An absolute must-read

By George Jonas at the National Post. Religious freedom is dead in the province of Quebec (which fancies itself a separate 'nation' but doesn't have the stones to secede). Freedom-loving parents, get out while you still can. 

Canada is turning into a theocracy with its own jealous God: The smug, self-worshipping state.  Lower-court judges are its acolytes; high-court judges its bishops. The Charter? It’s still available in courthouse washrooms for purposes of personal hygiene. No, I’m not Catholic, or even religious. Only appalled.

h/t Deborah Gyapong, linked on Facebook 


Update: and it's happening in the U.S. too. But at least you Americans can vote the bums out. We are stuck with our vile Supreme Court judges, who are appointed for life. 

Paper dolls

As the mom of seven girls, I have seen a lot of paper dolls come and go in this house. Bought lots, made lots, received lots as gifts. Among them are several sets by Tom Tierney, who, as any paper doll aficionado will tell you, is the high king of the artistic genre. If I had oodles of money, I would probaly own several hundred sets, such as the following:

 

 

 

More proof that Dalton McGuinty lives in his own private universe

With himself as Grand Poohbah and Toronto as the centre and point of Origin of all existence. And yes, of course I'll confess my bias up front: I'm from the (economically viable) west that he's dissing.


McGuinty: "We have a strong sense of partnership with Canadians from coast to coast to coast." 


Why yes,  as long as his province always and everywhere benefits from it. What irks me is his biting the hand that feeds him, as so many (but not all, of course) in central Canada seems to do, and then being "surprised" by the backlash. 
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RIP Davy Jones

Slightly too young to remember the TV show; not too young (or too old) to enjoy the hits. Davy Jones, the cutest of the bunch, gone at 66. 


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Lenten procrastinators

You were supposed to think of some special Lenten commitments to prayer last week already (egad, has it been Lent for less than a week? It seems like...oh, never mind). But if you're late off the mark, as I usually am, you might still be looking for something to do. Allow me to suggest the Lent and Eastertide volume of In Conversation with God by Fr. Francis Fernandez. It's part of a 7-volume set. Three short, daily meditations based (usually) on the daily Mass readings. Superb. I love it. The entire set will carry you through the whole year. It's pricey, but much more expensive if you purchase the books one by one.

Things and Stuff

Looking for my post about the stones, the cathedral and the stained glass windows? It has departed this world, or at least this blog. At Mass this morning, I felt convicted in prayer to remove it. It was a critique of architecture, art, and hippy-dippy pseudo-spirituality, but somehow it began to feel (to me) as though it might be misconstrued by some as a criticism (even an oblique one) of my bishop, which it was not, for I love and respect him. That is all.

"Compromise is not possible with the Angel of Death"

Absolutely, positively, pungently brilliant. (I'll never get over the skunk metaphor, but it isn't HV that stinks...)

Christopher Manion at Crisis Magazine. Again I have to thank Deborah G. for linking to this site. Manion's article is titled: The Coming Age of the Laity. Here's just a snippet:

On the first Sunday in February, Catholics across the country heard homilies condemning the HHS mandate requiring Catholic institutions to subsidize free contraceptives for their employees. A friend of mine, shaking her head, wondered why the diktat had caught our bishops by surprise.

“How could they not see it coming?”

There are three aspects to the answer: The mandate, the bishops, and the laity. 

True to form, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius cynically timed the mandate to coincide with the March For Life. No wonder her bishop barred her from the Eucharist – she could hardly have made the scandal more pointedly public. The mandate was immediately condemned and rejected byArchbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, USCCB President, and my own Ordinary, Bishop Paul S. Loverde of Arlington. Our bishops appear to have suddenly realized that we are at war. Good for them.
But how could they not see it coming?

Three reasons come to mind. The first is a simple question: “Hey, what’s the matter with contraception?” OK, we know, but who else does? Catholics familiar with Humanae Vitae know what happens when mankind defies natural law. Didn’t Pope Paul VI prophetically predict the cultural, human, and spiritual cost of untethered human self-indulgence? Yes: he saw it coming. But who has preached it since 1968? For forty-four years far too many bishops have treated Humanae Vitae like the skunk at the parish Social Justice Picnic. So faithful Catholics cannot be blamed for being pleasantly surprised that our shepherds have finally drawn the line in the sand on the issue. We’ve been praying for this for years.

The second reason: while they have not been teaching Humanae Vitae, the USCCB and its staff havebeen adrift in the dark waters of “Social Justice” — browbeating, dividing, and alienating the laity with partisan politics, advocating a raft of personal agendas from amnesty to welfare, even supporting legislation that contains half a billion for contraceptives in “foreign aid.” [This is not to say that they’ve put all this behind them: on the First Friday of February, the USCCB called on Catholics to fast and pray about “food insecurity and climate change.”]

And the third reason: the abuse and cover-up scandals. Enough said.

No, not enough. Not nearly enough. Keep. Reading.
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The wizard of Oz

Even while he's slogging it out in Australia, championing free speech and other things and stuff, the Steyn still has time for brilliance online. From the OC Register:

The transformation of "human rights" from restraints upon state power into a pretext for state power is nicely encapsulated in the language of Article 14 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which states that everyone has the right "to receive free compulsory education." Got that? You have the human right to be forced to do something by the government.

 [...]
Commissar Lynch puts it this way:"The modern conception of rights is that of a matrix with different rights and freedoms mutually reinforcing each other to build a strong and durable human rights system."That would be a matrix as in some sort of intricate biological sequencing very few people can understand? Or a Matrix as in the illusory world created to maintain a supine citizenry by all-controlling government officials? 

[...] This perversion of rights is killing the Western world.

h/t Deborah Gyapong, who provided the link on Facebook.

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If snappy comebacks were gold

Pundette would be a millionaire.

Who's Dick Cavett, you ask? In the 60's and 70's he was a pseudo-intellectual talk show host. Beyond that, I can't say what he's done. But he's written a nasty New York Timesopinion piece on Rick Santorum, his Catholic faith, and the dark, backward world of homeschooling. His inquiring mind wants to know:

Who knows what sorts of fears haunt the minds of home-schooling parents?

I can think of one: that our children might end up as breathtakingly ignorant as Dick Cavett.

Read it all.

We rise again from ashes

But first we must acknowledge the ashes. David Warren. 

While we are used to getting the upbeat tone from church leaders in all congregations - that sick-making, public-relations blather I find especially irritating in sellout bishops - the Christian teaching begins instead in that assertion of Christ's. The truth may be extremely uncomfortable, and from many angles desolating, but it must be faced. We cannot build our lives or our churches upon pathetic lies. Read it all.

Sex-selective abortion! Oh my!

Britain pretends to be surprised that it's happening there. And what they plan to do about it. Yah right.
My latest at MercatorNet.
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Ladies Against Feminism

AKA "Beautiful Womanhood" produced by some lovely and dedicated sisters in Christ. I can't decide which I like more: the totally cool title/address of the blog (so modestly cheeky; so succinctly brilliant in its encapsulation of history, culture, etc.) or the content. From their "About" page: 

We are for maidenhood, modesty, virtue, intelligence, womanly arts, and femininity. Join the new revolution!

Amen, sisters! 

I stumbled across it when I was googling for something I'd written online. I see (blushing) that they have re-posted several of my articles from MercatorNet, to the point that I seem to be on first-name terms with them. I am humbled and honoured, thank you. 


And they link to Steyn! Need I say more? But of course I will. 


I also see that LAF (love that acronym too! Just what we should do to Satan and his minions, most of whom are a pretty dour lot) was founded in 2002. Which means that this year, they celebrate their 10th anniversary as an online presence for faith and family. Well, done, LADIES!! 


Do go over and have a look.
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And the Oscar for Best Drekter goes to....

My daughter, who loves to make home movies of her dollies, always adds credits at the end to acknowledge everyone who worked so hard on her productions. Naturally, this includes whoever "drekted" the film. (Usually herself.)

Her spelling has improved since her last release, but I think Best Drekter is an Oscar category just waiting to be created, given the amount of dreck that pours out of Hollywood and other locations on a yearly basis. We've spent so much time honoring the good movies. It's time to think of the feelings of the people who work hard to bring us such offerings as Zookeeper and the Twilight Saga.

Here are the nominees for tomorrow's Oscars. Which ones have you seen? Which ones deserve an Oscar? Which ones deserve Best Drekter instead?
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In honor of our 9th follower

“I love a lot of people, understand none of them...”
― Flannery O'Connor, The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O'Connor
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Where has this guy been all my life?

I was watching Because of Winn-Dixie  yesterday evening with my younger girls and there was this amazing singer in the movie. Of course I went straight to IMBd to find out who he was (Dave Matthews), and thence, on to YouTube. I love his vocal stylings.

Guns Drawn, or Our Schools are George Costanza, Part 2,678,489,844

Everyone who had anything to do with this should lose his (or her) job, starting with the teacher.

On Wednesday, Sansone arrived at his children’s’ school to pick them up. He was asked to step inside and meet with the principal. In the principal’s office, Sansone was met by three Waterloo Regional Police officers and immediately arrested. He was taken to a nearby station, strip searched and locked in a cell. His wife was also summoned to the station, and their children taken by Family and Children’s Services. At no point were they told why this was happening.

...

 A detective with the Waterloo Regional Police service apologized to Sansone, and explained that the entire sequence of events had been set in motion because a teacher at the school became alarmed when his four-year-old daughter drew a gun and said the picture was of her father.

 So, be warned, parents. Even the sketches your child makes at school can and will be used against you.
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Now we can sit around telling knock-knock jokes.

In honor of our dozenth Google Reader subscriber.

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Creeping up on Shea

And without ONCE using the word "lickspittle". We have another follower! This calls, of course, for a Flannery quotation: 


“He was going to Bible school now and when he finished he was going to start him a church. He had a strong sweet voice for hymns and could sell anything.”

Short story: "The Displaced Person"

Sarah, you are exactly in the right place. Wecome. 

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Fasting and all that jazz

I hope we at DOH have found a new friend, as well as an inspiring blog. "What Are We Waiting For?" by the Anonymous Catholic Housewife. 


Here's just a snippet from her post about fasting: 

Does anyone enjoy it? I suspect not. Though it is definitely exciting to see the hand of God at work.
What struck me, though, is that fasting is the perfect prayer for busy people, because it takes no time at all. You don't have to sit down and devote time to praying. You don't have to try to fit it into your routine before you go to sleep. The only thing you need to do is remember to fast (which is sometimes harder than you'd think).
I sometimes feel like I don't have time to pray. I sometimes feel like I don't have time to listen to CDs on Catholicism. I sometimes feel like I don't even have time to watch something inspiring on EWTN! (None of it is true, of course. I just don't make time for these things).
But one can't say he doesn't have time for fasting.

No, indeed. And boy, do I know what she means by 'remembering' to fast. Because (as I commented on her blog), as a full-time homemaker, with all-too-easy access to food all day (and usually no one to see me snacking, if I'm sneaky enough), it's easy to get into the habit of eating on auto-pilot. Sometimes I find myself putting things into my mouth without even knowing what they are. (Sad, I know) And I have the 30 extra pounds to prove it. But the lovely thing about Lent, if you are willing to embrace it, is that it is there to save us from our worst selves, and turn us into something more resembling Christ. 


Thanks for the inspiration, ACH! (Hey, that's as good an acronym as DOH, and sounds equally ejaculatory--in the literary sense of course). 
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Mom, is this school or not school?

Yes, I get that question a lot. If we're doing something educational (and fun) the kids will deliberately have less fun if they know it's "for school". So sometimes I just don't tell them. Now parents in Alberta will have to tiptoe carefully if they happen to believe that some lifestyle choices are sinful or disordered. This story is right out of George Orwell. It also shows how dreadfully little educrats know about lived Christianity (ie. faith IS school and school IS faith, and life is all of the above, never to be split into little segments, as they believe it can on the Good Ship HHS Obama.) LifeSite News:

Under Alberta’s new Education Act, homeschoolers and faith-based schools will not be permitted to teach that homosexual acts are sinful as part of their academic program, says the spokesperson for Education Minister Thomas Lukaszuk. 

“Whatever the nature of schooling – homeschool, private school, Catholic school – we do not tolerate disrespect for differences,” Donna McColl, Lukaszuk’s assistant director of communications, told LifeSiteNews on Wednesday evening.

“You can affirm the family’s ideology in your family life, you just can’t do it as part of your educational study and instruction,” she added.

Reacting to the remarks, Paul Faris of the Home School Legal Defence Association said the Ministry of Education is “clearly signaling that they are in fact planning to violate the private conversations families have in their own homes.”

“A government that seeks that sort of control over our personal lives should be feared and opposed,” he added.

Amen, Mister. 

I have never heard the Holy Roman Catholic faith called "your family's ideology" before. Makes it sound a lot smaller that way.  Anyway, it was only a matter of time before the Agenda chose to target homeschoolers. Alberta, where have all your redneck cowboys gone? 

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Just in time for Lenten fasting

Or at least thinking a little more seriously about why we (and our children) have weight problems. My latest at MercatorNet. Will Big Government save us from Big Appetites?
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Just in case you're taking your home schooled kids grocery shopping this morning.

HSRG: So good you should probably give it up for Lent. 
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Bittersweet

Pursuant to my last post, I wanted to recount our poignant day on Sunday, which was the last official day that our family spent together as members of one household. My eldest daughter, of whom I am immensely and justifiably proud (and who, incidentally, never set foot in a school of any kind, public or private, until college) took possession of a house yesterday and Moved Out of The Nest. She has a good job with a large corporation (sorry, Occupy Movement, some of us have to work for a living), and, having pretty much paid off her student loans (saving and working hard every summer of her university years), felt ready to take on a mortgage.


 And more than ready to take on some independence, if not some Tupperware. It's not easy going from your own apartment (and cool fun roommate) in university to renting one corner of one (shared) bedroom in your mom and dad's rather smallish home. Having to ask if you could have friends over. Being aware that (groan) mom was worried if you didn't come home before midnight.

An old story that never gets old...unfortunately

Why Some Kids Never Leave the Nest from 2009. 

It's an international phenomenon: the kids that won't go away. The Italians call them "mammon"(irony!) or "mama's boys". The Japanese call them "parasaito shinguru", or "parasite singles". In the United States they are known as "boomerangs", and in the U.K. they are called "KIPPERS", which is short for "kids in parents' pockets eroding retirement savings". U.S. census data for the year 2000 showed that more than 25% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 34 were living with their parents. For those aged 18 to 24, the number is 56% of men and 43% of women. Surveys in the United Kingdom and Japan suggest a similar situation in those countries. In this article, we discuss some of the reasons why kids may be living with their parents for longer periods of time and outline some steps that parents can take to reduce the potential for negative effects - both for their kids and for themselves. 

I have no idea what the current stats are, but they can't be any better, given the imploding European economy and the attitude of entitlement that seems to have spread like a disease among those of the 'younger' generations --ie. everyone under 60 (see entire Occupy movement). 


I'm not about to trash multi-generational living arrangements (I grew up with The Waltons, for Pete's sake), since they are a fact of life in many cultures. But there's a big honkin' difference between living with your elderly folks in order to take care of them (in which case, they are probably actually living with you), and living off your mom and dad, long after you should be out on your own. While there are few things more disgusting than parasitic adult children (the Japanese have it about right--their moniker is a lot less sporty than 'kippers' or 'boomerangs'), I don't have a whole lot of sympathy for the parents of these kids either.


I mean, what did they teach their children, if not that one of the purposes of life is to go forth and make one's mark, to become independent and in some way contribute to society? If, on the other hand, these parents taught their kids that life is one long party and Junior is the guest of honour, then no wonder they are left footing the bill. A parasite, after all, needs a compliant host. If you don't have the courage to tell your kids to grow up, you probably deserve every moment of misery and eventual poverty they inflict on you. 

In honor of our seventh follower

“The truth is not distorted here, but rather a distortion is used to get at truth.”
― Flannery O'Connor

Your Daily Dose of Doug

It's time to admit it: I have Paisleymania. I'm sure my family is tired of listening to me humming, listening to, and talking about Doug Paisley's music, so in order to ease my condition I will have to start a fan site. (IDigDoug.blogspot.com?) At least there I can rave about it without anyone trying to hide my iPod.

I wish I had known Doug Paisley was going to be my new favorite artist because I would have been a LOT more excited when he walked out on stage at the National Arts Center a couple of weeks ago. Oh, well. Next time.

This guy deserves to be better known. His music has become my Constant Companion. Get thee to iTunes and make it yours, too. Now here's a question: why is Canadian music so good, but most Canadian TV so bad? Ponder and discuss.

May perpetual light shine upon him.

Gary Carter died last week. God rest his soul.
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In honor of our 11 Google Reader subscribers

Like Mrs. P., I did not know we had 11 subscribers until one of them alerted us. This goes out to you, DOH-tians Eleven! I promise to post "The Ladybugs' Picnic" as soon as another one signs up.

So worth reading.

Instead of chugging a beer, snip a tassel off your canoeing jacket every time you read the name  "Justin Trudeau".

A fine companion to Rex Murphy's video slapdown.
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I can't find the words for how much I hate telemarketers

The other day, this number appeared on my phone Call Display: 1-206-465-0661. I didn't recognize it, so I didn't answer the phone; my answering machine did. The caller immediately hung up. Four seconds later, the phone rang again. Same  number. They hung up as soon as the answering machine cut in, then a few seconds later they called again. This time I picked up the phone, and hung up. They called immediately again. I let the answering machinge pick up for the next two calls, but they hung up and dialled again. (Come on, already. Take a hint. I am not going to talk to you.)

 This continued for at least five or six more calls. Finally, I picked up the phone but said nothing. I could hear the usual call centre bustle and chatter in the background. The caller was yammering away in some unintelligible Asian language to his buddy in the next cubicle. Suddenly he addresses me, with the sort of opening line you would expect from the average telemarketing employee: "Can you hear me, you mother****er?" at which point he and his fellow caller-drones shared a jolly chuckle.

What if I had answered, "Yes, hello?" in a sweet pleasant voice. Would he actually have tried to sell me something?

I told him to quit calling my number or I would call the police. He tittered like some half-wit (which he probably was) and I hung up. It was a meaningless threat, since my local RCMP are not likely to go to India, or Bangladesh or Washington State (the only place I could find with a 206 area code) to arrest some goofball in a call centre. But it evidently was enough, because he stopped calling.

And I still have no words to describe how much I hate the presence of these institutions on the planet. No one talks to them, listens to them or buys stuff from them. So why do call centres exist?
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Pushing it

I've been catching up on David Warren's latest articles. Here he is on the HHS mandate:

And now, the trap they set for their reactionary opponents has sprung on their progressive selves. Obama can't back off without triggering outrage in his own feminist constituency. We saw what they did to the Komen Foundation the other day, when that breast cancer outfit tried to withdraw its Planned Parenthood contributions. Democrats dare not go there. Instead, he is trying to self-extricate with an administrative trick - a game of cups and marbles, which lets religious employers play Pontius Pilate, and wash their hands of direct responsibility, while their employees get just the same as if they'd paid. This may or may not bamboozle anyone. The very proposal, to get around a moral objection with an administrative expedient, is symptomatic of moral idiocy. To the sincere conscientious objector, it displays only a fundamental insincerity: another attempt at entrapment. It further stokes a fire which has already inspired explicit calls for civil disobedience, and driven Obama's least Catholic opponents to declare, "We are all Catholics now."

So worth watching

The inimitable Rex Murphy takes the insufferable Justin Trudeau down a peg or three. Newsflash, J.T: "Canada is not your mirror." (Theo Caldwell is right; Trudeau really is the Zoolander of Canadian politics.)

Video at BCF. 

I dig Doug's "Digging in the Ground".

. Do you? . .

I feel so honored!

First of all I would like to thank the ladies at Homeschool Ryan Gosling for believing in my idea....

Now here's the story behind the finished work of art. A couple of weeks ago, my brother and his family came to visit me. Since the diamond floor tiles in the guest wing were being buffed, my school room had to do double duty as a guest room. This resulted in our school week starting a little later than usual (I didn't hear anyone complaining). On that first day of our school week, I happened upon Homeschool Ryan Gosling via Pundit and Pundette. Of course it made me laugh out loud, so I posted a link on our blog with the tag, "Hey girl. Here comes another long week of home schooling. Need some inspiration?" Immediately after posting that I realized it was Wednesday, so I quickly adjusted the post so as not to look like an idiot. (I know, I know, that's far beyond the powers of a mere keyboard.) Anyway, the rest, as they say, is history, Girl!
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I'm getting ahead of myself

And trust me, that doesn't happen very often. After a haitus from blogging with MercatorNet.com (so the horror film goes)...  I'm baaaaaaack.

Read not one but two of my latest Family Edge posts at the followng links:

Why Sensible, Well-balanced Parents are Superior (in response to a new parenting book that says French parents are superior. Oui, those folks who aren't, by and large, having children anymore)

Handgun Daddy  Oh, and let it be understood. I am all in favour of responsible gun ownership (yes, there is such a thing). But this is just crazy.
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Hey girls, who says we can't start our own meme?

Mrs. Beazly has suggested we go beyond  Homeschool Ryan Gosling, and go with Homeschool Richard Armitage. I'm all for that. I'm all for Richard Armitage Anything. So here's a pic to start us off...

Mrs. Beazly will have to supply the fancy graphics-magic.

Hey girl, who says ironing shirts is more important than Armitage Art Appreciation? 

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Calling King Theoden

The lovely and talented Daria over at Coffee and Canticles, has a Tolkein analogy regarding the U.S. bishops' response to Obama's HHS mandate: 

Anyway, Theoden/USCCB has awakened, recovered, and has gone to war. In that army are many other stern warriors, including Catholic University, Belmont Abbey College, Thomas Aquinas College, Franciscan University,EWTN, and...I'm getting tired. Just go to CatholicVote.org to see the honor roll, which is being updated daily. 

Meanwhile, the bishops of Ontario (if not all Canada) have their own Helm's Deep situation with Bill 13 and the mandating of gay-straight alliances in all Catholic schools. 

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woohoo

We have six followers. Count them, six! It can't be long now, Shea...

Of course this calls for a Flannery quotation. (Which, does not, by the way describe our sixth follower--in fact, it sounds more like yours truly-- but I just know she'll appreciate it.) Most people know of this quotation (the last part), but I like the longer version, because it gives more context.

She did not steal or murder but she was a born liar and slothful and she sassed her mother and was deliberately ugly to almost everybody. She was eaten up also with the sin of Pride, the worst one. She made fun of the Baptist preacher who came to the school at commencement and gave the devotional. She would pull down her mouth and hold her forehead as if she were in agony and groan, “Fawther, we thank Thee,” exactly the way he did and she had been told many times not to do it. She could never be a saint, but she thought she could be a martyr if they killed her quick.

"A Temple of the Holy Ghost" (short story)

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It's been far too long

Since I've visited The Onion. (alternate title: More Theft from Shea).

It's funny because it's true. Planned Parenthood,  Greenpeace, Al Gore and David Suzuki, call your respective offices.

PS. Re the Quick Poll at the bottom, the bus sounds about the best, given the choices.
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Blatant theft

from Shea's blog. Because I can. Despotic dictator valentines. How long before someone designs one for the current POTUS?

Because I'm a staunch believer in romance

I'll pass on this valentine I just received from one of my daughters.

Would you be my flippin Valentine already? gosh! 

At the sound of his name, ev'ry knee shall bend

I speak, of course, of Obama. Matthew Archbold on the Big 0's HHS mandate:

Well, President Obama seems to channeling his inner Zod by forcing Catholic institutions to do his will and act against their own conscience. In short, he's attempting to force Christians to kneel before him. In this, I think he's gone a bridge too far because Christians are kinda' particular as to whom they kneel to.   [...]

 It's come to this in this country, you may have to eventually decide between being Catholic and an American. That's a tragedy. Obama has placed himself in the role of the Creator endowing very alienable rights. But there's a big difference between Obama and God. God left people free will. Obama? Not so much.

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Ouch

The Steyn, on the Hugh Hewitt show:

To a certain extent, the Catholic Church was suckered by the whole Obamacare business. They largely subscribed to an Obamaesque view of the world, except with abortion.

It hurts because it's true. At least for the wishy-washy, leftist, squishy, environmentalist, Peace 'n Justice (c) 'pastoral' thing that the church has largely become in North America. (Saddest part is, not everyone in the church is on-side about abortion either.) 


Pundette has suggested it's time for the American bishops (Cdn bishops, feel free to join in) to play hardball. From her lips to God's ears. 
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We can't help with our votes

But we can pray for our American friends to have the courage of Thomas More.

Mark Steyn on the HHS mandate.
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Jim Cuddy reminds my why I love him, part 2.

Last night I had a date with Jim Cuddy. Mr. B. came along, too. We all had a rockin' good time at the National Arts Center, the Jim Cuddy Band's fourth last stop on their national tour.

Opening for the JCB was Doug Paisley, an artist to whom I was very glad to be introduced. Check him out! I'm going shopping for his music today.

Mr. Cuddy played most of the songs from his latest album, Skyscraper Soul, as well as a couple of hits from his other solo albums. Blue Rodeo favorites were in the set, too. It was lovely to hear a live performance of "Bad Timing", my favorite Blue Rodeo song. (It was just like this video, except from where I was sitting Jim Cuddy was only about two inches tall.) For an encore, Jim sat down at the piano and treated us to "Try" .

The concert concluded with an acoustic rendition of "Wash Me Down", a beautiful track from Skyscraper Soul. Doug Paisley, Anne Linsday, Jim Cuddy and Colin Cripps stepped away from the mikes and sang. Truly sublime. I felt that I had not only been washed down, but had also drunk deeply of something pure and clear and sweet.  It was rather jarring to get up and leave the theater for a cold parking garage instead of staying in our seats to sigh with contentment for an hour or so.  I haven't found any videos posted from last night's concert, but here's one from their appearance in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia. I'll say no more. Watch, and sigh with me.


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Everything you need, and so much more.

This week I visited Buy 'n Large the biggest Ikea in Canada (until Montreal gets a bigger one in 2013).  The new Ikea has two enormous levels, thousands of products, a 640 seat restaurant, uncountable Swedish meatballs, and can be seen from the moon. You have to be ready to spend time in this store. After penetrating the labyrinth and discovering that they didn't have the item I required, I wanted to leave. However, "leaving" proved to be another thing Ikea could not provide. I had to ask a clerk for the fastest way out of the store. The only exits I could find were for emergencies, and I wasn't going to follow the blue arrows on that 1.3 km journey back to daylight.

The clerk - let's call her Ingrid -  hesitated a little. "You can take that shortcut," She pointed to an inconspicuous gap in the wall which was marked by a small, blue sign with letters about 1.5 inches high. (They really don't want you to take a shortcut.) After that, Ingrid continued, I could find my way to another area of the store where...someone else could tell me how to get out. I thanked her politely, but as I walked away I thought, how does she leave at night?  Then the chilling truth struck me: She was just another customer who couldn't escape. I did wonder why she was holding a toothbrush. It was then that I noticed the store was playing Hotel California on an endless loop....

Mr. Steyn, we are holding you to it.

As per Mrs. Beazly's example, I watched Mark Steyn's blissfully lengthy stint on BookTV the other day (yes, Virginia, you can homeschool kids, do laundry, make meatballs, and ponder civilizational collapse simultaneously, especially when you have a new Mac).

Near the very end (of the program, not the world), he said he's thinking of compiling an ANTHOLOGY OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE!! Now, being extremely interested in both children and literature, and doing a lot of homeschooling that involves both, I say unto you, Mr. Steyn, please do this thing with all possible haste. My youngest is seven and rapidly becoming an avid reader. Wouldn't it be great for her to become an avid Steynette before the age of ten?

You know this book would sell like hotcakes, because your lady-fans are virtually the only ones out there having babies, and most of us care about what we read, and a great many of us are also heavily involved in educating our children. So do it. Compile the Children's Anthology. We will hound you till you do.
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How did I miss this?

Somewhere in the last wee while, we picked up our fifth follower! This calls for a Flannery quotation.


When in Rome, do as you done in Milledgeville.
             
--Source unkown (for now...)

I want one.

So much more meaningful than the Big 0's hopey-changey logo.

A coffee mug would be OK too.




And Mrs. Beazly is right; Mr. Khil does have a great voice. 
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What the Dickens!

The DOHs, both being huge avid and enthusiastic fans of all things Dickens, cannot let this day go by without mentioning his bicenentary, celebrated today.

Where does one begin? How about over at Pundette's... because I couldn't say it any better myself, and besides which, she's already done the work. (If I didn't know better, I'd think we homeschooling Catholic Dickensian Steynette moms all shared a brain, even if not the diligence gene.)

Do you have a permit for that Dr. Pepper?

This could only come from California. At least, that's what you'd like to believe.

"We recognize that societal intervention to reduce the supply and demand for sugar faces an uphill political battle against a powerful sugar lobby," the researchers say, "and will require active engagement from all stakeholders."
But such "tectonic shifts" in policy are possible, they say, pointing to bans on public smoking, limits on alcohol sales and condom dispensers in public washrooms. "It's time to turn our attention to sugar."

However, they're not the only ones who think the government should be looking after our sugar intake.

It may seem incongruous that the same folks who will stamp out your cigarette for you (or perhaps just drown it in your contraband cola) would also encourage you to engage in the "less risky" sex that condoms reassuringly offer. But it really comes down to self-control: specifically, no one should ever be required to exercise any. Cigarettes are bad for your health, therefore they should be banned. Promiscuity can spread STDs, therefore you must be provided with a condom. Too much sugar can cause obesity, therefore the sale of pop should be restricted. When it comes to your habits, the government should always be there for you! Heaven forbid that you should ever have to say "No" to yourself.
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I don't really care about the Super Bowl, but three hours of Steyn is a Fantastic Dish.

I was able to catch about half of his appearance on BookTV, and I'm looking forward to watching the whole thing. It repeats February 6 and 11.

I hope he writes an autobiography someday.

Here's Steyn's latest in the O.C. Register - really superb.
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I am very glad because my nephew is getting married

Because that means a rowdy family party/dance. I hope they have a DJ, so that I can request this totally viral song at the dance. (You should see its popularity rating on iTunes. Hilarious.) Warning: the first viewing/hearing is surreal, and may cause dizziness, loss of balance, and/or cognitive dissonance. Subsequent hearings: abandon all hope of getting the tune out of your mind and join the zombie hordes who love it.



Artist: Eduard Khil; Title: "I am very glad, because I'm finally returning back home (Trololo)"

Maybe he was in the gulag for singing this song.

DOH fever is gripping the nation.

Colin at The Theology of Dad is kind enough to add us to his Canadian Catholic Blog Roll.

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Hey Girl.

Here comes another long month of home school. Need some inspiration?

via Pundit & Pundette
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And speaking of Lego...

Feminists of the world, GET A LIFE! Or go to Afghanistan and see what you can do about that not-letting-girls-go-to school situation. Oh, I guess it's easier to stay home and pick on Lego.

Fembots up in arms over pink Lego (aka "gender specific marketing"). Hello? This type of marketing always has and always will exist. Pink Lego? My little girls LOVE IT. They also own and love sets with police vans, airplanes, and all that boy stuff. There is girl stuff and there is boy stuff and there's no shame in celebrating it.

Ten kitchens, 90,000 square feet, and seven children

No, Mrs. P., that's not a summary of all the house plan permutations you've gone through over the last ten years and the persons to be made comfortable therein. This is all about The Queen of Versailles.

Director and photographer Lauren Greenfield:

“I’m not as interested in rich people as I am in our values. I’m interested in consumerism in our culture and how powerful it is.... I’m also interested in social class. And in America, money defines social class.”

 Perhaps this won't encourage any kind of virtue in a dumb old housewife dissatisfied with her 0.43 kitchens and 1100 square feet, but it does sound interesting. And maybe it is a good reminder that to much of the world, even 1100 square feet seems like a palace. Especially if it includes running water... and electricity....
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Happy Birthday

To the greatest composer the world has ever known.

I saw Amadeus when I was twelve. It truly changed my life, because I had not had much exposure to classical music before that.  Mrs. P. took me to see it...and to my first ballet...and to my first opera. 
Thank you, Mrs. P., for all the beauty you have brought into my life. This one's for you.

Where no Lego man has gone before

Master Beazly the younger was just wondering yesterday what to do with his Lego when he gets too old to play with it.


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Just for The Record

And I mean that, literally. Here's a piece (pdf version) I published in The Record, "Australia's oldest weekly newspaper" (est. 1874). It presents "Catholic news and opinion from Perth, Australia, and the world." (I guess I qualify for that last one).

And so, for the droves of Record readers who come here as a result of the article, welcome to DOH!

UPDATE: it seems that despite the magic of computer wizardry, most of DOH's fans are having difficulty opening the pdf link. So here's the plain old text of the piece.

God is present in every moment of our time

December wasn’t long enough; it never is. How I wish I’d have done less rushing around, doing the necessary evils (shopping, office parties, meetings, recitals), and spent more time with loved ones: more time with aging parents, with the aunt in the senior’s home, with the friend who has cancer, with our daughter who has now travelled the 500 km back to university, not to be seen again for months—more ‘quality’ time with my husband and younger children, whom I see every day, but sometimes don’t “see” at all. More time in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

Having just rung out the old year and ushered in the new, “Time” may be on our minds these days. What did I accomplish last year? Did I meet all my goals? Did I meet any of them? What do I hope to achieve in the New Year? We make resolutions, surely one of which is better time management.

For some, especially those who are suffering, elderly, or lonely, time may drag interminably—it doesn’t need to be managed so much as endured. For others, time goes by all too quickly. Those of us who are living through the double-whammy of being middle-aged and far too busy with family life and community activism can sometimes get confused—as I remarked to my sister a month or so ago: “I can hardly believe 2010 is coming to a close.” There’s nothing like momentarily losing an entire year to make one sit up and take notice that perhaps things have gotten away from you.

We are (quite naturally, in a fast-paced world) obsessive about time: we wear watches, carry datebooks, calendars and schedules (if not the archaic paper variety, then in digital form: iPads and iPods and iPhones and iThings too numerous to name). I’ve even programmed my new laptop to tell me (out loud, in a semi-human voice) what time it is, on the hour, every hour, so that I don’t waste too much time on the computer. Since I have relatives, friends, and even editors (groups not mutually exclusive) living in various time zones all over the planet, my laptop also displays clocks telling me the time in the UK, Prague, Australia, New Zealand.

We follow friends and celebrities on Twitter and Facebook for minute-by-minute updates on their every thought (and bodily function). Constantly online, we don’t bother reading news that’s more than six hours old. We even like to remind God what time it is: bold reformers in the Church constantly tell the Holy Father that he should change Church teaching to ‘get with the times.’

I am grateful for the season of Advent, now past (and all too quickly, alas), which tells us, in the bustle and frenzy of Christmas preparations, that Christ is Lord of all eternity, and sooner or later, we will be joining Him there. That God exists outside of time, and therefore, at least on a certain level, so must we.

Time is on our side, because God created it; it is there to serve us, and in turn we must use it to serve Him. We shouldn’t seek to conquer it, slow it down, speed it up, pass it, waste it, much less kill it. In every moment, God is eternally present to us. Whether our lives consist of empty loneliness or harried activity, we must, mind and soul, be eternally present to him, because we know neither the day nor the hour when he will call us physically to Himself.

We don’t need New Year’s resolutions or the strength to carry them out, because inevitably they ask more of us than we seem to have (hence, the abandonment of such resolutions by the third week of January). What we need is to remember that God is in charge, and everything will unfold according to His plan. Mainly we need to repent of our stubbornness in cooperating with Him, and have a firm purpose of amendment to do a better job of knowing, loving and serving Him—not in the next decade, or year, or upcoming week, but during the next sixty minutes of our life. He’ll take care of the rest. 

 Happy New Year. 

Copyright 2012, The Record, Perth, Western Australia

Definition of the Day

Idealistic youth: the time of life when you want to stick it to The Man on behalf of all the disenfranchised.

Maturity: the time of life when you realize that your youthful ambition has ironically been fulfilled, cuz it turns out that The Man is your husband, paying punitive taxes on his single income in order to support not only his family, but also untold numbers of the disenfranchised.

Or as the Avett Brothers sing it,

"...I know we are young, but we won't always be, so marry me..."

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By Jove, I think I've got it!

 Conclusive proof that Mark Steyn and Tim Thomas are the same person.

 
 No wonder SteynOnline goes a little quiet during the playoffs.
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