What to Read Next? Help a Blogger Out.

... the hell with it has posted an impressive list of choices when trying to decide what book to begin next. (Gee, and I thought my "to read" list was long.)

Recommendations are requested so drop by and help a blogger out!

Re: The End of the World - UPDATED

To: Tom D.

Seeing as the world is ending Saturday, I'm wondering if the office is open tomorrow. Please respond in haste, trying to make last-day-on-earth plans.

Thanks and see ya on the other side!

Laura

To Laura H.

Sorry, we're only taking off the day before the Mayan end of the world.

Which means we'll get a Thursday off in 2012*. Woohoo!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In related news: Post Rapture Looting
I've been invited by Frank Weathers to the Post-Rapture Looting (since Catholics will be Left Behind, as Tim LaHaye has reliably informed us - I don't mind ... it's primarily an evangelical thing as I understand it).

What would we do without Facebook?

POST RAPTURE LOOTING

Time: Saturday, May 21 · 12:00pm - 3:00pm

Location: Everywhere

More Info: When everyone is gone and God's not looking, we need to pick up some sweet stereo equipment and maybe some new furniture for the mansion we're going to squat in.

For the Catholic take on the whole "rapture" concept as it is understood here, read more here.
*For more on the Mayan end of the world (Dec. 21, 2012), see here.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In related news: Raptor attack info
Whereas Joe believes we are defending against the wrong Raptor and that there will be dire consequences. (Check his site for thorough defense plans.)

I have been informed that the person, some Protestant minister, who has predicted the arrival of the Raptor this Sunday may be mistaken. Foolish people are trying to disprove him by the use of Scripture. I can tell you most definitely that the Scripture is silent on Velociraptor attacks. (I have checked thoroughly).

UPDATE
Doing the Math: Rapture + Zombie Apocalypse = Movies and Beer!
Frank's got it all together for reveling in the apocalypse ... including the beer. I love being Catholic. Someone always brings drinks along.

FURTHER UPDATE
For more thoughtful takes ... and some that are not so thoughtful (which we always enjoy) ... The Anchoress has a Rapture Round-Up

Also, I would like to mention, in case I am upsetting anyone who sincerely believes in the rapture, that I make fun of many things. For example, the quote in the sidebar (which will be changing later in the day) shows that I can take it as well as dish it out. (From the Contemporary American Poultry episode of Community)

Troy: If God were edible - not that I'm Catholic - but if it was cool to eat God, he'd be a chicken finger.

The ONLY Catholic Blog Bringing You the Latest Zombie News

I am not sure exactly how I became the one that people think of when passing on news about zombies (ok, I know ... between World War Z and The Reapers Are The Angels, it is easy to figure out).

However, I won't look a gift horse in the mouth ... I'll just pass on the news as I get it, folks!

Zombies in the news, and that ain't the Hollywood news, but the real news ...

CDC Warns Public to Prepare for Zombie Apocalypse
I like that they know how to have fun while figuring out how to get people to read their hurricane preparedness press releases

Best Car to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse
Fox News is taking the CDC's idea and running with it. Or driving it into the ground. Something like that.

Thanks to Deacon Lawrence Klimecki for sending me these breaking stories. For some very cool modern Catholic art, swing by his place. There might even be something about an apocalypse there. Just not one with zombies.

UPDATE
More late-breaking zombie news ... though this is really more of a preparedness plan in several parts. Thanks to Mockingbird for taking this task upon themselves. There are now five parts, but I'll start you at the beginning ... here.

Do you have a zombie plan? This is a hot question right now, right up with “What do you do for a living?” Of course, my answer is always an emphatic “Yes!” How could you not? In the event of a zomb-pocalypse, my family and I will lock all doors, retreat to the attic (via the pull-down attic entrance), cut the cord that enables someone (or someTHING) to pull down the steps, and eat and drink stored provisions. Then, during a lull in zombie activity, we will make a break for the truck, drive out to rural parts and become southern Ted Kaczynski-s. Of course. Wouldn’t you? Like Y2K.

Thanks to Tante Leonie for turning me on to Mockingbird, where you may also read excerpts of their book, The Gospel of Pixar.

Faith and zombies. Faith and animation. What's not to love?

Happy Catholic on Inside the Pages

Kris at Discerning Hearts has the podcast available of our conversation together. I really enjoyed speaking with her. Check out Discerning Hearts for all sorts of author interviews and fascinating series about many Catholic subjects.

Two Interesting Pieces of Catholic News

English and Welsh Bishops Reintroduce Meatless Fridays

LONDON (CNS) -- Catholics in England and Wales will be obliged to abstain from meat every Friday under a new rule brought by the bishops.

The "act of common witness" will take effect Sept. 16, the first anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Britain.

The rule, announced at a news conference in London in mid-May, reverses a relaxation of the Friday penance regulations introduced in England and Wales in 1984. This allowed Catholics to choose their own form of Friday penance -- such as offering additional prayers, attending Mass or abstaining from alcohol.

The whole story is here. Via A Momentary Taste of Being who calls this a welcome restoration, with which I agree. Though at our house this would be more of "business as usual" as when I read about the requirement for Friday penance many years ago, I had to agree with the comment (in the Catechism maybe?) that giving up meat was one of the easiest to remember to do. And, certainly, it is one that makes one think throughout the day as we realize how much meat there is in our every day diets.

Independent Study Shows That Homosexuality, Celibacy Didn't Cause Abuse Scandal

WASHINGTON — Researchers commissioned by Roman Catholic bishops in the U.S. to analyze the pattern of clergy sex abuse have concluded that homosexuality, celibacy and an all-male priesthood did not cause the scandal.

The study by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York instead said that the problem was largely the result of poor seminary training and insufficient emotional support for men ordained in the 1940s and 1950s, who were not able to withstand the social upheaval they confronted as pastors in the 1960s. Crime and other deviant behavior increased overall in the United States during this period, when the rate of abuse by priests was climbing.

"The rise in abuse cases in the 1960s and 1970s was influenced by social factors in society generally," the report's authors said. "Factors that were invariant during the time period addressed, such as celibacy, were not responsible for the increase or decline in abuse cases over this time."

Read the entire story here. This by no means excuses such behavior or more especially the behavior of many bishops who protected the guilty at the expense of the innocent. However, it is interesting and I like the fact that it was an independent study.

Update: Whispers in the Loggia has links to the full report pdf and more.

He won! He won!

Speaking of Scott at A Good Story is Hard to Find ... he ran for School Board and won the hotly contested three-way race.

Oneida County School District #351 Board of Trustees: Zone 3 
Scott Danielson 108 votes 
Deborah F. Horsley 73 votes
Arne Jones 79 votes

Congratulations, Scott!

They're lucky to get you!

We're Back! Truly a Graduation to Top All Others.

We really had a wonderful time in Chicago.

We had rooms at the Marriott Courtyard in downtown Chicago (a fantastic location on Hubbard Street) which was fairly close to Rose's apartment ... she said that she loved it because when she hung out with us in the evenings it was if she were on vacation also).

Unfortunately Tom wound up spending a fair amount of time managing the defense against a website attack against one of our clients (not sure if the attack was the result of personal malice or the desire to take the site down and then demand "ransom" but either way it was annoying).

However, Hannah and I spent most of one day at the Art Institute which has so many glorious paintings that it is impossible to choose a favorite. We spent most of our time in the impressionist galleries though as they were in storage the only other time I was there and that is what Hannah wanted to see as well.

We did break Tom away to go to the Museum of Science and Industry where our favorite exhibit was the U-505 Submarine. An actual Nazi submarine in the flesh (so to speak) and the only one captured. An amazing story and the submarine itself was fascinating. We didn't have time to see the Apollo exhibit which I feel would have come in a close second, but surely we'll be in Chicago again and there will be another chance to go there. We also spent some time strolling through the Japanese Garden behind the museum, another rehabilitated site that began as part of the Chicago World Fair. It is not only beautiful but just in the limited time we were there it was obvious that it is a wonderful place for birdwatching.

Then the graduation ... as only Columbia College probably can do it:

• This is the only graduation I have ever been to where they really do drop balloons and the graduates all throw their caps in the air. 
• Certainly it is the only graduation I am likely to attend where they had an hour pre-show of three musical entertainments: a gospel choir accompanied by orchestra, a jazz ensemble, and a recording/pop group. 
• As well, there were frequent stops between speeches to feature more music, video montages, and poetry. 
• Definitely it is the only graduation I have attended where the graduating class comes in to a specially written march that sounds like "Sing, Sing, Sing", and where the faculty literally dances up on stage to "Walk This Way" and where everyone patiently waits for the last jazz guitar solo to finish before seating themselves.
• I was most impressed by the president of the college who actually had a personal remark for each one of the 2,000 graduates whose hand he was shaking as they crossed the stage. (This was the first of three graduation ceremonies over the weekend ... I can only imagine how sore that man's hand was at the end of Sunday.)
• Best speech was the alumni David Cronin (sp?) ... who kept it short and honest.

I'm getting ready to dive back into work and I can see from email that quite a bit awaits me.

If I can trust my calendar then I have a Busted Halo interview tonight ... but I haven't checked email while I was gone (and it was heavenly, believe me!).

Obviously, I missed y'all and will be checking email and back here, but responses will be slow as I catch up.

Thank you for your patience!

"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!