follow up on bullets

I tried eggnog again today. While less repulsive than I had imagined, I still would not choose to drink it unless the times were desperate.

on musical piracy

Spurred to examination by Mr. Michael Misulia, I'm looking up articles on this topic. Here is one:



http://www.applelinks.com/mooresviews/pirate.shtml

bullets

• the scarecrow is actually very clever; the tinman, loving
• given my recent experiences with changing tastes (i've acquired a liking for chili powder, pineapple, coconut, rum, and the last three in combination) i wonder whether it is possible that i could ever enjoy the taste of eggnog. my dislike for it goes back a long time, so i haven't tried it for years. perhaps tomorrow.
• can't you read the notice? it's on the door, plain as the nose that's on my face. "bell out of order; please knock"
• "chai" is hindi for "tea" so in saying chai tea, one is merely saying tea tea
• that's a horse of a different color!
• tonight was made good by food, movie and kristen (respectively, ham and pineapple pizza and blended bahama mama, eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, kristen)
• what if "food" and "good" rhymed? try it both ways. that's right, out loud.
  
• mmmrrrraaaaawwwr sleepies!!
  

growl.

After 3 hours of sleep, I was awakened by my dad who, upon entering my room, turned on the light and said, "jaim, someone smashed your car windows"

Thank you, asshole who did that.

As it happens, life goes on and just because my car has glass all over the back seat and a gaping hole in the window doesn't mean all the things are canceled for which I require the use of my car. I'm still expected at work at 12 and I fully plan on still getting my Sethy and heading to the Burkhardts for mind-blowing fruit smoothies. Hmph.

Jesus, I'm pretty annoyed. I will ask that the person who did this (to lots of cars on my street including mine and my brothers) gets a decent punch in the nose, and that you let us get over it quickly and forgive. Amen.

hanson reflection

The things you see
the way you see them

will never be seen again

go'geous

Kissing the Face of God Morgan Weistling

*chuckles*

when one types the word "frankly" into firefox, this is what you get:


frankly


Sentences beginning with this word are properly admissions of something shocking or unflattering to the speaker; but when a public spokesperson for a business or government is speaking, it almost always precedes a self-serving statement. “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn” is correct; but “Frankly, I think the American people can make their own decisions about health care” is an abuse of language. The same contortion of meaning is common in related phrases. When you hear a public figure say, “to be completely honest with you,” expect a lie.

now tell me, what's colder than cold?

ICE COLD!!

I find this to be a certainly true statement. There is no hot water in my house right now, so I just washed my hair by leaning over the tub and spraying my head with that of the shower. That was the coldest water, maybe not ever, but....uh, yeah. It was really cold. I was cracking up the whole time, yelping and going "what's colder than cold? Ice cold!" As soon as I was finished I ran for the blow drier to keep from catching cold.

How many people live daily without access to hot water? More than that live with it, I'd imagine. God bless them!

ON ANOTHER NOTE!

How many people live without access to clean water? Tons. Especially in Africa, and lots of people in Africa have AIDS. AIDS weakens the immune system and consuming that dirty water can be fatal for someone with the disease. Is there a way to get clean water, something many Americans take for granted, to these people who so desperately need it? Well, actually, there is. They've got it, in the ground beneath them, and it just needs to be tapped. The organization, Blood:Water Mission builds wells in Africa that provide entire villages with clean water. They figured out that just ONE dollar can provide an African with clean water for an ENTIRE YEAR!

On Saturday night, me and a bunch of my friends are playing a Christmas show at my work, the Pour House. All the money we make and all the tips we get are going to Blood:Water Mission to help them build wells and gives Africans the clean water we all need.

J&M

I watched the videos of Judd and Maggie on the J&M facebook group for the first time day. The quality is surprisingly good and the music, of course, is delightful.

"Not Out for Blood" is growing on me.

And boy do I miss my Mags.

word!

Had my trial for my speeding ticket this morning.

The judged walked in, I thought he looked nice. I had a good feeling. This good feeling continued as I saw him reducing sentences of people in comparable positions to mine. I was ready to go up, state my name, plead guilty and take whatever sentence I was given. After about 30 minutes, my name was called. I said "here," went up and was asked to state my name, which I did. The judge looked over and saw no police officer opposite me.

"This case is dismissed as your officer is not present, you may see the clerk," said the good judge.

I sat in the chair by the clerk. A minute later I was handed a piece of paper saying I owed the court $0.00 and the deputy said, "You are free to go."

Praise Jesus!

(I won't be speeding in the future, however, as I heard some grisly stories of the effects of it in court today. I needed a bit of a jolt, I think)

on foreign seminarians

Dear Jesus,

I ask you today to bless, in a special way (phrase used with permission from Fr. Brian Nolan), those men who agree to leave their families and home countries to come to the U.S. to become priests. I ask for this special blessing because these men make a special sacrifice of their lives, one that reminds me of the apostles themselves: they must leave behind (in a more tangible way) their former lives in order to become acclimated to a new culture and to become conversant in a foreign language or foreign languages. They must then complete their philosophical and theological training, a feat difficult enough in one's native language, in this foreign language. It is evident that these men do this out of love for you and the church, and I thank you for that example.

In this upcoming exam week, I ask you to keep sharps the minds and memories of our foreign seminarians, and that you not allow language to be an obstacle to them while they take their exams. I pray especially for those whom I am blessed enough to call friends: Roberto, Dawid, and Henry.

St. Charles Borromeo, take this prayer to the Lord!

Amen.

The Rebel Jesus

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1127-21.htm

our mother Mary, and other such topics

One of my current favorite Christmas songs, the Seven Joys of Mary got me thinking. This song is like a mini rosary. When people (Catholics and non-Catholics alike) think of the rosary, they think of Mary. The difference (between Cs and non-Cs for the most part) is that Catholics understand that all praise given to Mary doesn't stop with her, it is given to Jesus because she gives it to him.

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour;

he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed;

the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his name.

He has mercy on those who fear him,

from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm

and has scattered the proud in their conceit,

Casting down the mighty from their thrones

and lifting up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good thing

and sent the rich away empty.

He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,

to remember his promise of mercy,

The promise made to our ancestors,

to Abraham and his children for ever.

So today, the connection between the rosary and the Seven Joys of Mary came to me. The song is called, well, the Seven Joys of Mary. Sounds as if she is the subject of it. Each of the seven events looks at an occurrence in the life of Mary. But!! They all are about her Son. Mary wants to point us to her Jesus.
-----------------------------------------------------------
The other thing it made me think of was the role of culture in contributing to our understanding of faith. The song was going through my head, the 7th verse:

The next good joy that Mary had, it was the joy of seven,
To see her blessed Jesus Christ ascending into heaven...

Except my mind said "descending" instead of "ascending." That's when it occurred to me that taken literally, both of these words are completely meaningless in this context. The only reason we say "ascending" is because we associate the words "high" "up" "over" etc with superiority and goodness. I ran that by Jon who added the point that it's hard for us to get to things that are physically higher than us; to get to them involves greater effort. We like to say that higher things require greater effort. It strikes me as a really cool thing how that works, the connectedness of our bodies and our understanding and the language we use to convey our understanding.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

And (finalement) I got a new book today! I am now about to start reading it. "Arise From Darkness: What To Do When Life Doesn't Make Sense" by Fr. Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R. and one of the coolest people living on the earth at the moment.

G'night!

just came across this, thought it was cool

on gray friars

As of late, especially the past 3 or 4 days, the Lord has set gray friars in my sight and consciousness. In my sight, the FPOs (Franciscans of the Primitive Observance) who live in Emmitsburg. In my consciousness, the CFRs (Community of the Franciscans of the Renewal) who are spread throughout the world, but have a concentration of friaries in the NYC/NJ area. Mentally exploring this gray-friarness puts in mind a few thoughts. One is how Mark and I really need to get scootin' with our friary visit. Another is on poverty; these two orders especially follow the example of St. Francis and live without unnecessary material goods. The CFRs set up their friaries in the poorest areas of cities in order to be with the poor; if an area becomes more prosperous, they have to pack up and move. The most striking thing about them, however, is not their appearance or poverty, but their joy. Having a friend who's been a CFR for a few years now, I've met a decent number of other CFRs, and every one of them seem to be sublimely happy. They are jolly, witty, silly, etc., but also one can sense a radiance, a shining light that seems to be imbued in their very being. That was always something that struck me about Mike, now Br. Andrew. He always seemed to glow. And even more so in his habit, I think.



Anywho, the CFRs also have sisters and I may just call on them one weekend, perhaps the same time we visit Br. Andrew.

A thought: I'm reminded of this analogy: a person, perhaps a firefighter, climbing a very high ladder (like up a building maybe) who slips and is now hanging on by one hand. He hangs on to the ladder for life, for letting go would mean death. Then rescuers come and implore the hanging person to let go, that he may be brought to safety. The hanger is afraid, however, of falling and dying and won't let go of his grip on the ladder. At the time, something only mildly good, the supposed security of this one-handed grip, seems preferable to making a leap and hoping you end up in the helicopter or the trampoline. Fear may keep him from choosing the greater good over the lesser good, which, in contrast, is not really good at all.

(Bear with me on this connection, gentle reader, for I'm seeing it but I'm not sure it's coming across in writing.)

I feel as if I'm being prepared to let go of the ladder. I'm not sure exactly what the change will be, but that there will be a change is certain. I cannot cling to the ladder, but must allow the Rescuer to direct my actions and trust that the consequences are letting go are far better than those of holding on.

That whole ladder thing was brought on by a previous idea- it is easier to let go when you can see that what is on the side is better than that to which you're clinging. It's always been easy for me to think of marriage and having children as good and attractive, so I don't foresee it being too difficult to let go of the ladder in order to do that, if that is what I'm called to. Recently, though, in thinking about how gray friars are the happiest people I know, how happy I am when in their presence, how when I'm with Br. Andrew I feel as if I'm that much closer to heaven- all of this makes the idea of letting go of now in favor of living as a CFR sister very attractive, even sparkly.

In conclusion, I'm psyched to get up to NY (or NJ) to experience the everyday life of the CFR.

i gots a new phone

Yessiree, Bob. (Who is Bob, anyway?) Our family's cell phone contract is up and so the fam (all but me, actually) went to the Verizon store and got a new plan and new phones. My sister picked one out for me and met me in Taneytown so she could give it to me. It's pretty cool; it flips-but sideways; it plays music; it allows me to have J&M's Perfectly as a ringtone. Oh my, the post editor is underlining "ringtone." Apparently no one has notified the folks at Oxford that this word is now part of common usage among Americans. I wonder what is the difference between among and amongst. (*dictionary.com.......*)

Let us compare:
a·mong /əˈmʌŋ/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[uh-muhng] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –preposition

1.	in, into, or through the midst of; in association or connection with; surrounded by: He was among friends.

2.	in the midst of, so as to influence: missionary work among the local people.

3.	with a share for each of: Divide the cigars among you.

4.	in the number, class, or group of; of or out of: That is among the things we must do.

5.	by all or with the whole of; by most or with many of: popular among the people.

6.	by the joint or reciprocal action of: Settle it among yourselves.

7.	each with the other; mutually: They quarreled among themselves.

8.	familiar to or characteristic of: a proverb among the Spanish.

a·mongst /əˈmʌŋst, əˈmʌŋkst/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[uh-muhngst, uh-muhngkst] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation

–preposition Chiefly British.

among.

---

[Origin: 1200–50; earlier amongs, ME amonges, equiv. to among among + -es adv. gen. suffix; excrescent -t as in against]


Well, there you have it folks. Among and amongst are practically the same word, the difference subsisting in the place of employment. Amongst is "chiefly British."


Amen. Q.E.D. C'est tout.

the hills are alive...

(actually, the mountains)

The American Life League has added to its list of pro-life musicians. One such recent addition is Dolores O'Riordan, formerly of Cranberries fame. They supplied this quote from her:

It's not good for women to go through the procedure [abortion] and have something living sucked out of their bodies. It belittles women. Even though some women say, 'Oh, I don't mind to have one,' every time a woman has an abortion, it just crushes her self-esteem smaller and smaller and smaller."

(source: You! June/July 1996)

This was of particular interest to me because Mrs. O'Riordan will be playing a show with the 4th and 5th Bolgers tomorrow night in Nashville.

Extra "props" for the Where the Wild Things Are picture!

________________________________________________


In other news, it is now December and I officially deem it "less obnoxious" to play Christmas music. In fact, I am currently listening to the McGarrigle Christmas Hour (heck yes!). The Seven Joys of Mary. Spectacular.

public blog

yep. this one will be public and available for the reading pleasure of the internet-having world (a little creepy, but i'll get over it). (Mostly it's for you, Mr. Ted. I apologize for the denial to my blog you previously received).

Well then, onward!

Today I wish to discuss capital punishment, a topic I've thought a lot about this semester as I've had a class entitled "Perspectives on the Death Penalty."

The current perspective we are exploring is that of the murder victim's family member who opposes the death penalty. I just finished a paper last night on one of the stories I read in Rachel King's Don't Kill in Our Names: Families of Murder Victims Speak Our Against the Death Penalty. I wrote about Marietta Jaeger and her reaction to the kidnapping and murder of her 7 year old daughter and the need for healing brought about by that situation. (I was going to summarize, but thought, "perhaps I'll just post my paper, it's not all that long") Here we are:

When Marietta Jaeger’s seven year old daughter Susie was kidnapped and murdered, Marietta was compelled to put on a brave face for her other four children. This obligation put her grief on hold until finally she could no longer ignore it. Her anger crashed into her like a tidal wave two weeks after her daughter’s kidnapping. In her own words, “finally the day came when feelings of revenge roiled and screamed inside me” (13). “I knew I hated him and wanted to kill him” (14).

After feeling this “intense rage” (14), Marietta knew she simply could not live the rest of her life as a person consumed by anger. For her own good, she needed to figure out how to let go of her rage. And so, the first step in Marietta’s healing process was sparked by her own need to be able to live a life without a constant desire for vengeance; she needed to let go in order to maintain her sanity.

Once she had made this realization, her resolve was strengthened by something she’d had inside of her all along. “I had a well-developed conscience and a strong religious faith, which called me to forgive” (14). She made a conscious effort to let go of her anger, praying for the kidnapper and trying to feel for him as a fellow human. Slowly, she was more capable of thinking of him this way, instead of merely as the person who had taken her child.

Marietta’s decision to forgive helped her make a connection with the kidnapper, referred to as “Richard.” When he first made contact with the Jaeger family, a phone call intending to taunt them, instead of unleashing a torrent of rage, Marietta was able to genuinely empathize with him. When he would not talk to her about her daughter, she kept him on the line, asking him with an authentic concern, “How are you? You must be very burdened by what you have done” (17). This reaction was surprising to Richard, who responded by crying and saying, “I wish this terrible burden could be lifted” (17). This connection now made between Marietta and Richard helped lead to the solving of the crime and ended up providing the Jaegers with answers about their daughter’s death which had previously eluded them. They learned that Richard had, in fact, killed their daughter. In a way, this was a relief for them as they could stop wondering what had become of their little girl. Marietta’s faith helped her to understand that her Susie was now happy and not full of vengeance; the important thing now was to take care of the living left behind, and this included Richard. Unfortunately, Marietta never got to see a real change in Richard because he committed suicide in prison. “I wasn’t relieved when I learned of Richard’s suicide. I grieved a lot. I grieved for what this meant for his mother. But in the end I had to accept his death like I had to accept Susie’s” (26). She later visited with Richard’s mother, an experience that brought her great healing.

I found it interesting that the desire for vengeance and seeking the death penalty seem to be linked. Killing the perpetrator of even the most horrific crime is simply not an option to one who has learned to forgive. That is not to say that the family member of the victim who has forgiven does not want the killer punished. In the process of forgiveness, one realizes that punishing by continuing the violence that warranted the punishment in the first place is not a productive solution. Rather, the family member of the victim understands the grief, pain, and anguish caused by the initial crime and does not will the survival of these negative forces, but wants to heal. Neither does the family member wish to inflict the same suffering he or she has felt on the family of the killer (who is no longer thought of as “killer” but as a person who has done something terrible and is also in need of healing).

A common way to heal found in most of the stories in King’s book is by building a relationship between members of the families of the victim and the perpetrator. This relationship building helps to erase the division caused by the crime and to create unity and understanding. It also emphasizes and allows each party to see the humanity of the other and to feel a sense of commonality with them. This relationship helps not only the family of the victim, but everyone involved, including the perpetrator and his or her family. Marietta found this to be true when she spoke with Richard’s mother at the store where she worked. “I introduced myself, ‘I’m Marietta Jaeger, Susie’s mother. I just want you to know that I don’t feel badly towards you or Richard.’ She started crying and I started crying, and we hugged each other. She told me how sorry she was for my loss. I sensed the torment and anguish she felt knowing her son killed my daughter. I told her how sorry I was for her loss, too. When I left the store, I felt lighter” (26).

Reflecting upon the healing that happens when one forgives and treats others with the respect that their human dignity demands, it seems to me that those family members of victims who advocate the death penalty are seriously missing out. Holding onto anger is bad for people. This is such a simple statement, but its consequences are so profound. Holding a grudge will end badly, letting go of anger and striving to forgive leads to healing.