tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38614682024-03-14T02:19:23.744-04:00Dyspeptic MutteringsA middle-aged husband, father, bibliophile and history enthusiast commenting to no one in particular.DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.comBlogger3485125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-91362152810392769712024-03-12T10:06:00.001-04:002024-03-12T10:06:22.450-04:00The Secret to Thriving during the Eastern Great Lent.A couple secrets, actually.The first is Lebanese and Syrian cooking.At our new Melkite parish, the Divine Liturgy has been followed by Lenten brunches. Vegan compliant, even.But it's so good I almost don't believe it. My middle son, who cares little for veganism, gave a big thumb's up. And rightfully so--the creativity forced by the restrictions of Great Lent (no meat, no eggs, no dairy) leads toDPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-83760272744661513612024-02-13T10:03:00.001-05:002024-02-13T10:03:51.436-05:00So I have been trying to figure out what to do. Those who have followed this space no doubt noticed a bit of an eastward drift, spiritually. Largely, but far from entirely, due to Catholicism's current CEO, who seems to have certain similarities with a failed American business executive when I think about it. I can't quite pull the trigger on Orthodoxy for a clutch of reasons. I think a lot of the Catholic apologetic against DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-31870171494726180462023-07-17T10:04:00.003-04:002023-07-17T10:17:40.176-04:00Well and truly tired of this.Edward Feser is an admirable thinker and superb digital pugilist. He makes the Thomist case with considerable energy, and is a welcome read.That said, Catholicism has a papacy problem, and this article unwittingly proves it in spades.As I said to a thoughtful Catholic recently, far from being a guaranteed custodian of Tradition, the unlimited powers vested in the papal office just as readily makeDPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-25748538161983493502023-07-14T12:46:00.003-04:002023-07-17T09:38:53.339-04:00Need a new author to read? Take up something by the late Fr. Alexander Schmemann.Things proceed apace in Casa Price. My daughter tires of the endless bakery weather of south Texas and will be visiting us in August, and the fatted calf with be slaughtered with great rejoicing. We helped clean out a pole barn as part of helping my Dad and Mom sell property they are no longer interesting in bothering with. I now have to figure out what to do with the first and second series of DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-57958625131510325382023-05-08T10:54:00.014-04:002023-05-08T12:03:36.013-04:00The world continues to spin on its axis. Albeit with unwelcome sound effects...Life goes on, and it occasionally surprises with good news. As in, "Hey, your student loans have been forgiven under the PSLF program!"My Much Better Half and I are still processing that one, but a debt that was bidding fair to stretch into retirement is now gone. Thanks be to God.Sometimes something in your life has cast a shadow for so long that becomes a perpetual drizzle: an inevitable DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-12182608361623556642023-02-06T10:58:00.020-05:002023-02-08T10:14:29.408-05:00The Synodage of Satan.The Catholic Church announces that it is discontinuing support of its previous OS. I mean, TC and the Coddling of the Krauts makes that clear, but I will point to you a recent ballyhooed and vetted statement from one of Rome's most prominent pontifical ideologues, Robert McElroy, broadcast from the pontiff's most important American megaphone.Note that the link is indirect because washing gasDPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-78855879667104979842023-02-02T15:32:00.004-05:002023-02-02T15:37:58.397-05:00And the Black Pill Truck came by. The laity are always Flounder. 1. "Truth
to tell, this kind of 'leadership' is why I am drifting away from
Catholicism. I have had to eat my share of s--t during my following of
Christ, and with age I have become fine with that. Rejoice, as He said
on the Mount. But what I will not abide
are zucchettoed and compromised mediocrities who only have my back so
they can DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-32338549653836506002023-01-30T12:22:00.003-05:002023-02-02T15:33:00.968-05:00A worthwhile read. The Vatican Dogma, by Fr. Sergius Bulgakov. Published in 1946, it presents a detailed, albeit polemical, argument against Vatican I. It deserves consideration. It was not Catholicism's most edifying hour, to put it mildly:
To begin
with, bishops, of whom a church council is normally composed, are present there
as representing, or bearing witness for, their respective dioceses—there DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-56258076616576265982022-12-28T13:26:00.001-05:002022-12-28T13:26:21.662-05:00A good Christmas.Even if the family could not entirely assemble, for reasons of job and covid-eaten leave time. But through the miracle of the internet, we could watch our eldest open her presents, so there's that.Spiritually...probably the less said the better, for the moment. I attended what was probably the last Midnight Mass celebrated by the ICKSP at the Shrine in Detroit. Archbishop Vigneron will be DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-32691879730971042742022-11-01T13:41:00.006-04:002022-11-01T15:26:51.528-04:00And it's November. I look forward to making some kind of effigy of 2022 and setting it on fire on December 31. Things have steadified, to coin a term. My son's truck was stolen last month and then recovered, largely intact. So, crime is at the top of my ballot next Tuesday, and my redistricted neighborhood is surprisingly competitive for once. Though, truth to tell, I rather liked Andy Levin, who was an DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-73430706549674737272022-08-18T13:54:00.005-04:002022-08-18T14:06:12.631-04:00A rough stretch. Forgive the vagueness and ambiguity, but I am going through a tough patch at the moment. July was full-stop awful, and August, while better, is well short of good.I've never been a fan of publicly discussing personal difficulties, and will continue that here. I will simply say we have taken heavy body blows as a family in the past and gotten back up from them, and look to do so in this caseDPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-73655722915472515182022-05-20T12:09:00.001-04:002022-05-20T12:09:31.513-04:00The GOP Garbage Squad.Nine awful human beings whose views are unworthy of the slightest respect.Especially after caterwauling about spending money on Ukraine, not baby formula.Here's the thing--draft an alternative bill. Otherwise, you're just elected shitposters. DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-5355403300596790022022-05-12T11:00:00.001-04:002022-05-12T11:00:19.214-04:00I cannot imagine the fear parents are facing with the formula shortage.We were blessed with the fact my wife was able to nurse all of our children up to about for roughly 13-15 months on average.While we never had to worry about formula, it was always there. "Breast is best but formula is not abuse" is a proverb my wife routinely quotes to moms facing the nursing vs. formula question. And we know two children who would not be here today if formula had not been an DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-6790043501369828462022-05-11T17:02:00.005-04:002022-05-11T17:08:36.204-04:00Joseph Cardinal Zen was arrested by the Chinese Reich.It won't affect the Vatican's concordat with said state, though.Why should it? A man who insists on meeting with fascists before visiting their victims isn't going to be moved by different fascists arresting a colleague he pointedly ignored.[Update: The Cardinal has been released on bail. The Vatican is "following with extreme attention." To be fair, "follower" is a apt description of DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-76634675929424691342022-05-11T15:19:00.001-04:002022-05-11T16:07:40.519-04:00Your personal doomsday clock update of the day.Putin's Victory Day speech was described as low-key, but Paul Kengor disagrees. In his analysis, Russia's dictator upped the rhetorical ante, targeting the United States:But my main point of concern here is Putin suddenly calling out the
United States, and once again in the form of an old KGB-Kremlin talking
point. This is yet another level in Putin’s rising escalation. And as
the old KGB DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-43526906460590718802022-05-11T10:28:00.003-04:002022-05-11T15:24:59.440-04:00Burn Tiktok to the ground. It's a "strip club filled with 15 year olds."So destroy the app then toss the app coders and abusers into a prison near the Arctic Circle. It is just and merciful.Scenes from a nation careening toward the apocalypse:A Forbes review of hundreds of recent TikTok livestreams
reveals how viewers regularly use the comments to urge young girls to
perform acts that appear to toe the line ofDPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-64568692006921771302022-05-10T12:42:00.001-04:002022-05-10T12:42:15.305-04:00Paul Zummo is one of the sanest men on the internet.And because that is the most back-handed of compliments, let me re-phrase:Paul is one of the smartest, most-grounded and sanest men around. Period.Click on the above to read a polite defenestration of anti-anti-abortion sophistry. Last's morphing into a hack is nothing short of tragic. While I usually have little use for Friedrich Nietzsche, the age of Trump offers ample confirmation DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-38562714802264795442022-05-09T10:18:00.001-04:002022-05-09T10:18:10.544-04:00All over but the mopping up. The Latin Mass will be dead in Detroit by the end of 2023.The archbishop has left the Institute of Christ the King parish more or less alone. But everything else is up to the "lively pastoral charity" (guffaw) of Rome. This lively pastoral charity is exactly analogous to that of an oncologist toward a tumor, as you have no doubt noticed.And you can count on Vigneron's successor DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-66775255197022255092022-05-06T10:54:00.000-04:002022-05-06T10:54:08.851-04:00Christopher Johnson's obituary has been published.You can find it here.And while I know it is bad form to copy an entire article, I would like to preserve, however impermanently, the memory of my friend.Johnson, Christopher (Chris) S., 66, of
Webster Groves, passed away on Nov. 7, 2021. He was preceded in death by
his parents, Anne Elizabeth Johnson and Dexter Jerry Johnson.Chris
is survived by his sisters, Jennifer Ericson (nee Johnson) and DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-6488311005879123902022-05-05T16:11:00.007-04:002022-05-05T20:43:23.989-04:00Ayn Rand couldn't have said it better. As you read it, you will understand exactly why the memer does not want to engage with questions like life and being. Just put a heavier jacket when you go through the ice-cold, solipsistic repudiation of solidarity with any other human being, in the womb or directly breathing the polarized air.And then remember that men have been and still are subject to being coerced into trauma, mutilation andDPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-77961758385659745852022-05-05T13:15:00.002-04:002022-05-05T13:15:20.258-04:00Yeah, sorry.Not a lot of blogging juice right now. Family stress with the move of a child outstate (not on bad terms, but not ideal), so prayers would be welcome.Plus, not much to say. Don't get giddy about Roe--it was also "overturned" in a draft opinion by Chief Justice Rehnquist back in 1989, and here we are. There's only so many times you can point out that our blinkered leaders are sending the DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-1314285391592875742022-03-29T11:03:00.004-04:002022-05-11T15:20:45.927-04:00For the first time since the Wall fell, nuclear horror is weighing on my mind.I have no idea how many read this or know who I am, but for the uninformed: I grew up during the latter days of the Cold War.Part of my mental architecture from those years are these pop culture markers: A Canticle for Leibowitz, Gamma World, World War III (the NBC miniseries), The Day After, Threads, Hackett's Third World War, Alas Babylon, On The Beach, The Last Ship, 99 Luftballons, The DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-52042338910205950332022-03-28T11:45:00.002-04:002022-03-28T11:45:06.982-04:00Not that my opinion matters... ...but the Consecration last Friday hit all the right notes. It reminded me of the pope's pandemic prayer service in St. Peter's back in 2020: the "this is fitting" vibes were present. Let's keep praying for peace as the skies darken.DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-67020814471260218142022-03-28T10:48:00.005-04:002022-03-28T10:48:45.296-04:00Two loose-cannon Presidents in a row.The most recent one demanded regime change for a nuclear-armed power we are not at war with.Not saying the quiet part out loud is one of the commandments of effective diplomacy.Ah, well. I'm sure it'll be fine.And it's not like we weren't warned that such things could happen. DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3861468.post-24419478750394979972022-03-24T11:20:00.000-04:002022-03-24T11:20:15.305-04:00Who can say, really? DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12249117106906577345noreply@blogger.com7