A. Rascal

FUNERAL STELE OF AURELIA ARTEMIS Early Byzantine (Akhmim, Egypt), 4th century This stele (funerary monument) commemorates the death of a noble woman named in the Greek inscription: "Aurelia Artemis, daughter of Pasion, the sweetest, beyond comparison above all, farewell." The use of costly, imported marble and the woman's elaborate dress suggest that she came from a wealthy family. The use of a Greek inscription, as well as the woman's pose, point to a Greek family, possibly Christian, living in southern Egypt. Marble, with plaster and paint if.2, acquired by Henry Walters, 1923

In case you wondered where the turn of phrase “red letter day” came from, it’s from Roman fasti (festival calendars). Romans loved rubricating—using red to emphasize a letter—as this epitaph for Aurelia Artemis, from Akhmim, (Roman Egypt), 4thC CE (Walters Art Museum) illustrates.

Starting to think there might be a reason that previous administrations tried very hard to avoid war with Iran

Pope Leo XIV urges Chicago students to be 'co-workers for peace with Christ' Pope Leo XIV sent a message to students gathered at Loyola University Chicago for a peacebuilding conference March 7, calling on them to "be co-workers for peace with Christ."

Leo also warned against what he called "the globalization of powerlessness," a temptation, he said, to "believe that an era free of conflict is unattainable."

especially glad oldest is home from college this week, as he gets to cheer his sister on at both her high school mock trial quarterfinals and drama semifinals

just three days apart (my youngest and her teammates all need a real vacation soon)

downside of attending the occasional Traditional Latin Mass and reciting the Rosary in Latin is that here (US) people immediately think you’re MAGA

which, needless to say, can cramp one’s dating life considerably

3 traditional Catholic practices that enrich progressive faith Traditional practices like attending Latin Mass, praying the rosary, and veiling can enrich our mission to work for justice on Earth.

I’ve got two of them covered (no pun intended)

both of them in Latin

In ‘The Whale’ and in the Gospels, We Crucify What Disgusts Us Darren Aronofsky’s latest film, starring Brendan Fraser, is ripe for biblical interpretation.

Julia Kristeva sheds a lot of light on this process through her notion of the abject

It’s never too late to learn a language – adults and kids bring different strengths to the task While a young language learner can more easily acquire a native accent, adults retain the ability to learn new languages well into later life.

You haven’t missed your chance to learn a new language!

Yes, kids may pick up accents more easily, but adults bring focus and language experience to the table – and can still become fluent.

There’s no age where language learning “switches off”.

The robot umps are here: What to watch for with ABS this MLB spring training MLB's ABS challenge system is up and running this spring — and it's about to change baseball profoundly. Here's everything you need to know.

New from me:

The robot umps are here!

Here’s what to watch for this spring, including this fascinating question:

What should an umpire say if the catcher asks, “Where was that pitch?”
www.nytimes.com/athletic/706...

Beyond Transactional Can any amount of Trumpian wrongdoing shake MAGA Evangelicals?

"Stuckey’s second sentence may be the key to understanding Evangelical responses in Trump’s second term. There is little reason to question her sincerity in condemning Trump’s post, yet she makes it clear that her political loyalties are unchanged."

"Depriving an innocent child of his citizenship based upon his parents’ immigration status would be an especially outrageous punishment—one that this Court has rejected as punishment even for people who have been proven guilty." trib.al/x9CrHSj

These Christian Nationalists Are Loving War with Iran “God is using President Trump to execute judgment on wicked civilizations.”

Famously irreligious Trump has the full backing of Christian nationalists on Iran.

Has anyone ever reported out a story asking anti-vax/science people : “when in your life did you stop believing science?”

Like, kids (at least in my experience) are fascinated w/learning. I believe my job as a parent is to foster that and help them learn how to learn. So when do folks turn away?

Guess What Moderate Democratic Voters Aren’t Anymore? Moderate. Two new polls suggest that moderate Democrats, too, want higher taxes on the rich and some measure of economic populism. Moderate isn’t what it was in 1992.

"Moderate Democratic voters are not centrists clamoring for a return to the Clinton era or rebukes of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders." trib.al/12NCA6z

Yes, and we just don’t know the cost of adapting to this political reality that we’re living in, what we’re having to annul to survive it. And what we have to do to adapt, we don’t always know. But it wouldn’t be odd if people became more withdrawn, more immured, more impermeable, more remote, etc. Because to be fully alive to this present reality could easily feel unbearable.

www.culturedmag.com/article/2026...

Moms Are Risking Arrest to Protect Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth The government wants to ban care nationwide, and hospitals are shutting down treatment. Parents just want it all to stop.

www.them.us/story/trans-...

Accent jibes as people question Flintshire woman's Welshness Accents vary often village to village - but do people often think there is just one Welsh accent?

accents are one of the fastest ways we determine social proximity (eg friend/foe, in-group vs out-group) membership

also the way in which notions of identity are tied to those of authenticity (eg an "authentic" X accent)

The A18 Pro in the MacBook Neo is 19% faster than the M2 Ultra in the Mac Pro in single-core performance (Geekbench 6).

The MacBook Neo starts at $599.

The Mac Pro, which is still for sale, starts at $6,999.

I am currently single

Important ruling on immigration operations in Minnesota

Judge Tostrud (Trump appointee):

"Plaintiffs have made a clear showing that Defendants have adopted a POLICY authorizing federal immigration officers to conduct investigatory stops based on ethnicity or race without reasonable suspicion."
1/

It's not widely known enough that the moment the UN formally recognized "genocide" as a phenomenon, Black Americans filed a petition charging the US with genocide against Black people. The conditions they describe have continued.

www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/we...

How dare her!! 🧐🤨

"When people like Kamala Harris send our sons and daughters, our young people, to fight in stupid wars, it is the young generation that carries the burden of that. We're gonna stop sending our young people to far away lands. We are not the policemen of the world."

Lebanese Maronite Catholic priest killed by Israeli tank fire in southern Lebanon Fr. Pierre al-Rahi, also known by his French name Pierre el-Raï, had earlier refused, along with other priests, to obey an order by the Israeli military to evacuate the Christian village of Qlayaa, a ...

Fr. Pierre al-Rahi, had earlier refused, along with other priests, to obey an order by the Israeli military to evacuate the Christian village of Qlayaa, a Maronite village of some 8,000 inhabitants in the Marjayoun district, a few miles from the Israeli border.

lamb works fine; mutton for special occasions

which is exactly the opposite of what the world’s been doing culinarily and sacrificially for millennia 🤷🏻‍♂️

The simplest way to understand these well-spoken monsters is they don't believe in the universality & equality of all before the law. They believe in law as a weapon for disciplining & vaporising lesser humans & for protecting & shielding superior humans like them & their allies from consequences

AirTag leads volunteers to hidden cat and six kittens in Waltham Boston.com

AirTag leads volunteers to hidden cat and six kittens in Waltham #news
https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2026/03/09/airtag-leads-volunteers-to-hidden-cat-and-six-kittens-in-waltham/

halal butchers in my area often have it

Dhaba Mutton curry | ढाबा मीट । कुकर में बनाएँ ढाबा मटन करी | Simplest mutton recipe | Chef Ranveer YouTube video by Chef Ranveer Brar

Dhaba Gosht with basmati and roti 👨🏻‍🍳🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🚨🚒

watching my oldest prepare summer internship applications at various microbiology labs across the country

and wondering how my total humanities DNA ever managed to help produce a budding scientist👨🏻‍🔬 🦠 🧪

Trump bought Netflix and Warner Bros bonds at height of bidding war with Paramount U.S. President Donald Trump bought more than $1.1 million of Netflix bonds over the last three months as the streaming giant unsuccessfully fought Paramount Skydance to ​buy Warner Bros Discovery , according to government disclosures.

U.S. President Donald Trump bought more than $1.1 million of Netflix bonds over the last three months as the streaming giant unsuccessfully fought Paramount Skydance to buy Warner Bros Discovery , according to government disclosures.