The Wandering Moon

Hello,Blog from the Fog

2011-09-20T16:49:00.000-07:00

So, I went to comment on Art & Adventures blog and discoverred my blog from the past. Perhaps its time to get back into it. :)

John Paul II!

2007-04-04T19:18:00.000-07:00

This is the day we all remember! John Paul II pray for us and teach us to love Mary as you did!

Well. So I lied.

2007-04-02T09:41:00.000-07:00

Yeah I am a liar. I do have a blog, and I guess I had abandoned it. What can i say? Blogging takes more thought than carelessly roaming around facebook saying random things on people's walls. Instead of getting disattached from the 6 things I gave up for lent, I created an attachement for facebook.

Stink, I know.

So. Facebook is not going to be surfacing on my screen until after Easter. Sort of a Holy Week thing. I recommend to all of you to step up your vigilance. Devil is pretty sneaky.

Have a blessed and prayerful Holy Week! Prepare your hearts, be vigilant!

Oh, so I have a blog. . .

2007-02-01T14:07:00.000-08:00

Yes, I have a blog and have not abandoned it to the depths of internet evasion. I have been super busy doing this,that and the other thing and have not been in the bloggin mood. That happens every once in a while. However I am now back, not dead, and can't wait to begin the daily blog routine. (Of course it hasn't been daily in a few months now. We'll see how that one pans out.)

By the way the wedding was absolutely awesome. The bride was beautiful, food was excellent, and the music was sublime. Who can beat that?

Cheers!

Oh so funny

2007-01-07T12:46:00.000-08:00

This is hysterical. My guy readers can tell me if its false, but we all know it's funny. It is from a facebook gropu called, "60 things girls need to understand about guys!!!!"

"Guys seek for advice from girls not other guys. Because most guys think alike, so if one guy's confused, then we're all confused."

Beer Bottle Labels

2007-01-06T15:45:00.000-08:00

Yes sir ree. Our good friends gave us about three miles of that silvery paper primarily designed but rejected for use on labeling beer bottles (glass ones). Nice shiny silvery stuff that made EXCELLENT Christmas wrapping paper.

Good Catholic families can do that sort of thing.

It was the first year that all of our presents fell under the color scheme. I felt very worldly.

Tonight I had the bright idea of making background scenery for our Christmas Epiphany play tomorrow. So I bought three cans of spraypaint, rolled out three sheets of silver beer bottle paper and began painting. I had a stable a tree and the sky and the earth. Looked like something out of the PAINT program we all know and love.

So I left it on the ground. It was warm. I went out to get it about three hours later. It was cold. It was also wet. Very wet. Condensation or the exhalation of the earth or whatever. And we all know what happens to WET BEER BOTTLE LABELS. DISINTEGRATION makes it happen, disintegration, makes a difference. La la la la .

My spirits disintegrated and I had no recompense for the sore forefinger. (due to the spray paint)

sometimes things stink.

Goin' to the chapel and I'm. . .

2007-01-04T05:12:00.000-08:00

Going to a wedding. . . .

Can't think of a better way to start off the new year than seeing two of my bestest friends get hitched in the holy sacrament of matrimony. I am so super siked. It is up in Virginia, so I have to take a few days off work. Which, by the way, is ultimately cool with me.

I hope everyone in the blogosphere is determined to celebrate the remaining 2 days of Christmas.

On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, ten lords a leaping. I'm not sure I could find a use for ten lords, but one or two however would make fine escorts to the wedding. If my true love trusts me with ten, he should trust me with two, eh?

Ave Maria!

Unborn Child counts As Person

2007-01-01T11:02:00.000-08:00

Hey- just a quick little post in between my after Christmas rush.

I have been filling out my FAFSA stuff, and noted this tidbit in the tips under, "filing dependants"

"If you have an unborn child who will be born before or during the award year (July 1 through June 30) and will be your legal dependent, that child should be counted as a member of the household. "

Cool. Notice the terminology, "that CHILD should be counted as a member of the household". All members of the household have rights, including the right to be claimed as dependants. And the right to life.

Nice.

Hey ya'll Merry Christmas!

2006-12-20T08:25:00.000-08:00

Hey Everybody and Everybody out there. . . . get Ready because Christmas is coming up like super fast. Decorate, Bake, Clean, combust a fruitcake, or do whatever you do to get ready for Christmas.

Most of all don't forget to prepare your heart. "Let every heart prepare a home where such a holy guest may come!"
Ave Maria!

A poem, rough draft.

2006-12-13T10:01:00.000-08:00

When will it come, the waiting said,
Wishing it were spring once again.
Lady Gray drizzles down her frozen drops,
While her children play in the snow.

When will it come, the waiting said,
Yearning for full-blooming June.
Immature seedlings meanander about,
While May lives her day for a moon.

When will it come, the waiting said,
Burning and scorching for fall.
Cool wind and night air skit just out of reach
As sweetheart suns warm on the beach.

When will it come, the waiting said,
Life lives while the waiting wait on,
Wasting and wanting what lacked from the start
Rest in the season, peace in the heart.

What's Up

2006-12-12T09:06:00.000-08:00

Well. Life has been very busy.

Let's start with last week. Last weekend I was over a friend's house helping him out with household chores, cooking and cleaning (he was recovering from being sick). I buzzed around town in my 1989 red subaru, grocery shoppping, getting cleaning supplies, driving him places, etc. Then i decided to go out at around seven by myself, maybe grab some chocolate (which he wasn't allowed to eat, poor chap).

Then a stop sign came and I went right through it. Unintentionally. I tried to stop, really I did, because getting creamed in between cross going traffic is not my idea of a happy death. The breaks just wouldn't work. At all. Nothing. Just air, "whoosh" when I tried to hit the pedal. So I pulled the emergency break and stopping IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSECTION. I attribute my current state of LIFE to the St. Michael card I put up on my windshield last week.

Cary Grant's photo is on my mirror, but I'm sure he had nothing to do with it.

So triple A came and towed me away. Now I have to rumage up the garage bill. Anyone have a saint card of Rita???? (Impossible cases?)

Today's Gaggle

2006-12-04T09:06:00.000-08:00

Car Payment, dream on!

2006-12-04T08:34:00.000-08:00

That's how I'd like to look at it. I just got my first of 72 student loan bills on this warm december day in Sunny SC. It was followed by a small glass of wine. I am going to have to invest in a vineyard.

It is a couple of months earlier than it should be, but that's okay. The sooner I start the sooner they will be over, and hey, by the time I'm six years older, the student loan debt will be gone. That's a nice thought isn't it?

The college I went to had a strange idea of financial aid: give a few scholarships here, a dozen workstudy jobs here, one or two grants, and tons of student loans. That will help families who can't afford college now afford it later. Right.

But I wanted school and that was the only way to get it. So here goes 1 out of 72 (bottles of beer on the wall.)

Cheers.

(the haunting thought that this sum of monthly money could be going to a Mitsubishi dealer keeps bouncing around my head at a beautifl rate of 70 mph.)

Aha!

2006-11-30T16:40:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd blog to let the world know that I am still interested in keeping up with it. This is my pre-checking out the web post, in which I am going to schedule out my trails for tonight.

First I'll go to Life News and see whats going on over there, then spin over to Catholic Exchange and read a few articles and then, oh nevermind.

I am wanted again downstairs. I guess my blogging and catching up will just have to wait.

Stella.

New Hobby

2006-11-26T19:01:00.000-08:00

I am need of a new hobby, preferrably one that is very time consuming. An ideal hobby which would suck up excess stress and prevent the spontaneous combustion of a few of my nerve cells. I have very little to spare. Be easy on my brain waves as well, I have been losing brain cells at a rate of 23% a day. So we have roughly four and a quarter days before I am too brain dead to learn anything else.

Leave suggestions in the comment box.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-24T16:08:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody, I hope that ya'll have recovered from the Thanksgiving rush and have had time to relax and reload. The meal went absolutely wondefully. Except for my contributions. I went with fancy and attractive and made everyone under 7 years of age cry.

They didn't like the mandarin salad. Too sour. They didn't like the stuffed frenched toast on rye. (Okay, it wasn't supposed to be on rye. Most breads look the same when they are thawing and I certainly couldn't smell it) They gagged. Didn't like the orange knock-out bow ties.

They liked the punch. I made that. But how great and complicated was that? I'll tell you in one sentence. Mix soda and grape juice. Done. Seven pleased kids.

So what did I learn? Thanksgiving is NOT the time to try out new recipes on kids. Doesn't give them much to be thankful for besides the fact that that didn't have to finish the stuff they didn't like.

I ran down two apple pies. Everyone liked them. Dad made cracks about how Son #1's pies were better. I'll go on strike.

I don't think many will mind. However, my feelings are not hurt, no, I have retained confidence in my cooking abilities, even though some tastebuds are too immature to appreciate them.

And to be quite honest, I didn't like the salad much either. BUT I ATE IT. Those who stand alone must eat alone.

And a quote for Thanksgiving Guest #2: Wherever you go, there you are.

What's the picture?

2006-11-17T14:47:00.000-08:00

Just saw this over at Time Immortal. The "this" aforementioned is a photograph Ken took of some berries. In winter. In Canada. Those berries got some pluck, that's for sure.

We don't get red berries like that once winter sets in in SC, which it will in about a month and a half. Today (ha ha ha) was sunny and warm enough for me, just about 65 degrees F.

Anyway, the only time I saw berries in the winter of that color it was in Massachusetts. I was walking back from the school bus stop and it had iced the night before. Not just icy rain, but ice coming down in sheets. The trees were frozen under a quarter inch of see-through ice. It looked like Jack Frost had dipped the world in a popsicle maker. Very beautiful.

After I skidded past the house with the mean dog, I noticed a berry bush. Little red berries sparkling under a coating of ice. Very pretty. So there is our pretty thought for today.

What do you do with Facebook Anyway?

2006-11-17T13:28:00.000-08:00

Okay. So I have Facebook now. What do I do with it? Just fill it with pictures and descriptions of me? That can't be all, although I admit it sometimes has its thrills. Actually, I cheated and pasted my profile from Blogger with a few additions. I'm not interesting enough to make up a new profile.

Besides, anyone who is going to see me on facebook knows me already and could probably fill out the profile section more acurately. Because you don't usually see yourself the way others see you. That's the whole problem of humility, knowing yourself in relation to God, seeing yourself as God sees you. And that, St. Catherine says, is what makes us want to plunge ourselves into the cleansing fires of purgatory as a clean up job.

It is like a self-cleaning oven. Just heats up and soon all the black gook chars into white crispy stuff that you can blow away with a puff of wind. The whole process lends a terrible smell. Hopefully purgatory doesn't stench. I couldn't take that.

Anyway, from ovens to facebook. What is it and how do you use it and what do I do with it now that I have it? Fill it with something, but what?

Many thanks.

Stella

Music and Tired Members

2006-11-16T16:43:00.000-08:00

I am sitting here at the computer because my clarinet practice has been cut short. I just left a room full of two clarinets, a trumpet and a baritone. The baritone was sitting on the bed practicing scales while we the trio tried out hands and mouth at some folk songs.

Why was the baritone left out? He can't play any notes. Has to learn some notes before he can jazz along.

I am out of practice a bit, so my lips tire out after about twenty minutes. Alas, once I could play for two hours. Wonder how long it will take to get back at it. Fortunately the only thing I lost after a long hiatus is the longevity. I remember everything else.

Cheers to music! And double cheers to the music makers!

(Not the movie)

Human Capital

2006-11-13T17:26:00.000-08:00

In an article on Catholic Exchange, I found an interesting thought on globalization and human capital by South American Journalist Andres Oppenheimer. You can read the article here.

At first,understanding what Oppenheimer was talking about was a little difficult at first since I am not naturally a poli-sci girl. But it interested me greatly because of the slant Oppenheimer put on the problem of struggling countries which despite their ability to " balance their books, control inflation and combat corruption" were not able to advance economically. They could not attract investments. Why? Because their people had little education, or opportunities to enter the bilingual business world. There are a couple of gems from Pope John Paul II on this subject also.

Here's a bit:

"This experience opened by eyes. I finally understood why, for example, a multinational company like Intel, which produces microchips internationally, established its operations in Costa Rica in 1994. Today, Intel has more than $2 billion in exports yearly — more than all of Nicaragua’s exports put together. The company is also creating jobs for more than 30,000 people. And the biggest reason why Intel established itself in Costa Rica is because this nation has the highest level of education in all of Central America."

For more, go here.

Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas

2006-11-12T18:48:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year when signs go up saying "Happy Holidays". For the past five years I've been seeing my lovely little "Merry Christmas" signs ripped down and replaced with the "Happy Holidays" thing.

I don't know about you, but "Happy Holidays" sounds lame to me. It will always have the connotation that "Merry Xmas" does, the whole, "Let's take all Christianity out of everything so we don't offend anybody."

And even if you don't celebrate Christmas, would you mind being merry on that day?

More on this later.

And to all a good night.

Stella

Back from Wal-Mart

2006-11-10T12:07:00.000-08:00

How ironic. I just got back from an escapade at Wal-Mart. Mom did grocery shopping while I sort of roamed around like a zombie. I don't like the store much. Brother #2 and I spent some time in the game room, which was our first time putting quarters in machines and having them work like they are supposed to. Little brother wanted to do a turkey shoot video game (how's that for south) and I checked it out for him first (by watching the previews, I mean. You never know when a scandalously clad chic is going to pop out of those things). I determined it looked good so he and the rest of the clan had the time of their lives shooting and reloading. I like watching the turkeys gobble, stumple, trip and shimmer away into nothingness.

So I we get home and there is this in my gmail inbox. Wal-Mart is donating 5% of their online sales to a homo-sexual support group. There is a petition you can sign, and a two day boycott ( I guess that's all America can handle?). From the AFA website (American Family Association):

"Sign the Pledge to not shop at Wal-mart on Friday and Saturday following Thanksgiving. To see the documentation of the 5% donation commitment to the Washington DC Community Center for Gay, Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender People, click here."

And some gems copied from the AFA web page for your interest:

A quick search for books sold by Wal-Mart found the following related to the promotion of homosexual marriage:

What God Has Joined Together: The Christian Case for Gay Marriage
Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gay, Good for Straights, and Good for America
Legalizing Gay Marriage
Why You Should Give a -amn about Gay Marriage
Civil Wars: A Battle for Gay Marriage
Gay Marriage and Democracy: Equality for All
Defending Same-Sex Marriage
Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality, and Gay People's Right to Marry
Gay Marriage, Real Life: Ten Stories of Love and Family

A quick search of Wal-Mart's website turned up the following number of items for sale:
Gay - 1148
Lesbian - 468
Transgender - 40
Bisexual - 38
Gay Marriage - 26

Proposition 85

2006-11-06T16:56:00.000-08:00

Not Euclid, people- a law that would change the state of affairs in California abortion mills. No longer will you have minors being brought for abortions by someone other than their parents. I am not in favor of them being brought in for abortions at all (why should a baby pay with his life?), but this measure will help stem the tide on the sexual abuse of these minors. At least they won't have the emotional trauma of being forced into a secret abortion by their boyfriend or basketball coach in order to avoid their parents finding out.

Ya'll know David Puddy? He plays on Seinfield. I am so not with it that I didn't know this. What has he (actor Warburton) have to do with this? He's the father of four kids and wants to make sure that no daughter of his becomes victom to a sexual predator. Hear him on this:

"A California law currently allows someone other than a parent to take a child, a girl as young as 12 years of age, to go and get an abortion without the parents knowing anything about this . . . "This means that your neighbor, a teacher, an older boyfriend, a sexual predator -- can legally take your 12-year-old daughter to go and get an abortion, a secret confidential abortion," (Quote provided on an interview with Life News

We'll see how the polls turn out.

Ave Maria!

For more on the article, go here

Pro-Voice

2006-10-30T06:14:00.000-08:00

Hoping to gain 1700 signatures for an advertisement to counter a pro-abortion ad found in Ms. magazine, Georgette Forney (president of NOEL and co-founder of Silent No More Awareness) is going strong in his pro-voice campaign.

Women wrote to Ms. magazine who regret their abortions and requested that their side of the story to be given attention as well. They were declined.

This pro-life advertisement is dependant upon the support of post-abortive women who are willing to sign the add to show their regret. Post-abortive women who wish to sign may contact Georgette Forney.

For more, see Life News.

To the Seniors

2006-10-29T06:43:00.000-08:00

This is a quote from The Citadel for all of my friends who are working on their thesis.

"Andrew's fingers were shaking. He could barely read. Dazedly he heard Harrison congratulate him. His chances were still alive. He walked down tot he ABC and treated himself to a malted milk. He thought tensely, 'If I don't get through now, after all this, I'll - I'll walk in front of a bus.' "

Thank God there are no buses in Front Royal. And don't get any ideas about spoiling the van run.

Ave Maria!

Tonight's Heartbleed

2006-10-27T16:42:00.000-07:00

My sister came to me crying this evening about a cat. Herein lies the fundamental difference between them and myself; I would only cry over a dog. We have two, but both girls want Mickey (who actually lets you pet her) to be their own. Supposedly busy mom of 7 said the 8 year old girl could call Mickey her own today. Five year old sister says mom gave Mickey to her a year ago. Thus the tears and accusations only a tender hearted girl wounded in the heart on a raw October afternoon could summon up.

I didn't have much to say to them, until the younger sister left the room.

The older sister broke down completely, "Nobody likes me. Everyone always takes not my side. The boys never talk to me. John says he likes Mary but doesn't like me. No one likes to play with me."

Bad news. We all know the feeling. Everything and everybody turns into a nothing and a nobody. But there is always some truth behind these sweeping statements of "nobody ever". I've found that in arguing with someone it's best to avoid the "you always do this" and replace it with a "you tend to do this". Of course, John can't ALWAYS knock Mary down when he walks by. John knows this and can quickly crash out with an "I do not". Which is true, but Mary sees John trying to deny it. Which enrages her. He's made because of a false accusation and she is mad because he won't admit it. Nice, isn't it?

Anyway, I tried explaining how boys think to the elder sister. It didn't work. You just can't get her to understand that the more the boys make her life miserable, the more they admire her. I don't get it myself.

She's a smart girl, super sensitive though, and loves to talk. The boys just want to play football and tease her. Heaven forbid they have an intelligent conversation with their own sister.

I'll run it by busy mom and dad of 7 and see what they say. Maybe they can send the boys to bording school and buy another cat.

The MIssing Link

2006-10-26T07:44:00.000-07:00

First I want to deeply apologize to the people who have clicked on the "8 o'clock chaplet" blog link and have been directed to a porn page. I have no idea how that happened, and I apologize for being slack in checking for these kinds of things. I suppose they happen, but do not know how.

The "8 o'clock chaplet" blog has moved their address, and the old one has been usurped by various others.

Please accept my apologies and I hope that no one has been directed to that cite. I'll offer up a chaplet in reparation.

Please understand that I am significantly ticked off at this and hope to God that no damage has been done to any readers, especially the innocent!

Hat tip to my auntie who just called about it. I love you!

Advocates for Choice, hmm.

2006-10-23T19:23:00.000-07:00

Just read this article on forced abortions from Life News. Don't have time to post on it, but can refer you to it and give you a clip. Here's the link. I've seen parents drag a child in for an abortion. When questioned, the parents said they believed abortion was a horrible thing but they wanted their daughter to be punished for what she had done and never do it again. That was the worst thing I have ever witnessed. Poor child. That was the same day an hispanic women marched in to the mill with her husband walking behind her, crying.

Here's the clip.

Portland, ME (LifeNews.com) -- The parents of a 19 year-old Maine woman who
allegedly attempted to take her to New York for a forced abortion have pleaded
not guilty to charges of kidnapping, assault and terrorizing. They were arrested
in New Hampshire after apparently tying their daughter up and forcing her into
their car.

Back from Vacation

2006-10-23T19:00:00.000-07:00

Well, that was absolutely wonderful. Two of my girlfriends from Virginia swung by Columbia and picked me up on their way to Florida, where we spent a week at her grandparents house relaxing, adventuring and catching up on old times.

By they time they had reached our meeting spot, they had already been on the road for eight hours, so it was my turn to drive. I'm a fast driver, but not with other people's cars. So as I was meandering along at 70 (the speed limit) the owner of the vehicle says, "you're not a very agressive driver, are you?" I guess that was her subtle permission to go with the flow of traffic in the left lane. We made excellent time after that, except for the mandatory stop at Cracker Barrel where we shopped around for a birthday card for her boyfriend for half an hour or so. We kept getting stuck over the hilarious cards.

So, what did we do. . . We went out on a sea-do (a jet ski) and it was a blast! We did 55 mph along the waters of a huge lake inhabited by alligators and beautiful white birds. . . I supposed the gators ate the birds and stay away from people, but I was still a little nervous at the start. After we picked up speed and did circles and the spray came up in my face I forgot that I was supposed to be afraid. Even though I shrieked a bit.

The next day we went to the Gulf of Mexico- swimming with little bitty fish (they sorta tickled) and pelicans that pratically decapitated you on their whoosh by. I did not burn, even though my friends did! Ha ha ha. I built a sandcastle with Grandmother and two kids came by to watch. They didn't say anything, just stared. Usually it is the other way around.

Anyway, that's the short version. More to follow. I am glad to be back, even though I am missing the water tremendously. I really wouldn't mind living with summer all year round. I think I'll move where summer is.

Stella

Going to Florida!

2006-10-15T14:21:00.000-07:00

Blessed beyond belief, I will be going to Florida tomorrow with two of the craziest and sweetest girls in the world. (My old room mate and her friend.) We are going to drive down there to visit grandparents (who supposedly have a richly furnished guest room stuffed with chocolate) from Monday to next Monday, while they work on their senior theses. Being not a senior yet, I will be reading at leisure and maybe writing some articles for Catholic Exchange. I've always wanted to do that.

Well, I will keep you all posted on my adventures. This is my first time going to florida with friends, with a car, and with a nice little picture ID that will send me into the world of strawberry frozen concoctions.

Stay tuned!

Stella

Got ya.

2006-10-13T08:00:00.001-07:00

A new way to play Saint Tag! Just got tagged from Tito for the saint game. See his responses here here. Thanks, Tito, by the way. I love these things. Here we go.

1. If you were invited to a Halloween/All Saints Day Costume Party, which saint would you dress up as and why? (The Blessed Virgin Mary,the Mother of God, is not an option.) (Tidbit of my own: Did you know that the devil pays more severely for impersonating the Mother of God than when faking Our Lord? *I Read that in a book on Saint Gemma.)

I would go as Saint Germaine Cousin. She is like a little Cinderella saint, living a life of poverty and in sickness. Her family cast her out and made her into a servant. Many miracles were granted to her in life by her guardian angel.

2. Which saint or other person would accompany you to the party?

Saint Francis. My Guardian Angel. Saint Germaine's Guardian Angel.

3. What famous quote would help others identify you?

"Serve others as I have served you!" ( would that help? not sure.)

4. Describe your costume.

Lots of rags. Lots of dirt and soot. Falling abart sandals (fortunately I already have some of those.) Cord rosary. Of course I would pull my best limp.

5.) Which movie or film best depicts the life of this saint?

Have to second Tito on this one. Don't know of any.

6. What is your favorite book written about this saint or that he or she has written?

I learned about her in a book of Franciscan Saints. (She fell into the spirit of Franciscansism) The book was my Italian Reader, so I don't know the name of it. Sorry!

I Tag Bethune Catholic (Jcurley) and Barefoot Catholic(Sean). Go for it. And anyone else who wants to!

A bit from Catholic Online on Saint Germaine

In this way, the most unlikely of saints became recognized by the Church.
She didn't found a religious order. She didn't reach a high Church post. She
didn't write books or teach at universities. She didn't go to foreign lands as a
missionary or convert thousands. What she did was live a life devoted to God and
her neighbor no matter what happened to her. And that is all God asks.

Fried Brains on Tuesday, Peanut Butter Cookies last night.

2006-10-10T15:00:00.000-07:00

Today was long. And it's not even over. I have absolutely nothing to blog about (except Happy Thanksgiving to all you Canadian Readers) except for the fact that I am tired out and exhausted after a long day. I was up late last night making cookies. I was up because Dad had promised cookies to his class (he teaches high school) if they got a hundred on their quizzes. They did. So cookies were in order, 60 of them.

Now 60 cookies is not a tall order around here because I always cook and bake big. I never just follow the recipe; I usually double or triple it. Biscuits call for quadrupling it. So 60 cookies wasn't the problem. The problem was ingredients.

No shortening. No chocolate chips. No sugar. Oh wait, I eventually found the sugar. And no butter. Just margerine. For those of you who are serious bakers, you know what using margerine instead of butter can do to those perfectly delectable cookie recipes. It makes you want to cry. Anyway, I ended up making peanut butter cookies and spritz in the cookie press.

The peanut butter cookie recipe is GREAT and calls for only 4 ingredients. Peanut Butter, egg, vanilla, sugar. Yes, that's right folks, no flour. No butter. No shortening. And it works. And it is easy to remember, which is good because I lost the recipe about four years ago. Here it is:

Peanut Butter Cookies (Just think 1, 1, 1, 1.)

1 cup Peanut Butter. (crunchy works best. It is sort of like adding peanuts without having to measure it out.)

1 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

Here's what to do after you've found the ingredients (that was always the long part for me, our cabinets are a bit unorganized):

Mix the PB and the sugar. Add the egg. Add the vanilla. Mix it up. Shape into 1 inch balls and place on dark (not an air-rise) and hard cookie sheet. Criss cross with fork if you desire (Gives it flair.) Bake at 325 for about 13 minutes. Cookies will look not done! Let them cool on the pan for five minutes. Scrape off with metal spatula. Cool and give to little sibling to taste test. Hope they are good because there's nothing you can do if they aren't. One batch makes twenty cookies.

How to tell they're done:
Tap the top of a hot cookie with your finger. If it springs back slowly, it is done. If it collapses, it's not.

Baking time greatly varies. You can bake them for even 17 minutes in some ovens before they are done. That's the one trick. I hope you like them!

Ave Maria!

South Carolina Food Tax

2006-10-05T13:48:00.000-07:00

As a lowly cashier I have a pretty good idea of how the food tax works. Little kids come in the store and buy candy, hand me fifty cents and expect that to be it. But I can't let them have it unless they give me the three cents for tax. Just last week I surprised a little girl by demanding six cents tax for her slim jim that she only had a dollar for. The kind man in the back of the line spotted her for the change- I've done that too much in the past and finally had to discipline myself by not carrying money on me.

My heart goes out to these youngins who are getting taxed on their treats, but even more so when it comes to tax on the essentials of food. I think it is a grave injustice to tax the poor on their food. Commonly people will come to the register with rolls of pennies to pay for their milk, or scrounging their purses for quarters for their cans of sausages. Then sometimes they have to run to their car to get more change. I do not look down on this at all (especially since half the time, that is how I pay for my gas, one buck at a time) but rather feel a tinge of guilt at having to tax them on top of it.

People who use the food stamp card (EBT SC) do not have to pay tax on their food out of their monthly (?) allotments. They are exempt from tax on their food. Why? I'm sure because the government sees circular funds ridiculous.

Tax Down 2%

That's right. South Carolina food tax is now 4% instead of 6%. At first I was elated. Then when I realized that the slim jims would be 1.04 instead of 1.06, I did'n't feel so perky. Instead of feeling relieved, my customers felt slighted and laughed at the "tax break". One of them even joked about having to buy a "whole mess a milk to see the benefit" of the cut.

Another reason not to tax food (and clothes). If you don't like what the government is doing, you can just not support them. There would be ways to get around not buying anything but food and clothes for a spell (believe me, I've had to do it). The way it is now, there is no way to withdraw your financial support from the government. I am no economist, but Massachusetts gets along fine without a food/clothes tax. Of course, they replace it with taxes on everything else (ever heard it called Taxachusetts?).

Is there anyone else who things food/clothes taxes are unjust?

Happy October!

2006-10-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

Today is the feast of our Guardian Angels. I read somewhere that St. Therese of the Child Jesus had a great devotion to her guardian angel, and that she would hear Mass in his honor. For those of us who can make it to Mass, this would be a great way to show love for our angels. Sometimes the temptations get tough and we wonder what our angel is doing, or if he's there at all. The number of temptations he blocks and devils he wrestles on our behalf are countless, and I doubt there is a number we could assign to them- we will only know in heaven and we will never be able to thank him enough.

Crazy Days

2006-09-26T17:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was nuts. That's the only way to explain it- I did weird things at odd times. I went to the closet and forgot what I was doing and looking for. I left a pot of macaroni and cheese on the stove uneaten, unputaway. And that is my favorite thing to eat in the world.

INSERT CARD

And it got worse. After work, I went to the gas station to fill up (okay, to put ten dollars in, as far as that would get me) and paid by debit card. The screen promted, "Insert Card." So I did, sliding the card into the slot. It promted again, "Insert Card." So I hit "ready". It insisted that I had not put my card in. Then I looked at where my card was. Above it read, "Please take receipt here."

My card was stuck. You could imagine my horror. I ran into the gas station, where my boss was buying beer and exploded about my debit card. She practically laughed. (She never even smiles, so practically laughing is equivalent to laughing and spraying coke out of your nose) The cashier man said no one had done that before and didn't know what to tell me. I asked him if he had plyers. He handed them to me.

I went out to my car, full of the "can do" spirit only to find that I couldn't. The pliers just rammed the card further into the receipt ejector. And the stupid screen kept pleading emphatically, "Insert Card!". I lost my patience and whacked the machine. The card came out rapidly and would have hit me in the eye. I continued to pump gas.

CARDING THE MAYOR

Today went something like that as well. I made the Mayor (!) give me an ID before I would take his check. I didn't know he was the Mayor. I told a man he had to where shirt and shoes before he could come in the store. He stormed out and came in with sandals (shoes??) and an opened shirt (Shirt??). Also in accompaniment was a nasty attitude. "I will never come back in this store again. You have no sign posted. I have been in this store before and no one has said anything to me. I have worked hard all day and if I want to come in without a shirt I **** well will."
To which I pointed to the sign.

I think I'll go to bed. G'night.

Got to do Better

2006-09-21T08:37:00.000-07:00

So I average a post every four days. That has got to change- hopefully with my day off today I can come up with a schedule which would include things like posting and doing laundry. I've been behind on everything, mostly because of something that hasn't happened to me since I was reading the Anne of Green Gables series in middle school. I have become ingrossed in a book to the detriment of my health. I don't sleep, I hardly eat, and when I do it is always with thoughts of "Gone with the Wind." It is not the scandalous work the movie is made out to be, besides the historical/political streams, but a super study of the southern way and a brilliant soul. Or two. Actually more like four.

At page 955 last night (around 11 pm) I was afraid I wasn't going to like the way the book turned out. How painful, to be dragged along with cranked neck and aching fingers (try perching a book between your thumb and index finger which is paperback and falling apart, not to mention four inches wide) for days on end, hardly taking a breathe, agonizing with the main character only to have her succome to her tragic flaw! And then the whole thing ends as cheerfully as Oedipus Rex! How awful is that! I refuse to watch the movie, and I am grieving over the un-American ending (that is, it ends happily ever after, or at least there is still the good possibility.)which totally ruined my day.

I think I'll have to write a sequel.

Holds on the RU 486

2006-09-17T17:10:00.000-07:00

South Carolina Republican Jim Demint says he'll put a hold on the nomination of Andrew von Eschenbach to the FDA director on account of his support of the RU 486 abortion pill. Despite the death of nine women and the injury of 950 more from this drug, Danco Laboratories refuses to halt sales while the drug is reviewed for safety meausures. And Andrew von Eschenbach is okay with this.

Jim Demint believes a qualified nominee would recognize the hazard of the pill and run it off the market. His secretary Wesley Denton told the New York Times, “We’ve reached a breaking point here, and the senator’s not going to budge until they wake up over at FDA.”

Should there be no vote on the nomination to the FDA director's office before the Senate recesses until next year, one of two things could happen. President Bush might resubmit the nomination for next year. Or he may have a recess appointment which could make Andrew von Eschenbach the man for only a year.

For more on the article which I found at Life News go here.

Pretty proud of my senator. One of the many sunny things about living in SC.

Get A Life!

2006-09-13T05:31:00.000-07:00

This phrase seems to be one of the most telling of our culture. What does it imply? I have been thinking about this the past couple of days, mostly because I have been reading about southern culture pre-civil war era and the demands on one socially and comparaing them to the comparatively non-existent "middle class social world" of today. Also I have been speaking to friends of Hungarian background, European lifestyles and hey, it seems that Americans on the whole have a different concept of "having a life."

There's this man. He's done everything. Brew beer, skydiving, engine dissecting, travel cross country, cooks & bakes the shirt off anyone, is a devout Catholic, paints, motorbikes, has been airlifted. . . . oh and is a professional scuba diver. And yet this person said to me, "You know why I do all this? Because I have no life."

Degree of Life Indicator (TD/G)
How can anyone with this many hobbies say that he has no life? It didn't make sense. One sort of grows up with the idea that if on Friday night one is sitting at home watching a movie, or playing charades, or (gasp) even solitaire one needs to get a life. To avoid this tragedy, one gets out of the house on any pretext.
A new theory:
[Time away from home (T)] x [dinners missed with the family(D) / gas money (G) = LI (degree of life indicator.)

Life within the family.
What's missing here? Perhaps it goes back to the family as every crisis seems to. Everyone needs a life within the family. Not just a repitious series of "family movie night", "game night", "dinner together night" but a thriving base where the members depend upon each other, and more importanlty know each other. The immediate and extended family should see more of each other than just at dinner or family reunions, because one's family (no matter how different you think you are from it) explains a large part of who you are and how you function.

Families ought to go visiting other families. Ought to drive up the street and call on neighbors. Run church functions. Soup kitchens. Trips to the beach. And bring friends. As a child I would love it when another family swallowed me up into one of their road trips.

Today the thing to do (or at least the thing done) is to go out and have a good time at the movies, mall, or just drive around town. But what's wrong with going to someone's home? Friend's family's home. Elderly lady's home. Neighbor's home. Grandparents home. There is lots of life to be resurrected inside the family.

Solemnity of Our Lady

2006-09-08T15:55:00.000-07:00

Happy Feast of the Birth of Our Lady! From two hymns to the New Eve:

Who is she ascends so high
next' the heavenly king?
Round about whom angels fly?
And their praises sing!

Of one who is so fair and bright,
Ave Maris Stella!
Brigther than the day as night,
parens et puella!
I cry to thee to turn to me!
Lady, shed thy light on me
Trans luce,
that I may come to thee
O Maria!

(Latin is probably terribly off.)

Of course the Blessed Mother is the most incredible woman ever. Honestly. How would women today have the courage to be feminine and strong and truly womanlike without her shining and becoming example? If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be trying.

Mary lived in a time where women were given much the same treatment as today. Perhaps not in her home, but the world at large. Much the same was expected of them, pagan attitudes towards fertility and fertility goddesses tore at the skirts of girls who were trying to make it. And she socked it in the gut. I know that is a little irreverent, but "with her fiat sin went away". She is the co-redemptrix, and God willing she will be proclaimed as such this year. As sort of a birthday present.

AVE MARIA!

A bit On President Bush

2006-09-07T16:46:00.000-07:00

There is an interesting article called "Is anybody fooled?" at Bethune Catholic today about President Bush and a review of his stance. I didn't vote for Bush and do not consider a friend to the "pro-life movement" or even Christian culture. I don't have time to go into the whys, but the article is interesting and I agree with it.

From the Conclusion:

This situation must be faced. Europe is not facing it. However, Mr. Bush seems
to believe that the war Iraq somehow addresses the issue of Islamic terrorism.
(He doesn't address the issue of Islamic domination of Europe). I might buy Mr.
Bush's argument if we were pursuing regime change in Syria and Iran. (Not that I
am advocating either at this time.) But not in Iraq.

For more, go here.

Ave Maria!

Sidebar Help

2006-09-05T07:40:00.000-07:00

Greetings to my readers. All my lovely little links (and the awe-inspiring "about me" link) have been burried at the bottom of the page. I don't know how it happened and I would like to return them to their rightful whereabouts. I'm sure something is amiss in the template section, but I can't tell what it is. Anybody know? I'd appreciate a pointer! Thanks.

Stella

Morning After Pill at your local Wal-Mart

2006-09-03T16:02:00.000-07:00

How nice. If the device you picked up at the gas station didn't work, or the birth control you've been all your life since you turned 16 didn't work failed you either and you are still being blessed with a child, have no fear. Abortion by pill at your local Wal-Mart. And since the average American lives within 30 minutes of a wal-mart, this will guarantee that we plunge well below replacement level and slide faster into Gomorrah.

The speed and agility with which this pill can be obtained will give you no time to "think it over" logically and perhaps seek guidance with friends and family. (Or hit a crisis center) You are already emotionally strained after the events of the previous night, so there is no need to go through all the rigamarole at a doctor's office, not at all. Just present your ID to a Wal-Mart pharmacy assistant and she will be happy to terminate your child for you. An ID, a few dollars, a drink of water and wa-la. Easier than falling off a log.

God help us. Hopefully the FDA will find something wrong with it so that it will not come to market. Or at least delay the process long enough so that we can pray it off the market.

Anyone for the rosary?

By the way: Abstinence is 100 % guaranteed, time tested and non-government approved.

Marijuana Roast

2006-09-03T15:17:00.000-07:00

Let me just start out by saying that drug trafficking is a major problem in my town, yes a "catastrophe" to families and young men especially. Almost everyday I overhear a conversation in the store about someone's "baby" in jail/fined for getting caught with the stuff. It is mostly well dressed ladies of color who are speaking about it amongst themselves, and their "baby" could mean either their husbands or their sons/daughters.

The upcoming elections for county sheriff promise a chance to change this, as the sheriff-elect has promised to take active steps in ridding the towns of this problem. It is not thought to be grown in these parts, but only distributed as this town is small and policed by one police officer and his loyal hound.

In the news there have been stories of finding a plantation of marijuana within an hour of where I live, containing $16 million dollars worth of the leaves. This is the third major pot discovery in the last few weeks. I had no idea that the problem was this torrential. Officials uprooted the plants and dropped them off at the pet shelter's incinerator.

For more on the article, see the Herald Online.

Big Sin, Little Sin . . .what makes a sin?*

2006-08-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

The milk delivery man is fast becoming my favorite person to talk to. He is Southern Baptist and we have bi-weekly talks about ethics or morals. This week's topic of conversation was sin. I didn't know that there people of his opinion around, who believe that there is no distinction in the gravity of sin or degree of guilt. " A sin is a sin is a sin," he repeated to me a number of times in that very charming southent black accent.

THE CONVERSATION

We got onto the subject by his asking me "How's life at the sanctuary?" He knows I go to church.

"Well, I haven't been there since Sunday" I admitted.

"What? You haven't been to confession?" (I wasn't aware that he was aware we had such a thing."

"Well, I went last week I guess." He made a shocked gesture.

"What did you do, kill somebody?" To which I explained that you only had to go to confession if you did something seriously wrong, like steal more than a days' wage, kill someone, or something like that. But you could always go to brush up.

"So if you steal something from a poor man it's okay but if you steal from the president it's wrong?"

And that's where we took off. I was of the converse belief, thinking that stealing a buck off Bush would be a lesser sin that stealing a buck of a street child. But he didn't think so, he thought that both were sins and because they were both sins, that they would be equally wrong. I affirmed him that they were indeed both wrong but not equally wrong. To which I got the, "A sin is a sin is a sin." refrain. But he was open to conversation, so we continued after a short interlude (I had an annoyingly long line to cashier.)

INTERLUDE

When I was rid of the customers, I told him, "The government thinks so."

"What do you mean?", he said around a cartload of chocolate milk.

"Well the governement thinks some things are more wrong than others. You get sixty days for stealing but you get life in prison for murder."

He made a face at me and retorted, "That's because the punishment has to fit the crime."

And we went on and around from there. Ever had a conversation like that? It is such an awesome experience to be able to converse on the things that matter most with someone and trust that they are putting in their two cents and not getting offended.

I hope he thinks about the matter a little more. And oh, if anyone can give me some biblical examples supporting the different degrees of sin, I think two people in south carolina would be very grateful.

Ave Maria!

*For those of you who read Dr. Seuss' ABC's on a weekly basis, my flirtation with plagarism in the post title will be immediately detected.

The Original Idea

2006-08-21T15:49:00.000-07:00

This is one of those cases where you can't see the picture clearly enough because you're in it. Here's the situation. I have been working at the general store down the street from my house for about three months. It is a minimum wage job and I get roughly 18-30 hours a week. It is unpredictable whether I will be making a two digit or three digit weekly pay check (income taxes are immoral!) because the store belongs to a chain, which receives directives on how many hours are available to the non-management employees.

I am a good worker and my bosses like me. So they say. I started with one day a week and earned my way up so that I have equal hours with the top non-management. Which isn't very much. It is a hard job because it is monotonous. Everyone's job will get monotonous, or at least there is that side of every occupation (even bungee jumping must get old) but this was so from day one. And I have to stand up all day. Those are the down sides.

On the upshoot, I get to be a possitive influence on 200 people a day. Same 200 people a day. I know a lot of their names. Small town. ("Did ya ever wanna go where everybody knows your na-a-ame") And I get to see how rough life is for the lower class who seem to have no way up. Or don't want it.

So now I am at a critical point. I have enough money and a car to get to the nearest city where I may secure a position in a secretarial bureau (where I could sit and use my brains) or receptionist, or remain at the job down the street. I would be making more money across town. Meeting different people. Some different skills would be learned.

That was the original plan, but I feel myself getting stuck in the job I'm in because my boss has been generous and fair with me and expects me to stay until January, when I start school.

So we'll think and pray.

Jeepers, Creepers I'm tired!

2006-08-20T16:21:00.000-07:00

Organ is broken and has been for weeks (at church) and I just tried talking an electrician parrishoner into taking a look at it.

We had company over today and boy am I wiped out. We went through great lengths to see that they had a good time and enjoyed ourselves immensely. We had 2 kinds of salad, trhee kinds of chicken, rice, stuffing, etc. And cookie pudff things for dessert. I am so tired that I am typing this with my head on the desk. Thanks to a typing course I took in seventh grade that I never did the homework for. Wonder how I learned it at all.

I am going to go but wanted to post on something. Since I have nothing to say, I guess I can't post afterall. This is the "I'm so tired I'm gona fall over" stage. Soon to be followed by the "everything is hysterically funny" stage, succeded by the "get out of my way I'm going to bed" fiasco.

Ever been that tired??? And supposedly I slept last night, though it doesn't feel like it.

Ave Maria.

Stella

Religion and Politics, now that I think about it.

2006-08-18T16:32:00.000-07:00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Work has taken up most of my time the past few days and it has been awhile since I have given the Wandering Moon any attention. My apologies to you faithful readers who have checked the W. Moon for signs of life!

I had some interesting conversations with customers at work. One man asked me if I knew mushrooms were fungi, and when I answered in a nod I asked him if he knew they put tree chips in shredded cheese (cellulose) and he said yes, he knew that too. Which prompted him to ask me if I KNEW A SECRET.

He had been saved. Not by Jesus, but by the Holy Spirit who enables you to speak in tongues. And if you don't speak in tongues you aren't saved because the bible says "the holy spirit made the faithful speak in tongues" (quothe the raven). But I pointed out that we receive the Holy Spirit in Baptism and the other Sacraments.

And do you know what? He used to be catholic. He sister is Catholic. He just prefers to stay at home on Sunday and speak in tongues to himself. He didn't seem happy, just happy to talk. I didn't try and respond or make any apologetics, because I could tell he didn't really want to hear them. I"ll all for discussing anything as long as the person wouldn't see it as an "I'm going to save you" intrusion. They have to be a little open. And this man was not open.

CONVERSATION TWO

Okay, I was a little irritable at this point in the day, having asked 198 people "how they were today" and receiving little to no response (or too much of a response from some people) there was a man. Tall. Old. Gray.
He made a remark about the politcian running for sherrif.

Me: "I don't know much about him but people say he's nice and honest, some of them grew up with him around here."

Mr. Customer: "I don't vote."

Me: "Oh. Why not?" (Should have left it at the Oh.)

Mr. Customer: "They are all lying rats."

Me:"I don't think they are all that bad."

Mr. Customer: (Aggitated) "Look at this (points to gray hair). I am this much older than you. I think I've been arround more than you."

Me: "I can see you are older than I. I don't have gray hair or wrinkles and I haven't lost faith in the world."

Mr.Customer: "I am older than you and I know because I've seen it."

Me: "They can't all be bad and I'll never think so no matter how old I get."

Yup. I was childish and he was being an old ogre. I usually don't respond or argue, but if there's one thing I can't stand is the I'm staying out of the whole **** thing cause all ya'll r'going to hell attitude.

Look UP! For crying out loud.

On Organization

2006-08-13T14:03:00.000-07:00

I was talking to one of my friends across the coast yesterday when the topic of organization came up. She was looking for a list of people going with her to Rome this fall and couldn't find it. I was impressed that she had made herself a list so she would know and remember (and undoubtedly so her parents would have a better idea of her companions across the sea!) this information and was struck by her statement, "Oh yeah, I'm very organized. I just can't find anything."

It is sort of like dedicating a couple of days to getting all of your finances ordered in a book, collecting phone numbers and addresses from various scraps of paper throughout the house and putting those alphabetically in a phone book, and taking the time to write out your work schedule for the next month. Then loosing the whole lot.

That is something I would do. Yesterday I went to Wal-Mart (although I don't love the joint) and picked out a planner for the upcoming year. My next big hobby is going to be organization. We'll see how well it works out. I am also saving every receipt and putting it in a jar or folder. And then when I wonder where all my money has gone (or maybe if I'm smart I'll wake up while it's just going) I can unscrew the lid and spread out all my tracks. This could be a lifechanging experience. We'll see how fast it wisens me up!

Something Pretty

2006-08-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

I need something pretty to look at and as it is night (and therefore dark), I have to resort to second class flowers. Maybe someone needs a little brightness too. So here you are.

I'll Be

2006-08-06T17:33:00.000-07:00

I heard this song on the radio at work yesterday and remembered that it was once my all time favorite song. It probably still is. In 1998 (I think) I told myself that "I'll Be" would be the song I'd dance to at my wedding, or win the Olympic Gold medal for figure skating. I don't skate, and I don't think I'll be getting married any time soon, so here is the song right now. I think it's beautiful.

EDWIN McCAIN LYRICS"
I'll Be"
The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful,
Stop me and steal my breath.
Emeralds from mountains thrust toward the sky
Never revealing their depth.
Tell me that we belong together,
Dress it up with the trappings of love.
I'll be captivated
,I'll hang from your lips,
Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above

[Chorus:]
I'll be your crying shoulder,
I'll ll be with the trappings of love
I'll be better when I'm older,
I'll be the greatest fan of your life.

Rain falls angry on the tin roof
As we lie awake in my bed.
You're my survival, you're my living proof.
My love is alive not dead.
Tell me that we belong together.
Dress it up with the trappings of love.
I'll be captivated,
I'll hang from your lips,
Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above

(Repeat Chorus)

I've been dropped out, burned up, fought my way back from the dead.Tuned in, turned on, remembered the things that you said

(Repeat Chorus)

Pretty, isn't it. . . .

On Robert Frost

2006-08-01T15:14:00.000-07:00

I have of course a book of Frost on my bookshelf lovingly made by my father eons ago, which was all done by hand tools despite our non-Amish background, and I picked it up today as I was feeling ill.

I just love books. . . there are three that I read religiously every year, and Frost is one of them. I still remember the day in '98 when I purchased my own copy of "Poems by Frost: A boy's Will and North of Boston". I inscribed my name in the front cover, at a time when I was styling myself with an odd nickname, which I picked up from another one of my book adventures. This mark of ownership is in bright orange marker, scribbled in an upslanting manner on the jacket. Interesting, but maybe only to me.

Anyhow, I think this poem is appropriate for the Wandering Moon.

Stars

How countlessly they congregate

O'er our tumultuois snow,

Which flows in shapes as tall as trees

When wintry winds do blow!--

As if with keenenss for our fate,

Our faltering few steps on

To White rest, and a place of rest

Invisible at dawn,---

And yet with neither love nor hate,

Those stars likesome snow-white

Mineva's snow-white marble eyes

Without the gift of sight.

On Brewing Beer

2006-07-31T07:56:00.000-07:00

I have just started my newest hobby. Aside from learning Spanish I am going to be starting the Stella Brewery. I just got a book out from the library on "How to Make your Own Beer", and "How to make your own Fuel". I am not really serious about the fuel, but if the beer doesn't turn out, I might be able to turn it into fuel. Think of all the gas money you'd save.

I will keep all ya'll posted on how it turns out. My dad is looking forward to it, let me tell you! I don't really like beer, but everyone should know how to make it.

A cover Poll

2006-07-27T17:17:00.000-07:00

Bethune Catholic has a book cover poll predicament here on his blog post today. Which cover do YOU think is better for the book Standing With Peter by Dr. William May? Answer the poll or just look at the results so far. Check it out here.

On Book Shops

2006-07-26T16:15:00.000-07:00

There should be more local bookshops. I just love the smell of old book exchanges, the rows and rows of endlessly unorganized books that you have to plunge out of old shelving. More often than not you can resurrect an unabridged old classic, hardcover, with that beautiful musty smell to it and bright gold trimmed pages.

I like it.

But I had none of it today. Today's book stop was Barnes & Noble. First thing that hit my eye was a display of credit card brochures. Sign up today and get 10% off your purchases for a year. $25 member fee. I skipped it.

So I walked on and hit a table of shiny sparklin' new books on the bargain shelf, all 20% off. However, 20% off a $40 book is not what I call a bargain. I'm a little cheap. Same problem happend in Belk, I found a whole shelf of skirts 50% off regular price, got all excited and then realized they were 60 dollar skirts. I don't pay $30 for half an outfit.

Back to the books.

They had the coziest section by languages and dramatic arts, and the carpeting and the lights and music all had that, "Sit down and read a book" feeling about them. Barnes & Noble has a very real charm about it, different of course than the bookshop charm (which is an old romantic kind, the comfort formed by long acquaintance) but still very feelable.

So what did I buy? A spanish/english book of short stories and poems. Spanish on one side, English translation on the other. I am a bit intense in the spanish these days. The last 3 things I bought all pertained to Espanol, as well as the last 5 books I checked out of the library. I have been driving my family nuts. But hey, that's the only way to learn.

On A New (old) Blog

2006-07-23T15:59:00.000-07:00

Just found this blog called Contate Deo with the subtitle: "Two Catholic liturgical musicians musing on the state of affairs in contemporary Catholic church music." Their most recent post considers the feelings of "ex-hippies" who feel that the "old church" is coming back and all of their efforts to loosen up the doctrine and stuffiness are reverting.

This caught my eye because I provided the music for today's liturgy and had a conversation after Mass about the type of music we played. Oh, and there is a beautiful banner behind the statue of Saint Joseph.

There was a big "to do" at the Church because Saint Joseph (who normally attends Mass from a shelf way in the back of the Church) has been moved to the front of the Church on the right side of the altar on a pedastal. The banner which was usually there was removed, and a lot of people missed it loudly. So now there is a beautiful brown embroidered tapestry-banner behind it which accents the statue very nicely. I just love to see everybody happy. . .

Saturday Happenings

2006-07-22T12:57:00.000-07:00

Well. Today I went to work for 4 whole hours. Most of the time I was checking people out and running to the back for more change, one dollar bills mostly. People kept wanting to change $20 bills with a $2 purchase. I guess that's what we get for not doing cash back.

I also designed the new "Back to School" donation box front. I like to draw so this was fun for me. Unfortunately there is VERY little working space as it is and we kept having to move my tools every time there was a customer.

Pretty dull day, if you ask me. Some days are like that.

Cartoon Lifting

2006-07-19T06:09:00.000-07:00

Just saw this cartoon while catching up at CVSTOS FIDEI. HT to him, and reciprocal HT to Roman Catholic Blog. I suppose the picture is everywhere by now, but oh well.

Two Posts of Note

2006-07-16T15:26:00.000-07:00

I would like to direct my readers to and comment upon two recent posts by Ken of Time Immortal and Perun of God, Family, Nation. I just finished reading these posts and have much to ponder the next few days.

Ken's article is "Once again, the lie of abortion shows through. . ." and can be found here. Topic of conversation is this article in the Globe about a woman facing a very important decision, whether or not to keep her baby, or as she puts it, just plain "continue".

This woman in question talks about her life in very positive tones, explaining that she and her husband have prosperity in owning their own beautiful home. They enjoy of excellent physical health and feel ten years younger than the 40 odd years they boast. The problem is that they have conceived an extra chromosone and will develop similar to a down syndrome child. They don't feel they can handle it. Though she just spent fifty words saying what a perfect life they had, with all this free time to do "Ironman events, marathons, play golf, travel and help support (her) parents." Not enough time to take care of one child.

Special needs takes a little more time. But lots of people are scared by the amoung of time these children will demand, and still keep the child. Look closely here and try and find a false note, anything smacking of selfishness:

A dreaded extra chromosome -- a triple X -- has robbed us of a healthy baby, the geneticist quietly tells us our child will be significantly lower functioning than other children. Definitely not the treasured only child, the little athlete, we had only so recently and so tentatively allowed ourselves to dream about.

Key words you should have noted are "robbed", "only child", "Little athlete", "dream about".

Robbed. As if we are entitled to an image of ourselves with an immortal soul . . . as if this were something God owed to us. The only thing we are entilted to since our original sin is death and suffering. We stole heaven. . .

Only child. Maybe if they hadn't used so much preventative measures in the first place, there wouldn't be a problem in conceiving a regular child. They thought there was enough room in their hearts for just one child. They were wrong.

Little athlete. Wow. Haven't heard that one before. Heard "little angel", or "little bob" (if that's the husband's name) or whatever. Maybe she hasn't seen Willy Wonka and that little blue elastic berry child.

Dream about. Materialistic excpectations from a child who isn't even here yet. My idea of "dreaming about" a coming child would be fixing up a nursery with "babies are for loving" plaques . . . that's what they're for, right? Or did I miss something. . . .

Ken points out what seems to him the "fundamental lie of abortion", hidden in the woman's statement that she and her husband " don't feel capable of raising a severely disabled child. It would be different if we didn't have a choice, but we do."

And now for the other article entitled "Switzerland- a folkish model state", wherein Perun gives a brief outline of the Swiss government and praises the small localized government upon which the state operates. I am by no menas an economist, so I probably shouldn't even be talking about it I suppose. But here goes.

Perun says that, "other Western societies (especially American society) . . . have basically destroyed any and all organic communities on the local level through several social programs, such as suburbanization." I will add that taking the husband out of the home and throwing him at work an hour away from the home had something to do with it as well. Then of course the women started leaving the home. .. and the school day got longer and pretty soon you have no one IN the suburbs except the lonely dog. That all changes at about 7 o'clock where the "family" gathers around the TV for quality time.

Ask yourself a question. Do you know your neighbor? How bout the one on the other side of you? How many people can you name on your street? If the guy across the street dropped dead in his living room, would you notice within a week?

If you live in a typical suburb, the answers are: Yes, Not really, about 3 and maybe not.

There are pockets of community. But they are hard to find. You almost have to pick up and move to places like Front Royal, Steubenville or Alabama to get in one. And then you have a thousand other problems to deal with, especially the command not to "hide under a bushel basket". Bloom where you're planted and all that.

Jeepers. Family meeting downstairs have to run.

Check out those posts.

No Shame

2006-07-15T08:49:00.000-07:00

As a cashier pinned to her station, I have the unhappy task of listening to the chatter of my customers about their personal lives- not just hip surgery and mole removal, but information about their private lives and affairs. I never comment on how cute their kids are anymore, because this has been known to spawn conversation about their doubtful parentage and lack of child support.

These matters are discussed in the same tone I use to count back change. And there is no shame. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. People think this is the way it is supposed to be. Years of sit coms and late night talk shows exploiting license and fast deals have made incredible headway in the destruction of the family. Hideous, isn't it? I knew things were bad, but I at least thought there was some shame left. Not here.

I wonder how a nation turns back to God if there is no shame, no sense of "this isn't as it ought to be" inside you. People are not blind to the fact that they are unhappy, they just don't see their sin as the cause of it. Instead of turning away, they plunge in deeper. More kids and no dads.

The hope must be in shining examples like Saints Maria Goretti and Tarcissius, and a knowledge of Our Lady (brilliant as the sun, terrible as an army set in battle array) Something heroic and grand the world can fall in love with. . . if only the world was a little more romantic.

On Catholic Youth Fellowship

2006-07-14T07:18:00.000-07:00

The title of this post is a little intimidating in itself, mostly because the vast majority of "Catholic Youth" organizations I have come across have been wild and happy "Jesus Loves You" and "Ski Trip Retreat" shows. That was a cause of grief during my highschool years because I couldn't attend any of these gatherings/classes either because I was afraid they'd lead me down the slippery slope or my parents were. As I matured, it was both. I was also of the belief that the youth leaders, by trying to bring God down to our level as opposed to lifting our hearts to Him, would surplant a healthy fear of God with presumption, a sin against hope.

So after a few semesters at a Catholic College (how I ended up there was a direct intervention of God!) living in a Catholic environment, in a permanent "youth group" I realized what I had been missing out on. There is nothing like the fire and zeal which burns in the heart of the Catholic Youth. It's quite contagious, you know. I could have used a little bit of that during highschool, even if it was just the knowledge that there were others out there trying to live the straight and narrow (and have a blast doing it).

After having read a post at Bethune Catholic, I am thinking about my own church. There is no organization or support group (you fill in the appropriate noun) at all. So I am going to start something. I don't know how or what and I am taking suggestions. But there is a hole where love and community should be. And that needs to change.

Agnus Dei

2006-07-10T16:51:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned before, my brother and I are in charge of the music for Mass between May and August, owing to the fact that the usual "musicians" are out on maternity leave. More precise, the pianist is out and her fried (the floutist) is staying out with her.

When I came to Saint James' parrish, there was a beautiful icon of Our Lady of Perpetual help on the left side of the church, touched with gold and beautiful stones in Our Queen's crown. A priceless work, the presence of which made me think I had come into a "safe" parrish. Until my eyes turned to the right side of the altar, where I expected to see a similar tribute to Saint Joseph. And what did my eyes behold but a big banner and a big fat fish.

Great.

That's exactly how our parrish is, split down the middle between "Gather us In" and "Adore te Devote". You know what side I'm shoving for, and united with my family and several other families, we have been able to turn the tide especially since our pastor is a very holy man, very aware of the presence of God. The regular musicians choose to play hymns out of the "gather" hymnal (ya'll know that one? it's blue) which are played magnificently, but I wouldn't call them liturgical. When I get the chance to play, I stick to the "Worship" hymnal (it's red) and play such things that I think liturgical.

I never play the "Lamb of God" because I don't like the music provided, in either of the books. But on Sunday, we tried something different. But not new. . .

Before Mass my mom (who rocks) copied the "Agnus Dei" out of a hymnal and made about 100 duplicates of the chant. Before Mass, I walked up the the front (petrifide out of my mind) and attempted to lead the congregation in the practice of the Agnus Dei. To my sheer amazement, they rallied and sang along. I did not think it would be received well (people are touchy about their music) but they all participated.

How awesome is that? We're making progres. . . . Jesus Christ Be Praised!

Thought to ponder

2006-07-09T19:46:00.000-07:00

Nothing is Free.

Think about it. Depends on how you use "Free" doesn't it? If that statement was true, the whole foundation of love would go out the window.

Hypochondria and Anxiety

2006-07-09T19:12:00.000-07:00

"Don't become a hypochondriac. Just live your life." Like Mrs. Bennet, some of us seem to preoccupied with the state of our health. "On the contrary, my dear. I have the most earnest affection for your nerves. . . "

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"(Redirected from Hypochondriac) Jump to: navigation, search
Hypochondria (or hypochondriasis, sometimes referred to as health anxiety or health phobia) is a somatoform disorder in which one has the unfounded belief that he or she is suffering from a serious illness.

Hypochondria is often characterized by irrational fears of being diseased/dying, obsessions over minor bodily symptoms or imperfections, doubt and disbelief in doctors' diagnosis, constant self-examination and self-diagnosis and preoccupation with one's body. Hypochondriacs often require constant reassurance, sometimes from multiple doctors, family and friends.

Hypochondria is often associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and anxiety, and can also be brought on by stress."

Just for your information.

Mid Summer Day's Dream

2006-07-05T07:51:00.000-07:00

So. Now we come to that point of summer where I have earned enough money to quit my job down the street and get a higher paying job across town. The reason I could not start with the job across town is that I don't have a car that could reliably get there, nor do I wish to get rides from the townies. Not that they aren't nice people or anything.

So, today I am calling around answering want adds for various nannying, office secretarial openings and pianists for the Baptist Church down the road. One of the eight, that is.

I'll post on how things turn out. This ridiculous lack of posting has been in part the result of not enough sleep, too much to do, and a lot of hanging out with family. My sister woke me up this morning by calling my name, and when I indicated life, said, "Oh. Nevermind. I found it." What a wakeup call.

Independance Day

2006-07-04T09:09:00.000-07:00

Pray for our Country!

GRRRRR!!!!

2006-06-30T14:08:00.000-07:00

This is a frustrating day. I am completely going out of my mind with frenzy.

I went to work. I had a blood sugar attack and had to go home.

Not only that but I had to be picked up because I couldn't drive. Or stand.

AND my uncle and dad had to both come because the car couldn't be left in the partkinglot.

Said uncle had just spent 18 hours in the car driving here.

Got my schedule for the weekend, and have to work July 4th evening.

And tomorrow.
And Wednesday. (and tuesday dont' forget)

When will I visit my family? I asked my boss for some time off. She considers Sunday time off. Not really because I spend a lot of time up at a Church on Sunday, which is not visiting with my family.

Grrr. And I can't get the other cashier to switch with me.

She won't even pick up the phone.

That's what I get. Hopefully some of it is good offer up material, well, whatever I haven't lost by complaining about it.
But better on line than downstairs verbally in front of people who are supposed to be on vacation.

Nuns & Guns

2006-06-29T11:04:00.000-07:00

my friend just sent me this.
Enjoy.

Busy Dreamer

2006-06-29T04:25:00.000-07:00

Things have been going along quite swimmingly. Mostly because I am on my way to dailyi Mass for the first time in weeks. (How sad is that!) I just finished cleaning up the room I stay in for the fourth of July part we are going to have on Sunday.

There are three jobs available that I might be looking into. One is the nannying of 5 mo. old triplets. That would be soooooo awesome. One is the piano playing at a baptist church. That might conflict with my own church going schedule, but would be nice too. The other is an office assistant for some doctor office or something.

Problem? My job at the present. I hate it, and only took it out of necessity. But my boss has been extremely nice to me with scheduling and letting my have time off (no questions asked) when my knee kicked out. And I am her favorite worker (she told me so) and I feel a little disloyal in going.

But, let's face facts. She can only offer me 17 hours a week and that is not going to feed me the rest of the summer. Or fix my car. Or pay tuition. So we'll pray and see.

Still wonder what Fidei Defensor is doing for summer. Maybe someone should volunteer to send him a camera so we can see him doing whatever he does best.

Toast to Huggies

2006-06-27T18:40:00.000-07:00

Huggies diapers initiated this episode in the life of Stella the Catholic Cashier Apologist. A man walks up to my register as my (non-catholic) boss is counting up my drawer. I ask him how old his baby is (He has a pack of huggies in his cart and I had to stall or he'd notice he was waiting. It's all about the mind tricks.) and he responds "Oh, my baby's seven months old." That's wonderful and he's a lucky fellow, says I . "Oh, but I have four more at home." And before my boss (who dislikes children in large quantities [over 1.2]) could say anything, I exclaimed how awesome that was and remarked how the more kids there are the more love there is.

And by that time I was ready to check him out, and my boss took the floor with the negative comment that always follows the "How old are you? 25? And you already have 5 kids?! That's way too much for me. I could never handle that many."

To which the gentleman makes comment about the type of birth control they are now using and the conversation flew away after that. And I was happy to hand him his change and get him out of the store. How can people talk about things like that to strange people they don't know?

Maybe he thinks he knows us as token Americans who have only one love (ourselves) and one thing after that (our country, or rather our country's prosperity which might be harmed by an influx of human life.) As such we would have sympathized with him because of his unfortunate additions to his family size. Which I'm sure are beautiful. He lit up when he spoke of his baby child, and you could tell he was really happy about him, even though he was at that moment losing $6 cover his cute little rear. But then even as he laughed about the birth control measures, his eyes had some sort of sadness. Regret maybe. Who knows. But love gives- and contraceptives don't.

Ramblings

2006-06-25T17:26:00.000-07:00

My head has this fuzzy sort of feel that should only accompany a dose of nyquill. I haven't had any medication at all, and can't understand why things are so murky in my mind. Maybe I'm dehydrated or something.

Anyway, just got back from an outing with one of my gal friends. She lives an hour away from me, but we both go to the same parish which is 45 minuts away from both of us. So we decided to meet after Mass to go to breakfast and see what we could rustle up for fun.

After 30 minutes of driving around (I drove) we found a high class bojangles and got some egg mcMuffins (under a different name of course). The lady at the checkout gave us a hard time because of our accents. I couldn't understand HER either because she had a mouth full of braces and elastics. Though I was too kind to mention it.

My customers always remark about my accent. I don't have a southern drawl, so they have a hard time understanding me, especially out here in the country! I talk the way your'e supposed to talk, except when I say "Boston". It always comes out a little odd.

When one has nothing to say, it is a time to remain silent, quoth the king. I second the opinion.

Good night and good wishes to all in the blogosphere.

Stella

Partial Birth Abortion Ban Appealed

2006-06-24T15:54:00.000-07:00

Life News has reported that the "most horrific medical procedure" in the world today hasn't quite had the death tremors, as its second appeal will be heard by the courts this fall. The turn of the millenium saw the overturn of a Nebraska ban on a 5-4 decision. Some people say the courts are stacked in our favor this time arround because of Justice Samuel Alito replacing Justice O'Connor. We'll pray and see.

For more on the article and an image of the procedure (which NOBODY knows or calls to mind when they hear "abortion" and "choice.") go here. The image is the best one I have seen, because it shows what it is without being grotesque.

That's not exactly what I mean because killing a human being like that is the most grotesque thing my mind can conjure up. But the image is more a diagram than a photograph. Take a look. Then grab your rosary.

By the way, there's about 50 Hail Mary's in a rosary. America has anywhere from 5.000 to 10.000 partial birth abortions annually. That's not including the other types of abortion. One rosary well said, and united to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, could save all these lives!

Thesis Topics

2006-06-24T12:51:00.000-07:00

Well, no, not really. But if you are bored and need material for a daydream, may I recommend the following tidbits that occupied part of my work morning. Today was my day off, so I helped out around the house and yard a little bit. I still have more to go.

Before the fall, I think it might have rained without clouds. Pretty thought, isn't it? It would be more like God watering the garden than sending a storm. . . of course on the other hand you might not have warning. Adam and Eve and the rest of us chilluns would be hanging on the beach and then this downpour would come. It didn't look like rain. . . so maybe not. But there would always be a rainbow with every rain burst. And how beautiful is that.

There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who drop everything to rush outside to see the announced rainbow before it disappears and those who stay inside because they have already seen one (or worse, have already seen pictures of one.)

I am one of the former. Unfortunately late for the downstairs meeting so I have to run. More on this nonsense later.

All love to the Sacred Heart of Jesus!

2006-06-22T15:41:00.000-07:00

Jesus, sweet Jesus,
my treasure Divine
O with what rapture
I call thee all mine

Brilliant, Celestial,
My glory! my Sun!
O how I love thee,
my beautiful One!

Fountaint of sweetness,
abyss of delight
Robed in thy splendor,
Immortal and bright

God of my heart,
O when shall I flee
Away from my prison
to love only Thee.

This poem was one that I memorized during college, as it was my favorite in my little blue- franciscan-made adoration prayer book. Where that prayer book is now, Heaven only knows, but I have it to thank for my devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

One of the other lines I remember from the book goes thus,

"When those I love have passed away, and I lay sore distressed,

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, I'll fly to thee for rest!"

-
It was an awesome book to bring to adoration, just the right size to fit in your pocket or purse. . . I used to wrap my chapel veil around it and keep it in the back of the church so I'd always have it when I popped into chapel for a visit. Looking back on my life I can see how the Sacred Heart of Jesus followed me and took special care of me. I know we all have our own natural devotions to this saint or the other, or have a special devotion to chaplets or novenas. But there exists not one single Saint who has not felt a burning love and devotion for Christ's Sacred Heart and His Immaculate Mother.

I went to Sacred Heart Elementary school for four years. . . and I hardly knew what the name meant. Then in high school we enthroned the home to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, complete with a procession around the house (which I and all of my 15 years thought was embarrassing) and had a ceremony with it which is really quite beautiful. Mom and Dad blessed the children who knelt in front of them, we proclaimed our love for our parents and Christ. And then we had what I dread most. A family forgiveness session.

A Family Forgiveness session is where you line up all along the perimeters of the living room. Eldest to youngest. And then the father gets up, goes to Mom (the youngest down, hehe) and asks her forgiveness for certain of his mistakes. Then the father goes to the eldest child, kneels beside him and in quiet tones asks forgiveness for what he has done. As soon as the father finishes with the eldest child, he goes on to ask forgiveness of the 2nd born child. While he does this, the mother asks forgiveness of the eldest child. Then the eldest child gets up and goes around in the same way. Follow this system out and everyone has gone to everyone asking forgiveness and getting a smooch on the cheek. What peace reigns for the entire day! And it usually lasts a while.

Whenever we feel like the devil has the family by the throat, we do an ole' F squared. Family Forgiveness.

More on the Sacred Heart. He was there at the Christendom College chapel, standing above the altar high enthroned in the stained glass, with the gold letters commanding, "SON, GIVE ME THY HEART" to the assembly of the faithful. I remember looking at that. And thinking, and wanting to give myself completely to Him. The next chapel I moved to had a huge mural of St.Margaret Aloqoque receiving the vision of the Sacred Heart, and o! was it beautiful... so large and magnificent with a quiet glow about it. The stations of the cross were in French as a tribute.

Give your Heart to the Sacred Heart of Jesus!

Wednesday

2006-06-21T19:17:00.000-07:00

The title here demonstrates the complete lack of original thought in my mind at the moment. I have had a full day of being nice to my customers, stocking shelves, and warding off invasive questions. When people see you as a friendly, open individual, they take that for a free invitation to ask all sorts of things. Where do you live? What street do you live on? How old are you? Why don't you go back to college? Are you married? What is your social security number? (Just kidding about the last one.)

I am going to read some more of the "Bounty Trilogy", say night prayer and hit the hay. And get ready for Mass in the morning. It has been so long since I have had the chance to get to daily Mass. Hail Sacrament Most Holy!

One of the problems

2006-06-21T05:17:00.000-07:00

One of the problems with having friends across the country is that there is never great time to talk to them on the phone. They get home at 6, and it is nine your time and if you live with a family with small children, they aren't going to want you jibbering into the phone while they try to sleep. Other complications include visiting. Airfare.

So yesterday I tried out this gmail chat thing (which is very cool) and I think it is almost as good as a phonecall. Of course a phonecall would be best especially if there is no background commotion and the connection is good. But lately there have been false firealarms, crying, music, cooking alarms, etc going off int he background (all signs of intelligent life) so it has been hard to talk on the phone. And with the gmail chat, you don't have to ask "what did you say" unless there are lots of typos. Which happens sometimes.
On the otherhand, it is impossible to tell the tone of voice in which something is said, which can add complications and the conversation would go like this:

answer: ????

Me: no, I didn't mean it that way.

So, there was no blogging yesterday because I was using up my internet time with that. Today I am GOING to post something worth reading, probably a response to Tito's post earlier this week. There was a certain article here that still has me upset.

Anyway, as this computer chair is not really mine until 5 pm and I will be at work until 9 pm, I hope to continue around 9:30. Now for a strawberry bannana shake.

A is for Apricot.

2006-06-18T09:34:00.000-07:00

Apricot bread, precisely. I don't know how many of my readers are bakers, but they all are eaters, so maybe someone will like using this recipe. It turns out really well and there is virtually nothing you can do to mess it up (except not bake it long enough) because I have accidentally left out almost all of the ingredients at some point, and purposely substituted one for another. (To make it easy substute self-rising flour for the flour and baking soda.)

So.

Apricot Bread

4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 cans (16 oz) apricots (drained)
4 beaten eggs
1/2 cup corn oil, veg oil or canola oil.
4 teaspoons vanillia extract.

Preheat oven, 350 degrees. Mix flour, sugar, baking soda and cinnamon. Find a way to smash the apricots. Use a blender if you will, employ an eager sibling and a ziplock bag, use a potato masher, but smash them nonetheless. Whip together the eggs, oil and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients, mixing just until it is blended. Don't over-do it. Spray 2 pans (I used 5x9) , pour batter in, dust with flour. Bake for 55 minutes (that's the important part) and you have apricot bread. Two loaves, to be precise.
Just half the recipe for one. I've never tried baking half a loaf. So I wouldn't recommend fourthing everything. Enjoy!

---Nothing----

2006-06-16T13:39:00.000-07:00

Greetings to all of you in the blogosphere. ---insert astounding announcement here---- Regardless, I have spent my day doing absolutely nothing. To some of you this might sound enticing, but let me assure you kind readers that it stinks. I was at the beach yesterday (and this is NOT doing nothing) trying my skill as an acrobatic skid boarder, lost my cool and flipped over. Landing on my knee. And today I am sitting with it propped up and alternately icing and burning it with cool compresses and hot water bottles. One sibling passed me the hot water bottle without the cap on and soaked me from the waist down. But that is the only eventful thing that happened today.

That brings me to the topic of nothing. Theologically evil is the absence of good and isn't anything but lack of. Sin is the absence of God. Debt is the absence of money. Despair the absence of hope. So why does America try selling the idea of doing nothing as paradise?

A bunch of country songs glorify the "nothing to do, nowhere to go" attitude as well as the "spend the rest of my days doing nothing" motif. Five o'clock Friday hits (as it is about to) and thousands of people are "free to do nothing" as they please. Afraid of over-cramming their schedules, some folks commit to nothing and get the resulting nothing for accomplishments, still glad they didn't plan anything. As if paradise were a vacuum of nihil!

I am not trying to live a virtuous life so that I may do nothing in Heaven, nor am I working hard all week to do nothing on the the weekends. Some would say that I am not living a virtuos life nor working hard all week. Don't rightly know what I'd say to that. . .

I am fed up with doing nothing. There is nothing more unfullilling. Believe me, I know. I spent 3 months on the couch with mono where I was too tired to read, watch TV or talk. I don't even remember what I did except for be bored out of my mind.

Beach trips, games and contests are all awesome recreations. Anything which gives activity to the mind (if you labor all week) or body (if you use your brain all week) or both (if you are omni-dextrous) is a good substitute for doing nothing. How many summer days I have wasted trying to think of something to do!

On that note, enjoy your weekend.

More on My Boss

2006-06-14T16:32:00.000-07:00

Because I had the most enlightening conversation with her today. The clouds rained all morning so there was no one in the store - the truck hadn't arrived yet so there was no freight to put up, and the shelves were all stocked. The only noise was Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody in the backround. A delighful contemplation stimulator.

The talk started with her describing her child labor and how even though she was on bedrest for 3 months and was a single mom and had to have a C-section, being pregnant was the best time in her life. The best thing that had ever happened to her. I told her that was awesome and I couldn't wait to have that experience. (hopefully without the complications)

Did she at first contemplate an abortion? She brought it up, "I don't believe in abortion." I said something to the effect of an emphatic "Good for you, that takes guts" because I could tell she was starting to be on a roll. "Even though I was a single mom I didn't think of having an abortion, but I did think about adoption. That lasted a week. Then I knew I wanted Rose and nothing could stop me from having her."

I told her my views on abortion, saying I was pro-life and that abortion is murder, no matter how you look at it. A baby is a baby, and I was ecstatic to hear her agree.

But then the exception came and my heart fell through the floor. "I don't believe in abortion for me. I am pro-choice. Abortion is wrong in most cases except like incest. There's no reason why a 12 year old girl should suffer with an unwanted pregnancy because her father molested her."

I told her that I was not being unsympathetic and wasn't speaking on the outside looking in because one of my girl friends was molested by her father. I have an idea of what it does to a family. And why should an unborn child be deprived of life because it was conceived in crime? She has never seen a 12 year old girl go in for an abortion. I have. It is hell.

Nothing compares to the guilt and physical/emotional trauma of having an abortion, especially in that of a young girl. Physically speaking she may never be able to bear children again because of her insides being ripped out. But that's a different matter and all that didn't come into my mind during the conversation with my boss.

"Abortion is wrong no matter why it is being done. A baby can't be a baby sometimes and sometimes not. It either is or it isn't. " And then she discovered something to do on isle 5.

I thank God that we are able to remain friendly, even better friends, at the end of the conversation and hope to God that He will send His Holy Spirit into the hearts of the women of America.

"Why I am Catholic"

2006-06-12T16:20:00.000-07:00

On the high recommendation from Ken I read Chesterton's "Why I am Catholic" available through The American Chesterton Society. It has been too long since I have had a good dose of G.K, so I was long due.

I thought a little about why I am Catholic. The answer is along the lines that it is the only thing that makes sense. Whole sense, even when you apply Catholicism to the aspects of life.

"It sounds quite pious to say, "Our moral conflict should end with a victory of the spiritual over the material." Follow it out, and you may end in the madness of the Manicheans, saying that a suicide is good because it is a sacrifice, that a sexual perversion is good because it produces no life, that the devil made the sun and moon because they are material. Then you may begin to guess why Catholicism insists that there are evil spirits as well as good; and that materials also may be sacred, as in the Incarnation or the Mass, in the sacrament of marriage or the resurrection of the body. "

I spent most of my "blog" time today reading and thinking about the article. Hopefully I can post more on it tomorrow, but here is another gem for the leave-taking:

"And all other sects and schools are inadequate for the purpose. This is not because each of them may not contain a truth, but precisely because each of them does contain a truth; and is content to contain a truth. None of the others really pretends to contain the truth. None of the others, that is, really pretends to be looking out in all directions at once."

Signing off from sunny SC.

My Boss is Catholic

2006-06-11T13:51:00.000-07:00

This startling tidbit came my way after my boss asked me what Church I go to. Since I am living in the Bible Belt with 7 Baptist Churches (God bless the Baptists!) on my STREET, I braced myself and said, "Saint Catherine's Catholic Church." She looked shocked as I expected, smiled, and finished her cigarette. I took that for an answer and went back to work.

Later she pulled me aside and said, "I didn't know you were Catholic. I thought you wore skirts for your religion. I'm Catholic too." That was weird. "That's awesome! Where do you go to Church?" And then the reply, "Oh, I am registered at Saint ---- but I don't go on Sundays anymore." Stinker. I'm going to have to work on her.

She told me not to tell anyone I was Catholic because my other managers would give me, um, a problem. I told her I wouldn't go blaring it but wasn't going to hide it if they asked me.

They asked me. One of them looked at me like I was a statue worshipping cannibal. I smiled and kept right on talking about how much I love my Church. She listened. She still speaks to me. There is a lot of hostility towards Catholics down here, mostly because they don't understand us. If they did, they'd be Catholics, because they love Jesus so much. I'm not just saying that, there are some very devout protestants that have a greater connection than many of us Catholics. I just wish they had the whole truth.

Praise to the Holy Trinity!

2006-06-11T13:19:00.000-07:00

I just returned from Sunday Mass, where I served as organist/cantor with my brother. Since today is the feast of the Holy Trinity (Blessed be God forever) I chose to play "All Hail Adored Trinity" and "Holy God we Praise Thy Name". I am honored to be able to play for Mass, and next week hope to have a fellow parishoner help out as well.

The problem was that I couldn't sing OR see over the organ, therefore couldn't tell when Father had reached the altar. After Holy Mass, the congregation did not want to stay around for the last verse of "Holy God", which by the way takes less than 45 seconds to sing. But it all went well on the whole, except for the responsorial psalm which was a royal mistake. I think I'll just have the lector read it next sunday. Since I dislike the provided sheet music for the psalms, I usually bring my breviary and use one of the chants (the simple two liners) and play that. Unfortunately the congregation is used to the other method of song (such as "Shall we gather at the River) and could not sing along. One of them went so far as to grimace at me. . . funny how I could see that. Guess I have to work on looking for the positive.

On the upbeat we're having "family fun day" today, complete with volleyball, popsicles, sprinklers and fireworks in the evening. I hope I never outgrow love for simple pleasures. Reality and simple joys are the best anti-venoms for materialism and lukewarmness. Screwtape thought as much, as Lewis fans will remember.

I am compiling a Summer Reading list and suggestions are being taken!

Enjoy the Feast of the Blessed Trinity!

The Most Amazing Birthday

2006-06-09T16:22:00.000-07:00

Since I had a post about anticipating my birthday, I should probably follow up with an after effects post. I loved my birthday, it was so much fun. I got the day off from work and we all had a party with the decorations that I hung up for my brother's birthday (which was the day before) and had a general good time, even though I did NOT win musical chairs OR Toss Across OR anything else.

But, I got the most amazing gifts! Three bottles of wine (you can guess how old I am now!)- exotic fruits, caribbean, and Blue Nun. Wooden spoons, the music to the Scarlet Pimpernel and (DO MY SENSES DECEIVE ME) the flight of the bumblebee AND TO TOP IT ALL OFF a wine glass just for me.

That's the very brief update. Now I have to occupy my friday night with something.

Secret Abortions for Minors

2006-06-04T13:33:00.000-07:00

Life News has an article about Planned Parenthood's latest request, namely to have the law that requires parental consent before providing minors with an abortion procedure eradicated. Right now in Florida there is movement by the Planned Parenthood organization to have the law suspended even during the deliberations. The request was denied.

The state has the right to demand parental notification and consent of the parents of minors before they undergo dramatic surgery or prescriptions. Without parental consent a minor can not get their ears pierced or have their tonsels removed. (For my eighteenth birthday I went out with a friend and got my ears pierced!) An abortion is more dangerous than some tattoed oddball sticking a needle through my ear.

A lot of teens don't want to tell their parents about their boyfriends and don't want them involved in their lives. That is not an excuse for getting rid of a law that would protect them. Without this parental consent barrier, the youth are left vulnerable to the whim of the abortionists whose task it is to push the abortion. I've been to a few planned parenthood facilities. They don't want you to listen to alternatives.

Why would Planned Parenthood oppose a law to let parents in on the deal? It might hurt their sales. These are children we are talking about, 13,14 and 17 years old. They all want love, real love- could they perhaps find it in their families by imploring for help in the case of an unwanted pregnancy? Forgiveness brings families closer, even as the rest of the world falls apart.

"More than 120 teenagers have appeared before judges in the last six months with a request to have an abortion without telling their parents. In most of the cases, the secret abortion is approved." What authority have they in the decision of parental rights? The parents have made the mistake of not being involved enough in their daughter's life, or failing to reach her in time (or whatever), but that does not forfeit their right to PROTECT THEIR DAUGHTER. Maybe in some families this would be a saving grace, a chance to recover from the lack of love and support so evident from the child's circumstance.

For more on this article, go here.

Hundred Acre Wood

2006-06-03T06:12:00.000-07:00

I have just stumbled back from a vigorous sprint around the "hundred acre woods" with my four dogs. Only one of them was on a leash (thank God! or I would have been a tangled mess!) but I still managed to be dragged ten feet on my belly through sand, poison ivy and a fire ant hill. I am unscathed, in dire need of breakfast, and energized for whatever the day may bring.

OH! I just got my paycheck yesterday and need about 17 more to fix up my car. That is meant to be an optimistic statement.

Life News had an article today about the state of affairs in Lousiana. Louisiana Governor Blanco says she will sign into law an abortion ban that will take effect if the Supreme Court reverses the Roe-vs-Wade decision. She initially wanted abortion still legalized for rape and incest but that was denied, and happily will still settle for the "life of the mother." Because of the prinicple of the double effect, there are cases in which an operation which results in an abortion to save the life of the mother is moral. I am thinkig of removal of cancerous organs and the like. One life is as valued as another.

I doubt whether Governor Blanco has a real understanding of the horror of abortion and the sanctity of life if she would like abortion available for rape and incest cases. These "unwanted babies" are no different from the "unwanted babies" of "accidental" pregnancies.

However we read this heartening statement: "The Louisiana pro-life community is grateful that Governor Blanco, as a woman, understands how legalized abortion facilitates the sexual exploitation of women and sanctions the destruction of Louisiana's most precious resource, it's children," Bordlee said.

For more on this article, go here

The Bake Off

2006-06-02T06:08:00.000-07:00

My mom has about 30 cookbooks. Through the past 10 years of my cooking/baking spree I have found the best recipes in all of these books. Some of the pages to the Betty Crocker book are so worn they are transparent! The crazy thing is that half the time I can't remember which recipe is where and baking tastes forever! I don't mind spending time baking or cooking, it's just the "searching for items" part that I dread. One time we were having a bake off at Christendom College (a private war, actually) and I had to call home and dictate directions on where to locate the ultimate Apple Pie recipe. Mom and Dad both rumaged through the books and files trying to find it for me.

So. The solution to this problem is to make my own cookbook. I'm going to spend a week this summer collecting all of my favorite recipes from every place around and compiling it into a neat little book. Then I'm going to memorize the important ones them incase I misplace the book. It is going to be loads of fun.

I'm also going to transpose them into family size servings. Some of the recipes for cookies or muffins only make a dozen and I have to multiply the recipe by four and that takes time too. (Especially if you have a 4 year old helper who loves to count random digits!)

So. That's what I'll be doing.

For Inspiration

2006-05-31T18:29:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for a quote for the day or just some quite inspiration, you may wish to go here to 8 O'Clock Chaplet. There are some quotations from Augustine, Ignatius, Mother Theresa, and my personal favorite St. Francis of Assisi. Anything you find there will be far more edifying than anything I could jostle up.

What I Want for My Birthday

2006-05-30T16:12:00.001-07:00

Yes, this is a selfish title for a post. But there's no use pretending that I'm not excited. And since none of my readers can buy me presents anyway there is no harm in sharing what I want with the world.

Okay. I would be pleased to receive a wine glass. One, beautifully shaped wine glass. For those of you in my immediate family who are interested in this, go here

I would be elated to receive a pearl necklace. Imitation of course. If I received real pearls I think I might die and that would be a lousy birthday present (judgement!). Although I hope I am ready to go whenever I am called. Here is one.

I would be on cloud nine to receive a visit from my best friend and room mate.

I would be thrilled to get the piano music to the Scarlet Pimpernel. Search "http://www.pianoatpepper.com/catalog/pap_index.jsp">here at pianoatpepper.com.

I would be over and above any natural state of happiness and bliss to receive music to the "flight of the bumblebee". It is out of print.

I also want wooden spoons and rubber spatulas for the kitchen. My brothers keep taking them and I love to bake with them.

Oh. And fireworks. And flowers. And a couple T-shirts. I have not a one. And they're SO convenient. That's it. What do you think?

Energy Alternatives

2006-05-30T15:57:00.000-07:00

I haven't heard much about solar/electric power alternatives since the big boom in 1994-5. But now the gas and oil prices are giving researchers incentive to push forward with their projects, along with some monetary help from sponsers who are interested in saving the earth, natural supply, and their pocket books.

Some people will put over two thousand miles on their vehicles as road trip season begings this year. At 2.69 a gallon, I am thinking about starting my own energy alternative labs in the garage. There is an article on some student's progress here at ABC news.

Also, a find-it-anywhere gas price checker. It is called GasBuddy.com and it is pretty sweet. Just type in your zipcode and find the cheapest gas prices in your city. I don't know how accurate it is yet.

So far I have 3 listings on my summer reading chart. That leaves 17 more to go.

The movie

2006-05-30T04:38:00.000-07:00

Some friends of mine are into movies. They always have been, but now they're in them for keeps (at least they hope!) and their company is Mirandum. Here is the trailer to their new movie- check it out. I wish I could hear it, but the soundcard on my computer is blown. (If that Link doesn't work, just go to churusmovie.blogspot and follow the April 28 post link. Enjoy!

Christendom/Front Royal

2006-05-29T07:42:00.000-07:00

Just saw this at Hallowed Ground, a post on Catholics overtaking Front Royal. The little town of Front Royal, Virginia is home Christendom College and Seton Homeschool and Human Life International (HLI) and hundreds of Catholic homeschooling families. The post contained this marked text, "Twenty-two years later, St. John's (the booming church) has a new building and about 800 families. (they started at 200) Some of the growth has come from Northern Virginia Catholics seeking more rural surroundings. Some has come from Christendom graduates who remain in the area and multiply, Ruehl said.'Christendom graduates stay and have babies every nine months,' Ruehl joked."

That's just weird since it's now my friends who are staying and having babies every year or so. And that's just cool. . . Front Royal is a destination point for Catholic families who want their kids homeschooled but to grow up in a community. (Down in the bible belt it is hard to find like-minded families who are also Catholic. Or Catholic families who are like-minded, which is the ideal. I've seen in my one family how my parents have benefitted from having fellowship with other Catholic couples through the years- especially as they made the transformation to a homeschooling lifestyle. Now we don't live in Front Royal but we have had the chance to meet a good number of Catholic families.

As I understand it, the primary relationship in a marriage the husband/wife and God. Then husbad and wife. Then the kids. The kids are not supposed to be the focal point of the marriage. I'm not one for remembering where I heard the statistics, but look around. The high risk "ages" for divorce among couples with children are the 2 year mark, the 5 year mark and the 20 year mark. What happens at 20? The kids are gone and couples who spend all their energy and devotion making it right for the kids are suddenly without occupation, see themselves not as needed by the children and perhaps think they are unneeded by their spouse.

Anyway I don't know how I got on that. Here's to Christendom!

There's a cookout downstairs

2006-05-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

So why am I in the computer room? The answer is simple. I can't get to the food. We just said grace and there is a swarm of children and a pack of hungry adults crowded into the room where the table is. I am just waiting it out a little. If I time it right, I can get there right after the first attack and before seconds. I think I'll leave right not. Here's to food!

Schwarzenegger Report

2006-05-27T06:12:00.000-07:00

And from across the continent we hear from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger here, who plans to veto legislation that would require California textbooks to have sections about the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to the history and culture of this great nation. So kids aren't already confused enough with all the stuff going on in San Francisco and the legitamacy of same-sex marriages, the pro-gay movies (Brokeback Mountain for one). The Senate apparently doesn't think so, because they passed this same bill that is now only awaiting the whim of the Assembly. Being gay is not normal. Although I don't know how you are going to teach that to an adopted child whose mother and mother have raised him. Schwarzenegger refused to legitimize same sex marriages.

Schwarzenegger spokesman Adam Mendelsohn told the Sacramento Bee, "The governor believes that school curriculum should include all important historical figures, regardless of orientation. However, he does not support the legislature micromanaging curriculum.”

Wandering Moon Back on Track*

2006-05-25T17:23:00.000-07:00

Yes! My little corner of the world has stopped spinning into oblivion and has resumed a nice predictable wobble. (Weebles wobble but they don't fall down!)

I have a job, have straightened out my college affairs, summer is here, and things are looking up. I purchased a journal to keep my thoughts and reflections in, and hope that I will be able to separate journal matter and posting material with prudence. How to keep my little brothers and their detective agency from detecting anything too interesting in either place is a predicament that my superior intellect with deal with in time.

My job is tedious (but it gives me so many funny stories!) and my college is going to have to wait until next spring. A degree is something I am determined to get. Not just because it will get me a good job (actually, more companies are beginning to look beyond the degree since it is so common and more students go to college who aren't ready for it or don't belong there in the first place) but because I want to be well rounded, sharpen my intellect which may not be so superior as I have been known to boast, and study my heart out. Having an imposed break from studies is a tremendous incentive to work! (An imposed bad job also works!)

And another thing to make the world bright- I'm having a birthday! I love birthdays. Although looking forward to mine has always better than actually having it. WHAT are you supposed to do when people sing to you? I have had over 20 years to find out. . . .

Last year my favorite present was a pack of fireworks. That is my third favorite thing in the world, the first being rainbows, the second being butterflies, the third being, well, fireworks. See a trend? Anyway, I have to run because tomorrow is coming faster with tons of things to do between then and now. One of them is finish the Count of Monte Cristo. ( I know I've read it already, but it's just so good!)

Oh! I want to create a summer reading list of about 20 books. Any suggestions?

*A pun was painstakingly avoided here. Please appreciate the effort.

Wandering Moon Closed

2006-05-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

As of now, the Wandering Moon is Closed. It has been delightful blogging with you. The door will remain shut for an indefinite amount of time, the reason being that I have something pressing to take care of that will absorb me completely. I wish that this pressing matter were something of a romantic nature (romantic in the old sense of the word). I am not joining the foreign legion or running away with the circus. When I contemplate my chances of a successful outcome, I am indeed tempted to follow the circus wherever it will lead. Because the circus will always lead somewhere and the methods of getting there are legendarily packed with thrill and plenty of companions. All things considered the life of the circus man is a lonely one- clowns are such downcast characters. To all of my readers who claim clowning as their professional career, please do not take offence; I have hugged many a clown in my youth. No matter what your place in society, may you find worthy work and a bring a smile to those you entertain. Even though it is so much fun digressing, I must nudge my thoughts back to my original topic of post. Perhaps (and oh! merry the thought) I may return the Wandering Moon to orbit when my duties have been fulfilled and the last lace put on the trim. That should be about two months. I wonder if blogger will have writ me off from the book of life by then. Signing off from sunny SC,
Stella

Just a note to say

2006-05-03T12:40:00.000-07:00

I am alive. My mind is such a fog with the pollen and deadlines and stray ideas running around that I haven't been able to focus on too much of a whole lot of anything. South Carolina during pine pollen season is yellow. Everything is a yellow tinge, looking like Tinkerbell just sprinkled pixie dust over it all. The only problem is that nothing is flying away- I wish it would!

I have been reading blogs, though, and attending to the news, and dreaming up ways to make a million. If my head was a little more clear I could probably be half way there by now.

Well wishes to all, and happy are they who are north of the border.
I still love SC and wouldn't live anywhere else.
Of course we all know that as soon as I get a job offer in another state that will be the end of my fancies.

Just another day

2006-05-01T17:51:00.000-07:00

Things have gone relatively well today- did some gardening and whatnot. One of my friends was talking about a religious order called the "sisters of life" and I was wondering if anyone has heard of them before. It seems that they are an order based in New York, but that there are some sister by the same name in Kentucky as well that have no relation to them. Besides the Mystical Body of Christ.

Something cute: My brother (age 6) walks up to me today in his cowboy vest, tie, boots, and boy's grin. I respond to his cue and say, "Wow. You look really handsome today."

"Yeah. I thought this house could use a little handsome. So I just put my handsome clothes on. These are my handsome clothes."

Preoccupation with the handsome. I've fallen under that a few times myself!

I have to run, not much time for blogging today- it seems that I am being hit with an onslaught of things to do. Time to plan a vacation.

Fastweb.com

2006-04-30T16:11:00.000-07:00

There is this place, for all of you who are among us blessed college students, called fastweb.com. It is a haven for college students to find, sort, and mark all kinds of scholarships that can be won and used towards school.

For those of us who can write, there are casual essays.

For those of us who have brains, there are intellectual research essays.

For those of us with a deep concern for mother earth, there are green scholarship essays.

For those of us searching for the goddes within, I'm sure there are women's rights awards.

Something for everyone. Some of them go for $10,000 and some are just 350. Although from where I am, $350 is a whole ton of dough. Maybe some of you feel the same. $350 could cover books for a semester if you did it right and hit up your friends to lend you the ones that were really rough. Or rent. Or car repair. Or a new wardrobe. No! Think school! I have to go fill out more essays. I should get one of them!

Saturday night, and I ain't got nobody

2006-04-29T17:39:00.000-07:00

I have been away from the computer and news for a few days- I suppose the nation is still standing or I would have heard about it by now. It's funny (but not comforting) that the world goes on without you. Anne of Green Gables said something like that, "Mrs. Lynde would say that the sun would go on rising and setting whether you pass in geography or not. But I think I would rather it didn't."

The same thing is true in the spiritual life. Your'e always going somewhere even if you feel like you are getting nowhere. If you fight you progress, but if you sit around even for a second you find yourself being drawn out with the tide. When we are busiest we should try our hardest on the path to sanctity. "The devil is prowling like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, solid in your faith!"

Anyway, I have to continue on with my busy day. While I breathe I hope! (Dum spero, spiro is the motto of South Carolina.)

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in you!

Music in the Liturgy

2006-04-28T14:02:00.000-07:00

We all know the feeling. Get all dolled up to go to Mass in our Sunday Best, kneel before the Holy Presence of Our Lord, sit down and look up at the cue board. And then it begins. NO! NOT THAT SONG! I AM GOING TO DIE! Your shaking hands tremble for the blue Gather hymnal, turn to the indicated numbers, and there it is. The same song. Gather us in. Gather us in. You fight the urge to get up and run down the center aisle and destroy every stringed instrument and pom pom in the place. You settle for not singing. In fact, you won't even hold the book in your hands. Something has got to be done.

A couple of times I have had to take the book from my brother's hand so he would not say or see the words, "Pray for the women who have been defiled by men." I forget what song those ginger peachy words are from, but its in the blue gather book. He doesn't even know what it means. Honestly, who wants to give up their Sunday morning to "Sing Hey to the Carpenter" as we "Gather us In" to see someone "Dance in the morning?" with "Forgiveness eyes"?" Lame and disgusting.

I just saw this over at Bethune Catholic. I laughed and laughed. Not the "man that's funny laugh", the laugh of frustration and "Gee I've wanted to say that for a long time" laugh.

America and the Collisium

2006-04-26T19:58:00.000-07:00

I just watched a TV program called Fear Factor. More accurately, I caught ten or fifteen minutes of it. For those of you like myself who have never heard of it, allow me to give you a synopsis of what I gathered in my eleven minutes of infiltration. You and your friend get a chance to win $70,000 dollars in a series of crazy stunts. Bug eating, sky diving, what ever. Tonight it was crash car testing. Almost.

You and your partner each get into a racecar, step on the gas, go flying down the ramp, bash off the sidebar triggering the explosives, flip upside down for an extra few points, and spin out to a successful close. It did not look safe.

It probably was overdramatzied, but the car DID flip over and DID go very fast and the people inside got thrown about quite alot.

The reality shows like this that push limits of tolerance and thrill show that American viewers need an ever increasing stimulus to keep in the "rush". One of the winners was asked how it felt and responded with those very words, "Wow. Constant rush. Immediate rush. Wow." Spoken like a gentleman. I remember being horrified in ancient history class reading about the Romans in the collisium having re-enactments of battles where the losing team was composed of prisoners and slaves who actually died during the production. In the way of entertainment, they held contests betwen warriors and various savage beasts. Sometimes they would not expect a fight but just a gore scene when they placed Christians in the arena. Wasn't that just before they collapsed?

Did anyone read Warren Carrol's account of the French Revolution? (The Cross and the Guillotene) It specifically describing Madame Guillotene and her lady attendants who would gather about her all afternoon and exchange gosspip while heads dropped. . . without dropping a stitch in their knitting. When a nation needs that kind of entertainment it does not have long to live.