Wynken, Blynken, and Nod

House of Nod Celebrates Double Time

2012-01-28T23:21:00.000-05:00

The House of Nod rejoiced today with not one, but two, celebrations.

First my brother, Shoe, and his wife, Girl Friday, baptized their precious daughter Babs, wiping out Original Sin and bringing her into relationship with God. I love a good death and resurrection!

The priest said that all of our kids were the "loudest respondents he's had at a baptism in a long time" during the liturgy. I guess that's good, hm? (Although I fumbled the first 'And with your Spirit'. Doh!)

On the way there I was asking the kids about baptism and Nod-girl at first said it was when we were "concealed with the Holy Spirit", but then got it right. It's hard to drive and laugh at the same time!

Grandma Nod hasn't perfected the art of bi-location, so she was sadly absent. The reason: my sister K-Lo was finishing up 36 hours of labor to bring her first-born son into the wide world. Good job, sis, and congratulations! My sister, her husband, and two Grandmas are all understandably exhausted.

No pictures yet - hopefully we'll get to meet the little tyke tomorrow - so I'll provide one of my own. I dub thee: the Artful Dodger.

How The Media Covered The March For Life

2012-01-24T00:36:00.000-05:00

Update: This story got picked up by Steven Greydanus at the National Catholic Register and others. The collective pressure got CBS Washington to update their photo spread to include pictures of pro-lifers. Thanks Steven!

Although criticism of CBS’s original photo gallery ranged far and wide, the earliest whistleblower I’m aware of was the blog Wynken, Blynken and Nod, which commented early Tuesday. I reported on W. B. Nod’s comments later that day, and my own comments (and Nod’s) were picked up by Matthew Balan of NewsBusters. Later that evening, Al Kresta posted on the story.

Yesterday, the story spread as Jill Stanek and LifeSiteNews picked up on it. Earlier today, the issue hit The Washington Times, the Washington Examiner and Get Religion.

* * * * *

How the media covered the 2012 March For Life: You already know the answer, don't you? The liberal media ignored or insulted the event and the conservative media had a love-fest. Right? Right?

Not so fast.

Guess: which major news network wrote this?

Thousands will gather in the District for the annual March for Life.

It’s been deemed the largest and longest-running peaceful human rights demonstration for the unborn, with more than 100,000 expected to attend.

Among those expected to participate in the march are hundreds of Catholic University students. University president John Garvey says “The passage of time since the adoption of Roe v. Wade has not dulled people’s sensitivity to this moral calamity. On the contrary, especially among young people, it has emerged as the preeminent human rights issue of our time.”

If you said Fox News, you'd be dead wrong. It was MSNBC -- possibly the most liberal news outlet of the big four. Not what you'd expect from the "foaming-at-the-mouth lickspittle toadies of the Democratic party" as some would characterize them.

In fact, MSNBC had the most favorable article. "[L]argest and longest-running peaceful human rights demonstration": read that again.

By contrast, the "right-wing, knuckle-dragging mouth breathers" at Fox News' headline read "Anti-abortion Protesters March in Washington on Roe v. Wade Anniversary" and simply regurgitated the Associated Press' 6 desultory sentences for their article, as did ABC. They also put "March for Life" in quotes, whereas MSNBC did not.

Fox News did have a short video showing the March for Life crowd, however.

The worst of the lot had to be CBS. You couldn't find their article in any of their online sections without serious digging. I had to resort to their search engine to find any results and those were in the "Local" section. Two articles were about MFL traffic, two about Speaker of the House John Boehner's address, and one about the March in Connecticut.

The remaining link was to a photo gallery entitled "Activists Hold Annual March For Life on Roe v. Wade Anniversary". The thing I find despicable is that the caption reads in part: "Activists on both sides of the abortion issue are rallying on the 39th anniversary of the landmark Roe vs Wade case", but ALL of the pictures are of pro-abortion sign holders (probably about 20 of them).

NONE of the pictures were of the 200,000 or more pro-life demonstrators. Hundreds of thousands vs. tens and not a single shot of the March For Life itself -- not exactly unbiased reporting.

BEFORE you spam me for being a myopic, biased, hypocritical luddite -- these results were current as of mid-afternoon on Monday. More articles may have appeared since then. My research wasn't exactly scientific, but it is fairly representative of the "average person" standard that is so esteemed in court cases.

The very best, in-depth, and positive coverage of the 2012 March for Life was provided by -- no surprise -- EWTN: live and in living color on the main page. 'Cause that's how we roll.

March, er, Lay Down For Life

2012-01-23T00:26:00.003-05:00

I took Monday off with a view to going on the annual March For Life and maybe meeting some Catholic bloggers on the way.

Unfortunately, I threw my back out on Friday and have been somewhat laid up all weekend. So, no "marching" for me. :-(

Substitution, ref! Wynken will be going with his 7th grade class, so we will have representation. The weather historically has been cold, bitter, wet, and freezing. This year will be no different.

I'm sure the big media will continue their news blackout and/or offer their perfunctory 2-line reporting, but Life goes on, and so does the March. I want you to think -- as you see and hear of the thousands of (young!) people who went on the March For Life and stood up for what is right -- that for every one who went, there were five, ten, twenty, a hundred more who wanted to but couldn't.

So I will lie here and support you with my prayers and offer my tiny sufferings, that this scourge will pass from our nation and that [H]e shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers. (Mal 4:6)

Not sure what it is, but it tasted good ...

2012-01-21T21:48:00.000-05:00

Had some stuff in the kitchen that needed eating before it went bad, so I whipped this up for dinner.

A chicken sandwich with melted Swiss, asparagus, dill, and Alfredo sauce on a croissant. Sounds weird, tastes goooood. Washed it all down with a Samuel Adams Double Bock.

Hey, I do all my own stunts.

Why I Love Religion, And Love Jesus || Spoken Word

2012-01-19T21:49:00.001-05:00

More good vid from Spoken Word || Spirit Juice Studios

24:15 Say It (Don't Say It)

2012-01-17T22:52:00.003-05:00

We were just commiserating over children when she blurted it out. “You know my children were conceived by in vitro fertilization don't you?”

I was stunned into silence. What could I say?

I was caught between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, I knew Church teaching and I felt the obligation to set things straight.

On the other hand, we were in a public place and I did not feel that this was the place for a showdown.

What's a body to do?

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Rockin' the Scallops

2012-01-15T01:15:00.000-05:00

I like to cook because I love to eat. Mostly I'm a meat and potatoes kind of guy -- okay, maybe a juicy, medium-rare, marbled ribeye and Yukon gold potatoes with parmesan and rosemary kind of guy -- but still.

Fish, on the other hand, has always left me kind of ... meh.

The first time I knew fish could be something other than Long John Silvers or fish sticks was when I went to work in a Japanese restaurant and discovered the nom! nom! deliciousness of sushi. At the restaurant I'd see people order the scallops and I thought: looks like fish wheels. Who cares?

But THEN I discovered America's Test Kitchen on TV. They made some pan-seared sea scallops that actually looked like they might taste like something other than rubber bands. Know what? I was right.

I went to their web site and checked out the recipe (for free). The thing I love about this site is that they tell you exactly how they did it, including the little tricks that turn an OK dish into an amazing one. They've tried half a hundred recipes and techniques and found that this is the one that rocks in your kitchen.

We found that waiting to add the scallops to the skillet until the oil was beginning to smoke, cooking the scallops in two batches instead of one, and switching to a nonstick skillet (so that the browned bits formed a crust on the meat instead of sticking to the skillet) were all steps in the right direction.

But it wasn’t until we tried a common restaurant technique—butter basting—that our scallops really improved. We seared the scallops in oil on one side and added butter to the skillet after flipping them. (Butter contains milk proteins and sugars that brown rapidly when heated.) We then used a large spoon to ladle the foaming butter over the scallops. Waiting to add the butter ensured that it had just enough time to work its browning magic on the scallops, but not enough time to burn. (America's Test Kitchen)

I've made these scallops 3 times now and each time it was spot on -- it actually looked like this picture. And the taste? Amazing. I am now a pan-seared scallop lovin' fool.

Check it out.

ROTFL

2012-01-15T00:04:00.000-05:00

I know Christmas is over, but this is just obnoxious enough to be funny.

When is the last time you saw someone actually rolling on the floor laughing?

Found It!

2012-01-09T23:36:00.002-05:00

Found it! That's probably the most heard phrase in our newly acquired sport -- geocaching.

It's a high-tech GPS driven treasure hunt. People hide stuff in say, the woods, and then give people clues or coordinates where it can be found and you're off!

There's a cache (hidden item) and skill level for everyone. Sometimes the cache is large as a tote box or as small as a matchbox. There's everything from easy to find to insanely hard. Sometimes it's right off the sidewalk, and other times you have to slog through the woods or on top of a mountain to get to it. Some people will tell you where it's hidden within a dozen feet, other times you have to solve a riddle to get starting coordinates.

There's nothing of particular value in the caches, the idea is just to find it and sign the log book. Occasionally there are interesting items that people leave or trade -- or not. Whatevs.

It's hide and seek writ large. Wynken and I did our maiden voyage over the Christmas break and had a grand time. We even got Grandpa Nod, Shoe, and one of the Hardy boys to try it out. Men-folk out in the woods messin' around. What's not to like?

There's a cool app for that (or twelve) on your iPhone/iPad/Android and many Web sites to help you out. I started out with the Geocaching app from Groundspeak and www.geocaching.com, picked some easy starters and voila! It took me a couple of minutes to figure out how the whole Lat/Long/Minutes/Seconds thing worked because there are a couple of different systems, believe it or not, but mostly I relied on the visual map and the big green arrow that said: walk that way!

It's cheap, it's fun, and it gets you outdoors. I recommend.

Adoration of the Magi

2012-01-09T00:36:00.005-05:00

Merry Christmas one more time!

The Hobbit Cometh!

2011-12-21T22:51:00.000-05:00

24:15 The Third Love

2011-12-21T00:56:00.001-05:00

“Do you remember that girl, Marisa?”, was how the conversation began.

How could I not? She was the cute one who sat behind me in Latin class in high school.

I tried to make her laugh. “Latin is a dead language/ as dead as it can be/ First it killed the Romans/ and now it’s killing me”.

That was what passed for comedy in those hallowed days. That episode inspired me to pull my high school yearbook out of its musty home at the bottom of a trunk and flip through its pages. “Hey, bud, you’re the best! Love ya!”

The pages in my yearbook are filled with grimace inducing pictures of our awkward adolescent selves, bad haircuts, cryptic references, best friends, and roller coaster loves and hates.

Oh yes, our loves were epic!

Let the eye-rolling begin.

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Overheard In My House

2011-12-19T00:11:00.001-05:00

The Nodlings have been passing around a cold which causes them to be a bit stuffy. To combat this, I've given them each his own squeeze bottle of saline to help dry the sinuses.

Four-year old Nib is in a copy-cat phase with her older sisters. So she asked for her own bottle as well.

"Daddy, I don't want the gasoline to fall out of my nose."

No, you don't want that.

Chestnut Soup

2011-12-18T23:01:00.000-05:00

I have recently fallen in love with a new comfort food.

Mrs. Nod and I had an unexpected treat at a snazzy little restaurant called Villa Mozart a month ago, when we ordered the Creamy Mushroom Chestnut Soup. It was a robust soup, full of creamy and earthy goodness, and with multiple taste accents dancing on the palate. It included a couple of whole chestnuts marinated in red wine at the bottom.

Ever since then I've been on the lookout for something similar to make at home. I think I've found it. It features a backbone of earthy mushrooms, chestnuts, and red bliss potatoes to which I added tender shallots and young parsnips.

Since I didn't have any "mushroom broth" I used organic chicken stock, half a cup of Merlot, and increased the cream to two full cups. I was lucky enough to have a neighbor give me fresh whole nutmeg which I grated into this heavenly dish along with fresh rosemary and sage. Fresh sage is in a word -- amazing. I marinated some halved chestnuts in Merlot and put them in when serving.

Mrs. Nod smelled me cooking this and stayed up late just to have a bowl. It's that good.

Shamelessly ripped off from Food Blogga:

This Creamy Mushroom Chestnut Soup Is Like a Best Friend

Mushroom soup should be like a good friend-- there for you when you need it, full of understanding and comfort, and spicy enough to make you laugh. Consider this Creamy Mushroom Chestnut Soup a best friend. We met rather informally last fall in my kitchen while I was entertaining a number of other friends including tender red bliss potatoes, earthy chestnuts, and aromatic sage. We liked each other instantly, and our friendship has continued to grow.

I'm not a possessive person, so I'd like to introduce you to her. She'll be one of the truest friends you've ever had.

Creamy Mushroom Chestnut Soup
Serves 4
Print recipe only here.

Meaty, smoky chestnuts and savory fresh herbs add depth to an otherwise ordinary, creamy mushroom soup. Use bottled, dried, or -- if you're up for the challenge -- freshly roasted chestnuts. For a richer soup, I suggest using cream; 2% milk is best if you're looking to save calories.

3 tablespoons butter, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup diced shallots
1 cup diced celery
2 1/2 cups peeled, diced red bliss potatoes (about 3)
8 cups mixed mushrooms, cremini and white button (about 2 1/2 pounds)
4 cups mushroom broth
8 ounces cooked chestnuts (about 20)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary
1 tablespoon fresh chopped sage
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cup cream
fresh sage, rosemary, and chopped chestnuts for optional garnish

1. Warm 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, deep pot over medium heat. Add shallots and celery, and sauté 3-5 minutes. Add potatoes and mushrooms, and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until mushrooms have released most of their liquid. Add broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce to low, and cook until potatoes are tender, about 10-12 minutes. Add chestnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, rosemary, sage, salt, pepper, and cream. Turn off heat, and let cool for 10 minutes before pureeing.

2. Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender until smooth; return to the pot over low heat. Stir occasionally until the soup is thoroughly heated, about 10 minutes. Just prior to serving, stir in remaining 1 tablespoon butter for added creaminess and depth of flavor. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Garnish individual bowls with fresh herbs and chopped chestnuts, if desired.

Sleuth Readers Rejoice

2011-12-16T00:40:00.004-05:00

221-Be still my little sleuth-y heart.

Having read everything in the Sherlock Holmes cannon, there is a certain feeling of let-down when you reach the end of the last novel.

Apparently, there is no lack of fan-fiction to fill the void. Not the least of which is a BBC radio dramatization entitled "The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" Volume 1-4.

I know what's going on my Christmas/iTunes/Audible.com/Amazon wish-list! I got and listened to Volume 2 and I liked it. There are at least 3 more of these and other series to choose from.

Ahh, it's like a comfortable old slipper ... filled with pipe tobacco, smelly chemistry experiments, and a violin waiting to be played.

In the meantime, I have Agatha Cristie's Hurcule Poirot at my bedside to keep my little grey cells occupied with problems to solve.

It's A Girl!

2011-12-08T22:55:00.001-05:00

Congratulations to my brother, Shoe, and his wife, Girl Friday, on the birth of their first born daughter, Babs!

Scheduled for near Christmas, baby Babs kicked her water out and her way into the world on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. How cool is that?

Born in the wee hours of the morning, she clocks in near 7.5 lbs and 19.5 inches, with long narrow feet and a head full of dark hair.

From all reports, Girl Friday and Babs are recovering well and it's love at first sight. A sleep-deprived Shoe was reported as saying, "Um, yeah."

Babs joins an extended family of Nods -- she is the first Nodling at Outpost 4, but the 7th girl and 10th Nodling overall.

As they say over at Outpost 2, "We're just doing our part for Western civilization."

Ain't it the truth? "Hello, Nurse!"

The Roof Is, Er, On

2011-12-05T00:36:00.001-05:00

Got a call from the in-laws saying that a large tree branch fell on the shed roof and put a half dollar sized hole in it.

Now in my salad days I think I looked a lot more like Bob Villa because I grew a dark beard -- but the similarities don't extend to talent. I did manage to build this shed many moons ago with my buddies and even put the shingles on more or less correctly.

I went over to do a quick patching job with a joist plate for underneath support, some aluminum flashing, and a handful of half-shingles that are at least 14.5 years into their 15 year lifespan.

I figured it's too cold already to lay shingles down and hope they'll seal, so I brought along a tube of roofing cement and a caulk gun. Turns out my "new" caulk gun was 1) used, and 2) broken by some nice customer at Lowes and then surreptitiously put back on the shelf.

Not wanting to return to the store, I cut the roof cement tube open with my utility knife and used a board end as a spatula to coat the underside of the shingles. It took 3 times as long and I got black gunk all over my hands. I glued down the flashing and then shingled over the hole.

The patch definitely looks like a patch, and I only had a few mostly-not-broken half shingles to work with. The best I can say is that at least nobody fell off the roof, critters can't get in, and that it probably won't leak.

I showed the picture of my poor patch job to the in-laws. They just said they won't be looking down on the roof any time soon, so they didn't care.

Behold teh awesome. (The crooked shingles are definitely mock-worthy.)

24:15 Everything And Nothing

2011-11-30T23:47:00.001-05:00

This post is a lot about everything and nothing.

In any family life there are major milestones that mark the way: birthdays, holidays, graduations, sports games, new beginnings and endings.

These things stick out in our memory.

In between signposts is a lot of highway. It’s not particularly interesting, but it must be traveled in order to get to the next waypoint.

I’ve been on that highway lately, in between nowhere and somewhere else.

What a man chooses to do -- now that’s where the rubber meets the road, isn’t it?

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OUGH

2011-11-28T01:26:00.001-05:00

OUGH

I'm taught p-l-o-u-g-h shall be pronounced "plow"!
"Zat's easy when you know," I say,
"Mon anglais, I'll get through!"

My teacher say zat, "in zat case, o-u-g-h is "oo"!"
And zen I laugh and say to him,
"Zees Anglais make me cough."

He say, "Not "coo", but in zat word, o-u-g-h is "off"."
"Oh, _______! Such varied sounds
Of words makes me to hiccough!"

He say, "Again mon frien' ees wrong;
O-u-g-h is "up" in hiccough."
Zen I cry, "No more, You make my t'rout feel rough."

"Non, not!" he cry, "You are not right; o-u-g-h is "uff"."
I say, "I try to spik your words,
I cannot spik zem though!"

"In time you'll learn, but now you're wrong!
O-u-g-h is "owe". "I'll try no more, I shall go mad,
I'll drown me in ze l'ough!"

"But ere you drown yourself," said he, "O-u-g-h is "ock"!"
He taught no more, I held him fast,
And killed him weeth a rough!

Composed well over a century ago, this bit of light verse by Charles Battell Loomis nicely illustrates the vagaries of English spelling and pronunciation.

Now with Placebo action!

2011-11-26T21:44:00.001-05:00

I just recently got back to the land of the living, so I thought I'd share this tiny tidbit.

Not too many things make me laugh out loud, especially when I'm watching TV by myself, but this commercial did. I'm sure it's not meant to be funny, but too bad. Ha!

The commercial is for Puff Plus with Vicks scent. First of all, if you've ever tried the Plus variety, you know its full of lotion. While that feels good on a sore nose, it's also annoying because you're never quite sure if your nose is actually clean after you blow it. After all, it's kind of the same consistency ...

Anyway, the thing that made me laugh was that they are advertising it with the scent of Vicks. It doesn't actually contain any medication to clear up your nose, they're just trying to fool you into thinking it does by adding the smell.

Of course, if you're so stuffed up that you would actually need some Vicks Roto-Rooter action -- you're not going to be able to smell it!

Ah, but I think I smelled Vicks, so I'm feeling less congested ... or something. [Sniff] Ahh, placebo!

RIP Steve Jobs

2011-10-05T21:32:00.000-04:00

Today it was announced that Steve Jobs died at agee 56 from pancreatic cancer.

Jobs was the creative talent behind such revolutionary devices as the Macintosh, NeXTSTEP, OS X, the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad. My inner geek thanks you.

Now, may God have mercy on your soul and grant you pardon and peace. As the Scriptures day, "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, but lose his eternal soul?".

That is casting no aspersions on Steve Jobs; rather that is every man's destiny. Tempus fugit. Momento mori.

Overheard In My House

2011-09-18T20:18:00.000-04:00

The ever-quotable Nod-girl said this at dinner tonight:

My feet are stretching, that's why I'm full.

This kid makes me laugh.

Parallel

2011-08-28T23:27:00.000-04:00

So we had Hurricane Irene come through town in DC and the verdict is in -- meh.

I know that it was much worse elsewhere. Although I'm grateful for everyone's safety, I must say that I've seen worse thunderstorms on a hot summer's day.

So, here's a little idle speculation. We've had a hurricane and tornadoes and an earthquake; what's next: fire?

Anybody remember this reading from a few weeks ago? (1 Kings 19)

Then the LORD said: Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD;* the LORD will pass by. There was a strong and violent wind rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD—but the LORD was not in the wind; after the wind, an earthquake—but the LORD was not in the earthquake; after the earthquake, fire—but the LORD was not in the fire; after the fire, a light silent sound.* [whisper]

When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

Now, I'm not saying that just because we had a couple of natural disasters [Acts of God as the insurance company calls 'em] and that similar events happened in the Bible once that this amounts to some kind of cosmic replay. That's just crazy talk.

What I _will_ say is that, hey, we've had a couple of natural disasters (that weren't actually that bad), and hey, that reminds me of this Scripture reading that we had a couple of weeks ago, and at the end of that list of calamities Elijah heard a small whispering sound that actually _was_ the presence of God ...

and isn't every time the right time to be listening to God who chooses to be found in the quiet stillness of our hearts because He will not force Himself upon us?

We had an earthquake, but God was not in the earthquake. We had a hurricane, but God was not in the wind. But in the small, still quietness that is right now God is present and whispering. Can you hear that?

Earthquake!

2011-08-23T23:44:00.002-04:00

Today at 1:53 PM we had an earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale. The epicenter was in Mineral, Virginia but was felt as far away as Toronto, Canada. It was a "shallow" earthquake which is why it was felt so far and wide.

For the first 10 seconds, I thought somebody was moving something large, heavy, and loud on the floor below which was causing an unholy vibration. Then, when the bookshelves started shifting a foot to each side, I realized something was wrong and that it was an earthquake.

Now, I spent 5 years in Los Angeles, so we were used to earthquake drills. You need to get under the desk or in a doorway if you're inside so nothing falls on your head. My desk is so flimsily constructed, that I decided in a flash that it was probably _more_ dangerous. So, I stayed in the middle of the floor away from shaking shelves and desks.

Strangely, I was not frightened.

After about 30 seconds, we quickly and calmly filed outdoors in case of aftershocks or building structural integrity problems. I tried to call my wife, but the cell phone airwaves were jammed with everyone else's calls. (Just like on 9/11. Some things don't change.)

A few buildings were superficially damaged, but there have been no reports of serious injuries. For example, the National Cathedral has some damage to one or more of its spires. The quake triggered an immediate exodus from D.C., and so rush hour began at 2:00 rather than 4:00.

We normally have a 3-5 hour "rush hour" on normal days. Today, _everybody_ left at the same time. Gridlock. Fortunately for me, I was in the first third of that wave, so it was merely bad traffic as opposed to standstill.

Mrs. Nod had all 6 Nodlings with her at the Doctor's office at the time. Her building didn't shake too badly at all. However, when the order to evacuate the building came, the two of the older ones, Wynken and Nod-girl, rushed down the stairs. Nib tried to follow but was momentarily left behind on the 3rd floor landing to her great consternation. Blynken helped carry Nub down from the 6th floor, and Mrs. Nod carried baby Dab and the stroller down the stairwell with her, collecting poor Nib along the way.

Whew!

It was a very exciting day, but we're grateful to God that no one was hurt and that all immediate and extended family members are safe and accounted for. It would be okay if we didn't repeat this exercise any time soon.

Just sayin'.

Overheard In My House

2011-08-14T23:19:00.000-04:00

The yeast got put in the wort and the not-yet-beer needed to be agitated.

Of course it's Very Naughty to joke about such things, but when he said, "Of course I'm good at squatting down and shaking things. I have children.", I couldn't help busting out laughing.

24:15 Tumbleweed

2011-08-11T00:24:00.000-04:00

It seems like I’ve been a tumbleweed most of my life growing up.

On the plus side, you’re a citizen of the world, gathering amazing and varied experiences not available in local stores. On the minus side, you never quite put down roots; you’re not “from” anywhere.

Have you ever desired God? I mean really, really desired to be with Him? Not just a vague “I hope to avoid Hell, it sounds like a nasty place”, but a deep, keening longing that feels as if it can never be slaked except by an even more overwhelming Presence?

To be honest, it doesn’t happen to me that often, but it has happened. [...]

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Blogger MashUp Meets Freaky Friday

2011-08-05T23:14:00.000-04:00

So, LarryD has blogger’s block and he’s drinking beer. Isn’t that my job? Or rather, isn’t my job causing that? (Except for the beer part, I would have had one anyway.)

In the meantime, I’m feeling just the slightest bit snarky. And it’s Friday. Could this be a Blogger Freaky Friday? Have LarryD and I switched places for a day? What would that look like? ...

Welcome to Acts of the A-Pasta-See, where we pair experimental cooking with made-up religion. Today’s match-up is with Sister Patricia Owens O'Flannary, OP.

Sister Patricia is busy writing on the social justice of different wheat sources, saying “It doesn’t matter if you don’t know your Semolina from your Durham, it’s the soul of the wheat germ that’s important. Durham has developed a “naked, free-threshing form” over the centuries which I’m sure is terribly important. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. I may devote an entire crystal meditation session to it.”

Meanwhile the Seven Sons of LarryD are whipping up a 7-layer dip in preparation for the un-cancelled 2011-2012 Football season. “Dribble! Dabble! We need more guacamole and less refried beans. Add plenty of cheese, Lumpy and Jumpy; each layer of our True Faith Dip represents one of the 7 sacraments. It’s like heaven on earth.”

... or something like that.

Ok, LarryD, your turn. Which blogger(s) would you Freaky Friday switch with, and what would it look like? Or you could do a “blogger mashup” of two or more peeps on your sidebar. Go on, it’s just for fun!

Anybody else want to give it whirl? Jump in the combox!

On Terminology

2011-08-03T00:01:00.000-04:00

The thing that is driving me nuts about the debt limit increase deal is that despite the ballyhooing on both sides of the aisle in Congress, all they have achieved is a (slight) reduction in the rate of increase of spending. There are no actual cuts.

And that is only if the Super-committee can agree on anything by Thanksgiving.

Just sayin'.

Me And The Homebrews: Imperial Style

2011-08-02T10:26:00.001-04:00

When last we left our hero, the Homebrews were dialing up a batch of Imperial Ales for Ascension. Well, the fateful day came and we kegged our kingly brew.

The Imperial Blonde ale clocked in at a disappointing 5.75% ABV, which is not-so-imperial (due to our mistake). However, the big rounded taste more than makes up for that. This big, beautiful blonde is now on tap as a wonderful session beer. Malty, but with a vaguely Pale Ale-ish hoppiness that is a real crowd pleaser.

Photo Credit: (never home)maker, baby!

We kegged it up with bottled C02 at 12 PSI for a few days, then dialed it back to 5 PSI for serving. It has a deliciously clear presentation -- probably the clearest beer we've had to date. Originally from Brewer's Best, this one is definitely going on the "Make Again" list.

The other Ascension Ale, Imperial Mild, is in situ in our spare 5 gallon keg, but with just enough C02 to close the seals. I'm debating whether to naturally carbonate it, but I'm wavering because all I have on hand is table sugar. That will work fine, but I need to use less of it (1/3 cup) than priming sugar because it has a greater density. Nobody wants to over-carb their beer.

This one clocked in at a respectable 6.8% ABV, and has that characteristic Imperial mouthfeel: full and rich. The Imperial Mild will pair well with a semi-soft cheese and some aromatic bread. Dark and lovely, with a big, rich, malty flavor. Drink more than one of these at a sitting, and we'll glide all the way to Oktoberfest before you know it.

Vintage Army Jeep

2011-08-01T21:56:00.000-04:00

Saw this cool vintage army Jeep at the grocery store the other day. It's the real McCoy, probably circa-Korean war. Which means, this is one really, really uncomfortable vehicle.

Cool though.

24:15 Throw Me A Rope

2011-07-14T22:46:00.000-04:00

xThis is where all you Catholic Dads (and others) get to help a brother out. You’ll recall the heart wrenching story of Nub, my Down Syndrome child.

He’s the fourth out of six Nodlings and now a healthy and scrappy six year-old. He is progressing in ability and knowledge, and we are making good strides in our communication, both by sign and some words.

However, this does not seem to extend into staying in the bed at night. With any other kid, that’s simply annoying; with Nub it can be dangerous.

What’s a father to do?

Continue reading >>>

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Denatured

2011-07-06T00:24:00.000-04:00

Denatured. Sounds rather ominous.

But it's just a fancy term for what happens when you cook food.

[WP] The normally twisted and folded protein molecules are unraveled or unfolded into less convoluted shapes, and the shapes of molecules, especially proteins, are responsible for most of their physical and chemical properties. In other words, they have lost their original natures: They have been denatured.

You can also do this denaturing to seafood or meat with a strong acid like lime juice, high concentrations of salt, and weirdly -- air and alkalis (opposite of acid) under certain conditions.

Me, I just like to eat. I love a good spicy beef salad, so I made my own by marinading beef strips in lime juice, lemon juice, water, crushed garlic, onion, green onion, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, and a touch of cooking sherry (hey, it was there!).

I cooked it up (I know I denatured it already with the lime, but I like my food warm) with some sliced carrots and a tablespoon of fish sauce and served it over sticky rice and sliced tomatoes. Sweet and spicy with that lime tang! I made jasmine rice with a dolop of blue agave nectar, a low glycemic sweetener (ok, it's cactus juice!) in order to make it slightly sweet to balance out the spiciness for the kids.

It looked a little like this picture, but it didn't last long enough on my plate to take photos. I must have been thinking about yam nuea (spicy beef salad) when I made it, only I rarely use a recipe.

24:15 Wisdom Of The Ages

2011-07-01T23:34:00.001-04:00

One of the things that’s hard to gain and easy to lose is the wisdom of the ages.

Ask anyone who has ever tried to trace their family line back more than a couple of generations. At a certain point the thread is lost and all you are left with are unanswered questions. Who were they, and what were they about? What does that mean about me?

One of the biggest fallacies of our age is the prejudice of modernism, that we are inherently “better” than our ancestors: stronger, faster, smarter, more “enlightened”. Oh, we’ve got technology aplenty, but not necessarily wisdom.

And that frankly, makes us kind of stupid.

Continue reading >>>

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A Good Point

2011-06-22T23:59:00.000-04:00

I make my living using the computer: building, configuring, securing, reporting, breaking, synthesizing, connecting, creating.

It's a common trade these days, but one of great variety. Nobody can know it all, but you'd better be flexible and able to learn what you need to for today in order to keep the skills relevant.

It's a field that is rife with atheism, agnostics, pragmatists, and practical people. One thing you can bank on, is that something always goes wrong with the computer in the process. Most of my professional life has been spent waiting for some computer to finish a task, fixing one that has gone wonky, or finding another way of doing something that Can't Be Done.

Mostly, I've been successful. My secret? Jesus knows a lot more about computers than I do. Yup, when I remember to pray when things go wrong with this most scientific of devices, the breakthrough is usually right around the corner.

Thanks, Lord.

Cloud Gazing

2011-06-16T23:07:00.001-04:00

A couple of months ago, I was driving down a street with tallish buildings lining either side and a tree line at the end of the road. It made a perfect V-shaped tunnel; the clouds that day were thick and low.

These particular clouds were of an unusual texture which made them seem like solid land masses with solid blue seas surrounding them. The illusion was so complete that I was sure I was standing outside the earth looking down on it, and it was just waiting for me to touch it.

That's a view that very few people get unless they're astronauts or angels. I had to shake myself out of my reverie lest I crash the car. I sighed, and thought, "I need to spend more time cloud gazing".

Just not while I'm driving.

Because You're Dumb And Don't Love Your Kids

2011-06-14T00:14:00.000-04:00

That's the only reason I can think of for the lack of intelligence I saw displayed on Rte. 66 the other day (and believe me I see a lot of it).

In the middle of rush hour, stop-and-go herky-jerky traffic, some guy is letting his kids stand up in the car and play in the back window. No seat belt, no nothing. There's what looks like an six year old kneeling backwards on the rear seat playing with some toys in the rear window. His sibling was next to him, but the only thing visible was a foot dangling in mid-air.

Maybe I'm the product of a successful ad campaign: "Click-it or Ticket" and similar things, but I don't get in a car without buckling my seat belt. It's simply a reflex. Sit. Buckle. Turn key. But even if that weren't the case, I certainly wouldn't let my kids get their rear ends one inch off of the seat in a moving car. If they did, they wouldn't be sitting on that rear end for the rest of the day.

But this guy is just blithely driving down an Interstate, changing lanes in stop and go traffic while the little darlings are alternately above and below the seat. He had to be at least 50 years old, so it's not like he was young and stupid or senile. Maybe he was trying to get the kids killed, I don't know.

I very nearly jumped out my own window to let him have a foaming mouthful of righteous anger, but we got separated in traffic before I could pull level, so I had to settle for leaning on the horn and shaking my fist at him, which was ignored in the everyday experience of Washington commuters.

Dunderhead.

Cast Of Imperials: Ascension Ale

2011-06-10T00:28:00.000-04:00

On this edition of Me and the Homebrews, after a four month hiatus the Homebrews brewed up a double batch of Imperials.

The first is a Brewer's Best recipe for an Imperial Blonde Ale. (Actual O.G. 1.054)

This recipe produces a malty, high-gravity, full-bodied version of this easy drinking, well-rounded beer style. Golden in color, Imperial Blonde Ale uses the lightest malt extract available and a unique balance of domestic and imported hops. A great recipe if you like big blondes! IBU’s: 26 - 30. ABV: 7.0 - 8.0. OG: 1.067 - 1.071.

Our actual original gravity (O.G.) is 1.054, so we lost a few points in the process somehow. All that means is that instead of 7-8% alcohol, we'll probably get 6%. Right now this is bubbling away in the primary fermenter. It has a wonderful butterscotch color and a thick head of krausen that looks like a meringue pie.

Imperial Mild with Specialty Grains.

We know, we know ... there's nothing imperial about a beer named "mild" and an OG of 1.062 is hardly extreme. But this beer has historical precedent, so act like you know: in the days when "mild" meant "not sour" to English pubgoers, dark ales like this could run much stronger than the lightly-hopped, low-alcohol iterations we know today. This overfed reddish-brown session beer crams twice as much mildness into every pint: dark fruit notes with a roasty chocolate edge, wholegrain biscuit and toast flavors, a pleasantly intense estery, fruity nose with a suggestion of earthy hop, and an invitingly round finish. A lawnmower beer for people with really big lawns, or a great mugful for the shoulder seasons.

For this one, the Homebrews added a couple of ounces of maldodextrin to round out the mouthfeel. Speaking of "overfed", this beer is made with 8 pounds of malt and sugar! Our actual O.G. is a touch higher than target: 1.068.

We had to use the 5 gallon carboy to ferment the Imperial Mild in since the 6.5 gallon carboy was already in use by the Imperial Blonde. The result was the Imperial Mild literally blew its top. Once I cleaned up the mess, I used the purpose-made blowoff tube to direct the foam into a small bucket of water, thus maintaining the air seal.

You can see the difference between the carboys in the picture. They both contain the same amount of beer (wort), but there is plenty of space in the first and none in the second. Click on the picture to enlarge and you'll see the temps on the carboys are a perfect 68 degrees.

These Imperials are going to be some big beers. Made on the Feast of the Ascension, we dub thee: Ascension Ale.

South Dakota Milky Way Time Lapse

2011-06-08T00:34:00.001-04:00

Bob Parks is featuring a video from Dakotalapse.com which filmed an excellent time lapse sequence of the Milky Way in South Dakota.

Well worth 3 minutes of your time. So beautiful it makes you want to cry. The panning shots are breathtaking.

LOTR: How It Should Have Ended

2011-06-06T23:00:00.000-04:00

I've been working late for a while now to finish up a project. In the evenings after everyone has gone, it gets really, really quiet and a bit dark. I'll be working steadily when I hear a distant "Thoom".

A low, echoing, booming sound that you can feel through the floor. Thoom. Like someone is beating a giant steel drum. Thoom. Thoom. Drums. Drums in the dark.

An ominous sound, and unexplained. Sitting there late in the evening in my dark hole listening to the dull repetitive thumping, it reminds me more than a little of Khazad Dum, the Mines of Moria, from The Lord of the Rings.

A great story, one of my favorites. Of course there are people who feel it should have ended differently and saved everyone the trouble.

Like this:

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival #109-110 & Saturday Evening Blog Post

2011-06-05T22:48:00.001-04:00

This week on Sunday Snippets, WBN presents: Good From Evil.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival is a weekly opportunity to share your best posts with the wider Catholic blogging community.
To participate, create a post highlighting posts that would be of interest to Catholics and link to the host blog at http://rannthisthat.blogspot.com/. Go to the host blog and leave a comment giving a link to your post.

===========================

THE SATURDAY EVENING BLOG POST, vol. 3, issue 5

Forgiveness: Rosario Rodriguez

2011-06-02T22:56:00.000-04:00

From time to time WBN brings you the work produced by Spirit Juice Studios, including music videos, digital shorts, and inspirational videos. SJS is at it again, this time with a piece on forgiveness with Rosario Rodriguez.

It's a powerful story that I know you'll enjoy.

[YouTube] On June 29th, 2009 Rosario was a victim of a robbery and was shot in the chest. The doctors are calling her a miracle as the bullet missed her heart by 1 cm. Her esophagus was hit by the bullet and severely damaged while fragments of the bullet hit both of my lungs. It took 8 hours of intense surgery to repair her esophagus. The doctors placed two tubes in her right lung and one in her left to drain them after they collapsed. Her doctors and surgeons said she would spend at least two months in the hospital but thanks to the prayers from many around the world and by the Grace of God she was released only 10 days after the incident. She spent a month and a half recovering in LA where she had been living and her friends took very good care of her. She has now flown home to west Michigan to stay with her family and am working her way to a full recovery, which will take about two years.

To follow her journey of recovery, the trial, whatever is going on in her life and whatever is on her mind. Check out her blog:

http://rosariorodriguez.wordpress.com/

Copyright 2011 Spirit Juice Studios, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Skype: Greece Calling

2011-06-02T22:41:00.000-04:00

I'm a computer guy and I like to be cutting edge when I'm working. When I'm home, however, I tend to resist the encroachment of technology into my personal domain. Partly that's a money issue, but partly just a personality quirk.

So I usually embrace a technology or product right before it gets canceled, sold, or radically changed. I can pick that moment without fail. (Someone ought to be able to make money off of that talent, but it isn't me.)

In this case the technology is Skype, the Internet phone and computer technology. I installed the Skype client about a month ago, just before Microsoft announced it was acquiring the company. Ta-da! I did it again!

So I made my first Skype call this past weekend, not to any paltry smart phone or buddy next door. Nope, my call was to Greece, where my sister and her husband were honeymooning. We had the whole family gathered around the big 24" iMac screen to wish various and sundry well-wishes, birthday greetings, and international vicarious sight seeing.

I thought it worked fairly well and it was cool to boot. My parents who are not particularly tech-savvy got to see and chat with my sister while she was in Greece, since she was absent from our regular Sunday brunch.

I've used Google video chat before, although the sound never came through for us. So Skype was a big improvement. I'm giving it a thumbs up.

As soon as I consider taking up a new technology, I'll let you know so you can buy, sell, or do whatever to it to take advantage of whatever is about to happen. Cheers!

24:15 How Do I Know?

2011-05-26T23:19:00.000-04:00

“Jesus loves me, how do I know? Because my oil cap tells me so.”

Well, those might not be the exact lyrics of the Sunday school song, but that’s how I’m singing it this week. The difference between a grade-school ditty and a man’s life comes down to experience.

One of the characteristics that Catholicism shares with our progenitor in Judaism is a practical earthiness, a visceral experience, a faith rooted in the created yet elevated all the way to the foot of the Throne of Heaven. Grace builds on nature, it does not pass it by. By the same token, we apprehend the realities of our soul through the window of our bodily senses.

In short, life happens; God is near.

Jesus loves me, how do I know? Because when my engine light came on, I stopped at the gas station to check the oil instead of driving all the way downtown. Imagine my surprise when I popped the hood of my car and discovered my oil cap missing. The underside of the hood was covered with a black, tarry goo and the engine was steaming with heat.

Continue reading >>>

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Great Span

2011-05-24T23:21:00.000-04:00

There is tons of construction going on the Interstate I drive to work every day. (Yes, sadly, I've been going downtown again for the last several months.)

The other day I passed by this 18-wheeler with a 30-foot (40? 50?) steel span for a bridge or overpass on its bed. Don't try to pass this guy in a narrow spot!

Amazing DIY Dams Around Mississippi Homes

2011-05-23T23:39:00.000-04:00

You just have to see it to believe it. I admire the ingenuity of these people who went to extraordinary lengths to save their homes.

Running Ragged

2011-05-15T22:46:00.001-04:00

Things have been hectic for about 7 weeks now. There were a lot of things I wanted to talk about, but can't seem to find time -- and then when I find time, I haven't the energy.

I've been working hard to "relax", both physically and mentally because the body doesn't take well to burning the candle at both ends. Psychological stress is worse than physical labor.

Things that should have been blog posts but are now mere blurbs:

Mrs. Nod is recovering nicely from her bout of Shingles; as of Tuesday we will be "officially" outside of the window for the Nodlings catching the Chickenpox since half of them aren't vaccinated against that specific thing. I can't tell you how hugely relieved I am at that.

Baby Dab's baptism -- I love a good death and resurrection! Dab wore his "Cradle Catholic" onesie underneath the baptismal gown that I got from the blogger Alliance. Woot! you guys rock!

Nod-girl's first holy communion -- "say, who is that highly over-trained girl?" Someone who is beautiful and radiant at receiving Our Lord for herself. Big shout out to Aunt K-Lo for doing up Nod-girl's hair first thing in the morning in record time. It looked awesome and she was sooo happy! Does that airplane get good gas mileage?

And on it goes ... hope your week is great!

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival #108

2011-05-15T22:22:00.000-04:00

This week on Sunday Snippets, WBN presents: Lay It Down.

24:15 Lay It Down

2011-05-12T00:00:00.000-04:00

Our eyes met over the fender as he suddenly appeared from behind the semi, merging into my lane; I knew one of us was going down.

There was a screech of brakes, an oath of surprise and anger, and a loud crunch of heavy metal meeting asphalt. The guy laid his motorcycle down right in front of my car’s wheels and himself with it.

I thought: Oh, no, this is it! Someone’s gonna die!

It could happen at any moment; any time could be the last, when we’re called to lay our lives down and stand before the Father.

Motorcycles are somewhat dangerous because there is no superstructure to protect you in an accident.

Bikers will tell you there are two kinds of riders: those who have laid their bike down in an accident and those who will lay their bike down.

Continue reading >>>

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Something In The Water

2011-05-09T22:58:00.000-04:00

They always tell you when you travel: Don't drink the water.

That's because when you do, the Unexpected can occur. Different microbes, different locale, the result can be unpredictable.

When a rash of people start having babies, they say there's Something in the water. In this case, if you let Love have its way, the Expected occurs. That is, you become the one who is Expecting.

First there was our Nodling #6, Dab. Then there is aka the Mom's impending #7.

Now the newlyweds, my brother Shoe and Girl Friday, have joined the ranks of the newly expecting.

Congratulations!

Having babies is fun, natural, exciting, terrifying, and fulfilling. It's what's Expected of the people God commanded to "be fruitful and multiply".

It's the people who choose to be purposefully Unexpecting that are actually completely predictable, dull, and unappealing -- cut off from our most interesting attributes.

But for "people like us", the Expecting, life is a bit unpredictable yet oh-so-exciting. There IS something in the water -- life.

More water, please.

Sopwith Camel

2011-05-09T01:25:00.001-04:00

I followed a guy on my way home the other day who had this picture on the back of his car. Made me laugh, made my day. I'm so getting one of these for my "Sopwith Camel".

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival #107

2011-05-09T00:20:00.000-04:00

This week on Sunday Snippets, WBN presents: Life's A Sigh Sometimes.

Fight Of The Century: Keynes vs. Hayek Round Two

2011-05-02T23:19:00.000-04:00

All the interest I have in Economic Theory can be found on the back of a cereal box.

However, this clever video pits the two most influential economists of our times against one another in an entertaining movie-boxing-rap-throw-down.

In one corner, John "Top-down" Keynes advocating more government spending and circular money flow. In the other corner, F.A. "Bottom-up" Hayek supporting less government spending and demand-based economy.

Not sure who's the winner, but Econ 101 would have stuck with me better with a video like this.

h/t Thoughts of a Regular Guy

And Then There Were Shingles

2011-05-02T22:56:00.001-04:00

My project has had me working long hours, including overtime.

The volunteering I've been doing for Wynken's Boy Scout troop had me burning the candle at both ends. As my stress level goes up, my muscles get tighter and tighter and my exercise quotient drops near zero making the problem ten times worse.

Now I have knots in my neck, shoulders, hamstrings, and lower back. Even my knots have little knot buddies that multiply. Now my neck is pulled and I can't turn my head to the left or hold the baby in my left arm.

In the midst of my pity party, Mrs. Nod came down with a case of Shingles. Because when I'm not available, the full weight of running the household falls on her, stress rises, sickness ensues.

[WebMD] What is shingles?
Shingles (herpes zoster) is a viral infection of the nerve roots. It causes pain and often causes a rash on one side of the body, the left or right. The rash appears in a band, a strip, or a small area. Shingles is most common in older adults and people who have weak immune systems because of stress, injury, certain medicines, or other reasons. Most people who get shingles will get better and will not get it again.
What causes shingles?
Shingles occurs when the virus that causes chickenpox starts up again in your body. After you get better from chickenpox, the virus "sleeps" (is dormant) in your nerve roots. In some people, it stays dormant forever. In others, the virus "wakes up" when disease, stress, or aging weakens the immune system. It is not clear why this happens. But after the virus becomes active again, it can only cause shingles, not chickenpox.

You can't catch shingles from someone else who has shingles. But a person with a shingles rash can spread chickenpox to another person who hasn't had chickenpox and who hasn't gotten the chickenpox vaccine.

So, yeah, she's got that bad movie sequel: The Return of Chickenpox. Her eye is swollen half-shut with blisters and itching and general oozing nastiness. (But only on the left side -- shingles is like that.) So if it doesn't get into her actual eye/optic nerve, then she won't go blind. (How's that for the sunny side?)

For complicated reasons, the girl Nodlings only lack the vaccine against ... Chickenpox. Worse yet, baby Dab spends 95% of his time glued to Mrs. Nod's side. If he gets it, he could get very, very sick.

We'll know how bad it's going to be after the incubation period in about 2 weeks (just in time for Nod-girl's First Communion).

Oy! Ora pro nobis.

The Sheep and the Goats

2011-05-02T00:21:00.001-04:00

The Sheep and the Goats. Lest you think this is a reflection on Matthew 25:31-46, worthy though that be, let me assure you this is about cuisine.

I've eaten many sheep: mutton, lamb chops, doner kebab, rogan josh and so on. Lamb is scrumptiously delicious with garlic, curry, or even mint jelly. Sheep may be dumb, but they are tasty, tasty.

This weekend I ate goat curry. Yup, you read that right: goat. The sole reason for eating it was simply because I could. I've also tried deer, elk, rattlesnake, buffalo, pheasant, and foie gras, just to name a few.

Goats will eat anything, including tin cans and have a reputation for being rather ornery. The meat is darker and tougher than lamb (I hesitate to call it stringy), slightly gamy but not bad. I had it in a stewed curry dish from an Indian restaurant. The curry was nice and spicy. My chief complaint was that the goat meat was stewed bone-in, so there are a number of small bones that you have to eat around and pick out.

I'm glad I tried it, but I don't think I'd go out of my way to order it again. However, to be fair, I do like goat cheese quite a bit.

So to sum up: lamb is king; goat is second rate.

The Irony Is Huge

2011-05-01T23:15:00.000-04:00

An important event happened today...

I don't believe in any coordinated conspiracy by human agents, but I find it hugely ironic that the death of Osama Bin Laden was announced on the beatification of Pope John Paul II.

You need news of this magnitude in order to deflect the attention away from JP II. The same thing happened on the death of Mother Teresa which was eclipsed by the death of Princess Diana.

Just sayin' ...

Blessed JPII, the Awesome

2011-05-01T22:22:00.001-04:00

Everybody is waxing eloquent today on the Beatification of Bl. Pope John Paul II, purposefully coincident with Divine Mercy Sunday.

Nothing I can say can add to his stature, but for me his papacy was always very personal. I saw him first with my own eyes as a child when I was 8 years old in Ephesus, Turkey near Selcuk at the House of the Virgin Mary (Meryemana). I sat on my father's shoulders to see him.

Having reined as Pope for 26 years and most of my adult life, he will always be in my mind, The Pope.
We have prayed for the repose of his soul every day since his death. On the occasion of his beatification by Pope Benedict XVI and the Church we offer thanks to Almighty God.

We have only one thing left to pray for: Santo Subito!

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival #106

2011-05-01T21:58:00.000-04:00

This week on Sunday Snippets, WBN presents: Hard, Easy, & Hard Answers.

Senomyx Soylent Green Update

2011-04-29T00:14:00.000-04:00

Two companies have now "ended their partnership" with Senomyx after the outcry by COGFL. Sadly, Pepsi was not among them. I'm drinking Coke ...

LARGO, Florida, March 30, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – After the release of information yesterday on corporations partnered with a biotech company found using aborted fetal cells lines in food flavor testing, LifeSiteNews.com has learned that two of those companies – Solae and Campbell Soup – are no longer partnered with the unethical testing company.

Solae wrote LSN that while their company did sign an agreement with Senomyx biotech company in 2007 and is listed on their website as a partner, they have not been in partnership for over a year.

“This letter is to inform you that Solae does not currently have an active relationship with Senomyx nor do we have any plans for one in the future at this time,” wrote Media Relations Specialist, Jennifer Starkey.

Write to these companies and tell them not to do business or testing using unethical means. No babies in the blender!

Kent Snyder, CEO
Senomyx
4767 Nexus Centre Drive
San Diego, California 92121

Paul Bulcke, CEO
Nestlé USA
800 North Brand Boulevard
Glendale, CA 91203

Jamie Caulfield, Sr.VP
PepsiCo, Inc.
700 Anderson Hill Road
Purchase, NY 10577

Irene Rosenfeld, CEO
Kraft Foods/Cadbury Chocolate
Three Lakes Drive
Northfield, IL 60093

24:15 More Joe Six-Pack Answers

2011-04-28T22:07:00.000-04:00

There never seems to be enough time; I’ve been working long hours with nothing left over at the end of the day. So lots of things have gotten short shrift the last few weeks. All the more reason to have a ready defense and explanation for the Faith especially for those too busy to listen.

With that, I give you 10 more Joe Six-Pack Answers: short, sweet, and to the point.

If God could appear to us as any thing, why does he come to us as bread in the Eucharist? So we’ll eat it. If our first parents, Adam and Eve, died as a result of eating the wrong thing, Jesus promises us we’ll live by eating the right thing: Him.
If God is never lonely, why did he create us? Because He thought we’d like it.
If God is all-loving, why does he allow some people to go to Hell? Because we’re not robots. God wants us to love Him, but that love has to be a free choice. In order for there to be a free choice, there has to be the possibility of not choosing God. That’s what Hell is: the torment of being apart from God forever and knowing that you chose it.
How can being Catholic be any good when you’re so bad / mean / hypocritical? Imagine how bad I’d be if I wasn’t Catholic.

Continue reading >>>

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Lawn Stripes

2011-04-27T22:50:00.000-04:00

Right now my yard looks a bit ridiculous.

It's been raining like the dickens which has made the grass grow like crazy. However, my lawn tractor is currently busted so it's gotten rather high. I've been working overtime, so there has been no time during the week to cut it, and it keeps raining on the weekend.

I got a bit desperate and tried to hand mow the front at dusk by doing a pop-a-wheelie with the mower (very dangerous and the awkward position led to some pulled muscles). Of course I ran out of light and had to stop. Then it was a few more days before I could try again. I got halfway through the back when I ran out of gas. One tank doesn't go far enough when you're mowing the same section 3 times with differing height mower wheelies.

So now I've got a 3-tiered lawn. I may just put some stripes on it and call it a golf course: fairway, rough, and lost-ball-in-the-high-weeds. Maybe I'll just call it art.

Ok, the lawn tractor guy is coming out this week ....

Liberalism, Intolerance, and Despotism

2011-04-25T23:44:00.001-04:00

Not much has changed since 2009. Re-posted from "way back".
================
Some days I have the attention span of a gnat, just like the majority of the American political landscape; other times I can dredge up stuff from my personal "wayback" machine with astounding clarity. In this case we're only talking about four months.

Three is a magic number which tends to trip my internal filter mechanism and I say: I've seen this before. The latest instance of this happened when I noticed voices in the Church speaking on the same theme from three different corners of the world: the relationship between liberalism, intolerance, and despotism.

The first instance happened when Pope Benedict XVI was commenting in a letter sent to Italian philosopher and senator Marcello Pera on his latest book Why We Must Call Ourselves Christians: Liberalism, Europe, and Ethics.

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 2, 2008 (Zenit.org).- At the heart of liberalism is the Christian image of God, and rediscovering that is the key to overcoming the current crisis of ethics in Europe and the world, says Benedict XVI.
"With irreproachable logic, you show how liberalism loses its base and destroys itself if it abandons this foundation," he added.
"This has generated what is known as the phenomenon of anti-clericalism, and anti-clericalism has generated another: what in the book I call 'secular equation,' namely, 'liberal equals non-Christian.', [Pera said.]"

The second instance came from the Australian Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell in an address at a conference in Oxford on "Varieties of Intolerance: Religious and Secular."

LONDON, MARCH 12, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Modern liberalism has strong totalitarian tendencies, according to the archbishop of Sydney.

"Some secularists seem to like one way streets," he added. "Their intolerance of Christianity seeks to drive it not only from the public square, but even from the provision of education, health care and welfare services to the wider community. Tolerance has come to mean different things for different groups."

The cardinal noted how particularly in the United States, members of Church organizations are facing more and more legal obstacles when it comes to following their consciences.

Following close on the heels of that, "USCCB President Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago, warns that President Obama is moving towards despotism in removing conscience protections from medical providers who choose not to provide abortion services" (H/T: Thoughts of a Regular Guy by Paul, just this guy, you know?:
On Friday afternoon, February 27, the Obama Administration placed on a federal website the news that it intends to remove a conscience protection rule for the Department of Health and Human Services. That rule is one part of the range of legal protections for health care workers—for doctors, nurses and others—who have objections in conscience to being involved in abortion and other killing procedures that are against how they live their faith in God.

As Catholic bishops and American citizens, we are deeply concerned that such an action on the government’s part would be the first step in moving our country from democracy to despotism.
Anybody noticing a trend here?

It may have been obvious from the start or not, but societies tend to follow broad movements; once started, thoughts and attitudes roll on under their own momentum (or constant agitation from a vocal minority) until something radical shifts its course.

Intellectual, political, and religious beliefs have practical consequences in real life. That is why totalitarian regimes shoot the dissidents even for their own private thoughts. Thoughts lead to action.

The fight to legitimize gay "marriage" is not simply a case of civil rights or "live and let live" -- it is about reshaping the entire culture; it would require sweeping changes in law, finance, education, politics, and even impinge on freedom of religion.

The rescission of conscience clauses in public law is a transparent attempt not only to silence the practice of religion in the public sphere but also to compel doctors and health care workers to be complicit in the crime: It is not enough for you to let us kill -- you must pull the trigger, wield the knife.
So it's a fight and make no mistake. And yet to return to the words of our Holy Father: At the heart of liberalism is the Christian image of God, and rediscovering that is the key to overcoming the current crisis.

By ourselves, we are nothing -- but we are not alone. Christ crucified was as alone and abandoned as a man can be: Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? (Mark 15:33-34,37-39 RSV) Now Christ is resurrected, and we will never need be alone again. So although it may seem that now "there was darkness over the whole land", yet we will persevere.


: For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
: For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. (1 Cor 1:22-25)

Bourbon Is For The Lips

2011-04-24T21:52:00.000-04:00

No! No! NO! You drink the bourbon, put gas in the car ...

Kentucky Man Invents Bourbon Powered Junk Car

[iSpyce] With fuel prices rising like they are going crazy, a man from Kentucky probably came up with what is thought to be a solution to gas prices of today. A 62 year-old man, Mickey Nilsson, of Bardstown, Kentucky, made a bourbon-powered junk car. He got the idea from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (a movie from 1968 directed by Ken Hughes and staring Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries and Benny Hill) and the stars of American Pickers. Nilsson said that his inspiration came from a character played by Dick Van Dyke in the classic Disney movie. The character in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang assembled a flying car from junk parts.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival #104-105

2011-04-24T21:44:00.000-04:00

This week on Sunday Snippets, WBN presents: Easter Tidings of Great Joy!

Christos anesti! Alithos anesti!

2011-04-24T10:09:00.002-04:00

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!
(Traditional Greek Easter greeting) Picture of the Holy Sepulchre.

Happy Easter, all. Read more Paschal greetings worldwide.

The Earth Mourns

2011-04-22T17:19:00.000-04:00

Today is Good Friday. Supposedly it is also Earth Day (not that I care).

Here the skies are cold, grey, overcast, and raining. I prefer it this way; nothing is more incongruous than a bright, sunny, Spring day on the anniversary of the saddest event in the history of the world.

To me the coldness recalls the chill of the tomb in which Our Lord lay. The Light of the World has gone, symbolized by the veil of clouds over the sun. The rain that falls are like tears from Heaven, or like the whole world mourning for the innocent Lamb that was slain for our sins.

The world is a dark, cold, and lonely place without Him. At the church, the tabernacle lies open and empty; you can feel the desolation radiating from the place. Or perhaps more accurately, you can feel the lack of His presence.

Christ has died ... and it's all our fault.

Mea culpa. Forgive us, O Lord.

There Be Dragons

2011-04-21T23:40:00.000-04:00

The real life of Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer is the stuff of movies ... oh, wait, now it is one.

"This is the official movie trailer for the upcoming May 6 U.S. theatrical release of There Be Dragons. Roland Joffe, the director who brought us the highly acclaimed and deeply spiritual film The Mission has returned to his roots with the epic movie There Be Dragons, a powerful story of war, tragedy, love and redemption.

"Featured in the NY Times, the $35 million Dragons is rated PG-13 and planned for release in theaters worldwide in Spring, 2011. Set during the turmoil of the Spanish Civil War (early 1900s), Dragons tells the story of two childhood friends who become separated during the political conflict to find themselves on opposite sides as war erupts.

"One chooses the path of peace and becomes a priest while the other chooses the life of a soldier driven by jealousy and revenge. Each will struggle to find the power of forgiveness over the forces that tore their lives and friendship apart."

Breathe Deep: Incense Anti-depressant

2011-04-21T23:29:00.000-04:00

I like it. Incense may be an anti-depressant. I know I'm happy when I'm breathing deeply of incense -- usually that's because I'm in the Presence of God.

h/t Mystagogy

Incense Found To Be Psychoactive

21 May 2008
by Kate Melville
Science A Go Go

Biologists from Johns Hopkins University and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem have discovered that burning frankincense (resin from the Boswellia plant) activates poorly understood ion channels in the brain that alleviate anxiety and depression, suggesting that an entirely new class of medicinal drugs might be right under our noses.

Reporting their findings in The FASEB Journal, the researchers said that the active compound - incensole acetate - significantly affected areas in the brain known to be involved in emotions as well as in nerve circuits that are affected by currently prescribed anxiety and depression drugs.

"In spite of information stemming from ancient texts, constituents of Boswellia had not been investigated for psychoactivity," said researcher Raphael Mechoulam. "We found that incensole acetate, a Boswellia resin constituent, when tested in mice lowers anxiety and causes antidepressive-like behavior. Apparently, most present day worshipers assume that incense burning has only a symbolic meaning."

Not Dead Yet

2011-04-20T00:16:00.002-04:00

I'm not dead yet, just working some loooong hours. Yeesh, I'm tired.

My Mistress Beckons

2011-04-10T23:23:00.000-04:00

I can't help it -- I went to the garden nursery today to pick up some seeds, and the old longing came over me again.

I'm starting with lettuce, strawberries, blueberries, banana peppers, sweet red peppers, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, better boys, parsley, rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, cilantro, asparagus, purple passion asparagus, ...

Re-posted from 2009.
===============
I have a mistress to whom my wife bids me go; "Indeed", she says, "you have been away too long".

It is not a lady that beckons, but rather the earth in my garden. For three years she has lain fallow; no crops, no food, no fruit of the earth has she given me. "Alas", I sigh, "my lady lies barren, my mistress comforts me not."

A man comes from the earth, made by the effortless hand of God; a man toils in the earth to bring forth its fruit by the sweat of his brow -- such is his doom. And yet the garden is his refuge, he longs to feel the land beneath his feet; to plant and to furrow; to take delight in the tender shoots from the earth; to reap and to gather the work of his hand.

If God in His mercy sends His rain in due season, yet shall she bear forth. My fields are plowed, my garden prepared -- let the sowing begin! "Come.", my mistress beckons, "Come and let it begin again."

Zebra Barcodes

2011-04-10T23:09:00.000-04:00

This just makes me laugh. Or is it too obvious?

A team of computer scientists and biologists have developed a barcode-like scanning system called Stripespotter that automatically identifies individual zebras from a single photograph. [source]

Apparently this works with giraffes and tigers as well. Yes, but the big question is: do they come up as on sale?

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival #103

2011-04-10T22:39:00.000-04:00

This week on Sunday Snippets, WBN presents: Ready, Set, Action Bible!

The Action Bible

2011-04-07T23:58:00.000-04:00

The Action Bible just came in the mail today from Amazon. This is going to be so cool -- the Bible as an action comic! The kids are not going to be able to put this down.

I've been looking long and hard for good Catholic comics, but they are hard to come by. Arcadius Press had some good looking ones (Stories of the Saints), but they went out of business a couple of years ago before I started looking. (Anybody got one?)

There is a Catholic comic company that puts out Manga-style graphic novels of Paul: Tarsus to Redemption and Judith: Captive to Conqueror. I got one of Paul, but I'm not wild about Manga. I like Marvel style better. On the other hand, this company is making a Pope Benedict XVI Manga comic available at World Youth Day in Madrid.

In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy The Action Bible illustrated by Sergio Cariello -- and the kids will too.

24:15 Joe Six-Pack Answers

2011-04-07T00:24:00.002-04:00

The Catholic faith is beautiful, intelligent, deep, nuanced, and mysterious. We’ve got thousands of years of thinking, writing, reflecting, and praying to choose from for both Testaments. It is a glorious story of Love of our Creator for His beloved — a searing, passionate romance.

All of which makes it really hard to explain in 30 seconds.

But sometimes that’s all the chance you have with people, a mere two minutes, one minute, half minute. Maybe the length of an elevator ride; as captive an audience as you’ll ever have.

1 Peter 3:15 exhorts us to “being ready always to satisfy every one that asks you a reason of that hope which is in you.” Some topics are so complex that they defy easy explanation. Some explanations, no matter how lengthy, are doomed to be misunderstood or not understood at all.

If people were curious, they must want some answer. Give them too much and you scare them away. Give them too little and they dismiss it as unconvincing.

There must be a way to answer in a short way that is satisfying on the surface, that points to a deeper truth, AND that can be understood by the average guy on the street without a degree in theology, philosophy, or rocket science.

In short, we need some Joe Six-Pack answers.

Continue reading >>>

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Abby Johnson's Open Letter

2011-04-05T23:23:00.000-04:00

Abby Johnson, the former Planned Parenthood director turned pro-life activist, is laying out the bald truth on The Hill's Congress Blog in an open letter. She lays bare the real Planned Parenthood business model and asks Congress to do the math.

Planned Parenthood’s bottom line is numbers. And, with abortion as its primary money-maker, that means implementing a quota. I know this is true because I worked at one of their Texas clinics for 8 years, two as the clinic director.

Though 98 percent of Planned Parenthood’s services to pregnant women are abortion, Planned Parenthood and its political allies have sworn up and down that taxpayer dollars do not to pay for abortion. But of course they do. Planned Parenthood gets one-third of its entire budget from taxpayer funding and performed more than 650,000 abortions between 2008 and 2009. An abortion is expensive. Its cost includes pay for the doctor, supporting medical staff, their health benefits packages and malpractice insurance. As clinic director, I saw how money affiliate clinics receive from several sources is combined into one pot, not set aside for specific services.

Planned Parenthood’s claim that abortions make up just 3 percent of its services is also a gimmick. That number is actually closer to 12 percent, but strategically skewed by unbundling family planning services so that each patient shows anywhere from five to 20 “visits” per appointment (i.e., 12 packs of birth control equals 12 visits) and doing the opposite with abortion visits, bundling them together so that each appointment equals one visit. The resulting difference between family planning and abortion “visits” is striking.

But that’s not the only deception Planned Parenthood is spreading.

It also claims to help reduce the number of abortions. Not only is this not what Planned Parenthood actually accomplishes, but its goal couldn’t be more opposite. As a Planned Parenthood clinic manager, I was directed to double the number of abortions our clinic performed in order to drive up revenue. In keeping, Planned Parenthood headquarters recently issued a directive mandating that all of its affiliates provide abortions by 2013.

We've been hearing dueling radio spots between Planned Parenthood and Abby Johnson for a week or two now. It's funny to hear them back to back because it couldn't be more obvious PP is in damage control mode.

As far as doing the math is concerned, politicians like Harry Reid already know the truth, they just don't care because they are for abortion. (Harry Reid already said he'd shut down the government over PP.) The only people who care is pro-lifers and a few citizens who care about what taxes are actually used for.

But you just keep telling the truth, Abby. Good things will happen.

Quote

2011-04-04T22:11:00.000-04:00

"It's a dog-eat-dog world out there, and I'm wearing Milk Bone underwear." -- Norm

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival #102 & Saturday Night

2011-04-03T11:27:00.000-04:00

This week on Sunday Snippets, WBN presents Mood Food.

THE SATURDAY EVENING BLOG POST, vol. 3, issue 3

Welcome to THE SATURDAY EVENING BLOG POST!

This is where bloggers gather on the first Saturday of each month to share their favorite post from the previous month! Today we’re sharing our favorite post from March 2011!

Digital Soda Jerk

2011-03-30T21:13:00.000-04:00

I stopped off at 5 Guys Burgers for an infusion of artery hardening bacon topped goodness. The drink machine was something I've not seen before -- a kind of futuristic-yet-slightly-retro-looking soda fountain from Coca-Cola.

I am enraptured. It's got a touch screen interface with pop-top symbols of each flavor of soda. Touch Coca-Cola, for example, and the screen changes to show all the different kinds of Coke: Diet, Cherry, Zero, Classic, etc.

Apparently, these machines have up to 100 drink choices by using concentrated flavor cartridges (similar to printer ink cartridges) and carbonated water. How cool is that?

It reminds me of when I was in third grade; we lived in an American hotel for a couple of weeks in Turkey while we waited to move into our apartment. The dining room had a real-life soda jerk fountain against one wall -- the kind where you pumped syrup into a glass and then fizzed it up with the carbonated water gun.

It was also where the ice cream sundaes got made. It was completely self-serve. We spent all our available free time at the soda fountain making up drinks and eating ice cream. Heaven!

Ever since then, I've always had a fondness for real soda fountains. The chance to be a modern soda jerk is just too much to pass up. I'm going back to play with the machine.

Below is my cell phone camera close up:

Senomyx Redux

2011-03-29T23:50:00.000-04:00

Looks like Semonyx is back in the news regarding their testing of artificial flavors on cells from aborted fetuses.

I wrote about Senomyx three weeks ago: the world yawned; Children of God for Life wrote about it, and something happened: Campbell Soup has ended its relationship with Senomyx.

Within hours of our press release, Children of God for Life received notice from Campbell Soup that they have severed their ties with Senomyx.

Stated Juli Mandel Sloves, Senior Manager of Nutrition & Wellness Communications at Campbell Soup Company, "We are no longer in partnership with Senomyx. This fact was discussed during the Senomyx conference call with its investors earlier this month."

“Every effort is made to use the finest ingredients and develop the greatest selection of products, all at a great value. With this in mind, it must be said that the trust we have cultivated and developed over the years with our consumers is not worth compromising to cut costs or increase profit margins."

From the CGL press release:

“What they do not tell the public is that [Senomyx] are using HEK 293 – human embryonic kidney cells taken from an electively aborted baby to produce those [taste] receptors,” stated Debi Vinnedge, Executive Director for CGL, the watch dog group that has been monitoring the use of aborted fetal material in medical products and cosmetics for years.

“They could have easily chosen COS (monkey) cells, Chinese Hamster Ovary cells, insect cells or other morally obtained human cells expressing the G protein for taste receptors,” Vinnedge added.

After three letters, Nestlé finally admitted the truth about their relationship with Senomyx, noting the cell line was “well established in scientific research”.

Pepsico wrote: “We hope you are reassured to learn that our collaboration with Senomyx is strictly limited to creating lower-calorie, great-tasting beverages for consumers. This will help us achieve our commitment to reduce added sugar per serving by 25% in key brands in key markets over the next decade and ultimately help people live healthier lives.”

“If enough people voice their outrage and intent to boycott these consumer products, it can be highly effective in convincing Senomyx to change their methods”, Vinnedge noted. “Otherwise, we will be buying Coca-Cola, Lipton soups and Hershey products!”

So you see that we CAN change the way these Big Pharma and Biotechs operate if we speak our consciences.

Smoking Scotch

2011-03-29T00:02:00.000-04:00

I recently had the opportunity to broaden my palate in the wonderful world of Scotch whiskey. (Thanks, Shoe!)

I had a wee dram of a number of Scotches, ranging in price and quality, from the delicate to the bold. The most unusual was Ardbeg 10. The website describes it as:

The Ultimate Single Islay Malt Scotch Whisky. It is, perhaps, the most peaty malt whisky in the world - certainly of all the Islay malts. Ardbeg is the PEATIEST and SMOKIEST of all the Islay malts, yet has a fruity floral sweetness and complexity to the spirit.

I'd have to say that's probably the most accurate description I've ever read. The flavor of Ardbeg is a wonderful, delicate floral sweetness that is really top shelf. Truly excellent. The only caveat here is: you must NOT breathe.

If you do, Someone (there's that guy again!) will pour a gallon of liquid smoke into your nostrils. They are not kidding when they claim the peatiest and smokiest Scotch in all the Islay. This is potent stuff that lingers on in your nostrils long after the swallow.

If smoke is your bag, then this is your Scotch. Long life! As for me, I'm reminded of why I like bourbon instead (or at least non-smoky Scotch). I'm grateful for having had the experience, but between Ardbeg and the Rauchbier, I'm smoked out.

Rituals Of The Season

2011-03-28T23:08:00.000-04:00

Today was Wynken's first soccer practice of the season.

He's got the same coach and almost all of the same boys as last season, which is a bonus. They're generally a good lot.

Unfortunately, it is unseasonably cold with temperatures in the 35F degree range. I stood around with a couple of the other dads making chit chat though clenched teeth. Meanwhile, I'm thinking: why do we do this crazy social ritual when every one of us would rather be waiting in the car with the heat on full?

Eventually, one of the dads who was in thin cotton slacks bolted for the comfort of his car. I'm wondering now: how come I wasn't smart enough to do that? Ah, the pressure of social graces.

The boys were fine since they were running around.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival #101

2011-03-27T21:20:00.000-04:00

This week on Sunday Snippets, WBN presents: Decisions, Decisions.

Beer Madness 2011

2011-03-24T23:40:00.001-04:00

I don't have much use for basketball, it doesn't hold my interest -- too much scoring dulls the senses. Speaking of dulling the senses, the sensible brackets to watch are that of the annual Washington Post's suds showdown -- BEER Madness.

This year an epic 64 American microbrews go head-to-head. Brackets include: Malt, Fruit & Spice, Hops, and Roast.

Already in Round 3! Someday, I'm going to be on that panel ...

The Annunciation of the Lord - Solemnity

2011-03-24T22:42:00.000-04:00

The following is a shameless reprint of the reflection found in the "Catholic Calendar" application found in the App Store (author unknown). I don't claim any authorship at all, I just found it cool and thought you might too.

The Annunciation of the Lord - Solemnity

What if she had said No?

The question may strike you as irreverent. How dare I suggest that the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Heaven, Co-Redemptrix of mankind, could have left us in the lurch like that?

But what if she had?

Could she have said No? You might say that of course she couldn’t, she was far too holy — but you would be guilty of demeaning and dangerous sentimentality. It is demeaning because it turns Our Lady from a free human being into a sanctified automaton. The whole glory of the Annunciation is that Mary, the second Eve, could have said No to God but she said Yes instead. That is what we celebrate, that is what we praise her for; and rightly so.

This sentimental view is dangerous too. If we believe that the most important decision in the history of the world was in fact inevitable, that it couldn’t have been otherwise, then that means it was effortless. Now we have a marvellous excuse for laziness. Next time we’re faced with a tough moral decision, we needn’t worry about doing what is right. Just drift, and God will make sure that whatever choice we make is the right one. If God really wants us to do something he’ll sweep us off his feet the way he did Mary, and if he chooses not to, it’s hardly our fault, is it?

So Mary could have said No to Gabriel. What if she had? He couldn’t just go and ask someone else, like some sort of charity collector. With all the genealogies and prophecies in the Bible, there was only one candidate. It’s an alarming thought. Ultimately, of course, God would have done something: the history of salvation is the history of him never abandoning his people however pig-headed they were. But God has chosen to work through human history. If the first attempt at redemption took four thousand years to prepare, from the Fall to the Annunciation, how many tens of thousands of years would the next attempt have taken?

Even if the world sometimes makes us feel like cogs in a machine, each of us is unique and each of us is here for a purpose: just because it isn’t as spectacular a purpose as Mary’s, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. When we fail to seek our vocation, or put off fulfilling some part of it, we try to justify ourselves by saying that someone else will do it better, that God will provide, that it doesn’t really matter. But we are lying. However small a part I have to play, the story of the Annunciation tells me it is my part and no-one else can do it.

Faced with the enormity of her choice, how was Mary able to decide? If she said No, unredeemed generations would toil on under the burden of sin. If she said Yes, she herself would suffer, and so would her Son; but both would be glorified. Millions of people not yet born would have Heaven open to them; but millions of others would suffer oppression and death in her son’s name. The stakes were almost infinite.

You might say that Mary didn’t worry about all this, just obeyed God; but I don’t believe it. What God wanted was not Mary’s unthinking obedience but her full and informed consent as the representative of the entire human race. The two greatest miracles of the Annunciation are these: that God gave Mary the wisdom to know the consequences of her decision, and that he gave her the grace not to be overwhelmed by that knowledge.

When we come to an important decision in our lives, we can easily find our minds clouded by the possible consequences, or, even more, by partial knowledge of them. How can we ever move, when there is so much good and evil whichever way we go? The Annunciation gives us the answer. God’s grace will give us the strength to move, even if the fate of the whole world is hanging in the balance. After all, God does not demand that our decisions should be the correct ones (assuming that there even is such a thing), only that they should be rightly made.

There is one more truth that the Annunciation teaches us, and it is so appalling that I can think of nothing uplifting to say about it that will take the sting away: perhaps it is best forgotten, because it tells us more about God than we are able to understand. The Almighty Father creates heaven and earth, the sun and all the stars; but when he really wants something done, he comes, the Omnipotent and Omniscient, to one of his poor, weak creatures — and he asks.

And, day by day, he keeps on asking us.

The Great Catholic Steak Out

2011-03-24T22:35:00.000-04:00

Lest you think I suffer from a grammar deficit, I don't mean stake out, I mean steak out. As in, get the steak out, it's time to eat!

Friday, March 25 is the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. That ain't no minor thing, that's a Big Deal (tm). The Church wants us to Celebrate -- not celebrate, I said Celebrate.

Can. 1251 Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Being obedient sons and daughters of the Church, the same filial duty that makes us fast and abstain from meat impels us not to fast and abstain on a Solemnity even during Lent. This has nothing to do with being weak, not being able to "tough it out", being legalistic, trying to be more Catholic than the Pope, or any such nonsense. This is about love -- love is obedient.

So we do what we're supposed to do when we're supposed to do it. Kneel when we kneel, stand when we stand, fast when we fast, abstain when we abstain, and don't when we don't.

So fire up the barbecue, roast the brats, smother the chicken, fry the burger or whatever you like and raise a glass to the Queen of Heaven -- she said yes! -- and her glorious Son, Our Lord.

24:15 The Genuine Article

2011-03-23T23:59:00.000-04:00

We’ve heard it before in many forms. It’s the little things that count. Good things come in small packages. It’s the attention to detail. He who is faithful in small things will be faithful in greater. St. Therese of Lisieux became a saint by the little way. Blessed Mother Theresa said “[D]o small things with great love”.

One of my favorite Lenten meditations is the guy at the home improvement store who said, “We’ve got some great fertilizer for less over here”. Wait -- what??

Continue reading >>>

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Thank You Steve Jobs

2011-03-23T00:26:00.000-04:00

Today I upgraded my iPad to undo the upgrade which took away one of the most useful features: the side switch orientation lock. This is not so important on an iPhone, but this is waaaayyy important on an iPad.

I don't care a fig about the other updates, and I don't care that you don't care -- I care!!

John Cleese: The Scientists

2011-03-22T00:20:00.002-04:00

Go ahead. Laugh.

World Down Syndrome Day

2011-03-21T23:03:00.000-04:00

My boy Nub has Down Syndrome. Read The Nub of the Story for my conversion on this topic. I've got some pretty strong feelings on the matter.

I won't give a dime to the National Down Syndrome Society because they refuse to affirm the dignity and worth of DS children prior to birth. Their attitude is symptomatic of the public at large.

Mark W. Leach at Public Discourse uncovers some of the reasons why.

Each year, March 21^st is World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD). The date 3/21 was chosen as a representation of the genetic cause of the condition, a triplicate of the 21^st chromosome. WDSD seeks to raise awareness of a genetic condition that may very well diminish to the point of disappearing. This is due to the prenatal testing sham.

Read the whole thing here.

Intertubes A Toilet Sometimes

2011-03-21T22:48:00.001-04:00

Last week the Intertubes lit up with intense reaction to 13 year old Rebecca Black's song "Friday", dubbed by overzealous editors as "the worst song ever".

"Friday," sung by 13-year-old Rebecca Black, was uploaded to YouTube last month by Ark Music Factory, a Los Angeles-based company that was hired by the girl's parents to produce the song for their daughter. (AFP)

The "worst song ever"? Really? The song has 30 million hits on YouTube. Million. I heard it -- I thought it was pretty forgettable; typical tween song. But it wasn't horrible. If you don't like it, don't listen to it.

Some Netizens representing the lowest rungs of the culture went so far as to post comments saying "I hope you cut yourself and die or get an eating disorder so you can be pretty."

Seriously? The girl is only 13 years old and her parents paid a company to produce a song for her as a gift. The reactions are so intensely over-the-top as to be unbelievable. The anonymity the Internet affords sometimes brings out the worst in people. (Probably another jealous 13 year old.)

Being a 13 year old is traumatic enough all by itself, no need to pile on. At least this girl produced something to look at; most of these parasites never will.

Quote Of The Day

2011-03-21T22:01:00.001-04:00

"Women. Let's face it -- they're insane ... and we can't live without them." -- Anonymous

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival #100

2011-03-20T22:23:00.000-04:00

This week on Sunday Snippets, WBN presents: Lunchroom Barbarians.

The Best Blogging Buddies Evah!

2011-03-18T23:19:00.001-04:00

Recently we at the Nod household received baby shower gifts for our latest Nodling, Dab. The fact that it was unexpected, unmerited, and a complete act of kindness only serves to accentuate its worth.

Check out these onesies -- they're awesome! Dab is gonna wear them with pride as he says his rosary and learns about the saints.

Mrs. Nod and I are extremely grateful to Rebecca (aka the Mom), LarryD, and anyone else who may have had a hand in it (you know who you are!). Somehow you made an obscure guy with a little blog and a big family feel very special.

Thanks!

24:15 Lunchroom Barbarians

2011-03-17T00:39:00.000-04:00

They pour over the rise in a ragged line, eyes glazed and staring off into the middle distance. As they advance, various articles fall from their hands and backs; shoes, packs, jackets, papers, and unidentifiable plastic bits clog up the pathway, only to be trampled unseen by those following close behind.

A low and insistent moan issues from their mouths and the atmosphere becomes dangerously charged. Half a dozen of them break off from the horde and fling open the door of a small unassuming dwelling, trammeling the stairs, and swarming the inhabitants.

The Lunchroom Barbarians are home and they are hungry.

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The Light Is On

2011-03-16T00:00:00.000-04:00

He is waiting for you.

Stout Observation

2011-03-15T15:14:00.000-04:00

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day.

Brilliant article over at The Economist on how bubbles form in Stout beer (how can I get that job??). As anyone knows who has enjoyed a Guinness from the pressurized can, it takes a special widget containing nitrogen to make all those awesome creamy bubbles instead of the regular CO2 used in ales and lagers.

Now it turns out that you may be able to do the same thing using a coffee filter instead. Read the whole article here.

[Dr. Lee] wondered why the normal mechanism of bubbling in beers and sparkling wines does not appear to work in stouts.

Conventional wisdom used to hold that once the pressure inside a bottle or can has been released by opening it, the bubbles in a fizzy drink, whether alcoholic or not, are seeded by pockets of air trapped in scratches and imperfections on the surface of the glass being drunk from. Over the past decade, however, scientific scrutiny has revealed that most bubbles actually form on fibres of cellulose that have either fallen into the glass from the air or been left behind when it was dried with a towel. These fibres, which are generally hollow, trap a small amount of air in their interiors.

To see what is going on in stouts, Dr Lee and his team wrote down the equations governing the physics of the dissolved gases and fibres. They found that molecules of nitrogen and carbon dioxide are able to diffuse from the liquid through the walls of the fibres into the air pockets trapped inside them, causing those pockets of air to expand. If a pocket reaches the end of a fibre, it breaks off as a bubble.

The problem, as far as stouts are concerned, is that the low concentration of dissolved nitrogen means the process works at only a 15th of the rate seen in ales and lagers. But Dr Lee has an answer to that: more cellulose. He and his team spiked their beer with extra fibres from a cut-up coffee filter and watched the bubbles form under a microscope.

Rule 42

2011-03-14T16:09:00.000-04:00

After I told her for the 42nd time to eat her oatmeal, 3 year-old Nib responded, "I want to get big, Daddy. But not in the ceiling."

Reminds me of this from Alice In Wonderland.

The King then read from his book: "Rule forty-two. All persons more than a mile high to leave the court."

"I'm not a mile high," said Alice.

"Nearly two miles high," said the Queen.

"Well, I sha'n't go, at any rate," said Alice.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival #99

2011-03-14T13:23:00.001-04:00

This week on Sunday Snippets, WBN presents: What's In That?

Overheard In My House

2011-03-10T13:02:00.002-05:00

Overheard in my house:

The Greek god Uranus had his gentiles cut out, so Aphrodite sprang from his forehead instead.

24:15 Senomyx Green

2011-03-10T00:26:00.001-05:00

For those of you who will remember, the iconic film Soylent Green depicted a dystopian future in which all the food supplies have been exhausted by overpopulation and people are dependent on protein bars handed out by the government in order to stay alive. The secret origins of Soylent Green are revealed at the climax to be made from the only remaining source: It’s people! — in a word, cannibalism.

Ever since then, Soylent Green has become a byword to describe the unthinkable thrust upon the unsuspecting.

One of the biggest driving forces behind the abortion business is money. Abortion is big business. Body parts can and are being sold to medical researchers, pharmaceutical companies, cosmetics companies, IVF labs, and a growing list of customers that may surprise you (there’s gotta be some kind of regulations, right?).

Anyone who has ever researched how vaccines are made may have wrestled with the notion of “remote material cooperation” with evil. Is it morally licit to use a vaccine made from aborted fetal cell lines? Some say yes, some say no. The Church has no official position on extant shots that I know of, and is generally pro-vaccine. It seems to come down to making a decision with a properly informed conscience. (Don’t flame me — I take it on a case-by-case basis.)

So when I became aware of the current controversy regarding a food flavoring biotech company called Senomyx using cells from aborted fetuses, I began to get that sinking feeling. Are they putting Soylent Green in our food as “artificial flavors” ?

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UPDATE: Campbell Soup has dropped their partnership with Senomyx over negative publicity regarding using aborted fetal cells.

Ash Wednesday

2011-03-08T23:11:00.000-05:00

Remember, O man, thou art dust

And to dust thou shalt return