PicoBlog

China Daily in its January 16, 2021 issue reports: Just over a century ago in 1920, Chen Wangdao, the late Chinese scholar and educator, completed China’s first translation of The Communist Manifesto…Today, 101 years later, a team of 29 members from the Communist Party of China are following in his footsteps to share Marxist theories with the public through an exhibition centered on The Communist Manifesto. On March 17, 1883 when Karl Marx was buried at the Highgate cemetery in London only eleven persons were present at his funeral.

First of all, this week we released a new Liturgy EP, titled Immortal Life II. You can listen to it here, and here’s a list of our upcoming tourdates. In the spirit of sacred gesamtkunstwerk, I wanted to take the moment to also introduce a new approach to praying the Rosary I’ve been drawn to, as well as some thoughts about Christian faith generally, which can be compiled under the phrase “Universal Orthodox”.

NAPA VALLEY, Calif. — Wine has often been called one of humanity’s most valued art forms. It is the transformation of simple fruit juice into a sublime drink, a subject of poetry and romance. Even the Bible mentions it as a reward for a spiritual life. Yet at a more basic level wine is essentially a complex chemical mixture. Before sealing the bottle, winemakers, many of whom are well-versed in chemistry, meticulously analyze it.

To study how language evolves, study TikTok. The viral content-creation platform is known for innovating new slang and developing old ones. Trending slang may feel strange or unfamiliar to most people, but eventually, those trends become part of the broader language, even if it's never universally adopted. Most recently, this happened with the phrase "unspoken rizz." To understand unspoken rizz, one must first understand the origins of "rizz." The inception of “rizz” began with YouTuber Kai Cenat who used the term to refer to his skill at impressing women.

It took me decades, but I finally purchased a copy of The Velvet Underground’s Live at Max’s Kansas City, and what I got is the recent reissue (2016) of this magnificent 1972 release. The album was recorded on a cassette recorder from a show in 1970 by the legendary Brigit Polk (a.k.a. Brigid Berlin), a long-term Warhol associate. I have heard that the male voice on the tape between songs is either Jim Carroll (which I think is true) or perhaps the painter/poet/writer Rene Ricard.

Hello hello! My book, Modern Friendship, has been out in the world for three weeks and it’s been wonderful. The reviews on Amazon and Goodreads have been glowing. And, my book was just named a June 2024 Must-Read by the Next Big Idea Book Club. Not too shabby for a semi-lazy cat mom who shops at Old Navy! If you’ve already read the book, please leave a review wherever you purchased it.

What's it *really* like to be disabled? How can you fight ableism? A newsletter aiming to demystify disability through personal stories and observations, from journalist and card-carrying disabled woman Lucy Webster By Lucy Webster · Over 3,000 subscribersNo thanks“Lucy Webster will challenge any preconceived notion you might have of what it means to live with a disability.” ncG1vNJzZmikpZjGuLHBrKueql6owqO%2F05qapGaTpLpw

“Tom Cox delves into the mystical underpinnings of the English countryside, following his nose along all sorts of trails: flora, fauna, nostalgia, the vernacular, the supernatural, and the process of being a weird writer. His books have made me snort-laugh on the bus.” ncG1vNJzZmisn6KwsMSNrKybq6SWsKx6wqikaA%3D%3D

The Vilomah Project is an idea that clawed its way out of my grief-addled brain after my son, Christopher, took his life when he was 18. In the aftermath, I looked for people, support groups, or websites for people who had also lost a child, but nothing was quite right. Religion-based support isn’t a good fit for me, and neither are groups that toss around cliches like, “they're at peace now” and call it a day.