Miscellaneous

Random Joseph Epstein Quotes "In my youth one could go into a drugstore and confidently ask for a package of Luckies and nervously whisper one's request for condoms; now things are precisely reversed." In a Cardboard Belt! "The first condition of humor is its un-universality.

Miscellany You ever tried rutabaga? I never had, until a TDE reader sent me some seeds to plant. I figured, "What the heck?" I planted them last August, then harvested a huge rutabaga a few weeks ago. Man, it might be the best-tasting vegetable I've ever

"Advent is concerned with that very connection between memory and hope which is so necessary to man. Advent's intention is to awaken the most profound and basic emotional memory within us, namely, the memory of the God who became a child. This is a healing memory; it

Recommended Podcast Every so often, I consider giving up TDE. It's been going for ten years now and things in my life have changed. I started the blog because I was an active writer (over 100 articles in two dozen different publications) and it had become the norm

Bullets I saw Skyfall. I liked it, but it wasn't great. I don't know why the reviewers (and, apparently, general public) are fawning over it. Wait for the DVD. * * * * * * * Speaking of which: I've heard a few digs at Roger Moore, implying that he was

That's a picture from Turin, Italy. I stumbled across it at Elizabeth Scalia's Facebook page. I felt compelled to pass it along. * * * * * * * Antifragile arrived on my iPad this morning. I'm ten pages into it. Very good so far; just 500+ pages to go. * * * * * * * Don

Miscellany My seed-starting operation. I planted eight herbs on Sunday. We'll see if they come up. * * * * * * * It's that time of year again: Christmas wars. According to Glenn Beck's site, if you want to boycott anti-Christmas stores, start with these culprits: American Eagle, GAP, Garmin,

Anticipation I'm 46, and I've always tended to read a lot, yet I don't think I've ever eagerly awaited a new book. Sure, I mostly read dead guys--Chesterton, Belloc, Guardini, Voegelin, Nock--so it's not surprising, but still: you'd

"The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man.” GKC

From the Notebooks While recently trying to understand better the origins of nobility, I ran across this passage from Will Durant's The Age of Faith that got me wondering why people think the European Union is a viable concept. Durant is writing about the rise of feudalism and