Defending the 12th century since the 14th; blogging since the 21st.

Catholicism, Conservatism, the Middle Ages, Opera, and Historical and Literary Objets d'Art blogged by a suburban dad who teaches law and writes stuff.


"Very fun." -- J. Bottum, Editor, FIRST THINGS

"Too modest" -- Elinor Dashwood

"Perhaps the wisest man on the Web" -- Henry Dieterich

"Hat tip: me (but really Cacciaguida)" -- Diana Feygin, Editor, THE YALE FREE PRESS

"You are my sire. You give me confidence to speak. You raise my heart so high that I am no more I." -- Dante

"Fabulous!"-- Warlock D.J. Prod of Didsbury

Who was Cacciaguida? See Dante's PARADISO, Cantos XV, XVI, & XVII.


E-mail me

 
Blog break until July 3. Will check in if a convenient computer offers.
posted by Cacciaguida at 10:41 PM

 
Been wondering what the Ninomaniac would say about the torture memos. Still am, but he makes a down payment here.
posted by Cacciaguida at 10:39 PM

 
Catholic movies: Click through Elinor here to find a poll being taken by the National Catholic Register on: What movies (out of about 100 to choose from) make you proudest to be a Catholic?

My choices: #1 -- the BBC's 1981 BRIDESHEAD REVISITED. Obviously.

#2. THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. #3. BECKET. #4 BEN HUR. #5 was hard: I considered IN THIS HOUSE OF BREDE, since my father was involved in producing it; I also considerered ON THE WATERFRONT and BRAVEHEART. WATERFRONT would beat out BRAVEHEART just for having more specifically Catholic content. In the end, though, I went with I CONFESS, because I don't know that it's possible to do a better job of dramatizing for the average viewer the sacredness of the confessional.
posted by Cacciaguida at 10:01 PM

 

Explode the Code:

More take-downs of Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code.

First, an amusing one from down under (calling it an "almost sublimely fatuous action thriller"); next, a more straightforward one from, perhaps surprisingly, the campus paper at UCLA.

Turning serious, the aforelinked Australian critic, Frank Devine, adds:

Brown is a leading practitioner of a dangerous new genre – popular fiction featuring a fictional guru who makes oracular pronouncements on real issues. In Da Vinci it's Robert Langdon rubbishing Catholic beliefs. In the disaster movie, The Day After Tomorrow, Ian Holm, playing a climatologist, spouts nonsense about global warming – and, being an accomplished actor, makes it sound plausible.

Brown's attack on the Catholic Church, under the cover of an airport novel, is clearly intended to cause damage....

....His book title is based on a non-existent surname. The artist's full name is Leonardo. From Vinci. Brown believes British knights are addressed as Mister. A cursory check of his references took an hour with Google. I doubt Brown probed much deeper.

Brown also thinks that the Murray Hill Center at 34th and Lex is Opus Dei's "world headquarters", demonstrating that we Americans think we're the center of the world even when we're not. This misidentification has placed on Murray Hill's shoulders the burden of multiple press-runs of Opus Dei's basic literature, as irate Code readers storm in, demand an accounting, and leave with a handful of booklets and the local schedule of evenings of recollection.

As for the UCLA Bruin piece, it begins:

Dan Brown wrote on the first page of his fictional novel that all of the descriptions of art, architecture, documents and secret rituals in his book were true.

But according to historians, both academic and religious, Brown lied.

There's hope for college journalists.

Oh, btw -- Happy Feast Day of St. Josemaria.


posted by Cacciaguida at 3:05 PM

 
Defending administration's stance on authentically Catholic judicial nominees, VP Cheney gives Senate Judiciary Ranking Democrat and Rankest Boor Pat Leahy some unsolicited reproductive advice:

Asked whether he was angry about Mr. Leahy's suggestions that the Halliburton Company had received no-bid contracts in Iraq because Mr. Cheney ran the company before joining the Republican ticket four years ago, the vice president said that was part of it.

"Also, it had to do with - he is the kind of individual who will make those kinds of charges and then come after you as though he's your best friend," Mr. Cheney said....

After Mr. Cheney expressed his "dissatisfaction" with Mr. Leahy, as the vice president put it to Fox News, Mr. Leahy "told Mr. Cheney that he and Senate Democrats didn't appreciate being called anti-Catholic," said David Carle, Mr. Leahy's spokesman. Mr. Leahy was referring to Republican accusations that Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee were "anti-Catholic" because they refused to confirm a judicial nominee, William H. Pryor Jr., who opposed abortion. Mr. Leahy is the senior Democrat on the panel.

Then Mr. Cheney stalked off, Mr. Leahy's aides said, using an obscene phrase to describe what he thought Mr. Leahy should do.

My kind of "bipartisanship" -- where Republicans get to be just as pugnacious as Democrats. Go, Dick, go! (Can I say "Dick"? Is that OK?)
posted by Cacciaguida at 11:27 PM

 
New-York Historical Society

Yes, they spell it with the hyphen. I understand this long-established but recently weak institution is now in the care of conservative philanthropists who want to bring more American history to the masses. It's a New York Times story that says so, so take it with a grain of salt. Anyway, go cheer the NYHS on.
posted by Cacciaguida at 7:03 PM

 
Once again, Scalia the guardian of defendants' rights under the neglected Sixth Amendment: Blakely v. Washington. Commentary here.
posted by Cacciaguida at 6:05 PM

 
Cinema sound-off: HARRY POTTER I & II

       
Emma Watson as Hermione Granger as Alison Morgan*

Seeing these two pix last week was my first contact of any kind with Planet Potter, and my reaction is that these movies are fun, funny, and full of wise-cracking adventure in the spirit of the first STAR WARS movie ("Episode IV"). The good wizard/bad wizard distinction sort of tracks STAR WARS too, as Lord Voldemort's creed ("There is no good or evil -- there is only power, and those who are afraid to seek it") echoes that of the Sith.

And speaking of STAR WARS, it was amusing to notice the cinematic "tributes" in the Potter flicks: the first one contained a tribute to the STAR WARS garbage-chute scene; the second had a tribute to the rex-attack scene from JURASSIC PARK -- and to the Fafner scene in Act II of Wagner's SIEGFRIED. Yes, Harry, like any fairy-tale hero, must at some point slay a dragon.

The movies are definitely helped by the three young stars, and by the seemingly endless caravan of British stage and film veterans (Maggie Smith, Richard Harris, Kenneth Branagh, Alan Rickman, Jason Isaacs, John "Richard Rich" Hurt, John Cleese, etc.) lining up to do supporting roles. One thing that has long kept me from picking up the book was that the illustration of Harry on the book covers looks repellently dorky. Daniel Ratcliffe, on the contrary, is very appealing, both as a little boy (in the first movie) and as a teenager (second and beyond). And not only is Rupert Grint the perfect Ron Weasley -- "Rupert Grint" would almost have been a better name for the character!

Is the "magic" theme harmful? The closest parallel I can think of is the Oz books, for which I had a mania at about age nine. These did lead me to an excessive interest in magic -- for about a month, maybe two. On the whole, I think the danger that the Potter stories will turn well-brought-up kids into sorcerers are about on a par with the danger that Wagner's operas will turn well-brought-up kids into worshippers of Odin and Thor. I stared doing Wagner heavily at age six; I became a Catholic at age 24, and have remained one, while fully maintaining my Wagner habit.

There are, of course, not-well-brought-up kids, but I'm not going to let them become the standard for what poets we should allow in our city. Such kids have altogether too much influence as it is.

One small complaint: I understand that the original British title of the first HP book was "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". The Philosopher's Stone is a well-established medieval folkloric theme. But in the States, the book appeared as "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone". Why? Because Americans haven't heard of any folklore older than the Wild West? Because the word "philosopher" in the title would make Americans think it was as PBS special or a college course? Either way, this is a poor reflection on us, or on the Brits' opinion of us, or both.

Now for some Hermioneisms:

Hermione: Now, if you two don't mind, I'm going to bed before either of you come up with another clever idea to get us killed. Or worse, expelled.
Ron: She needs to sort out her priorities.


Hermione: Harry, no way! You heard what Madame Hooch said, besides, you don't even know how to fly!
[Harry ignores Hermione, giving Malfoy an evil look, he flies up. The class stare up at him]
Hermione: What an idiot!


Ron (re Hermione): Mental that one, I'm telling you.


Hermione: [putting a large book on the table] I got this out weeks ago for a bit of light reading.
Ron: This is light?


Moaning Myrtle: I'm Moaning Myrtle. I wouldn't expect you to know me. Who would ever want to talk about ugly, miserable, moping, moaning Myrtle. AHHH.
Hermione: She's a little sensitive.


* 3rd gr gf


posted by Cacciaguida at 7:29 PM

 
In this post on larcenous snipping of public library books, Elinor comes up with several great titles for how-to crime tomes: Murder Made Easy, The Counterfeiters' Club, and The Kings of Crack: America's Top Drug Lords Show You How To Start Your Own Curbside Empire.

I've got a few others:

Drug Dad, Granddad: What the Poor Teach their Kids about Money that the Middle Class Do Not

The Millionaire Next Cell

How to Stake Out Real Estate Without Buying Any

Harry Potter and the Militiaman of Astrakhan

Kill Bill or Really Anyone
posted by Cacciaguida at 12:56 PM

 
News about our beloved Daily Torygraph:

LONDON, June 23 -- The owner of London's Daily Telegraph, Britain's best-selling and most politically conservative broadsheet, has announced a deal to sell the newspaper to two British businessmen who analysts here expect will preserve its ideological stance and special niche in the country's highly competitive newspaper market.

I enjoyed this observation:

Newspaper readership in Britain is almost tribal: Families through generations tend to stay with the same publications. The Telegraph has sought to retain loyalists while livening up its front page and brightening its writing. Photos have gotten bigger and articles considerably shorter in recent years, and members of the royal family and celebrities such as actress-model Elizabeth Hurley regularly appear on the front page.

But its right-of-center politics -- which include veneration of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, scorn for Tony Blair, the office's current occupant, and deep suspicion of the European Union -- have remained unshakeable.

posted by Cacciaguida at 12:42 PM

 
Freaky: click here anytime until the end of next week to hear a recording of the Italian premiere of WOZZECK, sung in Italian, and starring Tito Gobbi. (Marie: Dorothy Dow; Captain: Hugues Cuenod; Doctor: Italo Tajo; Drum Major: Mirto Picchi; cond. Nino Sanzogno.)
posted by Cacciaguida at 12:09 PM

 
Weird weather updates: Everything's big in Texas; meanwhile, golf may be good for you.
posted by Cacciaguida at 10:00 PM

 
Cinema sound-off: KILL BILL, Vol. 1

Surprise. Those friends who, seven years ago, watched me almost lose my lunch just hearing them describe RESERVOIR DOGS won't believe I watched this. But yes, I watched a borrowed VHS copy.

When I was twelve years old, I had a bad fainting spell during the field-hospital scene in GONE WITH THE WIND. Ever since, I've just assumed I'm the kind who faints at hangnails. Occasional bad experiences at blood-test labs reinforced this opinion. Yet: since I've been twenty or so, every time I've seen a movie that I had been warned against on grounds of violence, I've come up with some rationale for why it didn't bother me.

Polanski's MACBETH? The violence is just where you expect it to be if you know anything about MACBETH. SWEENEY TODD (on stage)? Hey, it's stage blood hidden in the handle of the (blunt) blade, and besides, the music is good. TPOTC? See explanation re MACBETH, mutatis mutandis. (And add whatever "mutatis mutandis" is in Aramaic; Pilate would want to say it both ways.) THE SHINING? I made my Kubri-maniac friend (GGB, for those who know and care) describe it to me frame-by-frame before we watched it, neutralizing the shock factor. BRAVEHEART, THE PATRIOT, and TROY? The violence is there, but the camera doesn't caress it; it happens quickly, just to remind us that war ain't beanbag, and then we move on.

So what's my excuse for getting through KILL BILL? Stylization. The very worst parts are in anime; the second worst parts are almost ballet. Now, I'll admit that in most performances of Giselle or Les Sylphides that I've seen, where there's aviation of body parts, as a rule these remain attached to their owners. Choreographers may not care, but regisseurs insist on it. But, with the violence highly stylized, and watching on a small screen, at home, I was able to enjoy the fine acting by Uma Thurman and Lucy Liu, and the gripping penny-dreadful story. Not my kind of movie as a general matter, but it had its moments, and I'm not sorry I saw it.

One more thought: the violence in this picture is morally satisfying. I don't dispute the doctrine "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord," but I think one may grant that, after the initial massacre at the wedding chapel (which we don't see), everyone in KILL BILL Vol. I who takes a bullet or a sword cut is someone who desperately needs it.
posted by Cacciaguida at 9:19 PM

 
Cinema sound-off: ELLA ENCHANTED

Saw this with Cacciadelia, who liked it. (That is, it's no PATTON, but it's OK.) Problem is, the premise raises disturbing human dignity questions. The heroine was the victim, at birth, of a "gift" bestowed by an egotistic and incompetent fairy (and no, it's not Andrew Sullivan). This "curse", as it's more accurately called throughout the movie, is that Ella automatically does whatever she is told.

How far will this go? Well, the curse is finally broken forever when Ella successfully resists a command given by the bad guy that she kill the prince she loves at the moment he proposes to her. This fulfills a prophecy made by her dying mother that "What's in your heart is stronger than any curse." Problem is, on her way to the epipany with the prince, she commits larceny because her evil step-sister tells her to. Worse, she obeys a command to reject her best friend, with a racial-slur send-off. So where does the "what's in your heart" rule kick in? Would she have killed the prince if she hadn't reciprocated his love?

There's been criticism, too, of the awkward way this movie goes for the running joke of mixing modern and fairy-tale-medieval. E.g. the prince, after claiming to have "many" girlfriends, tells the crestfallen Ella: "Just kidding. Don't believe everything you read in Medieval Teen." That was kind of funny in context, but overall, this kind of thing actually worked better in the second STAR WARS prequel (the pizza parlor, the library), which I guess is not very high praise for ELLA.

On the plus side, Anne "Princess Diaries" Hathaway plays Ella, and she is utterly charming. Almost enchanting enough, in fact, to rub off on the movie. Also, AB FAB's Joanne Lumley has a cameo as Ella's wicked step-mother.
posted by Cacciaguida at 8:11 PM

 
From Insight Magazine's quasi-blog "The Insider":

The opening night of the Democratic National Convention in Boston, July 26, will feature an emotional tribute to Sen. Teddy Kennedy of Massachusetts. July 26 is the 35th anniversary of Chappaquiddick. Democratic Party insiders deny the rumor that the Kennedy tribute will be called "Down to the Sea in Oldsmobiles."

posted by Cacciaguida at 11:24 AM

 
     
St. Thomas More                         St. John Fisher
posted by Cacciaguida at 1:14 PM

 
What's the new Bishop of Richmond doing, besides having dizzy spells and scheduling heart surgery?

Kicking tush!

He has just appointed Fr. Russell E. Smith as Diocesan Theologian. Fr. Smith is a priest of outstanding piety and orthodoxy. A number of years ago he edited a collection essays celebrating Humanae Vitae, entitled Trust the Truth; he also wrote this book. The diocesan paper says of him:

In his capacity as theologian Father Smith will also be called upon to address Catholic doctrine and practice, including complaints related to them. He can be called upon to deal with grievances on everything from the formula for Baptism to the recipe for Eucharistic bread. [The diocese has a lot of honey-and-buckwheat-"Doreen-baked-it-herself" parishes -- very doubtful re sacramental validity. - C.] He will be responsible for investigating the legitimacy of each matter and making a recommendation.

“I see the role as assisting the bishop in resourcing the people of the diocese,” said Father Smith, “I expect complaints — some accurate, some not.”

And while Father Smith looks forward to his additional responsibilities within the diocese, he realizes that the nature of what he will be called upon to address may at times not win him any popularity contests.

He acknowledges that those called upon to deal with doctrinal issues are “never beloved characters.” He added they are “often painted with the brush of the grand inquisitor.”

Bp. DiLorenzo has himself his very own Ratzinger!

Besides the Smith appointment, Bp. DiLorenzo has moved quickly to put his own choices in several other key posts. For instance, the new Chancellor (the previous one was a dame of the female persuasion), Fr. Duarte, who says, “I will continue as Vicar for Causes of Saints which involves the promotion of the cause of Servant of God Frank J. Parater,” a cause initiated (to his credit) by Bp. Sullivan, and in which Bp. Sullivan secured the help of Christendom College President Timothy O'Donnell.

Also: at his installation and in surrounding interviews, Bp. DiLorenzo suggested he would adhere worshipfully to a dreary, self-congratulatory self-study that the diocese carried out two years ago, entitled "Thus Far by Faith". (Yeah, about fourth and nine.) But in his first round of serious discussions with "lay leaders", we find him talking this way about "Thus Far by Faith":

A show of hands indicated a large number of parishes were not using the document.

Bishop DiLorenzo asked, “Is this document relevant or is it a house job?”

Taking his query a step further, he asked the group, “Is there anything worth keeping in this document?”

He further asked if there was enough momentum “so that we can all go in the same direction rather than my responding to 8,000 problems that just keep getting dumped on me?”

Bishop DiLorenzo cited some inconsistencies in the document. As an example, he said that worship and sacrament are listed as primary values and yet there is no diocesan office serving as a liturgical resource.

Any such office will, therefore, by staffed by Bp. DiLorenzo's picks. Like Fr. Smith, to whom will no doubt be referred many of those "8,000 problems".

Elsewhere, it was less than a month after Bp. DiLorenzo's installation that our parish (the Novus Ordo one, not the Tridentine chapel) announced it was dropping the illicit practice of dividing the Holy Blood into separate cups after consecration. Consecrating the wine and then decanting Our Lord from a pitcher was condemned recently by Cardinal Arinze's office in Rome, but one did not hope to see that directive implemented so soon. This must be an unprecedented turnaround.

Here's hoping "unprecedented turnaround" continues to be the watchword.

posted by Cacciaguida at 10:10 PM

 
Jonathan Lee says: "If I get sent to Iraq after getting out of boot camp, I will certainly take Christ's words [love your enemies] to heart. I will shoot the enemy in the skull and then pray for his soul."

I am proud. That's the Christian/chivalrous/The Patriot/Braveheart/Patton spirit.

posted by Cacciaguida at 2:32 PM

 
Massive, voluntary abstention from Communion on Respect Life Sunday (Oct. 3), in reparation for sacrilegious communions made by pro-abort pols, and perhaps as well as a sort of, well, demonstration that might shame said pols if they show up? Zorak suggests this, here.

Interesting idea. I'd like to hear what Priests for Life thinks of it. Meantime, some parameters for thinking about it:

1. Voluntary mortification, in reparation for one's own sins and those of others, and for other intentions, is good.

2. It should generally be undertaken under competent spiritual direction, because pride lurks there (as everywhere else).

3. Abstention from communion is generally not an appropriate mortification; in fact, I've never before heard it suggested as one. There are so many other things that give us more sensual pleasure and less spiritual good that we could give up instead. All suggestions that we take communion less frequently smack of Jansenism in my book.

4. #3 doesn't really apply to Zorak's idea, however, because she is proposing only a one-time abstention, for a purpose that is communicative as well as reparative.

5. Whether it's a good idea or not, I don't think it constitutes "politicizing" the Mass -- at least, no more than denying communion to pro-abort pols does. The Church can and generally should commit herself to to apoliticism, but in so doing, she cannot allow the world to define the boundaries of the "political".
posted by Cacciaguida at 1:58 PM

 
NNNNNNobody expects the real story of the Spanish Inquisition (or other Inquisitions), so read it here, as summarized by Prof. Thomas Madden, chairman of the history department at St. Louis University (score one for the Jesuits), and a fine fellow whom I met at the Medieval Academy Conference last April.
posted by Cacciaguida at 12:12 PM

 
Assyrian Christians are being shafted in distribution of EU financial aid for reconstruction in Iraq. Story here, via Dhimmi Watch.
posted by Cacciaguida at 12:05 PM

 
"...that, thou being our ruler and guide, we may so pass through temporal blessings that we lose not those which are eternal."

As prayers-at-the-beginning-of-Mass go, that's pretty good, isn't it? It's from the Collect for today -- Sunday within the Octave of Sacred Heart -- according to Callan and McHugh, eds., The Catholic Missal (New York: P.J. Kenedy & Sons, 1943).

Of related interest, see Vatican prepares to relax the rules on the celebration of the Tridentine Mass. Via Zorak.

posted by Cacciaguida at 11:41 AM

 
From Jonathan Lee Morris: awesome Homeric tribute to Reagan.
posted by Cacciaguida at 4:29 PM

 
USCCB statement "Catholics in Public Life". A few good things, such as:

The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.

OK, and Communion for openly pro-abortion politicians?

Given the wide range of circumstances involved in arriving at a prudential judgment on a matter of this seriousness, we recognize that such decisions rest with the individual bishop in accord with the established canonical and pastoral principles. Bishops can legitimately make different judgments on the most prudent course of pastoral action.

Actually that's true: despite the Alzheimers-esque onset of bureaucracy that has mentally paralyzed the leadership of the Church since the late '60s, national bishops' conferences have never had authority to displace that of of bishops in their own dioceses. Thanks, USCCB, for saying so. Now that you've recognized this, how about disbanding and freeing up all your employees for productive work?
posted by Cacciaguida at 4:16 PM

 
Lighter note: There are more pandas out there than we thought, at any rate in the wilds of China. Meanwhile, in captivity, a successful panda pregnancy comes about with help of a how-to video. Just a thought -- isn't there a lot of video-piracy in China?


For I am a pirate king....
posted by Cacciaguida at 11:05 PM

 
Great news if true. Meanwhile, "fundamentalist" Bush says, post-killing, "May God bless Paul Johnson." If you don't pray with Prots with some regularity, and thus are not familiar with their phobia about praying for the dead, you may not realize how huge that is.
posted by Cacciaguida at 10:48 PM

 
Today is the Feast of the Sacred Heart. (Link is to Haurietis Aquas, Pope Pius XII's enyclical on this devotion.)



This one really foxes Muslims, just as it was meant to fox the Jansenists. This is because the latter underestimate, and the former deny and revile, the doctrine that God, in Jesus Christ, became very, very human.
posted by Cacciaguida at 4:12 PM

 
NewsMax: Top Commission Democrat supports Bush on Iraq/al-Qaeda link

Former Rep. Lee Hamilton, vice chairman of the 9/11 Commission, a Democrat, and a former top-ranking member of the House International Relations Committee,

blasted the mainstream press yesterday for distorting the Commission's findings on links between Iraq and al-Qaida, saying those findings actually support Bush administration contentions.

"The sharp differences that the press has drawn [between the White House and the Commission] are not that apparent to me," Hamilton told the Associated Press, a day after insisting that his probe uncovered "all kinds" of connections between Osama bin Laden's terror network and Iraq.

posted by Cacciaguida at 3:33 PM

 
Al-Qaeda faction in Saudi Arabia beheads American hostage, an engineer for Lockheed. So you can pray for him and his family, his name is Paul Johnson (not the historian). More here.


Paul Johnson, engineer, American
posted by Cacciaguida at 3:12 PM

 
Republican ketchup.
posted by Cacciaguida at 12:52 PM

 
Ursa vein

A day's work is about to become distinctly more
surreal for these staffers at Carilion Franklin
Memorial Hospital in Rocky Mount, Va., who at the
moment this security camera photo was taken did
not yet realize that a 300 lb. bear was walking
down the nearby corridor.

The bear had to be killed. In the mythology of my sons when the oldest of them was six, the assumption would be that the bear was there to rid the hospital of "bad guys", but tragically, it doesn't work that way. However, before shooting it, they might have tried serving it hospital food, to try and persuade it to leave voluntarily.

Full story here.
posted by Cacciaguida at 11:29 PM

 
Conversation chez Cacciaguida: Tridentine headgear for ladies

Cacciaguida: Why not a veil that's not cut from a set of old lace curtains?

Elinor: I don't like veils. I'm looking for a hat.

Cacciaguida: Where do the black church ladies get theirs? Why not go to www.DisOleTing.com, or something like that.

Elinor: Might have too. Woolen hats, too hot --

Cacciaguida: Even inside the chapel?

[Pause as C., in response to E.'s expression, remembers close atmosphere of former stable used by our local indult Trid]

Cacciaguida: OK, what about cotton?

Elinor: That's what it'll be, I guess, but I'm having a hard time finding one large enough to encompass my prodigious cerebrum.
posted by Cacciaguida at 9:53 PM

 
Saddam and al-Qaeda: no "collaboration", just "contacts"? OIC.
NRO takes here and here.
posted by Cacciaguida at 4:34 PM

 
Mohammed Atta to Flight 11 passengers:

During the presentation of the report this morning, commission staffers played recordings of hijackers' voices in radio transmissions that were picked up by air traffic controllers.

"We have some planes," an unidentified hijacker said in accented English from American Airlines flight 11 at 8:24 a.m. "Just stay quiet, and you'll be okay. We are returning to the airport."

A few seconds later, the hijacker was heard saying, "Nobody move. Everything will be okay. If you try to make any moves, you'll endanger yourself and the airplane. Just stay quiet." At 8:34 a.m., he said again, "We're going back to the airport. Don't try to make any stupid moves."

This is from one of the 9/11 Commission's "interim reports", a term that is quickly starting to sound like an uptown version of "leak".

From the same "interim report", a narrative of President Bush's first reactions:

Bush, who was visiting an elementary school in Florida at the time of the hijackings, was first informed that something was amiss when senior adviser Karl Rove told him that a small, twin-engine plane had crashed into the World Trade Center, the report says.

"The president's reaction was that the incident must have been caused by pilot error," the report says.

Shortly afterward, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, who was at the White House, informed Bush that the plane was a commercial flight.

While Bush was seated in a classroom of second-graders, White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. whispered to him, "A second plane hit the second tower. America is under attack," the report says.

"The president told us his instinct was to project calm, not to have the country see an excited reaction at a moment of crisis," the 29-page document continues. Bush saw the phones and pagers of reporters starting to ring as they stood behind the children in the classroom and "felt he should project strength and calm until he could better understand what was happening," the report says.

It was after he had left the school that Bush told Cheney, "We're at war."

Faced with advice from Cheney and the Secret Service that he not return to Washington immediately, Bush reluctantly agreed to board Air Force One and fly to a destination that had not yet been determined.

"All witnesses agreed that the president strongly wanted to return to Washington and only grudgingly agreed to go elsewhere," the report says.

posted by Cacciaguida at 4:22 PM

 
Centennial of "Bloomsday"

Started reading Ulysses a few weeks ago and didn't even know it was the centennial. Not so much taking it seriously as taking seriously the possibility of taking it seriously. Hugh Kenner, great conservative critic; in NR all the time old days. Also Eliot. Waste Land as novel. Could have used il miglior fabbro, though.

Much enjoyable cleverness. Ideas appear trite today and style has suffered from thousands of overpraised imitators; must try to evaluate as if it were new.

Not sure I'll admit having read it. See what people try to make me believe about it. Anthony Blanche doctrine -- "It's so banal saying you have not read the book of the moment, if you haven't."

Best recent commentary is by Robert Royal in current CRISIS; not online yet.


posted by Cacciaguida at 6:39 PM

 
"NEW BRAIN!"

FDA Panel Backs Implant To Counter Depression

The implant involves connecting a wire to the left vagus nerve in the side of the neck; a battery is implanted high in the left chest or under the armpit, and the amount of current can be regulated externally. Typically, the implant sends a 30-second pulse of current followed by a five-minute pause, 24 hours a day.

posted by Cacciaguida at 6:26 PM

 
Told ya. UKIP deals blow to Blair with gains in EU poll
By James Blitz and Jean Eaglesham
Published: June 14 2004 5:00 | Last Updated: June 14 2004 3:24

UKIP’s triumph which saw it winning 12 seats in the European parliament amounted to a serious setback for Michael Howard, the Conservative leader, who has been fighting off calls from Eurosceptic allies to respond to the insurgent party’s threat by toughening up his party’s policy on Europe.

posted by Cacciaguida at 10:59 PM

 
Cacciadelia at the podium

Last night my baby daughter (age nine) and I watched, at her request, her current favorite movie -- Patton.

At one point in the picture, during the Sicilian Expedition (and George's was much more successful than Alcibiades's, of course), one soldier says to another: "There are probably fifty thousand men on this island who'd like to shoot that son of a bitch."

Cacciadelia says: "I would never say that, for two reasons. One, I'm a lady. Two, you should never talk that way about a general."
posted by Cacciaguida at 6:18 PM

 
If Alcibiades had only thought of this....
posted by Cacciaguida at 6:42 PM

 
News from Britain: Tories kick butt in local elections. (Is that good? This anti-American screed ran in London's conservative Spectator, and was, as you see, gleefully reprinted by Lew Rockwell.)

Now it's Labour's House of Cards time as Blair's future as party leader (and therefore as PM) is in doubt. "I couldn't possibly comment."

A new Eurosceptic party, the U.K. Independence Party -- to the right of the Tories, but not racist/neo-Nazi like the BNP -- could still draw votes from the Conservatives in Euro-parliament elections today.
posted by Cacciaguida at 5:47 PM

 
Elinor on the saga of Cacciadelia Onekidney, and pro-life OBGYNs in northern Virginia.
posted by Cacciaguida at 8:46 AM

 
Light blogging likely for a day or two. In the meantime, be sure to visit, inter alia, Otto Clemson Hiss, who has interesting news about authentic French royalty here and here, and about Abe Foxman's return to the borscht-belt here.
posted by Cacciaguida at 10:49 PM

 
Saudis Fail to Respond to Indian Episcopate's Plea

Church Appeals for Release of Brian Savio O'Connor

NEW DELHI, India, JUNE 9, 2004 (Zenit.org).- The Indian bishops' conference have received no reply from the Saudi Arabian Embassy here regarding an Indian citizen being tortured and imprisoned in the Mideast kingdom for his faith.

More on this case from Mark Shea, complete with addresses to write and e-mail to, here.


posted by Cacciaguida at 8:10 PM

 
Richmond bishop hospitalized overnight for dizziness and lightheadedness during first visit to "Hampton Roads" area.

Your joke here.

posted by Cacciaguida at 6:34 PM

 
First Lady Laura Bush says she admires Nancy Reagan's devotion to her husband, but cannot back her call for lifting restrictions on stem cell research.
posted by Cacciaguida at 6:20 PM

 
That Waugh quote

Reader Franklin Jennings asked for a clarification of my posting of the Waugh quote just below. My reply was too long for Haloscan, so I figure that's a sign that it should be a separate post. Here it is:

Waugh is articulating, in a fairly extreme way, the non-laity-participating approach to liturgy that generally prevailed under the Tridentine regime. This approach seems to be out of favor right now at all levels of the Church, with the possible exception of Cardinal Ratzinger, but I find it attractive.

That's partly b/c I don't really believe that the "old" style of lay behavior is in fact non-participatory. The laity pariticipate by bringing their intentions to the Mass, and by following with as much attention as possible. THAT -- not singing, handshaking, alb-wearing, or sharing in clerical tasks -- is authentic lay participation, imho, and it is completely feasible in the Tridentine liturgy. (Obviously, acting as an altar-server is an acceptable form of lay participation in either rite, but it should not be considered a "higher" or more privileged form of it. It's simply an act of service.)

So I must respectfully disagree with certain highly orthodox and liturgically conservative friends who criticize the old liturgy as "the prayer of the clergy". I think that charge could more fairly be levelled at the Novus Ordo, which puts the priest front-and-center as never before.

Obviously, this observation is w/o prejudice to the validity of the Novus Ordo or to the possibility of its being offered with reverence, and I intend no aid or comfort to schismatics or their sympathizers.
posted by Cacciaguida at 3:42 PM

 
TELEGRAMMA DEL SANTO PADRE

TO MRS. NANCY REAGAN

HAVING LEARNED WITH SADNESS OF THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT REAGAN I OFFER TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY MY HEARTFELT CONDOLENCES AND THE ASSURANCE OF MY PRAYERS FOR HIS ETERNAL REST. I RECALL WITH DEEP GRATITUDE THE LATE PRESIDENT'S UNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO THE SERVICE OF THE NATION AND TO THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM AS WELL AS HIS ABIDING FAITH IN THE HUMAN AND SPIRITUAL VALUES WHICH ENSURE A FUTURE OF SOLIDARITY, JUSTICE AND PEACE IN OUR WORLD. TOGETHER WITH YOUR FAMILY AND THE AMERICAN PEOPLE I COMMEND HIS NOBLE SOUL TO THE MERCIFUL LOVE OF GOD OUR HEAVENLY FATHER AND CORDIALLY INVOKE UPON ALL WHO MOURN HIS PASSING THE DIVINE BLESSINGS OF CONSOLATION, STRENGTH AND PEACE.

IOANNES PAULUS PP. II

(Via Catholic Ragemonkey)

posted by Cacciaguida at 12:45 AM

 
Don't know if I agree fully, but something to think about:

One of the extraneous attractions of the Church which drew me was the spectacle of the priest and his server at a Low Mass, stumping up to the altar without a glance to discover how many or how few he had in his congregation; a craftsman and his apprentice; a man with a job which he alone was qualified to do.

-- Evelyn Waugh
posted by Cacciaguida at 12:39 AM

 
You only think you need it: towards a national NYT time-out

Meg Q's comment to my post on The New York Times inspires me to further reflections. I think we need a national "TIME OUT" or "TIMES OUT" movement: just ask people to show they can "quit any time they want," as the expression goes.

I admit I'm addicted to The Washington Post, but I have four excuses:

1. It doesn't take itself too, too seriously, in RADICAL contrast to the NYT;

2. It has Inside-the-Beltway gossip, which is unnecessary but which I happen to enjoy;

3. Though liberal, it accepts conservatives as sparring partners, rather than analyzing them as a pest-control problem;

and finally:

4. COMICS!! A great American tradition, which the NYT, typically of its attitude towards great American traditions, despises.

(N.B. I also love The Washington Times, for which I once worked. No, twice!)
posted by Cacciaguida at 12:41 PM

 

Spence Publishing: Notice the new banner over in the left margin? Takes you to my good buddies at Spence Publishing, who are bringing into print the brightest new non-fiction authors in the social-conservative/Culture of Life movement. Go and browse.
posted by Cacciaguida at 11:58 PM

 
From Colorado Springs Bishop Michael Sheridan's May pastoral letter:

Any Catholic politicians who advocate for abortion, for illicit stem cell research or for any form of euthanasia ipso facto place themselves outside full communion with the Church and so jeopardize their salvation. Any Catholics who vote for candidates who stand for abortion, illicit stem cell research or euthanasia suffer the same fateful consequences.

In his June column in his diocesan paper, Bishop Sheridan clarifies:

The most serious misrepresentation of my letter was the conclusion drawn by many that I or other ministers of Holy Communion would refuse the sacrament to people who voted in a particular way. Nowhere in the letter do I say this or even suggest it. The intent of the letter was to appeal to the consciences of Catholic people as they prepare to vote in November. I called upon Catholics to recognize that our vote, while always a private act, has public consequences for good or evil. This means that my vote must be cast with a conscience well-informed as to good and evil. This, I believe, is sound Catholic teaching and common sense.

The Church has taught from the beginning that when Catholics sin seriously they must refrain from receiving Holy Communion until they have repented and been absolved in the Sacrament of Penance (confession). In fact this teaching has been repeated in the most recent writings of the Holy Father on the relationship between the Eucharist and Penance. If a Catholic votes in bad conscience, especially in matters that have to do with the sanctity of life (e.g. abortion), how can this be anything other than a participation in that sinful act? It is at this point that the Church calls upon sinners to withhold themselves from receiving Holy Communion until they have been forgiven of their sins. This is a far cry from denying someone Communion. How, in fact, could I deny anyone Holy Communion since I would not know the condition of the communicant’s soul?

The Holy Father, in Evangelium Vitae, addressing the dilemma of legislators who are faced with bills that would ban some but not all abortions, says:

[W]hen it is not possible to overturn or completely abrogate a pro-abortion law, an elected official, whose absolute personal opposition to procured abortion was well known, could licitly support proposals aimed at limiting the harm done by such a law and at lessening its negative consequences at the level of general opinion and public morality. This does not in fact represent an illicit cooperation with an unjust law, but rather a legitimate and proper attempt to limit its evil aspects.

So, to synthesize and summarize: A legislator may vote for a "half a loaf" pro-life bill, with two provisos: that this vote is not a symbol of support for those abortions not banned by the bill (I think this follows from the words "whose absolute personal opposition to procured abortion was well known"); and that the vote not be interiorly motivated by a desire that those abortions not banned by the bill should remain legal. With these two provisos satisfied, the legislator is acting in "good conscience."

(A different situation arises in the case of a bill that simultaneously bans some abortions and creates a legal right to others. May a Catholic vote for such a bill? I would say not. But he may vote for a bill that bans some abortions and is silent as to all others. That seems to be what the Holy Father is teaching.)

Bishop Sheridan ups the ante by addressing the actions, not only of legislators, but also of voters. In his clarification of his original pastoral, he asks:

If a Catholic votes in bad conscience, especially in matters that have to do with the sanctity of life (e.g. abortion), how can this be anything other than a participation in that sinful act?

Of course, it can't. So what, then, constitutes voting "in bad conscience"?

Does it include voting for a pro-abortion candidate because he's pro-abortion, with the intent of advancing the cause of legal abortion? Obviously.

Does it include voting for a pro-abortion candidate out of insouciance toward the abortion issue? Obviously.

Does it include voting for a pro-abortion candidate despite his abortion stand, because he's "good on other issues," perhaps including issues the Church cares about? Can the much-misunderstood principle of double effect apply here? Given the relative gravity of the abortion issue and other issues that some Catholic voters like to vote on, I would say no, abortion has to outweigh the other issues. (Imagine that Hitler had permitted a completely free election in 1944, and a Catholic were to say, "Well I know Schmidt is pro-Holocaust, but I like his stand on school funding.")

Does bad conscience include voting for a pro-abortion candidate, despite his abortion stand, when the opponent is equally pro-abortion, and when the voter reasonably calculates that electing pro-abortion candidate A will advance the pro-life cause more (or damage it less) than electing pro-abortion candidate B? I'm not asking whether that's what you would do; I'm asking whether such a voter acts in "bad conscience."

Let's keep the hypo in Colorado. Colorado has a Senator named Ben Nighthorse Campbell who is a pro-abortion Republican. Campbell is retiring this year, but let's time-travel back to his most recent re-election. Campbell is running. His Democratic opponent is equally pro-abortion. Campbell won't vote for pro-life bills. But he may vote for pro-life judicial nominees, just because they're nominated by a president from his own party.

What's more, the Senate is up for grabs, partisan-wise. If the Democrats win a majority, the Judiciary Committee -- which is a critical bottleneck for judicial nominees -- will be chaired by Ted Kennedy or Pat Leahy: aggressive apostate-Catholic pro-aborts who probably won't even let pro-life nominees reach the Senate floor. If Campbell wins, that makes it more likely that the Republicans will have a majority, which means Orrin Hatch will be chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Lord knows Hatch can be a galloping wimp, but at least he'll move pro-life nominees along. So, what is a Colorado Catholic voter to do?

Let me suggest three possible positions:

* He is obligated, under sin, to vote for Campbell, because Campbell's election is likely to advance the pro-life cause marginally, as compared with the election of his opponent.

* He is obligated, under sin, not to vote for either major party candidate, because they're both pro-abortion. (He can stay home, or write himself in, or vote for a pro-life protest candidate; the latter option is not to be scoffed at, because it sends the mucky-mucks a signal that there are people like you out there and that they may want to contend for your vote next time.)

* He may licitly vote for Campbell or vote against both candidates, provided his motive is neither the advancement of the pro-abortion cause nor insouciance toward the pro-life cause. (What if a Catholic votes for the Democrat, out of a sincere but ill-informed belief that this will aid the pro-life cause? A dumb move, but no sin, I'd say, unless this person's ignorance was culpable. Culpable versus invincible ignorance is a whole subsection of moral theology.)

Let me tip my hand, if I haven't already. Obviously, one can commit mortal sin with one's vote; e.g. by voting for a pro-abortion candidate because he's pro-abortion. But beyond such a clear case, I have my doubts about attempts to announce official Catholic positions on political decisions that can, without distortion, be called prudential. It smacks too much of those times and places (say, Spain in the 1930s) where you were considered to be in mortal sin if you didn't support the Carlist claimant to the Spanish throne; or the Alfonsist claimant, depending on whom you were talking to. Horse dookey. Just rule out the parties that want to destroy the Church, then make the best-informed decision you can from among the rest.

(For the record, I also think "Rev." Barry Lynn should be squashed like a bug for threatening the tax exemption of the Diocese of Colorado Springs. That's a direct attempt to chill Bishop Sheridan's speech, and should be resisted as such.)

Thoughts, please.

posted by Cacciaguida at 10:09 PM

 
I don't read the New York Times, and I don't think you should. For a perfect example of why, here's a letter from a friend of mine who still hasn't kicked the NYT habit but at least admits he has a problem:

Two editorials in today's New York Times on the late President Reagan are worth reading. The first, on the right hand side of the editorial page, is by former USSR Communist Party Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev (who is by many acconts still a committed communist). Gorbechev credits President Reagan's enormous contribution to ending the Cold War ("I don't know whether we would have been able to agree and to insist on the implimentation of our agreements with a differeent person at the helm of the American government."). To the left (both literally and politically) of the views expressed by Communist Party Secretary Gorbechev, is another editorial written by the staff of the New York Times. This is mostly critical of President Reagan and only grudgingly acknowledges that he had anything to do with ending the Cold War.

I always suspected that those who describe the New York Times as "communist" in its political leanings were being unfair. Here we see that at least one well known communist has brought more clarity and balance to his comments about President Reagan than have the editors of the New York Times.

posted by Cacciaguida at 6:40 PM

 
Headline watch

Bush and Chirac try to mend ties.... You'd think they'd have staff to do that, really. Though in Chirac's case, with those French ties, why bother.

Now Reagan -- he once carried out a ceremonial ribbon cutting, then remarked: "I'm glad that went well. I was practicing all morning on Ed Meese's tie."
posted by Cacciaguida at 11:23 AM

 
I seem to be Google's #2 hit for "F14 Tomcat drafters". Atta boy, give 'em the gun!
posted by Cacciaguida at 1:29 AM

 
Pejman has a fine Reagan obit here, heavy on foreign policy and RR's transformation of the U.S. mission from postponing loss in the Cold War as long as possible, to winning it.
posted by Cacciaguida at 1:27 AM

 
More about Reagan

President Reagan was an eminently cartoonable president, and while some of the cartoons were cruel, others were very funny, even when they did not show him besting his enemies (which a surprising number of them did).

The one that Elinor and I always liked best -- I haven't found it on the web, so I'll have to describe it -- went like this. It came out while Who Framed Roger Rabbit was playing in theatres. The "cartoon" consisted of a photograph, not a drawing, of the G7 leaders assembled for one of their conferences -- all except for Reagan, who was a cartoon figure. So there's this cartoon-Reagan sitting there at a long table with a photographic Thatcher, Mitterrand, Kohl, etc. And this cartoon-Reagan is reading a newspaper featuring a story about Roger Rabbit. "Isn't it amazing," Reagan remarks to his fellow world leaders, "how they can mix cartoon characters with real life?"

That captured something about Reagan. He was a bit more vivid than real life, the way animated cartoons are. The obstinately polyurethaned pompadour added to the image. Everyone felt they knew him personally, though he had few if any close friends. The same could be said of Bugs Bunny. But of course, Bugs didn't defeat communism.

If he had few close friends, he at least made superficial friendships easily and cheerfully. He could say, with Will Rogers, that he never met a man he didn't like. That's partly because he represented an era in which American men cultivated a hale-&-hearty style with other men, and were not encouraged to wax girly about their "relationships". It's also because he really, really did like meeting people.

Given this fact, and given his inexhaustible optimism and his gift for gentle self-deprecation, it was fitting that one of the last remarks attributed to him was: "The great thing about having Alzheimer's is you're always meeting new people."

At his last GOP national convention, the one in 1992, he did a typically partisan yet gentlemanly riff on the hypocrisy of the Democrats, topping it off with: "And they called me an actor!"

The title "Great Communicator" is a transparent ploy by the media Left to dismiss the intellectual substance of Reaganism, to characterize it as form rather than substance. Hats off to the Washington Post, therefore, for including, among the many Reagan quotes in today's coverage, this one, from his Januar 11, 1989, farewell to the nation: "I wasn't a great communicator, but I communicated great things [that] came from the heart of a great nation." It wasn't about him; it was about us.

It's not remarked often enough that Reagan broke the jinx on presidents elected (or re-elected) in a year ending with zero. Since 1840, they had all died in office: William Henry Harrison, elected in 1840, dead of pneumonia a month after his inaugural address in freezing weather, an object lesson to longwinded speakers everywhere. Lincoln, elected in 1860, shot. Garfield, 1880, shot. McKinley, first elected in 1896 but re-elected in 1900, shot. Harding, elected in 1920 -- who knows what happened, but he definitely assumed room temperature during his term. FDR insisted in going for that third term in '40, and even made it through the 1944 election, but then split a gusset in the head in '45. Then, 1960 -- JFK.

I swear, when we decided on Reagan for 1980 -- not that it was a hard choice -- some of us conservative activists figured his age was a positive advantage: given the "0" curse, why waste one of our younger guys?

But he broke the curse, just as he broke the curse of our country's stagflation, weakness, and despondence. I was watching from a balcony at Pennsylvania Ave. and 6th St. NW, with a full view, if not a close one, of Bush I's inauguration, and I saw the curse collapse into the ash-heap of dead superstitions, along with communism. "Any last words, sir?" some reporter yelled as The President boarded Marine One just after President Bush and Vice President Quayle had been sworn in. "Carry on!" he said. Marine One rose, circled downtown Washington, and flew off.

As a Catholic blogador, one can't help feeling rather often that America is doomed, and that this might be just as well. Only Ronald Reagan ever made me feel differently, and he still does. "Carry on."
posted by Cacciaguida at 3:03 PM

 
THE PRESIDENT IS DEAD.

No, not George W. (bless him). I mean...


The President

I was the only student at my high school to support him in 1976. I volunteered on his campaign in 1980, in the New Hampshire primary and in the general election. I cheered him on as an opinion journalist, 1984-86, and I was a political appointee in his administration as a speechwriter, 1986-89.

To me, he alone is, forever, The President.
posted by Cacciaguida at 5:16 PM

 
Rep. Moran accused: clearly a "dirty trick" -- and lordy, I hope it works. (Btw, I happen to know the accuser, Alan Secrest. As Democratic campaign professionals go, he's a good chap.)
posted by Cacciaguida at 4:08 PM

 
Conversation chez Cacciaguida: wand-ing minstrel

Cacciadelia: I just made a wand! BING!

Cacciaguida: What am I now?

Cacciadelia: A daddy!

Cacciaguida: What was I before?

Cacciadelia: Uh, hmmm, hmmm...

Elinor: I don't think she thinks of it as a way of turning anyone into anything.

Cacciaguida: Must get her a copy of Ovid.
posted by Cacciaguida at 12:08 AM

 
Conversation chez Cacciaguida: keeping up with the "Joneses"

Elinor: Now the Joneses were a special case.

Cacciaguida: They were a special case of something different every time we saw them.

Elinor: Strangely it was he who eventually ran off and concluded he was Emperor Charles V or whatever.

Cacciaguida: If I'd been married to her, I'd have done that much earlier.
posted by Cacciaguida at 10:50 PM

 
Neuhaus and FIRST THINGS

(The following was rejected by Elinor's Haloscan for excessive length, so I'm putting it here.)

I wish you had seen, as I once did, Fr. Neuhaus give a pro-life stemwinder at a luncheon of the Cato Institute (a.k.a. Gato Institute) -- a libertarian venue NOT overly hospitable to Neuhaus's argument.

And that reminds me -- not even you hate RJN as much as our alternatively-lifestyled brethren do. You really ought to take up the RJN subject with a certain gent we know -- it would give you two something to talk about once again.

FIRST THINGS is not about ecumenism, if by that you mean full of articles about how we "mere Christians" really agree on everything anyway. TOUCHSTONE tends somewhat in that direction, which is why I did not continue as a subscriber (though editor David Mills has come into the Church and is a good egg).

What FT does is to serve as the cutting edge of social-conservative thinking in philosophy, theology, and law, and to give that thinking impeccable academic credentials. No other publication does that: not NOR, not CRISIS (though it comes closer than NOR), not the WEEKLY STANDARD (it comes very close, but its inside-the-Beltway orbit keeps it from doing what FT does); not even NR, since the kids took over -- and as for CULTURE WARS these days, n'en parlons même pas.

Btw -- intellectually-inclined priests have been editing journals for centuries; viz., Newman and THE RAMBLER.
posted by Cacciaguida at 9:17 PM

 
Happy birthday, Robert Merrill!


Robert Merrill as Prof. Robert P. George

Actually, that's Bob as Figaro in Rossini's THE BARBER OF SEVILLE. Robby George doesn't dress like that (though he does play guitar).

If Leonard Warren was the greatest Italian-style baritone of the 20th century, Merrill was a close second. And vice versa. The greater is whichever one I'm listening to.

Bob is still going strong. If Rigoletto and DiLuna are a bit beyond his reach nowadays, he nonetheless still belts the National Anthem at Yankees games. (I'll bet Warren would have been a Mets fan....)
posted by Cacciaguida at 2:33 PM

 
Today's feast: St. Charles Lwanga and companions. Reader Roy Sheetz supplies this link.

posted by Cacciaguida at 6:26 PM

 
The Paladin reports on Mel Gibson's latest cinematic plans; yours truly comments.
posted by Cacciaguida at 6:02 PM

 
Just noticed that my Sitemeter has passed the 50,000 mark. Finally, something other than my car that does that!

A big thank-you to all my readers!
posted by Cacciaguida at 5:16 PM

 
Nicolai Ghiaurov, RIP

Bulgarian bass who made it sound easy to integrate Slavic tone with the "legato" line characteristic of Italian opera; also a great actor, and good husband to soprano Mirella Freni.

       
Mr. Ghiaurov                           Mr. & Mrs. Ghiaurov

In case you happen to be in Modena, Italy, this Saturday, the following announcement was made by the Centro Universale Belcanto (CUBEC), where the Ghiaurovs both taught:

On Saturday the 5th of June there will be the funeral in Modena Cathedral at 3:00 p.m. The procession will start at 2:30 p.m. from Teatro Comunale di Modena where from 9:00 a.m. it will be possible to honour M° Ghiaurov the last time.

CUBEC will be present with all students that could come. To be properly near to his family and his wife we’ll meet at 13:30 in front of Modena Cathedral. It’s better if students will confirm their presence by e-mail at info@cubec.it or by phone 0039 059 766019.

If you want to send a letter to Mrs Freni [sic] you can write her at these
addresses:
• Mirella Freni c/o Musica e Servizio p.s.c.a r.l., via Selmi, 2 - 41058 Vignola (MO); • info@cubec.it; • fax: 011 39 059 3981028

posted by Cacciaguida at 4:36 PM

 

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - An Islamic civil rights organization said Thursday that a former professor accused of financing terrorists is being held under inhumane conditions.

The wife of former University of South Florida professor Sami Al-Arian compared his treatment to the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American troops.

"Maybe my husband is not tortured physically, but mentally and emotionally," Nahla Al-Arian said. "I want this nightmare to end."

One paper, running this AP story, hedded it (a little composing-room spelling for you there; I'm a former newspaperman and am used to talking about "heds", "ledes", and "grafs") hedded it: Islamic Group: Prison Conditions Inhumane. James Taranto, WSJ blogmeister, hedded his reply: American Group: World Trade Center Conditions Even Worse.

Also from Taranto: The Boston Glob invites Harvard's alien-abduction expert to opine on Abu Ghraib.

posted by Cacciaguida at 4:05 PM

 
Ta-daaa -- comments by Haloscan!
posted by Cacciaguida at 10:45 PM