I Am Not Hamlet

autumn olive berries     What does cutting down the invasive shrub autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) on a cold Saturday in January have to do with the Gospel?  Quite a bit, it turns out.      My family has been trying to figure out a way to incorporate community service (a bland phrase, if ever there was one) into our monthly schedule.  So, for our first attempt I took my wife and children to Island Lake State Park in SE Michigan to help restore (in a very small way) an oak savanna.  An oak savanna (or as the old timers called it "oak barrens") was one of a few landscape types found in lower Michigan prior to European/American settlement.  Essentially, it's a prairie with some oaks scattered here and there.  The Indians maintained prairies by setting the land afire occasionally to keep them relatively treeless.  Thus providing habitat for the largest food source available--the American bison.  The Western way of farm...

     I was not at my home church for mass this morning (not that I feel like I have a home church since becoming Popish), but nevertheless my mood was buoyant.  After all, how could it not be.  Here we were standing as brothers and sisters commemorating one of the top five greatest events in the history of reality: the Incarnation.  Yet looking out and listening to the participation of my Roman brothers and sisters, one would think that something less than mundane had happened.  Something BORING, even.  We gathered to remember the God of the universe condescending to take on human dress and all we can do is half-heartedly sing and mumble ancient creeds that people died for?  I remained buoyant despite the lack of mutual awe.      Annie Dillard said waggishly that when people go to church they ought to be wearing crash helmets.  Do they really know who or what they are summoning?  Something more terrible, me...

There are but three social arrangements which can replace Capitalism: Slavery, Socialism, and Property.                                                                                                 --Hilaire Belloc                                                   ...

I am thankful for the unexpected single occupancy room at the conference I attended last month.  The occasional fuller-than-expected gas tank is also an ordinary blessing.  The flash of a hawk across my line of sight is again ordinarily extraordinary.  I thank you, God.  I'm also thankful that the brine last night made the turkey succulently delicious, that the dressing wasn't dry like I had anticipated, that the cranberry sauce wasn't too tart, that the stuffed pumpkin hasn't failed me yet, and that the last bite of the slice of pumpkin pie made the previous lackluster bites worth it.  Additionally, I'm thankful for an exuberant parade with children and a father-in-law who enjoyed themselves.  Thanks for firewood, Steve Martin, John Candy, and electricity.  You continue to shatter my obtuseness, Lord.  Glory be to the Father, the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever.

Only two more days until the phone calls, radio and TV ads, and flyers in the mail quit.  In so many ways I cry "A plague on both your houses."  I'm sure you're feeling fatigue from Election 2012: The MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THE U.S. as I am.  I'm also tired of finding 30% of what I like in candidate A and 31% in candidate B, politically speaking.  Here's what my ideal candidate for president would look like: Someone who knows the Constitutional limits of the presidency and would respect them enough to rescind all the crap built up by his (or her) predecessors. Someone consistently pro-life who would encourage Americans to respect life prior to birth until natural death (including the encouragement to end the death penalty) Someone who thinks that patriotism and a bellicose foreign policy are antithetical Someone who thinks the federal government needs to learn about subsidiarity (see the first bullet as well) Someone who doesn...

Due to negligence on my part, my camera, all attendant equipment, and my iPod were stolen at the end of August.  I've gone through just about the peak of autumn without a camera.  Finally, after much rigamarole, I've got a new camera (I replaced my iPod about a month ago).  It is an upgraded version of my Canon Rebel.      I don't know why I feel naked--perhaps naked isn't the best metaphor--let me say something was missing--without my camera.  I have this need to document scenes and events in my life visually.  This is obviously something ginned up by the camera manufacturers starting with Kodak and Eastman.  Yet, people have expressed themselves visually on caves and rocks for quite some time.  People even had portraits made of themselves through painting, so there's more to it than just consumerism.       I'm just fascinated by the play of light on certain surfaces, or the color of a leaf in mid-autumn....

Dear Mr. Romney: I am a conservative who believes that the purpose of conservatism is to conserve things which are good in American and Western culture. Among these things are life and liberty. At present, I have grave concerns that you have any serious intention of conserving these things and so I have no good reason for voting for you. Merely saying “I’m not Obama” is not enough to win my vote. Why? Because I have zero confidence that you are going to, in any significant way, overturn much of his agenda and plenty of concern that, in addition to it, you will lard on tax cuts for yourself and your class and more wars for our troops to fight. Let me be clear. You have lied that you governed as a prolife governor. Sorry, but I have seen the multiple Youtube videos of you, as governor, proudly proclaiming your devotion to abortion. When you lie to me about your record on something as fundamental as the right to life, I have no reason to trust a word you say. Both...