NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

The anguished cry is heard throughout Happy Catholic-land as Rick Lugari announces that he will stop blogging.

*sob*

The only bright spot is that he purposely excluded Musum Pontificalis from that announcement.

And that ain't much of a bright spot, I've gotta say.

Miss O'Neill

Miss O'Neill was dumpy, moonfaced, sallow, colorless, and we hated her. We hated her as only a pack of West Side barbarians could hate a teacher of arithmetic. She did not teach arithmetic — but that is how much we hated her.

People I have loved, known, or admired by Leo Rosten

The Church in the Future

Game of Fox and Lion
by Robert Chase

Benedict paused as if contemplating the full extent of the scene he had described. "Nobody wanted war. All were acting in what they perceived to be their best interests. Yet their perceptions were so warped by their sins — you don't like that word, Chiang. Most of us don't. Perhaps I should date my conversion from the instant I realized that moral theology gave a more accurate account of human conduct than any school of psychology, because it understood that the basis of evil is intentional self-delusion."

Not exactly the sort of statement that we are used to reading in science fiction, is it? However, this riveting book has the Church and Catholic teachings in the background the entire time, although they are rarely expounded upon as in the above excerpt.

Jon Lei Chiang, a powerful leader, kidnaps the last of the specially enhanced Multi-Neural Capacitants, Paul Niccolo Renard. Renard had joined an order of terraforming monks as Brother Benedict which is the first of the unexpected twists that Chiang experiences. In indenture to Chiang, Benedict must help him win a war against both his political enemies and also against the Bestials who are warring with human civilization. The Bestials also are "enhanced" humans who have been changed so much that there is much argument over whether they can be considered to be human or not.

This book covers much ground with many plot twists that are surprisingly timely, especially considering the current debates over manipulation of genetics. I found the last twist to be rather predictable but it is still a good read for all that. Definitely recommended.

Defending the Faith: Dialogue

Dialogue is the means by which a truth living in one mind becomes a truth living in another. It involves listening as well as speaking, receiving, and giving. The apologist who dialogues with a non-Catholic should listen to what the non-Catholic's faith means to him, as well as present arguments for Catholic beliefs. He should take the time to hear what his non-Catholic discussion partner says, to understand the non-Catholic's worldview and the full force of his objections before responding to them. The key to dialogue is for both participants to understand one another, where they agree, where they disagree, and why.

How Not to Share Your Faith:
The Seven Deadly Sins of Apologetics

"In Truth, Peace"

According to CWNews, the main points covered in Pope Benedict's State of the World Address are as follow:

1. Commitment to truth is the soul of justice.
2. Commitment to truth establishes and strengthens the right to freedom.
3. commitment to truth opens the way to forgiveness and reconciliation.
4. Commitment to peace opens up new hopes.

A good summary of the speech can be found here. I'm looking forward to seeing the full translation of the speech text later.

Spero News has quite a bit of the speech.

Here's the whole enchilada.

Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen...

... a recipe for a fantastic Tamale Pie and my comments on the first book I began and couldn't make myself read this year. Check it out.

Stay Slim Without Dieting

It's the American dream and, so they say, the French reality. My review of some helpful diet books from both sides of the Atlantic is up at Spero News.

Ten Ways to Anger a Knitter

Ten quick and easy ways to make a knitter angry.

1. Consistently refer to her work as a "cute hobby."


2. When the knitter shows you a Shetland shawl she knit from handspun yarn that took 264 hours of her life to produce and will be an heirloom that her great-great grandchildren will be wrapped in on the days of their birth, say, "I saw one just like this at Wal-Mart!"


3. On every journey you take with your knitter, make a point of driving by yarn shops but make sure you don't have time to stop. (This works especially well if there is a sale on.)


4. Shrink something.


5. Tell her that you don't know why she knits socks, that it seems silly when they are only $10 for five pairs and they're just as good.


6. Tell the knitter that you are sorry, but you really can't feel a difference between cashmere and acrylic.


7. Tell her that you aren't the sort of person who could learn to knit, since you "can't just sit there for hours."


8. Quietly take one out of every set of four double-pointed needles that she has and put them down the side of the couch. (You can't convince me that you aren't doing this already.)


9. If you are a child, grow faster than your knitter can knit. Requesting intricate sweaters and then refusing to wear them is also highly effective.


10. Try to ban knitting during TV time, because the clicking of the needles annoys you.
    

Yarn Harlot : The Secret Life of a Knitter
by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

Stormy Weather

Windfall (The Weather Warden, Book 4)
by Rachel Caine

The fourth installment in the Weather Warden series involving people who can influence weather (or other elements such as fire) to save humanity from the worst of the natural elements. Aided by Djinn, who tradition dictates are the slaves of whoever holds their bottles, they work for good. Or do they? Things have heated up by this time to include packs of renegade free Djinn, criminal elements, and Wardens turning their backs on their duties. All with feisty, stubborn, rebellious Joanne in the center of the action as always.

Lightweight? Yep.

Fun to read? Oh YEAH.

A word of warning. If it's been a while since you picked one of these up, the back story is sufficiently complicated that you might want to flip through the last book before starting this. I was, frankly, lost for a little while until I started remembering where the last book left off.

Why Am I in a Mood to Entertain?

Check it out at Meanwhile Back in the Kitchen.

Other than checking comments, I am outta here for the weekend y'all. We've got Christmas decorations to pack up and a bunch of other things going on.

Back Monday!

Oh Look ... Some People Who Actually Watched a Show Before Condemning It Out of Hand!

Now there's a rarity. I have seen two common reactions to The Book of Daniel throughout the blogosphere. Outright condemnation based on a short summary, a trailer, and hearsay ... OR ... a wonderment over the outrage that this terrible show is any worse than the rest of the dreck on television (also pronounced by people that have never seen it).

Frankly, I found the professions of wonderment more than a little disingenuous. After all, this show does have Jesus as a character. I'm guessing that the potential for outrage is just a bit more since the writers could put quite heretical statements in God's mouth rather than having it come from mere humans.

In vain have I waited for someone who actually watched the show to pronounce it either good or bad. Now, far from the scenes of the main pronouncements, I find a few bloggers had the interest and honesty to do that very thing. Check out these reviews from:

• TO at Lamland. Scroll down toward the bottom of the post .
• Minivan Dad at What Is and What Never Should Be
• Nathan at Sacramentum Minimum
• Red Guy in a Blue State
• From the Back Pew
• An Aid to Memory

As for me, I had minimal interest in the show but was interested to see the knee-jerking spreading quickly throughout the Christian blogosphere. I meant to tape it but real life got in the way of remembering to set up the VCR. And I doubt that my interest will be piqued because it is the sort of soap opera-ish show I don't really enjoy.

But it sure was nice to get reaction from real television-watching Christians instead of hearsay. Thanks guys!

The Real Scoop on the Three Kings

Fascinating.

Mmmm, Mmmm, Good!

A recipe for Kansas City Steak and Vegetable Soup is up over at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

Defending the Faith: More Dialogue

A final point about dialogue: it can help foster what has been called "ecumenical apologetics." Ecumenical apologetics is not apologetics engaged in by ecumenists; it is a way of engaging in Catholic apologetics. It begins with the elements of truth in non-Catholic religions and tries to show that the full, integral expression of those truths is found in Catholicism ... Ecumenical apologetics does not start out with "You're wrong, and let me show you where you went astray." It begins with something like this: "What do we agree about? Let's look at that. Then you can tell me where you think the Catholic Church is off the mark or where you have problems with it. Then I'll tell you why I think the Church is correct and where it seems to me you may be missing something."

How Not to Share Your Faith:
The Seven Deadly Sins of Apologetics
by Mark Brumley

A Hack With Pretensions

... it is possible, with lots of hard work, dedication, and timely help, to make a good writer out of a merely competent one.

I'm afraid this idea is rejected by lots of critics and plenty of writing teachers, as well. Many of these are liberals in their politics but crustaceans in their chosen fields. Men and women who would take to the streets to protest the exclusion of African-Americans or Native Americans (I can imagine what Mr. Strunk would have made of these politically correct but clunky terms) from the local country club are often the same men and women who tell their classes that writing ability is fixed and immutable; once a hack, always a hack. Even if a writer rises in the estimation of an influential critic or two, he/she always carries his/her early reputation along, like a respectable married woman who was a wild child as a teenager. Some people never forget, that's all, and a good deal of literary criticism serves only to reinforce a caste system which is as old as the intellectual snobbery which nurtured it. Raymond Chandler may be recognized now as an important figure in twentieth-century American literature, an early voice describing the anomie of urban life in the years after World War II, but there are plenty of critics who will reject such a judgment out of hand. He's a hack! they cry indignantly. A hack with pretensions! The worst kind! The kind who thinks he can pass for one of us!

Critics who try to rise above this intellectual hardening of the arteries usually meet with limited success. Their colleagues may accept Chandler into the company of the great, but are apt to seat him at the foot of the table. And there are always those whispers: Came out of the pulp tradition, you know ... carries himself well for one of those, doesn't he? ... did you know he wrote for Black Mask in the thirties ... yes, regrettable ...

On Writing by Stephen King

I am not really reading this for the writing tips, valuable though they are. I am reading this because I simply love reading Stephen King's nonfiction writing. I remember how much fun he made the history of horror in Danse Macabre, which I will be rereading sometime this year. I read it long ago when it first came out and was enchanted. This is just as enjoyable.

It's Like He Read My Mind

How did he know that I've been collecting mosaic images for months? (Not!)

College Catholic predicts the year ahead for many fellow bloggers. These are dead-on funny with my favorites being his predictions for LA Catholic and the City of God.

Blonde Joke

This has got to be the greatest blonde joke ever told.

2005 Food Blog Awards ... Polls Are Open

Go vote here.

If you're not familiar with the food blogging world, this is a great chance to check out some of the best, or find some new favorites.

Resurrecting an Idea

This was traveling around St. Blog's Parish last March. I like it and am posting it again.

Describe yourself with three quotes - serious, ironic, humorous, whatever - from various literary sources. I remember that some people described themselves physically. I preferred to go for the "inner man" (so to speak).

Here are mine:

"When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes."
Desiderius Erasmus

"If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use the pile driver. Hit the point once. then come back and hit it again. Then hit a third time; a tremendous whack."
Winston Churchill

"We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be."
C.S. Lewis

Like it? Pick it up and pass it on!

The Muse

What follows is everything I know about how to write good fiction. I'll be as brief as possible, because your time is valuable and so is mine, and we both understand that the hours we spend talking about writing is time we don't spend actually doing it. I'll be as encouraging as possible, because it's my nature and because I love this job. I want you to love it, too. But if you don't want to work your ass off, you have no business trying to write well — settle back into competency and be grateful you have even that much to fall back on. There is a muse,* but he's not going to come fluttering down into your writing room and scatter creative fairy-dust all over your typewriter or computer station. He lives in the ground. He's a basement guy. You have to descend to his level, and once you get down there you have to furnish an apartment for him to live in. You have to do all the grunt labor, in other words, while the muse sits and smokes cigars and admires his bowling trophies and pretends to ignore you. Do you think this is fair? I think it's fair. He may not be much to look at, that muse-guy, and he may not be much of a conversationalist (what I get out of mine is mostly surly grunts, unless he's on duty), but he's got the inspiration. It's right that you should do all the work and burn all the midnight oil, because the guy with the cigar and the little wings has got a bag of magic. There's stuff in there that can change your life.

Believe me, I know.

*Traditionally, the muses were women, but mine's a guy; I'm afraid we'll just have to live with that.

On Writing by Stephen King