Sailing the Last Voyage with Newton and Pascal
Without a doubt one of the most hilarious pieces of literature ever written is Blaise Pascal's Provincial Letters. Written in the 1650's, it consisted of a purported series of letters written by a Parisian to his friend in the provinces. At that time the Jesuits (with the help of the French monarchy) were attempted to …
Continue reading "The Bourbons, the Democrats, and the ABC 9/11 Series"
Iraqi Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani's decision to get out of politics reminds us of the closing poem from the Chinese author Wu Ching-Tzu's novel The Scholars: For love of the Chinhuai River, in the old days I left home; I wandered up and down behind Plum Root Forge, And strolled about in Apricot Blossom Village; …
Continue reading "Ayatollah al-Sistani: Getting out of Muslim Politics is Easier Said Than Done"
We find al-Qaeda's attempt to reach an American audience by convert Adam Gadahn interesting in one important respect: his appeal for Americans to convert. He tells us, "It is time for the unbelievers to discard these incoherent and illogical beliefs...Isn't it the time for the Christians, Jews, Buddhists and atheists to cast off the cloak …
As the deadline for a proper response from the Iranians regarding their nuclear weapons programme passes, it probably behooves a few of us to step back and think: what is Islamic culture and civilisation all about? What would things be like if they actually achieved their objectives? This is not an idle question. In the …
Continue reading "The Dilemma of Islamic Civilisation: St. Thomas was Right"
During my first trip to China in March 1981, I had no idea that one of the great figures of twentieth century Chinese literature was passing away: Mao Dun, the pen name for Shen Yanbing, novelist and author of Midnight, the social realist novel of Shanghai in the 1930's. Long a place of interest, going …
Last year, when Hurricane Katrina did her destruction on the Gulf, we spent a good deal time on the subject, as we had spent a good deal of time in South Louisiana in years past. Some of our postings were as follows: When Your Metairie is Wiped Out Prayer and the French Quarter Reflections on …
Without a doubt one of the strangest passages of the King James Version of the Bible is as follows: While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. And …
The end of August represents this site's ninth anniversary. It was in 1997--right about the time Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed careened into eternity in Paris--that we started this page's predecessor. Many things have changed since that time, not the least of which is the advent of blogging. In a sense, this page has been …
Continue reading "A Ninth Anniversary, and a New Face for Our Blog"
Positive Infinity 