I have a few contemporary things to discuss, so today's Eudemon will revert to the traditional TDE style. * * * * * * * Received in the mail: The Tumbler of God: Chesterton as Mystic by Fr. Robert Wild. I'm looking forward to reading it. From the back cover: Franz Kafka said of Chesterton, 'He is so happy one might almost think he had discovered God.' I've read a ton about and by Chesterton, but I'd never seen that Kafka quote, but it's a great one. * * * * * * * It surprises me that I've never seen that quote. I've read a ton about and by GKC. I've even occasionally been introduced to people as a "Chesterton expert." But I'm not, and that's not false humility. A true Chesterton expert has to know a lot more about Chesterton than I do, plus a whole lot about Chestertonian things: distributism, Belloc and Shaw and Wells, Fleet Street, philosophy in general, etc. I've been around Chesterton experts--in particular, Dale Ahlquist and John Peterson--and trust me, Senator, I'm no John F Kennedy Chesterton expert. * * * * * * * TDE readership has fallen lately, but not much. It's averaging 550ish during the week. Prior to the new TDE, it averaged 625ish. That's not a big drop and, if the rest of the world is like my world, everyone is on vacation in July. * * * * * * * Interesting: "A proposal backed by several Colorado counties to form a new state called North Colorado is getting public support." Of course, the very next sentence said the "support" consists of 49 people showing up for a meeting, so it makes me wonder. Regardless, the whole idea of secession is interesting. The contemporary scene is laid out entertainingly in Bill Kauffman's Bye Bye Miss American Empire. * * * * * * * Funny Fallon: "Psychologists say the cult of Elvis has all the makings of a future religion. It's possible in a few years there will be the Church of Elvis. At the end of the service, the congregation leader will say, 'Elvis has left the building.' And everybody will stand up and say, 'Thank you, thank you very much.' * * * * * * * The funny quote aside, I'd love to talk with one of those psychologists. Are they serious? Of course, nothing is so stupid that you can't find an academic to agree with it, but still. Elvisism?
