Out of the frying pan

2011-03-07T07:03:00.002-08:00

8"x10" photo of Calkins Lake, matted to 11"x14"

I took this photo last fall on a chilly, misty morning out at the lake. It was completely quiet, a peaceful scene for drinking in the beauty.

2011-03-07T07:03:00.001-08:00

8"x10" photo of Calkins Lake on a misty autumn morning, matted to 11"x14"

2009-11-01T18:23:00.000-08:00

My real blog is somewhere else, but I'll continue using this one to mention uploads and reloads.

2008-02-08T22:03:00.001-08:00

The Passionists' Compassion Magazine has a new editor, Paul Zilonka C.P. His first issue is now live. His article, The Survival of the Cross, seems like especially timely reading for Lent.

2007-09-10T09:38:00.000-07:00

Alison Barrows Young has updated her fine art site; take a look.

2007-08-13T12:11:00.000-07:00

Well, well, well.

Oregon Catholic Citizens is now representing itself on blogger as ARCHDIOCESE OF PORTLAND OREGON over at gorgehiker-occorg.blogspot.com

What a travesty.

Not content to spread calumny in correspondence, they now have to publish it on the Web.

Makes sense, I guess,

These are, doubtless, the good folks who have registered the domains oregoncatholiccitizens.org, .com, and .net but seem unable actually to launch a Web site. The good folks who, for some reason, feel the burning need to subscribe to the Shield Your Identity, which their domain register apparently facilitates by returning bogus "whois" information.

That's a little more subtle than the approach Fred Umar, late of the Refiner's Fire mess, took. He registered, I think, through domainsbyproxy.com, where the front page -- the front page -- has links, in red, "If you are in law enforcement" and "For our subpoena policies".

What a world.

I'm almost amused that these folks fly the "Christian" flag. WWJD? Hide his identify, of course!

2007-05-25T21:08:00.001-07:00

A week from Sunday, there will be a ceremony to recognize the sainthood of this good man: Father Charles Houben, known more popularly as Charles of Mount Argus.

He lived in Dublin for about half his 71 years and this native of The Netherlands would never have been taken for a native speaker of English. But he had a great love for the people among whom he had been sent to live. They knew him not as a great preacher, nor as a teacher of theology. Rather, he was the one they called to minister to the sick and dying. Father Charles was known to be kind and deeply humble; in reading his biography, it is hard to think of anyone less self-absorbed.

The persistence of these qualities through his whole life is more remarkable because, as his biographer puts it, he gave hope to people in their sufferings. He prayed and they received strength and grace to go on. Sometimes he would discern that they would be cured, physically, and they were: the lame walked; the blind saw; the mortally ill rose from their beds and returned to long, healthy lives.

As Roman Catholics, we believe that the "communion and fellowship of the saints" is something that death does not diminish. As a consequence, we believe that we share our life of faith with Father Charles and the others in our "cloud of witnesses". We believe that we can ask them to pray for us, that they can and will, and that God hears them. And so even today people continue to beg Father Charles' intercession. And, even today, people are still being healed and cured.

That's the headline, I suppose, of Father Charles' life: God answers prayers of holy man. But the story is what so much attracted me to him from when I first learned of his life 14 years ago when I, too, was a stranger in a strange land. The story is one of quiet goodness, of hope triumphing over fear and pain.

This is a project that has been on my mind since I first began to work on the Web a dozen years ago. Although the text is complete, except for revisions still being made to the second edition, I know I will continue to find keyboarding errors. And I expect to continue to work on better design solutions and illustrations. It is a work in progress.

A word about the biographer, Paul Francis Spencer C.P. When we arrived in Paris in 1993, he was pastor of St Joseph's, the Anglophone mission. Since 1996 he has been rector of Saint Mungo's Church in Glasgow, where his parents were married and from which he recently buried his father. He has ignited tremendous hope in Townhead, a part of Glasgow devastated (would that it had been "decimated", only!) by urban "renewal". Somehow his co-conspirators from Paris, Fathers Marius Donnelly and Anthony Behan, have ended up in Glasgow, too: hard workers in hard work. Many people came into our lives during our sojourn in Paris; these men are the ones who have stayed.

Father Paul Francis caught a vision for the Web when few religious had even heard the word "Internet". He "introduced" me (i.e., he asked me to call a complete stranger, something I would never do, except that he asked me) to Victor Hoagland C.P. in 1995 and things have kind of gone along from there. It is a great privilege to bring this work of his onto the Web.

2007-03-29T09:45:00.000-07:00

There's a new post over at Not a NIckel More that publicizes the new spam king, "Rev" Lou Sheldon at some outfit called Traditional Values Coalition.

Like spam is a traditional value.

2007-03-22T20:56:00.000-07:00

Uploaded:

The Second Sunday of Easter: the Risen Jesus offers the power to believe
The Third Sunday of Easter: a God of Surprises

Reloaded:

Holy Week and the Triduum for Children
The Easter Tree
Heart Prayer for Palm Sunday and the Easter Season

2007-02-21T21:49:00.000-08:00

I'm posting over here only to mention again that I'm now over there.

2007-02-12T23:15:00.000-08:00

Colin Portnuff has died.

2007-02-01T23:53:00.000-08:00

Psssst. Over here.

I'm not thrilled with it, haven't decided whether (or how) to archive my archives, and haven't got the blogroll on board. Oh, well. I'm less not thrilled with it than I am with blogger.

2007-02-01T15:49:00.000-08:00

I'm working on migrating my blogging, but didn't feel like giving up a perfectly good opportunity to be an ambassador of information about the City of Longmont. It's probably true that a lot of other cities on the Front Range have mishandled snow removal -- or, like Longmont, haven't really handled it much at all. But they're not the municipalities with line items on the property tax bill I've just received.

2007-01-31T16:49:00.000-08:00

So just now I received -- uninvited, of course -- email from "Media Relevance" suggesting that I apply for a grant to help my AIDS ministry.

So what's Media Relevance? A "Christian" spam outfit. Some of the organizations they claim as client might have received grants from me in the past. I think maybe it's time to start another blog... maybe something along the lines of this.

2007-01-31T16:36:00.000-08:00

It isn't the easiest thing, but here's where to contact blogger about whatever is going wrong with your blog.

Submitting the form leads to this non-response: Thanks for your feedback. We appreciate your bringing this to our attention, and we'll investigate. We'll follow up with you only if we require more info or if we have additional info to share.

Right.

2007-01-31T16:26:00.000-08:00

I've spent some time today exploring non-Blogger options and am looking at how to implement one most expeditiously.

I think it was really badly done of Blogger to migrate my account without my consent.

One of the "features" is that they want to "upgrade" my blog template (they've already made some changes, as you probably notice) -- but they'll have to lose a bunch of my current template settings. Not to worry! They say they'll store them somewhere for me.

Whether they could be restored is, of course, another question.

2007-01-31T08:09:00.001-08:00

I am cranky as hell about the fact that Blogger has just required me to move to their new version.

2007-01-30T19:54:00.000-08:00

Today at the conservatory.

The good husband.

2007-01-30T07:21:00.000-08:00

Golden rectangle calculator - not that you'll need it anytime soon.

2007-01-29T19:14:00.000-08:00

This semester I'm taking a photography course (it's in my major and will transfer to MU -- say: MOO) at a local community college. I'm learning a lot, starting with Why I Do Not Need a New Camera Because I Do Not Understand and Have Not Exploited the Capabilities of the One I Have.

Anyway, just now I received an email from the instructor with a link to something we looked at in class today: photography of DAE Bien-U, a South Korean photographer who took these pictures in the 1950s. These are really splendid. The interface is not real clear, IMHO, so you might want to know that you can navigate through the exhibit with the little red arrow in the upper right corner.

Go.

2007-01-26T19:43:00.000-08:00

Whoo-HOOOO... Amazon has decided that a top pick for me is "All-Clad Stainless 9-Piece Cookware Set with Nonstick Fry Pan." (It really isn't; I'm not that good a cook!)

In other news, since dusk the temperature has been dropping like a rock. Everything that had melted, which is quite a lot, has quickly frozen again. Things are treacherous. For insurers covering vehicles in Northern Colorado, this is going to be a rough night. There will certainly be some very bad accidents that will break fenders, not merely bend them. When I was out a little while ago, many folks were driving like it's 50F and daylight.

2007-01-26T11:04:00.000-08:00

Maybe your mother did not tell you,
so I will:
There is usually a way to get through things.

2007-01-26T10:59:00.000-08:00

Bliss is 42F and not thinking about the forecast.

2007-01-26T09:27:00.000-08:00

The month of January is a time when people get together in some way or other to celebrate the spirit of William Stafford, the American poet who lived in our old neighborhood.

With Kit, Age 7, at the Beach (audio) is a wonderful poem, one of a number contained in the William Stafford e-book of poems. (Kit, by the way, was a little girl, not a little boy as stated on another Web page. For some reason, I think that matters in reading that poem.)

A number of broadsides (that's simply a single sheet on which something is printed) can be seen in a digital collection at Lewis and Clark. I find it a little kludgy to navigate the documents -- and they take a minute to become visible on the page -- but it seems to work to hit the middle of the text in the thumbnail that displays. Pages particularly to look at: In This One Life / Letters from Notables, At the Coast, and A Ritual to Read to Each Other. Maybe spend a little time with William Stafford: An exhibit catalog and bibliography.

But I've saved the best for last: Wisdom is having things right in your life

2007-01-25T19:49:00.000-08:00

Don't mess with... Colorado?!

A friend dropped by this afternoon to drink tea and break my heart. "It's going to be really cold next week," she said. This photo, taken in early autumn, is in memory of the rose garden I used to have.

2007-01-25T19:21:00.000-08:00

So. Are the adjectives "pompous" and "self-important" interchangeable? I know what Webster's implies; I'm thinking things through in connotation, not denotation.

2007-01-25T08:01:00.000-08:00

This is very exciting. Weather Pixie doesn't seem to know it, but it is already 32F this morning. We could get a little bare pavement in front of the house today, which would be lovely to have in advance of the next snow, which is scheduled for Saturday. Although they have consistently underestimated quantities, the forecasters have been stunningly accurate about times and places.

2007-01-25T07:25:00.000-08:00

The latest column by Francis Cardinal George in his archdiocesan newspaper is causing plenty of excitement around the blogosphere. I don't go looking for this stuff, but any mention of his name triggers a google alert for me.

Some snippets:

Many of the more external signs of Catholicism, the practices people associated with life in the Church, were abandoned thirty or more years ago. The disappearance of external protections left the internal life of faith exposed to error and confusion.

and

There are many good people whose path to holiness is shaped by religious individualism and private interpretation of what God has revealed. They are, however, called Protestants.

Yup. That summarizes exactly what I deeply respect about my dear Protestant friends and also why I am no longer Protestant. There's the divide. Maybe it's a matter of being called one way or the other and of answering that call as faithfully as possible. Anyway, to me the point is that the Cardinal is not asking Protestants to be Roman Catholic; he is simply asking Roman Catholics to be Roman Catholic.

For some reason, Amy Welborn's blog didn't show up in an alert, but the comments are a good snapshot of why I no longer read her. One of her regular commenters who has always struck me as outstandingly pompous weighs in: I have to say I'm very unimpressed with Cardinal George on this issue. He seems to lack any depth at all in an understanding of Catholics, Protestants, Evangelicals, Americanism, and what his council might have been asking for.

And there's: I keep hearing that Cardinal George is the pre-eminent intellectual of the American bishops but I certainly can't peceive it in this article.

Disraeli comes to mind...

The Cardinal has a public record on this topic, but I suppose his ~~detractors~~ critics have reviewed that and found it wanting, as well. As a small-minded, uncharitable, and cynical person, it naturally occurs to me to wonder how, exactly, Brian and Todd feel they are moving the ball forward. What's the purpose of their peevish remarks? Do they think they are helping or encouraging the faithful or their leaders? Or do they feel that they, themselves, have something in the way of leadership to offer?

Off to prepare the house and myself for the industrious and indefatigably cheerful Jen.

2007-01-24T23:31:00.000-08:00

PFCP has put up some photos he took very recently inside Saint Mungo's Church. They are quiet, lovely pictures and I think you would enjoy looking at them.

2007-01-24T07:49:00.000-08:00

Maybe I'm just cranky (that'll be news to y'all), but an airline's decision not to make 112 passengers wait until parents could cope with their three year old's tantrum seems all right to me. Gerry Kulesza's announcement that he will never again fly AirTan should cause worry among those of us ported to other carriers. Here's a blogosphere roundup on the story.

2007-01-23T22:09:00.000-08:00

Look through the windshield and you'll see that this truck is outfitted for a couple kinds of snow removal jobs. In case you can't quite make it out, it's a...

This kind of kit is a money machine for enterprising souls here in northern Colorado. Shopping centers, in particular, hire these independent contractors to clear a path to their front doors.

On top, that's my CR-V on the right, perhaps intimidated because the plow and its reflection look ready to take a bite.

2007-01-22T17:34:00.000-08:00

Cold feet.

We're truly not getting any traction on getting rid of this stuff. Drainage isn't that great. Is anybody wondering where all this is going to go?

Don't go hurling yourself into one of these fluffy-looking snow banks, BTW. The snow has been building up since December 20, so these are less snow banks than icebergs. You jump on that thing and it's gonna hurt you.

View on the road that takes me most places.

2007-01-21T19:54:00.000-08:00

So are they gonna call it the "State Line Superbowl"?

Probably it shouldn't be such a happy thing for me, but animals (Bears and Colts) over paragons (Saints and Patriots)? Oh, yeah. Besides, the pope's coat of arms has a bear in it and obviously that counts for something ;-)

2007-01-21T16:09:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, it is dry in January. It really is.

The little spots of dirt and grass in the field are well buried today.

2007-01-21T10:10:00.000-08:00

We had this tortilla soup last night and it is very, very good, especially as modified chez OotFP. Left out the cilantro, of course. Mr OotFP is not a fan of avocados, so that was omitted, as well. Doubled, at least, the chili powder and didn't stint on the cayenne.

Neither the ingredient list nor the directions specify this, but my opinion is that the chicken really needs to be cooked before it is tossed in at the last moment. Poaching it in a little chicken broth and water (maybe half and half or two to one), chili powder, a decent pinch of salt, and half a sliced onion or so helps. We're dealing with chicken breast here, people! It needs some flavor!

Finally, even half the recipe, as made at our house, would have been enough for at least three people. Maybe four.

Mr OotFP has asked that it be added to the kitchen's rota.

2007-01-21T10:01:00.000-08:00

The good news: it's 28F. Other news: it's snowing.

2007-01-20T16:49:00.000-08:00

Quicksilver Road, about two miles from here.

Longmont sidewalk: watchyerstep.

From County Line Road, near Quicksilver Road.

.

2007-01-20T09:55:00.000-08:00

It's a whirl of post-holiday consumerism around here. From the wilds of the https:// cash register:

Crabtree and Evelyn are having (we'll go with the British form; "C&E 'is' doesn't quite hit the note) a three-for-two sale on products that include a daily necessity around these parts. If you sign up for their email list, inside of a few hours you'll get an email with a code for free shipping.

Dahlgren's dress casual socks are absurdly expensive, until you take into account that around these hard-wearing parts, they wear at least three times longer than others and, according to Someone Who Would Know, they add significantly to foot comfort, especially on days that require several three-quarter mile or more sprints through airports. Annnnyway, these socks are on sale for a buck cheaper on Amazon right now, with free shipping for orders over $50. Don't bother with Zappo's; they sell only in packs of three for what amounts to about $18 a pair.

Dry winter air deals cruelly with my feet. Eucerin made things worse and Kerasol didn't help that much. What is working a treat is AmLactin, an alpha-hydroxy acid that is available either as prescription or, get this, in exactly the same strength and formula OTC for one-third the price of the prescription. No wonder most prescription plans won't cover it.

Finally, for years I have worshipped unwillingly but necessarily at the altar of clipart.com. Making an offering of $100 or so a year seemed high, but not excessive; $169.95 is excessive (they will come 'round to make a concession offer of $129.95, but by that time you will have figured out that LOC and even the weekly Dover Sampler will give you a good jump on creating your own clip art file). No more. Wikimedia Commons works well enough for me, viz. this snippet and this, too. I'm happy to add attribution, even when not strictly necessary as in the case of Gunnar Bach Pedersen's useful photo. Buh-bye, clipart.com.

Yes, thanks, I am aware that those are old magazine bits. The images and code are new because there's a big project going on to spiff up gnarled things like this and this.

2007-01-20T09:14:00.000-08:00

So my friend Fran calls this morning to let me know that her boy and his band, Interstate Cowboy, are on the radio. (Tim's in the middle.) Nice way to get hoppin' on the day.

Weather report: sky looks like a two year old trying to make up her mind about whether a tantrum is worth the trouble. There'll be some snow, je crois, but how much?

2007-01-19T20:49:00.000-08:00

Here's something interesting.

Some spam walks into a bar.

Er, start again. Religious spam forwards to my private email. I reply with my usual "What would Jesus spam, @$$401e?" (well, that isn't quite verbatim, but you get the drift).

There's a reply. Spammer replies usually hit my bit-bucket instantly, but I take a peek -- it's Friday night; why not? -- at a very polite "Oops, you were a victim of a list I purchased of priest's email addresses."

These so-called targeted lists are evil. They are compiled by spam bots and I would bet the car (though not the house; we've been there on other occasions, friends) that the majority of email addresses on that are not even priests'. But here's a guy who says that he truly didn't realize what he was purchasing.

It's odd to publicize a dead-tree book by way of spam, but the author seems to think spam is his viable alternative to an expensive magazine ad. He makes, he points out, 30¢ a copy. Because lots of religious books don't sell more than a few thousand copies, he's not going to be buying an ad in anything very soon.

I can't imagine that spam works as an advertising medium for dead-tree. What think ye? There's no need to comment on my Luddite mindset about spam and I do not need any recipes for it. Send those straight to my buddy in Pennsyltucky. He's the real cunOYshure around these parts ;-)

In the "coals to Newcastle" department, snow is forecast for tomorrow and Sunday. Hey, it's winter, right? Mr OotFP's driver, a gentleman who has seen at least 65 Colorado winters, says he's never seen one like this. But this thought keeps coming back to me: it is winter.

Addendum on Saturday morning: more of the same spam, now sent to more addresses at cptryon.org. Those spam-bots think there must be a gaggle of priests there, including one with an email address that begins "patricia" *shaking head*

2007-01-18T19:54:00.000-08:00

...and I worried that a 24" screen would be too big. (See, Melissa? I haven't forgotten!)

2007-01-18T18:07:00.000-08:00

Photos of hydrogels, rotated and not. Pay attention to those little bits called fibrins; what happens with those could make old age a helluva lot easier.

2007-01-16T01:19:00.000-08:00

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Very Lady Patricia the Careless of Withering Glance

Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

HT, Countess Jordana the Dulcet of Bartonhurst in the River

2007-01-15T15:24:00.000-08:00

*head banging*

I just discovered that the template for something else I was working on had been running as the front page of The Passionists Compassion magazine, which could be a reason google hadn't picked up the big piece on Theodore Foley, C.P., the Superior General of the Congregation from 1964 to his death in 1974.

It's an interesting piece: imho, maybe one of the most interesting yet of this little magazine. On the official site, the generals seem to kind of disappear after their terms, which is too bad. Recently I tried to find a photo of the general before Ottaviano, C.P., the architect who was just re-elected. (Hey, I'd link to the official site, but I've already told you what becomes of generals there.)

2007-01-15T14:03:00.000-08:00

Cory Sause's apologists have come back. I'd like them to come around -- not necessarily to come around to this blog, but to some moral sensibility that would require them to demonstrate that they have reflected fully on the gravity of the offense for which they demand compassion.

2007-01-14T22:51:00.000-08:00

Although we struggled to get as high as double digits (yes, that's Fahrenheit, kids), fortunately the extended forecast includes snow.

2007-01-11T08:11:00.000-08:00

HowManyOfMe.com

There are:
10
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

In other news... we have been condo shopping in Denver in recent months. This story about a lawsuit certainly gives me another think about that. The saga began when the Smiths sued... citing the ‘reckless and negligent use of her bathtub. From the demand letter written by their son, one Sheldon Smith, Esq of Denver: [Your] intransigence … and tortuous conduct have resulted in incredible sleep deprivation for Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Your obstinacy has ruled the day. That will now cease. And get the demand: that this special ed teacher not run her shower before 8 AM.

Here's a lawyer, presumably about the same age as Mrs and Mr OotFP, who is a partner in a Seventeenth Street law firm and a recent inductee to The American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, which appears to be a fairly prestigious professional organization, who does not seem to know how to work things out. Is it just that he's outside his area of professional -- well, maybe not competence... erm, maybe, hmmm, what is the word I'm reaching for... experience? Sheesh.

Mr Sheldon Smith has put a damper on my enthusiasm for the Denver condo market. Should real estate companies and people trying to sell their condos in this chilling market sue him?

HT to Suz at Large, a Denver blogger, for these. She was away for a while, but seems to be back. Good news!

2007-01-09T15:09:00.000-08:00

Even if there's a ways to go...

...it's exciting to see bare pavement.

Only a little in our neighborhood...

...very little, in fact...

...but at least we can find our front door...

...for the moment.

2007-01-08T22:03:00.000-08:00

Charles Aznanour - le site officiel (in English; no, really)

2007-01-07T13:40:00.000-08:00

For the repose of the soul of James Spencer, let us pray to the Lord.

Mr Spencer is the father of my dear friend, Fr Paul Francis Spencer C.P., rector of St Mungo's Church in Glasgow. He was known to be a good man who dealt patiently with the difficult crosses that must be borne by those who are called to see many years in this life. May God be very good to him and may the hope of the Resurrection deeply console his cherished wife and sons.

2007-01-06T09:32:00.000-08:00

The gargoyle's Epiphany: the most seen of this frozen fellow since December 20th. It is a good sign, only slightly clouded in my mind by the knowledge that he is perched on a garden stone that adds a foot or so to his hunched-over height.

2007-01-06T09:15:00.000-08:00

Cory Sause's mom -- Cory Sause is the young Lake Oswegan whose drunken driving caused the death of Patrick Kibler and the disability of his brother -- has started a blog. Go ahead and google for it; damned if I'm goint to link to anything other than the news account of the resolution of the criminal charges. Be warned, though, that the account comes from a newspaper that "reads like a gossip column in a high school newspaper," at least according to a drive-by, anonymous comment to this blog months ago.

The commenter on my blog wrote, "Here's to the truth..."

Here's the undeniable truth, regardless of the varnish one might try to apply to it. Cory Sause killed Patrick Kibler and injured his brother. She bereaved their parents. That wasn't a private matter; it is a public one. The decisions to drive drunk and uninsured (or underinsured) are not private matters; they have consequences for public safety.

So there's the truth.

Here's a question. What compensation does Cory Sause and her family believe victims should receive in this case? Here are further questions for them, just in case they wander by again. What degree of culpability do they believe Cory Sause has for Patrick Kibler's death? What consequence, if any, do they believe is just?

The blog, to which I do not intend to return, asks "Where's the forgiveness?"

Patrick Kibler's family seems to ask, "Where's the contrition?" Seems like a fair question.

2007-01-05T14:36:00.000-08:00

This week's Dover sampler included...

2007-01-05T07:23:00.000-08:00

The kitchen window

2007-01-04T23:55:00.000-08:00

Maybe an inch of the new stuff is on the ground. Don't play coy with me! You know exactly what "new" stuff that would be...

2007-01-04T19:41:00.000-08:00

Mr OotFP notes with only a little acerbity that the purpose of today's snowmelt was to clear some room for the next snowfall. He might be right.

We had tilapia for dinner tonight, dredged in chili powder and finished with a little lemon. Pretty good, but could have done with more heat. What was really nice was lightly steamed veg finished in the olive oil that the fish had so recently kept company with.

2007-01-04T17:47:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, as his biographer reminds, is the Feast of Blessed Charles of Mount Argus.

Charles is a very attractive character. There are a number of good links at pfcp's blog (linked above); if you would like a thumbnail introduction to Blessed Charles (and to why he is a pretty big deal to some this year), take a look at this little piece, which was written by the biographer mentioned above.

Even if you are not especially interested in Charles, the meditation is worth a look. It begins: It is sad but true that many people experience very little love in their lives. Summing up the meaning of the years that make up a human life, the Psalmist says: “And most of these are emptiness and pain; they pass swiftly and we are gone” (Psalm 89:10). The answer to the emptiness and pain of life is found only in the love of God. The love of God remains the remedy for all the evils of this world...

2007-01-03T20:55:00.000-08:00

Saint Paul of the Cross: on the occasion of this, his birthdate, his modern biographer posts some interesting photos.

2007-01-03T20:36:00.000-08:00

Happened across this: Can a modern man believe? - a sermon by Metropolitan Anthony

In other news...

You Are Kermit

Hi, ho! Lovable and friendly, you get along well with everyone you know.
You're a big thinker, and sometimes you over think life's problems.
Don't worry - everyone know's it's not easy being green.
Just remember, time's fun when you're having flies!

The Muppet Personality Test

Right. A while back, a different instrument yielded a different a different result...

2007-01-03T10:48:00.000-08:00

Sunday the icicles on the cathedral enchanted me...

so much so that the jet trail was "over my head" until I was messing around in PhotoShop. Heh.

2007-01-03T10:30:00.000-08:00

This is mildly gratifying. I don't spend a lot of time on stats for my work, but needed yesterday to give someone a little account. From November 14 to December 31, my primary domain served 828,621 pages. In the less useful metric, this was 3,371,174 hits. A number of google search strings such as children prayer return the domain pages first. Weirdly, a page on the Serenity Prayer is the top response, too. Google prayer and it's right up there; google illness prayer (figures, doesn't it) or something like advent prayers and, well, it's first.

Some of those pages are so old that I am undertaking massive remodeling. But the content holds up, even if the design is pretty much junk. So, friends, that's what I do. Things fell behind, especially with my, er, scheduling commitments in late 2005 and almost all of 2006. It feels good to get back on track.

2007-01-02T23:07:00.000-08:00

In the January issue of Fine Cooking ($6.95 now! whoa!) there's a great little take on roasting potatoes. It's more trouble than I like to take, but it was one of the things our Christmas guest prepared for the feast of that day and if you were to try it, you would probably be glad.

It is the nature of these things that those who will want most to eat these will usually be most clueless about cooking them, so I am taking a little time to work out specific directions. Very specific directions. Those of you who cook, including our Christmas guest, will find them brain-numbing. But I had to learn to cook mostly on my own. Clear instructions would have saved confusion, wasted ingredients, and deeply disappointing results.

2007-01-01T23:05:00.000-08:00

Even for Saddam, I don't believe in the death penalty. I do think he should have been locked up; there's a place near my 'hood that is quite secure.

2007-01-01T20:28:00.000-08:00

Sweet post about resolutions - my cranky self isn't planning to do a damn thing about resolutions, but how nice to see the hopefulness implicit in hers. Run over and wish her well.

2007-01-01T14:27:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend, when I thought I was the only one working, I emailed Passionist Brother Michael Moran to ask whether he would be willing for his icon of St Paul of the Cross to be used in a little project (well, it's a very big project, but I don't like to discourage myself). Today, New Years Day, he emailed his permission! Here are pictures of icons he has written and other pieces of art he has created.

He also has the only cool sympathy cards I've ever seen. I'm not a fan of sympathy cards. In general, my feeling is that if you won't take time to write a letter, you're not all that sympathetic. But putting a letter inside one of these, especially the one with the courageous words from the Mass of Christian burial -- Life is changed, not ended --, well, that would be very nice. (Do tuck in the letter, though. Flowers wither and die; food is eaten or thrown out; the donations to worthy causes are, in time, forgotten. Sympathy cards are like Christmas cards: looked at briefly, displayed for a few days or weeks, and tossed. I know these things. But a letter stays and is read and re-read, even years later. It is never too late, either. Not a month or a year or even eighteen years later. I know that, too.)

I digress. His online studio shows some things well worth looking at.

2006-12-31T20:47:00.000-08:00

Some cooking notes to close the year:

Cilantro's extinction would improve this best of all possible worlds.
Sometimes I think it's possible to slide by marinating pork tenderloin for two hours instead of 24. This is always a mistake. I mention this not for having just made the mistake but because, for once and (to tell the truth) by accident, I didn't. There's your tenderloin.
Making a tasty sauce for chicken enchiladas on Saturday night, if I had not so much feared the seeds of the pickled jalapeno, later it would not have been necessary to sneak in a little cayenne.
We have tortillerias here in almost every strip mall. Why do I insist on buying at the super?!
The Consumer Reports article on Glad Press ’n Seal Wrap misses the point. I'm not going to invert a bowl of liquid over my head. I do regularly place dabs of leftover tomato paste or chilis in adobo sauce on sheets of the wrap, seal the little plops separately, put the sheet on a tray in the freezer in order cut up the sheet into its individual packets and drop the packets into plastic zipper bags. It works a treat. This wrap also works well on cut veg and fruit. On the counter right now is an apple I lopped off a piece of on Thursday night and slapped a piece of the wrap over the cut side. It hasn't browned up and I plan to use it in a lovely cabbage and brussel sprout salad tomorrow night.
Is there a cookware so sturdy that it will remain unwarped for a smooth-top range? The smooth top is wonderful for cleaning, but very fussy about flat bottoms of pans. Yes, I know gas is great. The stove is what came with the kitchen, the kitchen was a year old when we bought the house, and I am not planning to replace it (the stove or, while the real estate market is in a downslide here, the house; we'll remain commuters to the bright lights for the time being).
Jim Romanoff on the staff of Eating Well edited a couple good cookbooks in 2006; the "for two" is exceptional.
Some really good cous cous comes from Israel. It's toasted.
For some reason it is hard to find a meat counter that has both ground sirloin and, with apologies to Mr OotFP, chopped chuck. I need these to test whether it really is possible to make a good all-beef meatloaf with, pace the Cook's Illustrated annual, the addition of a little gelatin.

2006-12-31T18:03:00.000-08:00

It was a year.

On to Hogmanay! (It's already well under way...)

2006-12-31T13:06:00.000-08:00

The Gospel of the day for this Feast in the Christmas Octave always brings to my mind this painting of the real Holy Family.

As long as we're on the topic of Christmas, here are three carols that need to be loaded into a rocket and fired to the sun: What Child Is This; Away in a Manger; Angels We Have Heard on High. Failing that, let us at least banish them from hymnbooks and restrict them to choirs of little children. Understood?

2006-12-29T21:12:00.000-08:00

Today is the birthday of Fr Marius Donnelly, C.P., of Saint Mungo's Church in Glasgow, writer of this wonderful letter from Rome some years ago, and dear friend of our family since he welcomed us to the Passionist mission in Paris during the hot summer of 1993. The photo at right, which first appeared on the introductory page of the letter, is one I took in March, 2002 when we visited him in Ireland.

It catches my breath now to think how adrift we would have been in that big, sparkling city if not for this kind, perceptive, and genuinely hospitable man. In the 1980s Fr Marius was first posted to Paris as the pastor of St Joseph's Chuch, the mission that has been on Avenue Hoche since 1869 (the Passionists arrived in Paris in 1863). He was around for the exile to St Genevieve's on rue Claude Lorrain on the outer edge of the 16th (the St Joseph's building was being torn down and rebuilt) and then he returned in 1992 or so as part of the little community where Fr Paul Francis Spencer was rector.

His love of literature, modern fiction and poetry in particular, comes out in casual conversation, but despite his many years as a teacher in seminary he manages never to lapse into the didactic. He tells stories himself and has the knack of shining a moment's light -- just bright enough, just long enough -- on the telling detail. I must add quickly that he knows his way around all kinds of work, not just the business of writing, reading, and speaking. The English sisters who had a convent in Paris used to bring him their sewing machine when it needed going over and he knows his way around the builder's toolbox.

He has one of the widest webs of friendships of anyone I have ever known and still travels to make new Christians: a veritable circuit riding minister of the Sacrament of Baptism. He is, first and last, a man of friendships: with his Passionist family, with his family of origin, with a United Nations of parishioners.

In recent years, his hardworking nature might have caused some exasperation. He does not, you see, seem to see a distinction between "rest" and "idleness" and nothing in him is disposed to being idle. God help the rector who has to see him through a period of recovery after illness. Seriously: God help that rector. He would need it.

In the brief visits we have had with Fr Marius since our family's time in Paris, I have never been able to take leave of him without asking to receive his blessing. When he asks that the blessing "rest and remain," somehow I feel it might. On this, his 80th birthday, I wish I had faith enough to offer a blessing. Although I do not have enough words or time to say what it means that this good man has seemed to give me a little place in his heart, I can tell you of my gratitude for his friendship and many kindnesses.

There is an aside, something inconsequential relative to the rest of this but perhaps not, in an absolute sense, without consequence. We would have left Paris with little more than fond memories, except that he kept in touch by letters and occasional phone calls. That is the first cause of many millions of hits to Passionist content on a little Web site owned, developed, and operated by a friend of Father Marius, C.P.

2006-12-29T18:36:00.000-08:00

Too cold to go out.

2006-12-29T11:01:00.000-08:00

"What a difference a day makes..." (Yes, dear, that hat does make your face look bigger.)

2006-12-27T23:37:00.000-08:00

New York Times' Alessandra Stanley, covering the coverage of President Gerald Ford's death, writes: It’s been more than 40 years since John F. Kennedy was assassinated. His successors died out of office, relatively quietly and well into old age.

Yes. Well, this won't attract as much attention as Stanley received for the Geraldo Rivera flap, but maybe someone will ask the the country's "paper of record" how many Americans consider themselves, at age 64, "well into old age"?

Or does Stanley's playbook not note Lyndon Johnson as a successor of Kennedy's?

2006-12-27T22:02:00.000-08:00

Airport and gardens.

2006-12-25T22:36:00.000-08:00

This morning at the cathedral: Mozart's Missa Brevis K. 220 (Spatzenmesse) and, at the offertory, the Magnificant from Mozart's Solemn Vespers. All that and glorious singing of Adeste Fideles, Joy to the World, and Hark! the Herald Angels Sing.

Those are the only well-known carols that, for my money, sound like anything worthwhile when sung by a congregation. Silent Night was, remember, written for a night that the organ didn't work. If you want to argue, get your ammo here.

I'll give you As with gladness, men of old for Epiphany, but I'll bet your hymnbook that you won't find that one sung verbatim.

2006-12-25T07:31:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from Frosty the Angel and Mrs OotFP.

It's ten degrees, F.

2006-12-24T12:55:00.000-08:00

Here's your Mass schedule if you live in Townhead or Sighthill, Glasgow. (Even if you don't live in those 'hoods, there's a meditation on the Nativity worth the minute it will take you to read; it's by the rector, Fr Paul Francis Spencer, C.P.)

The rector's blog has a picture of the crèche at the Basilica of Saints John and Paul's and a little description of how the figure of the Babe is placed. It reminded me of a lovely practice we -- coming from a mostly Protestant background in the United States -- had never seen until we were far from home some years ago. As the congregation sang the tender carol Come, Come to the Manger before Mass, a procession led the rector of the mission, who cradled a little figure of the Babe in his arms, to the creche, where the figure was laid gently in the manger.

Often the figure of the Christ Child simply materializes in the manger, which is certainly one way of telling the story. A deliberate placing of it invites other thoughts.

2006-12-23T08:28:00.000-08:00

Mike in Translation has been added to my blogroll. He's a recent cum laude (Willamette University: say "will-AM-ut," furriners) in Religious Studies and French who is in Africa on a Watson Fellowship studying religious inculturation. An early aspect of his career, probably omitted from his resumé, is that he used to mow our unhandsome and disobedient grass in Lake Oswego. (Here in Colorado, where lawns go into REM for five months or more of the year, lawns are less unwieldy.)

2006-12-22T20:59:00.000-08:00

2006-12-21T08:28:00.000-08:00

Comparisons: November 2004

2006-12-21T07:30:00.000-08:00

This is bigger than the news we have here, because it would have saved my mother's life and has the potential of eliminating a major cause of suffering:

Breakthrough in diabetes research

Diabetic mice became healthy virtually overnight after researchers injected a substance to counteract the effect of malfunctioning pain neurons in the pancreas.

This is just huge. HT, Colin.

2006-12-21T07:12:00.000-08:00

2006-12-20T19:30:00.000-08:00

Now.

2006-12-20T16:29:00.000-08:00

Roof at dusk.

2006-12-20T15:34:00.000-08:00

A few hours later and even the angel is snowed in.

2006-12-20T10:13:00.000-08:00

Seventeen seconds of exciting video action in which Mr OotFP pulls the 4WD out of the garage to set off for the grocery store.

The daughter's flight from Chicago got cancelled; a friend's husband who was supposed to fly out of Denver to meet her in NJ (she went a few days ago for extra face time with the grandchildren) is stuck here. It'll be interesting to see what happens in the next few days. Not too interesting, I hope; this is already more excitement than I wanted.

2006-12-20T10:06:00.000-08:00

Nowhere but home for the holidays.

2006-12-19T23:42:00.000-08:00

We really do need the moisture, but damn it's going to be a pain if it snows as much tonight and tomorrow as is forecast.

2006-12-18T19:16:00.000-08:00

If you've had it with elevator Xmas music, go get Eyes Open (Snow Patrol) and Magic Time (Van Morrison). Strictly on account of the album name (some things are just fun to see on the playlist), you could go for Van's Pay the Devil, too. When nostalgia for the youth I should have had sets in, I've been listening to Leon Russell's "concept" album from the early 70s, Carney. What can I say? The good stuff holds up.

If you're downloading, well... of course Chasing Cars and Stranded. Carry On Regardless, especially if you're a fan of Sid James and his merry band. Till I Gain Control Again, if you need a song to make you feel better about your life. (In fact, the whole Pay the Devil thing ought to do that for you.)

2006-12-18T07:08:00.000-08:00

Extraordinary. My purchase profile at Amazon resulted in my receiving notice of a new campground guide. If you know me IRL...

2006-12-17T21:17:00.000-08:00

Wisdom is having things right in your life and knowing why - from one of William Stafford's better-known poems

2006-12-16T15:04:00.000-08:00

Great Low-Cost GraphicsTools - article in PC World that reviews software under $80 -- and a number that are flat-out free.

2006-12-15T22:09:00.000-08:00

Recently I mentioned festivities around the Christmas tree lighting in Mead. Here's the actual tree. A parade, a bonfire, and a big community Christmas tree: not a bad showing for a town of only a few thousand people.

2006-12-15T22:03:00.000-08:00

Tonight someone told me, "I'm sorry to say it, but they are obnoxious." Sorrier, I think, is what provoked the observation.

2006-12-15T21:52:00.000-08:00

In the "shoemaker's children" category, recently I've been wondering what in the world became of an old James Beard recipe for a cake-like gingerbread I used to make years ago during Advent. Just now it occurred to me that I might actually know where to find it...

Last week, maybe it was at the cookie exchange (Soopers sells some little packages of marvelous cranberry cookies that went over very well, indeed), I was asking around about how to adapt recipes for baking. I haven't baked more than a potato in the (coming on) six years we've been in Colorado. It sounds like it is pretty much down to cutting back on the leavening. We'll see.

2006-12-14T23:46:00.000-08:00

Lake Oswego is a great town to be from - preferably far from. If I correctly understand the story, a developer is with a straight face asking for public subsidy of parking for a building that will house $600/square foot condos. Plans are for units up to 2400 sq feet. I wish I could say, "Only in Lake Ego..." but that's probably not true.

Maybe, though, the local citizenry has fed all the hungry and housed all the homeless (or at least sent them to Colorado) and thus with clear conscience can give serious thought to using public funds to build parking spaces for the exclusive use of those who can pay well over a half mill for a condo.

2006-12-14T15:55:00.000-08:00

I am so busted:

Are You A Cultural Catholic?

"You are a WASP/Convert"
You've been to a parish bingo game once.
Don't worry, we won't tell.
After all, WASPs are allowed in the Church as well.
We just don't trust you very much.
Provided by The Donegal Express

Take this quiz!

This was illustrated with a photo of Scott Hahn, which I was obliged to remove.

2006-12-14T10:16:00.000-08:00

The Cardinal Archbishop of Boston has a blog.

2006-12-14T07:18:00.000-08:00

What will Pope Benedict be doing next Wednesday? Fr Paul Francis Spencer, C.P., biographer of beatified Father Charles of Mount Argus, says that the miracle required for Blessed Charles' canonisation will be presented to the Holy Father on December 21. PFCP also has some excellent photos at Mount Argus, where Charles lived out his vocation. Above: a scan of my well-worn copy

2006-12-14T06:56:00.000-08:00

Chihuahua, at the appropriately trademarked "This ain't your gramma's embroidery" site.

2006-12-13T23:44:00.000-08:00

Cycling to the bottom of piles in the laundry room tonight, I found the special wash cloths I asked Mr OotFP to pick up for my sponge baths immediately after the biopsies. I threw them away as quickly as possible and then washed and washed my hands.