Listen until it hurts

John Waters wrote an article last week in which he expressed his admiration for Pope Benedict XVI. His enthusiasm was such that I was caused to stop and think about my assumed rejection of anything the current incumbent of the papacy might have to say. The article referred to Pope Benedict’s’ 2005 Encyclical letter, Deus Caritas Est. So I thought I’d better have a read and as advised by John Waters “listen until it hurts”.

Coffeehouse Conversations

While reading Respect by Richard Sennett I read the following which I think is a great idea and would love if some Coffee shop would try it out for an evening. Any takers?

“In the cafes and coffeehouses of eighteenth century Paris and London, for instance, strangers felt free to speak face to face.

Respect – Richard Sennett

I enjoyed this book. It’s subtitle – The formation of character in an age of inequality – I found really attractive when I first came across it in the library lists. It is interesting both for Sennetts own insights into the concept of respect and for the biographical details of his own life. My reading of this book produced six pages of notes, as in quotes, and no end of thought provocation, so it is difficult to pick just one or two to provide some illustration of the books message and content.