Saturday, June 20, 2009

Rare Diversions: A Blog Rooted in the Classical Liberal Arts and Two Other Blogs of Note

A rather interesting looking blog has been brought to my attention recently. The site is called Veritatis Praeco and includes such interesting written offerings as, The Aristotelian Character of the Mass.

The writers all write under pen-names, so while we do not know their identities, they do share with us the fact that they are college students.

These young writers present us with an interesting mixture of writing rooted in the classical liberal arts tradition, encompassing a variety of subjects, inclusive of the sacred liturgy. In addition to the article mentioned above, here is a sampling of some recent titles which will give you a sense of their focus:

The Crisis in the 21st Century – I. The Dissolution of the West

A Metaphysical Defense of the TLM

On Having a Good Library


The site is notable for its regular references to figures like Chesterton, Belloc, Aquinas, Aristotle and others -- which alone, in my estimation, makes it a site worth bookmarking and keeping one's eye on.

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While we are on the topic of blogs and sites that extend into the cultural tradition of the Western world, I am perhaps afforded an opportunity to highlight one or two other sites which I find of great interest and merit.

Keeping with the liturgical focus of the NLM does not necessarily afford many opportunities to promote them. Our readership often demands and desires this focus, which is understandable. However, today I wish to make an exception and share with you two other sites.

The first is Andrew Cusack's self-titled blog -- which we have featured here before. Andrew is a young Catholic American who hails from New York, studied at St. Andrew's in Scotland, and presently makes his residence in South Africa. Andrew's interests are literary, artistic, political and generally interested in the hieratic aspects of Western culture. It is a delight to read.

If you are interested in arts and culture, few other sites will bring you a range of topics such as Fox hunting in Montreal's Hunt Club, the architecture of libraries, private New York residences, French Canadian Minor Seminaries, Elizabeth II in Williamsburg, references to Hergé's illustrated Tintin series (which books I myself enjoyed reading in grade school), the Ligne claire style of illustration and much more.

It is worth reading regularly and worth a bookmark.

The second site which I wish to bring to your attention is the site of a Catholic artist, Timothy Jones, an American realist painter.

With regard to Tim himself, his cited interests include Catholicism, art, the art of brewing and cheese-making, Chesterton, Belloc, Tolkien and Lewis, pipe-smoking, outdoormanship and more. A wonderful range of interests.

His site brings to the fore many classically styled works of original art in the tradition of the still life most especially, but also portraiture and the landscape. These are original works of art which Tim paints and sells to support himself and his family. He is worthy of your support -- and indeed, the fine arts themselves in the form of original works are something we should support generally. Too often our minds are taken simply toward the mass-produced, and we fail to give sufficient consideration to the tradition of craftsmanship and original art generally that may not only be available, but also readily within financial reach.

To whet your appetite, here are a few samples of Tim's work.


"Persimmons and China Vase"


"Sunset/Emerald Lake Trail"


"GBD Topaz"


(Unknown)


It is worth noting that Tim also takes original commissions.

More recent articles:

For more articles, see the NLM archives: