Archive for the 'Culture & Society' Category
Posted by Eric (February 21, 2012 at 3:17 pm)
Today is Mardi Gras—Fat Tuesday—the day of feasting before Lent begins in the the Western Church. For a Byzantine Catholic, whose Lenten fast began Sunday evening with Forgiveness Vespers, Mardi Gras presents a particular temptation. But not what you might think.
It is not that one is tempted by the indulgence of Mardi Gras going on in the rest of the culture, even among those who do not know that Fat Tuesday is followed Ash Wednesday.
In fact, it is the opposite temptation: the temptation to be like the Pharisee who, in the Byzantine Rite we recalled three weeks ago on the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee, one of the Weeks of Preparation in advance of the Great Fast: “God, I thank thee that I am not like other men . . . (more…)
Posted by Eric (March 31, 2008 at 1:30 pm)
Last September this blog picked up an incoming link from the blog of a woman named Alex Remy. In her post, “Reoccurring [sic] nightmare: I am pregnant and cannot find an abortion clinic”, she laments that pro-choicers—unlike pro-lifers—don’t do enough to make their case.
She’s right. Pro-choicers don’t do enough to make their case. But Remy misses the reason why: when it comes right down to it, it’s hard to make a good case for killing unborn babies. That’s why so often pro-choicers prefer to demonize pro-lifers.
That’s exactly what Remy does, and that’s where she links to this blog. She complains about “anti-abortion advocates, who frequently produce far beyond the replacement rate”, and links to my bio page, which mentions my eight children.
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Posted by Eric (April 13, 2007 at 12:13 pm)
My pal James at the facetiously named blog “The Daily Brouhaha” (“Bi-Monthly Brouhaha” would be more like it) has tagged me with this “Book(s) I’m Reading” thing, so here goes. Right now I am currently more-or-less reading the following books: (more…)
Posted by Eric (March 28, 2007 at 8:29 pm)
Here is a photo of a block tower I made with my son Nate. Nate is 14 and, some might say, too old to play with blocks. But I am 40 and not too old to play with blocks—or perhaps I am too old not to play with blocks. In any case, getting to play with blocks at 40 is one of the benefits of being a father, and getting to play with blocks at 14 is one of the benefits of having a father who loves to play with blocks.
I share this photo because I want to talk about boys and girls and how they play, but I have to get there by way of a visit to the obstetrician’s office yesterday afternoon.
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Posted by Eric (February 28, 2007 at 6:59 pm)
The “anti-breeding” animations of artist Nina Paley have to be seen to be believed. I would call her “radical child hater Nina Paley,” but even that doesn’t come close to describing her apparent contempt for children—and indeed for all resource-consuming human beings.
Then again, for all I know she might be quite fond of the particular children she knows, preferring to despise only those unknown but too-numerous children spawned by Christians and suburbanites. Consistent logic is not to be expected from those who hold the view that human beings are by their nature a blight upon the planet; they apparently except themselves from that analysis, so why not their friends and their children’s friends too?
But whatever Ms. Paley may be like in person, her animations are horrific—the more so because she is tremendously talented. See for yourself: (more…)
