The benefits of the family meal

Like the prior posting, this article is from yesterdays Health section of the NY Times. And a very good article. The Family Meal Is What Counts, TV On or Off – New York Times Families who watched TV at dinner ate just about as healthfully as families who dined without it. The biggest factor wasn’t … Read more

Darfur Update – more bad news

In Southern Darfur, Signs of Another Massacre – New York Times NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct. 16 — African Union and United Nations officials are looking into reports of a new massacre in Darfur, in which witnesses said Sudanese government troops and their allied militias had killed more than 30 civilians, slitting the throats of several men … Read more

Maureen Dowd’s GREATEST COLUMN EVER

Because the "Perky Redhead" decided to let Stephen Colbert write it. A Mock Columnist, Amok – New York Times He was sneering that Times columns make good “kindling.” He was ranting that after you throw away the paper, “it takes over a hundred years for the lies to biodegrade.” He was observing, approvingly, that “Dick … Read more

Latest Read: The Great Siege

The "Great Siege", is the Siege of Malta in 1565, as the Turkish Ottoman Empire tried to expand further into the Mediterranean and up to Italy. The Ottomans had already conquered most of Eastern Europe. The book, by a British historian named Ernle Bradford, is great! But unfortunately extremely difficult to get. It’s not stocked … Read more

Is Blogging Dying? Well, Yes and No

This is interesting – and amusing. It’s short, so read the whole thing, not just my excerpt! The Death of Blogs | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction As weblogs proliferated earlier this decade, Andy Warhol’s famous aphorism was modified to read, "In the future, everyone will be famous to 15 people." Now … Read more

2nd anniversary of my brother Paul’s death

After a lifetime of illness, at the age of 47. He died suddenly and quickly. But with his medical history, it was not a surprise. As my brother Jim said at the time “He lead a noble life.” For more about my brother, go here Tom Faranda’s Folly: Paul Faranda, 1958-2005  and here Tom Faranda’s … Read more

The Wall Street Journal jumps to the defense of the NY Times and leftist bloggers

Sort of. A great editorial. Other People’s Politics OpinionJournal – Featured Article … it’s always other people’s influence that’s a threat to democracy. DailyKos’s misadventure was resolved with a Federal Election Commission ruling that allowed it (quite properly) to escape the rules it wants foisted on everybody else. And we certainly defend the Times’s right … Read more

Mark, the newest nephew, gets baptized

Mark Gabriel, my brother Phil and his wife Ann’s fourth child (third son) was baptized this past Sunday. Here are some photos of the clan. Mark and Godmother Lisa Tom, Jim and Philip Grandma, and Phil, with the Godfather Jim and his wife Melissa sitting behind… Ann and her Aunt Maria to her right Brigid … Read more

Interview with the author of “The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can be Done About It

The author is former director of development research at the World Bank and advisor to the British government’s Commission on Africa. A really interesting interview. TCS Daily – The Bottom Billion No More? Schulz: As bad as things are for the bottom billion, you believe it’s possible that the statistics we have to describe what … Read more