I don't know about you, but I'm still writing "2009" on my checks by accident, which is a sign that the new year is still new. So, we here at man with black hat would like to extend a special welcome to everybody who found us via Twitter. There has been a steady rise in the readership of late, which is how we can tell.What follows is a proposed “Top Twelve” list of writings from the previous year, one from each month. Whether they are "the best of the best" is not so much certain, as they are collectively among the most representative of the “Raison D'Etre” of mwbh (see top of blue sidebar at right). Besides, this should tide you over until we can rustle up some fresh meat.
Hope Breeds Eternal - Tue Jan 20
"[F]or much of their lives together, Ruth and Daniel have lived technically below the poverty line, although you would not know it to visit a well-kept and happy home. They have also been without health insurance. ... So how is it that Ruth is a three-time breast cancer survivor?"
The Day The Music Died - Tue Feb 3
"The 1959 [death of Ritchie Valens] was arguably a factor, in the downward trend of popularity for the anarchic 'rock and roll' sound. A generation of teenagers who thought they and their heroes could stay young forever and never die, got a dose of reality ..."
A League Of Her Own? - Mon Mar 2
"Sooner or later, every young man whose income is just short of stinking rich ... is going to fall for a woman whom he discovers is -- and this is the part that hurts -- "out of his league." ... Maybe that's why none of [them] are going to feel the least bit sorry for Almost-First Daughter Meghan McCain ..."
Bullies for Columbine - Mon Apr 20
"You'd rather blame video games and heavy metal music and violence on television. You'd rather believe the empty suit on NBC News, who claimed that bullying was not a factor ... How do we solve it? We listen to our kids. We get a f@#$ing clue when it comes to anything and everything in their lives! ... The finest school system in the world can only do so much, to compensate for oblivious parents."
Viri Galilaei - Thu May 21
"[M]ost biblical scholars agree that Jesus ascended into Heaven forty-three days after He rose from the dead ... The number of forty was arrived at by the end of the third century, to make it easier for Christians to count the days after Easter on their fingers and toes and double the total. But we're so much more sophisticated now, and we can use calculators to count that high, or have our Blackberries remind us."
In corde Jesu - Fri Jun 19
"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 ... But perhaps the finest explanation of this vision can be found in an episode of The X-Files ..."
Hey, the zombies are here, and they want you for dinner! - Sat Jul 11
"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 ..."
What I Missed At The Revolution - Wed Aug 26
"Last night, Congressman James Moran (D-VA) had a town meeting for health care reform. I wouldn't care much, except that he's my congressman, even though I'd just as soon he wasn't. ... Jim Geraghty of the National Review provided continual tweets from his BlackBerry, which was the next best thing to being there."
Peter Kreeft Explains It All For You - Mon Sep 21
"[W]hat the Church taught about only men being called to the priesthood ... was something I accepted, nothing more. ... Yes, Christ was incarnated as a male, but it was either that or the other choice. So what? God could have flipped a coin for all we know. ..."
Guitar Workshop: The Song Remains The Same - Thu Oct 29
"Every now and then an artist complains that someone else has stolen their song, when it's more likely that they only stole the chord progression. ... a curious phenomenon of the many pop songs in recent memory which consist of just four chords. They are ..."
Proficiscere - Sun Nov 8
"Catholics in the health care professions, particularly those devoted to home and hospice care, may have a unique opportunity to bring their commission through Baptism to the fore. But it is no less so to friends and family of those who perpare for the Inevitable. ... the faithful are ... able to help prepare a soul for the journey [with] the prayer known by its beginning word in Latin ..."
The Reason for the Season: “Oh when the saints ...” - Sat Dec 5
"Those of us who identify ourselves as traditional Catholics, tend to rebel against the over-commercialization of Christmas, not by celebrating it in its fullness, but in denying the celebration altogether until the very day. ... Getting ready for a party takes work, and work is hard. Keeping the party going is more work, which is even harder. Complaining, on the other hand, is always easier."
Sure, I could have listed two dozen. You try finishing something like this during your lunch break.
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