tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34856672011-08-13T15:55:38.356-04:00KAIROS<center>There are very few people who realise what God would make of them <br>if they abandoned themselves into His hands, <br>and let themselves be formed by His grace.<br>
<i>St Ignatius Loyola</i>
</center>Briannoreply@blogger.comBlogger11351100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-84362614961996044042007-01-31T13:46:00.000-05:002007-01-31T14:46:39.254-05:00I have recently come to the realization......that I am something of a crypto-Jansenist, or at least that I have strongly Jansenist tendencies. Too long in the camp of those who unthinkingly wander down the aisle at Communion, without regard for worthiness or the probability of sacrilege in the unprepared heart, I found myself committing an equal and opposite sin or sacrilege: refraining too Briannoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-36200123472028709442007-01-29T08:58:00.000-05:002007-01-29T09:17:29.711-05:00Some good things mentioned in the comments below. Let me now ask a couple of highly specific music questions:I like chant, and I agree with the idea that chant is supposed to be given primacy of place. But chant is not something most kids intuitively respond to, especially given that they've been exposed to very little of it, if any at all, in their lives. Does anyone have any specific experienceBriannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-73064369502791450342007-01-29T08:55:00.000-05:002007-01-29T08:56:36.312-05:00Prayers needed...For my sister, who is seriously struggling, and for Mrs. K-G, who is helping her.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-84085808908426711282007-01-25T10:37:00.002-05:002007-01-25T10:45:10.361-05:00What I am looking for these days...(Youth, Ministry and Music)Amy Welborn touches on this once in a while, but I'd hope to start a serious discussion about it. My new life makes these questions of really significant professional, as well as personal and spiritual.Many, many readers and members of St. Blog's seem to agree that catechesis of the young is in appalling shape nationally, even if thereBriannoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-10765556729904136702007-01-25T10:37:00.001-05:002007-01-25T10:37:29.086-05:00Okay, new template, new look, new job, comments working. Ready to go.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1169648014875716382007-01-24T09:11:00.000-05:002007-01-24T09:13:34.900-05:00As soon as I can figure out Blogger's comments, commenting will be up and running.And for anyone who was wondering what I was depreseed about in the 3 year old post a few entries down, think back to Pedro Martinez, Grady Little, and Aaron Frickin' Boone. I'm still not really over it, in spite of the passage of time, and the results a year later.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1169641993375543172007-01-24T07:31:00.000-05:002007-01-24T07:33:13.376-05:00The Complete Text of the Screwtape Letters, online...So, first new post, and it's just a "hey, here ya go!" Screwtape Letters. Complete. Online. Free. Mmmmmm, good!http://members.fortunecity.com/phantom1/books2/c._s._lewis_-_the_screwtape_letters.htmBriannoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1169641475414067742007-01-24T07:20:00.000-05:002007-01-24T07:24:35.436-05:00Yeah, about that whole "never posting at blogger again" thing...I'm actually not sure how much, if at all, I will be blogging again. I have a new job that doesn't ban me from blogging, but does require in me even more prudence in what I say than I have had to observe in the past. But I think I'm going to give it a try.The version of Kairos that appeared at the St. Blog's grouping is completely Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1066658815578791192003-10-20T10:06:00.000-04:002003-10-20T10:06:55.670-04:00I have officially moved to the new home of Kairos. Nothing that happens here will have anything to do with anything anymore. Buh bye blogger. I appreciate your freeness, but it's time to go someplace more sophisticated.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1066397857637680992003-10-17T09:37:00.000-04:002003-10-17T09:37:37.253-04:00I'm so depressed, I'm never posting at blogger again. See you Monday at http://godstime.stblogs.org.Briannoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1066326360375492842003-10-16T13:46:00.000-04:002003-10-16T13:45:59.840-04:00I recently finished "War in Heaven" by Charles Williams, the least known of "The Inklings." I enjoyed it, but I confess that I find the heroes of his novels too passive. In this one, the Archdeacon is obviously a holy and good man, but he seems to have a kind of stupefied "since I can't do anything without Christ, I can do whatever with him," that seems to me reliant less on God than on deus ex Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1066326041525090082003-10-16T13:40:00.000-04:002003-10-16T13:40:41.060-04:00I'm wondering about the form of prayers. My most typical style of prayer is to form an intention, then recite a rote prayer, offered up as it were on behalf of that intention. Now, formerly I would get very specific about the intention, forming actual words describing precisely what intercession is necessary, and sometimes carrying on a lengthy exposition. Presently, I usually manage to imagine Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1066311995970661652003-10-16T09:46:00.000-04:002003-10-16T09:46:35.496-04:00Boston.com / Sports / Baseball / Red Sox / Down, of course, but never out "'This is exactly the kind of game we've won all year,' said starting pitcher John Burkett, with an air of self deprecation. 'John Burkett goes out, gives up the lead, and his guys come back to win it. I don't think we ever anticipate these things happening, but when you come feeling all bummed out, like I did, you can see Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1066310416944272872003-10-16T09:20:00.000-04:002003-10-16T09:20:16.830-04:00My blog will be much more boring without Kathy the Carmelite in the comments boxes, but it sounds like a pretty good deal for her.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1066310138488676422003-10-16T09:15:00.000-04:002003-10-16T09:15:38.443-04:00Queen raises fears over EU constitution
A dark shadow is falling once again across Europe, not this time the spectre of communism or fascism, but an ideology even emptier. For centuries, France and Germany have vied for control of the continent, and the quantities of blood shed in that contest made Europe the worst killing grounds in all the world. Now the relatively peaceful aberration of the Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1066218753631990832003-10-15T07:52:00.000-04:002003-10-15T07:52:33.043-04:00Telegraph | News | Terrorists can have serious moral goals, says Williams: "Terrorists can have serious moral goals, says Williams
By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent
(Filed: 15/10/2003)
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, yesterday urged America to recognise that terrorists can 'have serious moral goals'.
He said that while terrorism must always be condemned, it was wrong toBriannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1065704857569318972003-10-09T09:07:00.000-04:002003-10-09T09:07:37.640-04:00The ball was definitely fair.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1065704667253754072003-10-09T09:04:00.000-04:002003-10-09T09:04:27.363-04:00Tony Kornheiser hasn't been this funny in a very long time. If you like pro football at all, you should read this column.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1065638174266945572003-10-08T14:36:00.000-04:002003-10-08T14:36:30.540-04:00My recent efforts to find shoes reminds me of a commonplace, but one worth recalling once in a while. Things are worthwhile in themselves only to the extent that they help and do not hinder our Salvation. Thus, wine, for instance, is a good thing insofar as the pleasure it gives increases the joy in our lives, and bad insofar as it becomes not a means to joy, but an end itself.
So it is with Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1065636725885835962003-10-08T14:12:00.000-04:002003-10-08T14:12:05.840-04:00The Spy Next Door (washingtonpost.com)
"The Spy Next Door
Valerie Wilson, Ideal Mom, Was Also the Ideal Cover "
No matter what you think about women and mothers having careers (and, as you might have noticed from my stay-at-homeness, I'm fine with it), being an undercover CIA agent, using your parenthood as a cover, disqualifies you from being considered an "ideal mom." Anything that uses the Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1065627368048952632003-10-08T11:36:00.000-04:002003-10-08T12:13:38.733-04:00What I love in this article is the phrase "Despite his lack of formal schooling" as though 1) homeschooling is a blow-off, and 2) It's typical of public school kids to do write best-selling novels at age 15 (registration required to read the article).Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1065533668934907632003-10-07T09:34:00.000-04:002003-10-07T09:34:28.630-04:00For Ailing Pope, Many Projects Remain Unfinished (washingtonpost.com)
This is an interesting article, but there are more than a few questionable points raised:
"...his focus on the cult of the Virgin Mary..." ("Cult"??)
"...the pope has found his preaching for peace largely eclipsed by events, especially the United States' war on terror..." (Umm, hte Holy Father actually acknowledged the US' Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1065501258261356122003-10-07T00:34:00.000-04:002003-10-07T00:34:18.080-04:00Brilliant Fox Sports Insight
During tonight's ALDS game:
Color Guy: When you get to the playoffs, it's a whole new ballgame!
Play by Play Guy: You got that right!
One of the best ALDS games in recent years, and this is the best Fox Sports can come up with? Jerry Remy and Curt Gowdy were unavailable? My goodness, Dick Vitale would have done a better job.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1065497566281840732003-10-06T23:32:00.000-04:002003-10-06T23:32:45.953-04:00Memo to Fox Sports
Absolutely no one--and I've done a comprehensive survery--who lives here calls it "Beantown."Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1065404890837426832003-10-05T21:48:00.000-04:002003-10-05T21:48:10.293-04:00A student just pointed out something I hadn't considered. In the possible but improbable event of a Cubs-Red Sox world Series, one of them absolutely has to win. Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1065404614944249092003-10-05T21:43:00.000-04:002003-10-05T21:43:34.453-04:00One of the great gifts of the campus job is the opportunity to practice charity by hospitality to students. It is a rare Sunday that doesn't see at least one or two students in for dinner and a football/baseball game, and other nights of the week have frequent guests too. Many are our RAs from this year and last, but we are gradually seeing more and more of the ordinary residents coming by too. Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1065149797402058512003-10-02T22:56:00.000-04:002003-10-02T23:02:25.983-04:00Richard Cohen has worked himself into another frenzy. Oozing Hypocrisy Over a Leak contains a number of typically smarmy statements, which inspired me to email him a smarmy reply, to wit:
Sir:
You wrote, in regards to a special prosecutor: "I suggest Bill Clinton."
Possibly, you are unaware, but Bill Clinton would be inelligible for such a posting, as he was disbarred by the US Supreme Court Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1065147251159961102003-10-02T22:14:00.000-04:002003-10-02T22:14:11.100-04:00Having nothing to do with the immediately prior entry, I was wondering if anyone knows anything about the appropriateness of offering a Mass intention for a person known not to be Catholic. I'm not asking for an opinion: only facts. Is it, or is it not, appropriate?Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1065147142786105032003-10-02T22:12:00.000-04:002003-10-02T22:12:22.743-04:00Please say a prayer for the repose of the soul of Harold Chase, Mrs. K-G's paternal grandfather, who died peacefully last night. You might also include Mrs. K-G, who received the news after she had gone to California for a conference, and for whom, remarkably, this is the first loss of a grandparent.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1065012769322499172003-10-01T08:52:00.000-04:002003-10-01T08:52:49.543-04:00I just thought of this line in an email to Alicia, and I wanted to share it with you, should you need to give a talk on this topic: "Chastity: the Best Sex You'll Never Have!"Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1064956387279983972003-09-30T17:13:00.000-04:002003-09-30T17:13:07.306-04:00Now they tell me
Women Who Drink Wine More Likely to Become Pregnant, Research Shows
Posted: Wednesday, September 24, 2003
By Jacob Gaffney
Women who drink a glass of wine or two per day may find it easier to conceive a child than women who don't drink or who prefer beer or spirits, according to a study published in the September issue of the journal Human Reproduction.
"We found that Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1064867482545330532003-09-29T16:31:00.000-04:002003-09-29T16:31:22.270-04:00I had high hopes that today, I would be recommending Island Slipper Hawaii shoes, but they have been dashed. I ordered them and they arrived today, only to find that the label says "Made in China," in spite of the fact that the website says "Made in Hawaii," and I first found out about them through a "Made in US" website. (For the record, I'm not a "Buy American" kind of guy; I'm a "Spend Justly"Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1064851567371667322003-09-29T12:06:00.000-04:002003-09-29T12:06:07.440-04:00"De fide"
I've been stewing on this, and it occurs to me that Tom has uncharacteristically oversimplified the problem. (Heh heh.)
Faith in the sports page or your fondness for donuts is one thing, and it is true that it is different in degree and kind from faith in Christ.
But most skeptics have faith that is hardly different in kind, and often not even very much in degree. It is one thing to Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1064838424702668362003-09-29T08:27:00.000-04:002003-09-29T08:31:13.480-04:00I've started reading Hans Kung's Does God Exist? and Charles Williams' War in Heaven. (While listening in the car to the Lord of the Rings, and skipping around in Aristotle for Everyone and A Summa of the Summa. Does anyone have any Ritalin I can use?)
Kung is in preparation for starting the religion debating society in the dorm, in the next few days. But I think I will post a few of Kung's Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1064837752586377152003-09-29T08:15:00.000-04:002003-09-29T08:15:52.523-04:00Sometimes Having Children Is Its Own Reward
Periodically, I will say to the baby, as she roots furiously in my arms, "Sorry, but I don't have those."
Yesterday, I gave her to the Lad, and gave her the binky at the same time, and he said, "Great. Now she's going to think I have those."Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1064594887196629232003-09-26T12:48:00.000-04:002003-09-26T12:48:06.836-04:00Internet Sales Tax May Get Amazon.com's Support (TechNews.com): "The sales tax project has drawn bipartisan support among lawmakers as well, even from traditionally anti-tax Republican lawmakers who say it's not fair that main street stores are required to charge sales taxes while their online competitors are not. "
Umm, possibly "Main Street Stores" need to pay taxes because they use and Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1064592898137083232003-09-26T12:14:00.000-04:002003-09-26T12:14:58.126-04:00"Could this be The Year?" It certainly looked last night like it could.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1064495495200647682003-09-25T09:11:00.000-04:002003-09-25T09:11:35.190-04:00Once or twice a year, we hear a story on the news or in the papers about a parent who drives off to work or gets home from someplace and leaves a toddler strapped into the carseat. (Like the one about the Kellys, in Virginia.
I have nothing but pity and sympathy for such people; I live in dread fear of doing the same thing, because I am so tired all the time right now that thinking more than 1 Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1064351344683621492003-09-23T17:09:00.000-04:002003-09-23T17:09:04.746-04:00I'm a thoroughly committed carnivore. (I figure that God and some form of evolution worked very hard to make me an omnivore, and it would be like a Second Fall to challenge it.) But this website, Responsible Shopping, has some good links to non-sweatshop/slave labor kinds of producers.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1064288810455379802003-09-22T23:46:00.000-04:002003-09-22T23:46:50.120-04:00I am especially mad at Dexter Shoe, which moved most of its production out of the Great State of Maine, and into the "People's Republic" of China, even though they keep a horse-hockey story about themselves printed on the shoe box, meant to make you think that everything is still done in Maine. They made great shoes, that lasted forever, for a reasonable price. But I'd have paid a 20% or 30% Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1064287386956800872003-09-22T23:23:00.000-04:002003-09-22T23:23:06.843-04:00With that in mind, I'd like to see more Christians challenging the naked consumerism that says "anything that saves me a buck is alright" even if that savings comes at the expense of an enslaved Christian (or even Buddhist, atheist, pagan, or whatever) in another country. I'd like more people not to buy stuff made in the Lao Gai, and telling the stores that they aren't shopping there today, Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1064287157084558412003-09-22T23:19:00.000-04:002003-09-22T23:19:17.000-04:00On the other hand, try speaking to a conservative Christian about the environment being something besides a commodity, and see how far it gets you. Everyone, it seems, is full of shit these days.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1064287112272479562003-09-22T23:18:00.000-04:002003-09-22T23:18:32.206-04:00If you ever wanted proof that the anti-globalization protestors are full of shit, try shopping for shoes at the stores they shop at. Try buying a pair of sandals or mocs at EMS or REI that are not made in China. I have, and it's not fun.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1064283017694158022003-09-22T22:10:00.000-04:002003-09-22T22:10:17.710-04:00I don't appear to ahve been clear, because of the lighthearted way in which I presented things. But I am troubled because for the first time in my life I heard a priest actually preach a heresy. Not a hem-and-haw, not something that could be construed as aheretical, not something that just annoyed me. Heresy, pure and simple. And, I might add, the sort of insidious heresy that offers false hope Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1064202740840203112003-09-21T23:52:00.000-04:002003-09-21T23:52:20.240-04:00One runs a certain amount of risk, attending the student Mass, such as being subjected to (in succession) "On Eagle's Wings" and "Make me a Channel of Your Peace." One ought to be free at elast of the fear of explicit heresy being taught, and I am really uncertain how to proceed. If Fr. Jim happens by, I'd love his advice on how to approach the priest about his unequivocally heretical homily.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1063981572567432652003-09-19T10:26:00.000-04:002003-09-19T10:26:12.470-04:00I really need to spend more time at Jeff Miller's blog
Cause it's just so darned chock full of funnies, both his own and others'.
The Curt Jester: "The Bil Gates of Hell will not prevail against the Church
From a blog called Father McKenzie is a post called YOU KNOW YOU'VE BEEN ATTENDING A PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH TOO LONG WHEN...
[Link via Zorak]
This line killed me:
6. Every Microsoft Word Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1063979488106568222003-09-19T09:51:00.000-04:002003-09-19T09:51:28.340-04:00Aar, me maties. This be "Talk Like a Pirate Day," which in me own house be more like "Talk like Mr. Krab Day." Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1063914214502455802003-09-18T15:43:00.000-04:002003-09-18T15:43:34.000-04:00Funny!Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1063802079654351372003-09-17T08:34:00.000-04:002003-09-17T08:34:39.470-04:00JohnDistinction fades between 'legal' and 'illegal' immigrant
I'm in favor of vigorous immigration laws, and of enforcing them. I'm opposed to many of the kinds of steps others advocate, like putting water stations in the desert, because I think people know the risks when they break the law.
But just once, I would like to hear one of these guys who writes op-eds saying "illegals are illegal" Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1063727526688554302003-09-16T11:52:00.000-04:002003-09-16T11:52:06.280-04:00The Curt Jester: If Adam had a blog is pretty funny.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1063721203985116172003-09-16T10:06:00.000-04:002003-09-16T10:06:44.186-04:00In my post below, I spoke a little imprecisely at one point. I said "The difference between me and the Right of the Church is" in a way that implies that all Catholics who think "the Church always has (moral) things absolutely correct at every given moment" are necessarily "the Right." There are many people who think that without otherwise being the sort of Catholic I was dismissively referring Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1063717428468225132003-09-16T09:03:00.000-04:002003-09-16T09:31:49.310-04:00I'm not sure quite why it is, but there must be certain currents in St. Blog's, invisible to the eye, that nevertheless affect who is writing what at any given moment. For a few days, I have been pondering on the attitude of many American Catholics towards the Church, and the Infallibility different groups attribute to different aspects of it, and the problems such views can cause. Then, last Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1063598059919518552003-09-14T23:54:00.000-04:002003-09-14T23:54:19.810-04:00Please don't misunderstand me: I'm not about to complain, in what I say next. But, for all the supposed joys of parenting (and many, many of them are very real), attending Mass with a 6 year old and a newborn is a lot of hard work, with very little opportunity to participate prayerfully in what is going on. Some days (as today) it is nice to send the wife and the Lad off to Mass by themselves, Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1063597525464759042003-09-14T23:45:00.000-04:002003-09-14T23:45:25.493-04:00Somedays, the readings seem to speak to you, personally. Today's Book of Numbers reading spoke to me exactly where I am today, feeling tired and snakebit. Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1063466710321794512003-09-13T11:25:00.000-04:002003-09-13T11:25:46.680-04:00Alicia posted a link to this, but I decided to cut out the middle man, and reproduce the recipe right here.
Maury Rubin's Grilled Chocolate Sandwich
8 ounces dark (bittersweet) chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
12 to 16 slices of plain white bread
Handful of chocolate batons ( 1/2 inch long) or chocolate chips (about 1/3 cup)
3 to 4 tablespoons soft butter.
1. Chop the chocolate fine and set Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1063466532509819502003-09-13T11:22:00.000-04:002003-09-13T11:22:12.540-04:00Blegging
If anyone wanted to buy me a present, the Panasonic DMR-E80HS DVD RECORDER + 80GB HD would be just the thing.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1063461430127345722003-09-13T09:57:00.000-04:002003-09-13T09:57:10.006-04:00The Lass and the Lad can now be viewed at this location.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1063419217810104322003-09-12T22:13:00.000-04:002003-09-12T22:13:37.810-04:00How the Kairos Guy formulates a blog entry
I wish the hippies would all shut the f*** up and DIE.
Now, now, Brian. That’s not very charitable.
Sorry. [ahem] I wish the hippies would all shut up and expire.
Nice try, but you’ll have to do better.
I would be happy if the hippies would pipe down, and leave the rest of us alone.
Well, better, but, keep thinking: what is making this unworthy of aBriannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1063335656936510042003-09-11T23:00:00.000-04:002003-09-11T23:00:56.943-04:00I wish it were easier to resist thinking "He/she got what he/she deserved" when some public figure I dislike dies. I wish the little prayer would come first, not the little nod, as though I know for sure that justice will now be served. Such feelings do me no credit at all. None whatsoever.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1063296113922946412003-09-11T12:01:00.000-04:002003-09-11T12:01:53.996-04:00Thoughts I posted last year, that still seem right to me
Is there a connection between the death of good rhetoric and the emphasizing of emotion in the public sphere? Where is the inspiring oratory? The memorable phrase? "Let's roll" is powerful not for what it says, but the context in which it was spoken. Last night the President's really good line about failed ideologies and lies was replayed,Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1063244396762814242003-09-10T21:39:00.000-04:002003-09-10T21:39:56.726-04:00For many months, I managed to pray a "perpetual" novena against terrorism, without break. But ever since a week or so before the baby was born, I haven't remembered to do it with any consistency. I am undecided if this is a good thing or not. On the one hand, I ought to pray it all the more, with yet another helpless child in my family, another crusader child to be loathed and murdered if Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1063244152794604802003-09-10T21:35:00.000-04:002003-09-10T21:35:52.766-04:00Today, Sept. 10, marks two years since the broadcast of my appearance as a contestant on "Jeopardy!" It's really not at all hard to remember when I was on.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1063126412511364922003-09-09T12:53:00.000-04:002003-09-09T12:53:32.680-04:00Can someone explain to me why so many Christians, and Catholics in particular, are so embarrassed by other Christians who speak clearly and passionately about Christ? I have seen Catholics rise up in anger at some "ignorant creationist" speaking derisively about Darwin, but the same people shrink in horror at the mention of Eternal Truth, which Christians are allegedly possessed of, and whose Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1063079085239877232003-09-08T23:44:00.000-04:002003-09-08T23:44:45.130-04:00A good commercial
On the other hand, a GOOD commercial would go something like this...
A man, his wife and baby are in a doctor's office waiting room. The nurse comes out, and invites the woman and her baby in, but the man stays behind. He reaches into his backpack, and pulls out some Oreos, and starts to eat them. But he starts to chew a little more deliberately, and then cautiously looks Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1063030792420506902003-09-08T10:19:00.000-04:002003-09-08T10:21:44.826-04:00Yesterday I learned at the Parish Mass (not the campus one) that Jesus' GREATEST miracle was eating with poor people, and allowing a woman to touch him "without going 'HARRUMPH!!!'" It would seem that the Gospel reading means we are getting it all wrong when we go around talking about miracles, and that Jesus performed them principally to mislead us.
Possibly what Father MEANT to say was that Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1062798779175593082003-09-05T17:52:00.000-04:002003-09-05T17:52:59.090-04:00Possibly only those of you who live in the northeast will have noticed, but "Freindly's" has been running a lot of new TV ads, and it is striking that Friendly's doesn't seem to think that any black people eat at their restaurants.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1062780220658592422003-09-05T12:43:00.000-04:002003-09-05T12:44:14.713-04:00One of the things that disturbs me most about college students is their concern with "perception." How I, as recipient, perceive what you, as speaker, are saying is (to the college student's mind) of equal or even greater weight than what you are saying or attempting to say. (Astute readers will recognize the ugliness of deconstructionism here.) It doesn't seem to occur to them to ask first if Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1062764645555795412003-09-05T08:24:00.000-04:002003-09-05T08:24:05.566-04:00My OTHER problem right now has to do with the typical student preferring to complain instead of dispute. I said something the other night at the all student meeting for my dorm that gave offense to some students, not because it was in any way offensive, but because the students in question don't know that the word "cardinal" in conjunction with "virtues" has nothing whatsoever to do with those Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-106264685308507272003-09-03T23:40:00.000-04:002003-09-03T23:40:53.010-04:00On the other hand, I'm extremely annoyed at the way in which the residential program is (or really, is not) administered here. I have only now learned that there will be weeks in which I have official, structured obligations as many as 5 nights. Last year, 1 was the norm, and any more than that was extremely rare. I come from a way of thinking that says you communicate with people at the outset, Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1062473115673641512003-09-01T23:25:00.000-04:002003-09-01T23:25:15.663-04:00I just heard this expression, and I like it: "Cancel my subscription--I don't need your issues."Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1062473030611111152003-09-01T23:23:00.000-04:002003-09-01T23:23:50.603-04:00I cannot say that the last two days of issuing keys to returning students has improved my opinion of adolescents any, nor of their parents. I *can* say that I need to start a Parish parents' group, to discuss how we might persuade our children that recreational equipment comes from a store, not from your body.
Also, I have to say that, in spite of the "Gather" hymnal, full of Haugen and Haas andBriannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1062428050506458632003-09-01T10:54:00.000-04:002003-09-01T11:09:58.573-04:00Peter Nixon blogged the other day at Sursum Corda "Church Without Borders, a a joint project of the Diocese and the Maryknoll Missionaries." This reminds me of one of the saddest things I have found on campus since returning. The poison of "diversity" has so consumed the campus, that the University Christian Fellowship now must compete with the Asian Christian Fellowship and the African one.
OfBriannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1062252000908384062003-08-30T10:00:00.000-04:002003-08-30T10:00:00.783-04:00Between the picture of my beautiful little girl and the birth announcement are some actual Kairos blog entries. They're kind of buried, so you may have missed them. I'll try to get back to more regular bomb-throwing, now that the training period for the dorm job is over, and the Lad enters first grade in a few days.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1062251922914564152003-08-30T09:58:00.000-04:002003-08-30T09:58:42.786-04:00A smidge more about "The Rules"
Most people who have taken math classes have been told, "show your work." Math teachers insist on this because math is not simply about getting the answer right (though that is obviously its final objective) but also about the process of arriving at that answer. Excepting only the people with unusual brains, most of us must learn a method for arriving at the Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1061916514049647342003-08-26T12:48:00.000-04:002003-08-26T12:48:33.980-04:00Kairos Baby unveiled
Thanks to the kindness of Tom, all the world can bask in my good fortune.
Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1061873055416222512003-08-26T00:44:00.000-04:002003-08-26T00:44:15.320-04:00It occurs to me that nothing I have read about NFP take into account the decline in rates of death in childbirth. That is, I realized that in another century and even in the present in other parts of the world, it is very possible, and even probable that Mrs. K-G would have died trying to give birth to the Lad, and might be suffering a fatal infection right now from the second birth had she Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1061872605214934492003-08-26T00:36:00.000-04:002003-08-26T00:49:01.663-04:00Strange things happen sometimes
A bit over a month ago, I was looking at this dorm job as primarily a way to get free housing. I'd do all the paperwork, and the basic supervision, and leave the "emotional" stuff to Mrs. Kairos Guy (roommate conflicts, "triage" counseling, etc.) But a funny thing happened. I remembered a St. Blog's conversation from a while back, about looking at your work as a Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1061870861811739022003-08-26T00:07:00.000-04:002003-08-26T00:07:41.860-04:00Pop Daddy is in the House
I have a special communication from Greg Popcak, MCSW, KC OBE, VC, and LMNOP:
"Ave Maria Radio has a chance to be carried on the XM Satellite Network. They are currently considering our proposal and things look good.
We are attempting to get St Blog's to help us out by publicizing our petition drive to get Ave Maria on XM. I would really appreciate if you could Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1061434115183877002003-08-20T22:48:00.000-04:002003-08-20T22:48:35.056-04:00So, Sally is still having a hard time, and the baby has been slow to adjust, as you might expect. And I am in the middle of training for the dorm job, and running back and forth between that training and taking care of the family. So I walk out of the dining hall (at the farthest point on campus from my apartment) and am promptly stung on the toe by a yellow jacket.
I would recommend not Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1061083091531807032003-08-16T21:18:00.000-04:002003-08-16T21:18:11.586-04:00Born this day
9:29 am, 16 August 2003, Dierdre Niamh ("Kneeve") Kairos Guy entered this life, 8 lbs exactly, 20.5 inches, after 31 hours of labor. Mother and daughter are doing less than perfectly, but pretty well on the whole. Dad is having a couple of beers and going to sleep, while The Lad spends the night with his Grampy.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1060435760969252882003-08-09T09:29:00.000-04:002003-08-09T09:29:20.943-04:00I have a computer that I would like to turn into a Digital TV recorder, a la TiVO. Does anyone have any experience doing this? I know I need a hardware adapter, and some software, but I'm not very familiar with the products out there. Any suggestions?Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1060308264243570382003-08-07T22:04:00.000-04:002003-08-07T22:04:24.236-04:00Francis Fukuyama presents an interesting scenario for the Iraqi WMD debate. I still think that weapons will be found; I suspect that the big leads haven't made the papers yet. But this is an interesting article, even if some or many weapons do turn up.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1060140006804394742003-08-05T23:20:00.000-04:002003-08-05T23:20:06.786-04:00Amy Welborn has an interesting post about Andrew Sullivan up at her place. I didn't post a comment, because by the time I saw her thing, there were already 88 comments. So my thoughts are here. (Go read her thing first, if you haven't already.)
As someone who continues to struggle with some (different) Church teachings, I have only one piece of advice to offer Sullivan (as if he cared) and Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1060088280538747342003-08-05T08:58:00.000-04:002003-08-05T08:58:00.360-04:00So far as I can tell (from the papers; a risky source admittedly), this Episcopal Bishop-elect is chiefly qualified for his bishopric because of his homosexuality. All his defenders talk about the importance of his appointment because of the "message" of "inclusion" and "tolerance" that it sends. The thing that most appalls me about it is not his homosexuality, but the fact that he was married Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1060087624631386802003-08-05T08:47:00.000-04:002003-08-05T08:47:04.510-04:00Have I mentioned how much I dislike the affectation "We are pregnant"? "We" are certainly expecting, and "we" are even going to have a baby. But "we are pregnant" is only true for simultaneously-with-child lesbians. It's a further muddying of the role and importance of fathers. I cannot carry a child; ergo, I must have different responsibilities. But if "we" can be pregnant, then "we" are Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1060025073588713222003-08-04T15:24:00.000-04:002003-08-04T15:24:33.566-04:00"The Devil made me do it!"
When did we decide that Demonic possession is mostly a bunch of stories in the Gospel stemming from a misunderstanding of epilepsy and/or mental illness? I didn't get that memo, even though I have seen that the idea is a mere punchline for Rationalist jokes about religious people. ("I comMAYAND the demons to come out of this may-an!" always in the Southern accent that Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1060024233575750882003-08-04T15:10:00.000-04:002003-08-04T15:10:33.663-04:00Happy Natal Day to Mrs. Kairos Guy, officially the age of her Body To Come in the Resurrection of the Just! I know she's hoping that the body you get then is a little more idealized than the 8.5 months-pregnant version, but really, I'm just hoping to get to the "Just" part. Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1060024072781779182003-08-04T15:07:00.000-04:002003-08-04T15:07:52.890-04:00I think my REAL problem is that I believe people who disagree with me are idiots. And willful idiots to boot.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-105961788802504052003-07-30T22:18:00.000-04:002003-07-30T22:18:08.070-04:00Fr. Jim has weighed in on the discussion about the lapsed Catholic. I think everyone got so focused on the details of the woman's particular case, that my larger point got buried. Let me be clear: I think it best that a lapsed Catholic confess before rejoining the other sacraments. I think it probable (based on what I know of the situation, which is precious little) that everything worked in Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1059585824883687392003-07-30T13:23:00.000-04:002003-07-30T13:23:44.920-04:00One reason for men to marry is, having a family keeps you from doing a lot of the stupid, reckless, and/or immoral behavior you would otherwise give serious consideration to. Not always, of course. But mostly.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1059585737163122222003-07-30T13:22:00.000-04:002003-07-30T13:22:17.296-04:00I keep forgetting to mention this, apropos of nothing, but I absolutely LOVE the Miller High Life commercials with the crusty voice over of the vaguely paranoid, middle aged white guy. My favorite is the one that begins with a 50 year old man, peddling a woman's bike with basket on the front in a snowstorm, while the narration begins, "That's right, Patriot. Let the OPECs keep their oil." My wifeBriannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1059569164211697552003-07-30T08:46:00.000-04:002003-07-30T08:46:04.110-04:00And speaking of baseball...
Kathy, and perhaps one or two more of you out there, might find this story interesting.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1059567749099036112003-07-30T08:22:00.000-04:002003-07-30T08:22:29.096-04:00I know it's still only July, and I know lots of times it has felt like this before. But I cannot watch this year's Red Sox team and fail to think that they are about to do something really special. Last night Bill Mueller (who?) hit a solo home run, followed by two grands slams IN CONSECUTIVE AT BATS, FROM OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE PLATE. Sal and I estimated that in the past 100 years, there have Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1059452454075628572003-07-29T00:20:00.000-04:002003-07-29T00:20:54.076-04:00The item immediately below this one, and a few words at Minute Particulars, caused me to reflect briefly on how wonderful it would be if we took the word "profession" in its sense of the verb form, to "declare openly" and "make vows," that is, in a sense where we declare ourselves as in a "profession of faith," instead of merely as the "opposite of amateur." In other words, if we could resort to Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1059452000820888422003-07-29T00:13:00.000-04:002003-07-29T00:13:20.883-04:00The thing I am most rebelling against these days is the reduction of God to a mere natural force. Many rules, and many rule-oriented Catholics, seem to me to do this. I am really unclear on how easy or possible it is in fact to commit a mortal sin, and on how much actual repentance affects it.
A couple of months ago, someone blogged about a lapsed Catholic friend who was to go to Mass. The Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1059449992230416202003-07-28T23:39:00.000-04:002003-07-28T23:39:52.170-04:00My computer is playing Van Morrison right now. (Never was such a voice as Van's, by the way...) The song right this second is "(That was a) Wonderful Remark," which seems to me a critique of the vacuousness of much conversation. Possibly hitting on why I have been light at the blogging thing lately.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1059449247630268542003-07-28T23:27:00.000-04:002003-07-28T23:27:27.586-04:00The thing I am most looking forward to about having another baby (in the near term) is the stage when the little guy/girl will fall asleep on me while I do other things. I know some people who find this inconvenient, but to me there is no happier parenting moment than when the little one nods off in the completely floppy way. [sigh]Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1059449152257814912003-07-28T23:25:00.000-04:002003-07-28T23:25:52.256-04:00One of the nice things about being noticed by Hernan Gonzalez, and linked to from his excellent Argentinian blog, is now I get porn spam in Spanish as well as English. And Benedikt linked to me in German a while ago, which means occasionally nice young frauleins show up naked and unbidden in my inbox.Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1059195396885213852003-07-26T00:56:00.000-04:002003-07-26T00:56:36.746-04:00Has anybody tried the new Apple Music service yet, or BuyMusic.com? Any reviews?Briannoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3485667.post-1059194205637939222003-07-26T00:36:00.000-04:002003-07-26T00:36:45.580-04:00Heisenprayer
A while ago, in a comment at another blog, I mentioned that I apply Heisenberg's uncertainty principle to prayer as well as subatomic particles. In terms of prayer, this means that if I don't yet know the outcome of something, I can still pray for it and have some expectation that my prayers will be as effective as they ever are, even if that something has already occurred. So (for Briannoreply@blogger.com0