Blogging Around: The "All Sortsa Stuff" Edition

Loo
Anyone who has ever read a Georgette Heyer novel will be interested in reading the latest installment in State of Play's fascinating series on Colonial Gaming. The history is here (yes, George Washington did like to wager a bit on an evening of Loo) and the rules are here (I'd have to play this game to even come close to understanding those rules).

Fungus of the Heart
Oh what a way with a title Jeremy Shipp has. Don't you cringe just a little when reading the name of his upcoming short story collection? Now you can read what you were cringing about in Dust & Corruption's review. As a side note, our library doesn't have a single Shipp novel and, when I thought I'd let myself go by breaking my book fast at the nearest bookstore, I discovered that Borders' entire Dallas system has only two copies of one of his books. And at that not a title I'd ever heard of. Gee, and I wonder why they're having financial trouble.

If You're Not Catholic, Shut Up!

Never have so many non-Catholics said so much about what Catholic doctrine should be.

The last time I checked, the Vatican was not a county commissioner's board in South Dakota. But that's how everyone seems to be treating the Sex Summit in Rome this week. Lemme explain something here: 1. Popular opinion doesn't matter.

2. If you're not Catholic, shut up. It has nothing to do with you.

3. Ultimately only one vote counts.

A refreshing attitude and I thank Joe Bob for it. Read it all. Via The B-Movie Catechism.

Ten Reasons to Love the Pope
Proving that to support the Church is to be a radical, Heresy Corner (Confined by Lucifer to one of the lower circles of Hell, the Heresiarch nevertheless continues to campaign against all forms of orthodoxy) gives ten reasons to love the Pope. Some are farcical.

7. His name. Ratzinger, that is. One cannot get two excited by the ponderous appellation Benedict XVI, but Ratzinger is a name worthy of Ian Fleming at his most baroque, a name that fits perfectly his sallow complexion and slightly sinister lisp. I can almost hear Shirley Bassey. "Ratfinger, he's the man, the man with the cross of gold... and he's so old!"

Others more serious.

9. His moral courage. Not for Ratzinger the easy way out, telling people what they want to hear so as to gain cheap popularity. Instead he witnesses to the tradition that has been entrusted to him. If it offends members of other religions or other churches, feminists, the gay rights lobby or the Guardian that is no reason to tone down his message. He would be betraying not just his faith but his integrity if he trimmed to the times as some other religious leaders have done. Instead he stands firm. Unless there's a really big row, of course, as there was when he was rude about Islam. That same fearlessness now carries him to the geopolitcal epicentre of the culture of death. Tony Blair, by contrast, won't even turn up to his own book launch, so scared is he by the prospect of a few unfriendly placards.

All are a touch (or more) tongue-in-cheek and enjoyable all round. Via New Advent.

Roger Ebert is Still Cooking
He's got a zest for life that I find admirable. Having lost his jaw and tongue to cancer, unable to speak or eat, Roger Ebert's "mental palate" allows him to turn out fine viands anyway.

Annoyed by Someone? Consider This.

When I feel annoyed with politicians or celebrities, I consider this idea that God placed me here and now for a reason. He didn’t have me live under Emperor Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty, as I would have if I’d been born in China in 1377. I live in the tiny sliver of history along with Britney Spears and the entire case of The Hills, unlike people who lived in Sumeria in 5,000 B.C. or Easter Island in 350 A.D.

I’ve come to think of it like if you were to be trekking through rural Mongolia, and saw a figure approaching on the horizon. You get a little closer, thinking it must be a local goat herder, only to realize with astonishment that it’s your next door neighbor. Even if the guy did get on your nerves, you’d be awestruck at the unlikeliness of it. There would be something sacred about his presence that would override any petty annoyances.

Jen at Conversion Diary hits the nail on the head in something that I find particularly helpful to consider just at the moment (yes, I'm annoyed ... again!). There's more so go read it all.

But Mary would tell us, "what else are you going to do?"
Abigail's new baby is in NCIU and I've been reading (and praying) about the trials they all have been going through. What is inspiring in reading about this, is that underneath is a full Catholic view that was expressed beautifully in this post. I will stop here a second to say that my interpretation would be that God is using what nature provided rather than having created this problem deliberately. Either way, here's a bit.

Being a Catholic in the NICU means possession of an embarrassment of riches. We have the sacraments. We have a church family that prays for us. We have an understanding of the concept of redemptive suffering.

When I found out that my newborn needed emergency abdominal surgery, I immediately asked to have her baptized. If my baby girl had to undergo all of that suffering, I wanted it all to mean something. I wanted her incorporated into the mystical body of Christ. I wanted her hurt to save souls.