Archive for June, 2008
Monday, June 30th, 2008
Let My People Go
Africans in Uganda are pleading for rich, powerful, and liberal Western entities to quit pushing their disastrous pro-condom, pro-”sex with anyone” agenda on them, because it is causing AIDS to increase.
The Family Research Council:
Rep. Henry Waxman’s (D-Calif.) opposition to abstinence may resonate with liberal leaders, but it isn’t winning over many African converts. The California [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life by Devman
Monday, June 30th, 2008
It’s Not Supposed to Happen to Me
My mother is not supposed to be diagnosed with an incurable disease. She’s not supposed to need a feeding tube and device to assist her speech. Not my mother. She’s supposed to live to 90 years old and meet each of my (future) children and sit at the head of the table [...]
9 Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life by Katie
Monday, June 30th, 2008
Home
I’m home to my beloved. And, my house. And, my chickens and bees and garden and flowers. And, my pillow with just the right amount of firmness. All my cupboards are packed according to my logic. The thermostat is set according to my (and Devin’s) comfort. Aah, the comforts [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life by Katie
Friday, June 27th, 2008
Fatherhood Begins at Conception
So said Senator Obama in his Father’s Day speech. And I totally agree, both on this point and on his broader message that Black fathers who have abandoned their parental responsibilities need to truly be fathers to their children.
But if fatherhood begins at conception, doesn’t that mean that the baby’s life begins at conception? [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Faith and Reason, Masculine Spirituality, Politics by Devman
Wednesday, June 25th, 2008
Program of Life
In Regnum Christi, we each draw up a Program of Life, which is kind of like our plan for growing in Christ, overcoming our faults, and strengthening our virtues.
I just created mine a few weeks ago and brought it to my spiritual director, a Legionary priest, to discuss it. In the Program of Life, [...]
6 Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life by Devman
Wednesday, June 25th, 2008
Dobson, Obama, and the Need for Fides et Ratio
Fides et Ratio: Faith and Reason.
Don’t be impressed that I know Latin because I don’t; however, the Latin I do know is from the fact that the encyclicals and letters of the Popes have Latin titles. Fides et Ratio is an excellent one where Pope John Paul II explored the relationship between [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Faith and Reason, Politics by Devman
Wednesday, June 25th, 2008
Another Abortion Business Closes Down
in Dallas, thanks be to God; this one did late-term abortions:
Members of the Catholic Pro-Life Committee, the Respect Life Ministry of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, maintained a constant presence of peaceful prayer and sidewalk counseling in front of Aaron’s for over a decade.
They were the second group in the nation to undertake the 40 [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Love and War by Devman
Tuesday, June 24th, 2008
The New Buffs!
I picked up our two Buff Orpington chickens from my friend, Jeremy, yesterday!
Here is the video of it:
Update: I’m getting some error and the video won’t play when I try to start it, so bear with me as I try to figure out what is wrong (you can never tell with computers…). In the [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008
Seen the (Silver)Light
“If you can see the lights/
shine in front of me/
If you can see the lights/
shout out where you’ll be…”
– Simple Minds, “See the Lights”
That song has nothing to do with this blog post.
I blogged sometime back about Microsoft’s new technology, called Silverlight, that allows desktop-programming clods like me the ability to program web apps (like [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Entertainment, Technical by Devman
Saturday, June 21st, 2008
Hanging Out in New Mexico
Howdy friends,
I’ve been in NM for the past four days or so and away from the cpu.
Katie’s family here is doing great, and we have had a good time together; yesterday I set up a new blog for Katie’s mother!
Also, I used the very fun gift from Gerardo and Roxanna, The Dangerous Book for Boys, [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature, Love and War by Devman
Thursday, June 19th, 2008
Devin’s Here
…and, I’m so happy. It’s wonderful to be together after two weeks of phone conversations, and I just want to be near him, to touch him and feel the gift of his physicality.
We had a great day. We drove up into the Jemez Mts. north of Albuquerque, with the intent of [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature, Love and War by Katie
Sunday, June 15th, 2008
Picture Catch-up
Here are a bunch of pictures from:
1. The Texas Alliance for Life Walk for Life
2. Kayaking on Lake Georgetown with Katie, my dad, and step-mom
3. The gravel and backyard
4. My uncle and aunt’s ranch in the Texas Panhandle
Dave Thies playing at the Walk for Life:
Adam G. at the Walk
Dr. Joe Pojman speaking at the Walk
Roxanna [...]
6 Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Thursday, June 12th, 2008
Facebook Success
We have 18 members in the facebook group I created to help Danielle Bean kick the Diet Coke habit! I think the direct link to the group is here.
No Comments » - Posted in Entertainment by Devman
Thursday, June 12th, 2008
Shoveling Gravel
We had two cubic yards of pea gravel dumped on our driveway this week, and yesterday I began shoveling it into the wheelbarrow and wheeling it into the backyard.
It was hard work, and I grew in appreciation for those who labor manually to provide for their families. The work is much hotter and physically [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Thursday, June 12th, 2008
Living Alone
My dear wife has been out of state for over a week now, and in the past few days I have been realizing how lonely and boring it can be to live alone!
It made me think about the elderly friends of ours from church who have lost their spouses and now for the first time [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Love and War by Devman
Wednesday, June 11th, 2008
Playing with the Cards Face Up
I caught a Catholic news release today saying that Archbishop O’Brien of Baltimore was “restricting” the work of the Legionaries of Christ in his archdiocese.
That sounded alarming, so I read the article and realized that it was a somewhat sensationalized article title. The archbishop simply asked the Legionaries to keep him informed of their [...]
7 Comments » - Posted in Faith and Reason by Devman
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008
I’m Thinking About Starting a Facebook Group
that will be called Support Danielle Bean Kicking Her Diet Coke Habit.
It would involve things like finding research on why aspartame is bad for you and how improbable it is that a zero-calorie beverage that isn’t water can be a good thing. I ran it by Katie, and she likes the idea, too.
Update 6/11/2008: [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in Entertainment by Devman
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008
The Aggie Ring Blessing
At Texas A&M, most seniors choose to buy Aggie rings, and there has been a dubious tradition of dunking your ring in X pints of beer, ranging from a “schooner” to a full pitcher; further, the Aggie is supposed to drink the entire pitcher of beer very quickly (like 100 seconds).
I had many friends take [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Entertainment by Devman
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008
Democratic Rep Not Endorsing Obama
Representative Dan Boren from Oklahoma announced he would not endorse Senator Obama’s White House bid, and refreshingly, he candidly calls it like it is, saying that Obama is “the most liberal Senator” and that his record “does not reflect working in a bipartisan fashion”.
This is a startlingly honest statement from someone within the Democratic party [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Politics by Devman
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008
Thank You for Feeding My Husband
I have been delighted during the past week to know that Devin is being fed hot home-cooked meals by different friends of ours. Thank you, Gracias and Brumleys and Coopers and everyone else who is taking in this poor bachelor who would otherwise be living on burgers and nachos.
1 Comment » - Posted in Catholic Life, Love and War by Katie
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008
De Toqueville Knows
Okay, so it’s time to make the official announcement that I am preparing to apply to UT this winter for a graduate degree in Government, God willing. I’ll talk more about it later, but I say this to explain why I am spending my mornings reading de Toqueville’s classic, “Democracy in America”, published 1840.
Alexis [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Catholic Life, Faith and Reason, Politics by Katie
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008
We Did It, Team!
We raised $1000 for the Walk for Life! The Walk took place on Saturday, June 7, and Devin generously walked in my stead, now that I am in NM; though, I did walk in Deming, to do justice to your generosity. Each of your generous donations will be used to help women who [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Catholic Life, Love and War by Katie
Monday, June 9th, 2008
The Homosexual Agenda Advances
And is hitting Britain and Canada hard.
In Britain, Catholic Charities adoption service has to close down after 120 years of good work because they refuse to place children with homosexual people.
In Canada, people are being fined, threatened, and have had their right to free speech taken away by Canadian bureaucrats simply by saying that sexual [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Faith and Reason, Love and War, Masculine Spirituality, Politics, Theology of the Body by Devman
Sunday, June 8th, 2008
Forget Reality TV: I’ll Take Jane Austen Anyday
I was a big fan of Survivor when it first came out 8 years or so ago. Admittedly, however, when I realized that they didn’t have to actually survive on the island, I was disappointed. I loved Robinson Crusoe as a kid.
Katie and I don’t have cable and don’t watch TV except when [...]
4 Comments » - Posted in Masculine Spirituality by Devman
Saturday, June 7th, 2008
Why Converting Is Hard: Inertia
Inertia is the thing from Newtonian physics that makes it a good idea to wear your seat belt when the car is moving.
There is a human inertia as well that resists a person when he is considering conversion, say, to Christianity, or more specifically, to the Catholic faith.
I became convinced that the Catholic Church’s claims [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Faith and Reason by Devman
Saturday, June 7th, 2008
Roman Catholics for Obama
I’m not one of them.
Neither is Archbishop Chaput of Denver, Colorado. But the newly minted group who named themselves “Roman Catholic for Obama” saw fit to selectively quote him in their promotional literature.
He responded in a charitable and clear way:
In the years after the [President Jimmy] Carter loss, I began to notice that very [...]
3 Comments » - Posted in Faith and Reason, Love and War, Politics by Devman
Saturday, June 7th, 2008
Has Someone Hijacked the FirstThings.com Domain?
Every time I go to any web page for FirstThings.com, I get what looks like a link site put up by cyber squatters who take over domains from people if they forget to renew them (or hack their websites maliciously).
Does anyone know what’s going on?
4 Comments » - Posted in Technical by Devman
Friday, June 6th, 2008
Where Are the Bees?
Blessedly, the wind calmed down this morning, and I just spent the last hour sitting in the sun next to the backyard fountain. I threw the ball to my parent’s yellow lab, Sam, and threw it and threw it again; Sam likes the ball. It was lovely to listen to the tinkle of [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Katie
Wednesday, June 4th, 2008
The Augustine Hive Calls It Quits
It was an uphill battle for the poor hive since the beginning when we cut them out of my mother’s wall, and finally, the Augustine hive has all died.
The moral of the story for me and Katie is: Let the hive do whatever they want. If they raise their own queen, let them have that [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Grapevines and Nature by Devman
Wednesday, June 4th, 2008
Pictures of Our New Niece, Sophia
My sister Kelly sent me these pictures of Sophia!
Courtney happy to have Sophia in her arms at last: