At home I run a Smoothwall firewall to protect my home network from intrusion. It runs on an old P2-233 I had lying around. I recently installed some updates to ensure that I was keeping the bad guys out. Before I rebooted the machine tonight, it had been up for 165 days!

If you are looking for a flexible home firewall that can do things like VPNs, pinholing for outside access, support for dynamic DNS, and setting up a DMZ network, I highly recommend it. Check it out.

I saw Return of the King tonight. It was absolutely terrific! Highly recommended. It's 3 hrs and 20 minutes but didn't feel long at all. A couple of key plotlines were left out; one of them pretty understandably and the other not. Still an excellent production and one that will stand as a classic, I'm sure.

My Friday Five:

1. List your five favorite beverages.

1. Diet Dr. Pepper
   
2. Diet Pepsi
   
3. Milk
   
4. Vernors
   
5. a real cherry Coke (fountain mixed)
   

2. List your five favorite websites.

1. Slashdot
   
2. Figure Skater's Website
   
3. CNN
   
4. Star Net (the Arizona Daily Star)
   
5. Computer Geeks
   

3. List your five favorite snack foods.

1. 4-Cheese Doritos
   
2. maple & brown sugar oatmeal (hey, it's a snack, really!)
   
3. onion dip (usually with #1 above)
   
4. saltines
   
5. baby carrots
   

4. List your five favorite board and/or card games.

I rarely play board or card games, but...

1. Chess
   
2. Risk
   
3. Poker
   
4. Monopoly
   
5. Hearts (haven't played in ages though)
   

5. List your five favorite computer and/or game system games.

I don't play any. In college I wrote a D&D type system with my friend Marc, but in general I've never been big on any of this stuff.

Tonight was my second of 5 sessions I get to teach this year for RCIA. The subjects were original sin, sin, grace, and faith. We had a really nice discussion about the topics, and it was really nice to see that people are grasping things and thinking about them. For example early in our discussion about sin, we'd said that sin was not about feelings, and how the determinant for what is sinful is not about how we feel (after all concupiscence handicaps us) but whether it's against God's law. Later we were talking about how sometimes we can have feelings of lust, anger, etc., and I asked if that was a sin -- and one of the candidates replied that it couldn't be because sin wasn't about feelings. Bingo! It's so cool when people make connections.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mark the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' first flight. Unfortunately, the attempted re-enactment didn't come off. Still, it's a milestone, one to reflect on how far we have come in 100 years of flight. All because of two tinkerers from Ohio!

Prayer requests

Please pray:

• For the repose of the soul of Richard Chonak's mother, and for Richard and his family.
  
• For my friend M.'s daughter B. who is ill and needs some kind of surgery to figure out what's going on.
  
• For my sister, who is going to have an operation (hopefully before Christmas) to fuse two of the vertebrae in her neck. She's been in a lot of pain.
  
• For the repose of the soul of my friend MH's aunt.
  

Thanks for your good prayers.

Tonight I led an intrepid band of carolers through the Winterhaven neighborhood. Winterhaven's residents are famous for going all-out in their Christmas displays, and this year's example was no exception. The lights were terrific, although as usual we got so caught up in singing that we didn't see as much of the neighborhood as I'd have liked. There were 8 of us, including 6 members of Collegium Musicum, and 2 friends of CMers. We were well balanced: 2 sopranos, 2 altos, 1 tenor and 3 basses. Not bad. We sounded pretty darned good too. We sang a number of old favorites, including:

• Carol of the Bells
  
• Silent Night
  
• Angels We Have Heard On High
  
• Joy to the World
  
• Jingle Bells
  
• We Wish You A Merry Christmas
  
• O Come All Ye Faithful
  
• Away in a Manger
  
• What Child Is This
  
• Hark the Herald Angels Sing
  

We also had a go at some more difficult stuff:

• O Magnum Mysterium (Victoria)
  
• Coventry Carol
  
• the infamous Deck the Halls in 7/8
  

Here's my belated Friday Five:

1. Do you enjoy the cold weather and snow for the holidays?

Snow? What is snow? Oh, that stuff we sometimes get on the mountains. Yes, it's pretty. As for cold weather... I like it in small doses. Fortunately, in Tucson it's usually warm enough during the day, even in January.

2. What is your ideal holiday celebration? How, where, with whom would you celebrate to make things perfect?

Hm. This is tough. Generally my ideal holiday would be singing at Midnight Mass, then coming home and getting up early with a wife and several beautiful, well-behaved children. Obviously since I'm lacking those I'm a ways away from my ideal holiday :-)

3. Do you do have any holiday traditions?

Midnight Mass. Large Christmas lights, of the non-blinking kind. Fudge and Christmas cookies, formerly made by my Mom and now by my sister, God bless 'er. My well-worn Christmas stocking. Christmas caroling in Winterhaven (a local neighborhood).

4. Do you do anything to help the needy?

I usually give to the food bank when I go caroling, plus donations to the Salvation Army and other local groups.

5. What one gift would you like for yourself?

Of the "store-bought" variety, a USB flash drive/MP3 player/voice recorder/FM radio with 256 MB of memory (expensive). Of the "priceless" variety, someone to love, of course!

Peggy Noonan, as she so often does, gets it exactly right on the capture of Saddam Hussein:

But normal people don't have to be sophisticated. They can be normal. And happy. And say what normal Americans say when something great in history happens. "Thanks, God. Thanks a lot."

Thanks to the lovely Jeanetta for the link.

Saddam Captured

As probably everybody is aware by now, Saddam Hussein has been captured. This is really a momentous day, for Iraq and for the US and its allies. Good work!

Tonight was my first turn to teach RCIA for this year. Under our new system we team members are only present when we are teaching, which for me is only 5 times, in addition to taking the dismissal and our retreats. Tonight I talked about the Saints, and also introduced the class to the Rosary. We were a little short on time so we said an abbreviated Rosary; we did the Luminous Mysteries but left out the 2nd and 4th. Still we packed a lot into our 90 minutes of class.

I would be remiss if I didn't thank God and St. Anthony for the recovery of my class ring, which I misplaced almost a month ago. I was in my office and had just changed into my skating gear and had put my pants down on the guest chair, and noticed that my watch (which I'd put in the front pocket) was almost falling out. I noticed that and wondered where it would have gone if it had fallen out, since I'd thought my ring might have fallen out under similar circumstances. I realized there was a potpourri basket on the floor behind the guest chair that was a perfect receptacle; I looked in it and saw the gleam of gold from my class ring! Thanks be to God, and thank you St. Anthony, for this find.

The episode made me reflect on my relationship with material things. I only have five pieces of jewelry that hold real meaning for me. They are:

• University of Arizona® class ring, given to me by my brother and Dad in 1985.
  
• My Mom's Phi Beta Kappa key, which was given to me when she died.
  
• My Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity pin.
  
• My watch, given to me by my best friend.
  
• A pearl tietack that my mother gave me when I was little.
  

Of course I don't wear the Phi Beta Kappa key, but the others I do. I'll have to be more careful in the future.

Today was our bimonthly "alumni lunch" for NewMonics (www.newmonics.com), my former employer. After a bunch of us were laid off in August of '02 we formed an email list to keep us in touch, and we meet to have lunch every other month to touch base and see each other. Today there were 14 of us, which is just about everyone. I've been very fortunate that every place I've ever worked has been staffed by people who became not just coworkers, but friends, the kind of people you really enjoy working with. This lunch is an example of that.

You have to check out Kathy Schaidle's Twas the Night Before Kwanzaa. Bwahahaha!

One of the great things about having two blogs is getting to quote yourself :-). Anyway, I went to the doctor yesterday and he told me I really did hurt myself in my fall October 5th. *sigh*

Happy Feast of the Immaculate Conception!

The Arizona Daily Star reports that 80% of Arizonans still claim to believe in God, but they are increasingly fuzzy on just what that means. It's not surprising, but it's still sad that so many want to believe but are seemingly turned off by traditional religion, or are unwilling/unable to turn their vague beliefs into something more concrete.

The Star also asked readers to submit responses on their beliefs in God and religion. The results (Part I and Part II) are pretty interesting reading. As usual the atheists are both condescending and defensive, and among the others there's quite a bit of fuzzy thinking. One particularly saddening comment (from a grad student at UA, a homosexual man who has left the Church):

I always liked the peaceful and ritualistic nature of Mass. But these days Catholics are playing guitars and holding hands and if one wants an authentic Roman Mass, one has to attend an Episcopal service.

Being an Arizonan, December 7th has always held a special place both in my heart and the heart of all Arizonans as the anniversary of the loss of the state's namesake battleship at Pearl Harbor in 1941. I-10 is designated the Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway, and this year as every year, the bell of the USS Arizona will be rung at the annual memorial service.

Episcopal Spine Alert, as Mark Shea likes to say. Thanks to Mark for this story on the bishop of La Crosse, Wisconsin reminding "Catholic" legislators that checking your conscience at the door didn't work at Nuremberg and won't work before God either. Of course the legislator whine back that he can't tell them what to do.

Alas, there's no Friday Five this week. At least I remembered!

In Sunday's Star, columnist Bonnie Henry talks about Tucson's F-word. She's got a point.

One of the neat things about the Internet is getting to know about new cool stuff that would have been to expensive to be notified about before the advent of email. The example in this case is that one of my favorite artists, Sally Harmon, has released a new album. Check it out.

Well, that didn't take very long at all. Now a polygamist is invoking the Supreme Court's sodomy decision to claim that polygamy is okay. Of course, the problem is that he's right (about the decision, not about polygamy).

Time has a good cover article on the coming Type II diabetes epidemic. The saddest part is that it seems to be almost entirely preventable.

As expected the UA has hired Mike Stoops as the new head football coach. Stoops will have quite a rebuilding job to do. Star columnist Greg Hansen is pleased with the selection.

My belated Friday Five:

1. Do you like to shop? Why or why not?

Sometimes. It depends on what I'm shopping for. I like shopping when I'm just looking for things. I dislike it either when I'm looking for a specific thing that I can't find anywhere, or when I'll "know it when I see it" and have no idea where to look.

2. What was the last thing you purchased?

Other than lunch? :-) Um, a Type 5 keyboard and mouse for my Sparcstation 20, off of eBay.

3. Do you prefer shopping online or at an actual store? Why?

I prefer shopping online for books, music, DVDs, and computer gear. Everything else I'd rather buy where I can see it, especially clothes and furniture.

4. Did you get an allowance as a child? How much was it?

Other than a brief period of time where my Dad was sending an allowance (I think it was when I was 8 or 9), no. I think it was 50 cents a week, but it might have been a dollar.

5. What was the last thing you regret purchasing?

Hmm. I bought a pair of exercise pants at Factory 2 You a couple of months ago, and they were too large but not returnable. That's about it.

The Massachusetts bishops are (finally) speaking out about gay marriage. I suspect this is too little too late.

*sigh* The UA Wildcats lost to the ASU Sun Devils today, 28-7. It was not a pleasant game to watch. It started out badly and didn't get much better. I was proud of the team, though -- they didn't give up and they kept on fighting. They did their best.

Music for Mass
Gordon Zaft, cantor, Kathie O'Sullivan, piano
Thanksgiving Day Mass, Cycle B

Gathering Song: Thanks Be To God (Dean)
Penitential Rite: recited
Gloria: recited
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 113 (Respond & Acclaim)
Gospel Acclamation: Praise His Name (Joncas) w/verse of the day
Preparation of the Gifts: For The Fruits of This Creation (AR HYD Y NOS)
Holy,Holy: Mass of Creation (Haugen)
Memorial Acclamation: Mass of Creation (Haugen)
Great Amen: Mass of Creation (Haugen)
Our Father: Yantis
Lamb of God: Mass of Creation (Haugen)
Communion: All Good Gifts (Keil)
Recessional: America, the Beautiful (MATERNA)

Happy Thanksgiving

President Bush celebrated Thanksgiving by making a surprise visit to Baghdad. It's a nice touch, and I am sure the troops really appreciated it. I think most people would agree that he has made a good Commander-in-Chief regardless of what they think of him otherwise.

Best wishes to you, reader, for a happy Thanksgiving celebration. I hope you can gather with family and friends to celebrate. If you can't, if you are alone, remember -- you are here to read this, here to celebrate. For that at least you can be thankful. Thanks be to God!

I'm heading out in a few minutes to go to Phoenix to have Thanksgiving dinner with my family. I'll post the Thanksgiving Day Mass music in a minute and then be out.

This Sunday is Terri Schindler Schiavo Day. Please pray for Terri and for protection for all life, and pass it on!

The Star reported on Sunday that Tucson's Bishop Kicanas may well be moving up in the hierarchy. That doesn't surprise me; from the time of his appointment I thought it unlikely that an auxiliary from Chicago would finish out his days in our diocese. That said, Kicanas has proved to be a lot of what this diocese has needed -- he is a good communicator and listens, and I get the distinct impression he's using the promulgation of the new GIRM to clean up some of the problem parishes in the diocese. I hope so.

Meanwhile it's being reported that Bishop Olmsted of Wichita has been appointed the new Bishop of Phoenix.

*bleah* Saturday night/Sunday morning I went to bed around 1:30 a.m., and wound up sleeping until 3 p.m. -- I was exhausted. I thought, okay, so I'll be fine now. Went to bed Sunday night around midnight and woke up exhausted again, called in to work sick and went back to bed and slept 'til 1 p.m. Tonight I got up and went to choir rehearsal, and now I'm feeling... bad. My glands are swollen and I'm feeling kind of achy. This doesn't bode well.

I was cleaning up a little bit tonight and came across an old tape of the 200th epsiode of "Beverly Hills 90210" from 1997. I loved that show! I know many people thought of it as pure trash, but there were some story lines in it that really resonated with me. In the 200th episode there's this great story line about the engagement ring that Brandon had bought Kelly when he proposed to her. She turned him down, but he had kept the ring. His new girlfriend Tracey found it and of course they argued about it, so he goes to return it. He can't bring himself to when he gets to the shop, but later after talking with Kelly he goes ahead and returns it. Kelly goes and buys the ring because, as she says, she didn't want anyone else to have it.

I love this kind of stuff. It's so romantic. I am a romantic through and through and this sort of thing just kills me. Sometimes you have to go through a lot of heartache before you realize just how much you really love someone, and sometimes you have to let them go even though it breaks your heart. That's romance and true love.

Today was the 40th anniversary of the death of the first (and so far, only) Catholic president of the US, John F. Kennedy. Since I was only 10 weeks old when he died I obviously have no memories of the day... but I grieve the loss anyway. Rest in peace, JFK.

It goes on... new "credible" allegations from the 60s and 70s of a priest and a nun (!) of the Diocese of Tucson accused of sexual abuse/molestation.

Here's my Friday Five:

1. List five things you'd like to accomplish by the end of the year.

1. Clean up the house and get rid of stuff
   
2. Lose 5 more lbs.
   
3. Pick a coach for skating lessons
   
4. Get all my Christmas cards sent early
   
5. Get my Christmas shopping done early
   

2. List five people you've lost contact with that you'd like to hear from again.

1. College buddy Marc Allen
   
2. My friend Chelsea Tor
   
3. High school buddy Stephen Michael
   
4. Kirsten Hall Bellars
   
5. Ex-gf Therese Aguayo
   

3. List five things you'd like to learn how to do.

1. Speak Spanish
   
2. Play piano (for real, not the plinking I can do now)
   
3. Ballroom dancing (including swing),
   
4. Read/understand Latin
   
5. Land an Axel (of course)
   

4. List five things you'd do if you won the lottery (no limit).

1. Get a huge house with my own ice rink, and skate every day
   
2. Go back to school and get a Ph.D. in history or philosophy
   
3. Endow a charitable foundation
   
4. Travel
   
5. Buy a Steinway
   

5. List five things you do that help you relax.

1. Figure skating
   
2. Listening to music
   
3. Reading
   
4. Surfing the web
   
5. Walking
   

Pushing the envelope once again, the Wildcat interviews someone while on the pot. Geez, give 'em a break!

Tonight my friend Tom took me to watch the Wildcat basketball team play Team Nike in an exhibition game. It was a lot of fun! We won 116-91. One of the nice things about basketball (compared to football) is that the games are so much shorter and, being indoors, more comfortable. I still prefer watching Wildcat football, though :-).

Chess champion Garry Kasparov played to a draw against the X3D computer program. While this stuff is mostly for show, I was struck by the unfair nature of this latest competition -- the X3D has 4 processors, Kasparov has only one. It should be one-to-one! Either X3D should play a group of 4 masters, or it should only use one CPU.

The Arizona Daily Wildcat is reporting that the first mirror of the Large Binocular Telescope has been moved to Mt. Graham. Very exciting stuff! The LBT will use adaptive optics to compensate for the Earth's atmosphere.

Ever helpful, Blogger is telling us How Not to Get Fired Because of Your Blog.

The Lady of Shalott has resurrected her blog, All But Dissertation. Check it out... welcome back!

The US Bishops have published their statement on homosexual unions.

(Thanks to the lovely Jeanetta for the link)

Music for Mass
SSPP Latin Schola
Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Prelude: Sicut Cervus (Palestrina)
Gathering Song: Come, Worship the Lord (Talbot)
Penitential Rite: Kyrie (Chant Mass)
Gloria: (Chant Mass)
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 16 (Domincan tones)
Gospel Acclamation: (Chant Mass w/verse of the day)
Preparation of the Gifts: Be Thou My Vision (Pius X Hymnal #15)
Holy,Holy: Sanctus (Chant Mass)
Memorial Acclamation: (Chant Mass)
Great Amen: (Chant Mass)
Our Father: (Traditional Chant)
Lamb of God: Agnus Dei (Chant Mass)
Communion: Ave Verum Corpus (Byrd)
Meditation: Ubi Caritas (Pius X Hymnal #16)
Recessional: Now Thank We All Our God (NUN DANKET)

In retrospect it would have been quite apropos to do the Bruckner Os Justi. Maybe next year.

Saturday evening I went to watch the Arizona Wildcats play the USC Trojans. Unfortunately for us, #2 ranked USC destroyed the Wildcats. The 45-0 shutout was not pretty; in fact it was the first shutout for the Wildcats in 12 years. *sigh* Of course, the reality of UA football is that if they can somehow pull off a win against ASU, all will be forgiven.

Star columnist Greg Hansen says that USC just plain had superior players. In the past that didn't always mean they would win, though, but this year it was just too much.

Friday night I went to the Arizona Opera production of Gilbert & Sullivan's The Mikado. It was a really fun production, and the Arizona Daily Star thinks so too. Yes, it's a little unusual for a full-fledged opera company to do G&S, but it was a really well-done production.

This is really cool. I've often thought that abortion only continues in the US because we Christians (and others of good will) aren't actively opposing it. Well, some folks in the construction industry have put their money where their mouths are and organized an abortion clinic construction boycott. Way to go!

Today's Friday Five:

1. Using one adjective, describe your current living space.

Cluttered!

2. Using two adjectives, describe your current employer.

interesting and challenging

3. Using three adjectives, describe your favorite hobby/pasttime.

thrilling, exciting, fascinating

4. Using four adjectives, describe your typical day.

hectic, busy, tiring, long

5. Using five adjectives, describe your ideal life.

Active, stimulating, musical, spiritual, full

Those of you who are propeller-heads might appreciate this Seuss parody -- The Grinch Who Stole Linux.

Ah, just the antidote I needed for my mood -- read Fr. Johansen's account of the Generosity of St. Blog's. Way to go, St. Bloggers!

So of course, having just written the preceding self-pitying entry, I come across this post on the Onion: "Mom Finds Out About Blog". Fortunately or not my family already knows about this blog...

I'm having a bad day... I had a date planned for tomorrow night but it was canceled via email because the person in question didn't want to be on a "date" with me. So I've been hit where I so often am, in the "you're such a nice person, you'd be perfect for my best friend /cousin /roommate /coworker /manicurist /veterinarian /anyone but me". I swear, if someone calls me "nice" again I will just lay them out. Okay, probably not, but can someone explain why a woman would give me her phone number and then either not want to go out, or agree to go out and then change her mind at the last minute? It's happened to me twice in the space of a month, and it's really dragging my self-esteem through the gutter. Am I really that undesirable? It's hard to avoid that conclusion.

Yes, I'm venting, yes, I'm upset, no, I wouldn't really lay anyone out. Thanks for reading/listening.

Happy Veteran's Day. I hope you can take a moment today (if you are an American) to give thanks to the veterans who sacrificed for our freedom. From Valley Forge to Fallujah, across hundreds of years and thousands of miles, brave men and women have answered their country's call and served. As they say -- some gave all, and all gave some. Thank you, veterans.

I was dogsitting for my sister, one of the 3 remaining Americans without a home computer and Internet access :-) so no posts over the weekend.

The Wildcats came out with a 27-22 win against the Washington Huskies! This from a team that has only won a single game previously this season (against UTEP), and had not won a PAC-10 home game since... 2001, I think. It was really a terrific game. Mike Bell had a terrific game, 222 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns. Defensive rover Clay Hardt also played the game of his life; he was all over! As the Star notes, there were a lot of good signs in this game. Of course, next week the Wildcats play #2 USC. It should be a good game.

It's Homecoming at my beloved alma mater, The University of Arizona®, and my favorite part is the 10th Annual Student Showcase. I worked on Student Showcase when I was a member of the Graduate and Professional Student Council, the graduate student goverment. I competed in Showcase in 2001 with my thesis research and received a second place prize. Student Showcase is a research exhibition where the public at large can see how students are translating their learning into new knowledge. It's really fascinating and well worth the time to see.

President Bush, true to his word, has signed the partial-birth abortion ban. The pro-abortion lobby will sue, of course. What they don't seem to have figured out is that every time the press actually describes this procedure in any detail at all the ban gains support. Imagine that, people are actually disgusted and horrified at the idea of sticking a sharp instrument in a fetus's head and sucking his/her brains out to collapse his/her head and kill him/her.

The outcome of yesterday's election seems to be that we retain the status quo. The mayoral race was quite close (less that 1300 votes between winner and loser) and not quite all the votes are counted so there's a small possibility it will change, but I doubt it. So discounting that, we have exactly the same city council we had before, and all the propositions were defeated. I wish I knew what Tucsonans want to do about transportation, but all we know for certain is that they don't want increased bus service and light rail.

Today is election day. In Tucson, we are deciding the mayoral race as well as 3 (of 6) city council seats (one seat is unopposed, however). We also had the two transportation propositions (200, 201) and a pay raise for the mayor and council (100).

The mayor's race is going to be close, and one of the council races also. I'm sure the pay raise will be voted down, although I supported it - - councilmembers only get $24,000 a year, and well, you get what you pay for. I really have no idea whether the transportation initiatives will pass or not. They would raise the city sales tax by .3 cents and add a construction sales tax to pay for improvements in bus service and street maintenance, as well as to construct a 13-mile light rail line.

As usual, David Morrison gets it right about the new Episcopalian bishop. Check it out, and bookmark his blog.

Something you are not likely to see given attention in the media -- another death due to RU-486.

It's happened -- the Episcopalians have made a practicing homosexual a bishop. I knew they were going off the deep end but it's pretty clear that this is non-recoverable. I don't see how the Church can continue an ecumenical effort with the Episcopalians now when they can deny something so obvious and basic.

Another black eye for the Diocese of Tucson -- a priest has admitted he fathered a child.

I went to see SeaBiscuit tonight. While it was not a perfect movie (and I've heard there were some major liberties taken with the story) it was a good movie and I enjoyed it thoroughly. While I'm not a real horse person (my experience is that there are horse people and then there's everyone else), I do love and appreciate them. I really liked the movie a lot. Good stuff.

I did not make it to the display of the Tilma relic last night -- by the time I got there it was over. Bishop Moreno (our retired bishop) didn't make it either. It sounds like it was a good turnout though.

Happy Halloween! Here's my Friday Five:

1. What was your first Halloween costume?

I really don't remember.

2. What was your best costume and why?

I don't know about "best" costume. One year I went as Mickey Mouse -- it was pretty simple, just my mouse ears, a white turtleneck, white gloves, black pants, and a high squeaky voice...

3. Did you ever play a trick on someone who didn't give you a treat?

No.

4. Do you have any Halloween traditions? (ie: Family pumpkin carving, special dinner before trick or treating, etc.)

No, not really.

5. Share your favorite scary story...real or legend!

It's probably the legend of the headless horseman (Ichabod Crane etc.).

Not your average Catholic schoolgirls! Okay, this one is too good. CNN reports "Girls pummel man who exposed himself":

A man described by authorities as a known sexual predator was chased through the streets of South Philadelphia by an angry crowd of Catholic high school girls, who kicked and punched him after he was tackled by neighbors, police said Friday.

St. Maria Goretti would be proud... well, maybe. I suspect she would have been gentler and a bit more loving.

Happy Birthday, mom! Today would have been my mother's 73rd birthday.

Breathing trees. Tucson is getting a lot of smoke from the Southern California fires, so much so that we can barely see the mountains. That's a lot of trees burning.

The following letter appears in today's Arizona Daily Star:


Ambrose is no Bible scholar

Jay Ambrose thinks newly appointed V. Gene Robinson should decline his position as bishop in the Episcopal Church USA ("Gay man should decline Episcopal bishop post," Oct. 26). Ambrose should resign from his self-appointed position as amateur Bible scholar.

I could just see Ambrose's 19th-century counterpart counseling compromise as the Baptist and Methodist churches approached schism over the slavery controversy.

Certainly, they argued that church unity was more important than human rights, especially rights that the Bible seemed to know little of.

Ambrose fails to mention that the four gospels make no mention of the immorality of homosexual actions.

He also fails to note that Paul, like his Hebrew scriptures counterparts, rarely writes on the subject, and, when they do, it is clear that they are most concerned with differentiating their communities from so-called other cultures.

Ambrose's most serious blunder is when he tries to argue that Paul's interest is in behavior not orientation.

Considering that the word "homosexuality" does not enter modern languages until the late 19th century, he is anachronistically expecting that the first century Paul could make a distinction between orientation and action.

The sacrifice "Christianity is about" is not the compromise of human dignity!

Thomas Rogers

Teacher


Of course, the disturbing part of this letter is that the author is a theology teacher at Salpointe Catholic High School.

Exciting stuff! A piece of the Tilma of Tepeyac will be displayed in Tucson tomorrow. I bet the crowds will be immense, but I'm going to try to visit after work. There's more info on the diocesan website.

*sigh* I took my car in to the shop to get my alternator belt replaced because it was squealing, and also to fix my power antenna. Well, it turns out I need a new water pump too, and while they are in there they're going to replace the timing belt (it's almost due anyway). So instead of $250 or so it's going to be more like $1000. *sigh*

Some people claim that Tucson doesn't have four seasons; I think they just have not been here long enough or are not observant. Fall arrived in Tucson Saturday night; Sunday was blustery with a high of just 73! This week the highs are in the low 80s and lows are in the high 50s. That's quite a change from two weeks ago when we were breaking high temperature records.

Collegium Musicum Concert
John T. Brobeck, Director
Wayne Glass, Assistant Director

October 26, 2003
2:30 p.m.
Holsclaw Hall, University of Arizona®

Program

Ista est speciosa

Mathieu Gasgongne (fl. c. 1500 - c. 1535)

*
Pastourelle dieu te donit joye
Je voys je viens mon cueur
J'ay mys mon cueur
Wayne Glass, tenor
Tom Tompkins, tenor
Christopher Jackson, baritone
Vanessa R. Sheldon, harp
Peter Worden, recorder
*
Bone Jesu dulcissime
*
En contemplant la beauté de m'amie
D'amour je suis desheritée
Robin viendras tu à le veille

Erin Hagedon Amber Lee Harrington Molly Holleran

Martina Chylikova Tereza Jandura

Joshua Koch Alex Woods

Wayne Glass, viol & recorder
Vanessa R. Sheldon, harp
Peter Worden, recorder


*

Mijn hert altijt heeft verlanghen

Pierre de la Rue (c. 1460 - 1518)

    Wayne Glass, tenor
    Christopher Jackson, baritone
    Vanessa R. Sheldon, harp
    Peter Worden, recorder

Missa Mijn hert altijt heeft verlanghen

M. Gasgongne

    Kyrie
    Gloria
    Credo
    Sanctus
    Agnus Dei
Soli Choir:

Lydia Bell Erin Hagedon Molly Holleran

Kieran Fasse Andrea Garcia Tereza Jandura

Christopher Jackson Alex Woods Gordon Zaft

Music for Mass
SSPP Latin Schola
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Prelude: Spirit Seeking Light and Beauty (Trad. Gaelic)
Gathering Song: Praise My Soul the King of Heaven (LAUDA ANIMA)
Penitential Rite: Kyrie (Chant Mass)
Gloria: (Chant Mass)
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 126 (Domincan tones)
Gospel Acclamation: (Chant Mass w/verse of the day)
Preparation of the Gifts: Voce Mea ad Dominum (Gomulka, Pius X Hymnal #32)
Jesu, Salvator Mundi (Pius X Hymnal #215)
Holy,Holy: Sanctus (Chant Mass)
Memorial Acclamation: (Chant Mass)
Great Amen: (Chant Mass)
Our Father: (Traditional Chant)
Lamb of God: Agnus Dei (Chant Mass)
Communion: Amazing Grace
Meditation: Panis Angelicus (St. Gregory Hymnal #229b)
Recessional: Praise the Lord, Ye Heavens (Beethoven)

Amazing Grace used the original words, thanks be to God!

I didn't make it this year, but today is Band Day at The University of Arizona®.

Cardinal Arinze has some good stuff to say about the liturgy:

Even when we give the hasty innovator the benefit of the doubt, that the motivation is a sincere attempt to bring the liturgy home to the people, it remains true that the results are generally disastrous. Unapproved innovations distract and annoy the people. They often draw attention to the priest rather than to God. They generally do not last long. They are often superficial. And they scandalize because they run against Church norms and regulations. If many lay people had only one request to make, they would ask that the priest celebrate Mass, or other rites, simply according to the approved books. Many lay faithful complain that rarely do they find two priests celebrating the Eucharistic sacrifice in the same way. The Roman liturgy is not a free-for-all experimentation field where each celebrant has the option to tag on his cherished accretions. Repeated and laid-down action is part of ritual. The people are not tired of it, as long as the celebrant is full of faith and devotion and has the proper ars celebrandi (art of how to celebrate).

To which I add a hearty Amen! Read the full text at EWTN. Thanks to Catholic Light for the link.

There's no Friday Five this week, but I did remember!

I finally broke down and bought some new furniture -- a new entertainment center and a new mattress/box spring. My old mattress was 16 years old or so so I was definitely overdue for a new one. The new entertainment center is a little bigger than my old one, but much better constructed and sturdier, more attractive, and it matches my bookcases. Yea!

Rejoice! My beautiful goddaughter Isabel now has a baby sister, Brayden!

I consider myself a patriotic person. I've been that way from childhood, but it was enhanced and strengthened during the 6 years I worked for the US Navy as a civil service electronics engineer. During that time I had a chance to see first-hand the bravery, dedication and sacrifice of our armed forces. If you want a reminder, check out this cool slide show. Thanks to Mark Shea for the link.

Okay, Halloween is fast approaching and, much though I'd like to just skip the whole thing, I need to come up with a costume. I've been coerced into being Amber Lee's designated driver -- not because she's going to be sloshed, but because her costume (she's going as Scarlett O'Hara from Gone With The Wind) is going to have a huuuuuge hoop skirt which would make it difficult to drive. So I need a costume... not one from GWTW (don't want to compete, and anything I come up with is not going to compare with the huge amount of effort AL has put into her costume) but something... ideas, folks?

I was very happy to hear on the news as I was traveling yesterday that due to a lot of work by the Florida legislature and Gov. Jeb Bush, Terri Schiavo's feeding will resume. Of course that hasn't prevented her "husband"'s lawyer from being an idiot.

I just got back from a work trip to Connecticut and New Hampshire. Sunday night I flew into Hartford and had meetings all day Monday. Monday evening I drove up to Manchester and had meetings in Bedford Tuesday morning, then drove to Boston and flew home.

I'd never been to New England before, and I found the parts I visited to be much less urbanized than I expected. Central Connecticut and the swath of Massachusetts I drove through were very pretty. It was a good time to be there as the leaves were turning in many places. The daytime weather was (by Tucson standards) quite cool (50s) and the overnights were darn cold (mid 30s). I really enjoyed the non-work parts of my trip (the work parts were just very busy).

Flying out of Logan was a bit strange. I'd only flown out of Boston once before, back in '97 or '98. Flying out of there now was bit strange. Security seems tighter to me than it was even the last time I flew -- nowadays people just take off their shoes and send 'em through the x-ray machine rather than wait to be asked to take them off. And of course, realizing that Logan is where two of the 9/11 planes took off from (and flying on an American Airlines Boeing 757 which was the same type as one of the planes that day) reminded me of the tragedy again. It's only been two years and yet it seems both yesterday and a million years ago. To think only a couple of years ago we didn't have this implicit fear about flying, or planes. We showed up just in time to catch our flights and security was just a formality. I wonder if I'll ever really get over it.

Tonight I went to the UA's Arizona Symphony Orchestra and Arizona Choir concert with my friend Alex. The program was:

The Far Edge (Daniel Asia)
8th Symphony "Unfinished" (Schubert)
Mass in Cm (Mozart)

The Asia piece was... well, let's just say if I listen to it a few more times maybe it will start to take hold. For the most part it was over my head.

The Schubert was very nicely done -- the symphony seemed well balanced and played very lyrically.

The Mozart was nice. I knew several people in the choir, including a couple of the soloists who have been in Collegium Musicum. The Latin was pronounced as Germanic Latin (e.g. "qui" pronounced "kvee" etc.) That drives me bonkers, and I have my doubts that it really is authentic performance practice for Mozart. At least, I suspect that in Vienna it would have been done in the usual Italianate fashion. I'll have to ask Dr. Brobeck at Collegium about it sometime.

My Friday Five:

1. Name five things in your refrigerator.

John, James, Andrew, Steven, and Peter. Wait, you want me to identify 5 things in my 'fridge? Okay... Diet Dr. Pepper, Diet Pepsi, water, cheese, hamburger buns.

2. Name five things in your freezer.

Hamburger patties, ice, french fries, sugar-free popsicles, and one of those nice ice-pack thingies you get at the hospital (I saved it from when I broke my arm).

3. Name five things under your kitchen sink.

409 spray, silver polish, bug spray, wasp spray, and the green pad thingies I use for doing dishes.

4. Name five things around your computer.

Which one? Well, for the main one at home... a wrist rest, a gecko toy-thing that a friend (he's since passed on, unfortunately) gave me, floppy disks, CDs, and lots and lots of manuals.

5. Name five things in your medicine cabinet.

acetaminophen, ibuprofen, sunscreen, decongestant, allergy medicine.

A Diocese of Tucson priest was sentenced to 5 years in prison for child molesting. I have to say, though, in reading the story there are some things that just don't seem to make sense. I pray that justice has been done.

Today we celebrate 25 years of Pope John Paul II's reign as Supreme Pontiff! Ad Multos Annos, Holy Father!

You can send anniversary greetings to the Holy Father here.

The Anglican Communion has met with the Archbishop of Canterbury. They've basically warned the Episcopal Church not to go forward with their planned ordination of a practicing homosexual as a bishop:

Therefore, as a body we deeply regret the actions of the Diocese of New Westminster and the Episcopal Church (USA) which appear to a number of provinces to have short-circuited that process, and could be perceived to alter unilaterally the teaching of the Anglican Communion on this issue. They do not.

They've posted the complete statement.

It appears the Florida courts have ordered Terri Schiavo to be starved to death. Please pray for her, her parents, and for life to be respected and the court decision overthrown.

Music for Mass
SSPP Latin Schola
Diocese of Tucson Red Mass

Prelude: Sicut Cervus (Palestrina)
I Have Longed For Thy Saving Health (Byrd)
Ave Verum Corpus (Mozart)
Alma Redemptoris Mater (Palestrina)
Gathering Song: God We Praise You (NETTLETON)
Penitential Rite: Kyrie (Chant Mass)
Responsorial Psalm: (OCP Respond & Acclaim)
Gospel Acclamation: Celtic Alleluia (Walker)
Intercessions: Oyenos Mi Dios (Hurd)
Preparation of the Gifts: All Good Gifts (Keil)
Holy,Holy: Mass of Creation (Haugen)
Memorial Acclamation: Mass of Creation (Haugen)
Great Amen: Mass of Creation (Haugen)
Our Father: (Traditional Chant)
Lamb of God: Agnus Dei (Chant Mass)
Communion: One Bread, One Body (Foley)
Tantum Ergo (St. Gregory Hymnal #242b)
Recessional: God Bless America (Traditional)

It was definitely a bit jarring to go from "One Bread, One Body" to "Tantum Ergo".

I've posted a kind of important personal reflection here on my skating blog. It's a reflection on the freedom that skating has brought me in my life.

Friday night I went to see Arizona Opera's production of The Pearl Fishers (Bizet). It was pretty good! The Arizona Daily Star gives it a pretty good review as well. It is a relatively obscure opera (i.e. your average Joe on the street has never heard of it) but it was well done and quite enjoyable. The first-act duet between Zurga and Nadir was particularly nice.

Of course I went to the UA football game yesterday, and again the Cats lost (24-21). I missed the first home game of the year, which turns out to have been the only one that they won. Still, in yesterday's game against UCLA the Cats played respectably, leading for most of the game and putting in a performance that was both fun to watch and encouraging. Star columnist Greg Hansen says, "On a night the Wildcats blew it, they made their first clear move toward respectability. "

Here are my Friday Five, right on time!

1. Do you watch sports? If so, which ones?

I watch almost no sports at all. The only sports I watch on TV are figure skating, and women's gymnastics (and away games of UA football). The only sport I watch live is UA football and the occasional Sidewinders baseball game.

2. What/who are your favorite sports teams and/or favorite athletes?

Of course, the UA Wildcats. Favorite athletes are Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen -- also Shannon Miller is very inspirational. On the male side, Tedy Bruschi was an awesome, awesome defensive player for UA, and I really admired QB Keith Smith.


3. Are there any sports you hate?

Not that I hate. There are many sports I refuse to watch, though, with golf being on the top of the list. There are few sports that I wouldn't play at, say, a picnic.

4. Have you ever been to a sports event?

I have season tickets for UA football. I've also been to a 49ers game with my dad a long time ago.

5. Do/did you play any sports (in school or other)? How long did you play?

I never played any sports in school. I am learning to figure skate, as readers of my skating blog know.

Robert Cringely has a good column on identity theft, privacy, and how we can improve our security and safety by going back to being a tribe. Check it out! Cringely is almost always a good read.

In an important ruling, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled against a challenge to the state law reserving marriage to one man and one woman.

Check out this cool post by Fr. Rob Johansen on his experiences both receiving and administering the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Thank God for priests like for Fr. Rob!

A nice article in today's paper on Tucson's observance of the Year of the Rosary.

Good grief! It looks like Arnold is going to win the California governorship... well, they get what they deserve I guess. At least he's not eligible to be President!

Okay, it's late, but here's my Friday Five:

1. What vehicle do you drive?

A '97 Mazda 626 (burgundy). I bought it used. It was hard to find since I wanted a car with a stick shift. I like it a lot.

2. How long have you had it?

Since June of '99 (a bit over 4 years).

3. What is the coolest feature on your vehicle?

That would have to be the "Swing" button. "Swing" mode means that there are little motors that move the AC vents in the dash so that the air stream coming out of them swings back and forth.

4. What is the most annoying thing about your vehicle?

Alas, it would appear that I got a defective paint job since the paint on my hood (at least) is "crazing". It's too bad. Apparently the only fix is to strip it down to actual bare metal and repaint, which is much more expensive than a standard paint job.

5. If money were no object, what vehicle would you be driving right now?

Hmm. I like the new Mazda 6 that's out. My friend Maria has a Volvo S60 that's pretty nice -- sporty and very comfy at the same time. And of course it would be fun to have the red '72 Alfa Romeo Spyder (if money really isn't an object).