I met a real live Russian today

Sunday brunch became more interesting than usual when I met Hillsdale's own student from the Motherland. In the course of the conversation I mentioned that Russia has been my favorite country to read and hear about since I was three years old and he said,

"...you are very strange."

Which is, I suppose, undeniably true. But my fascination with that country remains with me to this day; and I would love to reach a point in my life where I could spend a year traveling all over that country which uses up one sixth of the Earth's landmass. I think what has always drawn me is the deep understanding of pain and suffering that permeates Russian art, music, literature, and history. From Dostoevsky to Rachmoninov, I feel connected to a people who have accepted and lived with suffering more completely than any other culture I've ever encountered.

In Memoriam

Today we commemorate the thousands who fell under the sword and bullets of the Spanish Civil War. The Republican extremists slaughtered 13 bishops, over 6000 priests, and 4000 more religious, with the number of lay faithful as yet unnumbered. So many see this conflict in terms of political absolutes, fascism vs. democracy, that the element of religious persecution remains entirely neglected. Catholics should understand, as so few do, that this was the most intense, most ferocious persecution since the Roman Emperor Diocletian. Enemies of the Church, driven by a nearly indisputable demonic rage, razed hundreds of churches to the ground, mutilated statues, and subjected those they did not kill to unspeakable atrocities. While Franco's Nationalist army did not stay free from crimes and murders, their deeds strayed out of bounds in typical wartime actions. It should not be forgotten that it was the Republican tolerance of violence against the church and her faithful that precipitated the military uprising in the first place.
Those who suffered martyrdom in that contest have not received due attention, partly due to the unwillingness of most media to accept that these events did indeed transpire. Even C. S. Lewis expressed doubt that the stories coming over the water about the intense persecution were true (this rankled Tolkien). Much of the crimes perpetrated by the Republican government and army remain shadowed in obscurity because it was (and is) so popular to be on the side of the elected government. It is a pity these same people do not recall that Hilter was also elected.

May the beatified martyrs of the Spanish Civil War pray for us and this troubled world, that injustice everywhere may be fought, despite inconvenience or discomfort.

Hiroshima

A collection of rare photos of the destruction of Hiroshima can be found on Design Observer, along with the story of their discovery. The images are haunting in a way similar to the emotions evoked by images of dead Chernobyl, but more intense because of the deliberate will behind them, and the sheer scale of the human slaughter under the blasted landscape. A visceral reminder of the consequences of total war, and the brutality possible when war is unhinged from Christian principles.

Why the World Needs Graphic Designers

When our elected officials attempt to explain something through visual aides, it's often more helpful to just close your eyes. Here is House Minority Leader John Boehner's attempt to explain Nancy Pelosi's energy tax:

Everything clear now? What on earth are these acronyms? And how does putting them near each other tell you anything about their functions? Why has it been designed to induce eyestrain through wild colors and dense spiderwebs of black lines that can't be traced though the boxes? And it doesn't stop there...

Boehner also released this illuminating graphic of the House Democrats' Health Plan, which is nearly as bad. Did he intentionally arrange the different elements so that any order or pattern was indiscernible? Or did he just think it didn't matter?

Anyway, graphic designer Robert Palmer recently took it upon himself to make this chart readable. Look! You can tell what's going on now! Wouldn't it be nice if representatives hired people who knew what they were doing to do this sort of thing?

And as a bonus, here's a well-designed graphic from The New Republic laying out our current health care system. The presentation is still complex, but at least it's understandable.

sometimes I can take good pictures

Home, around 6:15 AM.

Cetaceous Conflicts

Having recently completed the arduous task of reading Herman Melville's alleged masterpiece Moby Dick, I feel compelled to offer a few thoughts on it.

Despite Melville's overwrought turn of phrase and fascination with beating an already tired metaphor into the ground, the book succeeded in revealing the dangerous and almost mystical world of whaling to an ignorant audience (namely, me). The idea of a handful of men in a tiny boat paddling furiously after a creature of such terrifyingly large proportions staggers belief (at least in my case). It seems to me to be an endeavor worthy of comparison to the scaling of Earth's most treacherous mountains. In both cases Man seeks to overcome a daunting force of nature, and I could not believe how paltry the equipment was on those whaling boats! A harpoon, some spears, and quite a quantity of rope, and off they went, risking life and limb to hunt a monstrously large animal in a lethal environs. Incredibly, they succeeded often enough to make it a profitable industry

I know it is the custom these days to side with the whales and certainly if there is real danger of their extinction, I concede the case. But I have acquired a whole hearted admiration for the men who undertook such a perilous enterprise. And I hope the Makah will soon be able again to take to the open sea in a little canoe to spear the leviathan, as they did a few years ago. In a world of modern convenience and comfort I feel somehow relieved that there are still men who have the pluck and the nerve to dart over the waters after a creature as big as a house, armed only with small pointed sticks and their courage.

We have followed this series for too long to let the new one go by without recognition. Therefore, just a reminder that tomorrow at 12:00: HP6. haven't they come a long way?