I want to revisit the birding issue. Looking back at my post, it was too harsh. Someone once told me, “Don’t question another person’s hobbies.” It’s good advice. Birding is no more inane than any other hobby. Heck, it’s arguably no more inane than blogging. Because I think blogging is a type of literary pursuit, [...]
No quote this morning. Rather, a question:
How can a person follow the saints and accept each moment–each situation, each job–peacefully, without becoming a rag doll of circumstances?
I got a head start on Purgatory yesterday. For a variety of reasons, I had to go birding with my father-in-law, son Jack (12), a nephew, and two nieces.
It was brutal. I had to get up at 5:00 to pick up everybody at 5:30. We then drove 30 minutes for a McDonald’s breakfast (”Hey, [...]
If you haven’t figured it out, I’m on vacation this week. It’s my family’s annual trip to Houghton Lake with my wife’s family: 40 in-laws for seven days. I actually enjoy it (click here for article that marked my softening stance toward the annual event; previous links about Houghton Lake: 1, 2), though I probably [...]
You might be lethargic if:
10. Kneeling and standing during church cause you to break a sweat.
9. You break a sweat taking a shower.
8. You have nightmares about losing your TV remote.
7. You’ve tried to scam a handicap license plate.
6. You think Internet surfing is a sport.
5. You go to the store because it’s such a [...]
During my term as editor of Gilbert Magazine, a wise man passed this along to me:
You’re not a writer if
10. You don’t really believe that good writing is re-writing.
9. You’ve never spent over fifteen minutes trying find one single best word.
8. You’ve never written a first draft of which not one phrase made it to [...]
St. John the Baptist is “the only saint whose day of birth is celebrated; we celebrate the birth of John and that of Christ.”
St. Augustine, quote in Francis Fernandez’s In Conversation with God
Top Ten List: You might have a book obsession if:
10. You’ll never be able to finish all the books you’ve started.
9. You’re kinda surprised there’s not a medical term to describe a disordered erotic attraction to books.
8. You don’t think the word “disordered” was unnecessary in the previous sentence.
7. You’ve ever turned down your spouse’s [...]
Chicago is under siege. By blackbirds. “Nesting season is in full swing for the red-winged blackbird, making the males extremely aggressive. Walk or bike too close to one’s nest and expect to hear its high, menacing squawk overhead. Then comes the peck-peck-peck on your head, victims say, or claws rustling your hair.”
I can sympathize. My [...]
“Give me thy grace, good Lord, to set the world at naught . . . to have my mind well united to you; to not depend on the changing opinion of others . . . so that I may think joyfully of God and tenderly implore his help.”
St. Thomas More (whose Memorial it is today)
An atheist defends religion as a bulwark of freedom. The article is a little awkward to read and it doesn’t break new ground, but it’s refreshing to see an atheist making the arguments. Excerpt:
[W]hich institutions did [Lenin and Stalin] single out for opprobrium? There can be only one answer: primarily, religion, and, secondarily, the family. [...]
Summer time is here and so is the beer. I look forward to hoisting a host these next couple of days. The weather forecast is sunny and so are my expectations. Of course, saying such a thing is a good way to get rain, but that’s okay. There’s always beer.
And just in time for [...]
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