New Scientist explores The Secrets of Laughter , and finds that “laughter is an unexpectedly serious business. ” Observing the human animal in its natural habitat — the shopping mall — they documented 1200 instances of laughter, and found that only 10 to 20 per cent of . . . . Continue Reading »
You will have noticed a new feature below, called First Links , pointing you to stories we think you might find of interest. Later this afternoon we’ll be posting a second stage called, naturally enough, “Second Links,” and occasionally in the evenings we will post a “Third . . . . Continue Reading »
The web tool at ” I Write Like . . . ” claims to use a statistical analysis tool that analyzes a person’s word choice and writing style and compares them to those of famous writers. Based on my latest On the Square article, it concluded: I write like Stephen King I Write Like by . . . . Continue Reading »
In the latest issue of Touchstone , William Saunders reviews Fr. Neuhaus’ last book American Babylon: Notes of Christian Exile : This book, written with all the characteristic wit and insight of Neuhaus at his best, is an extended reflection on, and examination of, what it means to be a . . . . Continue Reading »
I’m aware of the overlap with previous posts, but the space wasted is only virtual (and so compatible with sustainability): 1. Everyone knows that the species—unlike God or country or family—is something less than oneself. Losing myself in the species is obviously unworthy of me. . . . . Continue Reading »
As predicted, the French lower house passed a largely symbolic measure that bans full face coverings in public . In a posting last week , I pointed out that whatever one thinks of the French ban, it fits into a more than one-century-long tradition of enforcing (or at least trying to enforce) a . . . . Continue Reading »
Argentina Senate to Vote on Gay Marriage [President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner] harshly criticized church leaders on Monday, saying that their discourse on the issue resembled “the times of the Crusades” and that they failed to acknowledge how socially liberal Argentina had . . . . Continue Reading »
Another of those tests many people enjoy: the Face Memory Test from the BBC’s home page. I’ve just gotten to the age that leaves me wondering if I really want to take it. . . . . Continue Reading »
Still in the World is the title of Joe Carter’s “On the Square” article today, a reflection on the lesson he learned while tending his mother as she was dying, and how her life and death led him to understand Jesus’ life and death better, and what it means for us. . . . . Continue Reading »
It’s summer, and I’ve let my reading go a little. Only today did I catch up with a perceptive discussion of the recent Supreme Court decision, Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, posted by Robert K. Visher on The Public Discourse . The majority in Martinez upheld the decision of the . . . . Continue Reading »
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