Someone recently Yelped my church.  We got three stars out of five.  The review was so hostile that I'm surprised we got that many.   He disliked the homily (which was excellent, I was at the same mass) and the music (also excellent, it's one of the main reasons people go there).  The dude took exception to "Lots of long, pregnant pauses during the consecration," because the Transubstantiation is something best when it's rushed.  ("Why on earth does the priest keep closing his eyes and folding his hands?")  He rebuked the congregation for wearing jeans.  Even Jesus Himself took a knock:  "St. Clement's also uses soft, crumbly bread as the Host during communion." 

I assume that when he actually likes the Host, he takes a picture of it and posts it on Facebook.

So I enjoyed this article in the Times yesterday by Jim Windolf about anonymous online reviewers.  From the article:

"Who are these people? I’m not sure, but they are more exacting than professional critics.

Take “Lisa C.,” of Millbrae, Calif., posting as follows at Yelp after having visited a Starbucks with her boyfriend: “the barista ... looked at me confused when i said ‘grande hot apple chai’ as if he didn’t know what it was ... then he said ‘apple juice infused into chai tea?’ i responded, ‘yeah...’ my bf usually gets that ‘ice vanilla latte with restretto (sp?)’ and they stared at him too ... my drink didn’t taste that well ... something was off balance and i ended up tossing it...”

Yeah, something was definitely off balance.

I haven't read the article discussed in the interview yet.  I bet I will eventually link to that too.

http://www.npr.org/2011/12/08/143291199/black-scholar-of-the-civil-war-asks-whos-with-me

His blog is good, too.

http://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/30/on-belonging-to-western-civilization/

Really, really good post, written in reply to Brad DeLong's repudiation of Western Civilization.  Here's the thrust of my man's argumentum:

"Brad DeLong holds a faculty position at a state university that owes its very existence to an American war of aggression against Mexico, in a country whose founding documents were written by slaveowners, on a continent that was ruthlessly expropriated from its indigenous population. Is he really sure that he can so cleanly separate himself from the various plunderers, exploiters, slavers and imperialists who have shaped the history of the Western world?"

Now, I am liberal as hell.  I believe in the redistribution of fucking everything.*  ("Say, Holmes... that's a nice bike.  Watch your back.")  But I prefer to read sane conservatives over my fellow travelers.  There are only like three sane ones left, though, and Douthat is one of them.



*Need I point out that this belief is a bit?  Probably not.  Still, in light of recent take-Dennis-too-seriously events: it's a bit.