Everything Old Is New Again: Reviewing This Tremendous Lover

This is one of the most practical, down to earth books I have ever read about living one's Catholic faith in everyday life. Written by M. Eugene Boylan, a Trappist Monk, around 1945, "This Tremendous Lover" is actually a more timeless book than one might think. Human nature does not change from age to age and 1945 is not actually that long ago. Boylan clearly had practical experience in helping people look past their hectic lives in a culture often at odds with God. His insightful, accessible book gives straight forward advice on how to proceed toward holiness.

It is probably no surprise that Boylan always comes back to a few key points: knowing Jesus Christ in a personal relationship, turning away from pride, and embracing humility. He discusses seeking Christ through prayer, reading, in the sacraments, in conversation, and through our neighbor. He delves deeply into what it means to be a member of the body of Christ.

Because of its age, this book does have a few outdated assumptions that surface occasionally. For example, Boylan assumes that he must convince the ordinary person that their vocation is just as valid for seeking a deep experience with God as that of a priest or religious. That concept is one that we are all familiar with today, post-Vatican II, but at the time of original publication the point would have been very valid.

In the chapter about marriage and holiness, Boylan points out that the intimacies of married life are holy. Again, this is something that is nowadays taken to be a given and so might seem quaint as a reassurance. However, and this is an important point, even when the original assumption might seem old fashioned, Boylan's underlying theory remains sound. If one agrees to set aside prejudice against an attitude that might not agree with the way everyone thinks today, then the reader will discover a wealth of truth lying just beneath the surface for the taking. In continuing his discussion of married intimacies, Boylan says:

Let us once and for all get rid too of the notion, so harmful to the spiritual life, so heretical in its origin, and so widespread today, that there is anything intrinsically wrong in pleasure as such. God forbid! God made pleasure; man made pain. god share the pleasure of His creatures. All pleasure that is not inordinate, no matter how intense it is, can be offered to God. What is lawfully done to one's neighbor or to one's self is done to Christ. ... It is only when pleasure becomes inordinate—that is contrary to the will of God—that it is wrong. And no one can live without some pleasure, just as no one can live without some food and some rest.

Love demands expression, and love is nourished by expression, and that is true even of the most spiritual love. And the love of a man for his wife is a unique love and demands a unique expression, and God has provided an unique expression for it and has attached intense pleasure to it. And God has gone further still. For He has arranged that by that very act of expressing their love for one another, husband and wife become partners with Him in the work of producing a new creature. ...

This is the solid advice of a good theologian and a practical man. Surely this would have been very reassuring to those who read it when it was originally published. Just as certainly, in modern times it is beautiful to read such an outright declaration of the purpose of marital love and fidelity.

Time after time, Boylan gives practical advice that is elevated by a desire for his readers to find a deeper union with Christ. It is a challenge for any of us to fully live our lives seeking to follow in Christ's footsteps and learning to love him. With M. Eugene Boylan's help, we have a much better chance of finding the way with fewer missteps. Highest recommendation.

I received this book from Aquinas and More Catholic Bookstore.

What's Goin' On: He Looks Like ... Someone Loves Him.

Hannah finally bit the bullet, upon seeing how well the foundling and her darling Zapp got along. She is adopting the-dog-formerly-known-as-Garrett and changing his name to Kif.

She bought him a reddish leather collar that coordinates nicely with his spots. It is funny the difference that putting the collar on Kif made. Suddenly he went from being homeless to looking like ... someone loves him.

Kif was neutered yesterday, the truly official sign at the vet that he has an owner.

Hannah said that when he was anesthetized, they x-rayed him. They found about 20 shotgun pellets embedded in one side. Poor guy. No wonder he doesn't like it when I toss him a treat. I can only imagine what abuse he has suffered. No wonder he completely melts when Hannah is around. She opened a world that Kif may not have even known existed ... that a human could love him.

Praying for Those Forgotten Souls in Purgatory ... No Matter Who They Are

I remember when Rose, a few years ago, suddenly had the realization in Mass (maybe during one of the Holy Week masses?) that Hitler and Stalin might have had sudden last minute realizations of the enormity of their sins ... and repented.

She was gripped with sorrow in case of that event and began praying for their souls.

This was a powerful moment for me because I'd always had a tender spot for those holy souls in Purgatory who had no one to pray for them. However, I'd always thought of them as someone much like the little match girl in Hans Christian Andersen's story. Huddled in a corner, everyone they knew was gone, and no one left to pray for them.

It hadn't occurred to me that those forgotten souls might be forgotten because it never would have occurred to anyone that someone so evil in life might have repented and now be in need of prayers while in Purgatory.

It dovetailed nicely though with one of my favorite images from Madeleine L'Engles meditations in one of her books (and I can't remember which one right now, but aren't we glad I wrote it down to remember?).

... There is an old legend that after his death Judas found himself at the bottom of a deep and slimy pit. For thousands of years he wept his repentance, and when the tears were finally spent he looked up and saw, way, way up, a tiny glimmer of light. After he had contemplated it for another thousand years or so, he began to try to climb up towards it. The walls of the pit were dank and slimy, and he kept slipping back down. Finally, after great effort, he neared the top, and then he slipped and fell all the way back down. It took him many years to recover, all the time weeping bitter tears of grief and repentance, and then he started to climb up again. After many more falls and efforts and failures he reached the top and dragged himself into an upper room with twelve people seated around a table. "We've been waiting for you, Judas," Jesus said. "We couldn't begin till you came."

Why do I bring all this up?

It came inexorably to mind when Frank at Why I Am Catholic began considering the fact that Vlad the Impaler was Catholic. You know him, right? Vlad Dracul III? Dracula? The real one.

As always Frank's cogitations are good ones. Go read. Think. And don't forget to pray for those forgotten souls. Whoever they are.

What We Can Learn From 120 Years of Climate Catastrophe Reporting

The media falls in love with catastrophic predictions, and is consistently 10-15 years behind(!) in reporting on what the global temperature is actually doing.

Via Steven Riddle who links to lots and lots of good things every day.

Mark Shea, Mary, and the Eastern Orthodox Church

I have been very remiss in not writing a review of Mark Shea's three wonderful books about Mary (and I say this as someone who does not have a specific devotion to Mary). I paid for them with my own money, loved and marked them up, and then was too busy to do a proper review.

For today's Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Mark puts a substantial excerpt out there about how the Eastern Church views Mary's Immaculate Conception. Do go read it. If you like it, I can guarantee you are going to like the books he wrote. Here's a bit to get you started.

That said, the question still remains: If the Immaculate Conception is truly apostolic teaching, then why do the Eastern Orthodox Churches reject it? After all, those Churches trace their lineage to apostolic times just as the Catholic Church does. To answer that, we have to understand why the Roman Church developed her doctrine in the way she did and why the East did not take the same path.

Some people have the notion the Eastern Orthodox Churches reject the Immaculate Conception because a few early Eastern Fathers (Origen, Basil, and John Chrysostom) expressed a couple of doubts about Mary's sinlessness. Origen thought that, during Christ's Passion, the sword that pierced Mary's soul was disbelief. Basil had the same notion. And John Chrysostom thought her guilty of ambition and pushiness in Matthew 12:46 (an incident we have already examined).

But the remarkable thing about these opinions is how isolated they turn out to be. Essentially, they demonstrate (once again) something about the development of doctrine that we've already seen in connection with the Trinity: The Catholic Church is not a monolith and her people, even very good people, sometimes voice in good faith ideas that end up departing from the orthodox norm. For the reality is that, apart from these three, the overwhelming consensus of the Fathers in both east and west is that Mary is "most pure," “formed without any stain,” "all-Holy," “undefiled,” "spotless," "immaculate of the immaculate," “inviolate and free from every stain of sin,” and created in a condition more sublime and glorious than all other natures.

In which Noah and family leave the ark and God promises rainbows.

Yes, I finally get a chance to finish the next episode of Forgotten Classics and end that cliffhanger with Noah and his family bobbing about on the ocean. Get it while it's hot!

Oh, I See ... Why I Am Catholic Ain't Good Enuff for Zombies, Eh?

Webster Bull bowed out of writing for Why I Am Catholic and I, for one, have missed him there. Not that the rest of the gang ain't writin' great pieces which I read all the time. But I still miss him.

Now it turns out that Webster's out there writing on the sly at a place I can't even spell, much less pronounce. He's turned his thoughts to zombies (did he think no one would tell me this? c'mon, we're talkin' zombies!), our lives, our souls, and why Catholics might care.

Second, we propose a different view of death in life and life in death than that proposed by zombie flicks. There may be a ring of hell reserved for zombies, creatures who can’t talk and don't think, whose only motive is the consumption of flesh. But no, actually I don't think zombies even exist in the Catholic view of the cosmos.

As is the case with vampires, Frankenstein's monster, et al. Despite that little bit of serious consideration of the monsters themselves, Webster's article is focused on higher things and makes good points about how we live lives of faith.

I, myself, am not so interested in the zombies themselves, per se, but in the nature of the apocalypse and what people do with it. Which is what gives us such gems as Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland, The Reapers Are the Angels, and World War Z. (As I mentioned yesterday, I don't really tend to agree with that article.)

(Many thanks to my spy, whose name begins with "F" and ends with "rank.")

Don't Forget: Tomorrow is a Holy Day of Obligation

For the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

I believe we'll be at the 8 a.m. Mass ...

In which we discover more than anyone ever wanted to know about Velveeta. Except me. I wanted to know.

A little something extra from Forgotten Classics.

Not That I Might Talk About Zombies Too Much ...

... but I had more than one person sending me a link to this New York Times story, My Zombie, Myself: Why Modern Life Feels Rather Undead.

For the record, though I think the writer is off base. George Romero's zombie movies were about capitalism and discrimination ... in a casual kind of way. 28 Days Later was looking at abuse of power ... kind of ... what with the military guys and the airplane later (though I don't want to say too much in case you haven't seen it and are planning on doing so). The zombies are merely the newest "toy" in the threats and are being explored in various ways.

Most apocalypse stories have something else at the core than the anxiety over everyday life. Otherwise, why not pick up on The Stand by Stephen King? Those characters fretted over everyday life enough that one of them even subconsciously got anxious over April 15, even though the need for paying taxes was long gone.

Not that I'm opinionated or anything.

We Can't Never Get Enuff o' Turkey Bone Gumbo

Made the broth using the turkey bones and skin on Thanksgiving weekend. Froze it along with enough turkey to make it.

Thawed the whole buncha it out and made Turkey Bone Gumbo yesterday.

Yes, you've heard about it before, but it's good enough to take another look. Once again, my thanks to Sara Roahen for graciously taking the initiative to send me that recipe. I love it so much that I'll make a turkey just to have the gumbo later.

Though I'm considering saving up roasted chicken carcasses during the year so we can have some Chicken Bone Gumbo.

Madeleine L'Engle, Eve, and Advent

I hadn't seen this poem before (note to self, MUST pick up Magnificat from Church office!).

The Anchoress has featured it, coupled with a gorgeous piece of art by a nun. Don't miss it.

And the Winner of the Serenity Prayer Mug is ....

[drumroll]


Deb!

I numbered the names and then asked a coworker (who cares little about Catholics, blogs, or the Serenity prayer) to pick a number in that range.

He chose Deb's number and I am delighted because she's a wonderful friend of mine who deserves to win a Serenity mug.

(Of course, I feel that every person who entered deserved to win one ... I love you all.)

I'll be featuring a different quote from the giveaway every day.

Many thanks again for this giveaway to The Catholic Company where we can all go to buy our very own Serenity prayer mugs or other gifts.

Top Ten Fictional Characters I'd Want for a Bestie

This idea, encountered at Linus's Blanket, intrigued me. I was surprised at just how many fictional characters sprang to the top of my mind. I suppose that is because for a main character to be really successful, at least in most books, they must be easy to relate to on at least some level. For books that you love, I suspect the main characters are those who you love as well. Here are some of those for me.

1. Laura from The Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
   Was it just me or did everyone else also feel that Laura was expressing so much of what they themselves felt? I think we'd understand each other.
   
2. Abbess Catherine from In This House of Brede.
   Again, I related to her. Plus I liked the very practical approach she took to balancing problem solving and spiritual matters, as well as the way she threw herself at the Lord's feet when overwhelmed. Which I only wish I could do as well as she.
   
3. Odd Thomas from Dean Koontz's series.
   Odd is endearing and a heckuva fry cook. Though I don't really want to hear the details about his eerie adventures. I'd like to hang out with him inbetween. (Yes, I just want the cozy, nice side of those stories in my own life.)
   
4. Jane Eyre
   She's smart, interesting, and diplomatic when being honest. And we could argue (politely) about why she admires that cousin of hers so much.
   
5. The Grand Sophy
   A take charge kind of gal in the best of the books that began the Regency romance genre, Sophy not only is clear sighted and honest, but she'd do anything for a pal. You might be annoyed by her but you'd also probably be amused at the same time. And she's got a kind heart.
   
6. Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings
   Who wouldn't want Gandalf for a best friend? That relationship he has with Frodo is one anyone would want, a combination friend and mentor who helps you be your best.
   
7. Miss Marple from the Agatha Christie mysteries
   She's a hoot! And a sweetie too. I never could relate to Hercule Poirot or Hastings, but Miss Marple ... I wanted to live in her little village and have tea while we both knit together, exchanging knowing glances over why the Generals' second maid was late again to the dentist. (Or something like that.)
   
8. Aibileen from The Help
   A strong woman who can look past people's exteriors to give them a chance. Looking at her friendship with Minny, her mothering of the children in her care even while she knew from sad experience how they'd probably treat her when they were older, and her downright smarts, anyone would be proud to have a friend like her. As would I.
   
9. Harry Dresden from the Jim Butcher series
   Yes, he'd probably drive me crazy because he's such a smart aleck. But that's what'd keep me laughing at the same time. And until my car was torn to shred by monsters when he borrowed it for an emergency, I think we could have a lot of fun hanging out. He'd be an expensive friend, but definitely a lot of fun.
   
10. Ian Malcolm from Jurassic Park
    Because I go for quirky oddballs who happen to also be brilliant. At least when they're in a book I seem to go for them. He's the only guy in this book who has a handle on the big picture of what is going on. And I'd purely love to be pals with this guy.

A Song About Maccabees ... by the Maccabeats. Yes, You Heard That Right.

Can I just say this isn't a lame church song either?

Seriously.

It's about one (make that two) of my favorite books of the Old Testament. (Like the Wild West but with the Maccabee brothers and Hebrew people instead of cowboys.)

I dare you to only watch it once.

Double dog dare you.



See?

Can't be done. Go ahead. Watch it again.

(Thanks to Rose for this one. She knows her Mama well!)

Don't forget about the Serenity Mug giveaway!

Running through Friday.


Read all about it here.

P.S. Is it wrong to admit that when The Catholic Company came to me with this giveaway idea and had the link to look at the mug, I really was expecting to see something like this?

Oh, not that Serenity.

The Serenity Prayer ... right. Of course.

Not that I have a one track mind or anything!

What's Goin' On: The Foundling and Other Dog-ish Things

Having a kind-hearted daughter working at a vet clinic ... one who takes in Hard Luck Hounds for adoption ... can make for interesting household members sometimes.

You may recall that first it was Zapp, who Hannah adopted. He had never been around people but was generally unafraid. However, he'd obviously had bad experiences with other dogs as he would try to tear the faces off of any dogs he encountered. Luckily Zoe and Wash (our Boxers, for any of the uninitiated) were amazingly tolerant of this behavior.

Now, we have Garrett staying with us. He is not going to be adopted by anyone here but was in such obvious need of socialization that Hannah brought him home to give him a chance to be able to make it in the household that does eventually adopt him.

He is a mix, but the clearly dominant breed looks similar to American Staffordshire Terrier. He's a very gentle dog who knows his place in the pack (at the bottom). He loves Hannah but is extremely cautious with anyone else. Extremely.

He's also obviously super smart. He taught himself to use the dog door in one day. One. Day.

He's looking for a real home someday, with a patient owner who will receive lots and lots of love once he lets himself trust them.

Here is Garrett, standing next to Wash who is practicing his majestic stance.

All dog or part mountain goat?

Garrett loves the wall, to the point of sitting or lying on it whenever he's "on patrol."

Can't you feel the love?

Only Hannah gets those melting looks.

It's pretty clear that Garrett was abused before he was rescued. He's really shy around anyone else. Even nice ladies holding out pieces of cheese or turkey. (I don't take it personally though. Usually.)

I just love those ears that stand straight up, except at the tips.

He's still rather underweight but is a really handsome fellow, which might be kind of hard to see here.

The Other Pack Members

 Zapp Brannigan.

Yes, we're really all about pop culture around here.

He's Hannah's baby. A foundling when he entered our household, he was completely unsocialized. Now he loves everyone and that includes Wash and Zoe. He's part of the pack.

 Here is the "pack" in a favorite activity.

What? You've never played tug-o-war with a stick?

It's super-fun, y'all. As you can see.

Here we see Zapp in guerrilla warfare mode.

The wire is Tom's attempt to keep the dogs out of the mud and to give the grass a chance to fill in where it was destroyed by double Boxer playing tactics.

We'd have had a few more Boxer photos but Hannah took all of these. So we are grateful for what we receive. 

The Better to See The Pope With: Reviewing Light of the World

... We are sinners. But we should not take the failure to live up to this high moral standard as an authoritative objection to the truth. We should try to do as much good as we can and to support and put up with each other. ...

I remember reading Salt of the Earth, Seewald's first book of interviews with the Pope when he was Cardinal Ratzinger. At the time I was impressed by the straight forward honesty, clear sight, and mixture of common sense with intellectualism that characterized Cardinal Ratzinger. This is in spite of the fact that I am not fond of reading about question and answer questions or interviews in general. Because of that previous good experience, I jumped at a chance to read a review copy of Seewald's latest interview with Pope Benedict, Light of the World, although I really wasn't sure what sort of topics might be covered.

As most people know by now, Light of the World covers questions about modern times including, but not limited to, the sex scandals, relativism, the Church and Islam, ecumenism, global warming, contraception, AIDS, women priests, homosexuality, and relativism. In other words, if there has been bad press about it lately, Seewald asked about it.

The Holy Father gives honest and candid answers. If any reader ever wanted to ask the Pope questions ripped from the headlines, then this is just the book for them. More than anything I was impressed with the Pope's realism. He answered in a way that let us know he is completely aware of what people think about various issues for the most part. As he continually pointed out, he does not exist in a vacuum, and has meetings every day with people from around the world.

I was also impressed with Pope Benedict's thoroughness and balance when discussing issues. When faced with questions about negatives  he would usually end by gently reminding Seewald that there is much good about the Church that is not taken into consideration for just one topic. Conversely, when Seewald was praising the Church highly, the Pope rarely failed to point out others who deserved much credit or that the Church could do with improvement in various areas. All round, we see a well-balanced, thoughtful man who is thoroughly down to earth.

... Pastoral care, for its part, has to seek ways of staying close to individuals and of helping them, even in, shall we say, their irregular situation, to believe in Christ as the Savior, to believe in his goodness, because he is always there for them, even though they cannot receive communion. And of helping them to remain in the Church, even though their situation is canonically irregular. Pastoral care has to help them accept that, yes, I  do not live up to what I should as a Christian, but I do not cease to be a Christian, to be loved by Christ, and the more I remain in the Church, the more I am sustained by him.

Unfortunately, I was fairly disinterested in the topics which comprised the first two-thirds of the book. Perhaps this is because I have read enough of John Allen's commentary, GetReligion's analysis of bad news reporting, and Sandro Magister's reporting/analysis that I was not seeing much new information, other than to round out my impressions of Pope Benedict. Although the Pope's insights were interesting to a degree, once one absorbs a few key outlooks, then one sees them repeated for different topics. This is as it should be, of course, as we don't want someone who is capricious in attitude.

However, I was much more taken with the last third of the book which dealt with more general questions of life and faith. Again, this is simply where my interests lie. When the issues were raised about more general everyday issues like contraception, marriage after divorce, and whether the Pope believes what he believed as a child then I was captivated by the Pope's humanity, warmth, and honesty. Also, I was impressed that sometimes he simply admitted he didn't have an answer for a problem. Too, I admired him for saying that he knew he didn't have the capacity to be Pope. That he had to let Jesus lead him because God was the only one who could fill such an overwhelming role. These were all qualities seen in the first part of the book as well, but it was here that they struck me with the most force.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in seeing more of the Pope's nature, of hearing his direct answers to the tough questions of modern times, and for his thoughts on how to handle everyday issues. There were many answers that I mentally marked, thinking that those were approaches which I would try to reflect when asked questions about the Church. The things that I didn't warm to were only reflections of my own interests and not of the openness and excellence of this book ... which I recommend unreservedly.

So there are by nature many issues in which, so to speak, morality suits modernity. The modern world, after all, is not built solely out of the negative. If that were the case, it could not exist for long. It bears within itself great moral values, which also come precisely from Christianity, which through Christianity first emerged as values in the consciousness of mankind. Where they are supported—and they must be supported by the Pope—there is agreement in broad areas. We are happy about that. But that cannot blind us to the fact that there are other issues that cause controversy.

Just How Many Degrees of Separation is That?

Chortling. That's what we did when we saw this last night.

Christmas is a Time for Second Chances: Reviewing The Boys Upstairs by Jane Lebak

"Yeah, you've certainly changed." Kevin shoved aside his empty plate. "I remember when you would have been the kid bringing the knife into the church."

"Would you rather I spent the rest of my life in jail?"

"That's not what I would have rather had at all, and you know it."

Jay opened his hands. "You don't get it both ways. The thing that saved my conscience was the same thing that saved my soul."

Kevin shook his head.

"Please don't start this again," Jay said. "You know I can't stand it."

"I've told you I accept you the way that you are."

"You say that as though I have a disease." Jay looked at his lap. "I love you from the bottom of my heart, and I pray for you every day. I want nothing but good for you—and in return, you'll tolerate me. Like I'm an aged flatulent uncle you visit once a week for the sake of your long-dead grandmother."

Jay Farrell is a priest with overwhelming responsibilities and very few resources. He houses homeless boys in his rectory, runs a soup kitchen, and ministers to an inner-city parish. He is no stranger to overcoming big odds, but one of the most troubling obstacles is in his personal life.

Jay's brother, Kevin, is a cop who has seen so much evil that he's stopped believing in God and hasn't spoken to Jay for a long time. When Kevin stops by Jay's rectory to drop off three more needy children, it puts them in contact on a continuing basis as they must work together to help provide food and clothing for the newcomers.

Those are far from being the only problems which need solving. Nick's anger at the parents who abandoned him makes him lash out in anger at the other homeless boys. Holly is barely getting by on her waitress salary and has given up on ever finding love. The three children who are dropped off with Father Jay are trying to find a way to stay together instead of being split up into separate foster homes.

Although these are not the sorts of situations that I would normally choose to read about, I found myself being drawn into this novella through the characters' motivations and back stories. In uncovering what happened to Jay in Iraq, watching Holly's defense of a fellow waitress, watching for changes in Nick that would echo those we are told took place in another boy, and in wondering what is haunting Kevin about a simple memory of a lit front porch, I was pulled into a world with characters I wanted to know better.

Since this is ultimately a book about free will, second chances, and faith, I was quite interested in Lebak's handling of touchy conversations that echoed the sorts of situations we might face in real life. A confrontation with a family who uses God to dodge out of paying a bill and Kevin and Jay's struggles were absorbing without seeming preachy or out of place.

I also liked very much the honesty the priest shows with the children when they ask about his past. It is not only what they need to evaluate their situation and the choices they contemplate, but also an insight into the priest's ability to work with the children that have found their way into his care. Lebak made a gutsy choice in showing this good man taking care of these homeless kids. Many would think of  the recent sex scandals and choose a different plot. Seeing Jay caring for these children is a reminder that most priests are good men who want nothing more than to honorably minister to those in their care.

I enjoyed Lebak's previous novel, Seven Archangels: Annihilation, but I found that her writing style in this work flowed much more naturally. I especially liked the fact that she didn't tell us everything about what each character was thinking which left some areas open for further reflection, such as the very brief comments that Kevin receives which become a turning point in his thinking.

The downside is that this is only novella length, about 100 pages. It is crammed with plot points that have to be resolved in a fairly short time. Sometimes this resulted in important ideas being hashed out in a couple of pages of pointed conversation which would have been more naturally conveyed if the author had had the luxury of more pages to spread things out in. Also, there are some characters that it would have been nice to have more background on. For example, Mrs. D. is someone who I would have liked to know more about than we were told, especially given the important resolution she helps with at one point in the book. I realize these criticisms seem like a direct contradiction to my appreciation for the openness I praised in the previous paragraph but these are not moments of subtlety but of skimming over details for lack of space.

I definitely recommend this novella.  I would really like it if Jane Lebak wrote another book about these characters but took more time to ... breathe ... while doing so. I enjoyed what she wrote but want more of it. I could see this novella being the launching pad for a book or two along the lines of Jan Karon's Father Tim books but without the treacly sweetness and with more Catholic down-to-earth hardheadedness. C'mon Jane. Give us more!

The book comes out tomorrow, December 3. Go get it and get a discount until December 10 from the publisher.

"Get 25% off any purchase from today until December 10th.
Use code: HC2010D at checkout in the discount code box before going to Paypal."

That makes it $3.38 Canadian.

Advent Giveaway - Serenity Prayer Mug

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.

Amen.

Reinhold Niebuhr

I think we can safely say that The Serenity Prayer is one we can all relate to. It seems to me especially appropriate for Advent when we look forward to the birth of our savior as well as his second coming. Trying to balance the preparations of the season with an attitude of patience and reflection is no easy thing.

With all that in mind, I was definitely interested when The Catholic Company very kindly offered a Serenity Prayer mug giveaway for y'all!

Here's all you have to do ... make a comment in the comments box. If you want to include a favorite quote that you'd like to see posted for all to enjoy, I'd be very happy to take it, even if I've used it many a time before. But I don't want to exclude people who don't think that way, so a comment alone will suffice.

You must include a valid email and live in the continental United States or Canada.

I'll run this through Sunday, with the winner announced on Monday ... who will be chosen at random, from a hat by Tom or Hannah (whoever is nearest at the time).

Of course, if you'd like to see what else The Catholic Company has in the way of Serenity Prayer gifts like plaques, votive holders, etc., then just go take a look. They've got you covered in that area for sure!

UPDATE
Shipping will be to the continental United States or Canada. (I fixed it in the post above, but for those who are coming back and don't read the revision, I wanted it to be clear.)

Advent 2010

I am not sure that Advent is the forgotten liturgical season around the Catholic blogosphere, however, Marcel LeJeune at Aggie Catholics has a point when he says we have forgotten how to celebrate.

He has a good reflection on the season along with suggestions for celebration ... as well as a crackerjack list of links to other places where you can find information.

Fifteen Novels in Fifteen Minutes

I was tagged for this on Facebook (which I actually remembered to visit today), but it is too good to just leave there. Influenced is harder than "liked" ... but here we go ...

The Rules: Don't take too long to think about it. List, in no particular order) fifteen authors (poets included) who've influenced you and that will always stick with you. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes.

1. Rumer Godden
2. Agatha Christie (nonfiction)
3. Harriett Beecher Stowe
4. Robert Alter (his OT translations)
   
5. Flannery O'Conner (The Habit of Being)
6. Dean Koontz
7. CS Lewis
8. Shirley Jackson
9. Samuel Shellabarger
10. Fulton Sheen
11. Francis Fernandez (author of the In Conversation with God series)
    
12. Nathaniel Hawthorne
13. Robert R. Chase
14. Charlotte Bronte
15. M.F.K. Fisher

You're supposed to tag fifteen people but I decline that part. Not that I wouldn't like to see what Jeff Miller, Stephen Riddle, Will Duquette, and Maureen (Aliens in this World) would pick. I'm just sayin' ...

From the InBox: CyberMonday Sale for Gryphon Rampant

As you may know I offer prints of my art through a third party vendor. I wanted to let you know that everything at our Print Gallery is on sale until midnight Monday, November 29. Now is a great time to shop for Christmas at 30% off. You choose the size, paper, mat and frame all at a great savings. This is the largest sale my print vendor offers, take advantage of it while you can.

Use discount code: CYBERDEAL

Check out both galleries:
The Art of Faith
The Communion of Saints

And don't forget our poster clearance sale.

I'm Very, Very, Very, Very Busy

Cooking.

The menu? Same as every Thanksgiving and you can read about it at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

And also I'm braving airport traffic to pick up Rose this morning. She was up soooooo early in order to catch the L (or whatever it is) to O'Hare, in plenty of time for the lines, full body scans and whatever other assorted trials await her.

So I'm outta here to have a round of real, hands-on life!

For which I am very, very, very, very thankful.

While we're counting what I'm thankful for ... and there is so very much, beginning with God's revelation to me that He is indeed a real person who cares about me, personally ... know that I am very thankful for the community of friends I'd never have met without the dear ol' interwebs. That is to say, you! :-)

I'll be back after Thanksgiving (possibly before, but we will let that be a delightful surprise should it occur).

But What Does the Pope Really Think?

I have just been reading David Scott's review of Light of the World, which is the first one I've seen from someone I trust (David wrote my favorite book about Mother Teresa and recently was named editor in chief for CNA and EWTN News).

We all know that the Pope answers the hard questions about faith in a thoughtful manner that provokes us to think more deeply ourselves. That much I already knew from Jesus of Nazareth and reading another Seewald/Ratzinger collaboration Salt of the Earth. I expect to be enlightened and challenged.

What I did not expect was the surprisingly endearing confession that the Pope is glad he's in good health because he hates exercise. (hey, me too!) Or that he turns to the saints often, “I am friends with Augustine, with Bonaventure, with Thomas Aquinas.” (hey, that's what I say!)

In other words, we get to see the human man that goes with the heart and intellect we know.

A great review that does a lot to give an overview which makes me impatient to get that book in my hands. Go read it.

Book Giveaway: Light of the World

You've been hearing about one small aspect of the new book of questions and answers between Pete Seewald and Pope Benedict.

There is a contest on Facebook to win free copies.

Don’t miss your chance to get a free copy of the Pope’s groundbreaking new book!

Never has a pope, in a book-length interview, dealt so directly with such wide-ranging and controversial issues as Pope Benedict XVI does in “Light of the World.” Taken from a week-long series of interviews with veteran journalist Peter Seewald, this history-making book tackles head-on some of the greatest issues facing the world of our time. Benedict XVI is candid about the problems and the solutions.

They’ll be giving away 3 copies a day beginning November 23, 2010 and it will run until 11:59 pm on December 3, 2010.

Now Here's a Movie I'm Interested In Seeing

Daniel Craig in Western gear. Mmmmm, mmmm, mighty fine. Just in case you haven't seen the trailer or heard of it, I will just let it unfold without mentioning the name.



I have no idea what this will be like but I loved Eifelheim and this may work just as well albeit in a different medium.

The Pope, Condom Comments, Etc.

I will be getting my copy of the new book which has had excerpts picked to make it sound as if Pope Benedict is approving of condom use. I would have to read this for myself in context before I could comment.

My favorite comment and the one that resonates with me is this from Jen at Riparians at the Gate:

What I see in the holy father’s newly-famous comment is this:  There’s the prodigal son, and he’s starting to look around at the pods the pigs are eating, and wonder if there isn’t a better way.

Is he back in his father’s arms yet?  No.  But his father is standing on that hill looking out already, cheering on every tiny little thing that is one baby step on the path to reconciliation.

The holy father is not speaking about some hypothetical archetype of man.  He’s got the internet in an uproar because he’s peering in at the details of a real life, of a real person living today in our world.  Salvation works itself out in ordinary life.  For a man mired in male prostitution, this might be what that first awakening looks like.

However, there are lots of pages from people who I trust with many links which you may care to peruse.

• Aliens in This World
• The Anchoress: Part I and Part II
• Get Religion
  

When Blog Meets Go Wrong: "You'll probably need this. Aim carefully. That's all the ammo you have."

Theocoid recounts our get together last week and shows that he has a talent for more than code and theological blogging. I can't resist putting it all here ... he really should be writing novels.

We missed our initial meeting as my flight out of Boise left almost two hours late. However, we rescheduled for the evening just before I left. Julie sent me directions to an out-of-the-way eatery deep in the heart of Dallas, with the instruction that I to make sure no one followed. "Oh yes," she added, "have a newspaper under your left arm, and wear an Aggies ballcap so we can recognize you."

After a long week of work, I was feeling a little punchy anyway, so cruising the back streets of Dallas did little to improve my spirits. I found the diner, an odd little Tex-Mex joint with a broken neon sign that blinked "Jo s ats." I entered and was seated at a booth in a corner. I ordered a beer and waited a good 20 minutes before I noticed that written on the coaster in ink were the words, "Flip over." On the backside, was a note: "Go out the back, and we'll pick you up in the alley."

I finished my beer and made my way to the rear exit. As I did, a set of headlights flicked on, a Buick sedan glided up, and a door opened. "Get in."

I looked up and down the alley, then ducked in just, my foot just barely leaving the pavement before the vehicle pulled off.

"Did anyone see you leave?"

"No," I said, "Hey, what's this all about?"

"Too much to explain right now. Are you packing any heat?"

"No, unless you're talking about the Icy Hot I use for my strained back."

"You're a smart guy. Smart guys don't live long in this neck of the woods."

Tom drove. I noticed that the panel under the steering column had been ripped out, and some wires were spliced together haphazardly. Julie handed back something heavy and cold.

"You'll probably need this. Aim carefully. That's all the ammo you have."

"So what's up? I thought we were just getting together for a nice meal and some chat."

"Yeah, well, that was until we got this new job, you see? It was supposed to be simple... a little marketing piece with some product listings, four colors, a slam dunk in InDesign. And then, the scope creep. A tweak to the margins here, an extra column to a table there, and now we're looking at a 2500-page monstrosity with nested tables, custom layouts on every page, and a ransom-letter type style. I snapped. There's no going back."

I laughed, I cried, I wished my life was really this exciting.

Have You Read This? Well, HAVE YOU?

From Theocoid ...  here we go.

P.S. About half of these are NOT really classics but just popular modern books. Give me a list of 100 that have already stood the test of time and I'll be much more interested. Mitch Albom? Really?

UPDATE: Melanie Bettanelli commented on the Facebook version of this that she had actually seen it loosely linked originally with a list from the Guardian when she did a vain attempt to track it back to the BBC. Either way, it is still rather a fun list to look at.

Have you read more than 6 of these books? The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here...

Instructions: Copy this into your NOTES. Bold those books you've read in their entirety, underline the ones you started but didn't finish or read an excerpt. Tag other book nerds. Tag me as well so I can see your responses!

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling

5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6 The Bible

7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell

  9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman

10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (but I"m working on it)

15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk

18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell

22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald

24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy

25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy          

32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens

33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis

34 Emma -Jane Austen

35 Persuasion - Jane Austen

36 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - CS Lewis

37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres

39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

40 Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell

42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving

45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery

47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy

48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood

49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding

50 Atonement - Ian McEwan     

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel       

52 Dune - Frank Herbert             

53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons

54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen

55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth

56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt

64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac

67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy     

68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding

69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie

70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

72 Dracula - Bram Stoker

73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson (This is NOT a classic and is mean spirited enough to make it never become one in my book ... stick to his history-ish books, not the travel guides)

75 Ulysses - James Joyce         

76 The Inferno - Dante

77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome

78 Germinal - Emile Zola

79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray

80 Possession - AS Byatt

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker

84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

87 Charlotte’s Web - E.B. White

88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom

89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks

94 Watership Down - Richard Adams

95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas

98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare  

99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl

100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

UPDATE
Dr. Boli (from whom I am honored to have received a comment) shows us a different way.

The fundamental flaw of the list is that there seems to be no way to construe the word "classic" so that it includes Dan Brown. However, we may find another use for the list. Copy it again, and this time bold all the titles that nothing short of a substantial payment, cash on the barrel, would ever induce you to read. Give reasons.

Opt-Out Day ... Play Russian Roulette on Your Own Time Please UPDATED

Sorry, I have had this rant building for some time ... and here it comes ...

I have been reading more and more incredulously the protests about full body scans at airports, the tantrums thrown by people who then tape them to show everyone, and now comes "Opt-Out Day" ... which just seems like another way for a great many immature people to force their childish protests on the rest of the flying public.

For those who don't already know what this is about, this column from Eric Felten at the Wall Street Journal makes it clear.

In fact, it is his column that was the last straw for me.
 
Everyone is blaming the government.

What about blaming the terrorists?

They are the ones who are trying to kill you. By blowing up your plane.

They would be thrilled to kill my daughter when she flies home for the holidays.

They'd love to kill my sister, and my brother-in-law and sister-in-law who are frequent fliers.

We are at war. What I see is a lot of people who would have argued with the government about their ration cards during WWII instead of pitching in to win the war.

Think of the lengths terrorists are willing to go to in order to achieve their goal. Those explosive breast implants are real, not a joke. Only the scans can stop those.

Flying is not a "right."

Flying is not necessary. If you don't like the new rules then walk, ride a bus, drive, take a train, take a boat, or stay at home.

Got privacy or body issues with the scan? It still seems better than forcing the TSA to search you. Yes. Forcing. They don't want to grope you. They want to keep your plane from being blown up. How are you with that?

Don't like the scan because of radiation? The last I heard from a doctor on the news, you will get more radiation from being in the plane than going through the scan.

If you want to go one-on-one with the terrorists, that is your right. But do it where you won't take a lot of other people with you.

And otherwise ... just shut up about it.

UPDATES
Naturally, SNL has chimed in on this issue ... a coupla times.

Here's a clip you can watch about the pat downs that was sent by Frank ... I stopped 2/3 of the way through because, as happens so often, they just kept going and going.

Here's a transcript (couldn't find a clip) of a skit that Hannah remembered about racial profiling.

Saturday Night Live Transcripts

Season 28: Episode 2

02b: Sarah Michelle Gellar / Faith Hill

Trans American Airlines

Captain.....Chris Parnell
Stewardess #1.....Amy Poehler
Employee #1.....Will Forte
Stewardess #2.....Maya Rudolph
Employee #2.....Tracy Morgan

[ SUPER: "A Message From The Men And Women Of Trans American Airlines" ]

Captain: September 11th, 2001 changed a lot of things about the way we live.

Stewardess #1: But, if you've traveled by air recently, you know that new security procedures at most airlines can make flying a frustrating and unpleasant experience.

Employee #1: But at Trans American, we don't believe that endless lines, early check-in requirements, or confiscating tweezers are the best way to prevent terrorism.

Captain: At Trans American, we have a better idea. We screen our passengers with a system we call "Racial Profiling".

Stewardess #1: You see, unlike other airlines, we at Trans American have noticed that airline hijackers always seem to be Islamic males, age 15 to 45, of Middle Eastern descent.

Employee #2: That's why, at Trans American, any passenger who fits that description is put through the industry's most exhaustive secuity check - including sodium-pentathol interrogation, strip search, and full body cavity exam.

Stewardess: Any passenger who doesn't, we leave the hell alone. That's a promise.

Stewardess #2: Some of our competitors take issue with our policies, and even say that, if you allow racial profiling, the terrorists have won. But we don't agree. I mean, why would terrorists want racial profiling? That's how you catch them.

Captain: Rest assured, at Trans American, we have no intention of changing the system that's given us the best security record in the industry. Fly with us, and you'll see why. And, by the way, you can bring your tweezers.

Voiceover: Trans American Airlines. Security. Reliability. Racial profiling.

SECOND UPDATE
I believe that both sides have expressed themselves fully. Comments are now closed.

What's Goin' On: The Dishwasher

Looking back, I see that it has been almost two years that we have been doing without the dishwasher.

As nearly as we can recall it began because the dishwasher was making an odd screeching sound and I did not want to pay the $75 service call to have a repairman come out just to tell me (as I darkly suspected) that buying a new one would be as cost effective as repairing it.

That had been happening a lot to us around that time.

However, we have another problem around the house right now (all this dust, where is it coming from?) and Tom's dark suspicions are that we will have to shell out some big bucks for something to do with ductwork.

If that's the case, I pronounced $75 a small price to pay to get the real story on possibly stopping washing dishes by hand. The charms had passed and I was tired. Perhaps it was because with Hannah home I was handwashing for three instead of two and that was my tipping point.

Whatever the reason, we really couldn't recall the problem. So I ran a trial load to see what the problem was.

Problem? What problem?

Other than the heating element not working, which was a previously known factor, there is nary a screech and everything is getting washed just fine.

I have a real feeling of luxury every time I wash the dishes and there are so few things to clean ... just the pots and pans? That's all?

So, Rose, your homecoming will be more joyous than you thought. There are not nearly as many dirty dishes to wash!

Getting to Know You ... Theocoid Up Close

We had a delightful dinner with Bill B. (a.k.a. Theocoid) last night. I think that he is among my oldest blogging acquaintances. So, naturally, I was thrilled that he was going to be in town for a meeting, giving us the chance to have an actual face-to-face discussion over some Tex-Mex.

It is always wonderful to meet someone with whom you "click" and Bill was one such person. He and Tom talked web code, formatting code, and the like. When the talk turned to Catholic podcasters we have in common (yes, Into the Deep, I'm lookin' at you ... I listened before they faded, Bill actually knows two of the guys) and other such faith-ish things then it was my turn to jabber. But we could all join in equally about kids, dogs, and life in general.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening and we are hoping that Bill will have some other trips in the future so we can continue the conversation!

Send Supplies to Iraqi Christians

Frank at Why I Am Catholic is putting action alongside our prayers for our embattled brothers and sisters. He's found a way to send donations that will be used for food, shelter, and clothing. Go and read and then take the action that seems best to you.

Advent Reading ... #2

Obviously events overcame me yesterday so I didn't get a chance to post another good Advent reading choice. C'est la vie!

Today, however, I bring you a book that I haven't yet finished because I am finding myself almost forced to read it slowly and meditatively in order to consider the wealth of information.

Who is Jesus Christ? by Eric Sammons takes an interesting tack in answering the question that Jesus him self put to the disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" We all have our favorite and comfortable concepts about Jesus. They are not necessarily wrong but they also are not all that Jesus Christ is. It is in contemplating those areas outside our comfort zones that we most often meet God. Or so it seems in my experience.

Sammons takes each of the labels put on Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew and devotes a chapter to considering whether it is the result and/or fulfillment of incomplete perception, role, Old Testament prophecies and figures, or son.

These chapters are fairly brief but cover quite a bit of ground as we are shown the reason for each perception, whether it is really true (and if so, how true), and ultimately how this aids our understanding of Jesus Christ. For example, the chapter titled Carpenter's Son discusses our natural desires to know all about the person we love, the result of that desire in generating some of the legends about Jesus performing miracles as a boy, the fact that if those legends were true the townspeople wouldn't have been amazed at his wisdom when Jesus returned to Nazareth to preach, the truths about Messiah's wisdom revealed in Psalms and elsewhere, Christ's complete embrace of the ordinary life, and his restoration of the world through his sacrifice.

That is not even all that is covered in those eight pages. One might think that this crowds too much information into each discussion but it really doesn't. Sammons' writing flows so naturally that each conclusion leads organically to the next and we are carried on the logical track to the final consideration and couple of thought-provoking questions that are provided.

As I mentioned, I am reading this slowly, a chapter a morning and I then find myself considering various aspects of the chapter through the day. That is a perfect way to await Our Lord, by thinking about the way he reveals himself to us and getting to know him better.

Advent Reading ...

The Anchoress has a wonderful looking list of Advent reading suggestions. (Good Heavens, she not only has a list but she's already updated it!)

I must say that, like Thanksgiving, the idea that Advent will begin soon has crept up on me ... where, oh where, has the time gone?

How soon? November 28.

I know!

I do have some reading ideas which all seem to revolve around the idea of patience, waiting, meditation upon God, and absorbing things a little at a time. That all seems to work for Advent which is to help us prepare spiritually for the coming of the savior.

My first suggestion is a book I wrote about recently, Praying with Saint Matthew's Gospel. Read all about it in my short review, but this bit gives the essence of why I thought of this book for Advent reading.

Magnificat gives us a line by line meditation on Saint Matthew's Gospel that I have found to be thought provoking and fruitful. In a sense it is like a directed form of lectio divina. Twenty-four different authors each take different sections of the gospel and provide commentary that often takes me in a direction I never considered before.

Tomorrow, a book that I haven't finished but that I can already tell is a good 'un.

Rose Has Edited a "Crash the Superbowl" Contest Entry.

Rose sez:

I edited a Doritos commercial that a producer friend of mine at Columbia shot. I think it's pretty good and right now it is submitted to the Crash the Superbowl online contest. The winner is played during the Superbowl! ...and wins a lot of money...

So, having views betters our chances of making it to the final round.

Once you skip the intro, the video will pop up.

I watched this over Tom's shoulder this morning, only knowing that it was directed by a friend of Rose's who is attending Columbia. I liked it.

Did Tom tell me Rose edited it? No.

(sigh)

Upon opening my email I saw the message above. Swing by and take a look.

Which Bars Make the Grade When You Request Something Off-Menu?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, not the ones that advertise their bars the most.

So far these listings are only for Dallas and Springfield (MO) which is where I've had the opportunity to "test" bars. I'll add to it as new opportunities arise!

NY Giants-20, Dallas Cowboys-33 ... YEAH, READ IT - 33!

I. am. stunned.

And happy.

VERY. VERY. HAPPY.

Go Cowboys!

(And thank you, Jason Garrett.)

Now, Jerry, let's talk. When are we getting a new kicker? Seriously, c'mon.

Bill Bryson Does Not Always Equal Snark ...

... but it's a rare occurrance as all too often his attempts at humor fall into that mean-spirited vein.


As Darwin points out in a well put post. My comments? In his comments box. Along with the title of the one nonsnarky book of Bryson's I've read. Which was excellent. Go and read.

Unstoppable

Denzel Washington and Chris Pine versus runaway train. That’s enough, isn’t it? How much more do you need?

Exactly. What Decent Films said.

I've been drawn to the ads just by the two stars and secretly expecting to be disappointed. SO. VERY. HAPPY. to hear otherwise.

Not enough for you? Go read the review.

What's Goin' On: Conan's Premiere Opening

Not having cable and also lacking a predilection for staying up late, I am not going to be watching Conan's new show. However, I really found his desk washing ad funny.



So when a friend told me about his opening bit, I watched ... and laughed. You will too.

What's Goin' On: Louis L'Amour's Short Stories

I have been on a short story jag since getting the Kindle. As I've mentioned, I find that format a big improvement over hulking "best of" collections for science fiction, mysteries, and fantasy. Browsing the Kindle store, I came across Louis L'Amour who I have never cottoned to much in novel-long format.

Truth to tell, I have never given him much of a chance. I had a period of reading Zane Grey when I was in junior high. I still love Gwen Bristow, several of whose books are set in the Old West. But Louis L'Amour ... maybe it was his name? I don't know ...

One of the Kindle's best features is the ability to download samples. The Louis L'Amour short story collection I sampled (the first of seven or eight I saw available) contained two stories in their entirety. It worked. I can't explain it but these simply told but human stories grabbed me, interested me in the fate of the protagonists, and had me trying to work out how the inevitable ending would come about. That was the interesting thing ... you knew how the stories would end up. It was how L'Amour got there that was riveting.

What a wonderful surprise it was to discover a new author. Even better, one who has a large library of books for me to explore. I'm still not sure about the novels, but I am sure the short stories will suck me into reading the longer format eventually.

I know that L'Amour has a huge fan base and nothing makes that more evident than the price of those Kindle collections. Not the usual $9.99 for a current book. No, these are all $14.99. Nothing testifies to popularity like a long-dead author's works holding an above-market value.

I put that collection in my wish list so I can find it later. I have several short story collections to finish up. Then, the next one I buy ... is gonna take me to the wild West.

"The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church." — Tertullian

"Since Tuesday evening, there have been 13 bombs and two mortar attacks on homes and shops of Christians in which a total of six people were killed and 33 injured," a defense ministry official said. "A church was also damaged."

An interior ministry official earlier gave a casualty toll of three dead in 12 of the attacks across the Iraqi capital early on Wednesday.

The attacks come less than two weeks after 44 Christian worshipers, two priests and seven security personnel died in the seizure of a Baghdad cathedral by Islamist gunmen and the ensuing shootout when it was stormed by troops.

On November 3, Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the cathedral hostage-taking and warned it would step up attacks on Christians.

Google News

God bless and protect our brothers and sisters who are in such fear and danger now.

(Via David Scott of Catholic News Agency and EWTN News where they are keeping a close eye on proceedings and related stories, such as the general assembly of Interpol being addressed by a Vatican archbishop.)

Everywhere I Look, I See ... Exorcists

• Our Catholic women's book club just met last night to discuss The Rite. (BTW, if you live in Dallas don't be shy. Come to the next meeting!)
• I was just told that The Rite is being made into a movie. Not sure how that will work out, but still ... it was unexpected.
• The USCCB is asking for a few good exorcists (actually priests willing to be trained as exorcists) to step up.

What's Goin' On: Outsourced

We find this comedy about an American manager who has been sent to India to manage his company's novelty business telephone room pretty amusing. Although the novelty items for sale are highly sexualized and crude ... which is not very amusing ... there is a sweetness and innocence about many of the cultural misconceptions and miscommunications. As Tom said, it is that innocence that makes the best comedy.

What's Goin' On: Sherlock Holmes Updated on BBC

We've really been enjoying the first two episodes of the updated Sherlock Holmes on Masterpiece Theatre. As we've been taping it and then watching later, I haven't seen the third and last installment in this mini-series. Yes it has its problems here and there, but overall I think it is very true to the spirit of Holmes and Watson as Doyle wrote them. I can forgive a great deal when the entertainment is as good as this.

I tend to agree with Hannah who said, after we finished the second episode, that she preferred this series to the recent movie Sherlock Holmes (you know, the one with Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law). There is a very similar spirit shared between the series and the movie, but on the whole, I prefer the series. And I hope there are more to come in the future.

God Speaks. But What Has To Happen Before We Listen?

... God spoke through Mozart and Bach, through Caravaggio and Monet, through Shakespeare and John Donne, through St. Thomas Aquinas and Pope John Paul II. He speaks in many languages: mathematics, chemistry, biology, astronomy; paint, paper, film; stone, wood, and metal; the bloom of a rose and the fall of a leaf.

But has ever he spoken to me?

Ah yes, but he had to use a language he only reserves for his hardest cases: the language of pain and suffering. Pain, as C.S. Lewis says, is God’s megaphone. Make no mistake, Our Lord does not cause our suffering, but he uses it to reach us.

Thomas L. McDonald opens up so that we may have a chance to hear also. A beautiful piece, honestly written.

Weekend Joke

From Dr. Boli's Celebrated Magazine, I have lifted this fascinating commentary on how to attract cardinals to your backyard. Click through to his blog to see a photo of the little fellow you can attract using the techniques below.

Dear Dr. Boli: In light of the pope’s recent creation of new cardinals, perhaps this would be an appropriate time to ask: how can I attract cardinals to my garden? —Regards, Miss Jane C., North Carolina.

Dear Madam: The Cardinal or Cardinal Grosbeak (Cardinalis cardinalis) is generally a solitary bird, and thus difficult to attract in great numbers. Occasionally, however, certain extraordinary circumstances can impel cardinals to gather in a large flock, known to ornithologists as a “conclave.” A conclave of cardinals is one of nature’s most colorful sights, and it would be well worth your trouble to reproduce in your own back yard the circumstances that bring cardinals together in conclaves.

The gathering is normally touched off by a prominent obituary, and you may be able to bribe the editor of your local broadsheet to insert such an item for the price of a reuben sandwich. The obituary is not enough, however: cardinals have certain expectations when they gather in conclaves, and if you do not meet those expectations the cardinals will simply pack up and go home.

Foremost among these expectations is good catering. The St. Louis subspecies may be content with hot dogs and nachos, but most other varieties require daintier fare. A professional caterer will be able to advise you on selections of foodstuffs, but a good basic list would include sunflower seeds, pine nuts, and torta alla Monferrina.

Cardinals also require adequate press coverage for their conclaves, or they will quickly show signs of boredom and soon after depart for some more public location.

Incidentally, the supposed power of the pope to “create” cardinals is the subject of one of the interesting differences between Catholic and Protestant theology. Catholics believe that the Holy Father is ornithologically infallible and can create cardinals at will, whereas Protestants hold that only God has such creative power. (Certain Anglican theologians hold that the pope does have the power to create cardinals, but that such power is territorially limited in extent.) Your backyard bird feeder is thus one of the chief battlegrounds in the great contest between the separated branches of the Christian faith.

It's All Downhill From Here

A little midweek humor, courtesy of Doug Savage.

To the many people to whom I owe responses via email ...

... please bear with me. This big catalog is not exactly eating my soul, but it is eating up any extra time for the fun things in life ... like answering emails.

I promise I will answer. Eventually. :-)

Name Your Favorite Saint, Get a Free Book From Paraclete Press

Today is the day we remember the Saints - that "great cloud of witnesses" whose lives and stories encourage our faith. 

In celebration, we invite you to:

1. Place an order for $30 or more on our website - 
today and tomorrow only - Nov. 1st and 2nd.

2. At checkout in the specified box, tell us:
Who your favorite Saint is AND which Paraclete book about a Saint you would like us to add to your order for FREE. (click here for a list of our books about the Saints!)

Happy All Saints Day!
From all of us at Paraclete Press

Now that's what I call putting your money where your mouth is! Head over to Paraclete Press to take advantage of this saintly bargain.

Weekend Joke

Which is a cartoon this week, from the fabulous Doug Savage who has been in the Halloween spirit for days now.

"Troy make me proud. Be the first black man to make it to the end."

I have never watched the show Community but around 7:30 last night Hannah came through saying, "Isn't 30 Rock on now?" (We tape Bones and can only tape one thing so ... 30 Rock is our one live TV show of the week.)

We rushed back and found that instead we were watching Community's Halloween episode. It was absolutely hilarious. When the person giving the party mistakenly feeds the guests Army biohazard materials thinking it is taco meat, everyone begins turning into zombies.

Hannah likes Community but says this show is a real gem among their episodes. Certainly it was for our household full of sci-fi/pop-culture geeks. Never has switched programming turned out so well for us. They're showing it online and I highly recommend you include it in your holiday viewing this weekend.

Lincoln Memorial Saved from Zombies

... things got deadly serious when the two dozen bloodied, tattered, undead wandered down 23rd St. NW and tried to cross the street to invade the Lincoln Memorial.

"Who is the organizer here?" the U.S. Park Police's Sgt. David Schlosser demanded to know.

He was met by silence; one zombie chewed on her sleeve.

No I'm not kidding. Read it all at The Washington Post. Via the Zombie Parent's Guide.