Daily Office: Wednesday
¶ Matins: Pushing back the age of evidence for social stratification, archaeologists have begun to study Ubaid cultural remains (prior to 4000 BCE) in northern Syria. (NYT)
¶ Lauds: In what might seem a rather desperate, latter-day argument, Rachel Campbell-Johnston makes an interesting appeal for bold religious patronage of the arts. (Times UK; via Arts Journal)
¶ Prime: Without coming out saying so (how disappointing), Tyler Cowen points out that the debate about financial regulation has to shift planes, from the discussion of particular policies to a reconsideration of regulatory agencies themselves, and how they are staffed. This is what needs to be changed first.
¶ Tierce: Laura Miller (somewhat predictably and for predictable reasons) likes her iPad. A good part of it seems to be “less is more.” (Salon; via Arts Journal)
¶ Sext: The hoot of the week, without question, is Anthony Lane’s review of Clash of the Titans, in The New Yorker. We can think of nothing in the writer’s highly entertaining oeuvre to compare with his assessment of actor Sam Worthington.
¶ Nones: George Friedman reconsiders the failed-state argument about Mexico, and makes an important point: although lots of money pours into Mexico via the trade in illegal drugs, the lately notorious violence is largely confined to the northern frontier of the nation, far from Mexico’s heartland. (RealClearWorld).
¶ Vespers: Adam Gallari makes an appealing case for Booker finalist Samantha Harvey’s The Wilderness. (The Millions)
¶ Compline: Amy Cunningham writes very thoughtfully about the wisdom of humility, as experienced by the Poor Clares and as understood in Zen Buddhism. (In Character; via The Morning News)