Old World Swine

Pope B16 Talks to Artists

How do you get an invite to something like this? Meeting with the Holy Father in the Sistine Chapel. Wow.

Indeed, an essential function of genuine beauty, as emphasized by Plato, is that it gives man a healthy “shock”, it draws him out of himself, wrenches him away from resignation and from being content with the humdrum – it even makes him suffer, piercing him like a dart, but in so doing it “reawakens” him, opening afresh the eyes of his heart and mind, giving him wings, carrying him aloft. Dostoevsky’s words that I am about to quote are bold and paradoxical, but they invite reflection. He says this: “Man can live without science, he can live without bread, but without beauty he could no longer live, because there would no longer be anything to do to the world. The whole secret is here, the whole of history is here.”

Read the whole thing, if you get a chance.

(Hat tip to reader Jim Janknegt, via Facebook)

New Issue of "Christendom Review" is Out

I'm informed by unimpeachably reliable, top-secret, inside sources that the new issue of Christendom Review is out.

Fiction, poetry, essays, art and other inspirational stuff.

Have a look!

Another Benefit of Raking Leaves

Thanks to Beadgirl for the reminder!

"We Have to Protect Our Phoney Baloney Jobs Here, Gentlemen!"

Does volunteerism threaten to break the back of our delicate service economy? Are Unions really frightened of the Boy Scouts?

Do we have an obligation to hire others to perform ordinary tasks for us, and if so, was raking my own leaves an affront to the spirit of Economic Recovery?

Perhaps, instead of painting my own house, I should have hired a painting crew and used that time to secure new credit cards and run up balances on them, like a good American.

We Will Have No King!

Jerry "The King" Lawler

Thanks to the founding fathers, we have no king. We now have dozens of kings. And queens. And a whole host of privileged royal kin and hangers-on.

Looking over news of the Senate Health Care Plan, Fed manipulation of the dollar and other such items, I came to wonder this morning whether a straight Monarchy could manage to be a more grasping, controlling and intrusive form of governance.

I submit that it could not.

Airing Clean Laundry in Public

The Horror!!

Photo from The Non-Consumer Advocate blog

Now, this is interesting, because as much as we hear about carbon emissions and global warming and going green nowadays, you would think that hanging laundry outside would be a no-brainer. Yet, local governments and neighborhood associations across the country are winding themselves into knots over clotheslines.

It was quite common, in my youth, to see laundry hanging on lines in backyards all over our neighborhood. I remember helping my mom bring it in. It had nothing to do with the environment, but was based on the outdated notion that waste was bad and that sucking up electricity to run a clothes dryer was a waste when there was perfectly good sun and wind around to do the job. Using the appliances only when necessary also made them last longer, another prudent, frugal concept that my generation outgrew.

There were other advantages to solar clothes drying, too, as you may know if you've ever worn clothes - or especially, slept on sheets - that were dried in the fresh air.

But, there are those who find the sight of laundry intolerable, apparently, who wring their hands and get a rash when they see it. Okay, I can see some objection if it's hanging this way and that all over the front yard, but if it hangs on orderly clotheslines, especially beside of or in back of the house... I think the nosy neighbors need to un-knot themselves and chill. Have a drink. It's just laundry. Go back into your McMansion and watch something on the wide-screen to take your mind off things.

Actually, this dovetails very well with my recent post about organic leaf removal which, while somewhat facetious, did highlight the fact that a rake and a tarp are very environmentally friendly compared with a leaf blower and a riding lawn mower. But then, I've always been the environmentally friendly sort. I always tip my hat to the squirrels. Mostly, I'm just cheap.

Get The Story.

Blogroll Update

Just added a couple of blogs to the roll, and one was (thankfully) rescued from the bonfire. I try to keep up with how active the blogs on my list are, and if they don't post for over a month I consider dropping them, just because I want to keep the list to a certain size.

Just Jen is one of the new blogs, though it is not a new blog. Jennifer Pierce offers scintillating and often humorous commentary on "art, pop culture and the technorenaissance". She describes herself as "... a PhD candidate in the humanities, published author, produced playwright, yadda, yadda...". She is also a mom of two wee ones. Plate full, much? How does she find time to sound so much smarter than me? Or... smarter than I? Smarter than do I?

The other new blog is called Ὁι Λόγοι, and if someone knows what that means, please feel free to enlighten your host. It has something to do with "Reasons", but I had to Babel Fish that.

At any rate, Ὁι Λόγοι is the blog of sometime commenter Der Wolfanwalt. I had visited his blog before and lost track of it. It's been slickly redesigned and is updated often with pointed observations and critique of culture, Catholic and un-. "Reason, beer and mischief. What could possibly go wrong?" Sounds like my kind of guy... edging warily toward sanity.

And then there is Ars Catholica (Ha! I know what that means... SO THERE!). He's been running radio silence for a while, and I was about to get out the meat axe, but he happened to have posted yesterday, after an absence of over nine months (okay, I was behind in tidying up my blogroll). But, as he is back and has the excuse of having been occupied with a move to San Francisco, he is granted a temporary pardon. I eagerly await more juicy morsels of thought on the arts.

Prayer Request

Fellow Catholic blogger Eric Scheske has asked for prayers for his father, Mel, who has suffered a stroke.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, send him healing, and grant your grace and peace to him, his family and all those who love him.

UPDATE: I read on Eric's blog that his father has passed away.

Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord,
And let perpetual Light shine upon him.
May his soul
And the souls of all the faithful departed
Through the mercy of God
Rest in peace.

Amen.

Oh, Why Not?

Went and jumped into The League of Bearded Catholics blog, with a welcome post and a bit of explanation (or an apology, however you want to look at it). A Compleat List of By-Laws is to follow, and other such monumental trivialities.

Don't miss your chance - however slim - to influence the direction of this epoch-making event!

Gentlemen now-a-bed shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here, and hold their manhoods cheap, etc, etc...

Check it out. Tell your friends.

Tree and Leaves

Introducing the Totally Organic Leaf Removal System (TOLRS or "Tollers", for short).

I even recycle any cans and bottles the job requires, so... how green is my frikkin' valley? It's not only good for the environment, but it's about the best exercise I get all year. Okay, it's some of the only exercise I get all year, but... all the more important, for that.

I rake a heaping pile of leaves onto a big tarp, drag it into the woods in back of our property, and Nature does the rest, breaking the oak leaves down into their component elements, along with this year's Halloween jack-o-lanterns. There was a deer bedded down in the woods last time I was working, and she must have really liked that particular spot, because she would get up and snort and stamp around a little, maybe walk away a few yards, but she didn't bolt, even though I disturbed her a few times.

I know she thought I must have been nuts. You could practically read it in her expression, "What in the world are you doing, dragging leaves from one spot to another? Are you making a nest? Storing them for the winter? Do you plan to eat them?... what?!... you're not making sense."

I could only shrug inwardly, "It's an aesthetic thing. And the neighbors wouldn't think too well of me if I didn't clean them up. Sorry to bother you.".

There is a subtle, spicy aroma to oak leaves that I find lifts my spirits, and the weather has been amazing... a classic Indian summer. I'm very grateful to be out in it, and then there is a kind of physical poetry to the work itself that seems very life-affirming. I recommend it. It's a terrific sleep aid.