Marty Haugen: weapon of Mass destruction

Lawks, I just can't stomach about 98% of his 'music'. But it's not just him, of course: Haas, Landry, Schutte (and the whole St. Louis Jesuit gang), Ceasar (as in Buddy, not Julius)--the list goes depressingly on.  

Kevin O'Brien says it best:

Indeed, I personally think the heterodox music of the typical suburban parish is far more the cause of the abandonment of faith than the dumbing down of the translation of the Mass. Marty Haugen and his ilk have the distinguishing talent of having written appallingly bad music that defies genre or classification or description. There's no music this bad, this cloying, this icky, this smarmy anywhere else but inside thousands of suburban Catholic churches every day of the week. Almost no men like this dreck. And it's not even the insipid lyrics that do harm, but the utter narcissism of the melodies. These songs do not even make good pop tunes or Broadway show tunes - they don't make good anything but good distractions.

Then there's Catholic Music: It’s Time to Stop Making Stuff Up by Jeffrey Tucker:

Mandatory enthusiasm for someone else’s project doesn’t go over well in any aspect of life, especially not in music. Many just sit there vaguely and habitually protesting in their minds. So the musicians end up with a feeling of failure and confusion. Or they blame others and end up getting mad about the people and their refusal to go with the program.

I chuckled when I read this passage because it reminded me of a vist to a neighbouring parish where the semi-professional perfomers Music Ministers were trying to bully the congregation into clapping and swaying. As if.
.

In honour of Michaelmas

Or, the feast of St. Michael the Archangel. My favourite St. Michael poem, and my favourite image of St. Michael.

To St. Michael in Time of Peace

G.K. Chesterton

Michael, Michael: Michael of the Morning,
Michael of the Army of the Lord,
Stiffen thou the hand upon the still sword, Michael,
Folded and shut upon the sheathed sword, Michael,
Under the fullness of the white robes falling,
Gird us with the secret of the sword.


When the world cracked because of a sneer in heaven,
Leaving out for all time a scar upon the sky,
Thou didst rise up against the Horror in the highest,
Dragging down the highest that looked down on the Most High:
Rending from the seventh heaven the hell of exaltation
Down the seven heavens till the dark seas burn:
Thou that in thunder threwest down the Dragon
Knowest in what silence the Serpent can return.


Down through the universe the vast night falling
(Michael, Michael: Michael of the Morning!)
Far down the universe the deep calms calling
(Michael, Michael: Michael of the Sword!)
Bid us not forget in the baths of all forgetfulness,
In the sigh long drawn from the frenzy and the fretfulness
In the huge holy sempiternal silence
In the beginning was the Word.


When from the deeps of dying God astounded
Angels and devils who do all but die
Seeing Him fallen where thou couldst not follow,
Seeing Him mounted where thou couldst not fly,
Hand on the hilt, thou hast halted all thy legions
Waiting the Tetelestai and the acclaim,
Swords that salute Him dead and everlasting
God beyond God and greater than His Name.


Round us and over us the cold thoughts creeping
(Michael, Michael: Michael of the battle-cry!)
Round us and under us the thronged world sleeping
(Michael, Michael: Michael of the Charge!)
Guard us the Word; the trysting and the trusting
Edge upon the honour and the blade unrusting
Fine as the hair and tauter than the harpstring
Ready as when it rang upon the targe.


He that giveth peace unto us; not as the world giveth:
He that giveth law unto us; not as the scribes:
Shall he be softened for the softening of the cities
Patient in usury; delicate in bribes?
They that come to quiet us, saying the sword is broken,
Break man with famine, fetter them with gold,
Sell them as sheep; and He shall know the selling
For He was more than murdered. He was sold.


Michael, Michael: Michael of the Mustering,
Michael of the marching on the mountains of the Lord,
Marshal the world and purge of rot and riot
Rule through the world till all the world be quiet:
Only establish when the world is broken
What is unbroken is the word.

.

If you want to understand Obama's UN speech

If not his entire presidency, you need Mark Steyn, the only man on the planet who can make the Fall of Civilization seem funny. The accent and ginger hair are just a bonus.

If I understand correctly the cumulative vision of the speech, the future will belong to gay feminist ecumenical Muslims. You can take that to the bank. But make no mistake, as he would say, and in fact did: "We face a choice between the promise of the future or the prisons of the past, and we cannot afford to get it wrong." Because if we do, we could spend our future living in the prisons of the past, which we forgot to demolish in the present for breach of wheelchair-accessibility codes.

TGIFWTA: toooo cuuuute!

I can just see the Blurn twins in these. Available on the Avett Brother's website. 

Farewell, Andy

Thanks to YouTube, we'll always be able to enjoy your mellow vocal stylings.

Just in case you have $16,000 plus change burning a hole in your pocket

You could purchase this collector's set of Andrew Lang's well-loved fairy tale books. 

Less pricey versions are, of course, available at Amazon and elsewhere. I've opted for the one-income homeschool mom's approach: downloading the audio books for free from Librivox.  Great for those tedious car trips to music lessons (20 miles) and swim lessons (45 miles).
.

Mr. Greenfield and his Steynesque ways

It is a mistake to think of such riots as a reaction to blasphemy. One might as well call the Fourth of July a reaction to fireworks. When the weather is warm, the economy is lousy and some politician stands to benefit from shouting, "Death to America" at an embassy or a fried chicken place, then the internet cafes in Cairo and Karachi begin buzzing with bearded men eagerly searching for something properly blasphemous to outrage the sensibilities of Muslim burghers waiting around to be shocked by the decadent infidels with their cartoon-drawing, chess-playing and kite-flying ways.


Blasphemy for Fun and Prophet

Mr. Esolen knocks another one out of the park

Has this man written books? If so, where can I get them? Here he was last July, making me laugh. Now, he almost makes me weep. Parents, don't let your babies grow up to be the kind of young adults he describes in this article.

For more, here's Anthony Esolen's articles page at Crisis Magazine. I've bookmarked it.

h/t ProWomanProLife.

Thank Goodness It's Friday With The Avetts: Cars

Today I'm going car-shopping (yet again...yawn... I mean, Oh Yay!) with Mr. P.

It's high time that we found a vehicle to replace the minivan that died last May. Right now we're down to one reliable means of conveyance, and it happens to be our 15-passenger van. (I've always thought we should stencil the nickname "Carbon Footprint" somewhere on it.) I don't particularly like driving it (have certainly never attempted a parallel park in 9 years of ownership), and it just feels plain silly when you need to dash out on an errand and you're roaring around in that behemoth all by yourself. In today's climate (no pun) you almost expect to be scolded in public by some greenie for the sin of offending Gaia.

I don't know what kind of vehicle we'll buy, but it won't be a 63 Ford Galaxie 500 XL (this one is listed at $75,000--yes, you read that right; I didn't put in an extra zero by mistake).











And now, for your Friday listening pleasure, I offer the perennially delightful Seth singing a live rendition of "In the Curve," one of the bonus tracks on the iTunes version of the (uber-fabulous) album Emotionalism.

"A critical mass of disaffected men"

NatPo's Barbara Kay nails it in "Manliness Still Matters." You bet your boots it does.

It is hypocritical to endorse for women the exploitative sex that feminists used to condemn in men. Apart from that, I find it rings false historically. In my pre-feminist generation, women married very young. But that didn’t stop those with ambition from realizing their goals. On the contrary, they were undistracted by promiscuity’s sexual day trading, and being married wonderfully focused their minds.

Three cheers for manly men.
.

I love him cuz he makes me laugh

"You can wear a giant foam cowboy hat in public, or be a policy expert — but not both."

Mr. Caldwell on the U.S. economy: "To wit, whenever politicians get agitated to “do something,” they almost always do it wrong."

.

Go Canadian Bishops!

Pinch me. I must be dreaming. LSN:

In an unprecedented move, Canada’s bishops have put a halt to Development and Peace’s fall education campaign after several bishops refused to allow the materials into their parishes.
The bishops’ beleaguered aid organization was forced to delay its traditional campaign until mid-October for revisions after complaints that it was too politically-focused, reports the Catholic Register’s Michael Swan. According to the news agency, it is the first time the bishops have directly intervened to stop one of D&P’s education campaigns.

"education" [snort] I guess that makes Che an educator too.

This latest intervention from the bishops comes as their official aid organization continues to be dogged by criticisms over its overseas funding partnerships with groups that promote abortion, contraception, and other activities contrary to Catholic teaching.
The bishops had launched a renewal of the organization in 2010 in response to the criticism, but D&P’s leadership has remained intact, they have refused to release a full list of partners, and have continued to partner with questionable groups.

As Ezra says, Fire. Them. All.

.

"Stroking your Cuisenaire rods and sobbing"

...as only Simcha can say it.

You know what I'm seeing everywhere these days? Parents who've home schooled their kids for several years, and then suddenly, for no good reason, up and send their kids off to a regular classroom school. They do this without giving it much thought, because they either (a) are lazy and don't love their children, or (b) are disastrously naive about what the modern world is like, and assume that their kids will be taught Dick and Jane and how to open doors for their elders.

Or, wait. I'm seeing that nowhere. Nowhere at all.

What I am seeing is people who, for one reason or another, realized that homeschooling is no longer the best choice for their particular family. It is generally a gut-wrenching decision, made only after lots of prayer and fretting, research and weighing of options.

I'm not quitting homeschooling (this year), but I'm already having some sadness/withdrawal about getting rid of my preschool and K-2 stuff (especially my Math Manipulatives, which I love--it must be the bright colours or something). However, time marches on, seasons pass, and various other cliches.

I like the comment left by suburbancorrespondent on Simcha's post, though of course it's best not to make blanket generalizations about others' insecurities. (There are many and varied reasons to critique certain public schools, but let's not go there today.)

I do think it is homeschoolers’ insecurities that lead them to attack the public schools. But also, it is the endless questioning of their lifestyle by other people that produces some of that defensive tone. Everyone just needs to put their dukes down, I guess, and realize that all of us mere mortals are just bumbling along, doing the best we can for our kids…homeschooling/public schooling/private schooling alike.

Amen, friend.
.

Mitt Romney is not joining your curling team

The smart, witty, and boyishly handsome Theo Caldwell on why Canucks should support Mr. Romney.

The Economy:

Canada benefits most when America is open to its products, and has the money to pay for them. Emotionally satisfying as it may be for Canadians to see the Loonie at parity or soaring above the American dollar, a stronger US currency maximizes Canada’s strengths.

(Ain’t that the truth! Some of my overseas writing jobs pay in U.S. dollars and by time the exchange rate kicks in--and stinking Paypal has taken their pound of flesh-- well, ouch.)

Oil:

There are those who loudly insist our energy must come from wind, solar, and their own sense of self-satisfaction. But even the shrillest of Birkenstocked, Begley-ite, “No Blood for Oil” protesters must, on some level, be practical. Canada’s oil will be tapped and sold. Would they prefer it go to our imperfect ally, the United States, or to a demonstrably malevolent power like the People’s Republic of China? 

And the coup de grâce (no double entendre intended):

Finally, if nothing else, consider this: If Obama is re-elected and his socialization of American health care becomes complete, where will Canadians go for treatment when waiting lines at home grow too long?

Ouch again, as Joe Biden would literally say. 

.

Exorcising my inner Mrs. Jellyby

Dated 2006, but fresh as a daisy (as truth is wont to be). Brilliant essay by Jim Forest at In Communion.

Mysticism is the antidote to getting too caught up in a 'cause', however worthy. Devotion to ideology can also be tempered by doing practical work for those in your immediate household.  Truly, charity begins at home.

h/t Kathy Shaidle
.

Could he be the Jewish Mark Steyn?

This guy is hilarious, even when he's scary.  Daniel Greenfield aka Sultan Knish.

"We are trying to hammer home the message that Salafists are normal people," an Egyptian Salafist told CNN, without acknowledging that Salafists with hammers are the last thing that anyone wants to see. "We eat the same food, drink the same beverages and frequent the same hangouts. So don't be surprised when you find Salafists sitting next to you at Costas, sipping lattes." And then possibly blowing up the place on the way out.

From his article "All the Islamophobia You Can Shake a Stick At."
.

A breath of fresh air

Steven Crowder on getting married the right way:

Feeling judged? I couldn’t care less. You know why? Because my wife and I were judged all throughout our relationship. People laughed, scoffed and poked fun at the young, celibate, naive Christian couple.

[...] I think it’s important to write this column not to gloat (though I’ll be glad to), but to speak up for all of the young couples that have also done things the right way. When people do marriage right, they don’t complain so much, and so their voices are silenced by the rabble of promiscuous charlatans, peddling their pathetic world view as “progressive.”

h/t LifeSiteNews

Related: Fr. Barron on the hookup culture.
.

Shana tova!

Rosh Hashanah begins in this evening, and ends on Tuesday evening. I could go for that: a celebration of New Year that lasts for three days. 

Barry does Vegas

As only Mark Steyn can tell it.

The president is surrounded by delirious fanbois and fangurls screaming "We love you," too drunk on his celebrity to understand that this is the first photo-op in the aftermath of a national humiliation. [...] 

The president is too lazy and cocksure to have learned any prepared remarks or mastered the appropriate tone, notwithstanding that a government that spends more money than any government in the history of the planet has ever spent can surely provide him with both a speechwriting team and a quiet corner on his private wide-bodied jet to consider what might be fitting for the occasion. So instead he sloughs off the words, bloodless and unfelt: "And obviously our hearts are broken..." Yeah, it's totally obvious. [...]

When it comes to a flailing, blundering superpower, I am generally wary of ascribing to malevolence what is more often sheer stupidity and incompetence.

A must-read.

Say what you will about Dubya, but never in a thousand years would be have behaved in this manner.
.

Homeschoolers, what could YOU do with $11,572?

Not as in, one lump sum. That's PER child, PER year. That's what New York City spends on "education" per pupil. And all for what?

Daniel Greenfield (whose critique is on postmodern western education, BTW, not just that promulgated in NYC):  

Meta-culture is even more useless as it is aimed at internalizing the specialized vocabularies created through categorizing culture to group identities. It is not only a useless egotistical exercise, but also quite pernicious as well. Analyzing analyses of culture and then critiquing them for political conformity used to be for aspiring Marxist poets singing marching songs from the Spanish Civil War. Now it's for everyone. Ten years from now, we will spending three times as much on education and most students will have trouble with basic math and literacy, but will immediately be able to look at a Bugs Bunny cartoon and determine whose narrative it privileges. (Hint: White men.)

[...] 

The more you universalize education, the lower the value of that education becomes. When the goal of education is not to teach, but to graduate, then the educational system becomes a cattle run which exists only to move students through the system and then out the door through classroom promotion. The High School education of today is inferior to the Elementary School education of yesterday and the four year college graduate of today couldn't even begin to match wits with a high school graduate from 1946. College has become the new High School. Graduate school is the new college.

Read it all.
.

Roodmas

Sometimes the old words are the coolest. Today is the feast of the Triumph of the Cross.

Lift high the cross,
the love of Christ proclaim
till all the world adore
his sacred Name.

Come, brethren, follow where our Captain trod,
our King victorious, Christ the Son of God. 

Refrain

Led on their way by this triumphant sign,
the hosts of God in conquering ranks combine. 

Refrain

Each newborn soldier of the Crucified
bears on the brow the seal of him who died. 

Refrain

This is the sign which Satan's legions fear
and angels veil their faces to rever. 

Refrain

Saved by this Cross whereon their Lord was slain,
the sons of Adam their lost home regain. 

Refrain

From north and south, from east and west they raise
in growing unison their songs of praise. 

Refrain

O Lord, once lifted on the glorious tree,
as thou hast promised, draw the world to thee. 

Refrain

Let every race and every language tell
of him who saves our souls from death and hell. 

Refrain

From farthest regions let their homage bring,
and on his Cross adore their Savior King. 

Refrain

Set up thy throne, that earth's despair may cease
beneath the shadow of its healing peace. 

Refrain

For thy blest Cross which doth for all atone
creation's praises rise before thy throne. 

Refrain

Words: George William Kitchen and Michael Robert Newbolt, 1916

.

I don't always agree with everything he says

But Daniel Greenfield sure has a way of cutting through the lying wimpy dhimmified rhetoric of Obama, the MSM, academe et al.

In Libya, we already had a tyrant like that, and we hunted him down and watched him be sodomized to death by the brave Libyan people in the name of freedom, democracy and apple pie. And then nearly a year later, the brave Libyan people were playing with our ambassador's corpse the way that they had with their tyrant's-- because once you unleash the savages, they don't just go back to hoeing olive trees and dragging sacks of sand through the desert. Why would they, when they can make ten times as much by enlisting in a militia and burning our consulates to the ground?

[...]
There are no bloodless victories, but we can choose whether to bleed our enemy or to bleed our hearts. And when our hearts bleed for the enemy, than the blood sooner or later stops being a metaphor and becomes a sticky dark red liquid on the boots of the brave Afghan people, the brave Iraqi people, the brave Libyan people or the brave Syrian people and all the other brave peoples we will set out to save from the hells they make for themselves.

.

Don't mind me, I'm just eating my heart out

Because I am NOT in P.E.I. at this very moment. And I am NOT going to the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival this weekend. And so I will NOT be attending the Avett's last concert of 2012 on Canadian soil this very evening. How to console myself?

.

From their latest album, The Carpenter: a song of new fatherhood...just beautiful. 

.

You can have my moustache--when you shave it from my cold, dead face

Good on ya!

Hair as a political statement: hippies, call your OWS tents

Mark Steyn with the latest from the surreal world of Things Islamists Find Offensive.

If we could have President Obama’s and General Dempsey’s backbones replaced by waxed Pakistani mustaches, we might have a sporting chance.

"Work needs a PR campaign"

Ain't that the truth. I can't say I regret my Arts degree because it did help me (I hope) to become a better writer and a better tutor for my children, and I might not have met Mr. P, had I gone to welding school...

But it's true that not everyone should go to college/university. And it's true that North America is desperately short of skilled labour. And it's true that our society is too snobbish about 'blue collar' work (despite the irony that those skilled guys and gals make actual money, and sometimes lots of it). And it's true that our economy is in a mess largely because people no longer want to do hands-on labour. And it's true that there are more and more Completely Useless degree programs being offered (Gender Studies? ye gods...) which engender nothing but debt--and wonky thinking. We all seem to want to live in the Ivory Tower (and get paid handsomely for it), but what happens when the plumbing breaks down?

As the folks in the video below point out, nothing is stopping you from pursuing the liberal arts (and becoming a Renaissance man) AFTER you've acquired a marketable skill. But your first challenge upon leaving the nest is basic financial survival. (The path we've adopted: amass huge debt on a useless degree, then move back in with Mom and Dad, clearly is not working--no pun intended.)

And dang, if I'd taken a plumbing or carpentry course, I wouldn't be waiting 14 years for my kitchen renovation to be complete.

One of many money quotes: "Usefulness makes you happy." That would explain a lot about my life.

Worth a listen, despite slight language warning.

h/t SDA

In Memoriam

Strong Son of God, immortal Love,
Whom we, that have not seen thy face,
By faith, and faith alone, embrace,
Believing where we cannot prove;


Thine are these orbs of light and shade;
Thou madest Life in man and brute;
Thou madest Death; and lo, thy foot
Is on the skull which thou hast made.


Thou wilt not leave us in the dust:
Thou madest man, he knows not why,
He thinks he was not made to die;
And thou hast made him: thou art just.


Thou seemest human and divine,
The highest, holiest manhood, thou.
Our wills are ours, we know not how;
Our wills are ours, to make them thine.


Our little systems have their day;
They have their day and cease to be:
They are but broken lights of thee,
And thou, O Lord, art more than they.


We have but faith: we cannot know;
For knowledge is of things we see
And yet we trust it comes from thee,
A beam in darkness: let it grow.


Let knowledge grow from more to more,
But more of reverence in us dwell;
That mind and soul, according well,
May make one music as before,


But vaster. We are fools and slight;
We mock thee when we do not fear:
But help thy foolish ones to bear;
Help thy vain worlds to bear thy light.


Forgive what seem'd my sin in me;
What seem'd my worth since I began;
For merit lives from man to man,
And not from man, O Lord, to thee.


Forgive my grief for one removed,
Thy creature, whom I found so fair.
I trust he lives in thee, and there
I find him worthier to be loved.


Forgive these wild and wandering cries,
Confusions of a wasted youth;
Forgive them where they fail in truth,
And in thy wisdom make me wise.


Alfred, Lord Tennyson 1849.

From Lady Gaga's lips to God's ears

Wants to move to a new planet if "IfObamaDontWin".

That must be the planet where they're storing the trillions to pay off the U.S. debt. Hope she takes all her lefty lib pals with her.
.

Doofus Nonsensical Comedy

John Hayward at Human Events brilliantly dissects the rhetoric at the DNC. Too funny.

Bill Clinton used his speech to say that Obama’s 2008 promises were unrealistic, and no one could possibly have delivered them. 24 hours later, Obama took the stage to make the same promises all over again. But you can trust him this time!
[...]

Obama actually felt it necessary to remind the audience that “I’m no longer just a candidate, I’m the President” – a matter that might actually be in doubt among the Democrat faithful, if they’ve been taking Obama’s endless whining about the enduring power of George Bush seriously.

[...]
You will search this speech in vain for any acknowledgement of error, any sense that Barack Obama understands what he has done wrong, or indeed has the faintest clue why his economy teeters on the edge of recession. We just have to try his failed ideas a little harder, with a fresh infusion of cash, and they’ll suddenly start working. And if you want to scale back his irresponsible spending – why, you want to “gut education,” and let companies release “toxic pollution into the air your children breathe.” As always, the bloated bureaucracies and billion-dollar crony deals are hidden behind teachers, cops, firefighters, and children.

TGIFWTA: Just FOUR more days!

Until the new Avett Brothers CD is released. Here's the lead/title track from the album, "The Once and Future Carpenter." (Go Joe! Love that cello.)

"If I live the life I'm given, I won't be scared to die." Wise words. 

.

Mummy dearest

Absolutely, positively one for the "What were they thinking????" files. More weird and wonderful stuff from Awkward Family Photos.com

Maybe he's compensating for something

Those who can, do. Those who can't, pretend to be the bestest (ever!) at everything else, even stuff that totally doesn't matter.

In 2010, he began by announcing that he would perform “the best rendition ever” of “Green Eggs and Ham,” ripping into his Sam-I-Ams with unusual conviction.

NYT's Jodi Cantor on the Big 0's arrogance exceedingly healthy sense of self-esteem.

Now Mr. Obama is in the climactic contest of his career, about to receive the ultimate judgment on his performance from the American people.

As one friend emailed some days ago: "I sincerely hope that Obama suffers the most crushing defeat in US presidential election history. He claims to be the most outstanding at everything else, but that is one record I'd like to see him hold."

That's not wishing him ill;  it might benefit him in the long run for his hubris to be taken down a few dozen pegs or so.
.

It's too late to outlaw the 1970s

But surely something could be done about legislating sideburns out of existence for future generations.

Courtesy of Awkward Family Photos.

And pantsuits, just... no.

What kind of man allows himself to be talked into dressing like his wife and three-year-old daughter???? Or worse, maybe it was HIS idea...


and HAIR
(this pic didn't need to be any larger)

.

Thanks, Communism!

Russia is reeling in horror as crosses are cut down, relics are stolen from churches, and a mother and daughter are found murdered in their apartment with the words “Free Pussy Riot” scrawled on the wall in what appears to be their blood, following the conviction of the leftist “punk rock” band for an obscenity-laden protest in Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral earlier this month.

LSN
.

Some people run with the bulls, some people eat fugu, some people sue Mark Steyn.

How do you  flirt with destruction?

This is an alarming trend. Soon Mr. Steyn won't be able to so much as submit his favorite pie recipe to the town compilation cookbook without somebody suing him over the quantity of lard.

Here's your weekend slice of Steyn Pie:

  When you don't have frighteningly white upscale liberals obsessing about the racist subtext of golf, it's amazing how much time it frees up to talk about other stuff. For example, as dysfunctional as Greece undoubtedly is, if you criticize the government's plans for public pensions, there are no Chris Matthews-types with such a highly evolved state of racial consciousness that they reflexively hear "watermelon" instead of the word "pensions." So, instead, everyone discusses the actual text rather than the imaginary subtext. Which may be why political discourse in the eurozone is marginally less unreal than ours right now: At least they're talking about "austerity"; over here, we're still spending, and more than ever.

This reminds me of that Twilight Zone episode where all the words in the English language were redefined over the course of a week or so: "lunch" became "dinosaur", "Wednesday" was now the word for "dog", etc. We seem to be well into the twilight zone at this point.
.

TGIFWTA: update

Just found this article linked on Facebook. It's from NPR (yes, that NPR--lefty public radio). 

I and Love and You, was a crowd-pleaser in part because it speaks to universal truths; it reaches for more than mere infectiousness or agreeability, and finds what it was looking for.

Is NPR willing to admit there are universal truths? And that universal truth appeals to people? (Do I hear hell freezing over?) Is there such a thing as hell? This NPR writer hints that there might be.

Like I and Love and You, The Carpenter was produced by Rick Rubin, who sands down some of the band's rough edges on the way to another lovely, painstakingly crafted collection of songs. But the accessibility never blocks out the big, beating heart at the center of The Carpenter. The Avetts' music aims for something bigger than itself, and damned if it doesn't find it.

See lyrics of "Salvation Song" in post below. The Lord (is He the one with the big, beating heart?) moves in mysterious ways. Even on NPR.
.

TGIFWTA: Salvation Song (update)

This post has been Tweeted by Avett Nation! Woohoo and welcome, Twitter-folk! 

Thank goodness it’s Friday with the Avetts

Heaven help me, sometimes I read the comments posted on YouTube music videos. Some are quite funny and clever, but most are not. This exercise usually serves as a reminder that some people out there seem to have either: 1) way too much time on their hands or else 2) lives fairly devoid of meaning. Which doesn't say much for me, if I'm reading their banal –or profanity laced—ramblings (hint: the phrase “F---- Off” does not constitute an ‘argument’).  But I digress. 

Mrs. Beazly first introduced me to the Avett Brothers last year (eternal thanks) with this post. I merely dabbled for the better part of 18 months (for shame) but this past summer, I delved obsessively with a great deal of enthusiasm into their music. They defy tidy genre categorization, so I won’t even try. Here’s Wikipedia’s attempt:

The Avett Brothers combine bluegrass, country, punk, pop melodies, folk, rock and roll, honky tonk, and ragtime to produce a sound described by the San Francisco Chronicle as having the "heavy sadness of Townes Van Zandt, the light pop concision of Buddy Holly, the tuneful jangle of the Beatles, the raw energy of the Ramones."

They forgot to include grunge and old-timey gospel. I kid you not.

I want a Che T-shirt

This one. 

This one is also rather funny.

Other great miscellaneous T-shirt and poster designs...

Another million mi$$ed

When I see really clever ideas for blogs (and the merchandise they inspire), such as Cake Wrecks, or Savage Chickens, I think to myself, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Same with new versions of ordinary products, like Snappy Socks, invented by a mother of five. Sure, they're expensive, but I figure that in 26 years of marriage and 24 of motherhood, we have thrown away a ton of perfectly good but otherwise useless unpaired socks. Where do the matching socks go? That's on my list of questions to ask God when (if) I get to heaven. I wish this lady well. But Lord, couldn't you give me a great idea too?

Oh, those Russians

Neil Addison at MercatorNet on Russia's version of Hello Kitty:

Surely no government has the right to criticise the Russian authorities over this prosecution unless it is prepared to say that the same behaviour would be legal in its country. Certainly the conduct of Pussy Riot would not have been legal in Britain as I have pointed this out in my blog. Had Pussy Riot behaved the same way in Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s, the Central Synagogue or the Central Mosque then they would have been prosecuted for a variety of public order offences.

But really--London's Central Mosque? If this pathetic punk group had tried "performing" in a mosque, they would not have been prosecuted at all-- in fact, they would not have made it out the doors alive.
.

Wednesday's Word of Wisdom

And it's borrowed, of course, since I have so few naturally occuring ones of my own.

Alas, my dear brethren, the man who lives according to the direction of his passions and abandons the service of God is both unhappy and capable of so little! Put an army of one hundred thousand men around a dead man and let them employ all their power to bring him back to life. No, no, my dear children, he will not come to life again. But let someone who is despised by the world, but who enjoys the friendship of God, command this dead man to take up life again; immediately you will see him arise and walk. We have other proofs of this too. If it were necessary to be wealthy or to be very learned to serve God, a great many people would be unable to do it. But, no, my dear children, extensive learning or great wealth are not at all necessary for the service of God. On the contrary, they are often a very big obstacle to it. Yes, my dear brethren, let us be rich or poor, in whatever state we may be, learned or otherwise, we can please God and save our souls.

-- St. John Vianney

EWTN is mighty handy. This was their saint quotation from last Sunday's Mass readings devotions page.
.

Today it's St. Augustine's turn

“Belatedly I loved thee, O Beauty so ancient and so new, belatedly I loved thee. For see, thou wast within and I was without, and I sought thee out there. Unlovely, I rushed heedlessly among the lovely things thou hast made. Thou wast with me, but I was not with thee. These things kept me far from thee; even though they were not at all unless they were in thee. Thou didst call and cry aloud, and didst force open my deafness. Thou didst gleam and shine, and didst chase away my blindness. Thou didst breathe fragrant odors and I drew in my breath; and now I pant for thee. I tasted, and now I hunger and thirst. Thou didst touch me, and I burned for thy peace.”
― Augustine of Hippo, Confessions
.

Today is the Feast of St. Monica

Most of us know who she is because of her rather famous son. If you don't, click here to find out more. Most of us can also relate to St. Monica because we have someone in our lives who might be described as a "Before" version of St. Augustine, for whom we have been praying for years. We might even have a not-quite-saint Augustine dwelling in our hearts. ("Lord, help me to overcome the sin of ___________  ... starting tomorrow.")
.

A protest sign is worth a thousand words.

The one on the left could easily speak on behalf of children, and be aimed at thuggish teachers' unions and overweening government bureaucrats. The one on the right... needs no explanation.

h/t BCF

TGIFWTA

Thank Goodness It's Friday With The Avetts.

What a sweet little girl. She looks like a porcelain doll. 

He's playing Hank Williams's guitar. 

It's their weekend home

...and they probably run screaming from it by Sunday night, due to the claustrophobia. Only in Sweden.

 I understand the whole Small is Beautiful and Sustainable Living movements, but this seems like an example of well-off western eco-nuts pretending to be poor on the weekend, in order to soothe their guilty carbon-footprint consciences. It must be incomprehensible to people in underdeveloped nations who have to live like this all the time. Outhouse indeed.

 But you see, if you embrace the Tiny Sparse Lifestyle meme (even just superficially) then you really feel no obligation to help others escape their miserable conditions--those people who just want, as George Bailey would say, "A couple of decent rooms and a bath." (This clip, of course, comes from an era when people borrowed modestly, worked hard, lived modestly, and were determined to pay off their loans.) Things kind of spiralled out of control in the decades after that. Now we have unionized government workers retiring at 50 on fat pensions so that they can build a tiny crude eco-friendly house out in the country so that they can pretend to be poor and dispossessed on the weekends.

Next week on Houzz: "Hobo Chic: Living Large in a Repurposed Apple Crate"
.

It's always interesting to find yourself

in places that you didn't know you were. Apparently I have my own articles page on Crisis Magazine, and this all happened without my knowledge or consent. It's all reprinted stuff from Mercator, so there's a clue. The internet is a funny place. 

.

Irony supplement of the day

According to this Politico tell-all, Obama fears Mitt Romeny is "unfit to run the country."
.

No (expletive) kidding

“This is the first time in 55 years (of LLLC history) this question has come up."

La Leche League Canada turns down a transgender "man" (who has, naturally --sarcasm alert-- chosen to breastfeed his baby) who wants to become a LLL Leader and breastfeeding coach.

Toward the end of his pregnancy, unsure if his reduced breasts would allow him to breastfeed, but aware of the health benefits and curious to find out, a big-bellied Trevor nervously attended his first LLLC meeting. LLLC support meetings can cover all aspects of breastfeeding, from identifying whether the baby is full to dealing with clogged milk ducts to weaning.

Oh Lord, am I ever glad I'm no longer a Leader (or in fact in any way associated with this organization), because I could not handle stuff like this. I smell a Human Rights Commission challenge or lawsuit round the corner. My thoughts and prayers are with you, LLL ladies.

h/t BCF

.

I received some of this for my birthday.

18 Year Old Balsamic Vinegar from OlivTastingRoom--it was corked!-- from my older daughters, who evidently are acquiring some very refined (and expensive) tastes. (Good thing Miss P. #1 works for an evil multi-national corporation.) Flaky back story (wine is evil!) but truly the best-tasting balsamic vinegar I've ever ever consumed. If only I was a gourmet cook worthy of such a wonderful product. I'll probably use up the whole bottle by mixing it with (cheap) olive oil and dipping French bread in it.
.

Mark Steyn, call your office

He said all this and more in After America. Maybe Mr. Ferguson should read it, if he's not done so already.

In the words of Peter Thiel, perhaps the lone skeptic within a hundred miles of Palo Alto: In our youth we were promised flying cars. What did we get? 140 characters. 

[or as Steyn puts it, more ways to listen to Justin Bieber]

So let me offer some simple lessons of history: More and faster information is not good in itself. Knowledge is not always the cure. And network effects are not always positive.

[...] It’s a dangerous world. Ask anyone who works in the world of intelligence to list the biggest threats we face, and they’ll likely include bioterrorism, cyber war, and nuclear proliferation. What these have in common, of course, is the way modern technology can empower radicalized (or just plain crazy) individuals and groups.

When it comes to technology's ability to save us, I am, like Ferguson and Steyn, a 'depressimist'.
.

Time for a nice hot cup of pure, unadulterated Steyn

Our elites have sunk into a boutique decadence of moral preening entirely disconnected from reality: A nonhomophobic chicken in every pot, an abortifacient dispenser in every Catholic university, a high-speed rail corridor between every two bankrupt California municipalities.
No sane man could compete on this turf.

[...] Now the vice president is telling Americans it's a choice between Obama-Biden multitrillion-dollar shop-till-you-drop spend-till-you-end government ... or 19th century slavery. Swing low, sweet vice-presidential chariot.

Read the rest here.
.

If you use cloth grocery bags, you need to watch this.

I always thought the movement to switch to cloth grocry bags was evil, and not just because it was spurred by earth worship. Of course, as Pundette (actually guest-poster PJM) points out, environmentalists won't mind if a few old people die of ecoli poisoning if it will save a turtle, fish or bird.
.

I am a reductionist

Pardon the pun. Then you might wonder why it's so difficult for me to (as my mom's generation would say) "reduce" and lose 25 pounds. Is obesity a disease or a moral failing? Sorry, but put me in camp #2. It's downright delusional to think the following: 

The groundbreaking report and accompanying HBO documentary, “The Weight of the Nation,” present a forceful case that the obesity epidemic has been driven by structural changes in our environment, rather than embrace the reductionist view that the cause is poor decision making by individuals.

What "structural changes"? Too many McDonald's restaurants per square mile? Climate Change? Mind control from outer space? Hormones in milk?

I joked with Mr. P. that some folks actually believe there is a conspiracy by Big Food: they've put secret ingredients into snacks to make them irresistible to munchers. Mr. P. snorts: "Yes, they're called sugar and salt."

Since obesity is now in large part (sorry) a problem of the poor, another delusionist thinks that cash payments will help people make better choices, calling bribery a "new silver bullet in global health." Good luck with that.

There is only one silver bullet: it's called Self-Control. The hard part is figuring out how to get there, after decades of If it Feels Good, Do It and Get Your Laws Off My Body morality.

13 Things your child's teacher won't tell you

Number 6:

"I try to never give up on a student." Trying to never split infinitives, not so much.
.

Designer Thoughts

From our Euphemisms are Funny files. I was browsing the newly updated IKEA website and was admiring these simple yet lovely dishes. (They would look so great in my future plate rack in my future newly renovated Country-Eclectic kitchen.)

Here's the product description, titled "Designer Thoughts"  

"The ARV series is inspired by Scandinavian tradition. The style is simple and rustic, with ruffled edges that give a soft look. ARV can therefore change character somewhat, depending on how you combine the different pieces. It's also inspired by the elegance of 18th century design, which in turn was borrowed from the Far East, where the service is produced today. In this way, past traditions are connected with our times, which makes ARV feel both new and familiar at the same time."

Translation: MADE IN CHINA.

Nice try, IKEA guys. I'm going to try to find a similar style, but made in a country other than China (wish me luck).

.

The Record columns update... updated

The web edition of The Record does not presently provide access to the entire list of columns that I've published with them. They've recently revamped the entire site, so this may change. Stay tuned. The column below does not appear on my Record web page, so here it is.

From April 18,
Overcoming the Post-Transfiguration Blues

Brain convergence

Oh joy! Mrs. Beazly and her lovely family have winged their way across the nation and will be staying at my house THIS VERY NIGHT. No time to blog. Must cue (or queue?) up the Avetts iTunes playlist and whip up a batch of homemade Fruit Medley ice cream (strawberries, peaches and blueberries-- one of the best-tasting ice creams we've made so far). And maybe bake a cake, if I have time.

Just for the heck of it, here's the dessert we (well, actually my girls made it, not I) served last year when the Beazlys graced us with their presence.

Crispy Fruit Pizza

Recipe found on pages 48-49 of this kids' cookbook, which, being part of the Original Series, is probably (unfortunately) now out of print. 

While I was on vacation

David Warren left the Ottawa Citizen. It's their loss. I look forward to his future endeavours.

I may well write for the paper in future, but not three times a week on staff. So far as I have any gifts at all, I will apply them in what remains of my life to argue for the Catholic religion, and defend nobility in every humane form, according to my faith and conscience. But I may no longer belong in "mainstream media;" may never have belonged, and must be on my way.  .

If some husbands really wanted to please some wives

...they would book a surprise 25th anniversary trip (which would REALLY be a surprise, since some couples didn't take a trip last year when they were supposed to, and it's actually some couples' 26th anniversary this fall) to beautiful Prince Edward Island in mid-September and start off the holiday with a visit to the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival in Fredericton.

Look who's playing at 6:00 pm on Friday, Sept. 14, in the Budweiser Blues Tent, and even with the taxes and various assorted other fees, it only costs about $60 per ticket.

That's not too much to spend in order to show your appreciation to the woman who cooked your meals, made your bed and washed your dungarees for 25, er 26 years, not to mention who also bore you seven children, and continues to bore you on a daily basis?

What a very fantastic birthday present that might make for some bloggers whose birthday is not too far away.

Alternately (in case some husbands couldn't get time off from work, which is what happened last year), if some sisters wanted to go with some other sisters on the road/plane/ferry trip of a lifetime...
.

Oral hygiene can be fun.

I finally figured out why I like using this product:

Because it's like brushing your teeth with this:

.

From the Friday Files

Oh yes, how a soul can relate. Priceless.

Thanks to Deborah G, who posted this on her FB feed.
.

Why do I love the Avetts? Let me recount the ways

Supporting his family through his daughter’s illness has afforded Crawford a deepening of faith. “This has been the hardest time of my life, my wife’s life,” he says. “I came to God through this experience in a more personal way. I’ve been trying to get closer and nurture that.”
It’s a belief the Avett Brothers all share—each member supporting a personal relationship with God over one driven by culture. However, each member also adamantly insists that theirs is art made by Christians—not “Christian art.”

What more can I add but... Amen, Brothers! (Who knew they had so much in common with Flannery?)

Full article here. 

It's a good thing I speak Steyn

"fleets of Third World thug bureaucrats and the permanent floating crap game of transnationalist freeloaders" = the Olympic community.

The One comments on the opening ceremony etc. Chock full of golden nuggets:

"...it never occurs to you to wonder whether taking 40 minutes to do the Industrial Revolution in interpretive dance was a good idea in the first place."

"deflating the synthesized bombast of the "Chariots of Fire" theme through the presence of Mr. Bean suggested a rare sense of proportion about the whole circus."

"Whether or not Danny Boyle's NHS musical will run longer than "Cats," the waiting list already does."

Read it all.

It is the 48th anniversary

of Flannery's death.

Not as I pictured her, enthroned
on high, fiercely Promethean
with eagles, say, or lions on the headstone --
but the square, unlandscaped family plot
sans even a drooping willow seems right.
Aligned with her father, three great-aunts opposite,
space for the mother who outlives her yet,
Flannery lies unadorned except by name
who breathed in fire and fed us on the flame.

Maxine Kumin 

Excerpt, ON VISITING FLANNERYO'CONNOR'S GRAVE

Milledgeville, Ga., 1988

.

Jim Croce is smiling down on this one

Seth Avett and Bob Crawford. Need I say more? I feel an entire category for the Avetts coming on.