I'm it.

I got tagged by Beth, so here goes: I'm supposed to list some random habits or facts about me and then tag others who then have to do the same. I'd like the record to show that this isn't really fair; Beth is pregnant, so she is likely to have more weird habits due to hormonal oddness.

• I dislike the smells of honey and artificial watermelon flavor.
• I always request pumpkin pie at my birthday (even though it's in May).
• Every night before I go to bed I wash my face, take out my contacts, brush my teeth, and take a multi-vitamin, in that order. I can't sleep well otherwise.
• I usually watch intense or scary parts of movies with my eyes closed. This also applied to parts in TV shows that have foreboding music.
• I baby-talk to my cat, but never to babies.
  

There. Happy? I tag Monica, Joanna, and DeLaura.

Please welcome....

...on the blogroll to the right, the new link to Restored Glory, Kyle's new blog documenting what he hopes will be the transformation of an old, run-down house with potential into a charming, very livable (and marketable) home. Right now he's still developing a plan to present to the loan officer before he can make a bid on the place. It looks to be an interesting project, and he very helpfully hyperlinks terms in his entries so the average non-construction-savvy reader can learn a little about the details of renovation.

In Memoriam Elva Ann Whiting

The family is gathering to pay tribute to my grandmother, Elva Ann Whiting. I am enjoying looking at pictures and listening to and sharing stories. Hearing of her hard work, generosity, and sense of humor makes me proud to be part of this great lady's legacy.

This is my 201st post!

Okay, that's all you get for now. One more exam and then maybe I'll post more. Wish me luck on Business Associations on Saturday (I'll be needing it). In the meantime, pay visits to my friends' blogs on the right. They still post.

Improving hand-eye coordination in the body of Christ?

For the few of you who haven't heard yet, Francis Beckwith, philosopher, writer, and (now former) president of the Evangelical Theological Society, has converted to Catholicism (or, as one dear Catholic friend gleefully told me, "returned to the true Church" *grin*). Dr. Beckwith holds a great deal of influence and respect and the move has left a lot of evangelicals a bit shell-shocked.

I can understand that. My first thought when I came to Notre Dame and started learning more about Catholicism was "Hey--these guys aren't the crazy cult I've been told they are! We actually have a lot in common and are probably brothers and sisters in Christ!" But there is a lot of bad history, bad historical theology, misunderstanding, and distrust on both sides of the fence. Vatican II has done a lot to reconcile the two sides, but language still confuses the issue. Sometimes I will hear a Catholic definition of grace or forgiveness and the heresy alarms start going off in my head, but when I ask someone to describe what they mean, often they are just using different words to mean something very similar or identical to what I believe. A lot of Protestants will dismiss Dr. Beckwith as having "gone off the tracks." He already has received snarky comments from people urging him to read the Bible or think through this (What, you think he hasn't already!?), but I wonder if some other, more thoughtful Protestants will take a closer look at Catholicism and see if there's more (or less) to it than they thought. I'm not saying I hope there's wholesale conversion to Catholicism (to all you hopeful Catholics out there, no, I'm NOT converting *grin*), but I do think there is a lot both persuasions could gain from friendly dialog with fellow members of the (little c) catholic Church.

HT: Derek, inter alia

Ave Maria Law School: "Failed Experiement?"

It looks like the rumors of crisis at Ave Maria have substance. No wonder their students are transferring out. And you thought ND had rumblings about administration... Well, I wish them the best. Calling them a "failed experiment" is pretty harsh, and I hope it's not true. It sounds like it's all coming to a head, what with the ABA involved. It sounds like faculty/admin relations can't get much worse, so something has to give.

Studying?

Warning: This is geared to computer/math nerds, not so much nerds of another brand. Stephen, you will rank high. Law friends, you may or may not, but rest assured, you will always be king nerds in my heart.

HT: Camille Lewis

Catholic political theory in a nutshell

Here it is, from the (then future) Pope himself (p. 129 of Without Roots:

The Catholic will not and should not, thought the making of laws, impose a hierarchy of values that can only be recognized and enacted within the faith. He or she can only reclaim that which belongs to the human foundations accessible to reason and the therefore essential to the construction of a sound legal order.

Don't know yet if I fully agree with it (though I'm inclined to at least in result if not in foundational assumptions about epistemology), but it is pretty coherent, eh?

Answering Nietzsche

From Cardinal Ratzinger's response letter to Prof. Pera (found on pp. 125-26 of Without Roots:

Here what we are actually addressing, in my opinion, is the decisive reason for the abandonment of Christianity: its model for life is apparently unconvincing. It seems to place too many restraints on humankind that stifle its joie de vivre, that limit its precious freedom, and that do not lead it to open pastures--in the language of the Psalms--but rather into want, into deprivation. Something similar happened in antiquity, when the representatives of the powerful Roman state appealed to Christians by saying: Return to our religion, our religion is joyous, we have feasts, drunken revels, and entertainments, while you believe in One who was crucified.

The Christians were able to demonstrate persuasively how empty and base were the entertainments of paganism, and how sublime the gift of faith in the God who suffers with us and leads us to the road of true greatness. ... The Christian model of life must be manifested as a life in all its fullness and freedom, a life that does not experience the bonds of love as dependence and limitation but rather as an opening to the greatness of life.

Encouragement and indictment all in one passage. Isn't that always how it runs?

Quotation to munch on

From a letter from Professor Marcello Pera to Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI), printed in Without Roots, p. 100:

“Secularists must beware–and often they are not wary enough, because technological devices are so readily available–of rushing to transform their whims into desires, and their desires into rights. Believers must also beware–and they, too, are often not wary enough, since it is so easy to find a proper or ad hoc passage from the Scriptures–of transforming their interpretations of the Scriptures into dogma.

The first sentence is profound. I'm still thinking about the second one. At first reading it seems like a non sequitur. But the context helps: Pera is laying out what each side will need to do to participate in strengthening a common culture of values (roughly--I'm grossly oversimplifying for time and space purposes. Just read the book.).

Note: [sic] on the en-dashes throughout. I know they should be em-dashes, but (1) they were en-dashes in the text, and (2) I'm not sure if simple text on blogger does em-dashes anyway.

Kennedy wobbles to the right this week.

Buzz around the law school is that the Supreme Court has upheld Bush's partial birth abortion ban in a 5-4 decision. Kennedy wrote the opinion. Excellent. More later after I actually read said opinion. Which may end up being after finals. Over and out.

Thoughts on a breezy afternoon

On South Quad at Notre Dame an environmental awareness group has set up hundreds of little plastic pinwheels to promote awareness of the environmental advantages of windmills as a source of energy. The pinwheels are cute, but I have to wonder: Are they biodegradable?

Hug your cat.

A righteous man regards the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of
the wicked are cruel.

Proverbs 12:10

Animal cruelty has been linked statistically to child abuse. Says a lot about a person.

A pretty picture

Yes, folks, it is April.

Good music alert

Late-semester culture needed? Mark your calender now for the ND Symphony's Spring concert. It's Friday, April 27, at 8:00. The program features Holst's The Planets, and some other stuff (Really, do you need more than "Jupiter" to make it worth the $3 student ticket?).

An exercise in futility

My sweaters had cat hair on them so I decided to wash them. Unfortunately, they are "lay flat to dry."

He is risen indeed!

Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?

I Corinthians 15:55

Product Alert

I just got Half Past Forever's new album Take a Chance on Something Beautiful this week. I have to say, I like it a lot. Rarely do I warm up to something new so quickly, but I like the easy indyrock style, the obvious musicianship of the band members, Chris's voice, and his heart in the the lyrics. The band disclaims trying to fit into the "Christian music" niche, but all the members are live-out-loud followers of Christ, and the music that comes from their deeply Christian worldview makes no effort to hide that. It may not be your taste, but if it is, give Amazon a visit.

If you haven't heard their style or aren't sure if you might like it, check out their myspace page for samples from the CD.

What lurks under the sink...

Mphhhh.

*yaaaaawn*

What?