One of the highlights of the current season at New Yorks Metropolitan Opera was the houses first-ever production of Giuseppe Verdis rarely performed Attila . The cast featured Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov as the Hun of the title and included veteran American bass Samuel Ramey in . . . . Continue Reading »
The first, rush-rush investigation of Climategate has determined that the scientists at East Anglia did not distort the data or interfere with peer review, but did keep too many secrets. From the Guardian story:MPs today strongly criticised the University of East Anglia for not tackling a . . . . Continue Reading »
For John Locke, the world was to be understood through the senses, and only through the senses. He believed in natural law and natural right. He believed that people are a blank slate at birth.For John Locke, the world is what he makes it. He apparently controls the lives of people . . . . Continue Reading »
Yikes! Thousands of patients were put at risk by blunders in cancer screening or diagnoses in the UK, much of it caused by staff shortages. From the story:Blunders by GPs, hospital doctors and nurses jeopardised the health of thousands of patients when cancer was misdiagnosed or not spotted . . . . Continue Reading »
The talk-show story of the year: Nine arrests after a teen’s suicide . This strikes me as a dangerous precedent. The psychology of a suicide often includes a feeling of “I’ll make them all pay.” The thought that you could have your persecutors arrested by killing . . . . Continue Reading »
Matthew Levering reviews Hans Boersma’s Nouvelle Théologie and Sacramental Ontology : Boersmas book is much more than a survey of key aspects of the ressourcement approach, although it is that. Nouvelle Théologie and Sacramental Ontology opens up a new way of . . . . Continue Reading »
There was a time that the death of a great artist was a time of national mourning, when even those inhabiting the lowest social stratum shed tears for one who had given voice to their nations hopes, aspirations, and perceived nobility. When Giuseppe Verdi kicked, a concourse of hoi polloi . . . . Continue Reading »
Saturday night my wife and I went to the symphony. One of the pieces we heard was Symphony no. 4 by Sergei Prokofiev. In the program notes, one of the things we were informed about this symphony was that it borrowed heavily from an earlier work, which was a ballet entitled The Prodigal Son. . . . . Continue Reading »
Let a student announce that law and morality are separate things and that morality can’t be legislated. Many heads will dutifully bob up and down expressing agreement. Bumper sticker philosophy rules. Normally, one would resort to some great Christian master or other purveyor of natural . . . . Continue Reading »
Underdogs triumph! Round 4 proved to be stunning and scandalous series of upsets: The Brothers Karamazov heavily favored to win the tournamentwas felled by The Lord Of The Rings, To Kill A Mockingbird murdered David Copperfield , and The Scarlet Letter prevented Pilgrim’s Progress . . . . Continue Reading »