"My wife is quoting you at me." -- Mike Aquilina

The last couple of weeks have been very, very good for Happy Catholic (the book), so I thought that I'd pass along the love (yes, boring, but at least it is just every so often, right? right!). Links are in the subheads if you want to see more.
Mike Aquilina
Who was not only kind enough to write a blurb for the cover but was good enough to further review it on his blog ... and told me via email that "my wife is quoting you at me." It don't get much better than that, folks!

I read it in manuscript, but I like it even more now that it has a bright, sunny cover. I’d read it again if I could wrest it from my wife’s grip. I suppose I’ll have to buy a second copy. But that’s OK, because it’s an excellent book to keep on hand for passing out to inquirers or fallen-away or disaffected Catholics. Julie knows how to lead readers, at just the right pace, to see the Church’s human and divine aspects for what they are: human (long sigh) and divine (wow!). For me, she defines realism because her realism reminds me so much of my mom’s and my wife’s.

Terry Fenwick liked Mike's comments so much that he wound his own Amazon review around them. High praise on two levels, that!

Listmania: The Humorous Guide to Learning More About Your Faith
Jessica says of her list, "Because, let's be honest, being Catholic is awesome and we have a great sense of humor as Catholics. If you want to know more about the Catholic faith in an entertaining way (but also in a totally faithful way), pick up one or more of these books." And I am completely gratified to be on a list with all three of John Zmirak's "Bad Catholic" books (which I love). All of the books on there are good, to be honest, so that makes me even prouder! Thank you Jessica!


... engages both contemporary and time-honored culture - Joseph R.
I know Joseph's Zombie Parent's Guide blog and so it makes his review even better for me. He posted at both Amazon and Goodreads so, for variety, I put the Goodreads link.

What I really love about the book is how it engages both contemporary and time-honored culture. Quotes range from the recent Battlestar Galactica TV show and The Onion to St. Augustine and Lao-tzu. The uniting thread is the underlying truth found in all of these: how God touches our lives in the most remarkable and most mundane ways.

You want a friend around like this! - Tom N.
Tom N. pointed out that Barnes and Noble has some Happy Catholic reviews as well, one of which is his.

Read a page or two (It's set up much like a blog - only on paper) and think about it. This book helps keep your mind in the beauty of Catholicism with all the wonders and diversity. Happy Catholic is written by a Catholic who loves to practice her faith.

For those who had inquired, I discovered that there will not be a Nook version of the book available.

Thanks to these and others who have been so generous in reviewing Happy Catholic and making their views public! Keep 'em coming!

You have to watch "A Fistful of Paintballs"

Which takes Community's crazy good paintball episode from last season spoofing the thriller/action movie and moves it to the Western genre.

A two-parter featuring Josh Holloway (Sawyer from Lost) as The Black Rider in part 1 and I hear we'll see Nathan Fillion (Firefly, natch) in a cameo in part 2.

The previews for part 2 were brilliant.


It's available online.

Let's face it, you should be watching Community anyway. We only stumbled across it with the brilliant Halloween episode. However, having recently finished watching the first season dvds, I have to say that this show, although spotty in brilliance from episode to episode, always has something brilliant in each show. (Generally involving Troy and Abed, but I've got a soft spot for geek bro-mance.)

Note: on rereading this, I'm not sure I said "brilliant" enough. Just to be sure you get the point.

B. R. I. L. L. I. A. N. T.

Update
Also, in checking the Hulu feed for someone, I realized the brilliance (yes, still more!) of having the cards beside each person in the credits ... and how they tie in to the end of the episode. It took me seeing the credits again to get that.

Blogging Around: 5 Easy Pieces

From the Saturday WSJ, which just gets better and better. In the order in which the links came up in my Google reader.

1. Demystifying the homemade souffle
   Which, let's face it, is not that hard to do anyway. And the article, surprisingly, tends to make it more intimidating by saying things like "Put a large pinch of salt in the egg whites, and if possible, leave them out of the refrigerator for a day or two before making a soufflé."
   
   You know what? Don't.
   
   Just make the souffle and don't worry about letting them sit around on the counter first. But otherwise a nice piece, especially with the bit about eating it anyway and calling it pudding if it falls.
   
2. Bin Laden's followers represent a real interpretation of Islam. Why don't more Muslims challenge it?
   
3. How Rembrandt reinvented Jesus
   
4. Steampunk's time has come
   I knew it already (thank you, Amy H. Sturgis). But it's nice to see the WSJ with a major article letting the world know.
   
5. Five winning jarred tomato sauces
   I never think to use them but this article left me wanting spaghetti and thinking maybe I'd look for one or two of these brands.
   

And one for the road.

1. Ars Sacra book review featuring the image of "This Isaiah is one of the most ecstatic works of art ever coaxed from stone" which made me long for a $199 book.

When You Wake Up and Can't Smell the Coffee (Or Taste It Either): Reviewing "Season to Taste" by Molly Birnbaum

Having been admitted to the Amazon Vine Program I was eager to find a book to try that I would not normally come across. Season to Taste: How I lost My Sense of Smell and Found My Way, in which Molly Birnbaum relates her loss of smell due to a head injury and intersperses her story with delving into the science of smell, filled the bill. What makes Birnbaum's loss of smell, and subsequent almost complete loss of the ability to taste, all the more painful is that she was set to go to the Culinary Institute of America to begin training as a chef. Watching her learn to deal with her unexpectedly debilitating infirmity is fascinating and is making me more aware of all the scents that make the pattern of my life.

Birnbaum is an unexpectedly good writer. Possibly because she had to focus on the visual and textural aspects of food and the world around her after losing her sense of smell, she describes her environment and experiences in a way that takes the reader into her world. This can be unexpectedly jarring when she points out aspects of scent that affect us daily in ways that we never thought about. For example, if one isn't smelling pine or mint or some other vivid fragrance, can we remember what it is like? It was rather disturbing to realize that I couldn't actually do so in the way that I can recall a flavor. These experiences enhance our appreciation for what Birnbaum and others deprived of scent go through. The science of the book was interesting and I appreciated the fact that it was interwoven with the personal story. This added gravity to Birnbaum's story and lightened the science enough to take it all in. Her quest takes her to science labs, Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory, perfume experts, and a chef who managed to keep cooking despite developing tongue cancer. One of the most fascinating sections of the book was when the author went to perfume training school in France in an attempt to give her olfactory neurons additional stimulus and herself extra training to help her recognition of scents.

My one negative feeling about the book was that Birnbaum kept on worrying about how much of her sense of smell would return, even after much of it had come back. While understandable on one hand, and probably an accurate accounting of her feelings, the overall effect was to make the book was to become tedious and whiny seeming at times.

I did wonder, as the book went on and time seemed to be passing year by year, was how Birnbaum was supporting herself. A job or two is mentioned but only ever as a method of helping to cope with or try to train her limited sense of smell. At other times, she clearly is not employed and I wondered how she was able to afford living in New York City or traveling to France to attend perfume school. It didn't detract from the story but it did occur to me forcibly from time to time.

Overall, I recommend the book to anyone who is interested in cooking, taste, perfume, and the science of scent. Oh, and an interesting story well told.

Happy Catholic and Catholic Spotlight

I had the great pleasure of chatting with Chris Cash from The Catholic Company for his podcast, Catholic Spotlight, about Happy Catholic. It was lots of fun! If you want to hear what we talked about, including some favorite quotes from the book, just click through the link to hear it.

The Catholic Company also has several copies of Happy Catholic out with their reviewers ... and it made me happy to read that the book exceeded Transitus Tiber's expectations and provided a list of books and movies to be explored, based on the quotes included!

I keep hearing that it isn't popular to pray for Osama's soul

Any time that someone dies it is a time to think of their soul and pray for them.

When someone dies with as much on his soul as Osama bin Laden had on his, it should prompt us to drop to our knees and think about the fact that he had many opportunities every day to turn away from the path of destruction, to make the right choices that would bring light into the world instead of darkness.

What small things do I let slip that can grow quickly greater without me realizing it? What small things did Osama let slip that grew beyond his desire to prune them back?

Popular has nothing to do with it.

As the Vatican statement said:

In the face of a man’s death, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibilities of each person before God and before men, and hopes and works so that every event may be the occasion for the further growth of peace and not of hatred.

So I pray for his soul. His and the souls of the others who died with him.

May God have mercy on them.

"If my clergy have a sex life, I‘d prefer not to hear the faintest whisper of it, which just goes to prove that I do regard them with a properly filial attitude."

Some in favor of changing the discipline like to argue that married clergy will be better able to plug the Church’s line on birth control, etc., to married couples. Maybe — but only if the married couples are receptive. Once, several years before entering the Church, I attended a “Victorious Christian Living” seminar at a nearby Baptist church. (I was wingman for my buddy, who went at the insistence of his girlfriend, who brought him at the insistence of her grandmother.) At the podium we found a pastor and his wife standing in front of a whiteboard. They were both wearing acid-washed denim that had gone out of style around the time of the Velvet Revolution. On the whiteboard, someone had sketched a pyramid. One end of the base was marked: “PASTOR RON”; the other, “HIS WIFE”; the peak, “GOD.”

Pastor Ron began by pointing at his wife: “I despise her flesh,” he told us.

The pastor’s wife pointed back at her husband. “And I despise his flesh,” she said, smiling demurely.

I can’t really tell you what happened after that, since I quickly jammed half my fingers in my ears and the remaining ones in my eyes.

Max Lindenman ... that guy really makes me laugh! In a good way! Go read it all.

If Raymond Chandler and P.G. Wodehouse had a lovechild who wrote noir ...

... he'd have been named Norbert Davis and have written the Doan & Carstairs mysteries.

They're serious noir. And serious fun.

A Little Weekend Blogging Around

Just a few things I enjoyed from this morning ...

American Bloggers in Rome

John Paul II's big day is tomorrow and the American bloggers are there ... for that and for the blogging conference with the Vatican on Monday. They are mostly too busy to blog, but I enjoyed seeing these early reports from The Crescat and The Anchoress. I am thinking about them and praying for the whole thing off and on as it comes to mind.

La-Z-Boy Multi-Plex

I loved reading the movie descriptions in this WSJ graphic illustrating the article about what to watch at home instead of going to the movies this summer. Though nothing will keep me from Cowboys and Aliens. Except terrible reviews all 'round.

I'll Take a Sofa-Sized Painting, Please ... Interesting Vending Machines From Around the World

Another WSJ article. So sue me. Their Saturday edition rocks. Live crabs, gold, fresh pizza ... there's nothing you can't find in a vending machine.

Hats

Again with the WSJ, but these women's hats are fantastic. Ok. Not the bird wings ones so much, but just pretend those are fake and move on. Because these are old hats and we can't change the past. That's a job for Time Cop (see Multi-Plex story above).

Tuxedos

Something for the guys here, in this WSJ review. I admit I didn't read it. I just enjoyed looking at the photos of tuxedos over the ages. Here's one we can all enjoy together.

Twisters and Nature

Wild youngsters may end up on the ground when their nests are blown out of trees by violent storms (Caption from Nature Next Door; Photo: Ryan Keene, Creative Commons license)

Nature Next Door, my favorite wildlife blogger, says:

When I ran a wildlife rehabilitation center in Houston, major spring storms always brought a deluge of baby animals. Nests cradling baby birds and squirrels would be blown out of branches, and even cavity-nesting species weren’t safe when the storm was strong enough to uproot entire trees. Permitted wildlife rehabilitators are trained to provide the specialized care and nutrition necessary for wildlings to grow up healthy and be released back into the wild, but it’s always best to reunite offspring with their parents… if possible. As a result, rehabilitators have come up with a variety of creative reunion methods and techniques. After a tornado or hurricane churns through a neighborhood, though, the wild adults, if they survived, may be too disoriented to find their babies.

She's got links for finding wildlife rehabbers and, of course, you know I'll remind people in Dallas and Houston about 911 Wildlife, because Hannah works there!

Now I'm off the computer for a good long time, hopefully most of the day and tomorrow as I have tons to do! Have a good weekend, y'all!

Happy Birthday, Dear Tom!

He's so hard to shop for but at last I found this lovely doodle and piñatas are for birthdays, so it is perfect!

Tom has chosen not to have me make a cake, for a variety of reasons, but mostly because he loves profiteroles so much and never gets them. I have made them before and they are, believe it or not, very simple to make. However, in the interest of a busy weekend, we are lucky to have wonderful whipped-cream filled versions from the Central Market.

This photo is from Oui, Chef, where they are filled with ice cream, but he would tell us that whipped cream is equally as good, isn't it? Oui, chef!

Now I must go wrap gifts!

Weekend Joke

Actually a cartoon, but funny and that's the point. Thanks to xkcd for letting me share it here!

Am I the Only Person Who Kept Forgetting That There Was Going to Be a Royal Wedding?

I've been continually surprised for the last couple of weeks by mentions of Prince William and Kate, dresses, parties, travel to England, and (as lately as this morning) the Google doodle.

I saw the castle, the idealized fairy-tale land look and thought, "Walt Disney's birthday?"

Oh. Right. That wedding.

Didn't they just get engaged?

I didn't mind that they were getting married. They seem like a nice couple (how far that goes in royal marriages, I have no clue).

I just ... kept forgetting and being continually reminded.

At least it must be over by now. So I can go on to being surprised by something else that I don't care enough to even remember.

Though I do approve of her wedding gown.

By means of which GetReligion reminded me that there was a royal wedding. Yes, I'd forgotten ... again ... from the time I saw the Google doodle to when their story showed up in my RSS reader.

Happy Catholic and Real Life Radio 1380

I simply can't believe that I didn't post about being on Real Life Radio 1380 with Leo Brown until afterward!

Yes, that is just how busy I got at work. Dashed out the door and felt lucky to get home and get the dogs quieted down and catch my breath before they called.

Leo Brown is a wonderful interviewer and makes you feel right at home from the first moment. I had a good time, especially as Leo let me go on and on and on ...

I thought that I was told they are connected with a Catholic bookstore although I don't see that mentioned on their website. A friend tells me that the Catholic bookstores in Kentucky, where this show is based, are the best she's ever been to. Does that mean the Catholics in Kentucky read more than in other places? Or go to Catholic bookstores more? It sure makes me want to go to Kentucky!

Tornados, Training, and the Difference that Prayer Makes

... And then the first storm cell made it's presence felt, and we headed into the strong-hold, just like in the movie Thunderheart. And trust me, hearts were thundering in the pantry at this point.

We didn't have time to grab our rosaries, but after years of training, we didn't need them. And that is the point of this post. In the Marines, we trained constantly in peace-time and during war-time. Training is non-stop; "it ain't training, unless it's raining." And when we were in the pantry, the prayer training we had been practicing all these years, paid off. Did our prayers stop the storm? Stop tornadoes from ripping our house apart? I don't know. Many who prayed lost their homes and businesses in Alabama.

No. The praying did what nothing else can do. It provided comfort and courage during the worst storms we have ever lived through. ...

Frank at Why I Am Catholic ... go read it all.

How to Get to "I Do": A Dating Guide for Catholic Women

I remember when I finally took my call to marriage seriously. I had been dating for a few years and was sitting in a restaurant with a girlfriend. She was telling me how she was content to never get married if she couldn't find someone who measured up to her expectations. "I won't settle for less," she said. "It's not worth it to me."

She, like me, was devout. I noticed, however, that her rigidity made it difficult for her to understand the complexities and imperfections of real relationships. She was impatient with people's human weaknesses. On the positive side, she could be serene and prayerful at her best, almost angelic in her purity.

While I would normally have seconded her reticence to settle for a mortal man, I suddenly said, "No! I know God wants me to marry and have kids. I can feel this in my bones. I know that I have to do what he's calling me to do. How could I ignore a call to a vocation. Wouldn't that be wrong? Holding out for perfection won't work, because nobody is perfect."

She looked surprised, but as I explained my commitment to following God's call, her facial expression softened into sympathy. How could she blame me for wanting to fulfill my purpose? A flower bulb is meant to blossom in the spring, and likewise each of us has her own purpose in life.

While it may seem as if I was hit with a lightning bolt or instantly enlightened, this is far from true. I had debated these issues internally and pondered my vocation many times. I also struggled with perfectionism. A spiritual director once urged me to remember that no man is perfect and that living with an imperfect man can be a road to holiness in itself.

Stop for a minute and think about how many self-help books you have seen me review.

I myself am trying to think of even one I've read ... ever. I must have. But darned if I can think of one.

Therefore, when I present to you this "dating guide for Catholic women" you know it must be unusual. Unusually good. Please believe me when I say that I wish I had enough cash to buy a copy for every single Catholic woman I know and give it to them.

Coming to marriage, as I did, as an agnostic, late-twenties young woman, stumbling my way through meeting and dating guys, it seems like a no-brainer. You meet a guy who finally clicks in the right ways. He loves you too. Miracle! And it keeps going so you get married and settle down to finding out what life together is really all about.

That is difficult enough for both men and women in general these days.

However, now that I have two daughters who are young women, know many of their friends, and have many younger, unmarried female friends of my own, I can see that there is a way to make it more difficult. Add being a devout Catholic into the mix. For some reason that adds a whole set of complications that never occurred to me before.

Some women insist on marrying only a Catholic.

Others feel they are failed by their church if the parish singles group isn't providing suitably eligible men.

Most struggle with chastity on some level or other.

That doesn't even count the potential minefield of on-line dating, meeting men from different countries (not to mention different faiths), hostile parents, and all the other hazards of modern dating.

Tom and I have given friends counsel about issues one time or another, when they lamented never finding good men. We feel for them. These are wonderful women. They deserve to meet "Mr. Right" and marry. It can hurt to see them throw obstacles in their own way or focus so much on dating that they forget to live their lives in the meantime. (I hasten to add that this is by no means the case for the majority of our single friends ... and usually only an occasional blip for others.)

Imagine my pleasure and relief when I read How to Get to "I Do" which handles every question and issue with calm, practical commonsense. She dated for ten years before marrying and encountered many of the everyday problems that modern, devout Catholic women run into when trying to find that good man who they will "click" with. This is really a complete guide, covering not only where to meet men but a variety of topics, such as as meeting in a public place for a first date, Catholic places outside parishes to meet people, dating within your means, handling guys who flirt with everyone, and much more.

I was equally pleased to see that she goes past finding and discerning guys to date and delves into issues to consider before committing to marriage, coping with disappointment and betrayal, how to handle remaining single for a long time when you are dying to get married, engagement tips, and planning a wedding.

Obviously this is aimed at Catholics but it seems to me that most Christian women would profit from it as well. I would even recommend it to nonbelievers who share common values with Catholics, such as valuing themselves enough to remain chaste until marriage. (There are such women, although modern news and entertainment would lead you to believe otherwise.) There is plenty of good, solid advice here to be gleaned for many situations that are common to all dating women.

This is a book that I will be recommending to many women, starting close to home. My own daughters can benefit greatly from it.

P.S. I know there are wonderful guys out there who are suffering from similar problems. many of the issues discussed in this book work for both sexes, though some are female-specific. So now, where is their book?

Gilgamesh and Me

When the idea of Easter reading comes up, it is unlikely that the Epic of Gilgamesh is on your list. Surprisingly though, that is the story that springs to mind when I consider how unique Christianity is in comparison with other belief systems.

My "A Free Mind" column at Patheos.com. Gilgamesh the King ... it's ancient history, science fiction, and a look at ourselves. By Robert Silverberg so you know its good!

The First Zombie-Proof House

Thanks to Frank at Why I Am Catholic for noticing that there has been a real dearth of zombie news around here lately. I was just thinking about that myself when his email came through with the latest in residential design in case of a zombie apocalypse.

I definitely approve of the concrete and drawbridge (click through to see different angles and the drawbridge at work). However, what about those sunny days when you roll up the metal covering to let the sunshine in?

Who's to say that all the glass isn't going to be a problem? Unless it is super-zombie-proofed glass. They didn't give those details which leaves me feeling rather insecure. I can't argue that you wouldn't be living elegantly, however. It is the latest word in architectural style on the inside as far as I can tell.

The Mystery of Grace: los santos, sacramentals versus sacraments, brujas, ink (tattoos), rockabilly, and hot rods.

And grace, of course.  This urban fantasy by Charles de Lint has it all. Scott Danielson and I talk about that and more at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.

Deducifying on the Range: Reviewing "Dear Mr. Holmes" by Steve Hockensmith

The Dear Mr. Holmes collection of "Holmes on the Range" stories are about two cow-punching brothers who read Watson's stories about Sherlock Holmes and then use similar deductive techniques to solve mysteries in the Old West. More correctly Old Red solves the mysteries a la Holmes and Big Red writes the stories up a la Watson. Author Steve Hockensmith says in the introduction that he was trying to think of a way to write Holmesian stories in an unusual way when his wife asked him to go hiking. He realized that the Old West and Victorian England were contemporaneous and the setting for these humorous mysteries was born.

I first encountered Old Red and Big Red on the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine podcast where "Dear Dr. Watson" was episode 5. I was immediately taken by this delightful duo, their cowboy lives, and the mystery they solved. Naturally, when I saw Steve Hockensmith offering a free Kindle file for bloggers to review, I snapped it up. These stories didn't disappoint. The settings follow Old Red and Big Red through the varying fortunes typical for cowboys of that time. The mysteries were varied and interesting. Although I was able to solve a couple of them myself, that didn't detract from my enjoyment as a good portion of the stories' value is the characters and environment. There weren't many anachronisms that I could spot, although I believe that "rolling your eyes" is a modern facial expression and even if isn't it would have been described differently back then.

Altogether this was a delightful collection and I highly recommend it.

How to Respond When Someone Pulls Away Because You're Catholic

Hannah and a couple of friends were hanging out at a local bar with folks from the rock climbing center. Hannah and Jenny suddenly did a "Catholic high five!" (yes, they're that goofy and I love it).

A new friend said, "You're Catholic?" and pulled his chair away slightly ... half seriously/half jokingly. At which point Hannah and her two friends asked why he did that thing. The reasons got sillier and sillier, ending with examples from Dante's Inferno.

It made me think of this conversation between director Roland Joffe (who has a movie coming out about Opus Dei founder Josemaria Escriva) and a friend of his. I'd forgotten to highlight it, but now seems a good time because it's going in the quote journal. And because I'm going to try to remember it as a way to defend the faith.

Friend: Oh my God, that’s a Fascist organization! I mean, they slaughtered hundreds of people!

Joffé: They have? Really? How do you know that?

F: Well, even if they haven’t, they’re extremely influential in the Church. I mean, they basically control the Church.

J: How would they control the Church?

F: They control the cardinals and the pope.

J: They hypnotize them? How do they do it?

F: They do it through the cardinals.

J: How many cardinals are in Opus Dei?

F: Hundreds.

J: Well, how many cardinals are there [in the world]?

F: I don’t know, but lots and lots of them are definitely in Opus Dei.

J: Well, I think there may be one or two, or maybe in three.

F: Well, that’s what I’m saying—that’s the way it works. It’s all kept secret.

J: Well, okay. Anything else?

F: Bishops. Lots and lots of bishops. How do you account for all these bishops in Opus Dei?

J: How many bishops are in Opus Dei?

F: Well, I don’t know—thousands of bishops …

My guess as to how many cardinals there are in the Church was around 200. The total number varies depending on various factors, but the closest I found to an actual answer was 183 in 2011 thus far.