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.


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


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Mongolia: Found a photo-essay by a jazz musician who spent some time there. Sounds like the Ulaanbaatar I know, especially:

There's only about 1,000 miles of paved road and even those are congested and full of potholes due to an explosion in vehicle traffic, which increased 450 percent between 1990 and 2000. In Ulaanbaatar, it's often a bumper-to-bumper melee.

“Many of the current microbuses, which already endanger public safety, often carrying 20- plus passengers on bald tires, look like they’re on fire as they roar down crowded streets,” an editorial in the English-language UB Post notes. Traffic lights seem to be optional and the accident fatality rate of 28 people per 10,000 vehicles is higher than nearly all other central Asian countries, with one-third alcohol related. Collisions with pedestrians, the newspaper adds, are even more alarming.

“Darting between cars like a game of Frogger,” the Post states. “Drivers often stop for the elderly, but even that common courtesy is becoming rare.”

posted by Cacciaguida at 4:57 PM