Many years ago when this author was at college he had a wonderful director for his master’s thesis, one Rev Dr. Brian McNamara, S.J .  Brian was an inspiration as he taught me how to read with an extra edge, or, if you prefer with purpose and focus.  He was a wonderful scholar to whom I ...

Utah, that's which state! Or so says Harvard researcher Ben Edelman, who "analyzed subscriber data from an unnamed 'top 10 seller of online adult entertainment.'" When comparing broadband subscribers, Utah comes in first with an average of 5.47 per 1000. In second place is Alaska with just over 5.03...

I am looking forward. . . . On the bus home from Philadelphia a few weeks ago, I had an Important Insight.  It was an insight borne of decades of driving and my last couple of academic gigs, which (because of their locations far from airports) have entailed traveling in shuttles and buses and v...

Helen writes at the Cast Iron Balcony. She’s a blogger, she’s a grinner, she’s a mother, she’s a sinner. She plays her music in the sun. Last year, some cartoons which appeared with two of Miranda Devine’s articles caught my attention. One article (they’re both in...

Why/how do people cultivate mystique through Facebook profiles? So I see a lot of profiles on Facebook, MySpace, etc. that have aspects that I don't seem to communicate much of anything at all to me. For instance, here are a couple responses to "Religion" on Facebook: *it's not as bleak as...

The Maternity Services Review is finally out. But you knew that, because last week the Australian Medical Association published a badly flawed paper designed to suggest that private obstetric care was the only safe way to birth a baby. And the buzzword for today is: “collaborative care”....

I haven't traveled to all the states, but I've been to most of them. And while there is a lot of variety among people in different places, you can tell that there is something of a local personality. You may not notice it when you live there, but it really stands out when you travel through. For exa...

This past weekend, I saw the film Coraline, which I found terrific in many respects. Among other things, I think it has a lot to say that applies very strongly to virtual worlds, about why though we may all complain about bad pick-up groups, griefers, loot farmers, Barrens chat, virtual worlds are n...

Optimistic title, but I aim to do it. Below is a sample of posts that I’ve shared this week on my Google reader: * By Their Own Hand from ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES * Mr. Manners: David Brooks on Polite Behavior from ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES * You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide, from the Fat-Hating...

A couple of weeks ago, I was intrigued by an article in The Guardian, by columnist Libby Brooks, which discusses recent publications of erotic fiction written for and by women, focusing particularly on In Bed With, an anthology edited by Kathy Lette, boasting contributions from a number of well-know...