A beagle takes playing catch to a whole new level:
I took the girls out myself to the park today, which was jammed with picnickers, weekenders and stoners. Drum circle at one end, young Washingtonians sprawled out on the lawn at the other; some Latino soccer players kicking up dust in between; an occasional giant crown passing through from an Easter service; boyfriends balancing girlfriends in yoga poses; a rasta in a loin cloth; awkward prepsters swaying nervously; a child showing off her Easter gown; and the blossoms bursting out of the very branches:
I’m not sure that’s the typical scene many think of when they think of Washington. But on a day like today – a true high holiday – it was really good to be home.
We pulled out some 4/20 stops today – this video is a classic – but focused more on the Easter side of things. One simple account of Easter’s meaning today; one surpassing meditation on its power and vitality; and a George Herbert poem to say what prose cannot.
How to write: advice from Doris Lessing. How to pray: Rosary-learning from Carolyn Browender. How men react to being cruised the way they cruise women; and a hauntingly beautiful portrait of a mother and daughter.
The most trafficked posts of the weekend were Map Of The Day, on where Americans don’t live; and my takedown of a new and surreal book on the marriage equality movement.
As of today, we have 28,395 subscribers. Join them here. Update from one:
I have been reading the Dish since I followed a link to it from a National Review Online article by Jonah
Goldberg. (You guys still friends I wonder?) My memory is little foggy on the point, but I remember donating 20 bucks to your site in your very first attempt to monetize it, before you went over to The Atlantic. So when you said you were going to start charging a subscription to your site, I decided to wait and see if you were really going to go through with it. It soon become apparent that this was real deal, but then I somehow just never got around to it. Anywho, I paid $50 – one year plus arrears for the last year-and-a-half of foot-dragging.
I keep coming back to this site for a number of reasons. First and foremost, I do not have time to browse the Internet the way I used to, so I rely on you and your staff to connect me to interesting content. (Through you I discovered, for example, Coursera, where I’ve taken a half-dozen of their online courses). Secondly, I love your honest and nuanced engagement with the issues, which is expressed in a clear and accessible every man’s style of writing. Finally, I enjoy the eclecticism of your posts, as well as your amusing little pet obsessions. (Speaking of which, I have a burning question. Do you really – now be honest with me – get turned on by a “smoking hot beard” in the same way that I do by a nice set of tits? Don’t bother answering, I know the answer already and it cracks me up!)
I am attaching a view from the window of my office in Sassari, Italy (island of Sardinia), where I own and run a private language school. I would be honored if you used it for one of your contests or in your regular posts.
Happy Easter to you and your family!
Happy Easter to all our readers. And see you in the morning.
The Dish 