Today a quick round-up of interesting things I’ve seen or heard online in the past few weeks:
- In the Times Literary Supplement, John Polkinghorne favourably reviews a book-length rejoinder to Richard Dawkins written by, of all people, John Cornwell.
- Anthony Esolen continues his series of meditations on the decline of education while paging through an old collection, The Young Folks’ Shelf of Books.
- The Hebdomadarian (ahem!) finds a very strange talking portrait.
- A brief but incisive discussion of the meaning of “the separation of church and state” is offered by Richard John Neuhaus.
- Dr. Jack Hyles discourses on the divine nature of short hair. (Hat-tip: Korrektiv)
- Reports have appeared of a breakthrough in stem cell research that could produce embryonic stem-cell equivalents (that is, pluripotent cells) without destroying embryos. Some caution is in order — science journalism is generally poor — but if true it will provide yet another good reason to put the utilitarian embryo-farmers out of business. And that would be a very good thing. Joseph Bottum reflects on political angles.
- Andy Whitman reviews Bruce Springsteen’s latest record. I don’t think the album is as strong as Andy does, but he makes a persuasive case.
- At An Examined Life, Scott Carson defends scientific anti-realism.
- The Telegraph reviews the Top 10 Stupidest Laws on the books, both at home and abroad.
- Chaucer taketh a breke fro his labour as clerk of the kinges werkes to offere thoghtes on the reforme of televisioun.
- Clear Creek Monastery in Oklahoma has produced a good video about the monastic way of life. Meanwhile, Steven Greydanus writes a very perceptive review of Into Great Silence, the recent film about life inside the Carthusian monastery at Grand Chartreuse.
- At SecurityFocus, Mark Rasch sees dark clouds on the e-mail privacy horizon.
- The New Criterion is marking the twentieth anniversary of Allan Bloom’s The Closing of the American Mind, and Mark Steyn contributes an excellent essay on culture and pop music.
- Margaret Somerville breaks the cloak of silence.
- Finally, I’ve been dipping into the archives at The Charlie Rose Show, and I highly recommend two conversations with Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete, the first (from 2000) about John Paul II’s visit to Israel, and the second (from 2005) about the election of Benedict XVI. Both are superb.
That’s rather a lot of things. Perhaps I should do this more frequently.
