That's the title of one of the headings in a smashingly good post by Mike Flynn entitled "The Evolution of Evolution".
Check thou it out.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Glenn Beck Drifts Further Into Outer Space
I can't say I'm surprised that an ex-Catholic Mormon is encouraging Catholics to commit apostasy.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Learning to Knit
Recently, our seven-year old daughter Teresa — our firstborn child — learned to knit.
In itself, this is really no big deal, I suppose, given that it's hardly unheard of for a child to know how to knit. But for me, as her dad, the thing that struck me about her newfound ability is that this is the first time I can recall that one of our children has acquired a skill that I don't have.
From the time our kids are very young, we teach them to crawl, walk, talk, tie their shoes, read, etc., but these are all things that we ourselves know how to do. And still, to be sure, when our children have developed (or will develop) any of these basic skills, as their dad it has brought me great joy to behold each of these milestones, and will continue to do so.
But now that our children are beginning to learn skills that I myself don't have, it has brought me even greater joy, and it has reminded me of the importance of our job as parents to instill in them a desire to discover and nurture their own God-given talents.
[Cross-posted at Catholic Dads]
In itself, this is really no big deal, I suppose, given that it's hardly unheard of for a child to know how to knit. But for me, as her dad, the thing that struck me about her newfound ability is that this is the first time I can recall that one of our children has acquired a skill that I don't have.
From the time our kids are very young, we teach them to crawl, walk, talk, tie their shoes, read, etc., but these are all things that we ourselves know how to do. And still, to be sure, when our children have developed (or will develop) any of these basic skills, as their dad it has brought me great joy to behold each of these milestones, and will continue to do so.
But now that our children are beginning to learn skills that I myself don't have, it has brought me even greater joy, and it has reminded me of the importance of our job as parents to instill in them a desire to discover and nurture their own God-given talents.
[Cross-posted at Catholic Dads]
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
"Deplorable and Unsanitary Conditions"
Last week, authorities made a shocking discovery while investigating a West Philadelphia abortion clinic run by Kermit Gosnell where a woman died following an abortion in November 2009.
In Gosnell's office, they found two dozen frozen fetuses.
On Sunday, Gosnell's license was suspended, with the suspension order detailing "deplorable and unsanitary conditions" that made his practice "an immediate and clear danger to the public health and safety."
Today, on the pro-choice blog RH Reality Check, Rachel Larris has a post on Gosnell and the woman who died at his facility in November (the woman is identified by the Philadelphia Inquirer as Karnamaya Mongar).
Who does Larris blame for the woman's death?
Why, pro-lifers, of course.
In Gosnell's office, they found two dozen frozen fetuses.
On Sunday, Gosnell's license was suspended, with the suspension order detailing "deplorable and unsanitary conditions" that made his practice "an immediate and clear danger to the public health and safety."
Today, on the pro-choice blog RH Reality Check, Rachel Larris has a post on Gosnell and the woman who died at his facility in November (the woman is identified by the Philadelphia Inquirer as Karnamaya Mongar).
Who does Larris blame for the woman's death?
Why, pro-lifers, of course.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Overpopulation Underpopulation Is the Problem
Population Research Institute has just released the second installment in its "Overpopulation Is a Myth" series— a slickly produced video that explains in easy-to-understand terms why underpopulation is the real looming demographic disaster:
I first saw this video last week, and about an hour later I received an e-mail from a journalist in the UK asking for a brief comment for a story he was writing about a young British woman who, based on a belief that having children would have damaging effects on the quality of life of people already living, had decided to be sterilized.
I commented on how how tragic it is that someone would decide to not have children based on a mistaken belief that the world is somehow overpopulated—and that, quite the contrary, the real danger in our world is underpopulation. I further pointed out that this is the looming demographic and economic threat that no one wants to talk about. If there are not enough babies being born today, who will support tomorrow's pensioners?
It's a shame that such frantic handwringing about overpopulation still persists in our day. How much more stuck in the Stuck-in-the-Sixties can you get? It's as if Paul Ehrlich's The Population Bomb had just hit bookstore shelves (and thus had not yet been proven completely wrong), and the writers of Star Trek were still hard at work producing birth control propaganda.
[Cross-posted at Pro-Life Action League and Generations for Life]
I first saw this video last week, and about an hour later I received an e-mail from a journalist in the UK asking for a brief comment for a story he was writing about a young British woman who, based on a belief that having children would have damaging effects on the quality of life of people already living, had decided to be sterilized.
I commented on how how tragic it is that someone would decide to not have children based on a mistaken belief that the world is somehow overpopulated—and that, quite the contrary, the real danger in our world is underpopulation. I further pointed out that this is the looming demographic and economic threat that no one wants to talk about. If there are not enough babies being born today, who will support tomorrow's pensioners?
It's a shame that such frantic handwringing about overpopulation still persists in our day. How much more stuck in the Stuck-in-the-Sixties can you get? It's as if Paul Ehrlich's The Population Bomb had just hit bookstore shelves (and thus had not yet been proven completely wrong), and the writers of Star Trek were still hard at work producing birth control propaganda.
[Cross-posted at Pro-Life Action League and Generations for Life]
Thursday, February 18, 2010
"Vocations Crisis"?
Not so much.
Mark Shea introduces a fascinating post by Sherry Weddell by saying, "The girl keeps throwing a spanner in the works of the standard 'Everything sucks since Vatican II' narrative so beloved by some in the Church."
Check thou it out.
Mark Shea introduces a fascinating post by Sherry Weddell by saying, "The girl keeps throwing a spanner in the works of the standard 'Everything sucks since Vatican II' narrative so beloved by some in the Church."
Check thou it out.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
It's Funny Because It's True
Today, on the eve of Lent, I'm reposting this entry, which I first posted around this time last year:
Of course, the temptation when watching something like this is to think, "I hate it when people complain like that."
But who among us doesn't complain—yea, like that?
Tomorrow, we'll have ashes placed on our foreheads and hear the words, "Remember, man, that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return."
As we prepare for this ever-so-necessary reminder of our mortality, now is as good a time as any to take stock of the amount of breath we waste when we complain.
A priest of Opus Dei, quoting St. Josemaria Escriva, once told me during confession, "Don’t say, 'That person bothers me.' Think: 'That person sanctifies me.'"
(Would that I actually put this counsel into practice in my daily life, then I'd really be getting somewhere.)
Griping and moaning about anyone or anything we find less than agreeable is so facile; any schmuck can do it without exerting the scantest effort.
But refusing to complain—now that takes fortitude. And think of the model we offer others when we show patience instead of descending all too easily into pointless bellyaching.
Of course, the temptation when watching something like this is to think, "I hate it when people complain like that."
But who among us doesn't complain—yea, like that?
Tomorrow, we'll have ashes placed on our foreheads and hear the words, "Remember, man, that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return."
As we prepare for this ever-so-necessary reminder of our mortality, now is as good a time as any to take stock of the amount of breath we waste when we complain.
A priest of Opus Dei, quoting St. Josemaria Escriva, once told me during confession, "Don’t say, 'That person bothers me.' Think: 'That person sanctifies me.'"
(Would that I actually put this counsel into practice in my daily life, then I'd really be getting somewhere.)
Griping and moaning about anyone or anything we find less than agreeable is so facile; any schmuck can do it without exerting the scantest effort.
But refusing to complain—now that takes fortitude. And think of the model we offer others when we show patience instead of descending all too easily into pointless bellyaching.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Is It a Good Idea for a Couple to Have 19 Kids?
I originally posted the entry that appears below with the title "Is It a Good Idea for a Couple to Have 18 Kids?" on February 2, 2009.
I'm reposting it today in response to this week's People magazine cover:
Seven weeks ago, the now famous Duggar family welcomed the birth of their 18th child.
The next day, a college friend of mine asked me what my take was on said birth.
My short answer: God bless 'em.
I wanted to write more than just this, but hadn't the time.
Now, however, I do.
It seems to me that the question really being asked here—not just by my friend, I suspect, but also countless others—is:
Is it a good idea for a couple to have 18 kids?
This, to my mind, is the wrong to question to ask (or, at least the wrong question to ask first).
Rather, the question to ask is:
Is a given married couple following God's will?
This question can be answered only by 3 people:
1. God
2. Husband
3. Wife
Well, five, really, since God is actually Three Persons, but I digress.
I have exactly no competence to diagnose whether a given married couple (be they the Duggars, or the parents of a guy I used to work with—who had 21 children—or the couple I see at the park who have one child) is following God's will in determining how many children they should have.
Heck, I have enough trouble discerning if I'm following God's will, much less trying to figure out if other people are.
On the contrary, acting in good faith, I can only assume that they are.
Of course, when it comes to morally licit options for planning a family, contraception is right out. (**Shameless plug follows**
And, as it happens, I was recently asked by Sunnyday, one of my e-friends in the Philippines, to speak to the question, "Will contraceptive use make parents more responsible?" in a Filipino parenting magazine. I did so here [PDF].)
Another point to make is that the Duggars endorse the Quiverfull movement (sometimes colloquially referred to as "providentialism"), which teaches that natural family planning is, for all intents and purposes, tantamount to contraception. On its face, such a notion is untenable.
But again, for a given married couple, the decision of whether they could or should use NFP to space pregnancies is up to them to determine—with God's help, natch.
On this topic, a Catholic friend of mine told me not long ago that in the course of an online discussion with other Catholic women about NFP, someone tried to convince the group that it was necessary for a couple to get their bishop's permission before they could use NFP.
When my friend told me that, I had a sudden urge to run to the nearest wall and start banging my head against it in sheer frustration that there could be such profound misunderstanding of what the Church really teaches about when a couple can use NFP.
Christopher West speaks to this topic more extensively in an article entitled "God, Sex, and Babies: What the Church Really Teaches about Responsible Parenthood". And, the uber-intelligent Dr. Janet Smith offers a lengthier, more scholarly treatment of this issue in an essay entitled "Moral Use of Natural Family Planning" [PDF].
All this is to say that while QuiverFull is based on a false belief (i.e., that natural family planning is incompatible with God's will), it is also most emphatically not true to say that a given couple who elects not to "use" NFP within their own marriage is acting irresponsibly by foregoing consultation of charts and thermometers—and by so doing, end up giving birth to 18, or 21, or [insert number here] children.
So, once again, my three word comment on the Duggars' welcoming their 18th child:
God bless 'em.
And indeed, He has.
I'm reposting it today in response to this week's People magazine cover:
Seven weeks ago, the now famous Duggar family welcomed the birth of their 18th child.
The next day, a college friend of mine asked me what my take was on said birth.
My short answer: God bless 'em.
I wanted to write more than just this, but hadn't the time.
Now, however, I do.
It seems to me that the question really being asked here—not just by my friend, I suspect, but also countless others—is:
Is it a good idea for a couple to have 18 kids?
This, to my mind, is the wrong to question to ask (or, at least the wrong question to ask first).
Rather, the question to ask is:
Is a given married couple following God's will?
This question can be answered only by 3 people:
1. God
2. Husband
3. Wife
Well, five, really, since God is actually Three Persons, but I digress.
I have exactly no competence to diagnose whether a given married couple (be they the Duggars, or the parents of a guy I used to work with—who had 21 children—or the couple I see at the park who have one child) is following God's will in determining how many children they should have.
Heck, I have enough trouble discerning if I'm following God's will, much less trying to figure out if other people are.
On the contrary, acting in good faith, I can only assume that they are.
Of course, when it comes to morally licit options for planning a family, contraception is right out. (**Shameless plug follows**
And, as it happens, I was recently asked by Sunnyday, one of my e-friends in the Philippines, to speak to the question, "Will contraceptive use make parents more responsible?" in a Filipino parenting magazine. I did so here [PDF].)
Another point to make is that the Duggars endorse the Quiverfull movement (sometimes colloquially referred to as "providentialism"), which teaches that natural family planning is, for all intents and purposes, tantamount to contraception. On its face, such a notion is untenable.
But again, for a given married couple, the decision of whether they could or should use NFP to space pregnancies is up to them to determine—with God's help, natch.
On this topic, a Catholic friend of mine told me not long ago that in the course of an online discussion with other Catholic women about NFP, someone tried to convince the group that it was necessary for a couple to get their bishop's permission before they could use NFP.
When my friend told me that, I had a sudden urge to run to the nearest wall and start banging my head against it in sheer frustration that there could be such profound misunderstanding of what the Church really teaches about when a couple can use NFP.
Christopher West speaks to this topic more extensively in an article entitled "God, Sex, and Babies: What the Church Really Teaches about Responsible Parenthood". And, the uber-intelligent Dr. Janet Smith offers a lengthier, more scholarly treatment of this issue in an essay entitled "Moral Use of Natural Family Planning" [PDF].
All this is to say that while QuiverFull is based on a false belief (i.e., that natural family planning is incompatible with God's will), it is also most emphatically not true to say that a given couple who elects not to "use" NFP within their own marriage is acting irresponsibly by foregoing consultation of charts and thermometers—and by so doing, end up giving birth to 18, or 21, or [insert number here] children.
So, once again, my three word comment on the Duggars' welcoming their 18th child:
God bless 'em.
And indeed, He has.
Monday, February 8, 2010
John Stroger Thanks You for Driving with Care
On my way to work each morning, I pass this sign along Lawrence Avenue, just east of Austin Avenue:
I don't recall when, precisely, I first noticed this sign, but I do recall noticing one day about a year ago that it was hanging upside down (apparently because the bolt on the top had come out).
John Stroger hasn't served as Cook County Board President since June 2006—and, what's more, he's been dead since January 2008—so I figured it would just be a matter of time until the sign was removed. (For those unfamiliar with Cook County politics, the story of how the reins of powers were passed from John to his son Todd is an instructive primer.)
Silly me.
Instead, workers on the taxpayers' dime remounted the sign so that it once again appeared right side up, as it's pictured above.
Although I can't help but wonder, in light of last week's primary results, how long it will remain up.
I've written before about this sort of thing, which most people who grew up in and around Chicago likely take for granted—to wit, the ubiquitous appearance of names of elected office bigwigs on publicly financed signage.
I began to notice this when I first moved to Chicago in 1996 and saw "Mayor Daley's X Project" or "Mayor Daley's Y Task Force" or "Mayor Daley's Z Special Event" signs all over the place. (Although I must admit I've never seen a sign for "Mayor Daley's Rat-Infested Public Housing Complex".)
That's strange, I thought.
Little did I know that's just the way things are done around here.
I don't recall when, precisely, I first noticed this sign, but I do recall noticing one day about a year ago that it was hanging upside down (apparently because the bolt on the top had come out).
John Stroger hasn't served as Cook County Board President since June 2006—and, what's more, he's been dead since January 2008—so I figured it would just be a matter of time until the sign was removed. (For those unfamiliar with Cook County politics, the story of how the reins of powers were passed from John to his son Todd is an instructive primer.)
Silly me.
Instead, workers on the taxpayers' dime remounted the sign so that it once again appeared right side up, as it's pictured above.
Although I can't help but wonder, in light of last week's primary results, how long it will remain up.
I've written before about this sort of thing, which most people who grew up in and around Chicago likely take for granted—to wit, the ubiquitous appearance of names of elected office bigwigs on publicly financed signage.
I began to notice this when I first moved to Chicago in 1996 and saw "Mayor Daley's X Project" or "Mayor Daley's Y Task Force" or "Mayor Daley's Z Special Event" signs all over the place. (Although I must admit I've never seen a sign for "Mayor Daley's Rat-Infested Public Housing Complex".)
That's strange, I thought.
Little did I know that's just the way things are done around here.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Abstinence Education Works
If you asked 100 people at random if they believed abstinence education is effective, most of them would probably say no.
Most would probably say that teaching abstinence is “unrealistic”, that it doesn’t work, and that schools should instead be teaching so-called “comprehensive” sex education.
A big part of the reason why so many people believe abstinence education is ineffective is because its opponents—not the least of which are the major players in the abortion industry and other pro-abortion choice organizations—have been relentlessly tub-thumping for years trying to convince people that it is so, such that it's now one of those things that "everybody knows".
And most mainstream media outlets have carried water for them every step of the way.
So ingrained in popular consciousness is this idea that when the Washington Post reported on a "landmark" study released Monday that demonstrated remarkable comparative effectiveness of abstinence education vs. so-called "comprehensive" sex education, they couldn't bring themselves to fully admit what the research showed.
Most would probably say that teaching abstinence is “unrealistic”, that it doesn’t work, and that schools should instead be teaching so-called “comprehensive” sex education.
A big part of the reason why so many people believe abstinence education is ineffective is because its opponents—not the least of which are the major players in the abortion industry and other pro-abortion choice organizations—have been relentlessly tub-thumping for years trying to convince people that it is so, such that it's now one of those things that "everybody knows".
And most mainstream media outlets have carried water for them every step of the way.
So ingrained in popular consciousness is this idea that when the Washington Post reported on a "landmark" study released Monday that demonstrated remarkable comparative effectiveness of abstinence education vs. so-called "comprehensive" sex education, they couldn't bring themselves to fully admit what the research showed.
Monday, February 1, 2010
When Everyone In the Room Tells You You're Drunk, It's Time to Sit Down
Even Frances Kissling & Kate Michelman and the New York Times Editorial Page think it's folly to try and pressure CBS to censor the Tim Tebow ad during the Super Bowl.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Who's Afraid of a Super Bowl Ad?
It's been widely reported recently that pro-choice groups have worked themselves into a lather over a pro-life ad featuring Tim Tebow and his mother that is set to air during the Super Bowl.
Chief among the handwringers is the National Organization for Women, whose president, Terry O'Neill, noted that she has "respect for the private choices made by women such as Pam Tebow", but has "condemned the planned ad as 'extraordinarily offensive and demeaning.'"
She further commented:
Yes, because everyone knows it's "offensive" when someone has the audacity to opine that civilization is superior to barbarism. Or that perseverance is superior to sloth. Or that freedom is superior to slavery.
To her credit, O'Neill's comments are nothing if not clarifying, for they make plain the fact that to the pro-choice mind, there is no objective moral distinction between, on the one hand, allowing a baby to be born, and, on the other, aborting her. Indeed, there can't be; otherwise, the pro-choice argument collapses in on itself.
It's because of comments like these that I've often thought that one of the best things that could happen to the pro-life movement is for the pro-abortion choice movement to get its own 24-hour cable channel.
Just give them a camera, give them a microphone, and let them talk. And talk. And talk some more.
The more they seek to rationalize their beliefs, the more self-evidently repulsive their arguments become to The Average Person.
It's no wonder, then, that the number of pro-abortion choice Americans continues to dwindle.
Chief among the handwringers is the National Organization for Women, whose president, Terry O'Neill, noted that she has "respect for the private choices made by women such as Pam Tebow", but has "condemned the planned ad as 'extraordinarily offensive and demeaning.'"
She further commented:
That's not being respectful of other people's lives. It is offensive to hold one way out as being a superior way over everybody else's. [emphasis added]
Yes, because everyone knows it's "offensive" when someone has the audacity to opine that civilization is superior to barbarism. Or that perseverance is superior to sloth. Or that freedom is superior to slavery.
To her credit, O'Neill's comments are nothing if not clarifying, for they make plain the fact that to the pro-choice mind, there is no objective moral distinction between, on the one hand, allowing a baby to be born, and, on the other, aborting her. Indeed, there can't be; otherwise, the pro-choice argument collapses in on itself.
It's because of comments like these that I've often thought that one of the best things that could happen to the pro-life movement is for the pro-abortion choice movement to get its own 24-hour cable channel.
Just give them a camera, give them a microphone, and let them talk. And talk. And talk some more.
The more they seek to rationalize their beliefs, the more self-evidently repulsive their arguments become to The Average Person.
It's no wonder, then, that the number of pro-abortion choice Americans continues to dwindle.
Monday, January 25, 2010
There's a Very Disturbing Pattern Here
I was wrong.
Adrian Peterson rushed for over 100 yards, but it wasn't enough to make up for the damage caused by five (5) turnovers.
For long-suffering Vikings fans, there is a very disturbing pattern here:
22 years ago (the year of the strike, 1987-88), the Vikings lost the NFC Championship Game to Washington. Remember Darrin Nelson's infamous drop—the one that if he had caught, would have sent the game into overtime? (Or would you prefer to forget it?)
11 years after that, the Vikings lost the NFC Championship Game to Atlanta, due to a missed field goal by Gary Anderson—who hadn't missed a single field goal all season.
And now, 11 years later...well, you know.
So fellow Vikings fans, take heed: when the 2020 season rolls around, don't get your hopes up. They'll surely make it to the NFC Championship Game, only to come oh-so-close to winning, but then not.
Adrian Peterson rushed for over 100 yards, but it wasn't enough to make up for the damage caused by five (5) turnovers.
For long-suffering Vikings fans, there is a very disturbing pattern here:
22 years ago (the year of the strike, 1987-88), the Vikings lost the NFC Championship Game to Washington. Remember Darrin Nelson's infamous drop—the one that if he had caught, would have sent the game into overtime? (Or would you prefer to forget it?)
11 years after that, the Vikings lost the NFC Championship Game to Atlanta, due to a missed field goal by Gary Anderson—who hadn't missed a single field goal all season.
And now, 11 years later...well, you know.
So fellow Vikings fans, take heed: when the 2020 season rolls around, don't get your hopes up. They'll surely make it to the NFC Championship Game, only to come oh-so-close to winning, but then not.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
March for Life
If any of this here weblog's readers will be in Washington, DC for the March for Life on Friday, feel free to stop by and say hi.
I'll be one of the ones holding the Generations for Life banner a block west of 4th St. and Madison Dr. NW, starting at 12:00 noon.
I'm also giddy that I'll get to hear the uber-intelligent Robert George speak at the Rose Dinner Friday night.
The best description of George that I've seen comes from a review of his book The Clash of Orthodoxies: Law, Religion, and Morality in Crisis, in which Daniel Moloney writes:
George is also a co-author of the Manhattan Declaration, which, if you haven't already signed, you should. (I signed it a few weeks ago.)
I'll be one of the ones holding the Generations for Life banner a block west of 4th St. and Madison Dr. NW, starting at 12:00 noon.
I'm also giddy that I'll get to hear the uber-intelligent Robert George speak at the Rose Dinner Friday night.
The best description of George that I've seen comes from a review of his book The Clash of Orthodoxies: Law, Religion, and Morality in Crisis, in which Daniel Moloney writes:
A few of the essays show secularist professors hopping in the ring with George, only to find that the diminutive professor of political philosophy does a fair impression of Hulk Hogan—he doesn’t just win; he throws the opponent out of the ring and begins to chase after him with a chair, so relentless is he in argument.
George is also a co-author of the Manhattan Declaration, which, if you haven't already signed, you should. (I signed it a few weeks ago.)
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Slandering Pope Pius XII
There is perhaps no historical canard for which I have less patience than the charge that Pope Pius XII was a feckless coward who "didn't do enough" to help Jews during the Holocaust.
There is no shortage of well-documented defenses of Pius, and if you've never read anything on this subject before, this article by Professor Ronald Rychlak is surely a good start.
There is no shortage of well-documented defenses of Pius, and if you've never read anything on this subject before, this article by Professor Ronald Rychlak is surely a good start.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Holy Good Coffee, Batman!
I just realized that I have not yet publicly proclaimed how much I heart my new Chemex Coffee Maker, which may well warrant the title of Best. Christmas present. Ever. (that I've received, at least).Upon first seeing it, I fancied that it looked rather like a cross between a martini glass and a beaker.
How simple, I thought. That's all there is to it?
Along with a special type of oxygen cleansed filters (which I also got), yes, that's it.
If you check out the reviews, you'll see that they're rave ("Best coffee ever..." "Unquestionably the best..." "For those who really enjoy good coffee..." "I've not found a way to make better coffee...")And I can assure you: they're all true. As Agent Cooper would say, it makes "damn good coffee".
I can't recommend the Chemex highly enough.
For an explanation of how and why it's so great, watch this:
Friday, January 8, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
A Good Day for a Christmas Party
Our staff Christmas Party is tonight.
You might be thinking: Isn't January 6 a little late for a Christmas party?
To which I would reply:
Nonsense.
On the contrary, it's a great day to have a Christmas party, because we are still in the Christmas season. Today, of course, is also the traditional feast of Epiphany, which makes this date doubly worthy of a celebration.
We started the tradition of having our staff Christmas party during the first week of January a few years ago at the suggestion of one of my co-workers, who made the point that it's a bit unsuitable to have a Christmas party before, you know, Christmas. Especially when the "before" time is that of Advent, which is supposed to be a penitential season.
Having our staff Christmas party when we do is also nice for another reason. Inevitably, the month of December — especially the week before Christmas, when many office Christmas parties are held — is crazily hectic, and it's nice to not have to worry about One More Thing during that time, and instead to be able to put it off until the relatively less hectic first week of January.
So tonight, we celebrate.
(And speaking of work, just this week — after a great deal of time and preparation on the part of our webmaster Eric Scheidler — we launched our newly designed website. Check thou it out!)
You might be thinking: Isn't January 6 a little late for a Christmas party?
To which I would reply:
Nonsense.
On the contrary, it's a great day to have a Christmas party, because we are still in the Christmas season. Today, of course, is also the traditional feast of Epiphany, which makes this date doubly worthy of a celebration.
We started the tradition of having our staff Christmas party during the first week of January a few years ago at the suggestion of one of my co-workers, who made the point that it's a bit unsuitable to have a Christmas party before, you know, Christmas. Especially when the "before" time is that of Advent, which is supposed to be a penitential season.
Having our staff Christmas party when we do is also nice for another reason. Inevitably, the month of December — especially the week before Christmas, when many office Christmas parties are held — is crazily hectic, and it's nice to not have to worry about One More Thing during that time, and instead to be able to put it off until the relatively less hectic first week of January.
So tonight, we celebrate.
(And speaking of work, just this week — after a great deal of time and preparation on the part of our webmaster Eric Scheidler — we launched our newly designed website. Check thou it out!)
Monday, January 4, 2010
Christmas Carols
For the past month, Christmas carols have been heard at Haus Jansen seemingly continuously, and none of us has tired of them. Not surprisingly, our kids know more of them (and more verses of them) than Jocelyn or I did when we were their age.
I realized this yesterday at Mass, when our two oldest girls were able to sing along with all the verses of "We Three Kings of Orient Are", including my favorite:
At the beginning of Advent, Jocelyn had the idea to have the four oldest kids practice one carol to sing for family gatherings these past few weeks. She picked "The Friendly Beasts", not only because it's a great song, but also because they could each have their own verse.
Here's their first "performance", at their Tito Joey's house a few weeks ago:
I realized this yesterday at Mass, when our two oldest girls were able to sing along with all the verses of "We Three Kings of Orient Are", including my favorite:
Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
Breathes of life of gathering gloom
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying
Sealed in the stone-cold tomb
At the beginning of Advent, Jocelyn had the idea to have the four oldest kids practice one carol to sing for family gatherings these past few weeks. She picked "The Friendly Beasts", not only because it's a great song, but also because they could each have their own verse.
Here's their first "performance", at their Tito Joey's house a few weeks ago:
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