“Thrummmmmm….” “It’s been a hard day’s night and I been workin’ like a dog…” You can hear the chord, of course. But can you play it? Exactly? Many have tried, all have failed, it seems, until now: The opening chord to “A Hard Day’s Night” is also famous because, for 40 years, no one quite knew exactly what chord Harrison was playing. … Four years ago…Jason Brown of Dalhousie’s Department of Mathematics decided to try and see if he could... Read more
September’s Child by The Joel LaRue Smith Trio I don’t have much exposure to Afro-Cuban Jazz, but I was given this CD as a Christmas gift, and I like it a lot. Although I’m no aficionado, I found this album to be immediately engaging. I love Smith’s fluidity at the piano; he has a very smart, bright sound that reminds me a little of Vince Guaraldi. Smith is on the music faculty of the Tuft’s University. There’s no Amazon connection,... Read more
A profile of three young Dominican sisters from the Ann Arbor-based teaching order, the Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, yields some good things: Sister Maria, a native of the Bronx, a first-year novitiate…gave up a successful corporate career in the car business to enter the convent. She chose the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, she said, because of their devotion to Mary, traditional lifestyle and sense of humor. “I knew that to go to heaven,... Read more
Heh. I’m a finalist in the Best Individual Blogger category, which is very cool, and I thank y’all for the nomination! Up against a bunch of interesting bloggers I won’t mind losing to. If it weren’t for Happy Catholic, I don’t know if I’d even realize it. Julie, of course, gets my vote for best religious blog, even though it’s a tightly-matched group. I haven’t had a chance to look over the whole list of nominees; I’ve been having computer... Read more
Buster, March 1991 Happy New Year!!! A day late; my new year began with company in the house and a computer that needed to more or less be rebuilt! More later! Houseguests are making writing rather difficult! Part of my new years resolution is to “blog-smarter” and earn more money to help out with that kid’s tuition. Until I get back on track, why not tell me what are your new year’s resolutions? HAPPY NEW YEAR AND MAY GOD BLESS... Read more
H/T to Pianogirl: And if you haven’t yet read these, don’t miss them: Dave Barry’s always brilliant and gut-busting Year in Review. He does it again! NRO’s The Cornermakes predictions A Russian Professor: Gets in on the act; sez America will die Beowulf: Sitting Next to a 16-Year-Old Kid, Watches Frasier on a Transcontinental Flight. Really. H/T A Day to Remember two American heroes. Bush was Right?: Maybe Gitmo isn’t so bad… Bizzy Blog sez to VF: Oh yeah? No... Read more
Eve and Mary by Sr. Grace Remington, O.C.S.O It’s still Christmas! And here is a lovely story about how things get moved along by the Holy Spirit: A Trappistine nun, Abbess Columba Guare of Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey, who composes the texts for the Abbey’s Christmas cards, wrote this lovely poem, wherein the Virgin Mary addresses Eve with hope and gladness: O Eve! My mother, my daughter, life-giving Eve, Do not be ashamed, do not grieve. The former... Read more
“If you don’t read the newspaper, you are uninformed. If you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed.” — Mark Twain If the press loves you, you can do no wrong. If they hate you, you can do no right. In either case, what they are presenting is distorted and therefore unfair to their subjects or their readers. I touched yesterday on the media double-standard regarding presidential work-outs, but Michelle Malkin does a better job of fleshing it out: Ah,... Read more
The religion of man-made global warming climate change appears to be hitting a snag. Well, that only seems fair, to me. All the other religions had to have their growing pains and suppressions, after all. Do Christians know what they believe? Charles M. Blow at the NY Times wonders about it, in an unsurprisingly snarky tone: In June, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life published a controversial survey in which 70 percent of Americans said that they believed... Read more
Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters at Christmas Sitting before the Holy Eucharist: “it is like sitting out in the sun. You may not feel the effect at the moment, but a little while later, you know you were singed.” — Sr. Briege McKenna I’ve written several times in the past about how genuinely wonderful it is to have the opportunity to sit before the Blessed Sacrament in prayer and silence. It was by happening upon Adoration that my heart was turned,... Read more
The Anchoress
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In