Wednesday night I attended the last of the 3 Portland Symphonic Choir Summer Sings. This one was less well attended than the previous two, but still a good crowd. We sang:

• Ralph Vaughan Williams, "In Windsor Forest" (skipped one movement)
  
• A Brahms selection
• Haydn, "Mass in Time of War" (up through the Credo, I think)
• Ralph Vaughan Williams, "Dona Nobis Pacem"

The Dona Nobis Pacem is the reason I went. It's a beautiful, beautiful piece; the texts are some poems by Walt Whitman as well as some Biblical texts. I sang it with the Ventura County Master Chorale in the late 80s. It's one of the most moving pieces I know.

Today marks the 37th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing. It's sad to see how stagnant our space program has become -- so many hopes and dreams of those days are still unfulfilled.

Today was kind of a tough day. It was the anniversary of my brother Greg's death. My brother Gary had sent an email yesterday, sharing stories about Greg; I sent him some remembrances of my own. He was on my mind a lot today.

God works in interesting ways. One of them was that (just as last week) I attended the Summer Sing that the Portland Symphonic Choir has been sponsoring. Believe it or not, it wasn't until I got there that I realized that we would be singing the Mozart Requiem on this special day for me. I had to smile at the way God's plan works out sometimes. As it turned out, the Requiem was beautiful and really helped me be more at peace with Greg's loss.

Interesting quotes on abortion.... John Allen interviewed an Ugandan theologian, Fr. John Mary Waliggo, and got this excerpt:

What about abortion?
I identify with the victims of suffering, and no one is more speechless, more voiceless, more silent, than the unborn child. To me, it's like defending the blind. If I see someone attacking a blind person, I will beat him with a stick. This is my attitude to attacks on an unborn child too.

Maybe if we in the US were so committed we wouldn't have abortion in our society.

Local news makes national news -- a plane participating in the Oregon Air Show crashed as it was leaving for home. A house in Hillsboro (the town I work in) was destroyed, but it looks so far like the only casualty was the pilot.

It's been a fun weekend. Saturday morning we got Marie a car. It's a '97 Ford Taurus we got from an ad on Craigslist. It's a beautiful car! It's only got 68,000 miles and it's in immaculate condition. We bought it from a nice older professional couple. They were a real pleasure to work with. We had a mechanic check it out before we bought it and he concurred -- it's in great shape. It's a very pretty maroon color and it's got a 3.0L V6 -- Marie loves it.

Saturday night we went bowling with a bunch of friends and I had a lifetime best (I think) game of 119. I had two games where I actually managed to bowl back-to-back strikes! What a good feeling! Of course Marie bowled a 158 :-).

Intel is making news, but not in a good way. The company announced today that it's laying off 1000 managers.

July

July is a troublesome month for me. It's the month of my sister's birthday, and my stepmother's birthday, my Dad's birthday, and my brother Gary's birthday. It's also the month my mother died, and the month my brother Greg died. It's a difficult month.

Today's the 22nd anniversary of my mother's death. I miss you Mom, and I love you.

Happy Independence Day

I've had a quiet day. Marie is off visiting family so I'm by myself. I was off from working yesterday and today so it's a been a 4-day "mini-vaca". Nice! I've done some stuff around the house and just relaxed a bit.

It would appear that the wheels are already starting to fall off the Episcopal Church.

Thanks to Mark Shea for the link.

I went up to Intel's Dupont facility on Friday for work; it was a gorgeous day. I managed to get a tour of Intel's Remote Access cluster. Wow! For a hardware geek like me, it was very, very cool. Until you are face-to-face with it, it's hard sometimes to remember just how challenging it is to maintain a large (256-node) cluster, with accompanying fat network pipes, management overhead, etc. All in all they have a pretty large number of machines. It's very, very cool. I've not had so much fun since I got to tour the San Diego Supercomputer Center back in... 96?

On the way back I snagged a picture of Mt. Rainier from my camera phone:

First Things' Fr. John Neuhaus has some good insight into the recent dismissal of Robert Smith from the board of directors for the DC transit authority, and its implications for all who hold the traditional view of the morality of homosexual activity:

The removal of Robert Smith is thus an early-warning sign. Unless things change in ways now quite unforeseeable, it will not be very long before the principle of traditional Western morality that homosexual conduct is immoral will be contrary to the public policy of the United States. As this new public policy takes hold, it will filter through the law and society just as other anti-discrimination norms have. Adherence to the new policy will be a de facto requirement for holding public office, and, as private entities adopt the policy as they have other anti-discrimination norms, people adhering to the traditional moral view will become unfit to serve as directors of public corporations, as officers of professional associations, as union officials, and as university professors. Organizations that do not ascribe to the policy may lose government licenses necessary to carry on their business, become ineligible to receive grants and subsidies, and be disqualified from bidding on government and other contracts. Catholic Charities in Boston recently had to cease arranging adoptions because Massachusetts required that it not discriminate against same-sex married couples in placing children. Organizations not ascribing to the new policy may even lose tax-free status under the Internal Revenue Code to which they would otherwise be entitled. This happened to Bob Jones University because of its racist policies; there is no reason why, a few years hence, the same thing could not happen to Notre Dame because of what will be called its homophobic policies.

Thanks once again to Mark Shea for the link.

It would appear that the Episcopal Church is giving the Anglican Communion the finger -- Episcopalians Reject Ban on Gay Bishops. It's too bad, but I guess it's the essence of Protestantism at work.

Thanks to Mark Shea for the link.

Fascists in Vegas -- not surprising, but still. Apparently speaking about Jesus is the equivalent of hate speech and won't be tolerated.

And apparently the Presbyterians are at it again.

Thanks to Mark Shea for the links.

So... lots of small stuff. Marie's parents are visiting. We took them to see "Nacho Libre" on Sunday... save your money! Marie's dad is even better than Marie at kicking my butt in Scrabble. We went to the nature park Friday evening, and saw some of the biggest and scariest slugs I've ever seen in my life. Okay, that's not why we went, but it was definitely "memorable."

Sunday was Father's Day. We took Marie's Dad and her friend Rob (both dads) out to dinner to celebrate. I had a chance to call my own Dad and talk to him a bit and wish him the sentiments of the day. It was good to talk to him -- he was having brunch with my brother Gary.

Happy Flag Day!

It's a grand old flag.

An interesting piece from Nat Hentoff, The Devaluing of Human Life. How sad that a 9-year-old can see what so many cannot.

Thanks to Mark Shea for the link.

So Marie and I went to get new phones on Friday. We have a shared-minutes plan now so we can call each other for free, etc. It's pretty neat. Marie got an LG Fusic LX550 phone, it's uber-cool. I got an LG 350, it's pretty neat too -- Bluetooth-enabled, has a camera, etc., etc. And of course it was pretty inexpensive since I've been a Sprint customer for a long time. Best of all I can get a 15% discount since I'm an Intel employee. Yay!

The hard thing, though, was that I had to transfer all my phone entries to the new phone manually, deleting them as I went so I can donate the phone. In doing so I came across my brother Greg's entry... having to delete it brought it all back to me. It's not even been a year since his death, and I miss him more than words can say.

Congrats to the amazing University of Arizona® Wildcat softball team, who won their 7th national title! Way to go ladies, you make all us Wildcats proud!

I've been getting into podcasts lately. There are a number of interesting Catholic podcasts, especially. Perhaps the most interesting/unusual one I've come across so far is Francis Cardinal Arinze's podcast. I've only listened to one Arinze podcast so far, but it was fascinating. The man is amazing.

Some other worthwhile podcasts I've come across:

• Catholic Exchange's Rock Solid with Mark Shea
• Heart Mind and Strength Radio
• The Weekly Roman Observer

Check 'em out.

An interesting article from Wired -- Don't Try This at Home. The dumbing-down continues apace -- no wonder America is getting beat in the sciences.

My former bishop, Bishop Kicanas, is opposing a multi-tiered Internet in his role as chair of the US CCB communications committee. Way to go Bishop!

BBC reports that a sleeping pill may have a positive effect on patients diagnosed with PVS. If this tells us anything, it's that we have very little understanding of how the brain really works.

A friend sent me a link to the New Yorker's review of Da Vinci Code. It's pretty hilarious. Here's a taste:

Our hero, needing somebody to trust, does the same dumb thing that every fleeing innocent has done since Robert Donat in “The Thirty-nine Steps.” He and Sophie visit a cheery old duffer in the countryside and spill every possible bean. In this case, the duffer is Sir Leigh Teabing (Ian McKellen), who lectures them on the Emperor Constantine and the Council of Nicaea, in 325 A.D. We get a flashback to the council in question, and I must say that, though I have recited the Nicene Creed throughout my adult life, I never realized that it was originally formulated in the middle of a Beastie Boys concert.

So Da Vinci Code opened Friday night. I've not seen it and don't intend to. Check out Steve Greydanus's review here. A great quote:

Is The Da Vinci Code anti-Catholic? Well, if it isn’t, then we must simply conclude that no such thing as anti-Catholicism exists, or at least that no anti-Catholic movie has ever been made. I can think of religiously themed films more profoundly oppressive to Catholic sensibilities (e.g., The Last Temptation of Christ), and more searing indictments of corruption and abuse within the Church (e.g., The Magdalene Sisters). But The Da Vinci Code may be the most systematic and sustained cinematic debunking on the institutions of Catholic Christianity and the Catholic Church that I’ve ever seen. That it is risible and dim-witted doesn’t make it less disgusting.

I also heard Steve interviewed and he is, as usual, right on. I love this anecdote (the 2nd young man is Mark Shea's son, apparently):

Catholic writer Mark Shea tells an anecdote about a college bull session among students at Central Washington University over The Da Vinci Code. “Even if it’s just fiction,” a student opined, “it’s still interesting to think about.”

To which another student replied: “Your mother’s a whore.” And then, to the first student’s stunned incredulity, he added, “And even if that’s just fiction, it’s still interesting to think about.”

Another one comes home. Apparently Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue, became a Catholic this Easter.

Thanks to Mark Shea for the link.

This is sad on so many levels -- the CDF has asked Fr. Maciel, founder of the Legionaries of Christ, to withdraw from public ministry due to allegations of abuse against him. Here's the NCR article, and also commentary from canon lawyer Ed Peters.

Thanks to Catholic Light for the links.

Word from home is that the RTA initiative passed. This is really good news for Tucson, as the RTA will be able to raise and spend $2.1 billion for transportation and transit in Tucson and Pima county. The money was sorely needed.

I finally, finally got around to getting an Oregon driver's license today (it's about time!). Unlike my AZ license, which would have expired in 2023, this one will expire on my birthday in 2014.

I got a 93% on the test (missed 2 out of 30). The picture is... acceptable.

A friend sent me a link to this interesting article on the implications of same-sex marriage on religious freedom -- Banned in Boston.

The second page, especially, addresses a number of interesting questions. Check out this quote:

Sexual harassment law as an instrument for suppressing religious speech? A few days after I interviewed Stern, an Alliance Defense Fund press release dropped into my mail box: "OSU Librarian Slapped with 'Sexual Harassment' Charge for Recommending Conservative Books for Freshmen." One of the books the Ohio State librarian (a pacifist Quaker who drives a horse and buggy to work) recommended was It Takes a Family by Senator Rick Santorum. Three professors alleged that the mere appearance of such a book on a freshman reading list made them feel "unsafe." The faculty voted to pursue the sexual harassment allegation, and the process quickly resulted in the charge being dropped.

In the end the investigation of the librarian was more of a nuisance--you might call it harassment--than anything else. But the imbalance in terms of free speech remains clear: People who favor gay rights face no penalty for speaking their views, but can inflict a risk of litigation, investigation, and formal and informal career penalties on others whose views they dislike. Meanwhile, people who think gay marriage is wrong cannot know for sure where the line is now or where it will be redrawn in the near future. "Soft" coercion produces no martyrs to disturb anyone's conscience, yet it is highly effective in chilling the speech of ordinary people.

The US is in a strange place right now; in many ways conservatives and conservatism are ascendant, but the Left still controls the courts, which is why (for example) Planned Parenthood gets so excited about the Supreme Court -- they know they aren't likely to win in 50 state legislatures and the US Congress.

It's hard to know how it will all come out. Roe v. Wade is a precedent -- but so was Plessy v. Ferguson, and Dred Scott. Why is it in 1986 SCOTUS could rule that the state could outlaw sodomy, but in 2003 reverse itself? The culture wars show no sign of abating any time soon.

Yesterday when I left work I found out that Marie had gotten stuck with the car; the clutch went out on her. We wound up having to call a tow truck and get the car towed to the dealer to be looked at. Eeep! I've already sunk $ into the car last month, now more $. Sheesh.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Unfortunately here in Portland 5/5 doesn't seem to be a big deal, at least, no one has said anything to me all day... quite different from Tucson!

I don't know where this week went to... yesterday was Marie's birthday so I gave her flowers, a DVD of "Rent", some earrings, and took her shopping for a pair of pants. Tonight we are supposed to go out for sushi (her favorite meal, she's not had any in quite some time) and then maybe a movie.

Friday I went to Dupont for work. It was a beautiful, beautiful day. On the way back on the plane I could see Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Hood all at once. It was amazing and awe-inspiring.

Saturday Marie had a booth at the Medievel Faire at Pacific University. PU is in Forest Grove, a little town about 20 miles east of Beaverton. Forest Grove is a really charming little town, and PU is one of those stereotypical small liberal arts schools. It really looks like a dreamy place.

Today was an absolutely beyoooootiful day! It was so uplifting to be out in some sunshine. I took a trip up to Vancouver to skate, and I was blown away by the views of Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens, still snowcapped. Vancouver is also a hot destination for me since it's the home of the nearest Wienerschnitzel! I'd not been to a Wienerschnitzel since I left Tucson, and I was really jonesing for a chili-cheese dog. Ahhhh, it was soooo good!

Happy 80th birthday Queen Elizabeth!

When I read stuff like this, the 1/4 of me that's English feels a distinct twinge. I'm proud to be an American (where at least I know I'm free), but England (really, more, the idea of England) is a grand and glorious thing.

Happy Easter!

I just got home from the Easter Vigil at my new parish, St. Cecilia's. It was a glorious celebration -- 2.5 hours long, 11 baptisms, 23 confirmations... the music was wonderful.

It was the first time since... 1993? that I was "just" a member of the congregation. It felt strange, and made me very homesick for SSPP. To hear the Litany of Saints and not be the one singing it... to not have a role to play, and to not be surrounded by the people I'd come to know so well at SSPP... it made me very sad. Perhaps, though, it's good for me to be humbled in this way, and to remind myself what it's really all about.

I had to go up to Dupont, WA yesterday for work (up and back), then got home just in time to barely make it to Holy Thursday Mass at St. Cecilia's.

It was a beautiful Mass. The church was jam-packed; the music was beautiful; it was good to be there. After Mass the Eucharist was removed to the altar of repose, across the street in the parish center. I stayed for a few minutes to contemplate my life and thank God for the many ways He's blessed me, and to ask for His help and guidance.

Here's a cool article about Condi Rice, amateur pianist. It's always encouraging to see people of importance who value and love music.

Thanks to Catholic Light for the link.

Help For We Crafts-Challenged

Just in the nick of time, help for those of us who are just plain bad at arts n' crafts. Fish Eaters has a handy diagram (scroll down) explaining how to make your palm into a cross. I'll have to give this a go as soon as I get home.

"All New"

Just a brief rant -- why do TV show previews say "all new"??!! Why not just "new"? Are there some airings that are not "all new" but are "partly old"? C'mon, really!

Ed Peters has a really good post about the current brou-ha-ha that I'd missed with the SF City Council's anti-Catholic resolution. Check it out. It's ironic and rather amusing that a group that undoubtedly prides themselves on their "tolerance" are so intolerant of others' religious beliefs.

Eeep! My car is in the shop today. My clutch has been acting very alarming -- very squishy. If I'm lucky it's just in need of a good bleeding of the clutch master cylinder. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if my master cylinder is leaking. I just pray I don't need a whole new clutch. This one only has 50K miles on it and I wouldn't have thought it would need work. This stuff makes my stomach churn -- it's really hard to wait for the phone call letting me know just how much it's going to cost when I'm sure it's likely to be a lot more than I really can afford right now. *sigh*

Random techie/geek stuff --

• An interesting article on the Ph.D. glut. A lot of what North says is definitely true in my experience. I have a number of friends who went through grad school; most of them were frightfully smart but maybe 50% are actually in tenure-track positions at universities. An acquaintance got her Ph.D. in astronomy and is now in aerospace; another took 12 (!) years to get his Ph.D. in physics and is now working at Raytheon. The list goes on...
• From Slashdot, a cool discussion about this article on Intel's new Core architecture. I work at Intel but I don't work on this stuff and I don't have any inside info (couldn't share it if I did, anyway). I just find it fascinating how much CPU architecture has advanced. I took an architecture class in 1984 or whenever, and a year's worth of parallel processing architecture in 1994ish. This stuff is just... out there. Sheesh.
• Also from Slashdot, more discussion on Apple's boot loader that lets you load and run Windows on Intel Macs. There are a lot of interesting ramifications of this... will Apple sell more hardware from people who want cool, stylish, well-built Apple hardware to run Windows? Will people make use of this cool technology to use virtualization to run Windows AND Mac OS at the same time?
  

Java 1.5 for FreeBSD!

Wooohooo! The FreeBSD Foundation has finally managed to make a certified compatible Java implementation available, running on FreeBSD 5.4 and 6.0. This is going to do great things for FreeBSD.

I've been watching the CNN special on the last days of John Paul II. It's very moving. I was especially struck by the interview with Francis Cardinal George, where he describes how the cardinals accompanied the body of the pope down into the crypt where it would be buried. Here is a prince of the Church, an accomplished man, and yet when he describes that moment, he tears up and almost can't go one for a moment. It made me tear up, too, as I remembered that time, and how blessed we all were to have lived in the time of John Paul the Great.

Here's the text once again of then-Cardinal Ratzinger's homily.

Happy April Fools Day!

On Thursday we Intel-ites were greeted with a wonderful early April Fools joke on the company intranet -- A match made (only) in cyberspace. I have to admit it took me about 3 minutes into the video before I figured it out. It was good! I really like that even a big company like Intel can have fun in this way.

I guess I'm still asleep at the switch -- apparently Pope Benedict has renounced the papal title "Patriarch of the West". See Edward Peters's excellent commentary.

I was reading an article about persistence in prayer, and I recalled that tomorrow is the anniversary of Terri Schiavo's deathmurder.

I, like many at St. Blog's, prayed and supported Terri's fight. Nevertheless, despite the prayers of so many, she died. It's easy to be discouraged at such a horrific outcome, and to wonder whether God is listening, whether God heard our prayers or not. After all, so many worked so hard, and her family and friends suffered so much, seemingly to no avail.

I became convinced, though, that it wasn't for nothing. Terri's suffering and that of her family and friends will make a difference, I think. The extraordinary (and truly unprecedented) lengths that so many went to to try to save her life would not have happened were it not for prayer. The public visibility and the questions and discussion that were sparked will, I'm convinced, be used by God for His means in the long run. It's up to us who remain to be faithful, to continue to pray and to work.

I was in a bookstore on Tuesday night and saw, on the same table, the Schindler's book about Terri and Michael Schiavo's book. What a strange juxtaposition! Fr. Frank Pavone has written a very moving open letter to Michael Schiavo. May God have mercy on Michael Schiavo; I pray that he will repent of his actions.

Happy Birthday Jeanetta!

A happy birthday to the lovely Jeanetta, who turns the big 2-4 today! Sheesh J, yer gettin' old! :-)

I got to see "V for Vendetta" on Friday with Marie ... it was fun, albeit a bit too reminiscent of "1984". Check out the Wildcat's review -- 'Vendetta' brings summer fun in spring.

Bwahahaha! Check out this series of emails between an incompetent city manager and CentOS tech support. I found this particularly amusing since I just installed CentOS 4.3 (which rocks, btw) over the weekend and enabled Apache so I saw the test page myself.

Thanks to Slashdot for the link (see the Slashdot discussion as the geeks rip this guy a new one).

A nice article on Yahoo on Pope Benedict's first consistory.

Last night I had my audition with the Oregon Chorale. The audition began at 6:45 and looked like this:

• vocalizing. I don't know what my top end was but I bottomed out at an E-flat which is better than I expected.
• audition piece. They had asked for something that I could sing a capella, which took out most of the pieces I would ordinarily sing for an audition. I wound up singing the chant Gloria. It went well. After I sang about halfway through it, he stopped me and asked me to make some changes -- flipping my "r", adding some dynamics, etc. All very simple. I think he wanted to see how well I could make changes (how flexible I am) and whether I could institute things like that on the fly.
  
• tonal memory. The usual "sing this 3-note pattern back to me." I did okay, I guess.
  
• sightsinging. A relatively simple piece, just a page or so of an easy song. No complicated rhythms and it was in C. Still I did just okay.

After the audition I waited around for 20 minutes or so and then got to sit in on a rehearsal. It was a lot of fun! We worked through two pieces that were new to the group, a piece by Z. Randall Stroope and a spiritual by Moses Hogan. Besides giving me a feel for the group I assume I was being observed for how I participate in rehearsal. Hopefully I behaved myself :-).

After the rehearsal I handed my music back and asked him when I would hear from him. He reiterated that they were full up for the next (final) concert of the year but that I'd hear from him (which is what I expected him to say). So clearly it was not a case of I'm so wonderful he's going to put me in right now because he has to have me :-). It was fine though. I really enjoyed my experience and hopefully I'll get to sing with them in the fall.

The Catholic Butts continue apace. You know them, the ones who say "I'm Catholic, but..." where the "but" is always some rejection of the Church's teaching.

The particular manifestation I'm referring to is the continuing effort by some "Catholic" politicians to identify themselves as Catholic but then proudly proclaim their support for abortion. 55 Catholic politicians signed the "Statement of Principles" which will presumably assist St. Peter in sorting out their destiny when he meets them... the US Bishops responded with yet another "Statement on Responsibilities of Catholics in Public Life" that will be ignored by almost everyone. It's sad.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I am not Irish at all, but like many Catholics in America I've been blessed with a number of good Irish priests in my life... so.. Fr. Charlie, Fr. Cyprian, Fr. Todd, and all the ones I can't remember -- thanks for leaving your beloved homeland to minister here in America. May St. Patrick win special graces for you on this day!

The Archbishop of Portland, and the Bishop of Tucson, have both dispensed their flocks from abstinence today in honor of St. Patrick and the contributions of Irish-Americans to the Faith in America.

I went to an Oregon Chorale concert on Sunday. It was pretty neat. I have an audition with them on Monday -- although they don't currently have any openings for basses, so I'll be on the waiting list. I was on the waiting list for Lane Justus Chorale for 5 years before there was an opening! It's a good sign, though -- it means they have low turnover and that's always a sign of a good group, with committed singers and some esprit de corps.

I'm a bit nervous though -- I've not done much singing at all since Christmas and I'm worried I'll biff my sightsinging, not to mention finding some music to sing amidst the boxes!

Sorry to be so chatty today, but had to blog this article from CNN.com -- Stunning views, but watch out for cacti. A nice little article about my hometown!

I've decided that the simplest way to identify where I'm "from" is to say that my birthplace is San Francisco, but my hometown is Tucson.

Somewhat relatedly to the post below, people are starting to wake up to the news that the Left is contracepting itself out of existence -- see The Liberal Baby Bust and also The Return of Patriarchy.

Thanks to Mark Shea (and a Mark Shea commenter) for the links.

My friend Gabe sent me this article, Wanted: Pro-Life Democrats. It's a good article with much food for thought.

I am a pro-life Democrat (PLD). This position is often incomprehensible to others, be they of the Left or the Right. My conservative friends, many of them Catholic, can't comprehend how I can be a member of a party that practically makes a sacrament of abortion. My liberal friends (mostly not Catholic) can't understand how I can agree with them on so much but be so firmly against abortion.

Abortion strikes at the heart of America, and makes us reflect on eternal questions: who is a human being? Who has rights and who doesn't? When is a person a person?

Horton the Elephant said, "a person's a person, no matter how small." That simple wisdom escapes many in our society today, who are so firmly convinced that an unplanned pregnancy means the death of a woman (I have actually heard this opinion espoused) that they refuse to even consider that the object of their attention is a person, albeit a very small one.

The Democratic party that I grew attached to as a young child was made of people like John F. Kennedy (who died when I was 10 weeks old) and Hubert Humphrey -- people who fought for the rights of others, especially the weak and the most vulnerable. Somewhere in the 70s, though, the Party abandoned the unborn -- the most weak and vulnerable imaginable. In Isaiah 49:, God says, "Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you." When I first heard those words I thought they were hyperbole. Then I learned what abortion was, what it really was, and discoverd that mothers (and fathers!) can indeed be without tenderness for the child of their wombs.

A friend responds to the criticism, "Don't like abortion? Don't have one!" with the statement, "Don't like slavery? Don't own slaves!". This is very apt, because it identifies a core issue for many pro-lifers -- the refusal to see the humanity of the unborn. On the other hand, others have argued (persuasively, I think) that many fail to see the humanity of the unborn not due to hardness of heart but due to the issues raised in this article, Abortion: A Failure to Communicate. This article identifies the very issue I mention above, that some women see an unplanned pregnancy as the equivalent of death.

I never understood how NARAL, Planned Parenthood, et al. can be so concerned about the possibility of Roe v. Wade being overturned by SCOTUS. Then I realized it's because they don't really believe their own rhetoric. If they really believed that the American people wanted abortion, they would not care about the Supreme Court because legislators everywhere would bow to the will of the people and make it legal by an exercise of the legislative function. The fact is that while Americans are very ambivalent about abortion, they certainly don't support it being as widely available as it is now.

Abortion as an issue has never gone away because no consensus was ever reached on the subject. It was legislated by the court, not by the legislature or the people.

Okay, more fun stuff... came across this post of Penzance Parodies over on Basia me, Catholica sum**. I particularly enjoyed this one:

I am the Very Model of a Modern Vicar-General

from the Penzance Codex of St. Gilbertus of Sullivan
translated by Matthew of the Holy Whapping and Lauren of Cnytr

I am the very model of a modern vicar-general,
I've information liturgical, ecclesial and clerical,
I quote the Popes of Latium and councils ecumenical,
From Chalcedon to Vatican, with subjects esoterical.

I'm very well aquainted too in matters sacramentical,
I know the sin occasions both the distant and proximical:
About the Nicene Credo, I'm teeming with a lot of views:

(Views...views...views...ahahaaa!)

With many complex facts about the substance Homoousios!

Chorus of Seminarians: With many complex facts about the substance Homoousios,
With many complex facts about the substance Homoousios,
With many complex facts about the substance Homoousi-ousios!

I've very good recessional, antiphonical canticles,
I know the secret names of all the Jesuit conventicles,
In short in matters liturgical, ecclesial and clerical,
I am the very model of a modern vicar-general!

Chorus of Seminarians: In short in matters liturgical, ecclesial and clerical
He is the very model of a modern vicar-general!

I know salvation history, King David's and the Sampson locks,
I answer hard sed contras, and own a pair of scarlet socks.
Respondeo dicendum every Vatican concilius,
All liturgics I can celebrate in Romanist basilicas.

I can tell undoubted Augustines from Bossuets and Zwinglians,
I know a Sarum Epiklesis and excommunicate the Arians,
Then I can hum the Sanctus if I've heard the mode ex nihilo,
And sing in tono recto Pax Domini cum spiritu tuo!

Chorus of Seminarians: And sing in tono recto Pax Domini cum spiritu tuo,
And sing in tono recto Pax Domini cum spiritu tuo,
And sing in tono recto Pax Domini cum spiritu tuo!

Then I can write encyclicals in a monastical scriptorium,
And pontificate the meaning of St. Paddy's grand loriculum,
In short in matters liturgical, ecclesial and clerical
I am the very model of a modern vicar-general!

Chorus of Seminarians: In short in matters liturgical, ecclesial and clerical,
He is the very model of a modern vicar-general!
In short in matters liturgical, ecclesial and clerical
He is the very model of a modern vicar-general!

I'm sending it to Fr. Van.

**For those whose Latin is lacking, I believe this is "kiss me, I'm Catholic."

Bwahaahaha! Check out The ten step Marty Haugen song writing program. Okay, it's a little mean but it's funny!

A tip o' the hat to Mark Shea for the link. He's in a pledge drive so throw a buck his way, eh?

A Winter Wonderland

It's snowing today. It actually started snowing late last night (around midnight), big fluffy flakes. It didn't snow a lot last night but it stuck. As I was going to work this morning it was snowing pretty hard but the streets were clear.

I'm sorry I've been so out of action on the blog here! Life has been keeping me pretty busy. I had wanted to comment on B16's new encyclical and some other stuff I can't even remember now.

Apparently South Dakota has now banned abortion in most cases. This will be an interesting test in many respects. Unfortunately I'm not convinced that even the current Supreme Court will uphold this law. We'll see.

Yes, I'm still alive.

My apologies for the gap in posting. There have been a lot of things I'd like to comment on but not really enough time. I wanted to comment on Pope Benedict's new encyclical, and some world events that I can't even recall now, alas.

I've been in Portland a little over a month now. Whee!

From Karl Keating's newsletter today (if you don't subscribe, you should!):

UPS AND DOWNS IN MEMBERSHIP

If you were a member of the Disciples of Christ Church, you would not find the latest statistics consoling.

In the last forty years your denomination lost 57 percent of its membership (more than 1 million people), doing even worse than the Presbyterian Church in the USA, which lost 44 percent (1.8 million) and the Episcopal Church, which lost 35 percent (1.3 million). In fact, all of the mainline Protestant churches have seen a precipitous decline in membership.

That decline has been offset by big increases for more conservative denominations. The Assemblies of God gained 2.2 million members, for a 377 percent increase, and the Southern Baptist Convention gained 5.7 million for a 53 percent increase.

The biggest gainer of all in terms of head count has been the Catholic Church, up by 21 million members for a growth of 45 percent.

That's got to be one of the most under-reported stories there is.

To subscribe to Karl Keating's E-Letter, send an e-mail to eletter@catholic.com.

Portland Impressions

So now that I've been here a while... some impressions of Portland:

• It's definitely wet! For the first two weeks we were here it rained pretty much every day for at least a while. This week has been somewhat dry and the sun has come out, which has been really nice.
• It's cool. Not really that cold. It's only been below freezing a couple of times, but it never really warms up either. It's like Tucson on a cold winter day, it's just that it's that way all the time.
• It's green. For some reason I expected that in winter it wouldn't be green, but for whatever reason, there's green grass all over the place.
• Beaverton, in particular, is a strange mix of rural and suburban life all together. It's pretty obvious which parts of the town were built when, and the mix is rather jarring in places.

I rode the MAX (light rail) home from work today. Pretty nice, actually. There's a shuttle from work to the MAX station, and then it's a 15 minute ride from Hillsboro to the MAX station near the house. Marie picked me up at the station which is probably 1.5 miles from the house. It's $1.65 each way. Intel subsidizes MAX monthly passes so I'll probably get one.

On the negative side is mostly that I get tired of the cold and the wet. Intel is great; the people are really nice and the work is interesting.

Collegium Concert

Alas I won't be there to sing, but there's a nice article in the Wildcat on the upcoming Collegium Musicum concert. If you're in Tucson, you should go -- it should be a really good concert!

So yesterday was the 20th anniversary of the Challenger disaster. There's a pretty cool article on MSNBC, 7 Myths about the Challenger shuttle disaster.

When the Challenger exploded I had just started my first job post-college, working for the Navy. One of the people in the building had a radio on and heard the news and so we all heard. It was very sad. It's still sad. For a long time I had a picture of the Challenger crew (I think I sold it or gave it away at the yard sale) -- their faces so full of hope and promise. Rest in peace, Challenger!

New Home, New Job

I'm alive :-). After a hectic (but well-attended!) Load-the-Truck party on Sunday 1/15, we got the house all cleaned up and ready to go on Monday 1/16. Tuesday morning we hit the road in the 24' truck towing a car carrier with Marie's truck on it and Marie drove my car. We drove up to Chandler and had lunch with my Dad and stepmom and brother, then continued our journey to Las Vegas. After a slight misstep taking the Hoover Dam bypass we arrived in Vegas around 8 p.m. We dropped off Marie's truck and put my car on the carrier.

Wednesday morning we left Vegas and spent a very looooong day on the road, taking I-15 down to the 58 highway, then taking 223 over to I-5 and up I-5 all the way to just north of Sacramento. The drive on 58 was bizarre, a bit -- I'd never been that way. There's a whole lot of nothing up there and it's a little eerie. 223 is a little 2-lane road that takes you over the mountain and down into the central valley of California. It was a neat little drive. I-5 is... I-5. Long. Straight. Dull, but efficient.

Thursday we drove up to Portland (Beaverton, actually) on I-5 the whole day. It was a long drive through the mountains. Driving the truck was an adventure -- on some of the steep mountain grades we were laboring up the hills at 30 mph. Yech. Later it was driving in the dark and the rain with nasty glare from oncoming vehicles, and lots of hills. We got in around 9 or so and found a place to stay.

Friday we got up and went to look at apartments. I had seen a condo on craigslist that looked good, and after meeting with the landlady and seeing it I knew it was just right. It's 3 br, 1.5 bath, about 1000 sq. ft, and it comes with a washer/dryer and a 1-car garage. Perfect! And the price is right. The landlady (Josephine) is a really nice lady too, and let me move in the same day in spite of my out-of-state checks.

Over the weekend we got all the stuff out of the truck (many thanks to Marie's friends, especially Rob!) and either into the house or the garage (we put a lot of boxes in the garage for now).

Monday was my first day at my new job. It's been a lot to learn but I'm really loving it so far at least. The people are really super. After work I come home and unpack and go shopping. The weather over the weekend was cool and rainy but the sun came out Monday afternoon and yesterday was just beautiful. So far things are going great!

Almost Out The Door

I'm in the final stages of the move. Been busy throwing out and packing up ... or is it packing out and throwing up? :-)

Marie's mom came out yesterday to help us pack -- what a Godsend! Today I had lunch with a bunch of former co-workers from NewMonics, Artisoft and STC. It was really great to see them. Tonight is a party with a bunch of friends, and then happy hour tomorrow with my newly ex-coworkers and friends. Saturday is dinner with my brother and sister, family friend Chris, Marie and her Mom. Sunday I pick up the truck in the a.m., then we have our load-the-truck party at 1 p.m. Monday the maid service comes to help clean, and we do our move-out inspection. Tuesday morning we hop in the truck and leave!

My home Internet access is going away tomorrow and tomorrow is my last day at work, so I probably won't be updating here for a couple of weeks or so. If you need me call my cell.

David Morrison has a pointer to a quiz on the Church's teaching on Same Sex Attraction (SSA). Take the quiz! Not to be boastful, but I got 100%.

Thanks to Mark Shea for the link!

CTAC

Tonight was my last meeting of the Citizen Transportation Advisory Committee (CTAC). I've been chair since Jan. 2005. Tonight's meeting was a tour of the Sun Tran facility. Some fascinating facts... Sun Tran has 189 buses; 92% of Sun Tran buses are alternate-fueled (CNG or biodiesel); 59% of Sun Tran operating funds come from the City's general fund. Farebox revenues only cover %19 of costs. And, best of all, Sun Tran was voted "America's Best" public transit system in 2005 by the APTA!

I was really impressed by the tour, and by what Sun Tran has been able to accomplish. They are really doing a lot (ridership continues to increase with no increase in service) with a little.

Yard Sale

Yesterday I held my first-ever yard sale. Marie and I worked like dogs to get everything ready (Marie worked SO hard, I can't describe). It was a big success as we managed to get rid of all sorts of stuff, including all the "big" items I was concerned about. There's still a fair amount of stuff left so we've put a "free" sign out -- but it doesn't look like any of it has gone :-(. We'll have to figure out how to get the stuff to Goodwill etc. this afternoon or tomorrow.

Tonight was my last time teaching RCIA. I discussed the sacraments in general, and then went on to discuss baptism and confirmation. I think it was a good class, but it was a little hard knowing I won't get to be with this class when they join the Church. I'll miss that, but I know they are in good hands.

Before class I was invited to dinner at the rectory, and had a chance to say goodbye to a number of priests that I've worked with -- Fr. Pat, Fr. Al, Fr. Van, and of course our pastor Fr. John. I was struck as always by the generous spirit these men have, and also pleased at the camaraderie they share. Good friends are especially important for diocesan priests, I think. I will miss them all a lot, but Tucson is lucky to have them.

We also had a brief RCIA team meeting to discuss who will do what in my absence. The team was very profuse in their praise and gratitude to me, and said some very kind words. I will miss them a lot too -- they are a great bunch.

I've been teaching RCIA for over 10 years now. I think I'll be grateful for the rest, but I sure will miss it too. It's been a wonderful, wonderful experience.

Happy New Year! Happy Feast of Mary, Mother of God!

Hope you all have a wonderful 2006, and a wonderful feast day of Our Lady.

I've made some resolutions for this year:

• Get off to a great start in my new job
• Be a good boyfriend to Marie
• Work on cutting my debt down significantly
  
• Get my Sk8rBase program to a 1.0 state
• And a host of skating-based resolutions on my skating blog

Leaving Tucson

I didn't want to blog about it until I'd put my notice in at work, but since I did that today... it's official. I'm going to be leaving Tucson. I've accepted a job at Intel in Hillsboro, Oregon (a suburb of Portland). It's a wonderful opportunity. I'm going to be an Interoperability Engineer in their Enabling Platforms and Services group -- testing the latest & greatest hardware/firmware. It's going to be a lot of fun. I really like the folks I'll be working with, the money is good, and there will be much better opportunities for advancement. There will also be much less stress and pressure. Marie will be moving with me and so our relationship is moving forward in a very positive direction. I'm very happy about that since I'm absolutely crazy about her :-).

Of course, having been in Tucson for 13 years, and having been an active member of the community and parish, I'm having to say a lot of goodbyes. It's sad. While I'm glad to know that people care and will miss me, I feel like I'm letting them down. I'm doing my best to hand off things and close out things as best I can. Between the various choirs and church activities, CTAC, work, all my friends at the rink, and of course my family and old friends here... it's hard.

My first day on the new job is Jan. 23rd; I'm leaving Tucson around the 17th or so depending. I'll be having a huuuuuge yard sale January 7th! Come take stuff off my hands!

A big Happy Birthday! to Colleen! She is 21 today.... oh, to be young again! :-) Have a good one C!

Wow! A belated Merry Christmas! to all! I sang for the 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Christmas Eve services, which were very joyous and fulfilling. Marie sang at the 8 p.m. as well and was drafted to sing a (brief) solo when the person who was supposed to sing it was sick at the last moment -- she did fine.

Christmas day we went up to Tempe to have Christmas day breakfast with my Dad, stepmother, nieces and nephew and my ex-sis-in-law. Afterward my Dad and stepmom and Marie and I went to see "Memoirs of a Geisha." I liked it a lot, but Marie and stepmom thought it was a bit slow in the middle.

The week before Christmas was marred by news of the death of an old friend, Steve Hickman, on the 22nd. I met Steve at Artisoft; he was in the QA department. Steve was a heck of a guy -- a very dry sense of humor, but behind the mask a very kind and caring man. He'll be missed.

Today was a very cool day. This evening was our 4th (?) annual Collegium caroling in Winterhaven. I started this back when I was in Lane Justus Chorale, and since the LJC was disbanded and we all started singing with Collegium, it's been that group plus friends etc. Tonight we were caroling for almost 2 hours and had a whopping 21 people show up!! Wow! It was a lot of fun, and we really sounded great. I often call this "geek caroling" since besides the carols we also do some nice 4-part stuff (Carol of the Bells, Coventry Carol, and the Victoria O Magnum Mysterium). It was awesome and we got a lot of compliments.

After caroling Marie and I went to see The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. We both really enjoyed it, and I thought it was very well done.

Apparently the Vatican has finally published the new document on homosexuals in the seminary. Our own Bishop Kicanas is one of the bishops designated to talk to the press. The Star has a very balanced story on it.

Check it out...

You scored as Roman Catholic. You are Roman Catholic. Church tradition and ecclesial authority are hugely important, and the most important part of worship for you is mass. As the Mother of God, Mary is important in your theology, and as the communion of saints includes the living and the dead, you can also ask the saints to intercede for you. Roman Catholic 100% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 71% Neo orthodox 71% Emergent/Postmodern 54% Charismatic/Pentecostal 36% Fundamentalist 32% Modern Liberal 25% Classical Liberal 25% Reformed Evangelical 14% What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com

Well, Thanksgiving went well. Had a nice time meeting Marie's parents and sister and uncle etc. Had a great Thanksgiving dinner. Marie and I went to see Rent on Thanksgiving evening -- it was terrific. Friday I had to watch the Wildcats lose a heartbreaker to Sata... er, ASU. *sigh*

Anyway, it was a good trip, but it's good to be home. Yea!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm off in just a bit, up to Tempe to visit my Dad and stepmom, then up to Vegas on Thursday morning for Thanksgiving with Marie and her family. This is my first time meeting Marie's family, so wish me luck!

Bwahahahahha! Okay, I know this intrastate rivalry is maybe a bit juvenile, but I had to smile when I read that UA fans painted ASU's "A' mountain red and blue. Way to go :-).

In other, stranger and sadder news... this case from Florida -- Fla. Teacher Pleads Guilty in Sex Case. Sad because she abused a 14-year old boy. Strange because the woman was a) a newlywed and b) stunningly beautiful. It's not like she couldn't have had any number of willing partners, so why a 14-year-old? And how could her marriage be so bad as for her to do this already?

I have been cleaning house and found this today:


Faith of our Fathers

The church spire silhouetted
In the lambent sunset
Thrusting to the sky its burden
Shouting to Heaven
"Credo."

I think it's from 1991.

A good article in today's Star on the importance of lay ministers in the Church today. Bishop Kicanas has headed the USCCB committee on this.

Red Rings of Wax

When I came home from work today, my copy of Marie's book was in the mailbox. Wow! It's so amazing to see this book that she has worked so hard to bring to fruition finally appearing in print. I am so proud of her, and happy for her. She's amazing.

Go buy a copy! It's only $11 and would make a great Christmas gift for the poetry-lover in your family. I do have to warn you that there are "adult themes" present -- it's not a book for children. But it is honest, and true, and heartfelt.

Here's a cool story on some good work by my company, Scientific Technologies. We've helped link Louisiana's immunization registry to our states so evacuees could have access to those records.

Hey, this is pretty cool -- Forbes and Yahoo are teaming up to form a virtual time capsule! Check it out, it's free so what's the harm? You've got until 11/30 to get your message into the time capsule.

Happy Veteran's Day!

Take a moment, if you can, to thank a vet. Their sacrifices need to be appreciated by all of us.

If I was ever in doubt that Tucson really loves the Wildcats, this excerpt from this week's Monday Memo by Bishop Kicanas should remove it:

"They Played Like Wildcats!" -- When I celebrated Confirmation at St. Thomas More Newman Center near the University of Arizona campus on Saturday evening, you could hear the crowds of people streaming from Arizona Stadium celebrating the Wildcats stunning victory against formerly unbeaten UCLA. Congratulations to Coach Mike Stoops and the players for a great victory!

Sad news -- the Paulist priests are pulling out of Tucson. They've run St. Cyril's parish for 30 years. The Diocese of Tucson has been hard-pressed for priests as it is and this won't help.

CNN reminds us it's been 30 years today since the Wreck of the Edumnd Fitzgerald.

The legend lives on from the chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called ’gitche gumee’
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of november turn gloomy
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
Than the edmund fitzgerald weighed empty.
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of november came early.

The ship was the pride of the american side
Coming back from some mill in wisconsin
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
With a crew and good captain well seasoned
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for cleveland
And later that night when the ship’s bell rang
Could it be the north wind they’d been feelin’?
The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the captain did too,
T’was the witch of november come stealin’.
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the gales of november came slashin’.
When afternoon came it was freezin’ rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind.

When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin’.
Fellas, it’s too rough to feed ya.
At seven p.m. a main hatchway caved in, he said
Fellas, it’s been good t’know ya
The captain wired in he had water comin’ in
And the good ship and crew was in peril.
And later that night when his lights went outta sight
Came the wreck of the edmund fitzgerald.

Does any one know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searches all say they’d have made whitefish bay
If they’d put fifteen more miles behind her.
They might have split up or they might have capsized;
May have broke deep and took water.
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.

Lake huron rolls, superior sings
In the rooms of her ice-water mansion.
Old michigan steams like a young man’s dreams;
The islands and bays are for sportsmen.
And farther below lake ontario
Takes in what lake erie can send her,
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
With the gales of november remembered.

In a musty old hall in detroit they prayed,
In the maritime sailors’ cathedral.
The church bell chimed till it rang twenty-nine times
For each man on the edmund fitzgerald.
The legend lives on from the chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call ’gitche gumee’.
Superior, they said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of november come early!

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the rest in peace.

Two short things -- first, a cool (to geeks like me anyway!) story on the new Boeing 777 attempting to set a record for longest nonstop unrefueled flight -- Hong Kong to London! That's 12,500 miles, or about 23 hours of flying time... wow! Very impressive.

The results of yesterday's Tucson City Council election are a bit surprising, at least to me -- Democrats swept the races, so Tucson now has 5 Democrats and an independent on the Council and a Republican mayor.

BWahahahaha! The Angry Twins bring us the Top Ten Changes a Catholic majority will bring to the Supreme Court. My favorite:

3) Supreme Court opinions will be deemed infallible and unreviewable by any earthly authority [Ed. - Sorry - that does not appear to be a change at all]

Thanks to Catholic Light for the link!

Whoa! Yale School of Music has received a $100 million donation that will enable them to make grad school tuition-free! That's terrific!

Wow, check this out -- Anne Rice has returned to the Church! God works in mysterious ways...

Today was our first Collegium Musicum concert of the year, a lecture recital by Lani Johnson. We performed Heinrich Schutz's Weihnacts-historie. This is a 17th century piece in German, an early oratorio-style piece. It was very cool! Besides singing in the choir I had a part in a bass quartet singing the high priests' parts. I did fine and was actually pleased with how I did.

More reaction to yesterday's Wildcat victory, from the Arizona Daily Star -- Confident Wildcats on 'whole other level' and Charles Durrenberger says the Wildcats had Total domination. There's an article about the crowd rushing the field -- Fans pay no attention. As usual Greg Hansen's column is entertaining:

Picture your best day of the year: The mail includes a notice from the IRS, detailing the $4,286 you have overpaid. The office phones with news that you have been recommended for a promotion, a raise and a Christmas bonus.

You meet your cardiologist at the golf course. He slaps you on the back and says "Mr. Stoops, the X-rays all came back negative. You don't have high blood pressure or a heart problem, after all. It was just some bad pizza."

Or, if you're an Arizona football player, the best day of the year is beating undefeated UCLA 52-14 the way the long-suffering Wildcats did Saturday.

I have to agree.

ARIZONA BEATS UCLA!!

Today's football game was an AMAZING upset! Arizona stomped all over 7-th ranked UCLA (previously undefeated), winning by a final of 52-14. It was a truly amazing, astonishing game. Arizona's defense was strong, shutting down UCLA's running game and most of their passing game. UA's offense came alive under Willie Tuitama's leadership, and kicker Nick Folk did a great job on the rare occasions he had to punt. He got a lot of practice at kicking off -- almost all of them went into the end zone.

It was a very convincing win and I'm sure the national press will be scratching their heads over this one. Check out Sports Illustrated -- Desert Blues.

In other news, my alma mater's legendary coach, Vern Friedli, and the Amphi Panthers came up with Friedli's 300th win. Congrats to all!

Wow, I had the strangest dream last night. I don't remember that much, but basically I had come home to my house, only it's not the house I have now. This house has a carport and I get the impression it's on a military base for some reason. Anyway I come home (I don't know how I got there) and my car looks different, like it's shorter. When I look closer I realize it's been hit from the side by some kind of impact and that makes it look shorter. But it's in the carport, so how could it have been hit?

I go in the door and there are people in my house stealing my stuff. I start yelling at them to leave but they don't, they just keep stealing my stuff and start yelling at me. I decide to call the cops so I pull out my cell phone and call 911 and ask them to send someone pronto because I am being robbed. I am wishing I had a cell phone with a camera because they are right there. I'm trying to memorize what they look like so I will be able to describe them later.

And then I wake up! How bizarre.