Just so you know, I did not mean to delete all the comments. If I can get them back, I will, but I just outsmarted myself by messing with the settings and didn't import them. I will attempt later to get them back, since many were valuable to me. They are saved, I think. If you need to log in now to comment, I apologize, but I do find trolling annoying. If you have a disagreeable comment to make, the least you can do is have the balls to tell me who you are.
I like disagreeable characters. I love chatting with them. I just like to know who they are. Common courtesy, dontcha know. You can be disagreeable as long as you use your brain, instead of trolling on purpose, which used to be called bullying. And as we know from elementary school, bullies are cowards.
Happy New Year, and welcome to 2010!!
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Really?
Wow. How come I suddenly have triple the number of hits on my blog this week? I wonder if it will stay that way? That's really neat! Thanks, guys!! :)
Saturday, June 20, 2009
I got a blog award.... but I have to work for it!
Holly, at Scattering Agates, has awarded me my very first blog award. Awwww.... :) Thanks, Holly!
Holly and I went to college together and she has a blog I need to check to ground myself once in a while. Really good reflections on falling down, getting up, and trying harder in the Christian-Catholic life as a wife and mom. Holly likes mine, because she likes the material, but it's not really her style to post it. So we help each other out!
So, these are the rules from what she posted:
If I sent you the Honest Scrap Blog Award, here are the guidelines:
1) Say thanks and give a link to the presenter of the award.
2) Share "ten honest things" about myself.
3) Present this award to 7 others whose blogs I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged me.
4) Tell those 7 people that they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving it.
Ten Honest Things About Myself:
1. I love being Catholic and cannot imagine giving it up. Ever. World Youth Day 1993 has something to do with that.
2. Honesty is one of my favorite attributes. Fairness is another one. And yes, I am a Libra. If you want to see me mad, do something really unfair.
3. I never thought I was going to have more than, say, three kids. But I have to say, five doesn't look that much harder, and I'm glad we're going there.
4. My home is really California, strange a place as it is. But since my ultimate home is Heaven, I can call WA my home, also. Sorry, Oregon, you never really were home to me.
5. I love my husband dearly, and am very, very glad I married him 10 years ago on July 10th.
6. I always love my family, but sometimes I don't like them very much.
7. I vascillate between lazy and frenetic cleaning periods at our house. Maybe that's why it looks like a tornado went through it most of the time.
8. I'm thankful for being close to dirt poor at times, and for all our woes we have gone through, because I have learned what it's like to be poor and also how to manage my money before I have any (thank you, www.daveramsey.com). God knew I needed to learn that a few times before I got it right, and so I thank Him. It is only on reflection that one sees the hand of God.
9. I am enjoying these next ten years or so to the fullest, because I can foresee another stage of life that is not nearly as fun -- high school/college aged children and aging parents. It will be more difficult, and my life is so good right now, I want to enjoy every single moment.
10. My family fits surprisingly well into 967 sq. ft. They even like each other. Most days.
Ok, now for the seven other blogs:
The Common Room
http://www.heartkeepercommonroom.blogspot.com/ It was the first, and the best. I check it every day.
The Pioneer Woman
http://thepioneerwoman.com/ So much good stuff, and reminds me of my childhood on a ranch. Not nearly as big of a ranch, but I do get it when a cow's uterus falls out. Been there for that one!
The McKillip Klan
http://www.mckillipklan.typepad.com/ This family is one I corrected papers for a while back, and we became friends. They are a neat family, on a farm in Colorado. They've been having an AWFUL weather year, so please pray for them and their mom's sanity!
Stoney Creek Digest
http://culbreath.wordpress.com/
We met through a recommendation from the first blog, and then last year we met in person. I don't always agree with Jeff, but he sure does make you think. His family is loverly, and we dearly enjoyed our meeting. They took us to our first Latin Mass in Chico, CA of all places. Let's just say Chico State is not known for it's Masses! And since it was nearby, I just thought that was funny.
Gladdest Hours
http://houseofgallus.typepad.com/cedarsandroses/
Suzanne is a lovely person in person, too! She focuses on the Liturgical Year, and how to celebrate it. It's just wonderful. Her site has soooo many links, you could be there all day.
Who Says 8 Is Enough?
http://bouffard11.blogspot.com/
I adore this blog, but don't check it as much anymore. She's just amazing. Watch the video of how their family came to be. It's partly by birth, partly by adoption, and she keeps basically a scrapbook online. It also links to lots of other blogs, many of which are about adoption, christian families, and multiples. The slideshow at the beginning is a must, did I mention that?
Sardonic Catholic Dad
http://sardoniccatholicdad.blogspot.com/ This guy reminds me to have a sense of humor. Seriously, I love this blog, and it's good for the guys out there. I think the next baby makes an even dozen kids. He lives in NJ, I think. He's very honest, and that's a nice thing to see in a PC world. So funny, it might be sinful.
Now I have to contact all these people?? Holly, why, oh why did you do this to me? :)
Have fun, peeps!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
I went to the Catholic homeschooling conference....
... and I hardly spent any money! Yay me! It takes a lot of will power not to spend at least $300 while there, but since I didn't even have $50, well, that wasn't so hard, now, was it?
What I did come away with was... new blogs to haunt! Heaven!
I also came away with a profound respect for the other moms and dads who maneuver this tiny subculture we have. The funny part is, it doesn't feel tiny to me, because the people I hang out with most are part of it. Generally, we're all like the book "Crunchy Cons" and our priorities move in those circles more or less. So, most of us homeschool, most of us actually believe in what the Catholic Church teaches, to each letter of the Cathecism of the Catholic Church (CCC), including our use of NFP. We generally lean toward hippie-like tendencies, like organic food, city chickens, camping, etc. Now, some of us would be offended by the label "hippie", but if that's being good stewards of the Earth, then we are doing that, a la the book of Genesis. :) We are all trying to create our own, fairly innocent, well-formed Garden of Eden. And then we'll see where that goes from there.
That all said, there were a healthy mix of opportunities when it came to the speakers at the conference. The website for the conference is www.nwcatholicconference.com and it will have lots of notes on it in a jiffy from all the speakers. I'm very thankful for this, because I couldn't get there before noon, and when I was there, I could hardly hear or was mightily distracted by four children. They were actually very good, I might add, most of the time. We did have a stealing incident, but that was well taken care of by a personal apology and note. Happily, I know the vendor, and she has nine kids and 21 grandkids! She says she's been there, done that. And Mr. Six Year Old was suitably embarrassed, which was a big relief to me. They had a great time with all kinds of kids their age and other ages. Gabe learned lots of chess, soccer, football and Catholic trivia, and we all learned my kids are very, very attracted to small plastic knights from China and also the math program Math U See. Which is expensive, but just might be worth it for aforementioned six year old. He was all over it. Happily, someone I know will be letting me borrow the lowest level. Thank goodness for the generosity of homeschoolers!
I have a few websites for you. Ready? Get set? GO.
Think organic is too expensive? This lady has got some great tips and stories for you! Search around. She swears raw milk saved her small son from nastiness. Very good reading:
Organic and Thrifty
Meredith Henning on incorporating the Liturgical Year into your home. Mondays with Mary is her first book, and it's adorable. Here is her blog:
http://happyheartsmom.typepad.com/
and here is where you can order her book(think tea and crumpets with Marian Holy Days): https://www.lulu.com/commerce/index.php?fBuyContent=6582999
Robin Betz's notes from her talk called "Prioritizing With Blinders On":
http://www.nwcatholicconference.com/Notes/PrioritizingWithBlindersOnByRobinBetz.pdf
Cooking "Traditional Foods", meaning stuff we ate before we refined everything last century:
http://www.cookingtf.com/
And lastly, I need to mention the absolutely coolest homeschooling book I have read in ages. It deserves (and will likely get) its own post. It doesn't just talk about socialization for kids, it spells out socialization for families, meaning parents! And how to do it, and NOT do it. Let's just say I've run over her most important rule, oh, I don't know, constantly? But that doesn't mean I don't agree with her. She's right. I just have a very weak spot when it comes to fairly innocent gossip and then putting my foot in my mouth so it's not so innocent, and if I just shut my mouth altogether like she says, I'd never get my foot in there.... sigh. That's why they invented Confession. :P
Here is the book and the link to her blog. Buy the book if you can. It's worth it!
Cottage Blessings: A Haystack Full of Needles
I think my favorite part of the book is that socialization was why she was most opposed to homeschooling in the beginning, and now she thinks that might be its best strength! From what she wrote, I agree with her! Thank you, Alice, for writing this... we all need it! Even those whose kids are not being homeschooled. If you are a parent, it's a great read. Esp. a Catholic parent, but really, any parent.
Ok (puff, puff), think I've blogged enough today. Phew! Thanks for sticking with me, and happy hunting!!
What I did come away with was... new blogs to haunt! Heaven!
I also came away with a profound respect for the other moms and dads who maneuver this tiny subculture we have. The funny part is, it doesn't feel tiny to me, because the people I hang out with most are part of it. Generally, we're all like the book "Crunchy Cons" and our priorities move in those circles more or less. So, most of us homeschool, most of us actually believe in what the Catholic Church teaches, to each letter of the Cathecism of the Catholic Church (CCC), including our use of NFP. We generally lean toward hippie-like tendencies, like organic food, city chickens, camping, etc. Now, some of us would be offended by the label "hippie", but if that's being good stewards of the Earth, then we are doing that, a la the book of Genesis. :) We are all trying to create our own, fairly innocent, well-formed Garden of Eden. And then we'll see where that goes from there.
That all said, there were a healthy mix of opportunities when it came to the speakers at the conference. The website for the conference is www.nwcatholicconference.com and it will have lots of notes on it in a jiffy from all the speakers. I'm very thankful for this, because I couldn't get there before noon, and when I was there, I could hardly hear or was mightily distracted by four children. They were actually very good, I might add, most of the time. We did have a stealing incident, but that was well taken care of by a personal apology and note. Happily, I know the vendor, and she has nine kids and 21 grandkids! She says she's been there, done that. And Mr. Six Year Old was suitably embarrassed, which was a big relief to me. They had a great time with all kinds of kids their age and other ages. Gabe learned lots of chess, soccer, football and Catholic trivia, and we all learned my kids are very, very attracted to small plastic knights from China and also the math program Math U See. Which is expensive, but just might be worth it for aforementioned six year old. He was all over it. Happily, someone I know will be letting me borrow the lowest level. Thank goodness for the generosity of homeschoolers!
I have a few websites for you. Ready? Get set? GO.
Think organic is too expensive? This lady has got some great tips and stories for you! Search around. She swears raw milk saved her small son from nastiness. Very good reading:
Organic and Thrifty
Meredith Henning on incorporating the Liturgical Year into your home. Mondays with Mary is her first book, and it's adorable. Here is her blog:
http://happyheartsmom.typepad.com/
and here is where you can order her book(think tea and crumpets with Marian Holy Days): https://www.lulu.com/commerce/index.php?fBuyContent=6582999
Robin Betz's notes from her talk called "Prioritizing With Blinders On":
http://www.nwcatholicconference.com/Notes/PrioritizingWithBlindersOnByRobinBetz.pdf
Cooking "Traditional Foods", meaning stuff we ate before we refined everything last century:
http://www.cookingtf.com/
And lastly, I need to mention the absolutely coolest homeschooling book I have read in ages. It deserves (and will likely get) its own post. It doesn't just talk about socialization for kids, it spells out socialization for families, meaning parents! And how to do it, and NOT do it. Let's just say I've run over her most important rule, oh, I don't know, constantly? But that doesn't mean I don't agree with her. She's right. I just have a very weak spot when it comes to fairly innocent gossip and then putting my foot in my mouth so it's not so innocent, and if I just shut my mouth altogether like she says, I'd never get my foot in there.... sigh. That's why they invented Confession. :P
Here is the book and the link to her blog. Buy the book if you can. It's worth it!
Cottage Blessings: A Haystack Full of Needles
I think my favorite part of the book is that socialization was why she was most opposed to homeschooling in the beginning, and now she thinks that might be its best strength! From what she wrote, I agree with her! Thank you, Alice, for writing this... we all need it! Even those whose kids are not being homeschooled. If you are a parent, it's a great read. Esp. a Catholic parent, but really, any parent.
Ok (puff, puff), think I've blogged enough today. Phew! Thanks for sticking with me, and happy hunting!!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Another cool widget! (and a baby heartbeat)
Number one, today I saw our new OB with my husband, and he thinks he'll do, so that's good, because I didn't want to go doctor hunting. He's very experienced, laid back, and is ok with my progesterone issues, though he doesn't take it as seriously as the doc who first told me how important it could be. He's really leaving it up to me, how much I want to take and for how long. I was a bit incredulous, as I'm used to the doctor wanting to be in charge of such things. I guess that works for me! He also said my official due date is November 24th, and that I am, as of today, 10 weeks along. So my baby ticker widget is a little slow.
I also put up a cute bookshelf widget. I will try to update it as I move onto other books. I'm not technically reading the Susie Lloyd book yet, but I want to be! I've hinted very strongly for Mother's Day....
I have quite a variety I'm reading right now. I just pick up whatever I'm interested in on a given evening, and read it. And if my mood is different, I do something else for a while. So I'm usually reading at least 2 books at a time, sometimes 5.
I hope the sun is shining where you are, it certainly is here!
I also put up a cute bookshelf widget. I will try to update it as I move onto other books. I'm not technically reading the Susie Lloyd book yet, but I want to be! I've hinted very strongly for Mother's Day....
I have quite a variety I'm reading right now. I just pick up whatever I'm interested in on a given evening, and read it. And if my mood is different, I do something else for a while. So I'm usually reading at least 2 books at a time, sometimes 5.
I hope the sun is shining where you are, it certainly is here!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Do Not Be Discouraged! Be Not Afraid!
I was feeling discouraged today.
I find a lot of people who are otherwise my friends, look at me and my closest friends and say, "Wow, that person is really brainwashed to believe all that. How can she be so paranoid about all these things? How can she think abortion is a great evil, and that society is headed for a huge downfall in the next few years, and that Obama is anything less than incredible? What is wrong with her?"
Heh. Well, they can keep thinking that. It will just be really sad if I am right, for all of us. I don't see how I can be brainwashed if I keep hoping I'm wrong. I'm under the impression that brainwashed people don't usually do that.
www.spiritdaily.com often leads me to wonderful news sources and great blogs. I love it very much for that. At first glance, it sometimes appears sensationalistic and crazy, but read hard, and you'll find hope and love and encouragement abound.
This is a blog he listed today. I will start checking it. He does a great job. He is apparently a faithful priest of 21 years, and I can see that I'd like him very much if I got the chance to meet him.
He talks in today's post about the coming troubles, and how prayer will help us. The next post is about the Legionaries of Christ and the awful news that's come down the pipe lately. I have several friends involved in Regnum Christi, the lay apostolate which is connected to the Legionaries. I pray that they find this encouragement, and I cheer what this priest says about the whole ordeal.
Watch out, folks, because our whole world is about to change. I'm ready for the ride. I think. How about you?
I find a lot of people who are otherwise my friends, look at me and my closest friends and say, "Wow, that person is really brainwashed to believe all that. How can she be so paranoid about all these things? How can she think abortion is a great evil, and that society is headed for a huge downfall in the next few years, and that Obama is anything less than incredible? What is wrong with her?"
Heh. Well, they can keep thinking that. It will just be really sad if I am right, for all of us. I don't see how I can be brainwashed if I keep hoping I'm wrong. I'm under the impression that brainwashed people don't usually do that.
www.spiritdaily.com often leads me to wonderful news sources and great blogs. I love it very much for that. At first glance, it sometimes appears sensationalistic and crazy, but read hard, and you'll find hope and love and encouragement abound.
This is a blog he listed today. I will start checking it. He does a great job. He is apparently a faithful priest of 21 years, and I can see that I'd like him very much if I got the chance to meet him.
He talks in today's post about the coming troubles, and how prayer will help us. The next post is about the Legionaries of Christ and the awful news that's come down the pipe lately. I have several friends involved in Regnum Christi, the lay apostolate which is connected to the Legionaries. I pray that they find this encouragement, and I cheer what this priest says about the whole ordeal.
Watch out, folks, because our whole world is about to change. I'm ready for the ride. I think. How about you?
Thursday, February 5, 2009
I changed it!
It was hard to find a picture that was dark enough at the top that you could see my header. And we are meandering, after all. The picture is from my parents' ranch in northern California. I have a keen need to return there and recharge my batteries ever so often. Must pay off last trip there first, then we can think about planning another one... I love it there. I just want to lay down in the grass and stare at the sky for a while. Don't you?
Friday, January 23, 2009
A new Catholic blog to check out (plus pics!)
My friend Holly Holmes Fugate, who once shared a room with my friend Rachel and lived next to me sophomore year, has a beautiful new blog. She is super cool. People are so amazing, they do stuff that is totally unexpected. Never underestimate the power of a mommy-blogger, man. I'm going to keep checking this blog, and hope you will, too. Read the reason for her title!
http://scatteringagates.blogspot.com/
By the way, I went looking for pictures of Holly, and man, I did not realize how much fun I could have on Facebook if I just scan in a few of these lovelies. I have so much more dirt on y'all! Mostly on me, though. :) I loved college so much.
From left to right: me, Holly, Meghan and Rachel
This was that notorious year in which I meant to live next to Nicky Hartsell, but I ended up living next to Holly and Rachel. Lucky me!!!! Holly and I are both in the front row. I'm next to grinning Stepanie on the right, and Holly is on the left, between Liezl and Dianne. Marisol is in the middle.
The first thing I noticed about second floor Crimont, being an all girls dorm as opposed to the co-ed dorm of my freshman year (separated by hall and floor), is that Crimont had no barf smell in the bathroom on weekends. It reeked in my freshman year dorm. I mean wow.
Yay for Crimont!! Where I met so many of my seriously good friends. We partnered up with the second floor of the all men dorm, DeSmet, and we had a rollicking good time.
Go Gonzaga!
http://scatteringagates.blogspot.com/
By the way, I went looking for pictures of Holly, and man, I did not realize how much fun I could have on Facebook if I just scan in a few of these lovelies. I have so much more dirt on y'all! Mostly on me, though. :) I loved college so much.
From left to right: me, Holly, Meghan and Rachel
This was that notorious year in which I meant to live next to Nicky Hartsell, but I ended up living next to Holly and Rachel. Lucky me!!!! Holly and I are both in the front row. I'm next to grinning Stepanie on the right, and Holly is on the left, between Liezl and Dianne. Marisol is in the middle.
The first thing I noticed about second floor Crimont, being an all girls dorm as opposed to the co-ed dorm of my freshman year (separated by hall and floor), is that Crimont had no barf smell in the bathroom on weekends. It reeked in my freshman year dorm. I mean wow.
Yay for Crimont!! Where I met so many of my seriously good friends. We partnered up with the second floor of the all men dorm, DeSmet, and we had a rollicking good time.
Go Gonzaga!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
My new music box
Merry Christmas to me.
I was reading Sardonic Catholic Dad, and decided to click on his music to see where he got it from. Oh My Gosh. It is so fun. So I put together THE most ridiculous set of my favorite music ever. It is so cool.
To me. Maybe not you. I mean, really, who puts John Denver next to MIB?
I ask you.
I hope you like it. Comments and questions welcome.
Oh, and DH got an iPod Touch, which he saved up for by selling computer objects, and he tells me that listening to the Blue Collar Comedy Tour is awesome, and relieves the stress of a very long commute very quickly.
I wonder what people think of the guy next to them laughing his butt off without seeing what he's laughing at?
Ah... the things we do in the wintertime.
I was reading Sardonic Catholic Dad, and decided to click on his music to see where he got it from. Oh My Gosh. It is so fun. So I put together THE most ridiculous set of my favorite music ever. It is so cool.
To me. Maybe not you. I mean, really, who puts John Denver next to MIB?
I ask you.
I hope you like it. Comments and questions welcome.
Oh, and DH got an iPod Touch, which he saved up for by selling computer objects, and he tells me that listening to the Blue Collar Comedy Tour is awesome, and relieves the stress of a very long commute very quickly.
I wonder what people think of the guy next to them laughing his butt off without seeing what he's laughing at?
Ah... the things we do in the wintertime.
Sloth and the internet
Did you know the internet is a great way to avoid housework and let it pile up?
I'll bet you did.
I'll bet some of you have more self control than I do.
Perhaps I will have to turn it off again.
I think I will. Right now. Really.
Two days til Christmas and I have not finished addressing Christmas cards, cleaned off the table, or wrapped any presents.
It's time to turn off the internet for the day and go do something productive. Lots of things. Bathing the children and myself for one thing.
Bye bye internet. You are malfunctioning today anyway, so have a nice vacation.
If anyone misses me, give me a call.
Love,
Annaberri
I'll bet you did.
I'll bet some of you have more self control than I do.
Perhaps I will have to turn it off again.
I think I will. Right now. Really.
Two days til Christmas and I have not finished addressing Christmas cards, cleaned off the table, or wrapped any presents.
It's time to turn off the internet for the day and go do something productive. Lots of things. Bathing the children and myself for one thing.
Bye bye internet. You are malfunctioning today anyway, so have a nice vacation.
If anyone misses me, give me a call.
Love,
Annaberri
Saturday, December 20, 2008
More fun websites
This week I came across these websites. They are really fun, each in their own way!
www.sardoniccatholicdad.blogspot.com Great music! Tech geek dad and has lots of kids. Too bad he's on the other coast. If you need a "grown up" break, I like it!
www.thepioneerwoman.com Great ideas, pictures, recipes, and funny ranch stories from a woman who never, ever thought she'd be a ranch wife, homeschooling four kids. She's really fun. And that's where I got my Christmas cookie recipe I plan to try. I didn't know what almond bark was. Now that I've hunted for it in Safeway, I know.
www.urbanhomestead.org A little old garden in Pasadena. Very, very interesting links. These guys try their darndest to provide great food and save the earth from their little patch of land a mile from downtown Pasadena. Yeah, that Pasadena. As in Los Angeles.
Have fun! You might be busy for a couple of hours, so get a cup of coffee or whatever your poison is. Time to get comfy! Besides, it's snowing and freaking cold out there.
www.sardoniccatholicdad.blogspot.com Great music! Tech geek dad and has lots of kids. Too bad he's on the other coast. If you need a "grown up" break, I like it!
www.thepioneerwoman.com Great ideas, pictures, recipes, and funny ranch stories from a woman who never, ever thought she'd be a ranch wife, homeschooling four kids. She's really fun. And that's where I got my Christmas cookie recipe I plan to try. I didn't know what almond bark was. Now that I've hunted for it in Safeway, I know.
www.urbanhomestead.org A little old garden in Pasadena. Very, very interesting links. These guys try their darndest to provide great food and save the earth from their little patch of land a mile from downtown Pasadena. Yeah, that Pasadena. As in Los Angeles.
Have fun! You might be busy for a couple of hours, so get a cup of coffee or whatever your poison is. Time to get comfy! Besides, it's snowing and freaking cold out there.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
I added to my websites
If people like, they can see the websites I either think are important, or else I check them weekly or daily. They are pretty neat! They are listed on the right. If you have questions about them, please ask.
Blogs are like crack, really. Don't look at them.
:)
Blogs are like crack, really. Don't look at them.
:)
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Den Beste - superblogger
Huh. I looked up this guy with DH tonight since we liked his blog about the election. Turns out he's been around for a while. I started reading his ideas on moral relativism and why it's wrong philisophically and doesn't actually work long-term, and this is what I found. The hotlinks don't come through, so please click the link in the title, and you will find all the links he mentions. Very, very interesting.
My brain hurts.
Steven Den Beste - Godfather of Bloggers
Scott Kirwin
Recently Glenn Reynolds mentioned the folks at the Surviving Grady baseball blog have published a book, and he also added that he thinks it's time that Steven Den Beste did the same. I wholeheartedly agree. Some of you may not be familiar with the name, since Den Beste stopped blogging about current events over a year and a half ago. However the retired engineer from San Diego was one of the godfathers of the blogosphere - along with Reynolds, Andrew Sullivan, and a handful of others. While the history of the blogosphere is still being blogged the writing of Den Beste stands as a milestone in the development of "New Media" and its challenge to the Mainstream Media (MSM).
His writings have influenced a complete generation of bloggers. Before LGF. Before Powerline. Before INDC Journal and even Dean's World, there was USS Clueless. I began blogging as a way of expressing myself in the weeks after 9-11. I remember the helplessness that I can only express using the title of one of Harlan Ellison's best works: I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. For a month I was silent, stunned as I reexamined my beliefs, some of which crumbled to expose others that lay like bedrock underneath. During that time I discovered that web logs, which had seemed yet another example of navel gazing in an overly narcissistic culture, had changed into what they are today: another medium for news and analysis. And no one's analysis was better than Steven Den Beste's.
What we're doing is right and it is necessary. Awful things are going to happen, and we're going to do some of them. But worse things would have happened if we had not done this, and that's all that matters. - Oct 10, 2001
Before Den Beste, it was extremely difficult to find well written and thought out pieces anywhere on the web. Such work was the domain of the MSM. Depending on your flavor of politics one had the New Republic or National Review. For Science essays there was Stephen Jay Gould writing for Natural History and the occasional piece in Wired or Scientific American.
However Den Beste was a master synthesizer in the mold of James Burke and could take two seemingly unconnected events and weave them together into a whole that was much greater than the sum of its parts. How did the Burgess Shale fossils relate to World War 3? Click here to find out. He had a patience for his readership that has been lost by many modern writers. He could walk you through his argument showing why life is rare in the Universe without leaving you behind or losing you in digressions. He recognized and labeled trends such as the divide between Wilsonians - those supporting a trans-nationalist idealism - and Jacksonians - those rooted in a populist based conservativism.
While some of his best writing in my opinion is that touching upon his experiences in Engineering (my old blog, The Razor, isn't indexed so I can't find these posts. Besides, it would take too much time since a good part of my early writings often included phrases like "Read the entire thing" with hyperlinks to a Den Beste post), his philosophical musings are what really hit home to me at an extremely critical time in my intellectual development.
After 9-11 I realized that I had previously been indoctrinated in moral and cultural relativism. During the weeks that followed I began to examine (and uproot in most cases but not all) these beliefs and attitudes that I had held unquestioningly since my college days at that bastion of PC indoctrination: the UC system in California. One post in particular by Den Beste made me realize the folly in my thinking:
If our attackers are automatons with no moral responsibility, then they are mad dogs, and so we should fight back, for if we don't they will surely attack us again.. If, on the other hand, they have free will, then we are justified by their acts in visiting punishment on them — and killing them anyway. Neither point of view justifies pacifism on our part.
And if they are responding to things we did, then would we not in turn be responding to things they did? If they are not culpable for attacking us, how would we be culpable for responding in kind? If their attack on us was ethically neutral because they were responding to things we did to them, then our counterattack will equally be ethically neutral because we will in turn be responding to things they did. Ultimately no-one is responsible for anything, and ethics again becomes a null-set.
Deep down this theory assumes that we are not the same as them. We really can think, we really can make decisions, but they ultimately are stupid creatures who merely respond to their environment. It is deeply chauvinistic. It is only by assuming a gargantuan moral inequivalency that this argument stands. (Oct 4, 2001 )
This article, along with an article by Francis Beckwith titled "Philosophical Problems With Moral Relativism" influenced my intellectual growth in a way that hadn't happened since the Jesuits had their hooks in me in high school. Accompanied by a new-found sobriety this growth has made my writing better. It has sharpened my intellect and allowed me to ride through some pretty tough times. In the past books have had this power, but in 2001-2 it was Steven Den Beste's writing at USS Clueless.
Den Beste stopped writing about current events for a variety of reasons including his health and dealing with nutjobs. He still writes about anime and slips in the odd event at Chizumatic. However I would love nothing better than to read a book of his previous work and maybe even a new piece or two.
For those of you who weren't around back then, Den Beste has a page of what he thinks are his best posts. However he has culled out too much, so it wouldn't hurt to read the entire thing; it just would be easier to read it in a book.
My brain hurts.
Steven Den Beste - Godfather of Bloggers
Scott Kirwin
Recently Glenn Reynolds mentioned the folks at the Surviving Grady baseball blog have published a book, and he also added that he thinks it's time that Steven Den Beste did the same. I wholeheartedly agree. Some of you may not be familiar with the name, since Den Beste stopped blogging about current events over a year and a half ago. However the retired engineer from San Diego was one of the godfathers of the blogosphere - along with Reynolds, Andrew Sullivan, and a handful of others. While the history of the blogosphere is still being blogged the writing of Den Beste stands as a milestone in the development of "New Media" and its challenge to the Mainstream Media (MSM).
His writings have influenced a complete generation of bloggers. Before LGF. Before Powerline. Before INDC Journal and even Dean's World, there was USS Clueless. I began blogging as a way of expressing myself in the weeks after 9-11. I remember the helplessness that I can only express using the title of one of Harlan Ellison's best works: I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. For a month I was silent, stunned as I reexamined my beliefs, some of which crumbled to expose others that lay like bedrock underneath. During that time I discovered that web logs, which had seemed yet another example of navel gazing in an overly narcissistic culture, had changed into what they are today: another medium for news and analysis. And no one's analysis was better than Steven Den Beste's.
What we're doing is right and it is necessary. Awful things are going to happen, and we're going to do some of them. But worse things would have happened if we had not done this, and that's all that matters. - Oct 10, 2001
Before Den Beste, it was extremely difficult to find well written and thought out pieces anywhere on the web. Such work was the domain of the MSM. Depending on your flavor of politics one had the New Republic or National Review. For Science essays there was Stephen Jay Gould writing for Natural History and the occasional piece in Wired or Scientific American.
However Den Beste was a master synthesizer in the mold of James Burke and could take two seemingly unconnected events and weave them together into a whole that was much greater than the sum of its parts. How did the Burgess Shale fossils relate to World War 3? Click here to find out. He had a patience for his readership that has been lost by many modern writers. He could walk you through his argument showing why life is rare in the Universe without leaving you behind or losing you in digressions. He recognized and labeled trends such as the divide between Wilsonians - those supporting a trans-nationalist idealism - and Jacksonians - those rooted in a populist based conservativism.
While some of his best writing in my opinion is that touching upon his experiences in Engineering (my old blog, The Razor, isn't indexed so I can't find these posts. Besides, it would take too much time since a good part of my early writings often included phrases like "Read the entire thing" with hyperlinks to a Den Beste post), his philosophical musings are what really hit home to me at an extremely critical time in my intellectual development.
After 9-11 I realized that I had previously been indoctrinated in moral and cultural relativism. During the weeks that followed I began to examine (and uproot in most cases but not all) these beliefs and attitudes that I had held unquestioningly since my college days at that bastion of PC indoctrination: the UC system in California. One post in particular by Den Beste made me realize the folly in my thinking:
If our attackers are automatons with no moral responsibility, then they are mad dogs, and so we should fight back, for if we don't they will surely attack us again.. If, on the other hand, they have free will, then we are justified by their acts in visiting punishment on them — and killing them anyway. Neither point of view justifies pacifism on our part.
And if they are responding to things we did, then would we not in turn be responding to things they did? If they are not culpable for attacking us, how would we be culpable for responding in kind? If their attack on us was ethically neutral because they were responding to things we did to them, then our counterattack will equally be ethically neutral because we will in turn be responding to things they did. Ultimately no-one is responsible for anything, and ethics again becomes a null-set.
Deep down this theory assumes that we are not the same as them. We really can think, we really can make decisions, but they ultimately are stupid creatures who merely respond to their environment. It is deeply chauvinistic. It is only by assuming a gargantuan moral inequivalency that this argument stands. (Oct 4, 2001 )
This article, along with an article by Francis Beckwith titled "Philosophical Problems With Moral Relativism" influenced my intellectual growth in a way that hadn't happened since the Jesuits had their hooks in me in high school. Accompanied by a new-found sobriety this growth has made my writing better. It has sharpened my intellect and allowed me to ride through some pretty tough times. In the past books have had this power, but in 2001-2 it was Steven Den Beste's writing at USS Clueless.
Den Beste stopped writing about current events for a variety of reasons including his health and dealing with nutjobs. He still writes about anime and slips in the odd event at Chizumatic. However I would love nothing better than to read a book of his previous work and maybe even a new piece or two.
For those of you who weren't around back then, Den Beste has a page of what he thinks are his best posts. However he has culled out too much, so it wouldn't hurt to read the entire thing; it just would be easier to read it in a book.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
from Because I Said So...
This is totally how it works in my family. You can only get sick at certain times. This lady has the greatest blog and is coming out with a book. Somebody buy it for me, ok?
Saturday, November 1, 2008
What? I Can't Hear You!
Jackson didn't feel well when I picked him up at school for lunch yesterday. He didn't want to go back to school; he just wanted to lie down. On the other hand, he really didn't want to miss the Halloween festivities. He didn't have a fever so I left it up to him and told him he could stay home with my parents who were watching Clay and Brooklyn or he could go back to school with me. He chose to stick it out and return to school.
After class, he went trick-or-treating with some friends and their parents. After a few minutes, he came home complaining that his ear hurt.
"Well, it's a holiday so it stands to reason that someone would get sick."
"I'm not sick. My ear just hurts," Jackson corrected me.
"We'll see," I said. "We'll see."
Jackson woke up today with horrible pain in his ear. It was before 9:00 AM when he told me his ear was hurting really badly.
"Don't you know you're supposed to wait until Saturday night or Sunday to tell me you can't take the ear pain and need to see the doctor?" I asked Jackson.
"Huh?" came his confused reply.
"I believe the rule is that you can only get sick Saturday night, Sunday, holidays, or on vacation. You're confusing me by getting sick during regular office hours."
Jackson wasn't amused.
I called the office when they opened at 9:00 and drove Jackson over to be seen. The doctor took a look at his ear and said something reassuring like, "Yikes! That is one nasty infection!"
A stop at the drug store and $20 later, we came home and he took his first dose. He lay down and starting really crying that he was in pain. I got some Motrin, but before I could give it to him, he said, "Huh, my ear feels better now. It doesn't hurt. Weird. It feels all drippy and wet though. I still can't hear with this ear though."
"What?" I asked him.
"I still can't hear with this ear," he repeated.
"What?"
"I still can't hear with this ear," he repeated again.
"What? I can't hear you."
"I still can't....MOM! Stop it!"
LOL! Ahhh, that one never gets old.
I took a look and sure enough, his ear was draining blood and stuff. "Well, it's been a year since someone had a perforated ear drum. I guess it's about time for another one. Come to think of it, it's been several months since strep throat made its rounds through our family too..."
*****Head on over to my review blog HERE for some awesome giveaways over the next week or two.*****
Posted by Dawn at 11:59 AM 33 comments Links to this post
Saturday, November 1, 2008
What? I Can't Hear You!
Jackson didn't feel well when I picked him up at school for lunch yesterday. He didn't want to go back to school; he just wanted to lie down. On the other hand, he really didn't want to miss the Halloween festivities. He didn't have a fever so I left it up to him and told him he could stay home with my parents who were watching Clay and Brooklyn or he could go back to school with me. He chose to stick it out and return to school.
After class, he went trick-or-treating with some friends and their parents. After a few minutes, he came home complaining that his ear hurt.
"Well, it's a holiday so it stands to reason that someone would get sick."
"I'm not sick. My ear just hurts," Jackson corrected me.
"We'll see," I said. "We'll see."
Jackson woke up today with horrible pain in his ear. It was before 9:00 AM when he told me his ear was hurting really badly.
"Don't you know you're supposed to wait until Saturday night or Sunday to tell me you can't take the ear pain and need to see the doctor?" I asked Jackson.
"Huh?" came his confused reply.
"I believe the rule is that you can only get sick Saturday night, Sunday, holidays, or on vacation. You're confusing me by getting sick during regular office hours."
Jackson wasn't amused.
I called the office when they opened at 9:00 and drove Jackson over to be seen. The doctor took a look at his ear and said something reassuring like, "Yikes! That is one nasty infection!"
A stop at the drug store and $20 later, we came home and he took his first dose. He lay down and starting really crying that he was in pain. I got some Motrin, but before I could give it to him, he said, "Huh, my ear feels better now. It doesn't hurt. Weird. It feels all drippy and wet though. I still can't hear with this ear though."
"What?" I asked him.
"I still can't hear with this ear," he repeated.
"What?"
"I still can't hear with this ear," he repeated again.
"What? I can't hear you."
"I still can't....MOM! Stop it!"
LOL! Ahhh, that one never gets old.
I took a look and sure enough, his ear was draining blood and stuff. "Well, it's been a year since someone had a perforated ear drum. I guess it's about time for another one. Come to think of it, it's been several months since strep throat made its rounds through our family too..."
*****Head on over to my review blog HERE for some awesome giveaways over the next week or two.*****
Posted by Dawn at 11:59 AM 33 comments Links to this post
Friday, October 31, 2008
Reading too much
Yup, I have a problem. I'm reading too much. If that's possible, then I am doing it. Outside of, say, college. In college, there's definitely a problem of reading too much, but that's forced, and this isn't. Did I mention that during my first semester at college, my mom sent me the first five books of the Redwall series? Do you know how Not Good that was? I already was trying to read what I was assigned, and then there were these fabulous new books that I could read. Wow. Don't do that if you have a bookworm for a kid. Don't worry, I didn't lower my grades. Luckily for me, education is not a hard major at all. Not lucky for the kids we teach, but lucky for students becoming teachers. But that's another post.
I just want to write down how ridiculous this is. I am still leaning toward a book journal. Here is what I've started on and not finished:
1. A Cry of Stone by Michael O'Brien
2. The Abolition of Man by CS Lewis
3. How Not To Share Your Faith by Mark Brumley
4. Volume One: Thoughts on Spirituality by "Anne", A lay apostle
5. Amazing Grace for the Catholic Heart by Jeff Cavins; Mathew Pinto; Patti Armstrong
Hmmm... obviously we have a theme here, don't we. Lest you think I'm one-sided, I do go through "phases". I go through fiction, then non-fiction, housekeeping books, then Harry Potter, then Sci-fi,then parenting and marriage, and on and on. But two of those books were gifts for my birthday, and two are from our parish library, and the other I picked up at the All Saints Day party the other night for free. So at least I'm not paying for my habit!
If I were going to recommend one of these for busy people right now, I'd recommend CS Lewis' Abolition of Man. It's practically an introduction to why to homeschool for me! I know that sounds weird, but he just totally made my case for why I'm not "socializing" my children in the regular school system. Between the watered down curriculum and the things I don't want my kids to learn yet, I will find other places in the community to get them to meet people. It's very hard for me to explain in my own words, though. Sometimes I'm not good with the "words coming out of my mouth" thing. I could never, ever be a politician. I'm just not quick on the draw.
If you go to www.amazon.com, you can leaf through the pages of some of these books while you are waiting for my book report. That's fun stuff, that is.
Also, How Not to Share Your Faith is an extremely good book on arguing in general, and how to be a good person instead of a jerk while you disagree with someone. For the record, I think I've probably committed all seven of the sins he talks about in the book. Oops.
Good, good stuff.
I just want to write down how ridiculous this is. I am still leaning toward a book journal. Here is what I've started on and not finished:
1. A Cry of Stone by Michael O'Brien
2. The Abolition of Man by CS Lewis
3. How Not To Share Your Faith by Mark Brumley
4. Volume One: Thoughts on Spirituality by "Anne", A lay apostle
5. Amazing Grace for the Catholic Heart by Jeff Cavins; Mathew Pinto; Patti Armstrong
Hmmm... obviously we have a theme here, don't we. Lest you think I'm one-sided, I do go through "phases". I go through fiction, then non-fiction, housekeeping books, then Harry Potter, then Sci-fi,then parenting and marriage, and on and on. But two of those books were gifts for my birthday, and two are from our parish library, and the other I picked up at the All Saints Day party the other night for free. So at least I'm not paying for my habit!
If I were going to recommend one of these for busy people right now, I'd recommend CS Lewis' Abolition of Man. It's practically an introduction to why to homeschool for me! I know that sounds weird, but he just totally made my case for why I'm not "socializing" my children in the regular school system. Between the watered down curriculum and the things I don't want my kids to learn yet, I will find other places in the community to get them to meet people. It's very hard for me to explain in my own words, though. Sometimes I'm not good with the "words coming out of my mouth" thing. I could never, ever be a politician. I'm just not quick on the draw.
If you go to www.amazon.com, you can leaf through the pages of some of these books while you are waiting for my book report. That's fun stuff, that is.
Also, How Not to Share Your Faith is an extremely good book on arguing in general, and how to be a good person instead of a jerk while you disagree with someone. For the record, I think I've probably committed all seven of the sins he talks about in the book. Oops.
Good, good stuff.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Omigosh? I'm on google?
Hey, I played with sitemeter and I found out that if you type in "catholic persecution vietnam", I'm like the fifth one down on a google search.
No way! That is cool! I think....
No way! That is cool! I think....
Mid-life Crisis?
Do you ever get the feeling you have too many ideas and not enough bodies to do them all? Or that you have so many ideas that you can't figure out how to prioritize them and mostly feel like pulling your hair out?
Time for some therapy. Now I remember what I wanted to blog for. It's all about cheap therapy.
First, I think my blog might be getting old enough to need a purpose. There are many I could pick from. I could do a homeschool blog, but there are a zillion of those. I could do a Catholic one, but I'm not feeling knowledgeable for that, and again, they are a dime a dozen. I could just do a family life blog, of which there are many, but they really are so much fun. I could do a "what my kids and I learned today homeschooling and doing life" blog, which could be a really good way to record what we do anyway, since I stink at recordkeeping anyway.
The last thought would be to keep a book journal online. I keep reading really good books and thinking, "I really want to share that bit with all my friends, but I can't reach them all and besides, they are busy." That would be really fun, and relaxing.
One thing I've learned is that blogging politics is NOT relaxing. In fact, the amount of time I spend on the internet may be related to my stress level, which is unfortunate. I do enjoy it, but it isn't helping me work on myself, which is one of my goals I gave myself for this year. I've considered swearing off the darn thing and taking a vacation, but it's kind of like the phone to me, now, and I might miss something important if I do that very often. There are so many messages about homeschooling, scouts, soccer and the like, that I don't want to miss anything for very long.
I'm also having a small homeschool style crisis, but it's mostly in my head, and worth a separate post.
Does anyone have any opinions on what kind of direction they'd like from the above choices? I'm leaning toward the book journal, actually. Simplification is always good for me, and I need to spend more time on house and kids and less time here. That, or homeschool recording.
Thoughts, ideas, dreams, hopes, wishes? :)
Time for some therapy. Now I remember what I wanted to blog for. It's all about cheap therapy.
First, I think my blog might be getting old enough to need a purpose. There are many I could pick from. I could do a homeschool blog, but there are a zillion of those. I could do a Catholic one, but I'm not feeling knowledgeable for that, and again, they are a dime a dozen. I could just do a family life blog, of which there are many, but they really are so much fun. I could do a "what my kids and I learned today homeschooling and doing life" blog, which could be a really good way to record what we do anyway, since I stink at recordkeeping anyway.
The last thought would be to keep a book journal online. I keep reading really good books and thinking, "I really want to share that bit with all my friends, but I can't reach them all and besides, they are busy." That would be really fun, and relaxing.
One thing I've learned is that blogging politics is NOT relaxing. In fact, the amount of time I spend on the internet may be related to my stress level, which is unfortunate. I do enjoy it, but it isn't helping me work on myself, which is one of my goals I gave myself for this year. I've considered swearing off the darn thing and taking a vacation, but it's kind of like the phone to me, now, and I might miss something important if I do that very often. There are so many messages about homeschooling, scouts, soccer and the like, that I don't want to miss anything for very long.
I'm also having a small homeschool style crisis, but it's mostly in my head, and worth a separate post.
Does anyone have any opinions on what kind of direction they'd like from the above choices? I'm leaning toward the book journal, actually. Simplification is always good for me, and I need to spend more time on house and kids and less time here. That, or homeschool recording.
Thoughts, ideas, dreams, hopes, wishes? :)
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Best blog at the moment to read...
I'd type and type and type about Palin and the press, but someone already did it for me, so you should read it there. Her whole speech is there, too. I know who I'm voting for. At last, for the first time in my life, I'm voting FOR someone instead of against someone else.
Yay!
www.heartkeepercommonroom.blogspot.com
May I point out that the author is not a standard republican or democrat. She was going to write in someone. She's having second thoughts.
Please check out all her stuff. It's really, really good.
Yay!
www.heartkeepercommonroom.blogspot.com
May I point out that the author is not a standard republican or democrat. She was going to write in someone. She's having second thoughts.
Please check out all her stuff. It's really, really good.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
How to report liturgical problems, or other problems in the Church
From Creative Minority Report, comes this comment on the blog. It was talking about problems in LA, and an especially telling incident in the gift shop. It sure does remind me of the books by Michael O'Brien. Check them out, they are Catholic fiction and extremely good.
This is helpful, if you want to know. The main complaint on the blog was about Cardinal Mahoney, who apparently is willing to have pro-life Catholics carted away from the steps if he is busy celebrating Mass with a pro-choice politician at the Cathedral.
Like I said, read the O'Brien books. Sophia House, Island of the World, Father Elijah, etc. They are eye-opening.
Here is contact information, should you ever need it. Good to clip and keep somewhere, or enter into your PDA type object.
annielle29 said...
Contacting Vatican Officials
To contact the Pope, write to:
His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
00120 Vatican City, Italy, Europe
E-mail: benedettoxvi@vatican.va
If your bishop isn't doing his job, contact:
Giovanni Battista Cardinal Re
Prefect, Congregation for Bishops
Piazza Pio XII, 10
00193 Vatican City, Italy, Europe
Phone: (011) 39-6-6988-4217
In case of liturgical abuse, contact:
Francis Cardinal Arinze
Prefect, Congregation for Divine Worship and Sacraments
Piazza XII, 10
00193 Vatican City, Italy, Europe
Phone: (011) 39-6-6988-4368
In case of bad catechesis, contact:
Dario Castrillon Cardinal Hoyos
Prefect, Congregation for the Clergy
Piazza Pio XII, 3
00193 Vatican City, Italy, Europe
Phone: (011) 39-6-6988-4136
For problems with Catholic schools, universities, and seminaries, contact:
Zenon Cardinal Grocholewski
Prefect, Congregation for Catholic Education and Seminaries
Piazza Pio XII, 3
00193 Vatican City, Italy, Europe
Phone: (011) 39-6-6988-4156
For the Ecclesia Dei Commission, contact:
His Eminence Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos
President, Commision Ecclesia Dei
Plazza del S. Uffizio 11,
00120 Vatican City, Italy, Europe
August 24, 2008 4:09 PM
This is helpful, if you want to know. The main complaint on the blog was about Cardinal Mahoney, who apparently is willing to have pro-life Catholics carted away from the steps if he is busy celebrating Mass with a pro-choice politician at the Cathedral.
Like I said, read the O'Brien books. Sophia House, Island of the World, Father Elijah, etc. They are eye-opening.
Here is contact information, should you ever need it. Good to clip and keep somewhere, or enter into your PDA type object.
annielle29 said...
Contacting Vatican Officials
To contact the Pope, write to:
His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
00120 Vatican City, Italy, Europe
E-mail: benedettoxvi@vatican.va
If your bishop isn't doing his job, contact:
Giovanni Battista Cardinal Re
Prefect, Congregation for Bishops
Piazza Pio XII, 10
00193 Vatican City, Italy, Europe
Phone: (011) 39-6-6988-4217
In case of liturgical abuse, contact:
Francis Cardinal Arinze
Prefect, Congregation for Divine Worship and Sacraments
Piazza XII, 10
00193 Vatican City, Italy, Europe
Phone: (011) 39-6-6988-4368
In case of bad catechesis, contact:
Dario Castrillon Cardinal Hoyos
Prefect, Congregation for the Clergy
Piazza Pio XII, 3
00193 Vatican City, Italy, Europe
Phone: (011) 39-6-6988-4136
For problems with Catholic schools, universities, and seminaries, contact:
Zenon Cardinal Grocholewski
Prefect, Congregation for Catholic Education and Seminaries
Piazza Pio XII, 3
00193 Vatican City, Italy, Europe
Phone: (011) 39-6-6988-4156
For the Ecclesia Dei Commission, contact:
His Eminence Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos
President, Commision Ecclesia Dei
Plazza del S. Uffizio 11,
00120 Vatican City, Italy, Europe
August 24, 2008 4:09 PM
Friday, August 8, 2008
OMIGOSH! I did it!
I have never uploaded YouTube.com videos before, and I cannot possibly tell you how cool I think it is that I found the Blues Brothers and the MIB videos. There's lots more BB, but I figured you all could only handle so much four minute video.
This is short attention span theater, don't you know.
This is short attention span theater, don't you know.
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