text:
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Archbishop Burke: Democrats Risk Becoming a "Party of Death"
Monday, September 29, 2008
Digest of Today's Posts (29 September 2008)
The Democrats: The Party of the "Common Good"?
George Marlin, author of The American Catholic Voter: Two Hundred Years of Political Impact (St. Augustine's Press), writes at The Catholic Thing:
Democratic Party insiders know that they must persuade practicing Catholics to return to the party of their forefathers if they are to win the presidential election this November.My Comments:
To achieve that goal, the Democrats are throwing rhetorical crumbs to Catholics voters. In their 2008 national platform, for instance, they claim they "will empower grassroots faith-based and community groups to help meet challenges like poverty, ex-offender reentry, and illiteracy" so long as they "do not endanger First Amendment protections… [and] ensure that public funds are not used to proselytize or discriminate." In other words, Catholic institutions need not apply because they support the tenets of their Church and oppose homosexual couple adoption or distribution of contraceptives.
As for abortion, Democrats, on the one hand, try to schmooze Catholics by claiming support for education and health care that will "help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and thereby also reduce the need for abortions." Yet, on the other hand, they have employed the strongest pro-abortion language in their history: "The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman's right to choose a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right."
Democrats also frequently refer to the Roman Catholic social concept of the "common good" when describing their approach to governing.
In their party platform preamble, they demand that "leaders abandon the politics of partisan division and find creative solutions to promote the common good."
To recapture the loyalties of an integral part of Franklin Roosevelt's electoral coalition, urban and blue-collar Catholics, the Democrats are disingenuously appealing to the "common good" to lull them into believing the party is in sync with their beliefs. Catholics should not fall for this ruse.
And, lest we forget, here's what Cardinal George said recently on this topic:
... Good law defends the defenseless. Our present laws permit unborn children to be privately killed. Laws that place unborn children outside the protection of law destroy both the children killed and the common good, which is the controlling principle of Catholic social teaching. One cannot favor the legal status quo on abortion and also be working for the common good...(emphasis added)
Labels: Catholic Social Teaching, Democrats, Pro-Life, The Catholic Vote, The Common Good
Michaelmas - Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, 29 September
Defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the
Wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him,
We humbly pray.
And do thou,
O Prince of the Heavenly Host,
By the Power of God,
Cast into Hell
Satan and all the evil spirits
which prowl about the world,
Seeking the ruin of souls.
From the Medieval Saints Yahoo Group:
The Dedication of Saint Michael the Archangel, Michaelmas Day
Hebrew "Mikha El," (Who is like unto God?), Venerated by Jews, Christians and Muslims
Commemorated September 29: the dedication of the sanctuary which was built on Monte Gargano in honor of the apparition of Saint Michael the Archangel. This feast is very ancient.
Also commemorated on May 8th a lesser feast is observed to commemorate the appearance of St. Michael on the summit of Mount Gargano in Apulia during the time of Pope Gelasius (492-6).
Devotion to Michael was common in the East during the fourth century and the Western Church began to observe the feast sometime in the fifth century. In the offertory anthem of the mass for the dead, St. Michael is charged with the care of all departed souls, "holy standard bearer, introduce them to the holy light, which thou didst promise of old to Abraham and to his seed."
St. Michael's Day, or Michaelmas is one of the Medieval Quarter days. The celebration was marked by harvest festivals, hospitality, costumes, music and dancing. Many popular traditions grew up around the day, which coincided with the end of harvest and the end of the fiscal year.
Patronage: champion of the Jewish people, against temptations, ambulance drivers, artists, bakers, bankers, banking, battle, boatmen, coopers, danger at sea, dying people, emergency medical technicians, EMTs, England, fencing, Germany, greengrocers, grocers, haberdashers, hatmakers, hatters, holy death, knights, mariners, milleners, paramedics, paratroopers, police officers, radiologists, radiotherapists, sailors, security forces, security guards, sick people, soldiers, Spanish police officers, storms at sea, swordsmiths, watermen, protector of the Nile
In art, he is shown as an angel with a sword raised, standing over the devil or a dragon; holding a balance, a pair of scales, which he uses to weigh the souls; "Quis ut Deus" is often inscribed on Saint Michael's shield.
St. Michael the Archangel
The Church has never canonized angels. If we pay liturgical honors to the archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, we give them the title saint because they have always been in heaven.
All three archangels are now venerated in a common feast on September 29, which used to be St. Michael's feast alone. Because the new common feast seems to diminish his importance, let us consider him a little more at length in connection with his other feastday, the Apparition of St. Michael, formerly observed on May 8.
The name Michael means, of course, "Who is like God?" He is represented as perhaps the chief angel in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Several early apocryphal writings do the same. While these writings are not accepted as scriptures by the Church, they nevertheless testify to popular devotion to the "generalissimo" of the heavenly hosts.
Michael was regarded as the protector of the Israelites, especially in the days of their captivity in Babylon. "Michael, the great prince," the Old Testament prophet Daniel calls him, "guardian of your people." (Dn,12:1). In the New Testament Book of Revelation, St. John speaks prophetically of the ultimate victory of Michael and his regiments against the army of the great dragon, Satan. After a mighty struggle, Michael casts the enemy down to earth. (Rev.,12:7-9). Thus St. Michael, protector of Israel, was also hailed as the protector of the New Testament's People of God.
Churches dedicated to St. Michael in the Mideast date from as early as the fourth century. In the West, the cult of Michael became widespread, particularly after his alleged apparition around AD 500 in a cave in Mount Gargano, southeast Italy. The archangel revealed to the local bishop, St. Lawrence of Siponto, that he should erect a shrine there in honor of the archangel himself and all other angels. This St. Lawrence did, and the "Mount Santangelo" soon became a noted place of pilgrimage.
St. Michael also figures in the annals of Pope St. Gregory the Great. During the pestilence that struck Rome in the year 590, Gregory organized a great penitential procession about the streets of the Eternal City to beg God to withdraw the plague. Tradition says that when the march passed by the massive tomb of Emperor Hadrian, St. Michael appeared on its summit sheathing his sword, and the epidemic ceased. Today Hadrian's fortified tomb is called the Castel SantAngelo - Castle of the Holy Angel - and for centuries it has been topped by a statue of St. Michael, dressed in the armor of a Roman soldier, returning sword to scabbard. In Rome, therefore, St. Michael is considered both healer and defender.
The other major Western shrine of the Archangel is the famous Mont St. Michel, a rocky outcropping off the coast of Normandy, France, where the bishop of Avranches established a Benedictine monastery in AD 708; again, we are told, on the advice of the Archangel Michael. In Cornwall, too, near the city of Penzance, there is a little offshore island resembling Mont St. Michel, which in medieval times was likewise the site of a Benedictine monastery that became an English place of pilgrimage.
Pope Leo XIII had the soldier-angel in mind when he ordered that a prayer to St. Michael and several other prayers be recited by priest and faithful at the end of every low Mass. The date of this order was 1884 - an era in which Germany was engaged in a stern persecution of the Catholic Church. Vatican II cancelled the rule, but the invocation to the Archangel is still appropriate - indeed, necessary in our troubled times:
"St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the malice and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do you, O prince of the heavenly host, by the divine power, thrust into hell Satan and the other evil spirits who roam through the world seeking the ruin of souls."
--Father Robert F. McNamara
In the middle ages, Michaelmas(se) celebrated the end of the harvest. It marked the official end of the farming and accounting year. This was an important time, when manor books were closed out, rents paid, a new reeve (the chief officer of the village) was chosen, and storehouses stocked for the winter ahead. Celebration of this holiday traditionally was symbolized with "glofe, gees, and gyngeuer." The glove represented the open-handedness and generosity of the lord of the village, goose eaten for good luck in the coming year ("If you eat goose on Michelmasse day, you will never want money all year"), and ginger, believed to provide protection against infection. The harvest feast paid the laborers for their boon work with meat, fish, ale and good bread.
More on St. Michael at:
Patron Saints Index - St. Michael
Women for Faith & Family - St. Michael and All Angels
Variations of St. Michael Prayer
Pictures of St. Michael
Recipe - Michaelmas Goose with Traditional Potato & Apple Stuffing
St. Michael's Mount, Cornwall
Mont-Saint-Michel, Normandy
Skellig Michael, Ireland
Labels: Saints and Martyrs, Traditional Feast Days
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Digest of Today's Posts (25 September 2008)
Hot Damn, I Love That Woman!
"They will take the phrase 'under God' away from me when my cold, dead lips can no longer utter those words"
- Mayor of Wasilla, AK, Sarah Palin in a letter to a San Francisco newspaper
Here's more:
"Dear Editor," Palin wrote in 2002. "San Francisco judges forbidding our Pledge of Allegiance? They will take the phrase 'under God' away from me when my cold, dead lips can no longer utter those words," Palin wrote.
"God Bless America," she concluded.
Hundreds of notes and letters
Palin's letter to the editor is one of hundreds of personal notes and letters written by the former Mayor, and obtained this week to NBC News and others. The documents shed light on the management style--and personality--of the small town mayor turned vice presidential candidate.
There are few headline grabbers in the lot. Even Palin's Pledge-of-Allegiance rant was a commonly held view at the time. (The U.S. Supreme Court later overturned the ruling on technical grounds. But not before Palin pushed through a city resolution stating that the Wasilla City Council "shall continue to recite America's Pledge of Allegiance, in its entirety, including and especially the words, '…one nation, under God…")
Labels: America, God and Country, Palin
Brits Set to Lift 300-Year-Old Ban on Catholic Succession to the Throne
From The Daily Mail:
The 300-year-old rule excluding Catholics from the throne is set to be abolished under plans drawn up by Downing Street.
Legislation including the 1701 Act of Settlement bars all Catholics and anyone married to a Catholic from reigning and forces any monarch coming to the throne to reject Catholicism.
'To bring about changes to the law on succession would be a complex undertaking involving amendment or repeal of a number of items of related legislation, as well as requiring the consent of legislatures of member nations of the Commonwealth,' the spokesman said.
Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Joanna Bogle on "For God and Queen: The Quandary of the English Catholic"
British Prelates to Press for Repeal of Act of Settlement
Scottish Cardinal Denounces Great Britain's Official Anti-Catholicism
This Day in Jacobite History: The Acts of Union - 1 May 1707
This Day in Jacobite History: Death of Queen Anne; George, Elector of Hanover, Becomes King - 1 August 1714
Labels: Anti-Catholicism, Catholic Identity, England, God and Country, History, Jacobite, Law, Religious Persecution, United Kingdom
Bubba Twists the Knife [UPDATED]
Going very much against the media meme that the current financial crisis is all George W. Bush and the Republicans' fault, Bill Clinton on Thursday told ABC's Chris Cuomo that Democrats for years have been "resisting any efforts by Republicans in the Congress or by me when I was President to put some standards and tighten up a little on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac" (video available here, relevant section at 2:45).
Whether he knew it or not, Clinton was going against virtually all press outlets that have been pointing fingers at Republicans since this crisis began, and likely much to the dismay of such folk actually agreed with a Fox News segment aired on Tuesday's "Special Report"...
Via Breitbart, here he is from this morning's GMA, just a week after calling McCain a "great man" and mere hours before stressing how "personally, profoundly honored" he is to have him speak at his charity. This must be the first time since … ever that he and Gingrich have agreed on something. Think he's enjoying feeding The One this turdburger in bite-sized morsels as thanks for all the racial demagoguery thrown at him during the primary?My Comments:
The best part of this isn't the "good faith" bit but his point — which he repeats, so that no one misses it — that Maverick actually wanted more debates, not less. That'll be a handy riposte tomorrow if McCain ends up skipping out and the left starts accusing him of being scared. Exit question that's really not a question: Dude, he's totally voting Republican this year, isn't he?
They may be publicly endorsing Sen. Obama, but I have a feeling that both President Clinton and Sen. Clinton, in the privacy of the voting booth, may be pulling the lever for Sen. McCain.
Leftwing Blogosphere Enraged Over Bill Clinton's Defense of McCain Debate Delay Request
Heh. I wonder what they think of Pres. Clinton's blaming the Fannie/Freddie debacle on the Democrats' "resisting any efforts by Republicans in the Congress or by me when I was President to put some standards and tighten up a little on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac"?
Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
I Wish This Version of President Clinton Had Been in the White House
Senate Passes Brownback's Down Syndrome Bill
From Jean at Catholic Fire:
The Senate approved a measure that requires doctors to give expectant mothers more comprehensive information if they receive a positive test for Down syndrome.Great news!
The bill is the product of an unusual partnership between Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, an anti-abortion Republican, and Sen. Edward Kennedy, an abortion-rights advocate from Massachusetts.
About 90% of women who learn they are carrying a fetus with the genetic disorder have an abortion.
Kennedy is a longtime advocate of disabled and children with special needs.
The bill requires doctors to give parents information about caring for children with disabilities and about support services.
Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Michael Gerson: "Trig's Breakthrough" [UPDATED]
Sen. Kennedy Joins Sen. Brownback on Pro-Life Legislation
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Digest of Today's Posts (24 September 2008)
(Digest of Yesterday's Posts (23 September 2008))
Whom should I chuse
But the Queene of Walsingam
To be guide to my muse?
Cypresse of Syon and Joye of Israel,
Rose of Jericho and Star of Bethlehem,
O glorious Lady, our asking not repel,
In mercy all wymen ever thou dost excel,
Therefore, blessed Lady, grant thou thy great grace
To all that thee devoutly visit in this place.
Labels: Digest of Posts
A Reminder: The Catholic Vote
Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Fidelis Debuts CatholicVote.com
Labels: Catholic Social Teaching, Elections, The Catholic Vote, Voting Your Values
Hubris, Thy Name is Obama
Ed Morrissey reports:
First we had the Vero Possumus seal, and then the Barackopolis. One might have thought that Team Obama would have learned their lesson on hubris and self-absorption, but a deal with a British firm goes even farther. Democrats have begun striking coins with Barack Obama's profile — and already proclaiming him President ...This commenter nailed it:
Commemorating the man whose biggest achievement was writing two autobiographies.I suppose these coins might constitute "change". Of course, the only way they'll be worth anything is if Obama loses, which appears to be a distinct possibility.
Labels: Obama, What the ****?
Feast of Our Lady of Walsingham - 24 September
[Originally posted on 24 September 2006, and updated on 24 September 2007]
Pilgrimage to the Land Known as "Our Lady's Dowry"
O England great cause thou hast glad for to be
Compared to the land of promise Sion
To be called in every realm and region
The Holy Land, Our Lady's Dowry ...
Three years ago today - on the Feast of Our Lady of Walsingham, I was on pilgrimmage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in the picturesque village of Little Walsingham in Norfolk, East Anglia, England.
The Blessed Virgin Mary, under her title of Our Lady of Walsingham is the patroness of England (as well as the Anderson household).
Historical Background
Walsingham has been a place of pilgrimage since medieval times. At one time, it was ranked among the 3 most important pilgrimage sites in Europe, along with Santiago de Compostela and Rome.
The original Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham was founded in 1061 by Richeldis de Faverches, who was taken in spirit to Nazareth and asked by Our Lady to build a replica, in Norfolk, of the Holy House of the Annunciation. The Shrine of the Holy House stood for almost 500 years as a place of devotion to the Holy Virgin Mother of God and the Incarnation of Her Son, before it was destroyed by Henry VIII at the Reformation.
Many barren years passed until the Slipper Chapel, a 14th century wayside pilgrim chapel just outside the village of Little Walsingham, was restored and pilgrimage to Walsingham in honor of Our Blessed Lady began once more. Originally dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria, this wayside chapel had served medieval pilgrims on their way to England's Nazareth. Just as on Mount Sinai Moses took off his shoes because he was on holy ground, so pilgrims used to remove their shoes at the Slipper Chapel (hence, its name) and walk the Holy Mile into Walsingham barefoot.
In 1934, the English Bishops named the Slipper Chapel the Roman Catholic National Shrine of Our Lady. The Slipper Chapel's first Mass since the Reformation was celebrated there on August 15, 1934, and on September 8, 1938, the Shrine was re-consecrated by the local Bishop.
The most important image in the Chapel is the Statue of Our Lady of Walsingham.
From the Women for Faith & Family website:
Our Lady of Walsingham
by Raven Wenner
Our Lady of Walsingham Church
Houston Texas
In AD 2000, The Holy Father John Paul II decreed that the feast of Our Lady of Walsingham, mediaeval patroness of England, and in modern times patroness of all English-speaking peoples, is now celebrated on September 24th in England. It is a solemnity for all parishes in any part of the world named for Our Lady under this title.
Our Lady of Walsingham was formerly celebrated on March 25th, "Lady Day" (Feast of the Annunciation), but for ecumenical considerations was moved to September 24th. (September 24 in England had been the feast of Our Lady of Ransom, who was entreated for the re-conversion of England, "Our Lady's Dowery".
The feast of Our Lady of Walsingham was celebrated for the first time on the new date in 2001. The feast of the Annunciation is increasingly celebrated as a pro-life feast, considering children in the womb; Our Lady of Walsingham's feast asks us to contemplate the joy of the Incarnation in the simple family life of the Holy Family at Nazareth. The new date and emphasis on this feast is timely considering how family life is under attack in Western culture.
Our Lady of Walsingham
by Joanna Bogle
Voices' Contributing Editor
Walsingham is England's national shrine to Our Lady, and a major place of pilgrimage and prayer. It is in Norfolk, a few miles from the North Sea, and is a small village set in the green countryside characteristic of this corner of Britain. The shrine dates back to the 12th century, when the local lady of the manor, Richeldis, had a vision of the Holy House – the home of the Holy family at Nazareth – on this spot. For centuries, pilgrims visited here and Our Lady of Walsingham was honoured with countless processions and prayers. Springs of water – they still exist today – were said to have healing powers. A great priory drew men who devoted themselves to the religious life. At the shrine itself, the image was always surrounded by candles, flowers, and gifts left by grateful pilgrims who had knelt there in prayer.
In the early 16th century, among those who came were the young king Henry, and his wife Catherine. They were praying that God would grant them a son. England had seen terrifying wars in an earlier generation as the houses of Lancaster and York battled out their struggle for supremacy, and now stability was needed for the new ruling house of Tudor. It was not to be. Catherine bore several children, but all died in infancy except one daughter, Mary. Henry, angry and disappointed, decided to marry his mistress Anne Boleyn. He sought an annulment of his marriage through the Church, but failed to obtain it. Divorcing Catherine unilaterally, he married Anne – who by then was carrying his child – and announced himself head of the Church. The Lord Chancellor, Thomas More, and the Bishop of Rochester, John Fisher, were beheaded at the Tower of London in 1534 for refusing to affirm him in his claims, maintaining instead that only the Pope, the successor of Saint Peter, could hold that office. . Needing funds, Henry turned on the Church and crushed monasteries and priories. On the excuse of its being idolatrous, the shrine at Walsingham was destroyed and the statue burned. For some 400 years, there were no more pilgrimages, processions, or signs of devotion to Mary in this quiet village.
The shrine was revived in the early 20th century – an Anglican vicar researched the history and re-created the Holy House in a new shrine, and a Catholic lady obtained the old "Slipper Chapel" just outside the village and this became the revived Catholic centre of devotion. Today, there are pilgrimages throughout the summer and the Catholic shrine has its own large church built of attractive local stone. Pilgrims pray and sing as they walk the "Holy Mile" – traditionally barefoot – from the village. Schools, parish groups, Catholic organisations – all come with their banners and their choirs, their sandwiches and their children, to greet Our Lady at a place which combines the pleasures of unusually beautiful countryside with an atmosphere of real devotion and joy. Some groups stay for days – a local farmer rents out fields in which large groups of young pilgrims and families can camp – and in recent years Walsingham has seen a revival of Eucharistic adoration and confession, promoted by "Youth 2000", a major initiative of the "John Paul 11 generation".
When Pope John Paul visited Britain in 1982 the image of Our Lady of Walsingham was brought to London where it was the centrepiece of a major rally attended by the Holy Father. Many Catholic families, churches and schools, have copies of the image: it is an unusual one in which Mary is seen seated, as a dignified queen wearing a simple Saxon-style crown and carrying the Christ-child seated upright on her lap. Honour to Our Lady of Walsingham is linked to prayer that the people of England may once again return to the practice of the Catholic Faith: Our Lady of Walsinghan, pray for us!
From the September 2007 issue of the Walsingham Newletter:
... The message of Walsingham, from the very beginning, has been the message of the Incarnation. "The Word was made Flesh and dwelt amongst us." Pilgrimage is a great way of expressing the idea that God came to share our human life, it is a sign that we are journeying ever closer to God and in this way it is sacramental. It reminds us that we can meet God in our everyday lives and not only in church. Mary, who attended to the human needs of her Son and walked with him on his journey from Galilee to Jerusalem and the cross, will join us on our journey. In relating Mary to the Eucharist Pope Benedict finishes by saying "She is the Immaculata, who receives God's gift unconditionally and is thus associated with his work of salvation. Mary of Nazareth, icon of the nascent Church, is the model for each of us, called to receive the gift that Jesus makes of himself in the Eucharist."~ Noel Wynn S.M.
From the Medieval Saints Yahoo Group:
Feast of Our Lady of Walsingham
Also known as Virgin by the Sea, site also known as England's Nazareth
Shrine established in 1061, priory in 1150
Commemorated September 24
"Let all who are in any way distressed or in need seek me there in that small house that you maintain for me at Walsingham. To all that seek me there shall be given succour."
Until the martyrdom of St. Thomas a Becket at Canterbury in 1170, Walsingham was England's most celebrated and visited shrine. Many miracles were attributed to Our Lady of Walsingham, including one in which Kind Edward I was saved from a piece of falling masonry. There constructed shrine was recently voted England's favourite spiritual place in a poll of BBC Radio 4 listeners.
Our Lady of Walsingham
In 1061 Lady Richeldis de Faverches, lady of the manor near the village of Walsingham, Norfolk, England, was taken in spirit to Nazareth. There Our Lady asked her to build a replica, in Norfolk, of the Holy House where she had been born, grew up, and received the Annunciation of Christ's impending birth. She immediately did, constructing a house 23'6" by 12'10" according to the plan given her. Its fame slowly spread, and in 1150 a group of Augustinian Canons built a priory beside it. Its fame continued to grow, and for centuries it was a point of pilgrimage for all classes, the recipient of many expensive gifts.
In 1534 Walsingham became one of the first houses to sign the Oath of Supremacy, recognizing Henry VIII as head of the Church in England. Dissenters were executed, and in 1538 the House was stripped of its valuables, its statue of the Virgin taken to London to be burned, its buildings used as farm sheds for the next three centuries.
In 1896 Charlotte Boyd purchased the Slipper Chapel and donated it to Downside Abbey. In 1897 Pope Leo XIII re-founded the ancient shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, and pilgrimages are permitted to resume. The statue of Our Lady is enshrined in 1922 beginning an era of cooperation at the shrine between Catholics and Anglicans. In 1981 construction began on the Chapel of Reconciliation, a cooperative effort between the two confessions, and located near the shrine. The feast of Our Lady of Walsingham was reinstated in 2000.
Walsingham Priory
Walsingham Priory stood a few miles from the sea in the northern part of Norfolk, England. Founded in the time of Edward the Confessor, the chapel of Our Lady of Walsingham was confirmed to the Augustinian Canons a century later and enclosed within the priory. From the first this shrine of Our Lady was a famous place of pilgrimage. Hither came the faithful from all parts of England and from the continent until the destruction of the priory by Henry VIII in 1538. To this day the main road of the pilgrims through Newmarket, Brandon, and Fakenham is still called the Palmers' Way.
Many were the gifts of lands, rents, and churches to the canons of Walsingham, and many the miracles wrought at Our Lady's shrine. Henry III came on a pilgrimage to Walsingham in 1241, Edward I in 1280 and 1296, Edward II in 1315, Henry VI in 1455, Henry VII in 1487, and Henry VIII in 1513. Erasmus in fulfilment of a vow made a pilgrimage from Cambridge in 1511, and left as his offering a set of Greek verses expressive of his piety. Thirteen years later he wrote his colloquy on pilgrimages, wherein the wealth and magnificence of Walsingham are set forth, and some of the reputed miracles rationalized.
In 1537 while the last prior, Richard Vowell, was paying obsequious respect to Cromwell, the sub-prior Nicholas Milcham was charged with conspiring to rebel against the suppression of the lesser monasteries, and on flimsy evidence was convicted of high treason and hanged outside the priory walls. In July, 1538, Prior Vowell assented to the destruction of Walsingham Priory and assisted the king's commissioners in the removal of the figure of Our Lady, of many of the gold and silver ornaments and in the general spoliation of the shrine. For his ready compliance the prior received a pension of 100 pounds a year, a large sum in those days, while fifteen of the canons received pensions varying from 4 pounds to 6 pounds. The shrine dismantled, and the priory destroyed, its site was sold by order of Henry VIII to one Thomas Sidney for 90 pounds, and a private mansion was subsequently erected on the spot.
The Elizabethan ballad, "A Lament for Walsingham," expresses something of what the Norfolk people felt at the loss of their glorious shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham.
More on Our Lady of Walsingham at:
The Prayer of the Feast: Lord God, in the mystery of the Incarnation, Mary conceived your Son in her heart before she conceived Him in her womb. As we, your pilgrim people, rejoice in her patronage, grant that we also may welcome Him into our hearts, and so, like her, be made a holy house fit for His eternal dwelling. We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.
Our Lady of Walsingham,
pray for us.
Official Shrine Site
The Virgin by the Sea; Our Lady of Walsingham (University of Dayton)
Patron Saints Index: Our Lady of Walsingham
Our Lady of Walsingham (MaryPages.com)
Our Lady of Walsingham Catholic Church (Anglican Use) - Houston, TX
Orthodox Christian Society of Our Lady of Walsingham
Fr. Finigan's Walsingham posts at The Hermeneutic of Continuity
Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
National Catholic Register on "Our Lady's England"
London: Plans Unveiled for Memorial to Pre-Reformation Shrines [UPDATED]
EWTN Documentary 2008 - "Walsingham: England's Nazareth"
A Memorial in Chelsea to the Marian Shrines Destroyed in the English Reformation
Fr. Finigan's Day Trip to Walsingham
Feast of Our Lady of Walsingham - 24 September
Our Sacred Spaces
Catholic Cultural Heritage Images - Recta Ratio Features Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham
A Couple More Walsingham-Related Posts By Fr. Finigan at The Hermeneutic of Continuity
"Sinne is Where Our Ladye Sate"
Morris Dancing at Walsingham
Our Lady of Walsingham - 24 September
Photos, Postcards, and Mementos of My 2005 Pilgrimage to Walsingham
Novena in Honor of Our Lady of Walsingham - Day 1
Novena in Honor of Our Lady of Walsingham - Day 2
Novena in Honor of Our Lady of Walsingham - Day 3
Novena in Honor of Our Lady of Walsingham - Day 4
Novena in Honor of Our Lady of Walsingham - Day 5
Novena in Honor of Our Lady of Walsingham - Day 6
Novena in Honor of Our Lady of Walsingham - Day 7
Novena in Honor of Our Lady of Walsingham - Day 8
Novena in Honor of Our Lady of Walsingham - Day 9
Some Walsingham Pilgrims Causing Consternation for Residents of Medieval Village
Impressions of England
Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in Norfolk, England
Labels: Devotionals, England, History, Our Blessed Lady, Prayer, Saints and Martyrs, Traditional Feast Days, Walsingham
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Digest of Today's Posts (23 September 2008)
"Nonpartisan" Catholics United Attacks the Knights of Columbus
Darwin has the details and an excellent rebuttal:
... Let me reply, both as a fellow Catholic and as a Knight, to Chris Korzen and to James Salt, the "organizing director" who is the signatory to all the emails that go out from Catholics United:My Comments:
Your attitude towards the open letter from Supreme Knight Carl Anderson is not only disappointing, it is deplorable. You and your organization should be ashamed of yourselves and of your politicization of Catholic teaching in order to support the most pro-abortion candidate ever to seek of the office of President of the United States.
Further, your attempts to attack McCain and uphold Obama on "pro-life" grounds are misguided to the point of being morally disgusting.
Moreover, it is doubly hypocritical for you to first attack Republicans for not agreeing with your opinions as to what specific policies are actually most conducive to the common good, and then denounce the Knights for asserting basic Catholic teaching about the morality of abortion. The truth can never be a distraction from the "real issues".
I assume that you are in earnest in your belief that progressive policies are most conducive to the Common Good. If you called yourselves "Progressives United" that would be all well and good. But to call yourselves "Catholics United" and then denounce those who put forth basic Catholic teachings, while acting as if your personal policy preferences have the stamp of doctrinal necessity is the height of dishonesty.
[Read the whole thing]
Amen, worthy Brother Knight.
Spelling out for Sen. Biden the Church's position on abortion is a "distraction from the serious and urgent issues Americans are facing"? Another worthy Brother Knight, Regular Guy Paul, is exactly right in pointing out the fallacy inherent in the "nonpartisan" Catholics United's criticism: As if the well-being and legal protection of the unborn isn't a "serious and urgent issue"!
That group should change their name to "Catholic Partisan Hacks United to Elect Obama".
Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
"Nonpartisan" Catholics United Hits McCain with Ad Questioning His Pro-Life Credentials
Supreme Knight Carl Anderson: "Real Change" Entails Getting Rid of Roe
"Non-Partisan" Group of Catholic Obama Supporters Calling Itself "Catholics United" Gets Divisive
The Catholic Left Meets in Philadelphia
Convention for the "Common Good"
Bill Donohue: "How the Catholic Left Is Boxed in by Abortion"
Deal Hudson: "Catholics Organize to Elect Barack Obama"
Labels: "Religious Left", Catholic Social Teaching, Catholics Against Biden, Dissident Catholics, Knights of Columbus, The Catholic Vote, Voting Your Values
I Wish This Version of President Clinton Had Been in the White House
Before there was "Bush Derangement Syndrome" and "Palin Derangement Syndrome", there was "Clinton Derangement Syndrome". I am ashamed to admit that I was one of the chief sufferers of the latter malady, and that I wasted 8 years of my life (and arguably a relationship with the woman to whom the Church says I was never married) by obsessively hating William Jefferson Clinton. A word of advice to the haters on the left and the right: it will eventually eat you up inside.
Since old Billy Jeff left office, however, I've gotten a little bit of a soft spot in my heart for him. Here are a couple of examples of why that is:
"Clinton: 'I get why Palin is hot' "
Bill Clinton has said he understands why middle America thinks Sarah Palin is "hot".And then there's President Clinton's conciliatory remarks on The View (click on the image):
The Republican vice presidential candidate appeals to the heartlands of America because people relate to her life, he told reporters yesterday.
"I get this," Clinton said. "My view is ... why say, ever, anything bad about a person? Why don't we like them and celebrate them and be happy for her elevation to the ticket? And just say that she was a good choice for him and we disagree with them?"
People can and do change. I certainly hope that I have. And I believe President Clinton has, as well.
Some might cynically view his softened rhetoric toward those he opposes politically as an attempt to undermine Sen. Obama. I choose to believe that he, too, has learned the lessons of being overly partisan and engaging in the politics of personal destruction. In the examples I've provided above, he gives those with whom he differs politically the benefit of the doubt and recognizes the good qualities within them (something I wish I had done for him while he was in office).
I have been pleasantly surprised at how President Clinton has certainly proven to be a more gracious former president than President Carter has.
Labels: Democrats, Elections, Palin, Values Voters
Fr. Longenecker on Voting Your Values
Fr. Longenecker writes:
... from now on I will not voice my enthusiasm for Sarah Palin as a politician, nor will I criticize Barack Obama or Joe Biden by name. Instead I will simply outline the issues for my readers so that they can make the choice that is most spiritually sound, and most consistent with the Catholic faith.LOL! I love it. I wish more priests would "not endorse" candidates in the same manner Fr. Longenecker has.
So let's be absolutely clear: I believe that Catholics should not vote for a person who votes for partial birth abortion or supports abortion in any way. They should not vote for a party that supports abortion formally on their platform. Especially Catholics should find it abhorrent to vote for a person who proclaims himself to be a Catholic, yet publicly dissents from the Church's teaching on the matter of abortion.
On the other hand, Catholics should find it easy to vote for politicians who are not only pro life, but who live it out by having a large family. If, for instance there were a politician who had a baby with Downs Syndrome and did not have an abortion, that would be a good example of a pro life person. If their running mate adopted a baby from Mother Teresa's orphanage--a baby with a severe cleft palate--that also would be a good example of a pro life candidate.
Labels: Priests, Pro-Life, The Catholic Vote, Voting Your Values
Abortion Rate Falls ... Again
The pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute reports that the overall U.S. abortion rate has fallen again to its lowest level since 1974.
And yet the Catholic left continues to promote the discredited and dishonest meme that abortion has increased under President Bush.
Ed Morrissey discusses the newest findings and their implications.
The key statistic in the latest report that Ed examines is that abortion rates are falling for blacks and Latinas but far less than for whites. The question is whether the rates have fallen at a slower rate for minorities due to higher levels of poverty or due to efforts on behalf of abortion advocates that have specifically targeted these groups. Ed thinks it's the latter, and I concur wholeheartedly.
Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Mark Stricherz: "Why the Democratic Abortion Strategy is Worse"
U.S. Catholic Bishops: "You Can't Reduce Abortions by Promoting Abortions"
Blackadder: "Would Overturning Roe Reduce the Abortion Rate?"
Proof That Abortion Increases When Republicans Are In the White House?
"Poverty and Abortion: A New Analysis"
Number of Abortions Lowest in Decades
National Review Online: Mainstream Media Continues to Distort on Abortion
Pro-Life Quote of the Day
I'm the NRA ...
... and I approve this message.
Labels: God and Country, Guns, Obama
Monday, September 22, 2008
Digest of Today's Posts (22 September 2008)
(Digest of Friday's Posts (19 September 2008))
Labels: Digest of Posts
Friday Night at "The Jake by the Lake"
Friday night, I got to attend my first Cleveland Indians game at Jacobs Field (note: I do not use that new name that they've given to the ballpark). I took my 4-year-old sports fanatic son, Aidan, along with me to see his first ever professional baseball game. The 6-5 9th inning victory over the rival Detroit Tigers was such a great game to see for our first time at the ballpark.
Watching Fausto Carmona pummel the headlocked Gary Sheffield was icing on the cake. (Of course, I had to explain to Aidan that the bench-clearing brawl we had just witnessed was inappropriate behavior and bad sportsmanship, and that Daddy was wrong to yell "Hit him again! Hit him again!").
We were fortunate to have 2 of the best seats in the house - on the front row along the first base line. We were practically right on the field. Sarah's grandmother had won the seats while attending a game the week before ... I'd have never been able to afford those seats otherwise.
And what a terrific fireworks show after the game was over. But nothing in comparison to the "fireworks" we had just witnessed on the field. One of the best and most exciting MLB games I've ever witnessed in person.
Labels: Baseball
The Obama-Kmiec Magical Mystery "Faith Tour"
(Hat tip: Dave Hartline at The Catholic Report)
Deal Hudson writes:
Barack Obama's campaign will try to reverse its recent loses among religiously-active voters with a Magical Mystery "Faith Tour." Our friend Doug Kmiec is the one of the featured speakers, along with former Congressman Tim Roemer (who hasn't been heard much lately).My Comments:
The subtitle of the Faith Tour is "Voting ALL Our Values." Very clever. The real subtitle should be "Ignoring the Foundation of ALL Values."
The "Democrat Faith Partisans" swing into high gear to paint pro-lifers as "divisive" and "narrowly focused".
I GUARANTEE you that those words - "divisive" and "narrowly focused" - will be used ad infinitum during this "faith tour". Straight out of the Gaillardetz playbook.
Labels: The Catholic Vote, Values Voters, Voting Your Values
Creative Minority Report: "Catholics Returning to GOP Fold. Why?"
Deacon Fournier: "Doug Kmiec's 'Can a Catholic Support Him?' Asks the Wrong Question"
(Hat tip: Thoughts and Faith to Share)
Deacon Keith Fournier writes:
On Wednesday I received a personal copy of my friend Doug Kmiec's latest book entitled "Can a Catholic Support Him?" The book is subtitled "Asking the Big Question about Barrack Obama". I appreciate being mentioned in his Acknowledgement of the book with these words "Deacon Keith Fournier's writing and editing of Catholic Online is courageous and wise". So, I write this review to be faithful, to a friendship I value, to the claim in the acknowledgment of this book and to the truth. Doug asks the wrong question. The proper question is not "can" but "should". The word "can" addresses the issue of capacity and ability. Any Catholic can exercise their right to vote in any manner in which they choose. The Church to which Doug and I both belong does not tell people how to vote, in the sense of which candidate to choose. "Should" on the other hand examines the morality of that choice given our obligation to exercise our freedom with reference to the truth. In short, what is our duty? Sadly, in his argumentation in this book, Doug confuses or conflates the two. It is on this that I completely disagree with Doug Kmiec and am compelled to make that disagreement widely known.(emphasis added)
Doug maintains that Senator McCain's position in favor of the overturning of Roe v Wade is simply a "Federalist position" and not a truly Pro-life stance. He argues (contrary to his own past claims) that the reversal of Roe v Wade will not really affect the state of the current law protecting abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy as a "right". He confuses position with application. John McCain's quick response to Pastor Rick Warren's question on when human rights attach to human persons ("at conception"), as well as his pro-life record, demonstrate that his position is Pro-life. He recognizes that the neighbor in the womb is a human person. Yet, he is a Federalist and believes that the decision to outlaw the killing should be returned to the States, that is application. I favor a Constitutional Amendment protecting the inalienable Right to Life and recognizing the personhood of our first neighbor. I am an abortion abolitionist. However, as an officer of the Court like Doug, I know that the reversal of Roe opens up the field to securing protection of the children and will at least slow the shedding of innocent blood while we work on outlawing the act. I think he does as well but has backed himself into a corner. Doug's candidate promises to sign the "Freedom of Choice Act" as soon as he is sworn in to office. This will ensure the continued failure to recognize the child's right to life. The best his candidate has to offer is a comment that abortion is a "moral issue". His responses at the Saddleback forum on this issue were abysmal. As to the so called "changes" in the Democratic platform and his candidate's comments on the need to decrease the number of abortions, it is meaningless in light of his stated position. Doug and I used to agree that Senator McCain was wrong on his support of stem cell research. After all, every so called "extraction" of stem cells from a human embryo takes a human life. But now it appears that Senator McCain is beginning to recognize this and is moving closer to consistency. His candidate is not.
Finally, throughout this little book Doug vacillates between acknowledging the existence of objective moral truths which should govern human behavior and contending that someone could deny their existence, claim that such a denial is a "deeply held religious belief" and we should form our positive law to accommodate them under some misguided understanding of religious liberty and pluralism. Doug, what if a group insisted that children were not persons until they were able to walk? After all, they maintained, mobility is what makes them truly autonomous and therefore "persons". What if they also claimed that their position was a deeply held religious belief? Would you make the same argument? Well, the argument you now defend, that the child in the womb can be killed, without any protection against this objective violation of the Natural Law, is effectively the same argument. How can you take solace in the Senator from Illinois saying that he believes this type of killing is a "moral issue" but continuing to insist on calling it a "right"?
These two arguments are repeatedly presented in this little book as if repetition makes them more acceptable. It does not. Along with them we read Doug's story of being wrongly denied communion, his story of how he came to admire and support Barrack Obama and the other articles he has written in the past trying to justify his endorsement. I refuse to join those who personally attack Doug or question the sincerity of his Catholic faith. I do however vehemently disagree with him. I just found out that he will soon speak all over the Country trying to persuade other Catholics and other Christians to his position. I know that Catholics can be wrong; witness Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Joe Biden as only two recent examples. However, I really did not expect Doug Kmiec to join with them in incorrectly stating the position of our Church...
Prof. Kmiec's snotty and condescending response to Deacon Fournier (in which he refers to Sen. McCain as Pres. Bush's "protégé" - and Kmiec has the nerve to note the "partisanship" of those he calls "Republican Faith Partisans"?) can be read here.
Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Ponnuru Raps Kmiec for Defending Obama's Born-Alive Vote
Whither the "Catholic Vote"? Some Interesting Posts at the Fidelis Blog
Darwin Catholic: "Douglas Kmiec, Master of Dissembling" [UPDATED]
Prof. Rick Garnett on Kmiec's "Missing the Point"
A Former Student of Prof. Kmiec Speaks Out ...
Prof. Kmiec Shifts the Goalposts
Kmiec's "Bridge Too Far"? Obama's Attacks on Justice Thomas
Without Further Ado: Doug Kmiec on McCain v. Obama at Saddleback [UPDATED]
Paging Prof. Kmiec ...
Doug Kmiec Claims Democrats Making "Steps Toward Honoring Life" in Platform
Prof. Garnett Takes on Prof. Kmiec ... Again
Casey Jr. to Get Prime-Time Slot in Denver to Appease Catholics [UPDATED]
Fr. Neuhaus Responds to Doug Kmiec
Deal Hudson's Open Letter to Doug Kmiec
National Catholic Register on Catholics, Kmiec, and Obama
Prof. Hadley Arkes: "Political Distraction Among the Catholics"
Doug Kmiec - What He Said Then vs. What He Says Now Re: Constitutional Jurisprudence
What is the "Pro-Life Position" Regarding Abortion?
Unrequited Love
Doug Kmiec: "After Meeting with Barack" [UPDATED]
Cranky Conservative: "But At Least He Says It with a Smile"
Doug Kmiec Again Places Platitudes Above Policy [UPDATED]
Prof. Bainbridge on "Obama, Abortion, & Catholics"
Prof. Rick Garnett on Kmiec's Latest Nonsense
Deacon Keith Fournier: "Why I Disagree with Doug Kmiec, Once Again"
Give It a Rest Already, Prof. Kmiec!
Deacon Keith Fournier: "No More 'Left' or 'Right', Time for a New Catholic Action"
Doug Kmiec's Newfound Celebrity Status Among Those on the Left
Doug Kmiec Soon To Be Sorely Disappointed
E.J. Dionne on Kmiec Being Denied Communion [UPDATED]
Deal Hudson on Prof. Kmiec and Blurring the Lines Between "Pro-Choice" and Pro-Abortion
Did Doug Kmiec Just Now Catch On That Obama and NARAL Are Politically Conjoined? [UPDATED]
Deal Hudson on "How Obama's Catholics Will Dodge the Infanticide Question"
Kmiec's Dishonesty [UPDATED]
Catholic Teaching and Political Risk Taking: When Credit Isn't Given Where Credit is Due [UPDATED]
Kmiec's Wishful Thinking on Obama and Abortion
The Curt Jester: "Shameless Garment" [UPDATED]
So-Called "Catholic Reaganite" Doug Kmiec Endorses Obama [UPDATED]
"No'bama for Me, Thanks"
Can a Catholic Vote for Obama?
Obama's Pledge to Planned Parenthood: "I Will Not Yield"
Deal Hudson: "Barack Obama's Catholic Problem"
"Why American Catholics are Supporting Barack Obama"
Catholics at the Ballot Box
How the Catholic Left Will Tackle McCain
Why Does Kmiec Criticize McCain for Positions on Which He Gave Romney a Pass?
Deal Hudson on "Douglas Kmiec and the Lure of Obama"
Douglas W. Kmiec on "The Moral Duty to Inquire"
Professor Bainbridge: "Will Catholic Reaganites Go for Obama?"
Deal Hudson: "Preacher Man: Barack Obama and the the Gospel of Liberalism"
"Sorry, Doug Kmiec, But This Catholic Isn't Buying Obama"
Ramesh Ponnuru on Douglas Kmiec and "Catholic Reaganites for Obama" [UPDATED]
Romney Advisor Says Obama "a Natural for the Catholic Vote"
Labels: Obama, Pro-Life, The Catholic Vote, Voting Your Values
Friday, September 19, 2008
Digest of Today's Posts (19 September 2008)
Born-Alive Barry the Lying Liar [UPDATED]
What do pro-abort infanticide-supporting liars do when they get caught lying? They lie some more and accuse others of being liars.
This born-alive issue is toxic to Obama and he knows it (which is the reason for this despicable ad). His record coming to light completely wrecks his strategy for winning over so-called "values voters".
It's damaging him big time. Keep hitting him with it. I hope BornAliveTruth responds with another ad.
In case you haven't seen it, here's the ad the pro-abort liar Obama is responding to:
And, in case you couldn't tell, this lying ad really ticks me off, not the least of which because it lies about McCain's position on abortion - making McCain out to be MORE pro-life than he actually is, and acts as if that is a BAD thing.
Just more proof that Obama the pro-abort liar is not worthy of the support that some Catholics want to give him.
Ed Morrissey is on the case:
Barack Obama has decided to respond to Gianna Jessen's powerful ad on his opposition to a bill that would have protected the lives of infants born from botched abortions. In essence, he accuses John McCain of lying, when the record speaks so clearly that Obama's campaign had to admit they lied about his position on the Illinios version of the Born Alive Infant Protection Act. This has produced a hysterical reaction from Team O that pretty much has become a One-Note Charlie when responding to any criticism...(emphasis added)
The record here is very, very clear. Obama initially said that he opposed the bill in Illinois because it didn't have the "neutrality clause" included in the federal version of the legislation. As documentation proved, Obama voted against it even with the neutrality clause added. The Obama campaign finally acknowledged that Obama had lied about his position a month ago. Why? Because it would have actually forced doctors to provide care for live infants from abortions — or in other words, it would have worked.
Obama attempts an end run around this by making the issue about abortions. It isn't. Babies born alive from abortions got left in laundry rooms to die, a practice exposed by Jill Stanek, a nurse at Christ Hospital in the Chicago area. A subsequent investigation showed that as many as 20% of all late-term abortions resulted in live births — and that abortionists routinely allowed the infants to die by denying them normal medical attention. That was the entire reason the issue came before the Illinois legislature, but Obama reacted by denying the problem existed...
... Of course, I missed one important point: the Jessen ad wasn't put out by McCain at all. Obama's swinging at the wrong critic here. Why doesn't Obama call Jessen a liar?
Labels: Culture of Death, Moloch Obamessiah, Pro-Life, Values Voters


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Share A Thrift Hunt #8: Pretty Tees
I love Russian Market {aka Tuol Tompong Market} here in Phnom Penh. It just never fails to churn out fab buys. But one must be in the mood to brave the teeny weeny market alleys and the heat. Sometimes, there are sellers who are rude, but if one takes things in stride, this is still one place to get real bargains.
One of the biggest industries here in Cambodia is garments. And a lot of their over runs {sometimes, even good ones} end up in the markets. I dunno how it got there, but I'm sure everyone have a fair idea. But the bargain shopper in me loves what the market has! Lots of great items at low low prices.
Here's one great buy. Brand new H & M tees for $1.2. The sellers quoted price was $2.5 but I hemmed and hawed, hedged like mad, and told her I'm gonna get more than 5 if she sells it at $1.2. I got 7 in assorted designs and colors and paid $8.5. A BB since the shirts were of top quality and super soft.

subset: commoncrawl


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A little while ago I had the chance to hang out and have some drinks with the Wolfire guys, and at some point in the evening I had my sketchbook out for whatever reason and Aubrey asked to take a look through it. At first I was embarrassed - I consider Aubrey to be a far better artist than I am - but then remembered how much I like looking at other people's sketchbooks. It also made me think that you, dear reader, might like to see some of the other sketches that went into making Cogs what it eventually became. So here are some selected pages from the past year-and-a-half. See anything you recognize?
We're happy to announce that Cogs is now available on our third online distributor, GamersGate.com!
Like the Direct2Drive version this is a stand-alone download, no third party software is necessary to run the game. And also like the Direct2Drive version Cogs is still just as DRM free. Enjoy!
A while ago we were thinking of cool things we could do to help promote Cogs and Rob came up with the idea of making a screensaver using art from the game. A few weeks ago I had some time free so I started pulling things together to see what we could come up with. What started as a simple clock quickly escalated to become a clock that tells you the time, date, day of the week, phase of the moon...we figured why not, if it was gonna be on your screen a lot it might as well be something useful, right?
The final product ended up using more newly created art than original game art but oh well, we wanted it to look good. Rob just has to finish putting together some settings and then it'll be put up as a free download.
San Francisco, CA - Lazy 8 Studios announced today that they have teamed up with localization firm LocWorks to bring their flagship game Cogs to an international audience. Cogs is now available in English, German, Italian, French, Russian and Polish. All of these localized versions can be found at Steam or Direct 2 Drive, the two current online distributors for the PC puzzle game.
From the beginning of time, whenever we have showed Cogs to people, almost without fail the most common first response is "zomg, can I play this on my iPhone???"
Eventually if enough people say they want to play your game on a specific platform you have to admit there's a chance that it might actually be to your game's benefit to put it on said platform. We've hinted this may be the case in our twitter feed, but haven't confirmed it up until now. You're welcome, just be patient - Rob says it's going to take a while. ;)
Great news for indie game lovers! Direct2Drive included Cogs in the "Best of Indie" Bundle, which is available now through August 9 for $17.75. The game pack includes Cogs, Zeno Clash, Defense Grid, Democracy 2 and The Path. That saves you sixty bucks over buying all five games individually!
Get your copy while this deal lasts.
I don't claim to have the secret formula for bootstrapping a video game startup. I don't claim to have figured out the best practices or know all the right answers. But I have managed to start a company with my own modest savings and bring a new PC game to market. In its first few months, Cogs has managed to sell well enough to keep my little company afloat. Along the way, I've picked up a lot of valuable lessons. To help out the next aspiring indie developer, I've compiled a list of what I've learned, what went right and what went wrong – presented here in no particular order.
If you haven't picked up Cogs yet, you can get it now until Sunday, July 19th for a quaint $4.95 USD on Direct2Drive. You're welcome. ;)
We've been talking from the get-go about the fact that we left Cogs totally open for user created content. In fact all the dev tools we have shipped with the game, mostly built right into the executable. The only thing we had left to do was, you know, explain how the hell you use them.
Well that was fixed yesterday morning when Rob finally had a chance to finish up the documentation. I spent most of yesterday afternoon reading through it and making sure that even an artist like me with little coding know-how could understand it. Hopefully I succeeded, if not then please by all means get on the forum or email us with any questions you have.


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UE Boom speakers as a guitar amp
UE Boom guitar amp - Nowadays you can't enter an electronic store without seeing a plethora of Bluetooth speakers. Last month I was invited to a presentation of the UE Boom from Ultimate Ears, the speakers sounds really great especially seeing the relatively small size. I wondered how it would sound to plug a guitar in one and see if it can be used as a guitar amp.
UE Boom guitar amp video
Unpacking the UE Boom
If you are familiar with the Apple unpacking experience, you won't be disappointed with the UE Boom one. The attention to details is great. Right from the start you can feel it's a high quality product.
The UE Boom comes with a variety of power plugs which is a good thing as this device is the perfect travel companion.
Guitar amp setup
To use the UE Boom as a guitar amp you will need:
- An electric guitar (not a big surprise, huh?)
- An interface to plug the guitar in a iDevice : I used an iRig from IK Multimedia
- An iPhone/Ipad
- An app to act as a preamp: Guitar Amp (iTunes link) from Studio Devil
- A mini-stereo jack to connect the interface to the UE Boom
The Guitar Amp app from Studio Devil
Guitar Amp is one of my favorite iPhone amp to play the guitar because it sounds great plus it's very simple to use.
As you can see from the screenshots below, the app uses the familiar pedal look as the interface. You can't do simpler than that!
What I enjoyed the most
+ The very compact setup
+ The great guitar sounds, especially with some gain
+ The standard use of the UE Boom as a regular speaker as it sounds great
What I enjoyed the less
+ The slight latency you have because of the processing time by the iPhone
Even if it's not going to replace a full guitar rig, I have to admit I was very pleasantly surprised by the kind of guitar sounds you can get from the UE Boom as a guitar amp. It's the perfect setup to travel and to play on the beach this summer!
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Click here for more info on the Backstage Pass


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I know you probably thought that 60 loads was a lot of shit! But I've got one more load of fresh, warm poop for you! I'm covered in a mountain of shit right now but you can definitely see my little asshole opening up and see all those dark brown turds making their way out of my shit smeared ass! Oh it feels so good to shit in my kiddie pool filled with poop!
My fresh shit smells so good! I want it all over my face and in my mouth so bad! I love how warm my poop is when it has just been pushed out of my ass! I find a nice warm turd and pop it into my mouth! Mmm! Oh my gosh! It's amazing! It tastes so good! I chew it and let my shitty drool dribble down my chin! I scoop up some of the fresh shit and smear it all over my face! I am enjoying every last second of my 60 load adventure!
*I filmed this adventure with my regular camera and my GoPro so you get two videos for the price of one!
(840)All of the following downloads are included when you purchase:
Download #1:
Length: 5:29s Resolution: 1920x1080Download Format: mp4File Size: 660 MB
Download #2:
Length: 5:29s Resolution: 1920x1080Download Format: mp4File Size: 325 MB


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Special Features
Wetting and Drying
Overflow and Throughflow BarriersBridge Piers
Wave Radiation StressReferences
Given the typical resolution of coastal circulation models, (e.g., in nearshore applications resolved scales are usually 10s to 100s of meters and larger), it is rarely practical to solve explicitly for the small scale flow around obstructions such as bridge pilings (diameters of meters). However, in some situations it may be desirable to include the effects of these subgrid scale obstructions on the resolved scale flow. To accomplish this, a subgrid scale obstruction parameterization has been developed and implemented in ADCIRC. Since the cross-sectional area of these obstructions is usually quite small compared to the cross-sectional area of the flow field (and thus the effect on flow continuity is quite small), their primary effect is to impart additional drag on the resolved scale flow. This section describes the theory behind the obstruction parameterization implemented in ADCIRC. The bridge pier option is turned on by setting the parameterNWP = 2 in the Model Parameter and Periodic Boundary Condition File. Required input coefficients are read in at specified nodes from the Spatially Varying Friction Coefficient File. Additional information can be found in Luettich and Westerink (1999).
The two-dimensional, vertically integrated momentum equations used in ADCIRC (e.g., Eqs. 2 -3 in theformulation section) contain bottom friction (drag) terms, as shown below:
To represent the extra drag caused by subgrid scale obstructions such as bridge piers, a second contribution has been added to , i.e.,
= bottom friction x + obstruction drag x and = bottom friction y + obstruction drag y
Options in ADCIRC exist to express the bottom friction terms as linear, quadratic or hybrid quadratic/mannings n functions of flow velocity (see theformulation section). The obstruction drag is assumed to be due primarily to form drag and therefore is represented as quadratic in velocity:
obstruction drag x = and obstruction drag y =
where is an obstruction (piling) drag coefficient.
To determine for a series of bridge pilings, we have utilized the extensive body of research conducted in the early to mid 1900s on flow around pilings. Yarnell (1934a,b), as summarized by Henderson (1966), fit the change in water level for steady, unidirectional flow past a piling to the following relation:
where, H is the total water depth, K is a pier shape factor (Table 1), is the square of the Froud number, is the fraction of the cross section obstructed by the piling, is the velocity in the along stream (s) direction and g is the acceleration of gravity. This equation is considered to be valid so long as < 0.5.
Table 1. recommended pier shape factors
Pier Shape
Semicircular nose and tail
Lens-shaped nose and tail
Twin-cylinder piers with connecting diaphragm
Twin-cylinder piers without diaphragm
90 deg triangular nose and tail
Square nose and tail
For this same case of steady, unidirectional flow in the vicinity of pilings, the corresponding ADCIRC momentum equations simplify to:
where is the free surface gradient in the along stream direction. Approximating this gradient as , Yarnells equation and the simplified momentum equation can be combined to obtain an expression for :
This equation is used at each time step in ADCIRC, to compute at all nodes associated with bridge pilings. This allows the obstruction drag to be computed and added to the bottom friction terms as discussed above.
We note that Yarnells equation is based on H and values measured at a point downstream of the pilings. ADCIRC uses H and at the effective piling location to minimize complications due to changing flow direction, e.g., due to reversal of the tide. Typical elevation and velocity changes that result are small enough that the overall results are not compromised by this approximation.
Henderson, F.M., 1966, Open Channel Flow, MacMillan Publishing Co., New York, pp 265-267.
Luettich, R.A., Jr. and J.J. Westerink, 1999, Implementation of Bridge Pilings in the ADCIRC Hydrodynamic Model: Upgrade and Documentation for ADCIRC Version 34.19, Contractors Report, department of the Army, US Army Corps of Engineers, Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, MS, November 19, 1999, 8 p.
Yarnell, D.L., 1934a, Pile trestles as channel obstructions, U.S. Dept of Agriculture, Tech. Bull. 429.
Yarnell, D.L., 1934b, Bridge piers as channel obstructions, U.S. Dept of Agriculture, Tech. Bull. 442.


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Media: Stop victim blaming coverage of IMF Chief's alleged sexual assault!
This petition had 961 supporters
"Dominique Strauss-Kahn may have more to worry about than a possible prison sentence." That was the first sentence in an article in the New York Post today about the IMF Chief accused of sexually attacking a woman in a New York City hotel. The article then proceeds to "out" the alleged victim for living in an apartment building for people and families living with HIV/AIDS. This type of coverage does nothing to help hold an alleged rapist accountable and only contributes to victim-shaming and stigmatizing people living with HIV/AIDS - With no respect for the accuser's medical confidentiality or the confidentiality of the residents in that building. Further, they repeatedly refer to her as maid, rather than a victim, and highlight her immigration status and race. The New York Post should be ashamed for framing their coverage of sexual assault about concerns for an alleged attacker, rather than the impact of a violent sexual assault on a woman at her place of work. They also printed this quote:
"One high-powered lawyer, who was amont those trying to reach her to offer to rep her, said 'She could make $6 million, maybe more, just by shutting her mouth."
As heinous as the NY Post's piece was, they're not the only ones who are guilty of harmful coverage. The Daily Beast ran this commentary by Bernard-Henri Levy in which he questioned the alleged victim's legitimacy:
"I do not know—but, on the other hand, it would be nice to know, and without delay—how a chambermaid could have walked in alone, contrary to the habitual practice of most of New York's grand hotels of sending a 'cleaning brigade' of two people, into the room of one of the most closely watched figures on the planet."
If that wasn't bad enough, The American Spectator published this despicable piece by Ben Stein yesterday, in which he ranted:
"The prosecutors say that Mr. Strauss-Kahn 'forced' the complainant to have oral and other sex with him. How? Did he have a gun? Did he have a knife? He's a short fat old man. They were in a hotel with people passing by the room constantly, if it's anything like the many hotels I am in. How did he intimidate her in that situation? And if he was so intimidating, why did she immediately feel un-intimidated enough to alert the authorities as to her story?
People accuse other people of crimes all of the time. What do we know about the complainant besides that she is a hotel maid? I love and admire hotel maids. They have incredibly hard jobs and they do them uncomplainingly. I am sure she is a fine woman. On the other hand, I have had hotel maids that were complete lunatics, stealing airline tickets from me, stealing money from me, throwing away important papers, stealing medications from me. How do we know that this woman's word was good enough to put Mr. Strauss-Kahn straight into a horrific jail?"
After all this media coverage, all women (and men) may have more to worry about than the possibility that an international leader is guilty of sexual assault. This type of coverage reinforces the power structures that legitimize sexism and rape, and works directly against the elimination of sexual violence in our culture. In a country where a woman is sexually assaulted every two minutes, such pieces do real harm.Tell the NY Post, the Daily Beast, and the American Spectator that media have a responsibility to work towards the elimination of rape culture and sexism – Not to legitimize it!
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Thursday, August 21, 2008
Another Request for Garmin
Predicted Finish Time. I call it PFT for short, which is pronounced kind of like a quick, quiet fart (pffftt). I think that makes it an onomatopoeia. You would primarily use the PFT feature for races. You would need to input your race distance prior to beginning your workout or race. The Garmin would take the distance you have remaining and multiply it by your current pace, then it would add this to the time that you've already been running. The Garmin would essentially tell you what your finish time is going to be based on you maintaining your current pace. Now that's useful information! Much more useful than some of the existing features that my Garmin has, I mean, have any of you ever used the Sunrise or Sunset feature? How about the distance feature? Totally pointless, am I right?
As always, if anyone at Garmin sees my PFT idea and implements it, or even if they implement PFT without seeing this, they are welcome to pay me royalties for my geniusness. While we're on the subject of great ideas, I just thought of another one that should be standard on every Garmin, a thermostat. No, I don't mean a thermometer. I don't want it to tell me how hot it is, I want to be able to turn the temperature down. Now admittedly I'm not sure how the technology behind a thermostat works, but people have had them in their homes for like, the last 2,000 years or something, so it's about time we figured out how to make them fit into watches (and sunglasses). Also, how about an incline/decline button like my treadmill has? You want to do hill sprints but don't have a hill? Just use the Garmin incline button. Tired of running uphill? Use the decline button and you'll be running an easy 0% grade in no time. There are tons of great things that Garmin could put on their Forerunner series watches, yours in the comments.
17 comments:
I'm all for the PFT idea. It'd also be nice to have the thing be able to perform a full body scan to determine dehydration levels and cramping during the race. Also, recommend a post race pub for some brews.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousAug 21, 2008, 12:32:00 PM
Um...well, along with your glasses/HUD they could also throwin iphone, so you can watch your fav shows while running, or...other things.ReplyDelete
Uh...also, a endo-thermic strip that cools the brow on the those long, hot runs, oh, and a fluid purifier/desalination for sweat...um...other fluids that can be recycled into drinkable water...talk about recycling!
You can run, and run, and run, and run, and run!
If there was a Garmin with a jetpack feature, I would totally buy one.ReplyDelete
As for the PFT, I don't think you should have to enter anything. Is it too much to ask for the Garmin to remember a couple important details about your relationship?
Why Garmin has not offered you a job is beyond me. I suggest a mini-laser to zap out any poo that might be trying to lie in wait until it can suddenly appear and ruin a long run. It would also prevent the need to wait in long lines before races only to enter a stinky port-o-poty and discover there is no tp left.ReplyDelete
Frankly, I don't own a Garmin and therefore was under the impression that it already had the aforementioned features. Geez. What CAN they do?ReplyDelete
PFT is an awesome idea!ReplyDelete
I love the thermostat idea, but personally, I would like a little tiny customer service representative *inside* my watch so that a) I will have someone on call (like On Star) and b) I can go for a run the next time I'm on hold for 103 minutes.ReplyDelete
Actually the Timex Bodylink has that feature. It was a little wonky, but it was close. I got sick of having to strap 3 different things on to go running, so I replaced it with a Garmin.ReplyDelete
How about a cattle prod/taser? Very useful when a bunch of jackasses are spread out across the path and refuse to be courteous and move over.ReplyDelete
Genius. Pure unadulterated genius.ReplyDelete
Um, you might want to contact a couple of aerospace companies about your running HUD.ReplyDelete
I mean, if they can integrate it into a pilot's helmet, they could do it in sunglasses.
2lb sunglasses, but sunglasses.
Love the idea, although when the garmin tells me what time I will finish... it will just say "are you sure your running?" AYSYR?ReplyDelete
I found it funny. That is all that matters.
Sounds like a actually very doable idea!ReplyDelete
Garmin should also install a "personal trainer" in the watch that can shout slogans at you while you run: "Master Your Ass!", "Go Past the Max!", etc...ReplyDelete
I think it can already do this actually. If you set your lap distance to the distance of the race and then display the progressive lap pace, I think you'll be golden.ReplyDelete
But... then, you'll lose the per mile progressive pace. But, if you are staying on target for the race pace, it probably won't matter.
I'm open to the possibility that I'm wrong here. But, I'll check it out when I get home.
How about a Garmin that can find the satellite signal without my standing motionless for 5+ minutes? I have tried lifting my wrist high in the air (to get it closer to the satellite, of course) but shockingly, it doesn't seem to help. Plus (also shockingly) it doesn't look very cool.ReplyDelete
I'm with Just One Marathon on it never picking up the satellites for me. It takes SO long!ReplyDelete
I also though the PFT feature was already in there when I bought it. It makes perfect logical sense, and I don't know a LOT about computers, but programming-wise, it shouldn't be too hard to do.
It's too bad Garmin can't somehow allow open-source software like the iPhone does... I bet a lot of cool stuff would come out for it then.
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The Mac Mac Falls is situated between Graskop and Sabie. The Mac Mac Falls is 13 km from Sabie on the R532 road towards Graskop. The turnoff and parking area is at the curio stalls and a nominal entrance fee is charged. A steep walk along a cement pathway (with many steps) takes you to the viewing platform above the falls. The 65 m high Mac Mac Falls in the Mac Mac River is a declared National Monument. This Mac Mac Falls was originally a single stream, but gold miners blasted it with dynamite to divert the river in an attempt to work the rich gold-bearing reef over which it plunges. Toilet facilities are available at the Mac Mac Falls at the curio stalls. The path to the viewing platform is very wheelchair unfriendly.
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An intermediate-mass black hole might be lurking within a dense stellar cluster — a discovery that could point toward how these oddities form.
Every Friday Bülent Kızıltan heads to a local coffee shop. There, Kızıltan (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), who is a self-described "overly curious person," meets with scientists, artists and philosophers from different disciplines across the Cambridge and Boston area. His goal is to enrich himself intellectually.
That's how he found himself deep in conversation with a cognitive scientist one afternoon who introduced him to a mathematical tool called Kullback–Leibler divergence. Originally developed by two mathematicians and cryptanalysts at the National Security Agency in the 1950s, the tool attempts to extract information from incomplete data.
Perhaps it was the stimulating effects of the freshly brewed cup of joe, but Kızıltan quickly realized that this tool could also be used when observing a dense stellar cluster — a messy environment chockfull of hundreds of thousands of stars where the center is hidden from view. It was the first step toward a paper published today in the journal Nature that provides the best evidence yet that a globular cluster might harbor an intermediate-mass black hole.
"Weighing" a Hidden Black Hole
Few intermediate-mass black holes have been observed before. In fact, skeptics might argue that none of these black holes — which theoretically lie in the range between those that are just a few times the mass of our Sun and those that weigh millions to billions of times the Sun — even exist.
The issue is two-fold. First, there's no obvious, direct way for these objects to form. Second, the evidence that they exist has been hazy at best.
But with this new mathematical tool in hand, Kızıltan knew he could do better. He set his eyes on the globular cluster 47 Tucanae, located roughly 15,000 light-years away in the southern constellation Tucana. The cluster, which appears roughly the size of the full Moon, is one of the most massive globular clusters in the galaxy, with millions of stars.
In order to probe those stars, Kızıltan and his colleagues first built a realistic model of 47 Tucanae. Then, they measured the locations of 25 pulsars throughout the globular cluster. These rapidly rotating neutron stars sweep electromagnetic radiation across Earth with every spin at a rate so reliable they rival atomic clocks. This (plus the fact that they emit radio waves, as opposed to visible light) enabled the team to probe deeper into the typically invisible depths of the globular cluster.
The pulsars, they found, are on the move. They're spinning around the center of the cluster rapidly — too rapidly given the number of central stars alone. Using their new mathematical tool, Kızıltan and his colleagues compared those pulsars' oddly quick movements with their simulation in order to determine that an intermediate-mass black hole, some 2,200 times the mass of the Sun, must be lurking in the cluster's center, governing the pulsars' motions.
Runaway Collisions or Dangerous Tangos?
But Cole Miller (University of Maryland), who was not involved in the study, doesn't think that the new evidence will convince every skeptic.
"Most scientists would like to see strong evidence," he says. "Because if these objects exist, they will have implications for the formation of the earliest massive black holes. They will have implications about stellar dynamics. And they will have implications about the evolution of very massive stars. All of this is frontier research and you don't want to be jumping on the band wagon too early."
The main issue is that astronomers are at a loss to explain how these intermediate-mass black holes can form. Miller's favorite hypothesis enlists runaway stellar collisions. Essentially, the heaviest stars sink to the center of the globular cluster, where they are most likely to collide and merge with other heavy stars, forming even bigger stars. And because a star's gravitational pull increases with its size and mass, so does its chance of further stellar collisions. This effect snowballs until a massive star rests in the center of the globular cluster.
But how this massive star evolves is not fully understood, says Kayhan Gültekin (University of Michigan) who was not involved in the study. "Standard stellar theory doesn't apply to these objects. A lot of turning this merged star-like object into a black hole is based on analogies with stellar evolution rather than detailed calculations of how it would actually evolve."
Luckily, the competing theory doesn't need to invoke strange astrophysics. Here, stars evolve into black holes, which sink to the center of the cluster where one enters into a binary orbit with another. Through interactions with other black holes, that duo shrinks until it merges, creating a more massive black hole. This single black hole picks up another companion and the process begins anew, until there's only one massive black hole in the center of the globular cluster.
Unfortunately, there are issues with this theory too. In the interactions between the black hole binary and the third black hole, energy is transferred to the third black hole. And if enough energy is transferred, the third black hole could get kicked out of the system entirely — a huge problem when you're trying to build a massive black hole.
Although there are other theories that could explain how intermediate-mass black holes arise, only these two rely on the densely packed environment of a globular cluster.
"The fact that this black hole exists in 47 Tucanae, might mean that one or both of those theories is correct," says Gültekin, who is hopeful that both theories will receive rejuvenated attention in light of the latest discovery.
B. Kızıltan et al. "An Intermediate-Mass Black Hole in the Centre of the Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae."Nature, February 9, 2017.


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In his recently republished The New Creation, the late, delightful Herbert McCabe defends the priesthood of the plebs as roundly as anyone could want. Citing Hebrews, he claims that "there is an essential difference between the Christian community and the community of the Old Law, or any other religious body." Israel had a "priestly class" that repeatedly sacrificed, but this is "no longer necessary, for we have one High Priest, Jesus Christ, who has once for all offered the perfect and adequate sacrifice." The church is thus "characterized by the absence of a special group of men called priests, separated off from the rest of the community. It is Christ who is the one Priest, though the community as a whole may share in his priesthood." Following Aquinas, he insists that at baptism the baptized receives a character that deputizes him for a share in the worship of God.
This priesthood, he argues earlier in the book, is manifest in the sacraments of baptism and Eucharist. By baptism, the whole people "participated in Christ's exodus; they have received the Spirit so that the New Law is written in their hearts," while "in the Eucharist they celebrate the New Covenant in his body and blood." Through sharing in these sacramental rites and sites, the whole people becomes "a royal priesthood and a sacred nation." Christ's continuing presence on earth is sacramentally mediated; that's the whole thrust of the book.
McCabe is Roman Catholic. So it is not surprising that he has more to say about the baptismal, Eucharistic priesthood of the church. Not surprising, but what he says is disspiriting nonetheless. He quite ingeniously argues that what was once sacred/profane has been transformed into already/not yet in the new covenant: "None of the life of the Christian is profane, all his life except for sin is a realization of the eternal life within him, not all of it is a sacramental revelation of that life." He rightly says that both the priest and the layman are, "by baptism, members of the laity, the laos, the People of God, and both have a priesthood." Both these priesthoods are literal; neither is metaphorical.
But – you knew it was coming – there is a difference in that "the priests offering of the Mass qua priest consists in certain sacramental acts, whereas the layman's offering need not do so." The layman "exercises his baptismal priesthood and offers the Mass to the extent that he is personally committed to what is taking place." His involvement in the Mass depends on his personal commitment: "this personal element . . . defines his priestly activity." As a result, it is possible for him "in special circumstances" to participate in the Mass, and actualize his baptismal priesthood, "without even receiving communion." In contrast to the ordained priest, who must participate in the Mass sacramentally, the baptized priest is "free" to participate otherwise: "This sacramental act [of eating communion] is not itself essential to his offering."
The rhetoric of this is misleading. Historically, it is not the case that the baptized priesthood participated non-sacramentally in the Mass "in special circumstances." They participated non-sacramentally in most circumstances in the late medieval period. That "free to exercise" is also misleading, since, historically, the Catholic laity did not choose to participate non-sacramentally but were prevented from participating sacramentally.
Put that aside. We still have a wrenching shift of gears in the argument. Christ is mediated sacramentally; Christian worship is sacramental, and the Christian life, individually and communally, is sacramentally formed. This, again, is the theme of the book, as McCabe says at the outset: "This book will be about revelation, about the community God has established, and about the sacraments that constitute it." Yet, when it comes down to it, this strictly pertains only to the ordained priesthood. Only they "must" participate sacramentally in Christ's self-mediation to the church. The laity are "free" to participate in Christian community non-sacramentally. On this argument, the plebs are still left with a half-priesthood.
McCabe's arguments confirm a suspicion: The mainstream Reformers were not anti-sacramental, but that's not the suspicion. The suspicion is that the mainstream Reformers were more sacramental than the Catholic church. For the Reformers, no one was to participate in the life of Christ's body non-sacramentally. That was simply a contradiction in terms, for the sacraments were the means of participations. Sacramental participation and membership in Christ are completely co-extensive; there's no spillage or overlap, such that someone (an infant, say!) might be seen as a member of Christ without being marked with Christ's sacramental sign.
The Reformation was not a triumph of word over sacrament; it was a triumph of sacraments.
Peter J. Leithart is President of Trinity House in Birmingham, Alabama, and Senior Fellow of Theology and Literature at New St. Andrews College, Moscow, Idaho.


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As part of the Couplets National Poetry Month blogtour hosted by www.upperrubberboot.com
Check their website for other interviews and guest blogs.
Check their website for other interviews and guest blogs.
I met Diane Lockward via the internet, a list serve of women poets called WOM-PO. Her voice as a poet is intimate as she captures our daily world in gestures that are passionate, humorous, and courageous. "Something like grief washes through me, something like joy." from Eve's Red Dress echoes my life's journey exactly. It's a small world after all!
Diane Lockward is the author of three poetry books, most recently, Temptation by Water. In 2006 What Feeds Us received the Quentin R. Howard Poetry Prize. She is also the author of Eve's Red Dress and two chapbooks, Against Perfection and Greatest Hits: 1997-2010. Her poems have been included in such anthologies as Poetry Daily: 360 Poems from the World's Most Popular Poetry Website and Garrison Keillor's Good Poems for Hard Times, and have been published in such journals as Harvard Review, Spoon River Poetry Review, and Prairie Schooner. Her work has also been featured on Poetry Daily, Verse Daily, and The Writer's Almanac. Diane has entered the ereader age: Twelve for the Record is now available as an ebook and can be downloaded.
Diane sends out a monthly newsletter with reviews and tips, prompts and suggestions which you can sign up for via her website. The website is packed with reviews, videos and other places to read her work. She lives in northern New Jersey. www.dianelockward.com
1. Do you have a warm-up writing practice?
I make myself a cup of ginger tea. Then I show up at the kitchen table and read poems from a book or journal. That gets me in the mood and thinking like a poet. Often while I'm reading someone else's work, I'll be struck by a line, a word, an image—something that speaks to me and asks for a response. When that something presents itself, I begin freewriting. I just try to keep writing without worrying about whether it's good or bad. Later I go back and pull out the weeds.
2. I admire the use of humor in poetry and find it hard to achieve. How do you write with humor? Any tricks you can share?
I know what doesn't work—trying to be humorous. There's something spontaneous about humor. If I'm writing a line and it makes me laugh, that makes me happy. But is it really funny?
If I go back repeatedly to that poem and the line continues to make me laugh, I can be pretty sure it will get a laugh from readers. On the other hand, I have several times had the experience of getting a laugh from something I hadn't realized was funny—there's the not trying principle at work. But I don't consider myself a particularly humorous poet. It's not what I aim for though I'm happy to hit it occasionally.
3. What feeds you as a poet? What other arts do you enjoy doing?
I read a lot of novels and memoirs. When I was teaching full-time, I watched almost no TV. Now I do have shows I like and sometimes they prompt a poem or provide a line or image. Daydreaming is good. Walking is good. Cooking is good.
4. What was different between the first, second and third books in the process of getting them published, out to the public and reading from them?
The first book took about six years of submitting before it found a home. Then oddly, the publisher found me instead of the other way around. My publisher, Charlie Hughes, used to be the editor of Wind Magazine where I'd once had two poems as finalists in the journal's yearly contest. Apparently, Charlie continued to look for my work elsewhere. Then when he went into book publishing and wanted to branch out beyond Kentucky where his press is located, he contacted me and asked if I had a manuscript for a first book. I was just about to revise the manuscript one more time. Once I did, I sent it to him and he accepted it. The next two books he also accepted. I feel very fortunate to have a publisher who takes subsequent books. Not all publishers do. I've done the same kind of work getting all three out to the public. I keep a mailing list and an email list. I have a website and a blog and I send out a monthly poetry newsletter. I work hard to line up readings and am willing to travel for them.
5. The trailers: They look like fun but also a lot of work. What tips or advice can you give about how to use your time wisely in creating trailers?
They are fun. You're right, though—they are a lot of work. But it's the fun kind of work. I begin with an idea of what I want the finished product to look like—that's quite different from my approach when writing a poem. Then I gather photos from Photoxpress. I have a folder on my computer for video clips. I get these from sites that offer them for free. I won't pay for them.
Considering what a poet earns, I just don't think it makes sense to pay $75 or more for a 5-second clip. But my folder is pretty big now. I put the photos into iMovie, do the timing and transitions. Then I look for a music track—again, it has to be a freebie. My one big tip is don't let your trailer go much over two minutes in length. Most viewers will bail out if you go longer than that. Another tip is to make sure that any text you use is shown long enough and big enough for the viewer to read it.
6. The reviews: I am amazed at the number of reviews you have been able to get. What is your secret?
I don't have a secret, but I think that part of it has to do with being visible and doing readings, keeping the website and a blog, responding to emails, and doing some service for other poets. That last actually might be the secret. I don't think poets have a right to expect to get reviews if they're not willing to do some themselves. I do write some reviews for journals and at my blog.
So perhaps the universe is paying me back.
7. Have you ever felt that someone misinterpreted a poem in their review?
A few times the reviewer has talked about me when he or she should have been talking about the speaker. It makes me uncomfortable when a reviewer talks about my work as if it's autobiographical. There is some autobiographical detail in my poetry, but there's also some invention. For example, a few reviewers have talked about my poem, "My Husband Discovers Poetry," by saying something like "Lockward experienced the breakdown of her marriage." I did?? In fact, I'm still married to my first and only husband.
8. I am impressed by your generosity in promoting other poets and sharing information about writing tips through your newsletter. What has been the best part of doing the newsletter?
It keeps me on my toes throughout the month as I'm now always on the lookout for material to include. Beginning the Craft Tip feature has been the most exciting part of the newsletter. Each month I invite a different poet to contribute a tip. This has put me in touch with a number of different poets from far and wide. Almost all of the poets I've invited have accepted. The poem with prompt is also fun and that too has put me in touch with most of the poets whose poems I've used. Then it's nice to hear from my subscribers that the prompt resulted in a poem they didn't know they had inside them.
9. The discussion continues about the future of poetry, the debate about ebooks, language being influenced by texting and sound bites, and page poetry and/or stage poetry (slams etc). Where do you think poetry is headed, what do you envision in say, 10 years?
I'm not interested in poetry that's been influenced by texting and sound bites. But I do think that we are headed towards more and more ebooks whether we like it or not. The invention of the ereader has made a new way of buying and reading poetry viable. I still want my own books in print and I still prefer to read from print books, but I can see lots of benefits to the ereaders. They are a boon to someone who travels a lot or someone who has limited storage space in the home. While we poets seem to be resisting ebooks, they may very likely help us to reach more readers and new readers. I imagine that someone will soon compile some statistics on this. Many publishers of print poetry books now also make those books available in ebook format. My publisher recently did that for my third book, Temptation by Water. I am sure, too, that we'll be seeing more publishers who do ebooks exclusively.
10. What is your next project?
I'm working on individual poems, hoping to get a fourth book together in a year or so. I'm also working on a craft book.
11. On a personal note, when you write about your family, what is their reaction? Do they come to your readings?
My family generally doesn't read my poetry so their reaction is not much of a problem. I would never knowingly write a poem that hurt any of them. But I also don't ask for permission about what I can write. My husband and kids have come to a few readings and much to my surprise and delight have enjoyed them. I think they are very proud that I'm a poet., but they don't feel compelled to read everything I write.
Pastiche for a Daughter's Absence
It all comes down to what's physical,
this missing her – her face, voice, and skin.
I imagine my daughter dancing in Madrid, Barcelona,
and Seville, climbing the mountains of Andulasia.
I had not imagined how far away faraway would be.
Happiness, unhappiness – the same,
my sweet Zen master says,
and I wonder if the top of my head
supports heaven, or is this a migraine
coming on?
I circle back to the place where precision
and ecstasy meet, remember how I carried the tadpole
of her body, long before the first flutter, holding her
like a secret inside me.
I wake in the night missing
a body part, my arm stretched across the ocean,
hooked to the past, and I wonder,
as Achilles' mother must have,
which part of you did I not dip in the water?
Heavy with absence, I hang curtains in her windows,
yards and yards of delicate Irish lace.
I hide behind the door, ear pressed to the wood,
and watching my daughters life – her evening paseo,
late dinners in Saragossa's village square.
The room fills with the smell of gazpacho, paella, sangria.
Something like grief washes through me, something like joy.
I slip into the waves, feel the ebb and flow of her,
my water sprite, my sea nymph, remember the way
she glides through a room, the low-tide
of her voice, how she leaves us,
breathless, all fish at her feet.
—from Eve's Red Dress (Wind Publications, 2003)