Monachus

2003-09-19T22:47:00.000-07:00

[ so is this good or bad? ]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37566-2003Sep19.html

2003-09-01T09:19:00.000-07:00

[ bluh ]

Heading back up to seminary in a couple of hours...Crystal offered a live journal code to me so I can continue my blogging trek, I haven't talked to her lately other than that and I haven't tried LJ on the sem computers yet, so I don't know how that's going to work out.

JP II's poetry is going to hit the shelves on Sep 5...you can read some (all?) of the book, entitled The Roman Triptych: Meditations, here.

2003-08-29T17:20:00.000-07:00

[ weep ]

Well I been at sem for a week now, and....haven't updated....cuz Blogger is blocked by the Archdiocese. Ridiculous. So now I can't update this thing. Don't know what I'm going to do yet, but...we'll see.

2003-08-23T12:42:00.000-07:00

[ a nut for me ]

Tcheq diç auth: elg

2003-08-19T06:09:00.000-07:00

[ death ]

Grandfather died early this morning. Resquiat in pace.

2003-08-18T17:40:00.000-07:00

[ hell! ]

General asshats
Circle I Limbo

Militant Vegans
Circle II Whirling in a Dark & Stormy Wind

Christina Aguilera
Circle III Mud, Rain, Cold, Hail & Snow

Protestants
Circle IV Rolling Weights

Democrats
Circle V Stuck in Mud, Mangled

River Styx

Objectivists
Circle VI Buried for Eternity

River Phlegyas

Bill Clinton
Circle VII Burning Sands

Scientologists
Circle IIX Immersed in Excrement

Hillary Clinton
Circle IX Frozen in Ice

Design your own hell

2003-08-18T12:30:00.000-07:00

[ laughing mah heinie off ]

Jesus Stuff

I've seen articles by The Onion that are really tasteless and not funny, but this one is so amusing because...nowadays it's hardly even a spoof.... :-D

2003-08-17T20:41:00.000-07:00

[ well, I lack a good Bible ]

Still lacking a good Bible. Went to both Borders AND Barnes and Noble. Checked out The Jerusalem Bible: Reader's Edition. No inclusive language, but it is quite liberal with the translation of the text. I understand it's a dynamic translation, but I want something a bit more faithful. So, move onto The New Jerusalem Bible: Saints Devotional Edition. Uses some inclusive language ("humankind" [which, by the way, still includes "mankind" but not "womankind"). Better than the original JB at fidelity to the text. Yet translates Matthew 16:18 as "...you are Peter and on this rock I will build my community, and the underworld will not withstand it" (or something like that). Now, community?! COMMUNITY!? Yeah, the Church is a community, but the word is ECCLESIA, which means, quite specifically,CHURCH. So fiercely scratch out THAT worthless translation.

50th Anniversary RSV w/ Apocrypha (and without imprimatur). Now that I haven't read the RSV in a while, it appears almost as pedestrian as the NAB, with odd wordings. Of course, nothing's as bad as the NAB's translation of a line in a psalm (think it's 28) as "Rise up O ancient portals," which definitely evokes images of Geordi LaForge blowing holes in a Romulan with a phaser.

So, let's do a summary of the major Catholic translations of the Bible:

Jerusalem: wacky words
New Jerusalem: wacky feminist words
RSV: pedestrian
NAB: romulan (too bad it ain't Catholic/Rome-ulan, hee hee hee)

Looks like I'm gonna be sticking with Italian till I get my hands on a Vulgate or a Douay. None of this dynamic pedestrian feminist alien crap for me. What do you think I am, an Episcopal? :-p :-D

(and sorry about the Rome-ulan joke, I'll be doing time in purgatory for that one, I'm sure, lol)

2003-08-17T12:44:00.000-07:00

[ Anglicans ]

I was reading the Pope's last encyclical on the Eucharist (which I love!) and wanted to see various people's commentaries on it. I happened to stumble across an Anglican's blog on which he expressed his distate for Ecclesia de Eucharistia and complained that the Pope is trying to widen the same gulf that the ecumenical movement is trying to bridge. Now, I'm sorry, but I just find this ridiculous. He, a member of a church that was founded by the libidinous whims of a murderous king less than five paltry centuries ago, is complaining that the pope is reiterating what the Church has ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS taught--- that non-Catholics and Catholics cannot receive communion together?

You have to be IN COMMUNION to receive COMMUNION--in communion with Christ AND with the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Which the Anglican Churches are definitely NOT; soon they won't even be in "communion" with EACH OTHER! To what purpose would it serve if we DID receive communion together, when we even lack agreement on what the Eucharist is in the first place (since they don't believe in transubstantiation)?! And with the horrific state of the Anglican Churches today, why would Catholics even WANT to PRETEND there IS unity?

And what a farce it would be to even try!

Anyway, I'm going to head to Barnes and Noble later today. I need to buy another Bible, since I gave my Ignatius away to the Israeli, lol. It was worth it, it was worth it, but that doesn't change the fact that I now lack a worthy Bible translation. All I have now is my NAB, which I hate with a passion. A boring, flat, ultra inclusive waste of paper that includes the worst rendition of the psalms known to man. And I've got an Italian Bible, too, but I would really like an English one for daily use--Italian's a beautiful language to pray in, but for meditation and research, I am still kinda stuck with English.

I'm not quite sure whether to buy a New Jerusalem (Saints Devotional Edition) or a hard cover Ignatius Bible. I really prefer the NJB, but it's not as good for apologetics purposes as the RSV is, and plus the NJB sometimes uses inclusive language, though it's not in-your-face like the NAB ("and the Light was the Life of the HUMAN RACE" *puke*) or the NRSV. But then again the NJB is probably the most beautiful English translation...so, as you can see, I'm stuck. What I'll probably do is buy a NJB today and in a month or so score an Ignatius. You see, Mom, I CAN have my cake and eat it, too. :-p :-D

2003-08-13T22:32:00.000-07:00

[ ARGGGGH! ]

...and I just realized I left my undeveloped film in my checked baggage...meaning it is probably ruined. All the pictures of all the people I met, all the pictures of the places I visited....are quite likely gone.

I'm crushed.

2003-08-13T20:58:00.000-07:00

[ well ]

Well, I made it home. Western Union worked fine, didn't miss flights. On the other hand, I got harassed by security and customs at two airports on two different continents, had a five and a half hour layover in Philly that sucked, and I haven't slept in over 24 hours. Got into NO about an hour ago, at 9:45 PM...it's 5-6 AM in Rome right now, and that's what time I woke up yesterday. Yesterday...or is it today?

Well, whichever, today will soon be tomorrow, and tomorrow never dies, so let's all just go to bed and that's the end of it.

Oh, and I flew over Boston and waved a big HEY to Crystal. Don't know if she saw me or not, but I did. And any other people who live on the east coast from Newfoundland to Alabama, I waved hello to you as well. Mentally, at least. :-D

Oh, and one more thing, my mom just told me that my grandfather told my grandmother today that he was going to die. He's been in the hospital since before I left for Italy and it's been downhill the whole time, we have been expecting him to die for about 5 years now, it is actually amazing he has held on this long. So I think prayers would be in order? I don't think he's talked to a priest in 50 years, even though he's Catholic. Maybe prayers will make him have a last minute conversion? I hope so, he is a very wise, very kind, and very intelligent man. Just not a good Catholic.

Boy I'm glad to be back home.

2003-08-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

[ arrivederci, italia! ]

Tonight is my last night in Italia. At the same time, I am fiercely screaming, "Thanks be to God!" and "No! I dun wanna go!"

I think I would be much less willing to leave if I weren't waiting for my dad to send the wire transfer via Western Union. The hotel people wouldn't accept my dad's credit card number and I don't have the cash to pay them back. My flight leaves at 11 AM tomorrow, but I need to get on the Eurostar to Leonardo Da Vinci Apt at 8:20, since it takes an hour. Every minute that goes by creates an even larger yellow stain in the front of my pants...Dad, I know you're doing your fancy white collar thing right now, but can you please SEND ME THE FREAKING MONEY!?

You can't believe I just said that about the yellow stain, can you. Well, I did and I ain't taking it back. :-p :-D

Anyway, I think I have matured spiritually in some very strange ways during this past month. It's not the feeling like you have on retreat, when you return thinking you can conquer the world. It's a quiet strength, I guess you would say. I still have my doubts sometimes because I am weak, the weakest of the weak, even, but at the same time, I'm not as perturbed by them as I used to be. I increasingly feel, rather than just intellectually acknowledge, that prayer is very effective and has real, palpable results in the world. I am learning the difference between parrot prayer, the prayer of an ignorant child, and real prayer. I guess I am learning, finally, how to pray, and how important virtue is in daily life.

As I go to school at seminary, I am hoping to keep an hour of silent prayer to myself every day, in addition to the required Lauds, Vespers, and Mass. I am also hoping to write on this blog about the fruits of these prayer sessions, if I feel they would be edifying to others.

So I'm gonna close now, gotta get to bed, cross fingers, pray, that kind of thing. Hope to resume regular blogging on the 14th...until then, take care, and God bless!

2003-08-12T06:04:00.000-07:00

[ gotta go go go! ]

Saw this today. It's a Capuchin crypt, they took the bones of dead friars and assembled them into altars and chandeliers and decoration for the ceilings and walls. Terrifically frightening, will certainly keep death before your eyes. this is the last room, that's Jesus in the circle and he's holding a scythe to reap the good from the bad, and in the other hand he's got scales to weigh the good deeds against the bad. And on the floor, amidst all the skulls and femurs and vertebrae, was written this:

All praise be Yours, my Lord,
through Sister Death-of-the-Body,
From whose embrace
no mortal can escape.
Woe to those who die
in mortal sin,
Happy those She finds
doing Your holy will!
The second death can do
no harm to them.

And, finally, this in 5 languages:

What you are now, we once were; what we are now, you one day will be.

Flowers and sunshine it ain't, but the Truth it is.

2003-08-10T00:12:00.000-07:00

[ evangelism blaaaah! ]

Well, I've been in Rome for two days now, and my trip has started to pick up. The people that I'm sharing a room with right now are very interesting, Earl, a 34 year old asian canadian guy, Bonnie, a 25 year old Australian girl living in England with Jared, her 24 year old Canadian-born, English naturalized boyfriend. And then there's me, the 18 year old American son of an Australian father. So, we've got the map of Anglophone countries pretty well covered, I'd say, lol. We went out for dinner at a little restaurant in the heart of Rome last night, and it was SO good. It was the first real italian food I'd had. And between the 4 of us, we drank two bottles of (excellent) wine...then sat on the Spanish steps at night and talked and felt the cool breeze, stood in front of the Pantheon and splashed water all over each other, ate pistachio gelato in the Piazza Navona, then headed over to the little bar-café underneath our room, where I had a Peach Nestea and Lime Bacardi Breezer. Then time for bed at 12:45 and up at 7:15. Yippeee!!!!!

I've never had so much alcohol in my life, and I learned quickly that peach iced tea does not go well at all with red wine, pistachio gelato, and a lime bacardi. So don't mix them, I'm warning you, lol.

Yesterday was interesting, too. We had made friends with people staying in the triple down the hall. David, a 23 year old Israeli who moved to the US at 16 and had to go back to do his military service, Marshall, . We were sitting around talking and I told them I wanted to be a monk. Well, they were both Jewish and didn't know anything about Christianity, but David was like, "No, no, tell me some stuff about what monks do and about Christianity, I have never heard anything about it!" I wasn't really expecting this, cuz when we went out the night before David seemed much more like the kind of person who would just hang out at clubs and find girls to pick up (there I go with the prejudice again, lol). I mean, he's good looking and athletic, when we were at dinner there were two girls at the restaurant that just sat there and tried their darndest to get his attention (as we at the table secretly mocked them). But, anyway, I could see David was truly and genuinely interested in it (although Marshall, IMO, was more interested in what Christians thought of Jews rather than in Christianity).

So we went back and forth and I tried to explain things like the crucifixion, the resurrection, the Trinity, the Christian opinion of the Law, and, at the core of it all, who Jesus was and why he was so important. It was difficult, though, because I'm just not very used to talking to non-Christians about Christ. Only to non-Catholic Christians about...why they're wrong, lol! (*sticks tongue out at Lutheran-who-wants-to-be-Catholic Richard*)

I didn't explain things as well as I could have (I was definitely not expecting this conversation, and even though I should always be prepared for it, I admit I wasn't really), but I tried to make connections to Judaism and show how Christianity evolved from Judaism. Then I took my Ignatius Bible that I love (and it's obvious, by looking at the bent pages and covers), wrote my name and e-mail in it and gave it to David, telling him that he could read the New Testament for himself and if he did and wanted to ask me any questions, that he could feel free and that I'd be more than happy to answer.

I felt like a Mormon.

Anyway, now

2003-08-06T11:54:00.000-07:00

[ a short whine ]

Just to give you an idea of how hot it is here...it's almost 9 PM at night...and the temperature is 97 degrees.

I came to Europe to escape the heat of New Orleans. Now I've got the heat, and it's not even going to rain anytime soon. I want to go back home!!!!!

2003-08-06T09:50:00.000-07:00

[ as a change ]

from my whining about how much I dislike Italy, I highly recommend this article from First Things. It came at a good time for me, a time at which I can to an extent identify with the saints in the article.

And as far as First Things goes, I swear, I love that magazine, there is always so much insightful stuff in it! :-D

2003-08-06T09:16:00.000-07:00

[ this is going to sound terrible... ]

...but I'm trying to find a flight back home ASAP.

I have never been more miserable in my life than I am right now. First of all, everything here is RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE (we're talking over 2 or 3 bucks for a bottle of water or 3 bucks for a can of coke, ). Next, this place is swarming with French and Oriental tourists. There are tens and tens and tens of thousands of tourists here and they form massive queues outside all places that are worth visiting and make them...not worth visiting. Finally, all of Europe is currently sweltering in the middle of a heat wave, from what I understand the worst one in memory (and I believe it), and to top it all off there is almost no air conditioning anywhere.

As of this morning, I became one of the most belligerent tourists Florence has ever seen. I cannot tell you how many sweaty French and Japanese people I have pushed into walls and knocked over today. And why shouldn't I? I'm stuck 5000 miles away from home (since a one way flight home can't be bought for less than $1500 and though I'm willing to pay an extra $700 to get back home 5 days early, I ain't payin 1500), I'm completely alone, I have very little money to get me through the rest of my stay, I've spent most of the money I once HAD on this excruciatingly terrible "vacation," I am developing a bad case of bronchitis, and with all this crap some bozo is going to get in front of me in the heat and STAND there!? I don't THINK so. That person definitely has a kissing appointment with the pavement.

The bottom line is...don't visit Italy in August.

2003-08-04T02:10:00.000-07:00

[ Goodbye Norcia... ]

...hello Florence!

I'm becoming increasingly sad as the time to leave draws nearer and nearer (T-minus 15 minutes before I leave for the bus stop). Despite the moaning and groaning I did at first, I have come to like it here. I like the people, they are very intelligent and have lots of words of wisdom (spiritual and otherwise). The post-undergrad students here (read: the other 4 guys here) also become relatively good friends of mine within the last 4 days or so, especially Javier. I know that I'll quite likely never see any of them again (possibly with the exception of Javier, who traded e-mail addys w/ me), but it's good to have met them, we had good times together.

Now I'm leaving the safety of the small town monastery to go to a city the size of New Orleans by myself, where I know nobody...and after that, to a city three times the size of New Orleans, again, where I know nobody.

All I know is that there's lots see and lots to do, so I guess I better move on and start walking!

È ora di partire per Firenze! Andiamo!

2003-08-02T14:10:00.000-07:00

[ incredibile ]

It's 11 PM, I'm at a monastery in a small town...and in the piazza, there are 500-1500 people my age and a DJ screaming Italian into a mike and blaring techno music. "Voglio Vederti Danzare" and "Giulia" by Gianni Togni, to be exact.

I want to go to sleep but the music is vibrating the window panes in my room and I can't get away from the noise. These people will be around till like 2 or 3 AM, too. I feel sorry for the monks who are actually right ON the piazza...and have to wake up at 4 AM. Not that waking up at 6:30 AM to scrape cold candle wax off candle holders for an hour and a half is much fun, either. :-D

2003-08-02T10:07:00.000-07:00

[ sahn frahnchesko... ]

...looks Russian, don't it?

Busy busy. Just got back from Norcia's gorgeous half-a-millenium-old co-cathedral, where I went to confession in Italian. It was interesting, cuz I think the priest was half-Black, half-Italian and he talked with an accent REALLY fast and really quiet (they don't have confessional rooms or booths like in the states...they have confessional wall mounts [for lack of a better word] that I think you are supposed to sit in some kind of magical, mystical way but I ended up kneeling in. Warning for you all: don't do it, it looks ridiculous and is quite painful). Anyway, I understood most of what he said, he talked a LOT about San Francesco and how he said that "Un buon uomo produrrà fatti buoni, mentre un cattivo uomo produrrà fatti cattivi," or something like that. All I know is that the English was something like "A good man produces good deeds, while a bad man produces bad ones," insinuating, of course, that I have to pick which man I want to be like.

Good advice. The shameful thing is that even though I'm just 40 miles from Assisi, I will not get to visit it. No time. I'm kicking myself already...but, I'll get to see the art capital of the world, Florence, and the history and religious capital of the world, Rome, so I guess Assisi can wait just a bit.

Anyway, I gots to run. Sayaprayafuhme. Gdblssy.

2003-07-28T10:04:00.000-07:00

[ ooh. ]

Yay for the Septuagint!

Finally bought an Italian Bible today, as well as Tolkien's Il Signore degli Anelli. Both will be quite fun to read. A bit difficult, but still fun!

Hoping to go to Florence either this Saturday or Sunday, depends on lodging and how convenient it is for me to get to Spoleto from here. And after that...Rome! Dei caffè...il Vaticano...the colosseum....mamma mia!

(*drunk voice*)
and you know, italians drink a lut.
(*/drunk voice*)

Yay for a country that lets me buy alcohol, lol! PARRRRRR-TAAAAAAAY!!! :-D

Hi to Jillian who seems to be the only one reading my blog these days. I swear. All you people act as though I fled to a foreign country or something. :-p :-D

2003-07-27T10:33:00.000-07:00

[ one monastery taken off the list ]

Il Monastero di San Benedetto di Norcia has been taken off the list of possibilities for monastic life. Norcia the town is very pretty, the monks individually are relatively fun to be around, for the most part, some of the guests are really cool, but overall, it just...sucks. That's not to say I can't see myself living in Italy as a monk or priest (more on that later), but I certainly don't want to live here. Ix-nay on Orcia-nay.

In fact, I want to leave here really badly. REALLY badly. I'm going to tell the prior tomorrow that I'm taking the train out of Dodge on August 2.

Going to Florence for two days and then to Rome for about 5, baby! After all, I didn't fly 5000 miles and pay 1500 bucks to have a rotten vacation.

2003-07-18T15:23:00.000-07:00

[ yo ]

it is amazing how much you can do in a day. i am going to start a new blog so that i can keep track of my travels. like a travel journal type thing.

So, to get me started, here is a rundown of today...

up at 6:45, breakfast, prime, candles, novus ordo in latin, the way by escriva, pranzo, hold up at parachuting on the grande pieno, go to castellucio and drink the funny water, molto bella, glide with S...., dinner at Quinn's Pub with Don Stefano who leaves tomorrow, Stephen, Javier, e Clay. Drank my first corona (legal age in Italy, booya!), fatto un giro a piedi, talk to Paul and dad and sister...will turn into a narrative tomorrow, good night!

2003-07-17T11:56:00.000-07:00

[ hi and bye from italia ]

ok this is going to have to be fast because i don't know anything about italian keyboards and i can't use up much of their internet connection here at the monastery.

i made it to italy, the flight was long and i only slept 2 hours. i got here at 9 am and had to drive all around rome for an hour, then to subiaco which is two hours away, then to the monastery here in Umbria which is another 1.5 hours from subiaco. So i was very tired yesterday, to say the least, and slept 17 hours from 7 pm yesterday till noon today.

So that's enough for now, I have to go to sleep soon (although it's 9 PM and the sun STILL is out). Tomorrow I pay 50 euros (a substantial sum for me, i will have my dad send me some more traveller's checks to be on the safe side) to jump off a cliff with a 28 year old italian priest and an italian-speaking spanish seminarian. This is going to be interesting.

We'll talk later. God bless!

2003-07-09T10:14:00.000-07:00

[ busy...so signing out! ]

Sorry I haven't updated in so long, I have been too busy lately. Too busy even to talk, getting things ready, running errands, etc., etc.

I had an interesting night over at my aunt's last night. It was Catholic vs. Lapsed Catholic and Progressive ex-Lutheran who claim to be Christian. Turns out NFP is a joke because it's the same thing as the useless rhythm method, that all people who claim to use NFP are buying birth control pills on the side, that Jesus had sex with Mary Magdalene (it's not in the Bible that he didn't, after all!), that the Catholic Church's teaching on contraception is simply about controlling the sex lives of men and women, that the only reason the Catholic Church is against abortion is because it wants more Catholics in the world, that priests living celibate lives are unnatural and are really going around having sex with parishoners and prostitutes, that Pope Pius XII was a Nazi, that the culture of the United States today isn't corrupt, and that in short, I am a naive 18 year old pre-Vatican II repressor of women.

And believe me, they know what they're talking about. Because they're older than me and they watch PBS, which is just, you know, the bastion of truth.

Anyway, I just wanted to say that I am monasterying and preparing for the trip. I don't think I will be posting much on here until I get back in August, on the 13th, even though they have internet access. I doubt I'll have the time. But if you want you can write me an e-mail and I'll get to it as soon as I can!

Wish me a safe and good trip, and God bless!

Sincerely,
- ...the naive 18 year old pre-Vatican II repressor of women.

2003-07-06T18:57:00.000-07:00

[ 28 Days Later ]

I went to go see "28 Days Later" with Johnny, Richard, and Leslie. Do not go see this movie.

I repeat. Do not go see this movie.

2003-07-05T20:00:00.000-07:00

[ political candidates! ]

2004 American Presidential Candidate Selector results. Stolen from Dappled Things.

1. Bush, George W. - US President (100%) Click here for info
2. Libertarian Candidate (94%) Click here for info
3. Phillips, Howard - Constitution (53%) Click here for info
4. Dean, Gov. Howard, VT - Democrat (49%) Click here for info
5. Kucinich, Cong. Dennis, OH - Democrat (39%) Click here for info
6. Edwards, Senator John, NC - Democrat (35%) Click here for info
7. Lieberman Senator Joe CT - Democrat (32%) Click here for info
8. Kerry, Senator John, MA - Democrat (32%) Click here for info
9. Sharpton, Reverend Al - Democrat (24%) Click here for info
10. Moseley-Braun, Former Senator Carol IL - Democrat (22%) Click here for info
11. Gephardt, Cong. Dick, MO - Democrat (19%) Click here for info
12. Graham, Senator Bob, FL - Democrat (5%) Click here for info
13. LaRouche, Lyndon H. Jr. - Democrat (-11%) Click here for info

I'm happy I got Bush. I wasn't even trying to match up my beliefs with a political party, just based on what I felt was right. And lookie.

And another thing, why are there so many democrats on this list?!

2003-07-04T21:20:00.000-07:00

[ speaking of Matthew Fox ]

And, in case you were wondering what that Techno Cosmic Mass was all about, please read this interview by ex-Dominican-priest-turned-Episcopagan Matthew Fox if you have the time and desire...and let us form a puke chorus all across the GLOBE!!!!

2003-07-04T21:01:00.000-07:00

[ heterodoxy in the archdiocese ]

The Clarion Herald, my archdiocese's newspaper, is generally an excellent resource for the goings on in New Orleans as far as the Church goes. The articles and reviews are written, to the best of my knowledge, by genuine Catholics who want to spread the faith. What I have noticed in the last couple of issues, however, are retreats that arouse my heterodox-o-meter. And, unsurprisingly, they are both connected in some fashion with Jesuits.

In the second to last issue, there was a Reiki retreat advertised at, I believe, the Jesuit Province of New Orleans' retreat center in Grand Coteau. I don't know if you know what reiki is, but it is a new age channelling/energy-healing type technique that is, without a doubt, incompatible with Christianity. Moreover, seeing as how the Pontifical Councils for Culture and Religious Dialogue just this past February issued Jesus Christ The Bearer of the Water of Life, a massive document that exposes the New Age for what it truly is, Old Age Lies, you'd think that people would take heed and try to stamp out this garbage. But no.

While we're on this subject, if you are interested in more information about the New Age you can check out the Catholic Answers shows "Astrology, Reiki, and the Enneagram" on 8/18/98 (done by a Jesuit, so that makes up a little bit of their espousals of heresy) on this page, and the 11/05/98 show "Beware New Age Catholicism" on this page. As an ex-sorta-new-ager/ex-sorta-gnostic, I want to see these things wiped off the face of the earth, preferably by the day before yesterday.

Anyway, the other item on the agenda is in this month's Clarion issue, which was mailed about 5 days ago or so. They have a retreat based on the writings Fr. Anthony de Mello, another Jesuit. Again, in 1998, the Vatican Congregation for the Faith released a document signed by Cardinal Ratzinger and approved by Pope John Paul himself that paints a picture of de Mello's writings basically as apostate theological trash. You can read the notification in full here.

I am thinking of writing the bishop as well as the Clarion Herald about these matters. The official newspaper of the archdiocese should not be allowing New Age retreats such as this to further the already raging scandals, apostasies, and heresies among the faithful. Is it not enough that people don't believe in the Real Presence, the necessity and purpose of the hierarchy, the infallibility of the Bible, or the divinity of Christ? Do they want us to go running around praying the "Our Mother" and other prayers like this, healing each other with crystals in the name of the gods within ourselves, and chanting "Om" in the middle of the Techno Cosmic Mass? What ARE we, EPISCOPAGANS or SOMETHING?!

Geez, sometimes this crap makes me so angry I could spit.

2003-07-04T19:56:00.000-07:00

[ Hoppy Jourth of Fuly! ]

It was a very, very, very rainy Fourth of July here in New Orleans. If there *were* any good times rolling today, they were definitely indoors.

I, for one, went to Borders today. And that's highly unusual for me; I don't like Borders nearly as much as Barnes and Noble, for one, and moreover it's like the first time in forever I didn't go over to the religion racks, pick up a book by a heterocatholic or protestant or whatever and go, "Oh my farking garsh, this is the dumbest book I have EVER seen. No, wait, this one over here is much, much, MUCH dumber...but even it is eclipsed by THIS one....yuck."

Anyway, I wandered over to the history/philosophy section and found myself with 2 nice new Penguin editions of The Last Days of Socrates, The Republic, Seamus Heaney's new verse translation of Beowulf, complete with facing Old English, Pascal's Pensées, A Short History of Byzantium (cuz the cover is pretty and the topic is fascinating).

I am going to go back tomorrow and buy some of them. I want to find a good history of either Italy or Byzantium or something. I would prefer something that covers Ancient, Medieval, and Renaissance time periods, but any of the three is fine with me. The only thing I'm insisting on is that the book not have an anti-Catholic bias. You can blast a pope if he were truly despicable, of course, but I brook no mocking of the papacy, or the Church for that matter. If anybody has any suggestions, I'd like to hear them.

I finished Peter Kreeft's Philosophy 101 by Socrates this evening and started reading the excerpts in the back of the book. I read part of Euthyphro, and I was completely engrossed and reading like mad, and I got to the bottom of the right-hand page, where Euthyphro asked a hanging question to Socrates, and I flipped the page in a kind of excitement to see what Socrates had to say and....blank page.

It was the end of the excerpt.

I was relatively peeved, lol. :-D

So I have to go back and get at least Last Days of Socrates cuz Euthyphro's in there. I am starting to like philosophy (which is good, cuz if I stay in seminary I will have a philosophy degree...). And of course it's ancient philosophy, not modern philsophy. Nietsche the Atheist Lunatic, Kant the Subjectivist, The Selfish Sartre, et al. don't sound very appetizing to me, and from the summaries I've read of their lives and worldviews, I pretty much despise what they have to say anyway. But I find Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, and the Christian theologians/philosophers to be breaths of fresh air. Philosophy is kinda like reading about theology and religious subjects, they give me that kind of "real" vibe that I don't get from fiction or even other non-fiction works (unlike SOME Harry Potter worshippers, j/k lol).

And, you know, religion and philosophy give me the same kind of headaches, too...religion tells me I don't examine my soul enough, philosophy tells me I don't examine my opinions enough, lol...

2003-07-03T21:22:00.000-07:00

[ good news! ]

Catholic League: Bishop O'Malley Goin Ta Bahstin

“Unfortunately, Catholic dissidents are already taking shots at Bishop O’Malley for being too faithful to the Holy Father. Rev. Richard McBrien of Notre Dame faults Bishop O’Malley for being ‘uncritically loyal to the Holy See and would not veer one millimeter from its policies and teachings on anything.’ To be sure, such a charge would never be made against McBrien. "

Some of the best news I'VE heard today...and I've heard lots of good news today!

2003-07-03T07:13:00.000-07:00

[ so what should non-heterodox Catholics be called? ]

Ortholic

....or Cathodox?

In further news, I am about to march downstairs at 9 AM and announce my seminary plans. I have a knot in mon estomac, but that's ok, cuz I gotta go be seein my other father, Father Pat, in an hour. That always cheers me up. Wish me good luck, and don't forget to mention your choice (I vote Ortholic, personally).

2003-07-02T09:31:00.000-07:00

[ apologia pro vita mea ]

What's So Great About Catholicism? by H.W. Crocker (better known as author of Triumph)

Ahhh, the smell of Catholicism in the morning...

2003-07-01T16:45:00.000-07:00

[ didn't we know this already? ]

Your alter poet is Thomas Stearns Eliot. For you,
life rocks pretty hard!

Who is Your Alter Poet?
brought to you by Quizilla

T.S. Eliot is one of the major causes of my reversion to the faith. Heck, the subtitle on Espresso, my first blog (or, should I say, rant box & pride exhibiter) was the very Eliot quote in the picture...

2003-07-01T06:29:00.000-07:00

[ More ShoreLines ]

So I open up my inbox just now and...7 more e-mails from ShoreLines, bringing the total up to twelve. I guess they figure the more the send the more likely we are to read them? :-D

2003-06-30T21:36:00.000-07:00

[ ShoreLines ]

Ok, something is going on with Vocation.Com's newsletter, ShoreLines. I've gotten at least 5 e-mails from them since 8 PM this evening, they're all the same, all dated at 8:14 PM, and I got one at like 8, one at 8:30, one at 9, one at 9:15, and one at 10:30.

So...somebody's having problems, lol.

2003-06-30T19:23:00.000-07:00

[ ick ]

I came upon the blog of a 16 year old girl who thinks: homosexuality is natural, abortion should be allowed, and there is nothing wrong with palm reading, astrology, or tarot. And she claims not only that she is Catholic, but that "Jesus is her homie" and that she "prays to the saints every night." So I challenged her on it, and I was very nice. This is what I got (if you saw my original post, you'd see she ignored practically everything I say):

First, never say "no offense" because that always means you're going to say something offensive. Secondly, I call myself Catholic because I believe in Catholicism. THE CORE OF IT. Which I have stated. The core? The Apostles Creed. "I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, of all that is seen and unseen...".

I don't believe in any of the things that were added into the bible. I believe in love above all things that's why I don't condem lesbians/gays for their choice of living because who am I to say what's wrong with their love?

I believe in pro-choice because a woman has that right. I know not all teenagers will wait to have sex until their married so I believe that people should educate on safe sex and not abstinence.

It's a mortal sin, but sins are forgiven if you're truly sorry for them.

NO ONE has the right to tell me to change my religion because I don't follow every detail. I make God into my life everyday, I pray to Him every night and I believe my relationship with him is fine.

Christians/Catholics like you bother me, who are YOU to judge?

My response will probably be something along the lines of:

1. The Apostles Creed is not the "core" of Catholicism. Sorry, dear, there's much more to it than that.
2. Although your superstition is certainly something ADDED to the Bible, I'd say that you rather DISBELIEVE in things that are already IN the Bible.
3. A woman has no right to kill. The Bible (which you supposedly read) says to flee all kinds of sexual immorality in multiple places, not prevent pregnancy and STDs.
4. The Bible says that mortal sin is not to be prayed for; if it were that easy to rid yourself of mortal sin through prayer, what is the fricking point in making the distinction.
5. You're not just not following every detail, you're ignoring the sacraments, supporting murder, the break-up of the family, and allow

Her firing shot ("who are YOU to judge") is the one I love hearing the most. It's the cry of the oppressed liberal, akin to the whining that starving dogs make when yelled at and hit with fluffy bricks. I ought to claim to be a priest. That'll make her jaw drop.

2003-06-30T15:13:00.000-07:00

[ Peter Kreeft ]

Peter Kreeft's A Close Encounter With the Angel of Death is very touching.

2003-06-30T11:13:00.000-07:00

[ surprising ]

This was surprising at first, till I thought about it and agreed with the rating. There is a good deal of orthodox stuff on this site, but they link to Protestant Benedictines and ecumenical monasteries, as well as other questionable things. They should be promoting Catholic Benedictine monasticism and orthodoxy. Orthodoxy does foster vocations, after all (see The New Faithful ;-D ).

2003-06-30T07:15:00.000-07:00

[ doberman?! ]

What Common Breed of Dog Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

I really only like Labs and German Shepherds, but I guess dobermans are OK, too.

2003-06-30T07:07:00.000-07:00

[ ick ]

I skipped work today because I don't want to end up trapped downtown surrounded by 8 feet of water. So I had a cup of yogurt, some coffee, and a little bit of chocolate milk to get my day going. And all was well in Zion until I had just a wee bit of wine cuz I had a hankering for it. Now my stomach wants to jump off a bridge.

So remember kids, wine is not part of a balanced breakfast. I learned that the hard way. Blechhhhhh...

2003-06-29T14:05:00.000-07:00

[ yay ]

We are now under a tropical storm warning which extends from the TX/LA border to the MS/AL border. Since we will get the northwest quadrant of the storm, which is the worst part, we can be expecting anywhere from 5" to 10+" of rain in the next 2 days, sustained winds of 55-65 MPH and gusts to hurricane strength. Not very impressive at all for a tropical system, but it's only June, so Bill will be forgiven for his weaknesses. At least it's good sit at home and read a book weather.

Last time this happened with a tropical storm there was anywhere between a foot to five feet of water on every street in the city, even with the pumps operating at full capacity. Ah, the advantages of living surrounded by water at an altitude below sea level.

2003-06-28T08:55:00.000-07:00

[ Interesting Monastic Community ]

Take a look at the Monastère de Chevetogne, located in Belgium between Brussels and Luxembourg. It's an intriguing monastery; this Benedicine abbey celebrates Mass/Divine Liturgy in two churches, apparently simultaneously. One church is Byzantine and celebrates the Divine Liturgy, the other is Latin and celebrates Mass. I don't know if the abbey itself is Latin Catholic mix Byzantine Catholic, Latin Catholic mix Eastern Catholic and Orthodox, or whatever combination, but it appears it is Latin Catholic along with Russian and Greek Orthodox.

What worries me is that they also mention Anglicans, too, and I wonder if things get a bit too kissy kissy between the groups. Rapprochement between Orthodox, Catholics, and Anglicans is beneficial and important, but I think it is also necessary that a line be drawn somewhere. Catholics shouldn't be receiving communion at Orthodox liturgy on a regular basis because of the Orthodox refusal to accept Petrine primacy (although their consecration is, of course, a true consecration), and Anglicans should not be receiving Eucharist in either church at all. Especially with the incredibly shameful state of the dying Anglican Communion today. Ut unum sint, yes, but that unity has not taken place yet (if it ever will), and, regrettably, the fissures between us and them cannot be bridged to the point of intercommunion.

But, at any rate, it seems like an interesting idea. I would like to visit just to see what it is like. But, personally, I don't think I could live in an "ecumenical" monastery. The idea is somewhat repellent to me (see Crystal's post on going to non-Catholic services and my comments. :-D

2003-06-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

[ It is unfortunate ]

I feel it's unfortunate that the English language has such a great market on books on Christianity, and, specifically, Catholicism, while for the most part the rest of the world has a dearth of them. We have such great apologists: Steve Ray, Scott Hahn, Amy Welborn, Karl Keating, Patrick Madrid, Peter Kreeft, C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, etc. A search for French apologists, however, comes up with close to nil, and I bet that Italian would yield a similar result. That's not to say that people aren't actively working on evangelization in Europe, but those leading the movements do not have the reach that US Catholic apologists do.

I think a great deal of it is because of the Catholic revival/survival that is going on in the US today, and the death knells that are ringing in certain formerly-Catholic countries. Many of these English books, I feel, would work *wonders* if they were translated and publicized in cathedral bookshops. I don't understand; millions and millions of people visit Catholic cathedrals every year on tours. But all the cathedral gift shops push are souvenirs and picture books, not anything with substance on Catholicism. Do they think that people don't ever ask the question, "Where can I find more information on the religion that caused these people to BUILD such magnificent structures?"

This is certainly going to be one of the issues I bring up when I go to Norcia. Like I said in my last post, I want to do work with muslims. And whoever else will listen to me. We are all supposed to go and baptize all nations in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (ok, the priest does the baptizing, but you get the point). And while most of the great Saints were non-Anglo European, works by St. Bernard of Clairvaux or St. Teresa of Avila aren't going to be converting people who don't even understand what the Trinity is. We need evangelists for that. Even if I don't do much writing myself, the least I could do is translate some of the modern English classics into French or Italian, and have them published for a much greater audience. And the greater the audience, the greater the chance that somebody will say, "Hey, Christianity makes sense. Christianity is beautiful. Christianity is for me."

2003-06-27T19:49:00.000-07:00

[ the more i think ]

The more I think about Catholicism and France, the more afraid I get, and the more I credence I give to the thought of going to live there and joining a monastery. France is the eldest daughter of the Church, yet, in this day and age, it's almost an axiom that what isn't wholly secular and anti-Christian is Muslim. There is very little substance of Catholicism left. Supposedly 80-90% of the French population is "Catholic," but few Catholics actually *go* to church or believe in it. If you think America is bad...yeesh.

The same trend is happening, to a lesser extent, in Italy and Spain. But because once upon a time France had such a great empire in Africa, especially Muslim Africa (Algeria, Syria, Sudan, etc.), there developed a great affinity between those countries and France. And now the poverty of those countries is causing the poor Muslims to go to France... and now there is a huge amount of Muslims.

I sometimes think about going to France and talking to Muslims, possibly becoming a monk there and doing a sort of correspondence-type apostolate. It isn't exactly silence, but if somebody doesn't do this kind of work there will be no next generation of monks for the vast majority of monasteries in Europe. I would be willing to bet that most Muslims have never been exposed to Christianity, which is good, so they would have very little pre-conceived notions of what Catholicism is. I need to learn more about Islam of course, but on the other hand if the French bishops are just going to let the Muslims come in and not try to evangelize ("Spirit of Vatican II" strikes again), somebody has to. France, and the rest of Europe for that matter, should not be allowed to fall. If the lay people have to motivate themselves without the bishops' help, then so be it.

2003-06-27T18:46:00.000-07:00

[ some bad news ]

My mom just told me some bad news that happened today. Zara, my mom's super cool French-speaking nurse from Chad, was called at work today and told that her son fell off a cliff in Australia while rock climbing. He has a spinal cord injury and lots of broken bones. He is probably paralyzed for the rest of his life, if he lives through it all (since he was comatose throughout a good part of the day). Of course, she freaked out when she was told, and now she has to fly to Australia tomorrow. Even worse than all that, since it's such short notice the flight will cost her $5000. I don't know what her husband does, he might make a lot of money, but as a secretary $5000 is a sizeable hole, and she's gonna run up huge Australian hospital and surgery bills and all kinds of stuff. She needs prayers, But the chips fall where they must; if God wills it, we must deal with it.

Mais quand même ça m'attriste. De toutes les secrétaires de la clinique, Zara était toujours le rayon de soleil.

Et maintenant un nuage noir passe devant et le couvre...

2003-06-27T17:53:00.000-07:00

[ animalia ]

It is bothersome to me when I see an animal talked about or treated as if it were a human. The way people pamper animals these days, treating them like children, buying them expensive clothing and collars and bedding and food, paying exorbitant amounts of money to the vet to save blind and paralyzed Fifi's life for just a little while longer, because she's a part of the family, when she's going to die soon anyway. Speaking of animals as though they are rational creatures, like humans, with feelings, and thoughts, and active likes and dislikes.

Don't get me wrong. I have two dogs, one is a year old Australian Shepherd and the other is a four year old Yellow Lab cross German Shepherd. And, honestly, I do "love" them, but I do not "love" them as I love people. I give them treats and tell them that they are "good" and whatnot for not digging in the garbage or peeing in the house, but I don't feel bad in the least about yelling at them for chewing up shoes or barking, or for giving them cheaper dog food instead of the gourmet dog food (and don't get me started about how absolutely ridiculous it is for somebody to pay $2 for a tiny can of Fancy Feast with all the starving children in the world). At any rate, I don't feel bad about it because, to put it plainly, they're just fricking dogs. They are house plants with fur, blood, and four legs. They don't know the difference between "fancy" and "cheap," even if you let them taste them both they would just eat both of them with no distinction between the two.

In my translation of St. Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica (Summa Theologiae: A Concise Translation, by Timothy McDermott, $35 at Barnes & Noble, highly recommended), it is written under the question "Whom do we love with charity?":

Strictly speaking we cannot will good to creatures lacking reason, since only reasoning creatures possess goods in the strict sense, having authority to use them as they will. Moreover, friendship builds on life in common, which we have with non-reasoning creatures only metaphorically. Charity, especially, is based on sharing an external happiness of which non-reasoning creatures are incapable. But we can love non-reasoning creatures as good things to be conserved to the honour of God and the serving of man; which is the way God loves them too. (354-355)

Part of the reason I find PETA so offensive as an organization is not so much because of what they DO; that's just the icing on the cake. What truly bothers me about PETA is what they BELIEVE. They humanize animals. And, frankly, I find it not just a bit disgusting. It is a group of irrational "rational" creatures trying to make irrational creatures seem "rational."

So, I guess the bottom line is, if a person loves his (note the use of anti-female pronoun [see PC Primer below]) dog (or cat or snake or fish or tarantula or whatever) more than he loves his neighbor, or as much as his neighbor, or *almost* as much as his neighbor, I think that person needs to sit down and think about what love really is, what a person really is as a Child of God, and what an animal really is as an entity that, once dead, is gone forever.

2003-06-27T16:53:00.000-07:00

[ turning the tables ]

You know, sometimes I wish the Church would turn the tables against anti-Catholics. Take, for instance, the incident in the late 80s-early 90s when a gay group called ACT UP stormed into St. Patrick's Cathedral during a Mass celebrated by Cardinal O'Connor and, yelling about how the Church is killing people by not informing them about safe sex, threw condoms at the congregation and managed to steal a Host and throw it on the ground.

Now, let's turn the tables. Let's go to a Gay Pride parade in San Francisco and expose how gay people are supporting the killing of other people exactly BY distributing condoms and encouraging anonymous sexual activity.

Ok, it wouldn't be Christian, I know, I know. But you know what's ironic---if we were to turn the tables like that we would be telling much more of the truth than homosexual terrorist groups like ACT UP do.

2003-06-26T20:37:00.000-07:00

[ Philosophy ]

I came across an interesting quote in Peter Kreeft's Philosophy 101 By Socrates. It's in chapter 19, entitled "Philosophy is Dangerous":

"If we think we are automatically free from the danger of ignorant prejudice and tyranny simply because we are a democracy, we should reflect on the fact that it was a democracy that killed Socrates. A democracy can be as ignorant, as prejudiced (especially by fashion and popularity), and as tyrannical as a monarchy. There is no automatic connection between numbers (how many rule) and wisdom or virtue, between quantity and quality."

Nothing exactly earth-shaking, but still, a good subject to ponder throughout the day. : )

2003-06-25T20:50:00.000-07:00

[ Norcia ]

This is from when the monastery I'm going to visit had its new library finished and blessed. That's the prior, Fr. Cassian Folsom, in the background. Know who that is in the foreground?

Yep. You're right. It's Cardinal Ratzinger, Martin Ford's superhero (although, I admit, I am very fond of him, too). His Eminence blessed the library and said Mass and hung out with the monks for bit and that kind of junk. So you know these guys are orthodox Catholics (even though they claim to be in their mission statement!). :-D

You can check out Norcia a bit more by clicking on the monk-y link to that particular monastery. Make sure to check out the newsletters, they have a good bit of info on the monks. Also, one of the brothers has another smaller website with a newer newsletter or two on it.

2003-06-25T09:44:00.000-07:00

[ Yahooooo! ]

(Non-refundable) plane tickets purchased!

July 15 Leave New Orleans (MSY) @ 1230 - Arrive Philadelphia (PHL) @ 1621
July 15 Leave Philadelphia (PHL) @ 1800
July 16 Arrive Rome-Fiumicino (FCO) @ 0840

Aug 13 Leave Rome-Fiumicino (FCO) @ 1115 - Arrive Philadelphia (PHL) @ 1510
Aug 13 Leave Philadelphia (PHL) @ 1955 - Arrive New Orleans (MSY) - 2149

Yahooooooo! I is goin ta Italy!!!!!! :-DDD (big smile)

2003-06-25T06:54:00.000-07:00

[ Gotta be PC ]

PC Primer

An introduction to Political Correctness (TM of the Democratic Party). You have a 2 year transition period before these reforms that encourage diversity will be enforced absolutely, beginning with the election of America's first Vaginal-American, Hillary Clinton, to the presidency (note: this word smells of masculinity, must invent new term) in 2005.

This article is Canadian-American, but we won't hold that against the author. Heck. We can't.

2003-06-24T11:55:00.000-07:00

[ do you know ]

What GmbH means in German company names? For example, Microsoft Deutschland GmbH? You see it all the time on the internet with German companies. It means "Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung." So go, Impress your Friends GmbH. Onh onh onh.

2003-06-23T16:33:00.000-07:00

[ Merton ]

I am currently reading New Seeds of Contemplation for like the 4-5 time, and, I must say, I am impressed. I've said it a thousand times before, but I think Merton wrote an excellent book on the subject of contemplation (which is not an easy thing to write about!). At the same time, however, I must confess that I am not too fond of Merton the person. I do think people put him on too high a pedestal, making him into a bona fide saint and shoving some of the less dignified things he did under the carpet. From what I have read of his life, a few third person accounts, Merton is not a personage whose behavior and attitude would inspire me to go on a pilgrimage. I know one of the monks at the abbey loves Merton, and stayed in his hermitage at Gethsemani for a month, but simply put I just don't see why. Here is an article from the very excellent publication First Things that does a good job at illustrating his life, the good and bad, the clean and the not so dirty.

I think Merton was a good guy deep down, but I think he also got dislodged from a healthy spirituality and lifestyle when he started getting involved in all of the political activist and, even worse, Eastern spirituality movements with the flower children. We are all sinners, true, but some of his behavior (and, apparently, his reluctance to correct some of his behavior) appears shameful to me. His early writings (the ones that don't carry whiffs of heterodoxy [note: basing statement on hearsay]) are good, interesting, and helpful introductions to monastic spirituality and spirituality in general. But, let's face it, Merton isn't the best author in the world, and sometimes I wonder at times how well he actually followed or believed the advice that he gave.

Before I end this post I would like to add that my vision of Merton may be skewed, perhaps his attitude was not quite as bad as how I have seen him pictured. But, at the same time, I sometimes wonder about certain rumors regarding Merton's relationship to the Faith that I have heard that would certainly make me lose respect for him not only as a monk, but also as a Catholic. If he even was one at his time of death.

2003-06-23T15:50:00.000-07:00

[ stop and ponder, idol crashes to floor ]

This is from this month's National Geographic. I got it the day it came out and wanted to post this little bit of an article about the Untouchables, because I found it very interesting, but it just ended up sitting next to my laptop for 3 weeks. So I'm finally getting around to it so I can put this Nat Geo away with the 30,000 other ones I've collected over the years:

"Historians say that Gandhi deserves great credit for pushing the issue of Untouchability onto the national stage and for lending his moral stature ot the campaign to abolish it. Yet he never actually renounced the Hindu caste system, and the concrete results of his actions were few. Many Untouchables, particularly educated ones, would love to knock Gandhi off his pedestal. "Gandhi is the most misunderstood man in the Western world," contends Professor Thorat, the Untouchable economist.

"He did play a significant role in gaining Indian independence with his nonviolent movement. But he's also responsible for maintaining the orthodoxy of the caste system, India's unfortunate gift to the world."

Emphasis, of course, mine. So before you go calling your selfless hero a Gandhi, maybe you might want to think about what the implications of a statement might be. Educate the masses. :-p :-D

2003-06-23T13:09:00.000-07:00

[ progress in Zion ]

I would like to post more substantial things on this blog, I have lots of ideas that would make good entries but they never get published. Maybe one day. :-p :-D

I got a good deal done today. Went to down to Tulane's registrar and had my transcript sent to the seminary. Also met Richard for lunch at the UC and went to STA Travel right after that. Reserved seats on an airplane. To Italy. One thousand sixty five dollars, July 15-August 13. Now I got till June 25 to actually buy them. Wish me luck.

2003-06-21T22:07:00.000-07:00

[ I think... ]

I am going to have to boycott Starbucks. Starbucks is owned by cigarette giant Phillip Morris. The same company that donates money to Planned Parenthood. That also means that Starbucks money also goes to Planned Parenthood. So when I buy coffee, I am supporting Planned Parenthood.

Nothing doing. I might even start preaching the gospel of anti-Starbucks.

2003-06-21T14:07:00.000-07:00

[ as if life weren't hard enough ]

I got a letter from the Tulane College dean. I made the Dean's List. Now my dad's all happy. And I gotta tell him I'm leaving.

*sigh*

2003-06-21T13:14:00.000-07:00

[ thetruereligion.org ]

From Islam: The True Religion

Rules

No insults towards God, the Qur'an, any Prophet of God, Islam, the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad(P), Muslim scholars, Islamic teachings, or anyone or anything else that is held in esteem by Muslims. This is a place for those who wish to learn, not to attack mindlessly. Honest, respectful and sincere questions are always very welcome
Muslims who are educating others about Islam must do so in the manner prescribed by the Qur'an and the Sunnah
No propaganda, recruitment attempts or other interference from missionaries of any kind
No personal arguments, insults, rudeness, dishonesty, misrepresentation of Islam or bad language whatsoever, for any reason
No advertising of any kind, including personals or matrimonials
No anti-Islamic or inauthentic URLs
The moderators will reject any post that violates these rules, and ban any member who acts in a manner contrary to the aims and norms of the forum

This is called a "discussion" forum? Judging by these rules, seems like the Taliban still exist on the Internet to me...

2003-06-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

[ hurry canes ]

Hurricanes and New Orleans

Hurricanes are a very serious threat to us here in New Orleans. We got about 3.5 million people living in southern Louisiana, with 2.5 million people living in southeastern part from Baton Rouge westward, and 1.5 million of those are in the New Orleans metro area. For three to four months out of the year we sit around with our fingers crossed, hoping to hear no word of The Big One (tm). Yes, The Big One, which, as we Louisianians know all too well, is fated to wipe us off the face of the earth forever.

2003-06-21T11:25:00.000-07:00

[ quiz time ]

montepulciano
Magic Number	11
Job	Porn Star
Personality	Rainy Day
Temperament	Best Not To Ask
Sexual	Just Say No
Likely To Win	A Home Help Badge
Me - In A Word	Belligerent
Colour
Brought to you by MemeJack

I don't use livejournal but I did it with my Blogger username - "montepulciano." Looks like I'm a porn star. Scary, eh? :-D

2003-06-21T09:09:00.000-07:00

[ quote time ]

"We know there are Catholics who have not received good formation and doubt the existence of the devil, but this is an article of faith and part of the doctrine of the Catholic Church. Whoever says the devil does not exist is no longer a believer."

- Cardinal Jorge Medina, Jan. 26, 1999, on the New Rite for Exorcisms.

2003-06-20T19:49:00.000-07:00

[ We Are Church ]

We Are Church: Manifesto.

Sometimes I think I would like to meet one of these people. Just to see if they are as crazy as I imagine them to be. (surely not. at least, I hope not)

And I have a news flash for them: I'm sure there's an Episcopal church down the street from them that would just *love* to have them as members. Cuz seems to be that the Episcopal Church in this day and age ain't got none! :-p

2003-06-20T18:20:00.000-07:00

[ I don't know if I posted this or not ]

...but here's a fun fact for you. Cardinal Bernard Law is an oblate of St. Joseph Abbey.

2003-06-20T17:47:00.000-07:00

[ Lutheran Pastor Doesn't Believe in God ]

It's true. A ridiculous situation, but just shows you how ugly Protestantism can get (state church, female "bishop," atheist clergy, etc.)

2003-06-20T11:15:00.000-07:00

[ discrimination? ]

Why is it that in Google's directory, under Catholicism (which they have grouped under "denominations," which is an incorrect place to PUT Catholicism since denominations are purely Protestant...), there is a subdirectory of 112 "Opposing Views" of Protestants fighting Catholicism, yet when you click on any of the protestant denominations, you don't have links to Catholic.Com or any opposing views to Protestantism? Hmmm?

Somebody at Google has a lot of splainin to do...

2003-06-20T10:59:00.000-07:00

[ a new Bible translation ]

Holy Bible: Revised Fundamentalist Version

"What the Holy Spirit meant to say"

2003-06-19T20:28:00.000-07:00

[ sad news ]

My friend Clint at the monastery wrote me an e-mail this evening and told me that Br. Origen (or Solomon, his real name) did not go back to his monastery in Mexico and that his father died unexpectedly. I feel very sorry for Solomon, he is only 23 and was a monk for 5 years. I am sure that he must be going through a lot right now, but I hear his brother is taking care of him and that they are going to start a business together. I hope to see him again someday, but, if not, my prayers are with him anyway.

Good night all ye mortals. Let us remember the uncertain time of certain death.

2003-06-19T12:08:00.000-07:00

[ mmm-hmmmm. ]

Burial Box a Fake

Nuff said.

2003-06-18T13:23:00.000-07:00

[ CFFC SC ]

See Change

I don't know if anyone ever caught this, but on See Change, CFFC even uses capitalization as a subtle way of undermining the Church. Here's what I mean: if you do a text search for "Church" or "Catholic Church" on the main page with the "Match case" box checked, you will find not a single result. A search for "church" or "Catholic church," however, yields a wealth of results. I guess they feel that "Catholic Church" is a moniker that just has too much authority behind it; so they make it into "Catholic church" as an attempt to make the Church appear diminutive. I don't know if I'm getting my point across very well, but I don't think it's insignificant or nit-picky that somebody went out of their way to de-capitalize "Church," I think it's a very tricky move on the part of "Catholics" for a Free "Choice."

Kinda like, if you click on FAQ, you see that the last part of the page has a quote from John-Paul II and not POPE John-Paul II; just a way to poison authority---because they know that words are powerful.

So, in closing, all I have to say is: see change is frances kissling's fake organization of Man-Hating, Hairy-Chested, Child-Murdering, Female Idiots.

See what I mean? Punctuation is Powerful. And I hope Googlism picks it up, too. :-p

2003-06-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

I was driving to the Starbucks at Lakeside Mall yesterday and saw a new red Lamborghini Murciélago.

You know, with all the millions and millions and millions of poor people in the world, I cannot fathom paying $300,000 for a car.

Sometimes I can't even fathom paying $3 for a cup of coffee...

2003-06-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

[ stupid family stuff ]

I'm so frustrated with my family right now. Now meaning, of course, for the last 8 months of my life. Well, much longer, actually, but the stuff older than that kinda curdled in the fridge a week ago and I put it all in the garbage.

I am starting to think about going away for good. Not necessarily to a monastery, at least, not at first. Or maybe I will go there first and just hang out for the hell of it. I don't know. But I just don't feel like dealing with anybody right now, enemies or friends or family. I'm starting to think that the only difference between the 3 is that I tend to have some sort of affection for friends (which, in recent times, has become weaker and weaker) and that I just happen to be related by blood to family. Other than that, it would be hard for me to make a distinction between the three groups. Everywhere I go, there's just conflict and strife, and the instability that it creates is just too much for me to deal with. I get out of bed every morning with a headache and with the feeling that today is going to be worse than yesterday, I do useless things for 5 hours at work and then I leave, only to go home and finish off the day with a cup of Starbucks and a very loud, very violent argument with one or more family members (which is sometimes followed by an argument with a friend who generally says something extremely irritating, insulting, or derogatory). It all comes down to, the more I stay here, the more I realize that I just have to leave.

But to whom shall I go, Lord? You alone have the words of everlasting life...

2003-06-16T20:28:00.000-07:00

[ a final PS before I go to sleep ]

Added Mary to my little Nettwerk I got goin on. Hope that's OK with her, but I never knew she had a blog! She shoulda tolded me. :-( :-D

2003-06-16T20:25:00.000-07:00

[ Go Norma! ]

And I ain't just sayin that cuz it's my grandma's name! Stolen from Catholic and Enjoying It!

'Roe' of Roe vs. Wade Hosts News Conference to Announce Historic Legal Event

Good for you, Norma. I know you've been involved in the pro-life movement for a long time, but it's time that you let the MTV-ites know that Roe of Roe v. Wade was a lie, that the case was a lie, that "choice" is a lie.

2003-06-16T20:08:00.000-07:00

[ it is aggravating ]

...to read an article that has a slightly or overt anti-Catholic bias and uses "The Vatican" instead of "The Catholic Church" to represent the forces of evil. Not, of course, that the Catholic Church is evil, but if they're going to make us out to be bad they can at LEAST get the name right. I am NOT a Vaticanan or a Vaticaner or a Vaticanoid. I am a Catholic, my religion is Catholicism, my church is the Catholic Church. Get it right. Here's a case in point:

Title of article on www.reformation.org (which has not just a little anti-Catholic material [this article being a prime example]):

"THE VATICAN (*cue horror music and evil-looking Jesuit cardinal *) AGAINST THE ORTHODOX CHURCH"

It is seems more and more like everyone is out to get the Catholic Church and pile drive it into the dust! Presbys linking themselves with Orthodox (the original Good Guys [tm]), Atheists spreading vile lies and falsifications, Orthodox accusing the Church of of proselytism (but also being guilty of the same thing themselves with Catholics!). I know Christ said the gates of Hell would never prevail, but sometimes it sure looks that way.

2003-06-16T19:51:00.000-07:00

[ larmes ]

I heard on CNN this evening about the Phoenix bishop getting arrested for the deadly hit and run accident he was in. Depressing and troubling from all viewpoints. Just what the bishop needed. Just what the victim's family needed. Just what the Church needed.

Saint Benoît, prie pour nous pecheurs!

2003-06-14T20:13:00.000-07:00

[ A present for Richard ]

Entry Word: inferior
Function: adjective
Text: 1 being or regarded as being below the level of another thing
Synonyms lesser, low, lower, nether, subjacent, under
Related Word junior, minor, secondary, subaltern, subordinate
Contrasted Words greater, higher, over, overlying
Antonyms superior
2 of little or less importance, value, or merit
Synonyms common, déclassé, hack, low-grade, mean, poor, second-class, second-drawer, second-rate; Lutheran; CHEAP 2
Related Word average, fair, indifferent, mediocre, middling, ordinary; bad, base, paltry, punk, shoddy, sleazy, sorry, tawdry, tin-pot, wretched; good-for-nothing, lousy, ||no-account, no-good, unworthy, valueless, worthless
Contrasted Words choice, excellent, first-class, first-rate, high-grade, prime
Antonyms superior

2003-06-14T18:02:00.000-07:00

[ new look! ]

Like the new look? I wanted it to be different shades of green, and green only, but I think the whole green/white/black/o-its-frying-my-eyes-orange is a pretty good combination. :-D

2003-06-14T17:05:00.000-07:00

[ cutting and pasting from St. Ephrem ]

[...]

Where are the fathers? Where are the saints?
Where are the watchers? Where the alert?

Where the humble? And where are the meek?
Where the still? Where the self-controlled?

Where the devout? Where the non-possessors?
Where the repentant, well-pleasing to God?

It was they who stood in pure prayer
in the presence of God, like angels of God,
almost watering the earth with the sweet tears
and compunction.

[...]

They have gone from here
to God, the holy, with them they have
their lamps all prepared. Their virtue
is not found among us now. Their ascetic practice
is not found among us now. Their self-mastery
is not found among us now. Their piety
is not found among us now. Their meekness
is not found among us now. Their non-possessiveness
is not found among us now. Their keeping vigil
is not found among us now. Nor is love for God
found among us now. Christ’s compassion
is not found among us now. Nor is sympathy for his members
found among us. But we are all
savage, untamed and quite unable
to endure one another. Hour by hour our tongues
are fiery darts directed against one another.

We all seek honour, we all love glory,
we all love possessions, we are all slackers,

we are all slumberers. We are all crooked,
full of energy for gossip, sluggish for prayer,

resolute for roving, feeble at stillness,
all too eager for pleasure, sullen at self-mastery,

cold at loving and hot at hating,
sluggish at good deeds, eager for wicked.

Who would not lament and who would not weep
at our disposition, so full of slackness?

[...]

May we not be separated from him, the sweet Master,
who loved us and gave himself
for us on the Cross. I, unworthy
and a sinner, beg you all
and implore you all, in your prayer
and pure supplication, pour out tears
also for me, the slacker, that I may feel compunction
and weep with you; that my blind heart
may be a little enlightened
and that I may seek God, the holy Saviour,
so that he grant me perfect zeal
to repent with speed, until there is time
for my tears to be accepted, and with you, my brethren,
I too, though unworthy of life, shall be saved.

I beg you, beloved, accept the entreaty
of the sinner Ephrem, your slack brother.

And let us all earnestly endeavour to make the holy God
merciful while we have time.
For see, the Lord is standing at the door
to bring to an end this vain age.

A most beauteous cutting and pasting from On the Departed Fathers. I hope it's not a sin to destroy something beautiful and then put parts back together in something less beautiful...but I just wanted to give a bit of flavor to you from the work. If you like it you might want to go read the real thing. : )

2003-06-14T16:52:00.000-07:00

[ a new great saint ]

I have of late discovered the wonderosity of St. Ephrem the Syrian, made a Doctor of the Church this past century (see Principi Apostolorum Petro, Pope Benedict XV's 1920 encyclical). Ephrem was a hymn-writer who fought heresy (esp. Gnosticism) using music, and wrote some excellent homilies as well. You can check out St. Ephrem the Syrian Library, which has many of his works. They are pretty good for meditation in front of the Blessed Sacrament (I suggest "The Pearl: 7 Hymns on the Faith" and "Hymn Against Bar-Daisan" for starters!).

St. Ephrem has joined St. Ignatius of Antioch (see Letter to the Romans), and St. Catherine of Siena (The Dialogue) as my most favorite saints.

2003-06-14T13:46:00.000-07:00

[ rant #582983.3 ]

You know what makes me PO'd more than anything else in the world? (and I am being deadly serious here)

People talking in church.

* takes a breath and starts yelling *

It makes my blood boil. It puts me in the mindset of an infuriated serial killer. When I hear people talking in church, I want to put my hands around the offenders' necks and just wring them until their bodies are blue and lifeless and laying on the floor. I want to beat them with a club and gag them and throw them on the highway so that they get hit by the cars that speed by.

* takes a breath and calms down *

Talking in church is extremely rude and selfish. In my opinion, it is one of the MOST rude and selfish behaviors a person can exhibit, out of the ENTIRE range of human actions. I just came from St. Rita, an hour before Mass, where these two old women were going on and on and on about the most useless, trivial, stupid crap in the history of mankind. Turns out some old lady fell down while playing basketball and pulled her hamstring, which they covered for the first 5 minutes. Then the discussion turned to people getting old and how much fun it wasn't. Well, no fricking joke, shut up or get out.

I shot them dirty glances the whole time (about fifteen minutes), and gave serious consideration to going over there and giving them a no-holds-barred piece of my mind. I wanted to tell them that they were being self-centered, and that if they cared to discuss such inane matters that they had best do it outside in the frying heat and NOT in the PRESENCE of CHRIST IN THE TABERNACLE, or in the same place people who are actually, you know, doing what you are SUPPOSED to be doing in church: praying! Coming from an 18 year old, I am sure that would have put them to shame, and that is a good thing, because shame is exactly what they deserve. And they weren't the ONLY ones talking either (the ushers and other old people seem to think that since they're friends with the pastor they can just do whatever the heck they want. Because they own the church, after all.).

After fifteen minutes I got sick of listening to their stupid garbage and I left the church in an eye-rolling, fist-clenched, slack-jawed rage. I am about to open Microsoft Word and write a letter to the pastor of the church. He is going to get an earful. A reverent earful, but still an earful.

Oh, and get this. One of the women had a rosary in her hand and was counting the beads. Yeah, right, woman, you were praying. Hard, I'm sure.

* gag *

2003-06-14T08:22:00.000-07:00

[ Well, crap. ]

Mormon Crickets Invade the West

The WEST? Heck, those Mormons are all over the world---been aggravating me for years on end. With their white shirts and ties and bicycles and played-out literature. Sheesh.

Now why Mormons are called "crickets," I don't know. Must be a funny Northern name or something. :-p :-D

2003-06-13T17:35:00.000-07:00

[ modus ponens ]

A spanking for all those Café "Catholics" (priests included!) who like to screw around with the Liturgy. From the First Epistle of St. Clement to the Corinthians, in the early to mid 100s:

The Church's Liturgy and Hierarchy are of Divine Origin, and Must be Respected

40. All these things are plain to us who have scanned the depths of sacred lore. It follows, then, that there ought to be strict order and method in our performance of such acts as the Master has prescribed for certain times and seasons. Now, it was His command that the offering of gifts and the conduct of public services should not be haphazard or irregular, but should take place at fixed times and hours. Moreover, in the exercise of His supreme will He has Himself declared in what place and by what persons He desires this to be done, if it is all to be devoutly performed in accordance with His wishes and acceptably to his will. Consequently, they who present their offerings at such appointed times are accepted and blessed, since the care with which they observe the Master's laws clears them of all offence. The High Priest, for exmaple, has his own proper services assigned to him, the priesthood has its own station, there are particular ministires laid down for the Levites, and the layman is bound by regulations affecting the laity.

41. In the same way, my brothers, when we offer our own Eucharist to God, each one of us should keep to his own degree. His conscience must be clear, he must not infringe the rules prescribed for his ministering, and he is to bear himself with reverence. The continual daily sacrifices, peace-offerings, sin-offerings, and trespass-offerings are by no means offered in every place, brothers, but at the altar in front of the Temple; and then only after a careful scrutiny of the offering by the High Priest and the other ministers aforesaid. Anything done otherwise than in conformity with God's will is punishable with death. Take note from this, my brothers, that since we ourselves have been given so much fuller knowledge, the peril that we incur is correspondingly graver.

Ouch. The Jesuits are lucky the last bit of advice isn't followed---cuz there wouldn't be no more Jesuits, ha ha ha!

But that goes for every priest and layperson, I suppose. And judging from the tone of this passage, I guess there was LifeTeen way back then, too. :-p :-D

2003-06-13T15:59:00.000-07:00

[ Hey, yawanna no' sum mo' 'bout mah kultcha? ]

Newcomer's Guide to New Orleans. Covers the main bits: potholes, crime, weird accent/vocabulary. Yeah, that's basically New Orleans.

A bit outdated (they built the massive casino downtown about 6 years ago, but....)

Some good bits that made me laugh out loud:

Intersections are often unmarked by stop signs, stoplights, or white lines, leaving it to anyone's guess as to who has right of way. Right of way seems to be established by tradition, nerve, mass, and velocity. I often try to err on the side of safety, angering drivers behind me. Your best bet is to follow another car and do what he does whenever possible, whether it seems legal or not.

[John note: Yeah. * thinks about South Carrollton Ave's 6-8 lanes of traffic (varies with how crazy people drive) and shudders violently *

DRIVE AS FAST AS THE POTHOLES WILL ALLOW, even if you feel your transmission is coming loose, or people will get very impatient. You do not want to piss off other drivers. Many are armed. Just the other day a driver pissed off another driver, and the latter got out of his car to do him some justice. Fortunately the first driver was armed, too, and beat him to it.

[John mentions that he is currently needing his THIRD front end alignment in a year and two months ]

From the definitions....

CARONDOLET, ESPLANADE, etc. Knowing a smattering of French can be a disadvantage here when speaking street names. Carondolet rhymes with "i wanna bet", Esplanade rhymes with "lemonade."

[John notes that an excellent Yatspeak dictionary is available for your viewing pleasure here. Indicates most of the major New Orleans mispronunciations of street names, look at the very bottom).

DRESSED... What you say if you want your hamburger (or any sandwich) with lettuce, tomato, and mayonaisse, etc. "I'd like a cheeseburger with tomato and lettuce" will cause confusion. Ask for a "cheeseburger dressed, no mayo."

[John note: So, wait, if I asked for a hamburger to be dressed in places other than here, I wouldn't be understood? Surely not!!!!!!!! :-O ]

LAISSEZ LE BON TEMPS ROULER... literally "let the good times roll", the unofficial motto of New Orleans, but saying it is about as cheesy as hanging off a trolley in San Francisco singing "Rice a Roni, the San Francisco treat."

[John note: I corrected his bad French. It's Laissez LES BONS temps rouler, not the way he spelled it. Idiot. I hate it when they do that. { yes, I am also a French grammar whore }]

A bit of fun. Venez donc à la Nouvelle-Orléans, vous-autres, vous vous amuserez bien! :-D

2003-06-12T19:59:00.000-07:00

[ I think ]

I think we should all pitch in $1 each.

That one dollar should go to the purchasing of massive amounts of (extremely bloody, of course) ground chuck.

Which should then be unloaded by helicopter on PETA locations all over the nation.

2003-06-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

[ Grammar Whore ]

Stolen from Crystal.

[take the test] - [by krystaljungle.com]

2003-06-11T16:46:00.000-07:00

[ Soundtracks ]

I'm not normally a fan of soundtracks, but as an aside I would like to recommend a couple that stand out from the crowd. One is to the (extremely excellent) movie "The Royal Tenenbaums," which includes some really great tunes. At the present moment, in fact, I am bobbing my head to the plucky symphonic intro, the second movement of the "String Quartet in F Major" by the Ysaye Quartet. The other one that I find to be worthy of the John Seal of Approval (tm) is the "Amélie" soundtrack, which reminds me SO much of sitting dans un café français, drinking une petite tasse de café au lait, speaking de la politique...

Darn it, I should have been born French. :-D

2003-06-10T15:02:00.000-07:00

[ articolo! ]

Here is an older on-line article from The Hullaballoo, my (ex-)university's official paper. It makes for an interesting read, and, to a certain extent, shows the mentality that has driven me away. here's the link.

Kudos to Brian Holmes, whoever he is, for having the guts to write in the face of Feminazism.

2003-06-09T17:17:00.000-07:00

[ pope ]

POPE REQUESTS PRAYERS, NOW AND AFTER HIS DEATH

ZADAR, Croatia, JUNE 9, 2003 (Zenit.org).- At the end of his third trip to Croatia, John Paul II again requested that prayer be offered for him during his life and after his death.

The Pope made this request when he visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Trsat, in Rijeka, where, according to tradition, the House of Nazareth was kept from 1291 to 1294, before being transported to Loreto, Italy.

"In name of the communion lived during this rosary, pray for me during my life and after my death," the Pope asked his listeners, the majority of whom were Franciscan men and women religious, who look after the shrine.

John Paul II made this same request in August 2002 at Poland's Marian Shrine of Kalwaria.

I wonder how much longer the pope is going to live. This is like the third time in recent memory that the pope has spoken publically about his (impending) death. I know that I will pray for the Pope after his death, and also to him.

2003-06-09T13:35:00.000-07:00

[ all i got left to do is send the transcript ]

So I got my physical for the seminary college today. Dr. Ravi Vadlamudi is my doctor. Try and say his name 3 times fast.

Couldn't do it, could you? ;-)

But, yeah, so me and him had a fun lil chat, he's only like 10 years older than me, and we talked about monks and priests and stuff, since he saw "St. Joseph Seminary College" written all over the forms he had to fill out. Turns out he's Baha'i, which I don't know very much about, but I know they're kinda....yeah. He told me a bit about Indian monasticism, though, which was cool, in a strange sort of way. Did you know they usually send their second son to become a monk?

Anyway, I got the physical all done, I got blood drawn for the first time (not fun, I don't like blood OR needles), and I had to pee in a cup. Now THAT was REALLY not fun. I hadn't had much to drink, so it took me like 8 glasses of water and sitting around 30 minutes before I could get the two tablespoons or whatever they wanted. Peeing in cups. Psh, it's highly overrated. I can think of like 30 better ways to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Anyway, all I gots to do now if go back and get a chest X-ray and have Ravi finish up with the paperwork in a week or so and have my transcript sent to the seminary college, and I'll pretty much be a student for the fall semester. Three cheers for the seminarian-to-be! :-D

Now I gotta run, the other 4 cups of water just hit me. Pee ya later!

Wait, I meant SEE. Oops. :-p :-D

2003-06-08T14:44:00.000-07:00

[ Yeah, go whoever you are ]

If You're from South Louisiana... I was going to do one for Louisiana when I came upon the following site about 3-4 years ago, but I never finished it. This guy says it pretty good, though.

Based on How to Tell if You're American (and French and Brazilian and German and dah dah dah....). Very interesting stuff. Written by real people, you know!

2003-06-07T10:35:00.000-07:00

[ and on halfbakery.... ]

A discussion on standardizing Women's and Men's bathrooms turns dirty as the topic turns to "Why do women pee louder than men?"

An interesting read!

2003-06-06T16:53:00.000-07:00

[ my inkblog test says... ]

John, your unconscious mind is driven most by Imagination

This means you have a deep desire to use innovative ideas to enhance your life and influence the world around you. This drive influences you far more than you may realize on a conscious level.

Your need to be innovative drives how you look at new opportunities and the kinds of experiences in life you choose to have. On an unconscious level, the reason you may be so driven by imagination is your fear of destruction, the opposite of creation. When you are unable to create due to restrictions imposed by your environment or even ones you unwittingly impose on yourself, do you feel trapped or confined? You may find these feelings of unease only get better when you find another outlet for your imagination.

With such a strong creative orientation, you are willing to entertain a broad spectrum of ideas at any given time. The world is a fuller, richer place because you can contribute new ideas to any experience. Your natural curiosity inspires those around you and encourages them to come up with ideas they wouldn't have thought of without your help.

Though your unconscious mind is driven most strongly by Imagination, there is much more to who you are at your core.

2003-06-06T16:22:00.000-07:00

[ let's just call it....eww....]

Links stolen from Dappled Things:

Life Gems: Because you always wondered what mom would look like as a necklace.

Holy Capuchin bones in a Holy (Capuchin?) Crypt....and I'd be getting the Holy Heck out of there if I saw anything like this.

2003-06-05T19:56:00.000-07:00

[ arg. ]

So I go into my mom's room just now after talking to her for like an hour about many things, one of which was my trip to Italy (which she protests), and she's filling out that Tulane scholarship form again. And I was like, "What are you doing?"

"Filling out this form."

"I already told you I'm not going back to Tulane."

"Why?"

"I don't want to. I'll sign that form if you want, but I'm telling you now, my schedule is getting dropped after I print it out so I can get a Student Identification Card through STA travel."

"I'm still sending the form in. You better talk to your father."

"I'll do that. But I want to get the forms sent in first and get the transfer finalized. I'm not gonna have him ripping up papers and stuff regarding the transfer. Oh, and I need a physical, too. I'm gonna make an appointment at the clinic."

(exeo ego).

I don't know why my mom has to make it this hard. Or the rest of my family, for that matter. All I want to do is explore my own life in peace. You know, she had just told me an hour ago about how my 45-year-old second-cousin Jane got a degree in architecture from Rice University after working her butt off, way back when because her father wanted her to, and how she completely renounced architecture because she hated it. Does she want the same thing to happen to me? If I am going to be happy as a monk, why is she standing in my way? And why won't she even let me try?!

I'm mad on the surface, but really I'm nonchalant about the whole thing. As far as I'm concerned, my parents can yell, scream, order, fight, however much they want. But legally I'm an adult. I have my own money, I fill out my own forms, I decide my fate. I'm not a child anymore.

Anyway, just blowing off steam. Religion can be challenging sometimes, but I guess that's the point. We all have our crosses to bear; this is one of many for me, one of many.....

2003-06-04T20:17:00.000-07:00

[ oh, and one more thing ]

Stunned by my poetry? I thought you would be.

One more thing: I know the colors on my blog don't go good together. Leave me alone, I'm working on it! Geez. :-)

2003-06-04T18:52:00.000-07:00

[ A Martha Stewart Poem ]

I love Martha. And Martha loves me!
Even tho she messed with the SEC!
She's pleadin Not Guilty
Like Eudora Welty
And we oughta believe her
For Martha ain'ta deceiver
(And even if she be
you don't wanna disagree;
for she'd remove yo dog's fur
and take out its liver
to make a paté
That tastes really great!)

2003-06-03T22:09:00.000-07:00

[ Let me just say ]

Objectivism as a philosophy really scares me.

A post on philosophy coming up tomorrow!

2003-06-01T10:41:00.000-07:00

[ hmm. ]

Go to St. Pachomius Library, run by one of the multiple orthodox churches. It's an extensive online Orthodox library with lots of primary sources by the great saints (as well as heretics and schismatics and whatnot). Now, they reference the Catholic Encyclopedia a lot, and next to each reference is a warning: (Read with Caution!). Yet, next to things like the CCEL, run by Presbyterians and whatnot who have a distaste for Catholic dogma and spirituality, and other non-church-officliated sites like Wikipedia and whatnot, there is no warning like, you know, (These people might be espousing heresy). Strange, eh?

* rolls eyes *

I'm sorry, but I find the Orthodox tendency to elitism a big disgusting.

2003-05-31T22:39:00.000-07:00

[ final thought ]

Silence is a comforting thing.

95% of what I say should not be said.
The remaining 5% could be rephrased in a much more meaningful way than I decide to put it.

Paradoxically, silence will teach me the art of speaking. It is in silence that I will learn how to choose words with caution, and to speak what the Spirit whispers to me to the world.