Latin Catholic by birth, Byzantine Catholic by the grace of God.
Pro: Restoration of the Holy and Universal Christian Roman Empire.
Caveat: The author makes no claim to being an exemplar of Catholicism or Monarchism (or blogging).
Under the patronage of St. George. Please view at 1024x768.

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Location: Upstate, New York, United States

Thursday, March 31, 2005

Sounds right to me

You scored as Intrapersonal. You prefer your own inner world, you like to be alone, and you are aware of your own strengths, weaknesses, and feelings. You learn best by engaging in independent study projects rather than working on group projects. People like you include entrepreneurs, philosophers and psychologists.

Intrapersonal

82%

Verbal/Linguistic

68%

Visual/Spatial

57%

Logical/Mathematical

50%

Interpersonal

39%

Musical/Rhythmic

25%

Bodily/Kinesthetic

21%

The Rogers Indicator of Multiple Intelligences
created with QuizFarm.com

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Pope Sodano?

I woke up in a cold sweat this morning, again, thinking about Cardinal Angelo Sodano being elected.

Official T&A predictions of a Sodano papacy:
  • Will choose the name Pope Martin Luther I.
  • Won't just kiss a Koran like HH Pope John Paul II, will romance it first, like a gentleman.
  • The old Protestant joke, "In the Catholic Church, who's second in authority behind the pope? - Jesus." won't be funny to Catholics any more.
  • Simply denying the doctrine of "no salvation outside the Church" will now be seen as reactionary. The new teaching will be "no salvation inside the Church."
  • Being a big fan of The WB Network, will ask reporters not to call his papacy "new" but instead "fresh."
  • Eschewing "Vatican III," will hold next ecumenical council in Provincetown, R.I.
  • Will dig up HHs Pope Piuses X-XII and throw their bodies in the Tiber.
  • Will rename St. Peter's Basilica "St. Photius' Interfaith Temple."
  • Taking a cue from the hip-hop community, concelebrating priests will now be listed in bulletins as "feat."
  • Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies. Rivers and seas boiling. Forty years of darkness. Earthquakes, volcanoes ... The dead rising from the grave. Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together - mass hysteria.

Tuesday, March 29, 2005

Fixing it up

I'm blowing off a lot of work recently to spiff up my blog. It's a lot of trial and error. I've never advertised it, or even told acquaintances, so I only get a small dribble of visitors. But now it seems that after a year and a half I'm a little proud of the darn thing.

So T&A is getting a make-over, and then I might try to get some reciprocal links or something. If you run into this blog, be gentle on me; I'd be gentle on you.

Monday, March 28, 2005

Set phasers to accurate

You scored as Original. The original Star Trek would be best for you.

Original

75%

Deep Space Nine

65%

Movies

65%

Enterprise

60%

The Next Generation

55%

Voyager

35%

Which Star Trek Series is best for you?
created with QuizFarm.com

While I do prefer TOS, I then would rate them Enterprise, Voyager, TNG, DS9.

Saturday, March 26, 2005

May the Force be with you

I haven't been posting regarding Terri Schiavo because I have nothing new to say that people smarter than myself haven't already said. I would just ask you to pray for the repose of her soul. I don't know what the state of her soul was before this happened, but after 15 years in agony, I hope she goes right to Heaven. I can imagine her parents were able to get her Confession and Last Rites, at least I hope so.

But I just had to post about this little boy who was arrested for trying to bring Terri water.



Check out the t-shirt. Star Wars font, "Jesus Christ." Pretty cool. Stuff like this usually strikes me as aesthetically Protestant, but I like this one.

I don't typically take an Old Dispensation view of the Lord and temporal punishment for evil nations in view of the New Convenant. But if the whole center-right federal and state apparati, and two allegedly pro-life Bush executives, one Catholic, can't pull out their testicles and put themselves on the line to reign in the evil of the Death Culture Nazis that have swarmed to this case, then I really don't see that we deserve any less than the Wrath of God.

Buy stock in locust repellent and ready the lamb's blood.

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Norwegian name sounds

I was contemplating today how a lot of Nordic names that sounds tough and masculine in English are wimpy sounding to English ears in their proper inflection. And the reverse is true as well. Take two examples:
  • Magnus. In English, "mag-nes." It sounds tough and burly. But it's usually spoken as "muhn-yus" by Norwegians. To my American ears, this sounds fruity, especially compared to "mag-nes."
  • Olaf. To us, "Oh-laaf." Kinda silly sounding - it makes me think of Rose Nylund on the Golden Girls who was from St. Olaf, Minnesota. But it's really pronounced "O-leff," almost as one syllable, which is much more dignified.

Sunday, March 20, 2005

Dorian Gray

Another quiz. In itself was not so fun to take, but the results are interesting.

DorianGray
In my not so humble opinion, you, of course, belong
in the Picture of Dorian Gray, and do not try
to deny it. You belong in the fashionable
circles of Victorian London where exotic
tastes, a double life, decadence, wit and a
hypocritical belief in moral betterment make
you a home. You belong where the witty
apothegms of Lords, the silly moralities of
matrons, the blinding high of opium, and the
beauty of visual arts mingle to form one
convoluted world.

Which Classic Novel do You Belong In?

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Ortho-Afro-Anglo news bites

White students walked out of a Catholic School. Apparently, a black Secretary of State "lambasted" a student and implied that the whities were racist. Even teachers walked out.

I can't help but giggle when noticing that the school that invited this angry leftist is named for HH Pope Paul VI. "From some fissure the smoke of Satan entered into Catholic education." ... or something like that.

***

And, Russian Orthodox monarchists protest "anti-Christ globalization," the "Masonic 1917 Revolution," and "aggressive secularization." Schwee-ee-eet.

The Orthodox have their share of insanity, including their obvious schismatic status and pig-headed emotionalism, but a lot of them have their priorities in better order than we Catholics, East or West.

From talking to Byzantines, Catholic and otherwise, I've concluded that stubbornness must be in their version of the Beatitudes. Never have I seen such a contrarian people. It's too bad, because a re-united apostolic Christendom would be a force to behold. And the East might curb the frothing-crazy death urge that cChurch seems to have. Oh, and, as schismatics the Orthodoxes' immortals souls are in danger.

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

I'm having ... chest pains!

Wow... this brings me back. Dr. Koop wants me to buy a medical alert bracelet. And they even own that classic phrase! Check out the "R" next to it.



Scan of actual flyer sent to me. Koop is inset from flyer's reverse.

Does anyone remember the song "I Can't Watch This" by Weird Al? He's got the infamous clip in there.

Click here, relax, and let the memories roll over you.

Monday, March 14, 2005

Early St. Pat's humor

An Irish priest and a Rabbi get into a car accident. They both get out of their cars and stumble over to the side of the road. The Rabbi says, "Oy vey! What a wreck!" The priest asks him, "Are you all right, Rabbi?" The Rabbi responds, "Just a little shaken." The priest pulls a flask of whiskey from his coat and says, "Here, drink some of this it will calm your nerves." The Rabbi takes the flask and drinks it down and says, "Well, what are we going to tell the police?" "Well," the priest says, "I don't know what your aft' to be tellin' them. But I'll be tellin' them I wasn't the one drinkin'."

***

Young O'Donnell rushed into a church, placed his rifle under a pew and entered the confessional. "Father," he said breathlessly, "I've just shot down two British lieutenants!" Hearing no response he went on: "I also knocked off a British captain!" When there was still no response from the priest, O'Donnell said, "Father, have ye fainted?" "Of course I haven't fainted," replied the confessor. "I'm waitin' for you to stop talkin' politics and commence confessin' your sins!"

***

Boyle sat in a Belfast confessional. "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned," he said. "I've blown up three hundred miles of English railroad!" "All right, my son," admonished the priest. "For penance, do the stations!"

From this site, some of whose jokes go over the line.

Friday, March 11, 2005

Faaascinating (stroking goatee)

Check this out: The Viking Answer Lady explains why Norsemen called Jesus "The White Christ."


"The White Christ," via Viking Answer Lady, unknown artist.

Tuesday, March 08, 2005

Addition to the style book

(At some point, I'll cobble together an actual style book for T&A.)

From here forward, the official T&A scornful modifier for our opponents will be "c." As in, "cChurch," "cCatholic," and "Novus cOrdo."

Now, now, I know that there are some good ones out there, like "Novus disOrdo." Also, other folks seems to prefer "AmChurch," and it seems that "NeoCatholic" has reached a point of standardization. They're all great, and they'll get some use when "c" doesn't have the right connotation. But "c" has not just the advantage of a cool graphic, but is also universally applicable as a standard prefix.

I want to make explicitly clear that this does not apply to all our gentle brethren who worship in the New Rite, no matter my aesthetic preferences. And it definitely doesn't refer to our venerable and courageous priests and deacons who practice in the New Rite. But it is aimed at radicals, specious compromisers, wimpy moderates, indifferent laity, felt banners, liturgical dancers, and altar girlism. Maybe not the young ladies themselves, but certainly the institution.

***

And be on the lookout for cool new bulletin headline graphics for some of my favorite whipping boys. You can be sure that cChurch is in there.

Monday, March 07, 2005

Long live Christ the King!

As it happens, I displayed an eensy-weensy bit of hypocrisy. Reading my last post over yesterday made me realize that I don't have a picture of Jesus or the Blessed Mother on my page, either. That's the hypocrisy - what makes it "eensy-weensy" is that I don't have a picture of myself on here, and don't have apostolic succession.

So, we now have a vibrant Hungarian Christ the King adorning the sidebar. Quite beautiful.

Some of you may be concerned about the aesthetics here at T&A. At first glance, everything certainly seems to fit well with the stained glass theme, but I can't let these pressing questions go unanswered.
  • "But I thought you practiced in the Byzantine Church now! Stained glass doesn't jibe with that." Glad you asked. Stained glass is verboten with icons, which I don't display. Even if I had them, jpgs can't cast colored sunlight on them, anyway. And stained glass roxxs with two x's. That means it's even cooler than something that rokks with two k's.
  • "Where's St. George? He's your declared patron." He'll be here eventually, but Christ is more important.
  • "So, you're a Mohawk-Norseman from New York who born a Latin, attends a Ukrainian church, uses Western decorative schemes, and now you throw Hungarian art in here? Isn't this a little polyglot?" You forgot that I 'm an Anglophone, and don't speak Norwegian, Mohawk, or Ukrainian. Yes, it's a little polyglot. Hey, I'm just as Blood & Soil as the next guy, but what choice is there for an American? We're all rootless and have little spiritual or clan leadership. So I have to cobble together the best High Culture I can, with those things to which I have access. At least I didn't spell choice "choise."

Friday, March 04, 2005

Mani-TV-ans; Episcopal flabbiness

One of my favorite ongoing "light hobbies" is sending polite but sharp emails to AmChurch priests and bishops when they do something wrong that makes the news. I always include my real name and state, and address them with respect. But it's really easy to get under their skin. They usually won't write you back, and I don't know how many bishops even see them, but I will now and then get a seriously incensed letter from a priest.

Then I write back, pointing out how much more courtesy I showed them. So far, one wrote me a nice conciliatory note, and we exchanged a few interesting emails. But usually I get another hostile letter or no further communication.

I just fired off a nice one to the bishop who wants Terri Schiavo to forgive her murderer before he murders her. My email praises him for restoring my faith in the mediocrity of the American bishops. But it's very respectful.

If you really want to get under a McChurchman's skin, ask him why he is prominently displayed on the web site and Jesus/the Blessed Mother are nowhere to be found. And If you really want to piss him off, point out that Eastern Catholic and Latin Trad clerical web sites are loaded with the Holy Family.

***

In other news, I ran into an old friend the other day, whom I hadn't seen in three years.

He told me hasn't had cable in a decade, which I never knew. And then Michael Savage had a rant about how much he hates TV.

I don't watch a lot of TV; and I'm not accusing my friend of this, because he said he watches a lot of DVDs; but it seems that people think it makes them morally superior to dislike TV or spurn it as somehow evil. I just had an epiphany that these people are no different than the anti-alcohol Manicheans. Physical objects are neither good nor evil, it's what we do with them, and it's the same thing with TV. In fact, as a Catholic and believer in the general goodness of creation, I will go as far as to posit that TV is a good thing. Just don't abuse it. And yes, most TV does stink.

***

Related to my last thought, what is up with people who don't like drugs? Have you ever had someone tell you they didn't like codeine after dental work?

  • Did it make you sick? "No."
  • Did it take the cares of life away? "Yes."
  • Did it make you feel good? "Yes."

So why didn't you like it? You DID like it, you just think that not liking drugs makes you appear to be a better person, you smug bastard. Everybody likes drugs, that's why they call them "drugs."

Not that I'm pressing for people to take more drugs. I'm down to a pot of coffee a day and a few six packs a month. But please don't be one of these braggart Pharisee jack-asses who condemns morally neutral physical objects or pretends not to like something your body is hard-wired to like. It's just way too Protestant.

Wednesday, March 02, 2005

Pistol-packin' mama; Ruthenians

Here's a great story about the founder of the "Million Mom March," being arrested on gun charges. Heehee! I love it when liberals are hypocrites.

***

And, while visiting my in-laws out-of-town, I fulfulled my Sunday obligation by attending a Ruthenian Catholic church in the area. It took a little research, but I found it. The church was an obvious former '70s Roman Neo-Catholic AmChurch. No icon screen, modernist stained glass, and Protestant architecture - but, they replaced the cross on the steeple with a three-bar cross, and hung a few mosaic icons and an icon-style crucifix, a la the San Damiano cross.

The Liturgy however, was very good and the folks were quite friendly. And, there was not a hint of a foreign accent anywhere. I don't mind the foreignness of the Eastern churches, but an American English Byzantine church would probably do better in garnering converts. Note to Latin Trads: Of course I want the Roman Mass back in Latin, but the vernacular is the tradition in the Byzantine East.

For those of you playing the Throne and Altar home game, that's four sui iuris Catholic Churches visited, 19 to go.