One Minute Theatre: Man on Bench

For this week's midday Wednesday edition of "One Minute Theatre" here at mwbh, we have a Momentum Films production -- no, I never heard of them either -- shot, edited, written, and directed by Brian Rowe, and starring Rachael Brook and Tony Wilson. It was created in the spring of 2005, for a 1-minute film festival competition, and won first prize.

Tony stars as a man who likes to keep still. Rachael stars as a woman who should have kept him that way.
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Plug This: And Sometimes Tea

Our "Plug This" series on the occasional Tuesday, is devoted to lesser-known figures in the Catholic blogosphere. You know, the ones which the mainstream Catholic print media misses while obsessing over the same two or three every chance they get.

The subject of this installment got its title from a line of Alexander Pope's The Rape of the Lock: "Here thou, great Anna! whom three realms obey, Dost sometimes counsel take -- and sometimes tea." I don't know what that means. But its author can tell you about herself if you ask her...

And Sometimes Tea

...and if you ask her, it will be thus:

I'm a homeschooling mom. No, I don't know any good crafts. Crafts at my house end with something glued somewhere it shouldn't be. All my art is abstract, if 'lumpy' is synonymous with 'abstract.' I write because...well, I like this quote from Mason Cooley, "Writing about an idea frees me of it. Thinking about it is a circle of repetitions."

What she wouldn't have told you, until less than a year ago, was her name. The writer formerly known as "Red Cardigan" has emerged as Erin Manning, a mother of three girls. She does not fit into the usual "mommy blog" category, which is what you'd honestly expect given the popularity of that niche.

This is why you probably won't see endless pictures of her children napping on the couch or doing something extremely cute. You won't read about what we used to call "female problems." (Deo gratias!) Not much in the way of recipes or how to get fussy children to sleep. But you will get the kitchen window's view of the world, and the events which shape it, through the focus of a Catholic lens. She is a regular feature at Creative Minority Reader, and she has also been a guest at Rod Dreher's Beliefnet blog with the silly name "Crunchy Con."

So, right now you're thinking, hey, Mister Black Hat Guy, this girl's got some game. What does she need with your small-potatoes endorsement?

And I say, hey, she doesn't show off about it. This gal's got class. That ain't bad.
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Beyond Sotomayor

Today was the start of confirmation hearings for Judge Sonia Sotomayor, as the next appointee to the U S Supreme Court. This piece is not intended as a complete run-down on the comings and goings. But there are a few matters that bear special attention.

Sotomayor was giving a lecture at UC Berkeley Law School in 2001, when she said:

"I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion [as a judge] than a white male who hasn’t lived that life."

She has subsequently stood by these remarks when pressed. The burden falls upon her to explain why one physiological trait makes one person a better judge than the next. She may also want to explain how this Republic got by for so long without one in particular.

That's not all she'll have to explain. Last month, "[t]he Supreme Court has ruled that white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., were unfairly denied promotions because of their race, reversing a decision that high court nominee Sonia Sotomayor endorsed as an appeals court judge."

We might be able to explain this, and other decisions of hers overturned by the High Court (and there were a few of them), by examining her view of the role of the courts. Based upon a speech given in 2005 at Duke Law School, this is most likely what she would tell us.

Um, all of the legal defense funds out there, um, they’re looking for people out there with court of appeals experience, because court of appeals is where policy is made. And I know, I know this is on tape and I should never say that because we don’t make law, I know. Um, um — [laughter] — I know. I’m not promoting it, I’m not advocating it, and, I’m … you know. [laughter]

Yes, it's hilarious, as long as you agree with every decision a despot makes. What recourse do you have if they do not? If you want to change the law, that is what your local elected representatives are for. If you don't like the way they make the law, you can vote them out. You can't vote a Federal judge out of office, you big dummy!

But some people who think pretty highly of themselves will be okay with it, just as other republics in ancient history were okay with dictators who placated them.

It doesn't necessarily end well, does it?

Recent decades of "legislating from the bench" have brought our system of jurisprudence, to the point which the Founding Fathers took great pains to avoid. It was their earnest objective, to develop a system of "checks and balances." The term itself is well-known; less well-known is why. Those who established our Republic wished to avoid placing too much power in the hands of too few. The lessons of a grade school civics class have been completely ignored for years, and are being ignored now.

So let's do something about that, and hear from someone already on the High Court.

This final clip is a one-hour interview conducted by Charlie Rose, with Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Put the lame caricatures aside about who's a "fascist" and who isn't, just long enough to learn something. (You might try looking up words in a dictionary before you go spouting them off, but I digress...) And when you do, something like this...

“I, [NAME], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as [TITLE] under the Constitution and laws of the United States. So help me God.”

...might take on a whole new meaning.

(STILL IMAGES: Copyright 2009 by Chris Muir. Used without permission or shame.)

[Yahoo! News has a rundown of the day's events, and a preview of the following day. Click here and here, respectively.]
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“I read the news today, oh boy...”

After a bit of a hiatus, an occasional feature is back.

• Yesterday, on NBC’s Meet The Press, senator and former Presidential candidate John McCain (R-AR) was able to cough up a defense of former running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. This includes the usual she’s-not-quitting-she’s-going-in-a-different-direction spin. Click here, and try to stay awake.

• Meanwhile, north to Alaska, the New York Times stays in business long enough, to report that the road to Palin’s resignation may have begun when she was first nominated. The piece cites “missteps and ignored advice” while also noting David Letterman’s completely tasteless sexual jokes about her 14-year-old daughter. (What? He meant the 18-year-old daughter? Gee, that’s different.)

• If you’re a Kennedy, and you can’t keep your mouth shut about Catholic teaching and practice, you can be recognized as an instant expert on the subject, no matter how ill-informed you truly are. This is how former Maryland Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend was able to claim, in a recent Newsweek article, that the President knows more about Catholics in America than the Holy Father, and could teach him a few things. Uh-huh.

• Charles Lemos of mydd.com wants an explanation: “Leon Panetta was sworn in as Director of the CIA on February 20, 2009. Why did it take four months for subordinates to inform the CIA Director of an on-going program?” Well, Chuck, first you gotta convince a guy who comes into a job thinking he knows all the answers before he’s asked all the questions, that you are worth a few minutes of his time. This involves, but is not limited to, getting through the people in his immediate circle. And to think it only took four months.

• On a more serious note, the Associated Press reports that a bank robber on parole, in Saginaw, Michigan, was caught with the goods, after he hitched a getaway ride with an undercover police detective. Maybe he didn’t have enough for a cab.

• Finally, WCBS-TV in New York City reports, that a 15-year-old girl fell into an open manhole on the sidewalk while text messaging. Because the workers failed to put up adequate warning signs and orange cones and the usual barriers, her family won a court settlement. The Moderate Voice says: “Yes, she should have had the common sense to be watching where she was walking, but the law is the law.” I gotta remember that the next time I'm texting my pals about what Bobby said to Suzie in the lunchroom when Timmy wasn’t looking. OMG!
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Hey, the zombies are here, and they want you for dinner!

My landlady in Georgetown was a bit of an oddball, but I loved her for it, and sometimes she made pretty good sense, like the time she told me: “When you're in a tug of war, try letting go of the rope, and watch where they land.”

There is a point where people feel comfortable with their presumption of intellectual prowess, such that they will expose themselves for exactly who and what they are. Earlier this week, we heard this little gem uttered by Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: “I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of.”

Keep in mind that in Germany of the 1930s, this would have referred to Jews. Justice Ginsburg is a Jew. Everybody with me so far?

Okay, now we have some guy named John Holdren, appointed by the President as Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, and Co-Chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. In short, the “science czar.” Holden co-authored a book in 1977 entitled Ecoscience: Population, Resources, Environment, he proposed a number of extreme dictatorial measures to control the growth of human population. This would include abortions by force, mass sterilization through the water supply, state-sanctioned abduction of babies to couples deemed more suitable, forced sterilization of “undesirables,” and a “planetary regime” employing the force of arms to carry out these and other measures.

Now, there are a few of you forward-thinking types out there who think I am making this up, or making a big deal out of nothing. Obviously, you can’t get enough of this stuff. In that case, click here for a little side trip into Zombieland. The rest of you can be assured, that those whose theories meander into the nether regions of thought, will eventually be known by their fruits. When the Final Judgment is rendered, the wheat and the chaff will be separated.

Until that happens, there are some great movies coming out in the second half of this year, that are sure to give you a sufficiently dystopian view of the future. Or you can wait around for the real thing, it’s up to you.

Meanwhile, here in real life, some people were obviously assuming they would make the cut. Others will place their bets on The Only One That Matters.

[CONTENT WARNING: Intense scenes in second clip.]
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The forecast is “Partly Cloudy” for tomorrow. What better occasion than to show this latest short film of the same name from Pixar? Actually, I stole this from Danielle Bean at the award-winning group-mommie blog “Faith and Family Live” where she wrote: “...as a mom who struggles to embrace some of the more ‘painful’ aspects of her vocation, the inspiring message behind this bitty film left me teary-eyed in the darkened theater.”

Now, don’t think for a moment that Mister Black Hat Guy never got choked up at the movies. Like when George C Scott recited poetry as General Patton. But enough about me. This is just the thing for our Friday Afternoon Moment of Whimsy.

The best part is, you can share this with the kiddies.
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One Minute Theatre: No Parking

In making the choice for this week’s edition of “One Minute Theatre” at mwbh, I was reminded of my experiences with parking here in the DC area. In Georgetown, you can actually rent a space to park your car -- it was just over a hundred bucks a month in the early 1990s -- while in my south Arlington neighborhood, some people drive in from the hinterlands to park along the street, without so much as a permit, and catch the express bus into town. In this beautifully rendered Cartoon Network clip, Frankie manages to stay occupied while Foster’s gang heads for fun and games.
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Change You Can Believe In

...whether you like it or not.

For all you granola-crunching, New-York-Times-reading, Keith-Olbermann-watching, socially-enlightened visionaries who picked the winner in the last election (and you know who you are, K.N.), the victory party is over, and the payment is coming due. It will start with your utility bills, which you can expect to nearly double in the next year.

(An attempt to refute the facts in the ad has failed. To read about it, click here.)

Even with the President admitting flat out, that electricity rates would "skyrocket" as a result of the "Cap and Trade" bill, Congressman Tom Perriello (D-VA) caved to pressure from both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue to support the bill. An advertisement that was supposed to run in a local Roanoke television station was (ahem!) refused, then run with some, er, uh, modification.

There was a number to call Tommy Boy to try to talk him out of it. Now that it's too late, his constituents can call the number to tell him he is an idiot. Or, maybe they should all send him copies of their electric bills every month, and write on each one: "This time last year, the amount was for..." and so on.

He might get the message, especially after they run his @$$ out of office when his term is up in 2010.

And for a bonus feature, we've got some Tea Party action from Austin, Texas this past weekend. One of the Republicans who jumped on the bailout bandwagon got a snootful from the crowd. The word is out on weasels on both sides of the aisle.

Send them a message. Leave no doubt.
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Sarah Coulda (Shoulda? Woulda?)

I have no respect for quitters. Me or anybody else, which is why I rarely do. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Me, I keep going.

For fifteen of my nearly twenty-nine years of Federal service, I worked for people who could never have attained equivalent positions in the private sector. Naturally, a guy who gets where he's going the old-fashioned way would have been seen as a threat, and they dug themselves the hole they thought they were digging for me. What's worse, is that they had people around them who actually knew this. All that changed about ten years ago, which is the only reason I still work at the same place.

I didn't have to defeat my enemies. I outlasted them. Perseverance is omnipotent.

When a star athlete likens the game they play to the game of life, they talk about keeping their eyes on the goal. They will depict their metaphors as they may. What they do not do, is mistake walking away from the game, with being part of a winning strategy -- not in the game, never mind in life. That is what is so confusing about Sarah Palin's resignation as Governor of Alaska. She can talk about the challenges ahead, even as she walks away from the one at hand. She can talk about the good she can do for her cause, which is fine as long as it can never be referred to as "lame duck." She can dress it up any which way but loose. But at the end of the day, when the score is tallied and the numbers are in, quitting is still quitting.

Some people are saying that Palin in finished in politics. Political consultant Mary Matalin (you know, the gal who married that Cajun yahoo James Carville) thinks it's some kind of brilliant move. But there's another problem with this. It has less to do with Sarah Palin. It has more to do with us.

It can be said that the mainstream media and the Hollywood elite bullied her and members of her family -- they wouldn't stop at her fourteen-year-old daughter, would they? -- to such an extent that it was no longer about the issues. (Betty White gets on a talk show and calls her a name. Film at eleven. You see what I mean?) Those responsible for being such cads for our amusement should be ashamed. Those of us who watch them on television, who read about them in the newspapers, should do well to put their feet to the fire. We should do it regardless of whose side we're on. If they can do it to them, they can do it to us. If they can do it to us, we can do it to them. What's left will never be about the issues.

Sarah Palin may have walked off the field too early. Maybe she'll make a Nixonian comeback and thus make history. But the American people threw in the towel long before that, when they let a bunch of cake-eaters on the news channels do their thinking for them.

Sarah Palin didn't let the team down. We did. We're the ones who vote.

[POSTSCRIPT: Ed Morrissey of Hot Air: "If all Palin wants to be is a speaker and activist, then her resignation as governor of Alaska won’t hurt her at all... If, however, Palin wants to pursue national office rather than just be an activist for the rest of her life, her resignation will prove a very messy hurdle."]

[ATTENTION PALINISTAS: Karl in the Green Room at Hot Air puts the spotlight on Ace of Spades' remarks. Pay attention to what both have to say about agreeing to disagree, and keep in mind what Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal once said, about the GOP having to be a party of ideas.]
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Obligatory Fourth of July Fireworks Thing

Tonight, some enterprising person managed to get this on YouTube, but Sal and I watched this display from the balcony of my office just west of the White House. It isn't something I get to do very often, especially with building restrictions after 9-11. But this year I got lucky. It also helped that I was able to drive into town and avail myself of the building's parking lot, what with nearly half a million people using the public transportation system and all.

For once, membership has its privileges.
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The House I Live In

I have been meaning to write about what I have seen in the news of late, but life and work have interfered. Where they do not, cynicism has taken over. So for today, this two-hundred-and-thirty-third anniversary of our Nation's declaration of independence, I decided to turn for inspiration, to one man who reminds me of what it means to be an American.

“The House I Live In” was a 10-minute short film, written by Albert Maltz and produced by Frank Ross and Mervyn LaRoy in 1945. It was intended to promote ethnic tolerance at the end of World War II. The film won an Honorary Academy Award in 1946, and the Library of Congress included it in the National Film Registry in 2007, for its great cultural significance.

But most important of all, it starred Frank Sinatra singing the title song. Who better to look to for inspiration on a day like today? With lyrics by Lewis Allen (aka Abel Meeropol) and music by Earl Robinson, the song became a national hit for Old Blue Eyes, who continued to sing it at Fourth of July tributes in the decades to come (including in this later clip with Neil Diamond).

And why not? For those of us who believe in America as a nation under God, it says it all. I won’t feel so cynical after this. If you listen closely, neither will you.

God bless America. HOO-rah.
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“Be kind to your web-footed friends, for a duck may be somebody's mother...”

This is sound advice for all occasions, especially if you are a duck. But for those of you who are not, today was sort of like a holiday. The mail was delivered, but the banks were closed, and Federal employees got the day off. The reason for the latter is, that Independence Day itself is tomorrow, and your dedicated civil servants are equally dedicated to getting their share of days off. (Admit it, you would be too.) Sal and I were invited to a pool party tonight to kick things off, and I got talked into that after I learned that Dikki Du and the Zydeco Krewe had their gig canceled in Laurel, Maryland. So, for this edition of the Friday Afternoon Moment of Whimsy, we give you something to show the kiddies.

Party on, kids.
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One Minute Theatre: Rewind

For this week’s edition of One Minute Theatre here at mwbh, we present a “one-shot” piece filmed entirely in reverse (well, almost) with mildly amusing results. It is written and directed by Fahim Kassam and Heather Murray, and stars Jeffrey Gerein.

The audio track is the tune “Cherry” by Ratatat. Don’t ask me why.
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Where have you gone, James Monroe?

The way it was explained to me was like this. The people of Honduras elected a new president, but the old one refused to give up his office. The national legislature supported the election, the highest court in their nation supported the election, but the incumbent refused to leave anyway, using the police or the military or enough people with guns to get his point across.

Until now, I was barely able to follow what was going on down there. Then I read where our nation's leaders called the election results "unconstitutional." Then I was even more confused. There has been some waffling on the part of the White House since then, some sort of posturing with Venezuela's leader, Hugo Chavez. Hopefully the Honduran people will not be looking to us for any further direction. As it is now, the American people can barely look to the mainstream media for whatever is going on down there.

The best source at the moment appears to be NetRightNation.

I'm not sure, but I don't think this is what they had in mind when a previous USA president formulated the "Monroe Doctrine," never mind when another USA president formulated the "Roosevelt Collorary," don't you think?

Or don't you?
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Peter and Paul

Here at mwbh, we have honored today's Feast of Saints Peter and Paul in various ways. Our personal favorite was in 2006.

Some other pairings of the saints’ names came to mind recently, as we shall explain.

"The expression 'rob Peter to pay Paul' goes back at least to John Wycliffe's 'Select English Works,' written in about 1380. Equally old in French, the saying may derive from a 12th-century Latin expression referring to the Apostles: 'As it were that one would crucify Paul in order to redeem Peter.' The words usually mean to take money for one thing and use it for another, especially in paying off debts," according to the "Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins" by Robert Hendrickson (Fact on File, New York, 1997) ".In 1546, it was included in John Heywood's collection of proverbs: 'To rob Peter to pay Paul.' George Herbert listed it in his collection (1640) as 'Give not Saint Peter so much, to leave Saint Paul nothing.' First attested in the United States in 'Thomas Hutchinson Papers' (1657). The proverb has its counterparts in other languages...

A later explanation attributes the saying to the 19th century, when the estates of St Peter's Church, in Westminster, London, were used to pay for the repairs of St Paul's Cathedral.

There may be a precedent.

It is a slow day in the East Texas town of Madisonville.

It is raining, and the little town looks totally deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt and everybody lives on credit.

On this particular day a rich tourist from the East is driving through town. He enters the only hotel in the sleepy town and lays a hundred dollar bill on the desk stating he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one to spend the night.

As soon as the man walks up the stairs, the hotel proprietor takes the hundred dollar bill and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher.

The butcher takes the $100 and runs down the street to pay his debt to the pig farmer.

The pig farmer then takes the $100 and heads off to pay his debt to the supplier of feed and fuel.

The guy at the Farmer's Co-op takes the $100 and runs to pay his debt to the local prostitute, who has also been facing hard times and has lately had to offer her "services" on credit.

The hooker runs to the hotel and pays off her debt with the $100 to the hotel proprietor, paying for the rooms that she had rented when she brought clients to that establishment.

The hotel proprietor then lays the $100 bill back on the counter so the Rich traveler will not suspect anything.

At that moment the traveler from the East walks back down the stairs, after inspecting the rooms. He picks up the $100 bill and states that the rooms are not satisfactory. He then pockets the money and walks out the door and leaves town.

No one earned anything. However the whole town is now out of debt, and looks to the future with a lot of optimism.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is how the United States Government is conducting business today.

Maybe the appearance of effectiveness is what makes this solution so attractive, don't you think?

Or don't you?
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Today, the House of Representatives had a moment of silence, to honor the death of Michael Jackson. I‘m not even sure they did this for Elvis. I suppose that‘s what bothers me the most about it. And on that note, this week‘s edition of the Friday Afternoon Moment of Whimsy takes a look at how these geniuses might deal with a national health care system.

By the way, we here at mwbh would love to hear from both our British and Canadian readers, about the respective programs they have in place. What does your experience tell us about what we in the States could expect from a similar plan? We have heard good things about one of them. The other, well, not so good.

Well?
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Remember, O man, thy death...

Jonah Goldberg of National Review Online writes:

Generally speaking, I’m a believer in the rule that we should not speak ill of the dead. Or at least we should wait a decent interval before doing so (if we never spoke ill of the dead, history would be meaningless). But, I must say I find the media’s instinctive rush to sanctify Michael Jackson disgusting.

So do I. May God have mercy on him anyway.

But wait, it gets worse. Much worse.

In the moments following Michael Jackson's death -- so many people rushed to the Internet, that it practically stopped the entire WWW in its tracks... The last time the 'net had this kind of traffic -- Obama's inauguration.

And now, back to our regular programming of The View, already in progress.
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The Voice of Neda

Much has already been written about Neda Agha-Soltan, the 26-year-old Iranian philosophy student in Tehran, who was shot to death last Saturday during rioting in the streets, in protest of national election results. The brief low-res cell phone video of her final moments has been seen on the internet all over the world.

Much has also been written about the response of the current Presidential administration, or the lack thereof, depending upon whom you ask. It has been said that our government has been playing Iran and Iraq against one another for over half a century. It has also been argued that America's vital interests in the region, which includes its stability as a means of international accord, demand a response.

Well, maybe so. But before we get caught up in the pouncing of pundits...

Consider what a former Speaker of the House, the late Thomas "Tip" O'Neill, once said: “All politics is local.” This sentiment has also been rendered another way: “Think globally. Act locally.” Some have already responded, by providing cyber-based conduits for the angry, honest citizens of Iran, to get their message out, past government censors and threats of retribution. (The family of this young girl has been barred from mourning her publicly according to Islamic law and custom. This from a nation that claims to govern under strict Islamic law.) If we are indeed a beacon of freedom in the world, we can make it possible for lovers of freedom to chart their own course, in helping them to help themselves.

I've asked Paul Alexander to provide information on how we can help.

so here's some info on how your more tech-savvy readers can make an impact on the situation in iran: set up a proxy server on their computer for iranian internet users who are being censored.

http://blog.austinheap.com/2009/06/15/how-to-setup-a-proxy-for-iran-citizens-for-windows/

[Please refer to the home page to stay current with further developments. -- DLA]

users should take a look at the comments section because of some issues with connectivity, but this is a good start. i was able to set it up on my computer with the help of a friend. in a situation where even 24 hour news outlets have basically become glorified twitter feeds with colorful commentary, this is a way that americans can make a positive impact by helping to get the word out.

*p

Neda is a Persian name that translates variously as "the voice" or "the divine calling." As followers of Christ, we are taught that a thing must die in order for another thing to live. If the passing of this innocent girl can be the seed from which justice may flourish, then that peace which is not of this world -- that which comes only from the God of Issac and Ishmael -- might one day reign down upon the land, from which the wisdom of Esther once delivered the people of Israel.
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One Minute Theatre: Hiatus

This week’s edition is going to have to wait until next week, which is another way of saying that we don’t have anything for this week, since this is not like most weeks. Stay tuned...
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Taking Credit (Where It Isn’t Due)

[This one was sent to me by my my aunt out west. Desperate times call for desperate measures, especially by the unscrupulous. With credit being doled out more sparingly by banks these days -- ironically, Christmas bonuses have prevailed as well as ever -- here are three cautionary tales for us all.]

SCENE 1:

A friend went to the local gym and placed his belongings in the locker. After the workout and a shower, he came out, saw the locker open, and thought to himself, “Funny, I thought I locked the locker... Hmmm.”

He dressed and just flipped the wallet to make sure all was in order.

Everything looked okay - all cards were in place.

A few weeks later his credit card bill came - a whooping bill of $14,000!

He called the credit card company and started yelling at them, saying that he did not make the transactions.

Customer care personnel verified that there was no Mistake in the system and asked if his card had been stolen.

'No,' he said, but then took out his wallet, pulled out the credit card, and yep - you guessed it - a switch had been made.

An expired similar credit card from the same bank was in the wallet.

The thief broke into his locker at the gym and switched cards.

Verdict: The credit card issuer said since he did not report the card missing earlier, he would have to pay the amount owed to them.

How much did he have to pay for items he did not buy?

$9,000! Why were there no calls made to verify the amount swiped?

Verdict:

Small amounts rarely trigger a 'warning bell' with some credit card companies.

It just so happens that all the small amounts added up to big one!

SCENE 2:

A man at a local restaurant paid for his meal with his credit card.

The bill for the meal came, he signed it, and the waitress folded the receipt and passed the credit card along.

Usually, he would just take it and place it in his wallet or pocket. Funny enough, though, he actually took a look at the card and, lo and behold, it was the expired card of another person.

He called the waitress and she looked perplexed.

She took it back, apologized, and hurried back to the counter under the watchful eye of the man.

All the waitress did while walking to the counter was wave the wrong expired card to the counter cashier, and the counter cashier immediately looked down and took out the real card.

No exchange of words --- nothing! She took it and came back to the man with an apology.

Verdict:

Make sure the credit cards in your wallet are yours.

Check the name on the card every time you sign for something and/or the card is taken away for even a short period of time.

Many people just take back the credit card without even looking at it, 'assuming' that it has to be theirs.

FOR YOUR OWN SAKE, DEVELOP THE HABIT OF CHECKING YOUR CREDIT CARD EACH TIME IT IS RETURNED TO YOU AFTER A TRANSACTION!

SCENE 3:

Yesterday I went into a pizza restaurant to pick up an order that I had called in.

I paid by using my Visa Check Card which, of course, is linked directly to my checking account.

The young man behind the counter took my card, swiped it, then laid it on the counter as he waited for the approval, which is pretty standard procedure.

While he waited, he picked up his cell phone and started dialing.

I noticed the phone because it is the same model I have, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Then I heard a click that sounded like my phone sounds when I take a picture.

He then gave me back my card but kept the phone in his hand as if he was still pressing buttons.

Meanwhile, I'm thinking: I wonder what he is taking a picture of, oblivious to what was really going on.

It then dawned on me: the only thing there was my credit card, so now I'm paying close attention to what he is doing.

He set his phone on the counter, leaving it open.

About five seconds later, I heard the chime that tells you that the picture has been saved.

Now I'm standing there struggling with the fact that this boy just took a picture of my credit card.

Yes, he played it off well, because had we not had the same kind of phone, I probably would never have known what happened.

Verdict:

Needless to say, I immediately canceled that card as I was walking out of the pizza parlor.

+ + +

All I am saying is, be aware of your surroundings at all times.

Whenever you are using your credit card take caution and don't be careless.

Notice who is standing near you and what they are doing when you use your card.

Be aware of phones, because many have a camera phone these days.

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Never let your card out of your sight. Check and check again!
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Obligatory Seven Year Itch

This weblog turned seven years old today. We have been keeping track of the visitor count for exactly three years.

Today we clocked in at about 110,400, which is pretty consistent over the long haul, at roughly one hundred visitors a day. We tend to get more during the week, and they drop off a bit over the weekends. Apparently most of you have lives, or something.

I seem to have one too. After all, this being Father's Day, I was sufficiently feted over the weekend. On Saturday, Sal took me to dinner, and we watched The Chronicles of Narnia for the umpteenth time at my house. Today my son Paul and I went to brunch after Mass, and then to (finally!) see the J J Abrams' (totally awesome) production of Star Trek.

It should be noted that voting began two or three weeks ago, for what was once called the Catholic Blog Awards, and is now called the Catholic New Media Awards. This only makes sense, for two reasons. One is that new categories have been introduced for podcasts. Maybe someday they'll introduce awards for videocasts. On the other hand, while leaving out categories like "Best Social/Political Commentary," they re-entered some rather arbitrary categories like "Best Blog by a Man" and "Best Blog by a Woman" (or, as Kathy Shaidle preferred to call it after winning one, "Best Uterus," which says it all, really).

The other reason it makes sense, is that winners are increasingly recognized for their merits in NEW media, as opposed to their efforts merely being a sideline for OLD media, meaning print. The best example is Creative Minority Report, but there are a number of others. We are also seeing a rising crop of new writers, new voices for the Catholic message. They are also too numerous to mention here, but our "Plug This" series will highlight some of them over the course of the year.

There are no illusions here about being a major contender for the Awards. They recognize only the winner, and having no longer any provision for "finalists," the rest are simply "nominees." You can nominate yourself and get an award like the one depicted here. (How else could I have gotten one?) Without cheap gimmicks or hawking books or bragging about a high-drama conversion story, one is left to fall back on what we hope to be considered as good writing on the issues of the day, not to mention the occasional spiritual reflections, all through a decidedly Catholic lens. That has proven sufficient fare for an astute and devoted few of you, and I am forever grateful.

Here at man with black hat, we will be slowly introducing new features. We are taking advantage of Twitter in alerting followers to new stories as they develop, and eventually we will fully incorporate such apps into the site. One thing being looked into, is a renewable video feed for the sidebar, from a reliable source. We had one picked out, but had trouble with the code getting it to fit into the sidebar. Our Research and Development Team is completely stumped, and is looking for a code geek with an hour or two on his hands. We'll send the code, and you walk us through the magic.

But the coming week, we expect to be quite busy. I will be in training all day to learn Final Cut Pro, a high-end video softward application from Apple. The accompanying clip will provide an introductory tutorial, to show you what is ahead for yours truly in the day job. I have been a professional graphic designer for over thirty years, most of it with the Federal Government. By this time next year, I'll probably list my occupation as "multimedia designer." Or something.

Who knows, maybe one day you will see a weekly videocast here. You would think that, going on fifty-five years old, I would be thinking about retiring. Fortunately, I'm having way too much fun getting paid.

And so it goes.
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We call them “the boys of summer.” They are the men who play for our national pastime. Our memories of childhood are filled with their exploits, amidst our lazy days in the sun.

The first day of summer (as defined by the turning of the planet's axis, as opposed to the popular culture) is drawing nigh. Last month, on the 21st, the baseball teams of the University of South Florida and the University of Connecticut faced one another, in the annual Big East Baseball Tournament. This clip shot by the staff at Bright House Field shows the result of two teams waiting through a five-hour rain.

So it goes as we welcome the season, for this week's Friday Afternoon Moment of Whimsy.

Play ball.

[Stolen from June Cleaver without permission or shame, when she was too busy ogling photos of Matthew McConaughey to notice.]
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In corde Jesu

Today, Catholics of the Western tradition celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart.

Outside of devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary, there is none more popular or more identified with the traditional piety of Catholic life, than this feast that occurs on the Friday of the week following the Feast of Corpus Christi. It was on that earlier solemnity that a Novena to the Sacred Heart began, culminating in the Mass and Office of today.

"Christ's open side and the mystery of blood and water were meditated upon, and the Church was beheld issuing from the side of Jesus, as Eve came forth from the side of Adam. It is in the eleventh and twelfth centuries that we find the first unmistakable indications of devotion to the Sacred Heart. Through the wound in the side, the wound Heart was gradually reached, and the wound in the Heart symbolized the wound of love." (1917 Catholic Encyclopedia)

There were various monastic communities who took up the devotion, but the real tip of the biretta has always gone to St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-90), a Visitation nun who had a vision. While praying before the Blessed Sacrament, she saw Our Lord with his heart beating openly, and the sight of it all sent her into a spell of ecstasy. "He disclosed to me the marvels of his Love and the inexplicable secrets of his Sacred Heart." To say the least.

But perhaps the finest explanation of this vision can be found in an episode of The X-Files, a detective series that ran on The Fox Network for nine years, and to this day has a formidable cult following. It is from the series' sixth season, and is entitled "Milagro" (6X18). It originally aired on April 18, 1999. It seems there were people being murdered by their hearts being removed by hand. FBI Special Agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) visited this Catholic church, and coming across the image of the Sacred Heart, she runs into this creepy guy who explains the story behind the image to her. A piece of the dialogue, from the mysterious writer named Philip Padgett (John Hawkes), describes a vision:

"I often come here to look at this painting. It's called 'My Divine Heart' after the miracle of Saint Margaret Mary. Do you know the story... The revelation of the Sacred Heart? Christ came to Margaret Mary, his heart so inflamed with love that it was no longer able to contain its burning flames of charity. Margaret Mary... so filled with divine love herself, asked the Lord to take her heart... and so he did, placing it alongside his until it burned with the flames of his passion. Then he restored it to Margaret Mary, sealing her wound with the touch of his blessed hand."

His account portrays an almost sensuous quality to the Saint's reaction to this vision, in a way I have read or heard no where else. And just when we thought the influence of Christendom had faded from the popular culture. Hope breeds eternal...

A common practice in many Catholic homes until the mid-20th century (including mine), was the "Enthronement of the Sacred Heart," in which the family placed the appropriate image of Christ on the wall, and together recited the necessary prayers, pledging the consecration of the family and the home to Him, in return for special graces. Fisheaters has a good explanation of the whole she-bang, just in case it makes a comeback.

It could happen.

[The preceding was posted for the same occasion in previous years, as some things need never be improved upon. Image is provided courtesy of Fisheaters.com, and is used without permission or shame.]
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There Was An Old Lady

Summer is upon us, and with it come fond memories of summer camp. One cannot imagine the news channels reminding us of the songs we sung around the campfire, but these days, you never know. And whatever one's opinion of the subject in question, we must concede that most of us could never do this on the first try.

Yeah, he got the sucker. (UPDATE: Meanwhile, PETA responds.)

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly.
I don't know why she swallowed the fly;
Perhaps, she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a spider,
That wiggled, and jiggled, and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
But, I don't know why she swallowed the fly;
Perhaps, she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a bird.
How absurd, to swallow a bird!
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
That wiggled and jiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly;
I don't know why she swalloed the fly;
Perhaps, she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a cat.
Just like that, she swallowed a cat!
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
That wiggled and jiggled, and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
I don't know why she swallowed the fly;
Perhaps, she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a dog.
What a hog, to swallow a dog! [etc.]

There was an old lady who swallowed a goat.
Just opened her throat, and swallowed a goat! [etc.}

There was an old lady who swallowed a cow.
I don't know how, but she swallowed a cow! [etc.]

There was an old lady who swallowed a horse.
She's dead, ofcourse! [song ends here-no more repeating]
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One Minute Theatre: Kill Bill (Parts One and Two)

“The lioness has rejoined her cub, and all is right in the jungle.”

It should be obvious by now, that I have had very little to say this past week. Not that I don't want to; there are at least three pieces in draft form as this is written.

We come to moments in our lives, whether personal or professional, when Providence has its amusement at our expense, by giving us exactly what we have been praying for, when we least expect it. Some very significant things are happening with my professional life over the next three months. They are of sufficient magnitude, as to affect my career path over the next five to ten years. It is such events that weight heavily upon me of late. I would pray for the gift of Fortitude, that I may aspire to higher things in the course of my livelihood.

None of this should dissuade us from another Wednesday midday episode of “One Minute Theatre” here at mwbh, thanks once again to our friends at the University of York Filmmaking Society.
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“ABC, tumble down D...”

Of the so-called “Big Three” networks, I have always considered ABC to be -- this cannot really be saying much -- the least biased.

Until now...

On the night of June 24, the media and government become one, when ABC turns its programming over to President Obama and White House officials to push government run health care... Charlie Gibson will deliver WORLD NEWS from the Blue Room of the White House.

No, I do not buy their official explanation either.
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Flag Day

On this day in 1777, the Continental Congress of the newly independent United States of America passed a resolution, adopting a design for a national flag.

Resolved, That the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.

The above description left considerable room for latitude in detail, but the so-called “Betsy Ross” design of red stripes at the outside, and the union bearing the original thirteen five-pointed stars in a circle, was the one ultimately accepted. (My personal favorite has always been the “Bennington Flag,” but I digress.) President Wilson signed a decree establishing the holiday in 1916, and this was matched by an Act of Congress in 1949. To this day, it is not an official Federal holiday, but all real Americans make an effort to fly the colors on this day.

The flag is draped over the coffin of the deceased at military funerals, and custom does call for a specific manner of folding it before the casket is interred. (See above.) Having been in attendance at a funeral with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery, I can attest to the ceremony’s ability to stir the heart of any American.

Each time a new State joins the Union, an additional star is added to the union of the flag, calling for a new arrangement thereof. So far, there are plans on the drawing board of the US Army Institute of Heraldry for up to 56 stars.

Our nation's national anthem is less about her special attributes or the loyalty of her subjects, than it is about her flag, such is the level of devotion paid to it. And so, to honor the occasion, we here at mwbh would like to share a story, sent to us (albeit in a roundabout way) by Chaplain Jim Higgins. He tells of an incident that occurred amongst our troops serving in Iraq in May of 2007.

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I recently attended a showing of “Superman 3” here at LSA Anaconda (Balad Airport in Iraq, north of Baghdad). We have a large auditorium we use for movies, as well as memorial services and other large gatherings.

As is the custom back in the States, we stood and snapped to attention when the National Anthem began before the main feature. All was going as planned until about three-quarters of the way through when the National Anthem music stopped. Now, what would happen if this occurred with 1,000 18-22 year-olds back in the States? I imagine there would be hoots, catcalls, laughter, a few rude comments, and everyone would sit down and call for a movie. Of course, that is, if they had stood for the National Anthem in the first place.

Here, the 1,000 soldiers continued to stand at attention, eyes fixed forward. The music started again. The soldiers continued to quietly stand at attention. And again, at the same point, the music stopped. What would you expect to happen? Even here I would imagine laughter, as everyone finally sat down and expected the movie to start. But here, you could have heard a pin drop. Every soldier continued to stand at attention.

Suddenly there was a lone voice, then a dozen, and quickly the room was filled with the voices of a thousand soldiers, finishing where the recording left off: “And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave, o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.” It was the most inspiring moment I have had here in Iraq.

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HOO-rah.

[FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH: On this day in 1952, my parents were married, in a country parish church east of Cincinnati. I was not invited.]
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“Total Eclipse of the Heart” was the most successful hit recorded by the Welsh pop singer Bonnie Tyler, reaching the number one spot in 1983, on the American, Australian, Canadian, and British charts. The song, written by producer Jim Steinman, was originally offered to Meat Loaf (aka Michael Lee Aday), but his record company turned it down. Not enough high drama, perhaps.

For this week’s Friday Afternoon Moment of Whimsy, we feature both the original music video, as well as the ever-popular (at least for yours truly) “literal remix” version. There is also a website where you can get audio clips and lyrics of the song in a dozen languages. Maybe this will raise the high drama for some of you (as it also requires a mild content warning). Something about Fonzie being cloned. Aaaaay!
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