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What Books Have Most Influenced You?

Earlier this week economist Tyler Cowen started a meme by asking bloggers to list the top ten books that have influenced their view of the world. (See the lists by Peter Suderman, E.D.Kain, Arnold Kling, Michael Martin, Niklas Blanchard, Bryan Caplan, Will Wilkinson, and Freddie deBoer.) Because it . . . . Continue Reading »

New Grub Street

The Awl points out this interview with Tina Brown . At about 19:40, Brown asks: “Are we building this new sort of subculture frankly of impoverished, living in garret writers? Because the fact is writers can hardly make a living right now because they don’t get paid.” Leon . . . . Continue Reading »

On Christmas: The Word made flesh

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” John 1:1,2. Following Edith Stein in her discussion of Essential and Eternal Being we see that all “meaningful” existents are enclosed by the “divine . . . . Continue Reading »

On Bankruptcy

I think America’s system of easy bankruptcy is one of the jewels of our economic and political institutions, because it allows people who genuinely cannot repay their bills to get a fresh start as quickly as possible. I think non-recourse mortgages are an excellent idea, which I would like to . . . . Continue Reading »

The Feast of Saint Therese

I didn’t know it until I started googling around this morning, but right now the relics of Saint Therese of Lisieux are touring the United Kingdom. Today she’s at York Minster; more about the itinerary here.Swine flu fears aside, if you’re in the neighborhood, go and say a prayer . . . . Continue Reading »

Celebrating International Blasphemy Day

So, here’s what they suggest doing. In the contrarian spirit of Saint Jerome, whose feast it was first, here are some alternative ideas: Put a WWJDrive bumper sticker on your 15-passenger van. Tell a girl that growing up to be a wife and mommy is an interesting and intellectually satisfying . . . . Continue Reading »

Live-Blogging the Eucharistic Congress

Well, really I’m not. I’m back home now, and the children have just gone to bed, most of them, after some moments of franticness over a white shirt a certain personage of this household has to wear to march with the Holy Crusaders in the Eucharistic procession tomorrow morning. Yes, yes, . . . . Continue Reading »

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