There are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity.

20 Favorite Records Of All Time

20. Love Remains, How to Dress Well

19. Without You I’m Nothing, Placebo

18. Evening Star, Fripp & Eno

17. This is Hardcore, Pulp

16. Seventh Tree, Goldfrapp

15. The Celts, Enya

14. Lovely Thunder, Harold Budd

13. Carve Out the Face of My God, Infinite Body

12. The Boatman’s Call, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

11. Tales of Us, Goldfrapp

10. The White Arcades, Harold Budd

9. Kaputt, Destroyer

8. Adore, The Smashing Pumpkins

7. A Charlie Brown Christmas, Vince Guaraldi Trio

6. Third Eye Blind, Third Eye Blind

5. Lost in Translation, Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

4. Duncan Sheik, Duncan Sheik

3. Parachutes, Coldplay

2. AIA, Grouper

1. December, George Winston

20 Favorite Songs Of All Time

20. “Hope There’s Someone,” Antony & The Johnsons

19. “Always,” Erasure

18. “Here Comes the Flood,” Peter Gabriel

17. “Suicide Is Painless,” Bill Evans

16. “Life on Mars?” David Bowie

15. “Deer Stop,” Goldfrapp

14. “Heartbeats,” The Knife

13. “This,” Brian Eno

12. “Ambulance,” Blur

11. “Building A Mystery,” Sarah McLachlan

10. “Wish You Were Here,” Pink Floyd

9. “1995,” The Radio Dept

8. “We Never Change,” Coldplay

7. “A Lady of a Certain Age,” The Divine Comedy

6. “Fantino,” Sebastien Tellier

5. “Boy About 10,” Harold Budd

4. “7,” Prince

3. “Temptation,” New Order

2. “In The Shadow of the Sun,” Duncan Sheik

1. “Sometimes,” My Bloody Valentine

Free Audio Version of “1983 (Church Calendar)”

I’ve recorded an audio version of my short story “1983 (Church Calendar),” which you can download here.

“1983 (Church Calendar)” is taken from Blasphemers, my most recent book, which is available as an e-book on Amazon.

Interviewed:

Front Porch Republic interviewed me on the subject of classical education and you can read the interview here.

Now You Know This Is The End

“When he is stripped of the Christian tunic and the classical toga, there is nothing left of the European but a pale-skinned barbarian.”
― Nicolás Gómez Dávila

That Time Of Year: Chromatics

The weather just turned perfect for Kill For Love.

I highly commend the free preview which the Met Opera is presently running. One free opera per day. This evening, my family watched a bit of Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites and it was spectacular.

Catholicism & Orthodoxy

From the chapter in Laurus when Arseny visits a cathedral in Vienna:

“It makes a twofold impression, Arseny reports to Ustina from St. Stephen’s Cathedral. On the one hand, there is the sense of something kindred because we have common roots. On the other hand, I do not feel at home here: after all, our paths diverged. Our God is closer and warmer, theirs is higher and grander.”

-p. 239

The Writer’s Life

The question is not whether you can do it once. The question is not whether you can do it every now and again. The question is not whether you can do it when the Spirit leads you.

The question is whether you can do it over and over again, every week, every month, every year, for the rest of your life.