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September 2023

September 22, 2023

They Flew: I review Carlos Eire’s new book on levitating saints, frauds, and witches

for The Bulwark: ...On the first page of Yale history professor Carlos Eire’s puckish new...

August 2022

August 26, 2022

“No Promises”: I wrote about AA and Sister Booze

for Plough: Alcoholism often reveals itself first in broken promises. If you are lucky, these...

July 2022

July 25, 2022

Bright Light City Gonna Set My Soul On Fire: I watch Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis”

I had to watch this thing, even though I didn't know what interesting thing there...

May 2021

May 12, 2021

Between Mushroom Cloud and Monastery: I read “Generation X”

and discover more than I expected: ...Generation X is something stranger than a novel of...

June 2019

June 11, 2019

Ecstasy in Celibacy: Workshop Part Three

part one; part two. Celibacy is beautiful because celibacy is a witness to our trust...

June 10, 2019

Ecstasy in Celibacy, part one: The Handout

Hey y'all. I had a terrific time at Revoice 2k19, where I presented a workshop...

April 2019

April 24, 2019

“Ecstasy in Celibacy” and Other Queer Ideas

The workshop descriptions for Revoice 2K19 are live! Revoice is a conference which seeks "to...

January 2019

January 10, 2019

I Shall Do Thee Mischief in The Anvil: I watch “Cruising”

Cruising, the 1980 sleaze thriller where Al Pacino goes undercover in the New York leather/s&m...

December 2018

December 14, 2018

“A Painting Reveals the Heart of Penance”: I’m in the Catholic Herald

getting emotional about Spanish Counter-Reformation painting, as is my wont: The most beautiful and insightful...

June 2018

June 29, 2018

A Great New Art Film About the Childhood of Joan of Arc

which I review for the American Interest: Many of our most formative experiences—the extremes of...

February 2018

February 03, 2018

“The Body & Society” Notes, Pt 4: Take My Breath Away

The metaphors by which the saints and spiritual writers have described celibate life have a...

December 2017

December 09, 2017

Death by Stereo: Movie notes

Starting with the low point, I'm afraid. Spinning into Butter is an extremely '90s tale...

October 2017

October 12, 2017

A Girl in Love

I recently watched Writer of O, the 2004 documentary about Pauline Reage/Dominique Aury/Anne Desclos, the...

September 2016

September 26, 2016

“Escape from Enlightenment”: I’m at First Things

reviewin': For over twenty years Will Allen was the in-house videographer for the Buddhafield—a religious...

September 03, 2016

“Divine Disco: The beatific sub-genre that delivered sermons on the dance floor”: The Guardian

grauniading: With its reputation for sex, drugs and unbridled hedonism, disco doesn’t have a reputation...

August 2016

August 22, 2016

For There’s Nothing Original in Me/Except Original Sin: A Birthday Book Meme

I really enjoyed Melinda Selmys's list of the twenty books that have shaped her. It's...

July 2016

July 15, 2016

“Ecstatic Dance”: I review “The Fits,” A Stunning Film

review at First Things: Anna Rose Holmer's extraordinary new film The Fits begins with a...

April 2016

April 30, 2016

“Some Possibilities for Narratives of Friendship”: I’m at Spiritual Friendship

readin' books: I loved Wes’s post on writing about friendship, and figured I’d throw some...

February 2016

February 25, 2016

If You Don’t Honor Celibacy…

This is a more tentative section of my "three false gods" presentation. It's about what...

July 2015

July 08, 2015

“One Nation, Under the Influence”: I review a National Archives show on US Boozin’

for The American Interest: “Spirited Republic: Alcohol in American History,” on exhibit at the National...

May 2015

May 07, 2015

“Who Dares to Say That Love Is Like the War?”: A Gay, Catholic Poet in the 20th Century

I don't want to be tokenistic but I'm betting the best way to get you...

January 2015

January 22, 2015

“This Town Is Dead at Night”: I watch that Iranian-Californian vampire flick

for AmCon: When I heard there was an Iranian-Californian vampire movie where a lady vampire...

January 03, 2015

Fra Angelico and the Sex-Hating Church

A really rambling post. Now that my book is out I've been doing a lot...

December 2014

December 09, 2014

“How to Be Intoxicated”

This article is annoyingly coy (it's all "there's danger in intoxication! there are no guarantees!"...

November 2014

November 21, 2014

Working at the Disco: I Watch “The Last Days of Disco”

For the first half of this movie I was not totally sold on it--despite its...

November 08, 2014

The Killing Joke: I read “Infinite Jest”

Finished it and flipped back to the very first page. Hugely tempted to just go...

October 2014

October 29, 2014

“Gay and Catholic” Book Extra: Bridal Mysticism for the Rest of Us

One of the biggest gaps in the book is its relative silence about prayer. There's...

October 07, 2014

Dark, Dark My Light: “Martyrs”

Well, let's start spooky movie season with a series of horrifying bangs. All I knew...

August 2014

August 21, 2014

The Anima Christi: A Deleted Chapter from My Great Big Gay Catholic Book

I had to cut a lot from the book, and this chapter was eccentric and...

May 2014

May 21, 2014

“Music of the Trilobites”: Me in AmSpec

not really a book review! I read John Darnielle’s 2011 novel Master of Reality under the...