Imagine the Potential: Kinship

The newest ad from CatholicVote.org ... just as wonderful as the one featuring President Obama the preceded it.



Via Amy Welborn.

Top 10 Saying of Biblical Mothers ...

... will be appearing in the sidebar from day to day. If you can't wait that long to see them all, click through on the link there to Coffee Klatch.

Brilliant. Funny. And a Perfect Mother's Day Gift

Check out how you can send a personalized video to moms you want to honor.

I am linking to Sarah, the snoring scholar who is a truly awesome mom (and has the video to prove it) ... since her friend sent her one, I am skipping her in my list.

All the News That's Fit to Print ... and Punny Headlines Too

“Newspapers, however rare and financially weak, can adapt and ultimately conquer the threat posed by the Internet, the Justice Department’s Carl Shapiro told a House panel.

'We do not believe any new exemptions for newspapers are necessary,’ said Shapiro, an assistant attorney general for economics.”

From this week's Congressional hearing,
where newspaper executives pleaded
they need a change in antitrust law to survive

Truer words were never spoken.

Longtime readers know that my husband and I became disgusted with the sensationalistic coverage at the Dallas Morning News, canceled our subscription, and casting about for something to read with our morning coffee landed upon The Wall Street Journal. We knew not how well we chose at the time, but we know it full well now.

Even though the WSJ is a business and financial newspaper, surprisingly they have many articles that amuse, inform, and delight us every morning. Rare is the day that we don't have conversational fodder from several sources, especially as Tom and I have essentially different interests. Even more surprising is the way that the WSJ covers some business and financial news in a way that I actually am interested in reading. That is something I never could have predicted. Not all of it, mind you, but getting me to read any of it is quite a feat. As well, the editorial page has surprising sources for both authors and letters to the editor. As with all media, one must read with a discerning eye to the media's natural bent, but this is offset a surprising number of times by editorials proclaiming an opinion that one would definitely not expect in a conservative financial publication.

Our appreciation for the WSJ has been emphasized recently by the fact that the Dallas Morning News has been tossed on our lawn, evidently gratis, for the last week. What a shock to pick it up and find so little type for so many pages. Even more shocking was the reminder of how lackluster and lightweight their coverage has become. Even in the local and specialty sections (books, food, entertainment) there is mostly syndicated material which simply paddles in the shallow end of any subject. No need for a Congressional hearing to see why this newspaper isn't making it. I remember the days when there were vibrant movie, food, and religion sections (yes, that religion section made me look forward to the Saturday paper, believe it or not) which gradually have all been axed or pruned ruthlessly in favor of ... well, I'm not sure why. Our only assumption is that the accountants are running the papers instead of newspapermen. It is like seeing the local paper has become a Dallas edition of USA Today. Very sad.

Although I no longer miss the comics and found an online source for television listings, we do miss seeing local advertising. However, this has been largely replaced in our household by the ads in our neighborhood magazine and The Dallas Observer. For local news, the blogs of the Observer and D Magazine suffice, especially as most of it is something I do not miss either. In short, this may be the wave of future media: the rise of the small, specialized publication catering to specific areas.

Enough of that. Here are only a few of the stories I have enjoyed recently (you may also find some from further back here):

• How an Evolutionary Garden Grows: The diverse plant and tree collection of the Cambridge University Botanic Garden is arranged according to the classification system of a 19th-century book.
• Behind the Scenes at the Met: At the Metropolitan Opera House, what's happening on the main stage is only a fraction of what's happening in the house.
• New 'Star Trek': A Splendid Enterprise
• Obama and the 9/11 Families: The president isn't sincere about 'swift and certain' justice for terrorists.
• After the Apocalypse: A New Zealand teacher imagines the world in the wake of a disaster (a review of Genesis, which I read about elsewhere just yesterday and am interested in)
• Two escapism trends following those of the Great Depression: cookbooks and candy bars
  
• Taking One Day at a Time: A Jewish holiday encourages some inner reflection.
  
• What a Mom Wants: Here's a hint: It's not more hours on the job.
  
• New Ways to Buy Bach Online: Classical Archives, a new digital store focused exclusively on classical music, promises to give classical composers their due.

As well, another morning delight is that someone at the WSJ delights in word play as much as we do. It is not unusual for one or the other of us to suddenly read a headline aloud and then wait with a smile for the other to see the pun. In case this doesn't make me geeky enough, I have begun keeping them listed in a notebook. When I read them out to Mom the other day she was laughing aloud. These alone are enough to lure me through all the sections of the paper and often have me perusing a story I never would have seen otherwise. Here are just a few of my favorites:

• Alcoa Foils Investors with Offering
• GE to Shed Light on Its Properties
• Can Palm Squeeze the Blackberry
• McDonald's Pounds Out Good Quarter
• Ban on Foot-Nibbling Fish Leaves Nail Salon on the Hook
• A Look Into Future Oceans for Shellfish Reasons

And our current favorite, the one that made us both break into peals of laughter, which is a great way to begin the day:

• The Cranes in Spain Point Mainly to a Strain

Thank you WSJ.

This is Seriously Cool ... Huffduffer

Like an RSS reader but for podcasts!

My mind reels.

The possibilities are staggering.

Plus your Huffduffer page creates an RSS feed and iTunes feed for your selections. So I now have Scott D's feed in my iTunes. (Is that like getting chocolate in my peanut butter? I think it is!).

I found this at Concerning Rivets and Trees which Scott has resurrected and I am just now catching up on.

It works a lot like Google Reader, but takes a little more work. You find the location of an MP3 you want to share, enter that location into your Huffduffer account, add some description data, and post. It then appears in your feed. It’s useful for aggregating things you want to listen to, or for sharing things you have heard. Super easy, super useful, and super free.

I can testify that it is super easy.

Here is my Huffduffer page which I set up in about five minutes. The thing that took the longest was deciding what to link to ... which is some terrific Lyrics Uncovered info about the Beatles.

The Angels and Their Mission: According to the Fathers of the Church

If the mystery of the Nativity is also that of the revelation made by the angels of heaven to those of earth, then the mystery of the Ascension is the mystery of the revelation made by the angels of earth to the angels of heaven. Just as, at the Nativity, we see the Word descend, surrounded by the angels of heaven, and meet the guardian angels of earth, so now we see Him rise, accompanied by the angels of earth, and meet the angels who guard the gates of heaven. but these do not recognize Him, because He appears united to the human nature that He assumed and bearing the marks of His Passion. Thus, they question the angels who are accompanying Him to find out who He is. This is a traditional theme, resting principally upon two biblical texts, Psalm 23:7-10, which has already been seen, and Isaiah 63:1: "Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bosra?"

[...]

Thus, the mystery of the Ascension completely amazes the angels of heaven. for what it reveals to them is really a mystery, hidden up to then, an entirely new reality, disconcerting at first glance. The cosmological presentation of the descent and ascent must not deceive us. The true mystery of the nativity is the self-abasement of the divine Person of the Word, a "little lower than the angels." And the true mystery of the Ascension is the exaltation of human nature above all the worlds of the angels. That is the real double mystery which is dramatically represented by the descent and ascent in the midst of the choirs of angels. But this "dramaturgy," as St. Gregory Nazianzen calls it, must not conceal the reality it bears beneath it. It represents an overthrow of the natural order of things resulting from the revelation of a reality absolutely new and unforeseeable. That is why it throws the angels into a state of astonishment.

Perhaps this is something you already knew. I thought I had read a lot about angels and I was in a state of astonishment having read it as ... well, not as great as the angels mentioned above ... but I was pretty darned astonished. I have presented here only the essence of the passage and the careful reader will want to get the book and read all the thinking from the Fathers for themselves. However, I am left asking myself just how our current writings about angels have gotten so flat and boring when there is such richness in what the Fathers of the Church have already mined for us to consider.

The late Cardinal Jean Danielou was interested in considering the role of the angels in the economy of salvation. This prompted him to study the the Fathers writings and examine at the role of angels from the beginning of history. For is not history the story of salvation, at least as seen through the lens of faith that the Bible? The results are, as I have mentioned, rich and inform us about many things that we may never have considered such as angels, world religion, and why many religions may share a few common elements and then widely diverge. Fascinating. Completely logical.

When I mentioned some of the things I had learned from this book in passing to our learned priest, his face lit up and he instantly began chiming in with the same information that I was reading in the book. Obviously, the knowledge is being taught somewhere, just not to those of us with more mundane habits. This slender volume is just the ticket to fill in those gaps.

This book is not light, bedtime reading. However, neither is it so dense that one cannot struggle through. As evidence, consider that I devoured it in a few days. It does require attention and some thought but it is well worth it.

For instance, as a more prosaic example, I never thought about why the Church prayers for the dead may mention ... yes ... angels.

It is hardly astonishing then, that the Fathers of the Church picture the angels assisting the soul at the moment of death and leading it to paradise. Tertullian writes in De Anima, "When, by the force of death, it [the soul] is snatched from the weight of the flesh that closed it in, it trembles with excitement to see the face of the angel, the summoner of souls, realizing that its eternal abode has been prepared." The same doctrine often appears in Origen. Pseudo-Justin writes, "Immediately after the soul leaves the body, there follows a separation of the just from the sinners. Then they are led by the angels to the places they are deserving of ... John Chrysostom says, "If we need a guide in passing from one city to another, how much more will the soul need someone to point out the way when she breaks the bonds of flesh and passes on to the future life."

That is why the prayers for the dead invoke the assistance of the angels. These prayers present a twofold aspect. On the one hand, the guardian of the soul is asked to accompany it during its voyage to heaven. ...

[...]

Secondly, the angels of heaven, the guardians of paradise, are asked to permit the soul to enter there. Here once again we find that there are two groups: the angels of earth and the angels of heaven. Just as the liturgy invokes the angels who lead the soul into paradise, it also contains allusions to those who welcome the soul there. The Apostolic Constitutions contain a prayer for the dead that is drawn up in this manner: "Cast thine eyes upon thy servant. Forgive him if he has sinned and make the angels well disposed toward him."

Highly recommended.

This book was reviewed as part of The Catholic Company's reviewer program. Read more reviews here. Order the book from The Catholic Company here.

Not One, Not Two, But Three Catholic Awards Underway

The Curt Jester points out that in addition to our previously mentioned Cannonball Awards and Catholic New Media Awards ... there is a third set of awards out there ...

Another set of awards also in its 2nd year is the Eastern Christian New Media Awards. Too often the Eastern rites of the Church are forgotten. They are currently taking nominations and voting will start in June.

I'm looking forward to exploring these blogs and podcasts.

John Scalzi ... He's More Than Just An Author

The publicist at Roc sent me an e-mail asking me: “Won’t you please let us know if you write something about Flood, Stephen Baxter’s terrifyingly apocalyptic novel about the last days of dry land here on Earth?” And I said “Hey, why are you writing to me in blurb form?” And they said “I can’t help myself, because Flood’s gripping narrative of global warming taken to its natural and compelling conclusion has robbed me of my ability to speak genuine narrative and instead I must speak only in flap-copy-ready bites!” And I said, “That kinda sucks,” and they said, “Yes, but Flood, Stephen Baxter’s all-too-plausible vision of the ecological near future, does not!” And that’s pretty much where we left it. All I know is that I’ve been a fan of Baxter ever since he had the last creature descended of human stock attached to a super-tree by an umbilicus in Evolution, because, dude, we all knew we were going to end up as tree monkeys anyway, right? In any event, Flood, Stephen Baxter’s deeply moist tale of heavy-duty civilizational inundation, is out today. Also, it is not Stephen Baxter’s birthday. I feel I need to throw that out there.

He's a darned funny blogger as well.

Not only can he write a great book mention but his sad tale of just why Obama's first 100 days are an abysmal failure brings a tear to the eye ... or a smile to the face. At least it isn't the same ol', same ol' and it entertained.

I knew that John Scalzi had a rep as a writer of funny sci-fi but never could get my hands on his books. Then StarShipSofa featured one of his stories and I loved it. So I finally was able to query the library computer system in such a way that forced it to admit that the Dallas Public Library did indeed have a few of those books and that they would indeed send a couple to my nearest branch. And I see that Agent to the Stars is waiting for me to swing by and get it today. Can't wait for quittin' time ...

Baby William and His Baby Bobbi Bear

Here is the photo as promised of my finished Baby Bobbi Bear ... as you can see it is almost as big as William himself is ... although that will change very soon!

It was universally acclaimed as being a feat near to rocket science and also as an adorable bear.

I have four friends who all are having babies in the near future and foresee that I will be knitting bears in my spare time for the next month or two. I will say that it went quickly, being knitted in my spare time within the last two weeks. Although I did have a little problem coming up to the deadline and wound up spending a fair part of Sunday devoted to finishing up this little guy ... I do hate knitting to a deadline!

A few comments:

• The pattern says it is for advanced beginners. I would debate this as the pattern itself is incompletely worded. For example, the additional explanations for ear stitch count refer the knitter to reread the “increase” description, when what is actually used is “make one” stitch. Not a huge problem but the knitter must have a good ability to visualize pattern and adjust on the fly. I tended to trust to fate and that it would become more obvious when I was making it ... which is what happened.
  
• The duplicate stitch around the neck which is intended for further definition did not work well on my bear and from the photos on Ravelry, I am not the only person with this problem. I am thinking about experimenting with a couple of decrease rows after picking up the neck stitches ... and then doing the called for increases to shape the head. This would help define the neck, without the time taken for duplicate stitches which didn't do much.
  
• I liked the Blue Sky Alpaca organic cotton yarn as it knit up nice and soft but am dubious about giving a baby something that must be hand washed. Also, three times, the yarn simply broke and it was never at a time when it was easy to undo so I had enough length to weave in and then begin again. I am looking for substitutes but most of the cotton yarns I come across seem to be less hefty. You need something that knits up fairly tightly so the stuffing doesn't show through.

Pittsburgh Pilgrimage ... not ths year

Trinity Churchyard taken by Father Pitt
(go to the link for more photos)

Sadly, the Trinity Churchyard is a sight that I will have to wait to see. I am sorry to say that we failed to meet the necessary quorum for the Pittsburgh Pilgrimage. I am not sure if we just hit the economy at a bad time or if it was a combination of many factors. I am hoping that possibly the economy will be better next year and that we may revive the pilgrimage.

What I am sure of is that there are no words to convey how much I am touched by Mike Aquilina's and Chris Bailey's whole-hearted support and generosity in working on this pilgrimage idea. Certainly I never would have had the enjoyment of our frequent emails on this and other subjects, not to mention the pleasure of discovering Chris's other enjoyable blogs: Dr. Boli's Celebrated Magazine, Official Harding-Agnew Campaign Site, and Father Pitt.

As I will not have the pleasure of providing this book to a few in Pittsburgh by hand as I had planned to do, please allow me to recommend to you, Praying the Psalms with the Early Christians by Mike and Chris. That is something that we can all enjoy and that is quite affordable!

Announcements, Notices, Inbox ... You Get the Idea

Free Books for Bloggers

As a member of our Reviewer Program, you'll have a chance to pick a free review product from a list of items currently available. We usually have 10 to 15 items to choose from, and they are always recent releases or relevant to current events. All we ask from you is to post an honest review of the product sent to you!

Your review could be as simple or as complex as you'd like. We expect you to be more interested in some products you receive, so it's natural for some reviews to be better than others. Sometimes, you may get a product you don't care for at all. That's alright, we still want your honest review!

Yep, The Catholic Company is back looking for more bloggers to review books. As a member of the gang I can testify that they have top notch authors and titles.

Big C Catholics

Big C Catholics is for Catholics who are faithful to the Magisterium and seek the fullness of truth. This is a place to reflect on and renew our faith, deepen our commitment to love and receive guidance on our spiritual journey. We seek to promote understanding of authentic Catholic teachings among Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

We are currently accepting homilies, short to medium length articles, reflections, commentaries, and reviews of publications of interest to orthodox Catholics. All submissions will be considered, however, we focus on theology, the complementarity of faith and reason, and other issues relevant to the life of the Church.

Sounds like lots of good reading and writing opportunities will be available. Check it out.

Catholicflux

With a history spanning almost two thousand years, the Roman Catholic Church is one of the world's oldest institutions. But what about the Church today? Recent years have seen the rise of secularism and the demise of religion -- is it still relevant? This blog will look at Catholicism today; where it came from, where it is now and where it's going.

A thoughtful looking blog joins the blogosphere.

All Prisoner, All the Time

THE PRISONER Fact #9
Yes, #6 catches the swine flu. He catches it, has a few quiet conversations with it, and persuades it to attack #2.

Aha! So at last I have tracked down the commenter cracking me up with trivia from The Prisoner. Ok. I exaggerate. He gave me the link. And it is not all Prisoner, all the time ... but for quite a lot of it. Check out new blog Reactionary Drivel.

Award-ish Things

Catholic New Media - Nominations
As I mentioned before, the Catholic New Media Awards are accepting nominations. I finally got done making mine ... it really gets tough respecting nominating only one person per category. Great idea but winnowing down the many wonderful blogs and podcasts is not easy.

By the way, be sure to check out their FAQ with any questions. I'm just trying to save you from looking as stupid as I did after I emailed asking, "What the heck is a People's Choice Award?" Only to find out that it was the first question in their FAQ. Although, not one to throw out the baby with the bath water, I am pleased to see that my guess was right. They could also have called it the "Wild Card" award.

2009 Cannonball Awards - Polls Open
I see that while my back was turned (and while I was knitting furiously ... yes, furiously ... on that Baby Bobbi bear this weekend) the polls opened for the 2009 Cannonball Awards. Voting is open through May 23 so you have a nice long time to check out all the entries in the categories. Vote (and view nominations) by clicking on the categories in the sidebar.

If you're at a loss as to who to select in the Spiritual Treat category, you certainly may feel free to click on Happy Catholic. Likewise, may I recommend in the Best Blog by a Heretic, voting for my pal Good News Film Reviews. Heck, follow the link and go read his review of The Wrestler. Rose already told me all about it but after reading his review I may go ahead and watch it anyway. Yes. He's that good.

Reason #3,476 I Love the Internet

Because you can read Bram Stoker's Dracula ... real time!

YES!

Quick, go check it out. It's May 4 ... and that is the diary entry for today in Jonathan Harker's journal.

And puhleez, don't even comment on how easily entertained I am. I already know. Via Neatorama.

Happy Anniversary ... to Me!

More properly, Happy Anniversary to Happy Catholic.

I was reading Pioneer Woman's anniversary post, when it suddenly sprang to my startled mind that I began this blog sometime in early May. Didn't I?

When I checked the archives, I see that it was five years ago on May 2.

Did you catch that?

Five. years. ago.

Well, knock me over with a feather. No wonder I have 8,126 posts. Plus this one, natch.

I remember well those shy days of cringing when I pushed the "publish post" button and dared enter the blogosphere ... I don't think that lurking counted as being part of the blogosphere. I was a first class lurker though. It didn't take me all that long to get used to just putting it out there (we're not going to get into whether that is bad or good ... remember this is a celebration).

My first posts, on May 2, 2004, were:

• Work is Spiritual ... quoting extensively from a book.
• Jesus' Temptations in the Wilderness ... again quoting extensively from a book
• A Gaelic Blessing ... called down upon whoever stole our lawnmower that day ... my attempt at humor

So I see that I began as I meant to go on. Lots of other people's thoughts and my own attempts at humor. (ha! well, at least I make myself laugh ... someone's gotta!)

Much thanks to those who have been here from the beginning ... all 10 of you!

And many thanks also to those who have dropped in along the way and then kept coming back.

I am enjoying every minute of it (and we all know it's all about me, right?). Hopefully there is a bit of entertainment and information here for you as well.

A Little Weekend Reading

The Shroud of Turin in 2010 ... prompted by the news that the shroud will be exhibited next year, The Anchoress follows her thoughts to the fact that although the shroud may show us Jesus it does not reflect Jesus. Exactly. Maybe that's why I've never cared about it one way or the other. A good contemplation no matter which side of the fence you sit on.

Angels and Demons

Golly. I thought ANGELS AND DEMONS by Dan Brown would turn out to be just an ordinary run-of-the-mill Catholic-bashing hate-fest. But, no, the whoppers told strain credulity. Do people actually know that little about history? It seems that they do.

... John C. Wright writhes in agony over the many historical inaccuracies in Dan Brown's latest work to come to film. Why this surprises him I am not sure as Brown is not accurate about much as far as I know. I always like Wright's turn of phrase and, for me anyway, he is never a waste of time to read. Especially as as a few of Tom's relatives took the Da Vinci Code as gospel truth and wearied us excessively by quoting it as proof of the Church's dastardly doings. *sigh* We might as well be prepared right now for the next round ...

Well, That Was a Surprise!

Nominations are closed over at The Crescat's 2009 Cannonball Awards.

No, that isn't the surprise.

The surprise was seeing that Happy Catholic has been nominated in the Best Spiritual Treat category.

Thank you, mysterious nominator. You made my day!

Also, I nominated one of the nicest and best heretical bloggers I know in the (natch) Best Blog by a Heretic category ... Good News Film Reviews. His post on this nomination is hilarious and the badge is to die for (but not before we pull you away from The Dark Side, Scott!).

2009 Pandemic of Stupidity

Regardless of the big picture, we can testify that here in the DFW area, people are freaking out on a major scale.

The Ft. Worth school system canceled school for about a week because three students came down with the virus. They have now canceled Mayfest, an annual festival.

A friend tells me that an acquaintance of hers was fretting last night because "if they close the borders then how are we going to get produce?" This sent others off on emergency runs to the store where they found that masks are all sold out.

I hope the authorities and the media are happy ... our national freak-out is on schedule and progressing well.

Now I see, via Neatorama, that scientists are saying that this flu strain is milder than the regular winter flu.

"Let's not lose track of the fact that the normal seasonal influenza is a huge public health problem that kills tens of thousands of people in the U.S. alone and hundreds of thousands around the world," said Dr. Christopher Olsen, a molecular virologist who studies swine flu at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine in Madison.

His remarks Wednesday came the same day Texas authorities announced that a nearly 2-year-old boy with the virus had died in a Houston hospital Monday.

"Any time someone dies, it's heartbreaking for their families and friends," Olsen said. "But we do need to keep this in perspective."

There is much more. Go read it all. Please.

Grilled Lemon Chicken

Because I don't know about where you live but 'round here it's grilling season all year ... and most certainly it was last weekend. Grab it at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

The Flu View from Inside Mexico

Interesting to read the reactions there from various bloggers living in Mexico:

• Midwesterner in Mexico has lots o' links as well as good photos documenting their light-hearted take on things (they're eating lots of bacon ...)
• billieblog from whence I got the above link, talks about how quiet the streets are
• Mexico Bob, one of my favorite new blogs and one that I think maybe billieblog turned me onto also, has a fascinating contemplation about God, viruses, and his own faith journey. Worth reading for sure.
  

10 Secrets of the Vatican Exposed!

Actually, I'm going to share number ten from this list that I know will interest readers a lot. It is from Mental Floss magazine which is one of the very few magazines that I subscribe to.

Even the ATMs Are in Latin

The Vatican Bank is the only bank in the world that allows ATM users to select Latin to perform transactions. That’s just one symbol of the Holy See’s continued devotion to the language. Pope Benedict XVI has been particularly passionate about reviving the language and purportedly holds many informal conversations in Latin. (Pope John Paul II generally spoke Polish.)

The Vatican’s Latin Foundation tries to keep the language relevant by translating modern phrases into the ancient tongue. In 2003, they released an updated dictionary that included the terms “rush hour” (tempus maximae frequentiae) and “dishwasher” (escariorum lavatory). Interestingly, the translations can have serious consequences. A recent U.S. lawsuit was brought against the Vatican for conspiring to protect a child-molesting priest, and it was held up for months as the Church’s experts rejected the prosecuting team’s Latin translations of terms such as “conspiracy to commit fraud.”

I like the idea of Pope Benedict chit chatting in Latin. Though not if I were around. Then it wouldn't be a bit enjoyable ...