This is pretty interesting. A quasi historical documentary on what was then cutting edge R&D.
I’m not a fan of aggressive amusement park rides, but I could have been persuaded to try one or two of these.
ht Snotr
My Latest At Catholic Stand…
…where I make a few comparisons between sales and evangelizing.
Here’s a smidgen -
Selling and evangelizing are more similar than you might think. There are quite a few differences, to be sure, but there are features that are common to both. At first glance, sales and evangelizing appear as disparate as vice and virtue, but that’s a false comparison. There are good and honest salespersons just as there are shady and conniving ones; the same holds true for folks who spread the Gospel. Yes, the monetary component in sales is more prevalent than in evangelizing (at least it ought to be) – after all, one is a career while the other is a vocation by virtue of our Baptism – but successful people in both arenas display similar traits and approaches.
Check out the rest here.
Jiminy Chricketistianity
I was at Disney World last week, helping to chaperone our town’s high school marching band (Elder Son, a senior, & Younger Son, a freshmen, are members, and once every 4 years, our town’s high school band is invited to march at Disney. We went as a family.). The Magic Kingdom evening fireworks show – performed above Cinderella’s Castle – included some rather neat video effects displayed on the castle itself. At one point, Jiminy Cricket and Pinocchio made an appearance, with Jiminy uttering his most famous line from the song “Give A Little Whistle”:
“Always let your conscience be your guide.”
Bam! It suddenly occurred to me – that’s what Catholycs say and believe. Thus, I’ve coined the phrase Jiminy Chricketistianity. Oh sure, they like to quote parts of the catechism – out of context, of course – that seem to support their position, stuff like “primacy of conscience”. But really what they believe in is Supremacy of Conscience. And there’s nothing Catholic about that at all. Instead of using their conscience, they worship it, which is a one-way ticket to Pleasure Island, where naughty boys (and girls too – we’re all about diversity here!) act like jackasses and then turn into them.
A person can virtually justify any sort of behavior by letting their conscience, and not sound moral Catholic teaching, be their guide. And that’s what they do.
The Church teaches that contraception is an evil? Not according to Jiminy Chricketistianity! It’s perfectly hunky-dory!
The Church says that divorced and remarried folks, without benefit of an annulment, ought not present themselves for communion, because they’d be committing sacrilege? Jiminy Chricketistianity says otherwise – so go ahead! It’s okay!
Want to support so-called same-sex marriage? Go for it! Jiminy Chricketistianity says love and marriage are whatever you want them to be, regardless of what God and Scripture and Church teaching has to say about it.
You think the Church discriminates against women because they can’t be ordained priests? If you’re a believer in Jiminy Chricketistianity, then you’d be right. Your conscience trumps doctrine, doncha know.
On and on it goes.
Next time you hear someone say that they can follow their conscience while ignoring Church teaching and still be good Catholics, tell them that’s the exact same thing a talking cricket told a wooden marionette who wanted to be a boy.
Both are equally make believe.
And then give a little whistle.
Catholyc Groups Rebuffed By Missouri Judge
There’s ironic justice in this somewhere.
From Catholic Culture:
A federal district court judge has upheld the constitutionality of the Missouri House of Worship Protection Act, a 2012 law declaring that “a person commits the crime of disrupting a house of worship if such person intentionally and unreasonably disturbs, interrupts, or disquiets any house of worship by using profane discourse, rude or indecent behavior, or making noise either within the house of worship or so near it as to disturb the order and solemnity of the worship services.”
Judge E. Richard Webber, a Clinton appointee, dismissed a suit against the law brought by Call to Action, an organization known for its dissent from Catholic teaching, and by the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.
So two Catholyc groups that lack warm fuzzies for authentic Catholic doctrine challenged the constitutionality of a Missouri law, the 2012 Missouri House of Worship Protection Act. This doesn’t surprise me. As their influence and power wane, Call-to-Apostasy and SNAP (and similar groups) will resort to less-peaceful tactics in order to publicize their points of view, and thus reveal their true nature: they are as Catholic as the Freedom From Religion Foundation. They regard the Missouri law as an infringement upon their right to act like outlaws and jerks, when in reality, that isn’t what the law is about. The law is there to ensure that church-goers can freely exercise their constitutional right to religion and worship, and not be accosted by ignoramuses with hurt feelings and dissenting agendas.
The lawsuit proves that groups like Call-to-Apostasy and SNAP are more aligned with leftist Alinsky-like organizations than they are with Jesus Christ. They are political, not religious. I predict that as time goes on, Catholyc groups will become more desperate as they grow more irrelevant. They will pursue their goals through the courts because the Church – who rightly ignores public polling and feel-good Opinion Of The Hour – will not grant them legitimacy by recognizing their positions.
Lost Generation
This has been around for a few years, but last night was the first time I saw it, as a friend had emailed it to me. Clever. Think “palindrome”, and watch til the end.
Talk Like Shakespeare Day 2013
In what’s become an annual tradition at AoftheA – an original sonnet, in recognition of Talk Like Shakespeare Day.
Harpy
‘Twere the hour afore the deep’ning dawn
As night’s sentinels dimly receded
My slumber broke tragic’ly and was gone,
In retreat from terrors unimpeded.
‘Twas not the first time, nor second, nor eighth
Where I was wakened by such wicked dream
Rousted by visions of a wrathful wraith
With frightful fury and fiery-eyed gleam
The demon demanded my devotion
Of what to watch, what to read, what to eat
I welled over with woeful emotion -
How long will this damnable dream repeat?
How many morns must I bear this drama,
This vile nightmare of Michele Obama?
Urf Day 2013
Today’s Urf Day. Our planet is still around, despite all our best efforts to obliterate it. Color me unsurprised.
In honor of this day of dubious indoctrination, I’ve invited Loofa Leaf, the Earth Day Dryad, to AoftheA to discuss some of the worst Earth Day predictions ever made, and see what he has to say about them.
This is Loofa Leaf. 
He last visited the blog back in 2010.
AoftheA: Hey Loofa, looking a little down. You okay?
Loofa: Not really. Just learned that the Earth Day founder, Ira Einhorn, is a convicted murderer. No one ever told me.
AoftheA: Bummer.
Loofa: About the only thing that would make me feel worse is if someone were to show me that climate change might be a big fat nothing burger.
AoftheA: Interesting you should say that. Ever read The Economist?
Loofa: No. Why?
AoftheA: Uhhh, no reason. So let’s talk about some of these predictions* that never came true, shall we?
Loofa: Okay. Whatcha got?
AoftheA: Here’s one from your hero Paul Ehrlich. “Air pollution…is certainly going to take hundreds of thousands of lives in the next few years alone.” That was said on Earth Day in 1970.
Loofa: It didn’t happen?
AoftheA: No, it didn’t.
Loofa: It’s not like Paul to be so wrong in his predictions.
AoftheA: He also said “[By 1975] some experts feel that food shortages will have escalated the present level of world hunger and starvation into famines of unbelievable proportions. Other experts, more optimistic, think the ultimate food-population collision will not occur until the decade of the 1980s.”
Loofa: You’re going to tell me that didn’t happen either?
AoftheA: Yep.
Loofa: Did any of his predictions ever come true?
AoftheA: Not that I’m aware of. But don’t feel badly – he wasn’t the only one to show more zeal than brains. Remember ecologist Kenneth Watt?
Loofa: We used to be bowling partners.
AoftheA: He once said “At the present rate of nitrogen buildup, it’s only a matter of time before light will be filtered out of the atmosphere and none of our land will be usable.”
Loofa: I remember him saying that. It was right after the beer frame.
AoftheA: Uh huh. That might explain it when he also said “By the year 2000, if present trends continue, we will be using up crude oil at such a rate… that there won’t be any more crude oil. You’ll drive up to the pump and say, ‘Fill ‘er up, buddy,’ and he’ll say, ‘I am very sorry, there isn’t any.’”
Loofa: Okay, okay. I get your point. A couple environmental gurus made some predictions that didn’t come true. There’s a very simple explanation why.
AoftheA: Which is?
Loofa: People believed them, took necessary action and prevented them from coming true. So you see, we’ve been making a difference.
AoftheA: I suppose that’s one way of looking at it.
Loofa: You have a different explanation?
AoftheA: Yeah. They tried to create a state of fear in order to secure governmental funding to support their “research” with the intent of influencing global legislation so that people in the 1st world will be forced to change their lifestyles and be subject to onerous living conditions while being told that they’re “saving” the planet, and to keep those living in the 2nd and 3rd worlds from improving their circumstances.
Loofa: That sounds like a crazy prediction, if you ask me.
AoftheA: And one we all hope never comes to pass.
*quotes taken from here
Ship My Pants
You wouldn’t know KMart was struggling for survival with this clever ad. The first time I heard it, I nearly mailed my briefs. I had to listen to it 3 times to make sure I didn’t hear what I thought I was hearing.
Catholic Blogosphere ≠ Fight Club
(Thanks to everyone for their prayers and patience while I’ve been recovering from this nasty virus thingy. I can’t recall ever being this sick before – and while I wasn’t exactly bed-ridden or inches from sloughing off my mortal coil, I was lethargic and uninspired to do any writing. And I didn’t work all week, either, with the exception of Monday. I was a sick puppy.)
At least, it shouldn’t equal it.
I read a lot of online stuff during my downtime, and I took the opportunity to reflect on blogging and the direction I want to take AoftheA. Don’t worry! Not a shift in direction as much as a realignment – refocus my efforts and get back on track. I feel that I’ve slipped off the “USO for the Church Militant” bandwagon a little. I think I’ve recovered my joy, so expect some entertaining posts in the near future.
But in the meantime, permit me to make an observation about the Catholic blogosphere by way of a kind and loyal reader’s email from the other day. I’m leaving out names and gender to protect their identity.
So sorry you’re still not feeling well. I hate to send this email and share my angst when it could possibly cause a relapse.
This whole anti-Semite thingy circulating the “Catholic” blogs has gotten me to about the same stage as the Corapi bashing did – which wasn’t pretty. And, as usual, they’re not missing an opportunity to slam Michael Voris.
Not only do we all have to deal with a rogue government which is completely out of control and not even making any attempt to hide that fact, but there is clearly something wrong going on in the Church. Let me change that – the Church is fine, but some of these so-called Catholic bloggers have gone sort of nutty. The Patheos crowd’s assault on anyone who attends the TLM is beyond ugly. It is also worrisome when the National Catholic Register allows Simcha Fisher to post such inflammatory unsubstantiated crap.
i.e.: “You know what? The only time — the only time, in my entire life — that I’ve experienced anti-Semitism, it came from Traditionalist Catholics.” Simcha Fisher
Well, gosh Simcha – that sure settles that.
Or Dawn Eden saying, ” I would like to continue to urge other concerned lovers of the Extraordinary Form (traditional Latin) Mass to speak out so that the world does not judge us by those who spew hatred against Judaism and the Jewish people.”
So, let me see – I attend a FSSP parish and now I’m supposed to apologize for anyone and everyone? How nonsensical is that?
And, as usual, Mark Shea spent an inordinate amount of time insulting people in some combox or another.
Since I’ve “done time” in the SSPX (not a good experience), attended a happy clappy NO parish for close to 9 years, and now am at a FSSP parish, populated with other escapees from SSPX, I am quite able to see both (all) sides of this issue and I’ve encountered way more nastiness at the NO parish than anywhere else. However, I would never dream of saying all NO attending people are creeps because it wouldn’t be true, anymore than saying all Trads are anti-Semitic.
[NOTE: This post ain't about the Rad-Trad/anti-Semite discussion. I read the posts referenced in the email, and I'm reserving the right to keep my opinions to myself. READ my response and discuss that, not the kind and loyal reader's email's subject(s), or any specific blogger. I'm not permitting this to turn into a kvetch session about anybody in particular.] Continue reading
So What’s Up With Me…
Y’all deserve an update…
I’m winning! Turns out I have a virus slightly less virulent than the flu but more chaotic than the cold. About 80% over it now, with just a persistent cough and mild sinus congestion. The worst part? The codeine-induced (from the prescription cough meds) bizarre dreams – I really don’t care for the ones where I’m gnawing at my own arms. Yeah, potent stuff.
I appreciate the prayers, and I apologize for the dearth of blogging, but it’s hard to type when you’ve got bloody arms…
Back soon! Promise!
Sorry For The Light Posting…
…but I haz a flu. Been going toe-to-toe since Sunday. Too to early to tell who’s going to come out on top, so your prayers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
I Won’t Tell You Why I’m Catholic
Because if it’s not obvious by now, after 5 years of blogging, then I must be doing a really poor job of it.
Which is entirely possible.
Oh, and I don’t like memes.
Last week, there was a “Why I Am…” meme sponsored at the Blorg Mothership – regardless of faith (or lack of it, cos some atheists participated as well) – and a number of the Catholic blorgers took a stab at it. I guess when you’re just another product in the marketplace, you’ve gotta market yourself like everybody else.
I know! How about a “Why You Should Be Catholic” meme?
