To paraphrase an old joke: I believe in human exceptionalism, it’s people I don’t like. Well, people who would put how-to-commit suicide instructions on the Web for use by vulnerable people. Now, the UK is thinking of cracking down. From the story: The law on “suicide . . . . Continue Reading »
Among the events for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in New York next week is a dinner with American religious leaders—sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee, the Mennonite Central Committee, the Quaker United Nations Office, and the World Council of Churches, among others. . . . . Continue Reading »
Yesterday I found the texts of some of Hildegard’s Latin hymns online. Here’s one called ” Ave, generosa . ” The translation wasn’t outstanding, so I thought I’d provide one of my own. Ave, generosa, | Hail, noble one, gloriosa et intacta puella | glorious and . . . . Continue Reading »
A reader writes: Most have heard of G.K. Chesterton’s explanation for why he became a Catholic, a mischievous (and, of course, paradoxical) tale about a stolen umbrella whose punchline goes something like: ” I am a Catholic because the Catholic Church is a Church of sinners and I am a . . . . Continue Reading »
In theory this Thames Flyer thing is pretty appealing. What red-blooded male doesn’t want the “James Bond” experience of going wicked fast up the Thames while sipping elegantly on expensive champagne? But then, in a lame attempt to justify the ridiculous fee of six hundred pounds . . . . Continue Reading »
Today marks the death of Hildegard von Bingen, one of the greatest women of history. Receiving next to no formal education in her youth, she became a polymath and the author of books on herbal medicine, the natural sciences, theology, and music. Hildegard invented her own alphabet. She composed . . . . Continue Reading »
A few years ago, a graduate student in English was trying to explain to me one of the latest fads in literary criticism, the History of the Book. Historians of the Book, he said, study the making and circulation of early manuscripts, including their interplay with . . . . Continue Reading »
I am currently in Worcester, MA for a series of speeches in MA and in CT. My primary sponsor is the Social Role Valorization Implementation Project (SRVIP). From an article about SRV: The basic premise of SRV is that people are much more likely to experience the “good things in life” if . . . . Continue Reading »
This story out of the UK illustrates the ugliness of medical futility. Under the theory, medicine is being devolved from a life-saving enterprise to a life-saving enterprise if we approve of your life’s quality. But if we don’t and you want to live (or your family wishes you to continue . . . . Continue Reading »
Britain’s House of Lords expelled most of its hereditary lords in 1999. This may well have been a very good thing on balance, but as The Economist shows , it did have the regrettable effect of making regions outside of London “more marginalized than ever.” Those old dukes may have . . . . Continue Reading »
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