Archive for December, 2007
Monday, December 31st, 2007
U2 and Simple Minds
I like both these bands. No doubt you have heard of U2, but perhaps not Simple Minds?
If you’ve seen The Breakfast Club movie, then you’ve heard their number one hit song, “Don’t You Forget About Me”–yeah, that’s them.
What is interesting to me about these bands is that they both followed similar trajectories until the [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life, La Musica by Devman
Saturday, December 29th, 2007
Home-made Gifts a Hit
My mom’s extended family came to visit for a few days after Christmas, and we had a blast!
One of the neat things we did this year was a “Chinese” gift exchange with home-made gifts. Each person made a gift and then we put all of them in the middle of the floor. We drew numbers, [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Entertainment, Love and War by Devman
Saturday, December 29th, 2007
Think Globally, Act Remotely?
“Think globally, act locally” was the slogan on a poster in my science class growing up; the idea being that you would make changes locally, the area in which you had the most control, in order to effect a global change.
Today, however, I read about Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nancy Pelosi, and others purchasing “carbon offsets” to [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Faith and Reason, Grapevines and Nature, Politics by Devman
Friday, December 28th, 2007
Oh No: The Chickens Are Eating the Bees
The chickens instinctively feared our honey bees from the beginning. I witnessed helpless honey bees crawling on the ground right in front of the chickens, but the chickens looked at them and ignored them, even though they would snatch up any other similarly-sized creature.
I figured that our bees were safe, but this past week, [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Friday, December 28th, 2007
Biblia Clerus
I recently heard about an effort called Biblia Clerus (clear Bible?) that combines multi-language translations of the Bible linked with Sacred Tradition and the Magisterial teachings of the Church, as well as analysis and reflections on different Scripture passages by the early fathers of the Church, saints, and encyclicals and councils.
The cool part is you [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Faith and Reason, Saints and Angels by Devman
Thursday, December 27th, 2007
St. John Fleetfoot?
I’ve always been intrigued by the very human foot-race between St. Peter and St. John on the way to Jesus’ empty tomb. From today’s gospel:
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first…
I [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Saints and Angels by Devman
Thursday, December 27th, 2007
Rolled Beeswax Candles
To add to our home-made beeswax balm, Katie and I made rolled beeswax candles today!
We used sheets of beeswax “foundation”, which we have plenty of because these sheets are put into our beehive to give the bees a starting point for building their honeycomb. All you have to do is warm up the sheets, then [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Thursday, December 27th, 2007
Pope Benedict’s Christmas Message
In the silence of that night in Bethlehem, Jesus was born and lovingly welcomed. And now, on this Christmas Day, when the joyful news of his saving birth continues to resound, who is ready to open the doors of his heart to the holy child? Men and women of this modern age, Christ comes also [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Adoration, Faith and Reason, Love and War by Devman
Wednesday, December 26th, 2007
Pottery Barn Dreams
Would you believe that none of this furniture came from Pottery Barn? Only the lovely runner is a Pottery Barn sale purchase. I am a frugal daughter of my frugal mother and feel quite proud that I’ve been able to create a Pottery Barn look without the Pottery Barn price-tag.
No Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life by Katie
Wednesday, December 26th, 2007
Good Job, Babe!
Devin, such a good husband, got me glassware for Christmas, in view of our ongoing de-plasticizing of our kitchen. These Anchor Hocking Bake-n-Serves have a five-year warranty and look like they’re sturdy enough to serve as family heirlooms one day, provided they don’t break, of course. And, these Frigovere 2-liter pitchers are from [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life, Grapevines and Nature, Love and War by Katie
Wednesday, December 26th, 2007
Boxing Day
Happy second day of Christmas. And, happy Boxing Day…if you’re a Canadian or European or Austinite who’s engaging in the battle against clutter.
I know I know, Boxing Day didn’t originally mean that we box up numerous items to give them away, but it does in our home. We’re boxing up excess gifts that we received [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life, Grapevines and Nature by Katie
Monday, December 24th, 2007
The Gift of Honeybees!
Our friends Jonathan and Amy have blessed us again by giving the gift of honeybees and chickens in our name to a family through Heifer International this year!
So we now have kindred families somewhere in the world who have bees and chickens.
No Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature, Love and War by Devman
Monday, December 24th, 2007
A Man’s Fear of Inadequacy
One of the main fears for me as a man is the fear of being inadequate.
This fear is not unique to me, I have learned, but is endemic among all men. We fear that we will fail to provide for our families; we fear that we won’t be able to protect them (or even ourselves) [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Masculine Spirituality by Devman
Monday, December 24th, 2007
New Page on My Conversion from Atheism to Christianity
Instead of a simple blog post, I have made a blog “page” and rewritten the account of my conversion from atheism to Christianity.
I plan to make a second page soon that will explain how God led me from evangelical Protestantism to the Catholic Church.
No Comments » - Posted in Faith and Reason by Devman
Monday, December 24th, 2007
Good Stories and Information
Jen at Et Tu made a list of her favorite blog posts of the year, and all the ones I have read have been great!
No Comments » - Posted in Entertainment by Devman
Monday, December 24th, 2007
Hormone-Mimicking Chemicals in Plastics
I posted sometime back about my research on water filters to filter out estrogenic compounds in our water, which evidence suggests comes from fertilizers and birth-control pills, among other things, and Katie posted about our switch to glass over plastics recently.
In a similar vein, CNN just ran a story about hard-plastic water bottles, like Nalgene, [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Sunday, December 23rd, 2007
Something Good in Iraq
A story of love, faith, and hope.
No Comments » - Posted in Love and War by Devman
Sunday, December 23rd, 2007
Compromise and the Candidates for Planned Parenthood
I’ve heard some of my Christian friends tell me they are seriously considering voting for Barack Obama in the election next year. They tell me that he stands for peace and talks about compromise and working for consensus among the American people.
I’ve not heard any of my friends say they are considering voting for [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Faith and Reason, Love and War, Politics by Devman
Saturday, December 22nd, 2007
Making Beeswax Balm
Popular misheard hymn-lyric: There is a bomb balm in Gilead.
Katie and I made a homemade Christmas gift today out of our beeswax: Lip balm!
We used coconut oil, which has a great aroma and is very tasty, our own bees’ wax honeycomb, left over from the crush and strain harvest we did earlier this year, honey, [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Saturday, December 22nd, 2007
The Greatest Saint of Modern Times
Doctor of the Church, St. Therese of Lisieux (Lee-SUE), called “the little flower of Jesus”.
The National Catholic Register has a great article from last week’s edition about an Anglican priest’s encounter with St. Therese, who incidentally is my patron saint.
As a convert from evangelical American religion, I didn’t know much about the little saint of [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Saints and Angels by Devman
Saturday, December 22nd, 2007
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair…
…has been received into full communion with the Catholic Church.
1 Comment » - Posted in Faith and Reason, Politics by Devman
Friday, December 21st, 2007
Youssif’s Mother
The mother of the little boy who was savagely burned by masked men in Iraq has found new hope from the kindness of CNN’s employees and doctors in the United States; in the latter link, the boy’s mother says:
The thing that surprised me the most was the people. I mean, there are American soldiers in [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Love and War by Devman
Thursday, December 20th, 2007
Global Warming, Take Two
I posted before about man-made global warming and my skepticism about it.
My friend Jonathan sent me links to the IPCC’s reports, and I have begun reading them. I have gotten through a portion of their main report so far; it is dense, scientific stuff of course and reading it will take a while.
One thing [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Faith and Reason, Grapevines and Nature, Politics by Devman
Wednesday, December 19th, 2007
The Evil of Torture
I’ve heard a lot about the moral questions of whether water-boarding is torture, specifically related to the 2 or 3 terrorists whom the U.S. government has water-boarded.
I have not made up my mind completely on this issue, though I am leaning strongly toward it being torture and thus never morally acceptable, and if so, we [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in Love and War, Politics by Devman
Wednesday, December 19th, 2007
Pope Benedict And Young People
Who said John Paul II was the only pope who appealed to youth?
Pope Benedict:
“My appeal to you today, young people…is this: do not waste your youth. Do not seek to escape from it. Live it intensely…You, young people, are not just the future of the Church and of humanity, as if we could somehow run [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life by Devman
Wednesday, December 19th, 2007
In Case You Need a Laugh
Devin and I are not sure what decision we’ll make for our childrens’ education when the time comes. We may or may not homeschool, but this little video made me laugh at this family’s homeschool humor.
No Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life, Faith and Reason by Katie
Wednesday, December 19th, 2007
Good News!
In case you were wondering, the Ring has been destroyed!Â
Devin and I are engrossed in “The Return of the King” (for perhaps the fifth time apiece) and heaved a collective sigh when Frodo’s eyes cleared and Barad-dur fell. There were doubts. We were worried. But, the hobbits saved the world after all. We’ll sleep easier [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Catholic Life, Entertainment, Love and War by Katie
Sunday, December 16th, 2007
Association of Catholic Computer Programmers
Jonathan started an online association of Catholic computer programmers, and I just joined it as the 2nd member!
If you are a nerd cool dude like me, you should join it, too.
No Comments » - Posted in Technical by Devman
Saturday, December 15th, 2007
Tomato-haggling Chickens
Our chickens haven’t learned to share yet…
WPvideo 1.10
2 Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Saturday, December 15th, 2007
Salad Bar Chickens
Or, our chickens being allowed into the garden for 3 minutes:
WPvideo 1.10