) volume includes a biographical essay, a personal memoir by one of Torrance’s students, now an Orthodox priest; nine substantial papers on . . . . Continue Reading »