In case you were wondering if Catholics were Hard Core or not - wonder no more

And this is not the only one

good reminder for All Souls day and yes it is only the living that scare me.

After a year of research and preparation, the giant screen film JERUSALEM advanced into production with an unprecedented aerial shoot throughout Israel and the West Bank. Scheduled for worldwide release in 2013, the film will take audiences on a spectacular tour of the Holy Land and the city once believed to lie at the center of the world.

From Chesterton's The New Jerusalem:

"As I tried to explain this eccentric sentiment to myself, I was conscious of another which at once completed and contradicted it. It was not only like a memory of Rye, it was mixed with a memory of the Mount St. Michael, which stands among the sands of Normandy on the other side of the narrow seas. The first part of the sensation is that the traveller, as he walks the stony streets between the walls, feels that he is inside a fortress. But it is the paradox of such a place that, while he feels in a sense that he is in a prison, he also feels that he is on a precipice. The sense of being uplifted, and set on a high place, comes to him through the smallest cranny, or most accidental crack in rock or stone; it comes to him especially through those long narrow windows in the walls of the old fortifications; those slits in the stone through which the medieval archers used their bows and the medieval artists used their eyes, with even greater success. Those green glimpses of fields far below or of flats far away, which delight us and yet make us dizzy (by being both near and far) when seen through the windows of Memling, can often be seen from the walls of Jerusalem. Then I remembered that in the same strips of medieval landscape could be seen always, here and there, a steep hill crowned with a city of towers. And I knew I had the mystical and double pleasure of seeing such a hill and standing on it. A city that is set upon a hill cannot be hid; but it is more strange when the hill cannot anywhere be hid, even from the citizen in the city."

In contrast to this common perception of capitalism, Chesterton defines it as, "that economic condition in which there is a class of capitalists, roughly recognizable and relatively small, in whose possession so much of the capital is concentrated as to necessitate a very large majority of the citizens serving those capitalists for a wage."

"The present problem of capitalist concentration is not a question of law but of criminal law, not to mention criminal lunacy."

"Now what is the matter with the financial world is that it is a great deal too full of imagination, in the sense of fiction."

Roll Over Bethoveen

Happy 85th birthday Chuck

Steve Jobs was adopted. His life, passion, and vision inspired many. God our Father, Your power brings us to birth, Your providence guides our lives, and by Your command we return to dust

Rochester Chesterton Conference

The Rochester (NY) Chesterton Conference was, like the previous seven held here, a delight.

We enjoyed presentations by Dale Ahlquist, Dr. Tom Martin, Joseph Pearce, and Kevin O'Brien. Oh, and a visit by Hilaire Belloc!

Rochester Chesterton Conference

The Rochester (NY) Chesterton Conference is tomorrow at St. John Fisher College. The usual gang will be there - including me. I'll take some pictures, keep some notes, and maybe write a clerihew or two.

As a side note, I'm teaching a writing class at my high school. I just introduced the students to clerihews. They have to write some of their own for next week. I hope to submit some of theirs to Gilbert - or at least post some here.

Arcade Friday

Diamond Hollow II

As one reviewer wrote, here's the thing about this game: "...it tricks you into playing it because it has the word 'diamond' in the title. You think it's going to be pretty and nice and kind of glamorous and ladylike and sweet smelling, like a gardenia. But then it's just like any game. You're supposed to kill stuff and collect points but the primitive animation makes it hard to tell the difference between the diamonds and the bad guys so you get confused and die many times over. Then you just give up.

Also, the diamonds in this game are the color brown."

What fun.

Chesterton had alot to say about Margart Sanger and her club. He was one of the early voices to sing out against her type of progresive madness. “Progress,” G.K. Chesterton observed, “has discouraged anybody who had anything to say in favor of man, in his common relations to manhood and motherhood and the normal appetites of nature. Progress has been merely the persecution of the Common Man.”

He, of couse, was right. So why did hardly anyone listen. Sanger, long before Rules for Radicals was written, employed what Saul Alinsky wrote in the beginning of his book:

“What follows is for those who want to change the world from what it is to what they believe it should be.” Here is an excellant article of how she do the voodo she do so well.

Speaking of progress:

Mrs. H. Clinton, accepting Planned Parenthood’s highest honor, the Margaret Sanger Award, said “I want to assure you that reproductive rights. . .will be a key to the foreign policy of this administration.” For our little Hillary the taking of innocent life gets the same priority as issues of war and peace.

Secretary Clinton also told her adoring audience, “I admire Margaret Sanger enormously, her courage, her tenacity, her vision,” and “Margaret Sanger’s work is not yet done.”

Oh yes her work is not yet done because the one she worked for is not done the father of lies, the great accuser, that talking snake.

On this the feast day of the Arch Angels let us call them back to battle. Especially Michael

Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards could not have been happy on September 15 when she was served with a letter from the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce announcing the opening of an official investigation and demanding financial and other documentation dating back 20 years in an effort to ascertain if the company is misusing federal funds and violating the law regarding the reporting of suspected sexual abuse and the aiding and abetting of sex traffickers.

My prayer now is that this is not just an other episode of political theatre.

This is a good beginning for 40 days of life.

JUST A HEADS UP

Father Barron's Catholicism TV series starts next week, (check your local PBS listings). I bought the book last week and although I am only a little way into it I would like to note two things:

The first is that Father Barron has so far quoted GK Chesterton and CS Lewis at least once per chapter.

The other is, if this TV series is only half as good as the book be prepared for bulging RCIA classes.

As Marc Barnes said, "The things we do should be fantastic. We’re not just anyone, we’re Catholics! What we do reflects our Church, and our Church is the only sane thing left in the world! Strive for excellence then, glorify God by using every drop of talent He’s given you, because I do believe that—now more than ever—our Church needs to reaffirm that we have brought the world the best literature, art, architecture, music and life it has. And that we still do."

doodlers of the world unite

I feel so much better now.

I am so glad the era of the "angry white chick" is over.

"What could it hurt?"

Brian Brown is the president and spokesman for National Organization for Marriage. NOM is working the front lines in the war on marriage. He is doing good work and I do not envy him. This video below shows you one of his skirmishes.

He lost this round not because he was wrong, (he was the only one in the room that was right), but he did not know how to state his point. He relied on common sense and obvious truths, stuff that was throw out decades ago.

“...the reason the government is involved in marriage is that taxpayers and society have a key interest in bringing together mothers and fathers to raise their children together”.

Brian, you need to articulate that interest.

“The government obligates third parties to respect and recognize your marriage, it does not merely enforce your private and personal agreements”.

Brian, why does it obligate any one to recognize that union?

Brian was out gunned and out maned. Some one needs to give him better sound bites. If I could think of any I would send them.

This just reminded me of the time before the roe v wade decision came down. No one thought it would happen the way it did - it just wrong and 'everyone' knew it. Surely the highest court in the land would see that, so no worries. Now 40 million babies later..........

I hope Brian succeeds I don't want anyone blogging 30 years from now saying. "How were we to know?!?".

The Ruth Institute is doing very good work as well.

"We do not need to get good laws to restrain bad people. We need to get good people to restrain us from bad laws." GKC

"Men do not differ much about what things they will call evils; they differ enormously about what evils they will call excusable", GKC. When they agree on what activity is excusable it becomes law. When an activity becomes legal it then becomes normal and then it becomes moral. It does not matter if that activity is intrinsically evil or not the pattern is the same, (they sometimes switch out the words its moral for its a right). Judith Reisman and Mary Mcalister have done a great job in connecting the dots.

When a law is evil the mental gymnastics needed to keep convincing yourself its moral is something you need to do every day and leads to a society that borders on insanity.

The only entity that keeps us tipping completely over the edge is the Catholic Church. Or as GKC said "We do not really need a religion that is right where we are right. What we need is a religion that is right where we are wrong."

Chesterton on Orthodoxy

“There never was anything so perilous or so exciting as orthodoxy.” - GKC

Take Your Magic Elsewhere Holy Man

Remember Fr. Judge? There were prayers that day. Lots of them. But Bloomberg does not want that messing up his event to remember 9/11.

"No, Michael Bloomberg’s Super Colossal, Low-Salt 9/11 Memorial and Networking Event is a big-ticket item for the the ones who can be tapped, later, for their money or their influence — the most important sorts of people.

And of course, some of the families of the dead will be allowed in. One does need them for the pictures, after all.

First Responders and Clergyfolk are not very important to the powerful and the enlightened."

And as everyone knows those first responders don't dress very well.

"This is America, and to have a memorial service where there's no prayer, this appears to be insanity to me," said Mr. Washington, former dept mayor to Giuliani

Oh Joe What You Don't Know

"Biden’s remark was not only not a condemnation of China’s one-child policy, it wasn’t even a slight criticism. Worse than that, it seemed to be an endorsement. Note the line again: “Your policy has been one which I fully understand—I’m not second-guessing—of one child per family.” He next appeared to say that the policy, which he “fully understands” and is “not second-guessing,” is not financially/economically sustainable because too few young people will exist to pay the social services of elderly people. If that’s a criticism, it’s one based strictly in financial/economic terms, not moral terms. In fact, Biden thus seemed to express added understanding of the “severe” problem China faces."

As Pia de Solenni said, "Anyone who can say that he or she is ok with those forced experiences of loss, both of one’s child and family, needs some time off to think, regardless of their religious beliefs".

Holy gourd Batman! Let's get a fried pickle.

We are in the middle of Fair week here - the greatest county fair on the planet. It is a big deal around these parts and I enjoy it in a large way. Just to give you an idea of how big this is our county has a population of 53,000 humans by the end of the week 185,000 humans will pass through the gates of the fair. Many like me will register more than once on that count but hey....

The people are beautiful.

For those who love fried food this is where heaven meets earth. Truly I say onto ya-all that even cow pies deep fried would taste good at the fair.

My daughter won a Blue Ribbon at the dog show. That with an apple dumpling buried under a half pound of ice cream makes this a day for dancing.

Another voice in the wilderness.

San Diego, August 22, 2011: St. Gianna Physician’s Guild today launched an online petition (www.StopTheBirthControlMandate.com) requesting the Obama Administration and Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, toimmediately withdraw all references to contraception and contraception counseling from the “Guidelines for Women’s Preventive Services” under The Affordable

Care Act, and to provide a conscience clause to protect the religious freedom and beliefs of Catholics.

Not sure if this type of petition works. However, it would never work if we do not put forth our voice. The current occupant is moraly tone deaf. I have fought a lot of fights I did not 'win' and knew I would not when the fight began ("not sure how many of them it would take to kick my ass but I knew how many they were going to use.") but it would be worse for not fighting.

I have signed it and wish you to do the same.