Let that be a lesson to you, old chum

He who lives by the RSS feed, sees nothing amusing in the sidebars.

Not only mine, in which amusing content changes every weekday, but that of others. I must admit that, having fallen into the RSS feed habit myself, I have missed for some time seeing the broader horizons.

If I hadn't pulled out of RSS for a moment and wandered over "in person" (so to speak) to martha, martha then I'd never have seen the truly wonderful Batman quote in her sidebar.

Then I never would have gone looking for others.

And then none of us would be sitting here right now laughing at this ...

Robin: Where'd you get a live fish, Batman?

Batman: The true crimefighter always carries everything he needs in his utility belt, Robin.

You are laughing aren't you? Yeah, me too. Remember, old chum, stop and smell the roses (or view the blogs in their entirety).

Looking Up

This does not really do justice to the full white I see when I look up but it was the only photo I could find online that came close. Our pear trees are in full bloom. (Rose will be happy she isn't here as the scent I barely notice is abhorrent to her.) Truly gorgeous.

“Look around. You can’t tell who was conceived with wine and roses and who was conceived on a street corner.”

It wasn’t a day for writing. It was a day for processing all that I saw and heard at a United Nations conference the day before. The first session that I attended was conducted by a panel of eight women and one man who were conceived in rape, and in one case, incest. These were the very people whose conception is held out as the ultimate justification for legalized abortion. Executing the child for the father’s crime.

Powerful writing and links from Coming Home in Conceived in Rape: God is My Father.

Bishops Elect Deshotel and Seitz for Dallas

I like it. I like it a lot.

Whispers in the Loggia says both were named as co-auxiliaries to Dallas' Bishop Farrell and I couldn't be happier.

I don't know Bishop Elect Steitz, about whom good stories are being told, but I am very familiar with Bishop Elect Deshotel who used to fill in at St. Thomas Aquinas long ago.

Specifically I can never be grateful enough for his answering the call to the priesthood. It was he who heard my first face-to-face confession during the CRHP retreat that I attended six years ago. I kid you not, I don't remember specific words but I do know that I felt Jesus Himself speaking through him ... kindly, insightfully, and with words of healing. That confession was a key moment for me personally and ultimately the main reason (among so many) that I was called to attend that retreat.

• Here is the diocese's announcement.
• Here is the bishop's blog which not only has posts about the bishops-elect but also announces that Dallas will be welcoming home 3,000 new Catholics at Easter. Thanks be to God ...

In which the crew faces more threats from the aliens ...

... Breaking Point, part 2, is up at Forgotten Classics.

It's All Downhill from Here

The flowers began to wither under the rigorous interrogation.

Time for some midweek humor to lighten things up. Let us turn to Unhappy Hipsters which Shrine of the Holy Whapping, where I found the link, points out adds "silly captions to pretentious, underbuilt, overdesigned interiors and exteriors ripped from the headlines of modish living magazines." And does a fine job of it too ...

The bathroom had been the source of an acrid odor for months,
but now emitted a strange, vaguely toxic glow. This didn’t bode well.

The Principle of Subsidiarity

The principle of subsidiarity holds that a larger and greater body should not exercise functions which can be carried out efficiently by one smaller and lesser, but rather the former should support the latter and help to coordinate its activity with the activities of the whole community.

Source

This principle has been named to me via three different sources in conversation, reading, and email within the last three days.

Although I felt I understood it in context each time, I figured I'd better be sure I really knew what it meant. I approve of this principle. Although my search for the definition brought up references to Catholic social principles, business, and the European Union ... all three of my original instances were in reference to parish life.

Just in case anyone else out there has been bombarded with subsidiarity, I thought I'd pass this along.

In the desert ...

... it is difficult there, spare and unrelenting. But there is a sort of peace and beauty that comes from having your soul scoured clean by the whirling sands.

The Crescat reminds us that it is still Lent. I need no reminder this year. But in a strange way I am grateful for that scouring. Perhaps I am in the eye of the storm to be experiencing such peace. I realize how very imperfect I am. I realize just how superhuman, how supernatural it was for Christ to undergo what He did in His passion and to do it so perfectly. I realize how grateful I am that we have His example, simultaneously perfectly human and perfectly divine, to follow and not only that of our fellow men, imperfect as we all are.

Is it peaceful here because it is real, because we can see so clearly when stripped away from the extraneous trees and landscape of regular life? I do not know. But I begin to feel an understanding of the desert saints that I never have before.

This 'n' That

Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) is writing and directing a Doc Savage movie!
Sez Rose. Isn't that enough? It was for us ... we both love Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Doc Savage. Ok, here's more.

The Great Prayer Project - End Abortion
From my inbox comes this link for what seems an excellent project:

The Great Prayer Project - End Abortion is simply this, starting March 25, 2010, we hope to have one continuous year of prayer to end abortion. The way we plan on achieving this objective is by allowing individuals to sign up for 20 minute time slots and pray for an end to abortion during that time period.

Pulp Fiction in Motion Graphics
More properly, a choice bit of dialogue in type ... perfectly done and hilarious. Remember, we're all about type. However, remember this is from Pulp Fiction. Practically every other word is explicit so don't click through if that's gonna bother you.

It's Like Roy H. Williams Knows My Life
Such as here, where people add up 2 and 2 to get 14.

Violent crime in America declined each year from 1993 to 2004. Then just about the time the iPod became popular in 2005, violent crime began trending upward.

CONCLUSION: iPods cause violent crime. Or at least that was the conclusion of a 2007 report published by The Urban Institute, a research organization based in Washington. (I swear I’m not making this up.)

Bad advertising strategies stem from just such logic: “Since one event precedes another, the first event must be the cause of the second.” This fallacy of logic is so common it has a Latin name: Post hoc, ergo, propter hoc, "after this, therefore, because of this," referring to the mistaken belief that temporal succession implies a causal relation.

Most business owners look around, observe their circumstances and then try to make sense of it all. Their thoughts and plans are guided by what they see. But any scientist will tell you correlation and causation are not the same thing.

Which also can relate somewhat to that iceberg thing I mentioned last week.

He does it again here.

Not once did they ever say, "Wow. Thanks for caring enough to share that with us."

I knew the bands were delusional. I just never realized that I was, too.

Strangely, I never quit advising people. In fact, I made a career of it.

But a good friend told me something that has saved everyone a lot of pain. “Unsolicited advice is abuse,” he said. So I no longer offer unsolicited advice.

Which is a lesson I most definitely am trying to learn.

Read them both. Or listen if you like. I prefer the podcast but it is Lent, after all, and I am still fasting from spoken word podcasts. Which leads to the last bit of this 'n' that for the moment ...

I Read a Lot More Books When I'm Not Listening to Podcasts All the Time
Yes, I know. Obvious. But its fun to rediscover the fun of whipping through a book every day or two. I've also rediscovered the many ways you can prop books in our kitchen for reading while washing dishes, cooking meals, and so forth. That's why I have bookweights in several rooms of the house, not to mention one at work.

Addictive personality? Tell me something I don't know. At least the Dallas Public Library has an excellent selection so we don't go bankrupt. So far I've still managed to keep my resolution of not buying any new books in 2010. It has been touch and go a couple of times but I've held on.

Here is what I'm reading now. Here is what I've read so far this year. My numbering on when I read some of them is a bit erratic as I found some duplicates, but that's not the point really.

Books I'd Like to Read to You

Oops, meant to post this at Forgotten Classics ... you can catch the list there if you're interested.

Who will reach the Breaking Point?

Part 1 of our new book, Breaking Point by James Gunn, is up at Forgotten Classics. It is a science fiction novella and being read for the SFFaudio Annual Challenge.

Plus a new podcast highlight ... yes, even if I'm not listening to 'em during Lent, I can still dish the dirt on which ones are good to try out.

This Just In: The Language God Talks (on science and religion)

I wasn't aware that best selling author Herman Wouk (The Caine Mutiny, The Winds of War) wrote nonfiction and, more to the point, precisely the sort of nonfiction that I love to read ... about faith and God.

I am intrigued so far by my preliminary dip into this very readable book. Certainly, I'll have to look for his previous books on the subject later, but I am happy now to have the opportunity to read his latest work, described thusly:

"More years ago than I care to reckon up, I met Richard Feynman." So begins THE LANGUAGE GOD TALKS, Herman Wouk's gem on navigating the divide between science and religion. In one rich, compact volume, Wouk draws on stories from his life as well as on key events from the 20th century to address the eternal questions of why we are here, what purpose faith serves, and how scientific fact fits into the picture. He relates wonderful conversations he's had with scientists such as Feynman, Murray Gell-Mann, Freeman Dyson, and Steven Weinberg, and brings to life such pivotal moments as the 1969 moon landing and the Challenger disaster.

More on this work later, I'm sure.

First Friday Fast for an End to Abortion

A twelve-week old fetus baby in the womb.*

It all began here in Dallas -- in our home town, where we raise our families, where we go to church, where we live, and love, and learn, and work.

We are three bloggers who also live in the Dallas area. We are deeply committed to ending abortion in this country. To that end, we have committed ourselves to the following: On each First Friday for the next eleven months, we will fast and pray before the Blessed Sacrament for an end to abortion. This year's commitment will culminate at the annual Dallas March for Life in January of 2009, where we will join our bishop and the faithful of this city in marching to the courthouse where Roe was originally argued.

Original Joint Announcement

In addition to unborn babies and their families, I will be including all those who work to end abortion, as well as the souls of those who work for abortion in my intentions. Also included will be solid catechesis for all Catholics as that is a key issue to most of the misunderstandings on both this issue and others in the secular world.

For your reading and information, here is an excellent article Why Conception? by Michael from The Deeps of Time. Highly recommended.

*I used to be among those who believed the secular propaganda that a 12-week-old baby was just "a blob of cells." Even after coming to the truth, I never knew just how vividly untrue that was until seeing this image, via Father Dwight Longenecker, who points out that 89% of abortions take place in the first twelve weeks. No wonder pro-abortion activists protest ultrasounds for mothers who are seeking counseling. This is unmistakably a baby.

Look First to the Iceberg in Your Own Eye ...

... and then you will be able to remove the ice crystal from your brother's eye.*

The Art of Manliness has been running a good series designed to help us boost our resiliency. This is part 4 but it doesn't suffer from being read as a stand alone article.

Have you ever reacted to something with an intensity of emotion that didn’t seem to match the circumstances of the event? The logical part of your mind is telling you that’s it’s not that big of deal, but you still feel really angry/hurt/depressed/anxious, and you can’t seem to turn off the emotion.

These kind of “overreactions” can leave us feeling pretty frustrated. They hurt our relationships and keep us from making progress in our lives. Not only do they lead us to dwell on things longer than we should, but we end up making poor decisions in this emotional state. These kinds of incongruous reactions keep us from responding resiliently to our problems.

So what causes these mismatched reactions? A collision with an iceberg, an iceberg belief to be precise. Water is pouring in your hull, but atop the deck you don’t really understand what has happened. All you know is that you’re sinking-fast.

This article does a great job of helping all of us to begin to identify those iceberg beliefs ("iceberg beliefs are fixed and frozen ideas about the world that we hold deep within us") and learn how to work through them.

*With apologies to Matthew 7:5.

CSA!

We're getting closer to the first pick up in our share of a local farmer's produce ... read about our CSA subscription at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

As seen on a church sign nearby

Thanks to Laura, who travels a different route around town than I do ... and, yes, it is going into my quote journal.

Honk if you love Jesus.
Text while driving if you want to meet Him.

She speaks eloquently for cat owners everywhere

Truly it is a heroic act to pill a cat, as the often hilarious Crescat illustrates. Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, I went one better by just ripping it off.

Friday Litany: Litany of the Precious Blood (new version)

The revised version of the litany from last week. I think each has something good to offer for prayer and contemplation. Also found at Catholic Youth Networking.

Litany of the Precious Blood From the 1991 Enchiridion of Indulgences

Lord, have mercy Christ, have mercy Lord, have mercy God our Father of Heaven, have mercy on us. God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us. God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us. Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us. Response: be our salvation. Blood of Christ, only Son of the Father, Blood of Christ, Incarnate Word, Blood of Christ, of the new and eternal covenant, Blood of Christ, that spilled to the ground, Blood of Christ, that flowed at the scourging, Blood of Christ, dripping from the thorns, Blood of Christ, shed on the Cross, Blood of Christ, the price of our redemption, Blood of Christ, our only claim to pardon, Blood of Christ, our blessing cup, Blood of Christ, in which we are washed, Blood of Christ, torrent of mercy, Blood of Christ, that overcomes evil, Blood of Christ, strength of the martyrs, Blood of Christ, endurance of the saints, Blood of Christ, that makes the barren fruitful, Blood of Christ, protection of the threatened, Blood of Christ, comfort of the weary, Blood of Christ, solace of the mourner, Blood of Christ, hope of the repentant, Blood of Christ, consolation of the dying, Blood of Christ, our peace and refreshment, Blood of Christ, our pledge of life, Blood of Christ, by which we pass to glory, Blood of Christ, most worthy of honor, Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. V. Lord, You redeemed us by Your Blood. R. You have made us a kingdom to serve our God. Let us pray: Father, by the blood of Your Son, You have set us free and saved us from death. Continue Your work of love within us, that by constantly celebrating the mystery of our salvation, we may reach the eternal life it promises. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Movies of the Mind for Modern Times - Audiodrama Podcasting

The script called for snow, and it was snowing.

"I wanted light and fluffy," said the director, Fred Greenhalgh. He was talking about the cozily muffled acoustics, not the pretty view. "This is perfect," he said. "Roll 'em!"

Windshield wipers slapping, a car whooshed to a stop at an old schoolhouse in this coastal city, now home to a theater company. Letting the car door slam as he got out, Bill Dufris, playing a cop in Brattleboro, Vt., said, "I'll do my best," and crunched up the wooden steps to a make-believe crime scene.

Overhead, a sea gull screamed. "I could hear that," Mr. Greenhalgh interrupted. "This is supposed to be Vermont." Thinking that inland Brattleboro shouldn't have sea gulls, he called for another take. Mr. Dufris got back in the car, drove around, slammed the door, and delivered his line again: "I'll do my best." Somewhere in the harbor, a foghorn blew.

"Cut!" said Mr. Greenhalgh. His sound man turned off his digital recorder. "The joys of recording on location," Mr. Greenhalgh said. "OK, one more time."

A 26-year-old with blond bangs and a goatee, the director was busy dramatizing a detective story. Not for the screen. For the iPod. The book it was based on—"Open Season" by Archer Mayor—begins with an image: "The snow lay before our headlights like a freshly placed sheet…" But Mr. Greenhalgh had no camera. His job was to translate the book into sound.

An interesting article from the WSJ. Anyone who hangs around with me at Forgotten Classics already knows about them but it is nice to see audiodramas getting some ink in a mainstream publication.

More ghostliness, more denseness, the RIGHT theory and true love ...

... all in a super-fantastic, extra long episode as we finish The Uninvited with a flourish at Forgotten Classics. Plus some news, some comments, and some photos of Hawaii. Get it while it's hot!