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Eric Scheske

Flannery O'Connor on Her Writing Habits

I'm a full-time believer in writing habits, pedestrian as it all may sound. You may be able to do without them if you have genius but most of us only have talent and this is simply something that has to be assisted all the time by physical

Encyclopedia Miscellany

Isaac Asimov wrote about five hundred books. When he was 81, P.T. Barnum fell gravely ill. At his request, a New York newspaper printed his obituary in advance so he could enjoy it. Watch for this to become a source of revenue for newspapers seeking to shore up their

Flannery is Rolling Over in Her Grave

> In the event that GC&SU 'makes the cut' and is asked to participate in the next stage, we would appreciate having anecdotal evidence of religious faith making civil, balanced, classroom discussions virtually impossible. Are there faculty who experience this? Would you agree that such attitudes

Power and Love and Deformity

The material goods that are shoved down the soul's spiritual throat take different forms. In the totalitarian, it takes the form of raw power. Control. That's the substance that he crams into his heart and mind instead of power's opposite, love (the proper spiritual

Adhesives and Sex

J. Budziszewski writes about sex in the upcoming issue of Touchstone. Excerpt: > When I say we aren't designed for [casual sex], I'm also speaking of males. A woman may be more likely to cry the next morning; it's not so easy to sleep

PSA

Just a reminder: Eric is on assignment this week to recapture certain holy relics in Mogadishu, Somalia. Our Internet access will be sporadic and available in short spurts, so our output will be limited and the fare less plentiful and different. Regular blog programming will resume next week.

State v. The People

Orestes Brownson said, on a speaking tour on “The Church and the Republic,” that every society is exposed to two opposite dangers: absolutism of the state and absolutism of the individual. In order to mediate between the two dangers, and give each, the state and the individual, their due, there

Hating the Hate

The UK new hate law is making its way through the legislative channels, even as members of Parliament devastate its logic. Link [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,1065-1668313,00.html]. Excerpt: > It was a fine debate, during which the Home Secretary was reduced to repeating bald

Crass and Unrestrained Greed . . .

. . . resulting in crime? No, say it ain't so: > Federal prosecutors here have charged a retired Palm Springs, Calif., lawyer with taking kickbacks from a prominent New York law firm in exchange for serving as plaintiff in dozens of class-action and shareholder lawsuits that earned the firm

What Scientist Would Have Guessed?

> Eating dark chocolate may have a protective effect on the cardiovascular system in healthy people, the results of a new study suggest. Link [http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2005-06-24T183417Z_01_B289314_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH-CHOCOLATE-ARTERIES-DC.XML] .