Latest Read: Quick Study

OK! This is the new "Murder 101 Mystery", the third following the career of Alison Bergeron. Alison is a wisecracking English Professor at a small Catholic college in the Bronx, with a view of the Hudson. Sounds suspiciously like Mt. St. Vincent's. That in fact is where the author Maggie Barbieri, who goes to my Church, and who I commiserate with, went … Read more

More on the President’s reading list

As is inevitable, pundits have started to criticize the column Karl Rove wrote a few days ago, about George Bush's wide-ranging reading habits. The reading habits of President Bush Here's one from the Washington Post's Richard Cohen. And it's awfully odd. Richard Cohen – George W. Bush as an Avid Reader – washingtonpost.com In what … Read more

The reading habits of President Bush

The past couple of weeks I've been reflecting on the fact that I've gotten away from reading enough good books, instead reading lots and lots of newspaper articles, magazine articles, features posted on blogs, that sort of thing.  And in my head I've been saying I'll do a better job of reading books of substance next … Read more

Chinchilla “wilding”

As posted here a few days ago Newcomer to Farandaville, we now have a second Chinchilla. Brigid and Joe and Tim decided to introduce the two year old Gloria, to the newcomer, whose name now seems to be Dusty Snowball (Tim insists on the Snowball part) by putting Gloria in the cage with Dusty. This is … Read more

Christmas Day ’08

Actually Christmas Eve and Christmas. I was the lector and Tim an altar server at the 10PM Christmas Eve Mass, and after we returned home, we opened the gifts from Brigid’s relatives in England and Australia. That has become our custom in recent years – overseas gifts on Christmas Eve and everything else Christmas morning. … Read more

The Pope on political systems: “there is not just one political model…”

This is from Zenit, the Catholic news service: Pope Says There's No Ideal Political Model Invites 11 Envoys to Cultivate National "Genius" VATICAN CITY, DEC. 18, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says there is no ideal political model, and that each country needs to cultivate its own national spirit. The Pope affirmed this today when he … Read more