Clik here to view.
Seeing Yourself in Social Media
It would be hard to imagine a time when it was easier for someone with little or no talent to become a celebrity. Reality television shows and viral videos are perhaps the most obvious examples of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Media and the Promise of Friendship
With the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (“CPAC”) about to get underway here in Washington, many of those in attendance will have their first opportunity to meet in real life those whom...
View ArticleClik here to view.
My Thanks to SQPN
This past Saturday I had the opportunity to appear for the first time as a guest for the full hour of SQPN’s “Catholic Weekend” podcast, after some coaxing and Catholic guilt-tripping by the show’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Beating Them At Their Own Game
For many years much of the news out of Spain, at least as reported by the allegedly “mainstream” media, has been rather bad. The most recent evidence of this was last summer, in the laughably awful...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Celebrities Are Not Our Rulers
We are all guilty, at times, of being lazy in our terminology, making statements that upon further analysis cannot possibly be true. These can take the form of perfectly innocent, if exaggerated,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Basking in the News Cycle
Good morning to you, gentle reader. While you were sleeping, Greek election results came in and seem to point to a political party that will continue on the road mapped out by Brussels and Berlin, but...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Wipe Out II: When New Media Attacks
Today I have a brief follow-up to the piece I wrote yesterday – which you can read here – about the botched restoration of a fresco of Christ at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mercy, in the town of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Enjoy the Silence
Returning to the routine after an extended absence is always somewhat jarring. And as I sat in mass this morning before my first day back to what is my current level of normal, my mind was racing...
View ArticleClik here to view.
On Serving Your Audience
Last evening I made what I considered to be a rather witty, pithy comment on social media, which I will not repeat here, and which caused some distress on the left and misinterpretation on the right....
View ArticleClik here to view.
How SQPN Prepared Me for the BBC
As you may have heard through other social media outlets, gentle reader, I was recently on BBC News talking about the election of Pope Francis as the new head of the Catholic Church. I had held off...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ignorance Is Not Bliss
This Saturday on the Catholic Weekend show over on SQPN, we will be talking with guests Fawaz and Ehab Yasi, a rap duo originally from Iraq and now living in California. I suspect the twist for many...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Elizabeth Scalia at the CIC: Idols All Around
Last evening I had the great pleasure of attending a reception at the Catholic Information Center here in DC featuring author Elizabeth Scalia, editor of the Catholic portal on Patheos.com. Mrs....
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Gala Evening with the Media Research Center
Last evening I had the great pleasure and privilege of being invited to live-tweet from the Media Research Center’s annual Gala here in Washington. I thank Scooter Schaefer and everyone at the MRC for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Shock of the Newborn
British contemporary artist Damien Hirst, he of the sheep or sharks displayed in tanks filled with formaldehyde, is certainly no stranger to controversy. The type of public outcry normally associated...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Denver Diary: A Visit with Greg and Jennifer Willits
This weekend I was in Denver for the wedding of two good friends of mine, and I will have a few blog posts this week based on my experiences there. Rather than post chronologically however, I wanted...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Thanks for All the Fish: Some Reflections on Podcasting
This Saturday we recorded our 200th episode of the Catholic Weekend show on SQPN, featuring clips of memorable moments from the show over the last four years. You can watch the recording of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Come and See: The Challenge of Pope Francis’ Papacy
Today Catholics everywhere will be reading about how Pope Francis has won a beauty contest sponsored by TIME magazine, a publication which spends much of its time working diligently to undermine the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
On the Lingering Stench of American Anti-Catholicsm
You know that things must be rather bad indeed, when several atheist friends send you an article full of anti-Catholic nonsense from a prominent national publication, and ask you to comment on it. I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“God’s Bucket List” and Teresa Tomeo at the CIC
Last evening despite the sub-zero windchill I went to the Catholic Information Center here in Washington to hear author and broadcaster Teresa Tomeo discuss her new book, “God’s Bucket List”. We were...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pope Francis: Politics, Policy, and the Press
It is usually not a promising sign, when attending an event to discuss the Pope and public policy, to find that the average age of those in attendance is about 62. One could almost hear the faint...
View Article