A Catholic Sooner (old blog: is now dead)

intermittent blogging

2008-01-09T16:52:00.000-05:00

Well, I went back to Oklahoma for Christmas and it was quite possibly the best Christmas I've ever had in my entire life!

I had a great time seeing my friends and being back in a place that has come to be my home.

But, while there I gave my computer away to my adopted little sister as she is a freshman at OU and doesn't own a computer and is a commuter. I managed to make it through OU without owning a computer, but I lived in Norman and had ready access to the labs. I can't imagine trying to make it through college without a computer or ready access to the labs. So, I gave her mine.

So, for the time being, the only computer access I have is at my work and I can't really justify using work time or work computers to update my blog.

I will try and update occassionally though.

Ooh, Jesus Crackers!

2007-12-28T14:15:00.000-05:00

From one of my favorite blogs, Overheard in Minneapolis...awesome blog that just posts crazy conversations people hear. Some of them are too funny!

Delicious In Potato Soup

Young woman walking out of Christmas Eve Mass: When I was in high school, our senior prank was stealing the communion wine. We stole three huge jugs.

2nd young woman walking with her: Did they get the Jesus crackers too?!

Risen Savior Catholic Church, Burnsville
Overheard by Jesus crackers? Really???

My Girl April!

2007-12-18T19:47:00.000-05:00

My good friend, April Youpee-Roll, was recently named one of the 15 Most Interesting Seniors at Harvard College! This is something the Harvard Crimson does with every senior class at Harvard College (the undergraduate portion of Harvard University).

I am so proud of her! :o)

If I had a daughter, I could only dream of her turning out like April!

Get the stories about all 15 of the Seniors here, or here for April's story...but, I've posted it below:

15 Most Interesting Seniors: April Youpee-Roll

By: Jay M. Cohen

“My Harvard career has been a very ethnocentric one,” says April Youpee-Roll ’08 with a big smile.

Youpee-Roll, the former president and current alumni coordinator of Native Americans at Harvard College (NAHC), is an enrolled member of the Fort Peck Sioux tribe, the center of her ethnocentric life.

“She has a strong sense of self,” says Mark D. Doolin ’08. “Her Native American identity is at the forefront of how she approaches her academics, her job, her activities—there is no way to separate it from her.”

Doolin adds that Youpee-Roll also has mad skills on the Nintendo Wii.

“She definitely defies the stereotype that girls aren’t good at video games,” Doolin says.

Growing up on Fort Peck Reserve in Poplar, Mont. Youpee-Roll was quickly exposed to the economic struggles of much of the Native American community in the United States. Her mother, Florence, describes the reserve as a “depressed, dysfunctional society where it is hard for kids to grow up and be successful at anything.”

Despite growing up in this poor community—in a single-parent household, to boot—Youpee-Roll says she had plenty of support from her mother and her 11 aunts and uncles. Youpee-Roll’s family has a history of involvement in tribal politics, and she certainly isn’t reserved about getting involved in the Fort Peck Reserve.

Youpee-Roll plans to pursue a law degree and a master’s in public policy with a focus on federal Native American public policy.

This comes as no surprise to her mother. “She always knew that she had to do something to help this place,” she says.

Youpee-Roll’s dedication to her Native American culture doesn’t stop there. In typical Bostonian fashion, Youpee-Roll applies her interests to the city’s defining feature: the Red Sox. Youpee-Roll focuses her attention on Native American Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, whose mother is Navajo.

“If Ellsbury is traded [to the Twins], I’ll have to move to Minnesota,” Youpee-Roll jokes.

Wherever she lives, Youpee-Roll is sure to keep her home and her identity (and perhaps her Wii?) close to her heart.

Photo Courtesy: The Harvard Crimson

I want to like him, but I'm still not sure...

2007-12-17T23:07:00.000-05:00

I'm still not sure if he's the real deal or if he's the slickest thing since Clinton I.

The newest Huckabee ad from Iowa...

On the face of it, I like what I'm seeing and hearing. But, you know, Iowa has one of the largest Muslim communities in the country...I wonder what they're thinking?

What are you thinking?

Christmas Meme...

2007-12-17T15:54:00.000-05:00

Here's a Christmas Meme I found floating around the internet...I hereby tag whoever wants to play!

Wrapping paper or gift bags? paper...there just isn't the same excitement when one "rips" open a bag.
Real Tree or Artificial? Right now...no tree. But, if I had one it'd definitely be artificial cause I would get around to vacuuming dead needles until like July.
When do you put up the tree? See #2. But if I had a tree or decorations at all, they would most definitely NOT go up until Christmas Eve!
When do you take the tree down? Feast of the Epiphany. Christmas is not a day, it is a season, and it lasts from Christmas Eve to the Epiphany. I actually get quite stirred up when I start seeing peoples trees in the trash starting on the 26th.
Do you like eggnog? Hells yeah I like eggnog. There's an eggnog made by a local ice cream company that costs $10 for a half gallon here...I haven't broken down and bought it yet, but I want to!
Do you have a Nativity scene? Yes, a friend sent me a Native American Nativity set a few years ago. It's awesome, has a teepee for the manger, and buffalos and horses...it's way cool!
Hardest person to buy for? Definitely Jesus...I mean, it is His birthday after all!
Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Well, at the chance of sounding unappreciative...when I was a teenager, I wanted what all teenagers want---a car. I specifically wanted a red '65 Mustang. My Grandmother actually wrapped a Mustang Hot Wheels car for me and told me it was my car...that was just mean!
Mail Christmas cards? I buy them every year and never send them. Though I did manage to send two this year.
Favorite Christmas movie? A Christmas Story, hands down! "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!"
When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually about 4:30 on Christmas Eve...Holiday Hell, it's quite the rush!
Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? If you mean "regift," I can't remember doing it, but am not opposed to it.
Clear lights or colored? Clear
Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Peppermint ice cream...where I grew up, it was only available at Christmas.
Favorite Christmas song? Hands down, Adeste Fidelis.
Travel at Christmas or stay home? Usually travel in order to stay at home.
Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? No, and I don't want to! Reindeer are scary, scary, scary...I mean, hooved animals shouldn't fly! I think they might just be minions of the Devil!
Angel on tree or star? Angel...it is a Christian Holy Day (i.e. holiday)!
Open presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? Well, as a Catholic who normally goes to Midnight Mass, I would say after Mass. I guess that would then be Christmas morning...so, Christmas morning.
Most annoying thing about this time of year? Having to witness all kinds of Christmas stuff before Christmas! Refer to #3 & 4.
Best thing about this time of year? All the focus on our Lord and Savior!

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!

Just because it makes me happy!

2007-12-17T00:52:00.000-05:00

Violent Femmes--Blister in the Sun

ca. 1986

Music Monday

2007-12-17T00:28:00.000-05:00

Music Monday
1. Feel It. Black Eyed Peas
2. Guns in the Sky. INXS
3. Dirty Water. Dropkick Murphys
4. Flashlight. George Clinton
5. Where the Streets Have No Name. U2
6. With a Little Help From My Friends. The Beatles
7. The Spicey McHaggis Jig. Dropkick Murphys
8. Sad But True. Metallica
9. XXX's and OOO's (An American Girl). Trisha Yearwood
10. Komsomida. The Bruce Lee Band

The rules for bloggers who want to play:
Get your iPod or media-player of choice set the thing to shuffle, then post the first ten songs that come out. No cheating, no matter how stupid it makes you feel!

Newly Discovered New Favorite Band:
The White Stripes--
WOW! I'd heard of this band before, but hadn't really heard anything they'd done. So, I was doing some searching on iTunes and found them and listened to some of their stuff. It is AMAZING!

Wesabe

2007-12-16T15:16:00.000-05:00

OMG! I recently found a site that offers financial accounting/management for free. I've never used Quicken or MSMoney, but if I understand it correctly this site works similarly to those programs.

The site is called Wesabe and it is a totally secure site where you can upload your financial data and then tag it however you want to. For example I've decided to use the tags "food," "groceries," and "restaurant." Then, once everything is uploaded, I can see how much I'm spending on food overall, and then a breakdown of "groceries" vs. "restaurant". I can actually see (fairly instantly) how much I'm spending to eat at home vs. eating out. Amazing!

Personally, the biggest surprise to me is the amount of money I'm spending on ATM fees. I knew I was spending a fair amount, no real idea how much. Now, I do. It's quite a bit, but part of it is explainable because I don't have a car to easily get to non-fee atms. But, now that I know how much I'm spending I can be more mindful when I am getting cash.

Here's another fantastic thing about Wesabe. You get suggestions and tips from other users who are dealing with the same issues as you and have found sites/stores/tips to help you save money!!!

Again, this is a totally FREE and SECURE site and service. I recommend it HIGHLY!

Anyway, I LOVE this site/service. You should definitely check it out. Here's a general introduction video for Wesabe (you can find more videos about specific functions of Wesabe on the site and on Youtube):

Wesabe website

hmm

2007-12-16T12:27:00.000-05:00

So, I just want to apologize to anyone out there who might inexplicably be regular reader on here. I'm sorry I've been sort of MIA for the past few weeks.

I'm sort of going through a thing right now. Nothing big, just a funk.

I just want to say up front that I love my job. I really, really like what I'm doing. I enjoy getting to work with the students and I'm not sure I would trade that for anything in the world. The students are amazing! And I thank God every day for being allowed to work with them.

That being said...I'm really frustrated with my job right now. I'm frustrated with my department and I'm frustrted with the University.

First the department. I really feel like I'm not a member of a team. I feel like I'm not in on discussions that affect my students and I don't think that's right. Without getting really specific, I just feel that things are happening that affect the students and I'm not even in on the conversation. Things are happening that affect the students A) without their input, and B) without my input. I'm really frustrated by it right now.

I haven't brought this up to my superior yet, partly because I'm really angry about it right now, and need to cool down some. And partly, because I need to get the issues clear in my head before I go to speak about them. I'm getting close, and I think it will be one of the first things I discuss when I get back from break.

Now, on to the University. I cannot get anyone to give me straight answers about how to navigate various issues here (I'm being purposely vague). It really seems like they don't want brown people (read minorities) here. They certainly aren't being helpful when I'm trying to advocate for my students. It's really disheartening, infuriating, and troubling.

Not to be totally rude, but I've never been to a whiter (read caucasian) place in my life! Right now, I think diversity here is a joke. The proverbial "they" talk a big game, but the actuality is quite the opposite.

Again, I really do love my job. But I'm definitely feeling increasingly frustrated.

I don't know if any of this makes any sense whatsoever, but I just needed to clear some things out...even if only marginally and in a roundabout way.

Thanks for listening...reading.

WTF?

2007-12-13T12:11:00.000-05:00

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

2007-12-12T23:05:00.000-05:00

'Twas the Night Before the Big XII

2007-11-29T18:14:00.000-05:00

Argh, I couldn't get the coding to work right, but you'll get it...

'Twas the night before the Big XII and all through the land,

not a Tiger was stirring, not even the band.

Their Jockeys were hung by the locker with care,

in hopes that the Sooners soon would be there.

Truman was nestled all snug in his bed,

while visions of the BCS danced in his head.

And Pinkel in his kerchief full of Tiger pride,

and Bob and the Sooners ready to ride.

When down in San Antone there arose such a clatter,

Chase sprang from his bed to see what was the matter.

He realized the Option was gone in a flash,

and Maclin's dreams of running had just been dashed.

The Tiger tight ends trembled as they watched the show,

a Crimson and Cream luster set the horizon aglow.

When what to their wondering eyes should they find,

but a miniature Schooner, seven National Titles behind.

With a wizened old driver, skilled in leading his troops,

they knew in a moment it must be Bob Stoops.

More rapid than Temple his players they came,

and he whistled and shouted and called them by name.

"On Bradford , on Joe John, now Patrick and Murray!

On Chris Brown! On Iglesias! On Hartley and Kelly!

To the top of the conference! To the top of it all!

Now dash their hopes! Dash their dreams! Dash away all!"

And then in a twinkling, the Tigers fought back a scream,

and Chase saw the last of his Heisman trophy dream.

The defense drew in their breath and looked all around,

and realized that their "Pig" was nowhere to be found.

Bob's eyes how they twinkled, his coaches how merry!

As they carried on the legacy left them by Barry.

Gary's sad little face and a fear in his belly,

he shook on the field as his knees turned to jelly.

Pinkel spoke not a word, and the ball they couldn't carry.

Stoops filled up the scoreboard and then turned to Gary,

and laying his hand on the shoulder of his friend,

he gave Pinkel a nod and said, "Like Norman again."

Bob sprang to the Schooner, to his team gave a shout,

to the BCS they flew and left Mizzou down and out.

And we heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight,

"Boomer Sooner to All and to All a Good Night!"

Special thanks to my friend Olivia, who I got this from...who got it from her friends Lauren & Etta.

Homecoming!

2007-11-27T23:10:00.000-05:00

I am so excited!

After having lived in the northeast for over two years, I'm finally going home to Oklahoma for a visit!

Now, granted, I grew up in southern Florida, but I lived for 10 years in Oklahoma and I can't believe how much I miss it. I made amazing friends while living there and I just flat-out fell in love with the place. I now consider Oklahome every bit as much my home as Florida.

I cannot wait to get back there. I managed to find a fairly inexpensive flight over the Christmas holiday, and because it fell over the holiday when I don't have to work, I'm going to be able to spend 2 weeks in Oklahoma while only using 1 week of vacation time! What kind of deal is that!

Anyway, I'm just about to burst I'm so excited. Can't wait to see everybody!

Interesting Question & Music Monday

2007-11-26T22:52:00.000-05:00

So, Fr. Fox over at Bonfire of the Vanities has posed a very iteresting question in a post titled Should Klingons be Baptized?

Basically, the question boils down to...if (when?) we discover sentient "alien" life in the universe are we called to evangelize to them also, or is the Gospel message and the Great Commission solely binding to humankind?

What a fascinating and thought provoking question. Fr. Fox goes on to pose several secondary questions (it's important to remember that all of this is being asked from a Catholic viewpoint) such as, could the "alien" males serve be ordained? And, could they be ordained to the priesthood and serve in persona Christi? If humans and the "alien" species couldn't procreate could they get married? What if they could procreate? That's just a sampling because there are some really interesting lines of thought to be followed from such a query.

Follow the link above to see the original question and responses. Some of the responses have focused on how this would be similar to when the Europeans invaded the Americas and there was debate on whether the indigenous inhabitants were human. I can see the relation to this question, but I don't think that the two situations were similar. I mean when the Europeans invaded the Americas they were able to have a debate on the humanness of the indigenous inhabitants...when we invade (I mean discover, but I guess they could invade us just as easily) another world there will be really no way to argue that the "aliens" are human.

It's an interesting theological quandry. One I'm really intrigued by. Check it out and make comments on his blog if 'cause I'll be checking back into this conversation.

Music Monday (hey Rev. Rodgers...check out #5, remember when you thought I made band names up? haha!)
1. Lord Move, Or Move Me. FFH
2. That's What Love's About. Stacie Orrico
3. Sweet Caroline. Neil Diamond (Secret Exposed: I am a HUGE Neil Diamond fan!)
4. Contest Song. Thunder Hill
5. 20 Nothing. Skankin' Pickle
6. Cover Me. FFH
7. A Country Boy Can Survive. Hank Williams, Jr.
8. The Way You Love Me. Faith Hill
9. Marlboro Man. The Toasters
10. Out of the Window. Violent Femmes

The rules for bloggers who want to play:
Get your iPod or media-player of choice set the thing to shuffle, then post the first ten songs that come out. No cheating, no matter how stupid it makes you feel!

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!
Feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria (ca. 310)

I'm a survivor!

2007-11-25T22:57:00.000-05:00

That's right, I'm a pink-eye survivor! It may be commonly associated with kids, but I've never had pink-eye and it was freaky. All in all, for having something illness-wise, it wasn't too bad. I didn't actually feel bad...my eyes just looked like crap and I had some trouble seeing with all the gunk in my eyes. But, other than that, it wasn't too bad.

Since I couldn't go to work this week (though, we only worked Mon-Wed) because pink-eye is highly contagious (so the dr. says) I spent most of the week doing some long overdue reading. It was nice to be able to read as much as I did just because I wanted to (though it was difficult sometimes because of the aforementioned gunk in the eye).

It has been a long while since I had time to just read whatever I wanted. Until early June I had been in school full-time for the past five years and spent most of my reading time doing assignments. During the past year at HDS I kept telling myself:

I have a dream!

I have a dream that one day I can read

what I want,

when I want,

and

if I want!

Well, the dream has been achieved...and it is sweet indeed!

I read five whole books last week. Most were non-fiction books about subjects I'm interested in and they were really good. It was awesome to get to read thing I'm interested in intellectually, but without the spector of academia overshadowing me.

Probably the best think I read last week was a book of fiction though. It's important to remember that I haven't read a lot of fiction in several years. Being a student (unless your a Literature student) kind of runs fiction out of your life, so it was good to finally find some fiction that was good. I had recently read, and I think I mentioned on here, The Kite Runner which was supposed to be really good according to pretty much everyone, but I didn't really like it at all. It just kept going on and on, and I felt the ending was pretty obvious before you ever got there.

Anyway, this week I read a book called Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. The story basically follows a young man through a summer in the 1930s when he worked for a circus. It was really, really good and the author was really able to bring the inner workings of a circus to life. I left the book feeling that I had actually had a behind the scenes look at classic circus life. The ending was just amazing too. It wasn't a really climactic ending, but it just made me feel that everything works out for a reason. I highly recommend it.
**Movie instead of book recommendation: Cecille B. Demille's The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) starring Charlton Heston.

Oh, and my Sooners beat Oklahoma State 49-17 to win the Bedlam game, which means the Sooners are the Big XII South Champs and will face the Missouri Tigers (AP, BCS #1) for the Big XII Championship in San Antonio on Saturday night! Hells YEAH!

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!
Feast of St. Columban (ca. 543-615)

Thursday Thirteen

2007-11-22T00:02:00.000-05:00

In honor of Huck/Chuck'08 (see here) I give you...

13 Facts About Chuck Norris!

On a high school math test, Chuck Norris put down “Violence” as every one of the answers. He got an A+ on the test because Chuck Norris solves all his problems with violence.
If you spell Chuck Norris wrong on a google search it doesn’t say, “Did you mean Chuck Norris?” It simply replies, “Run while you still have a chance!”
When monsters go to sleep at night they check their closets for Chuck Norris.
Superman owns a pair of Chuck Norris pajamas.
Chuck Norris’ dog is trained to pick up his own poop because Chuck Norris doesn’t take crap from anyone.
Bill Gates lives in constant fear that Chuck Norris’ pc will crash.
Ghosts are actually caused by Chuck Norris killing people faster than God can process them.
Chuck Norris once had a heart attack…his heart lost.
When Chuck Norris looks in a mirror it shatters, because not even glass is stupid enough to get between Chuck Norris and Chuck Norris.
Chuck Norris can create a rock so heavy that even he can’t lift it…then he lifts it anyway just to show you he’s Chuck Norris.
Chuck Norris doesn’t play hide-and-seek…he plays hide-and-pray-I-don’t-find-you.
Chuck Norris is suing NBC claiming that “Law” and “Order” are the trademarked names for his left and right legs.
Bullets don’t kill people…Chuck Norris does.

Thanks Be to God for Chuck Norris!

Greatest Political Ad EVER!!!

2007-11-21T22:38:00.000-05:00

HUCK/CHUCK'08!

Big-Ups to the blog where I initially found this gem.

I H-A-T-E thanksgiving!

2007-11-21T22:09:00.000-05:00

I truly despise and hate the thanksgiving holiday. Part of it is because of how insulting it is to the Indigenous people of the western hemisphere, but that is only a minor part of my abhorrence of thanksgiving. But, because I always love to pick a fight I've put two images and one video that address the Indigenous viewpoint about thanksgiving.

So, what is my major beef with thanksgiving? I find it incredibly abhorrent, horrible, and truly disgusting that Americans (and Canadians for that matter) are so entirely self-absorbed, self-centered, and just plain selfish that they must set an entire day aside just so they don't forget to say thank you.

Perhaps it's the impact of my upbringing, but I just believe we should thank God every day, every hour, every minute, and every second for all He has gifted us with...not that I'm perfect in that regard either. I just truly believe to do anything less is a slap in the face of a gracious and loving God.

"If the only prayer you ever say is 'Thank You" it will be enough."

Meister Eckhart

blechhhhhhhh

2007-11-18T12:47:00.000-05:00

Scotty's sick...will check in after my benadryl does it's thing.

Can someone be my mommy?

Who's on first?

2007-11-16T09:40:00.001-05:00

who's on first with star wars

Add to My Profile More Videos

Thursday Thirteen

2007-11-15T22:46:00.001-05:00

My 13 Favorite Cartoons

(in no particular order)

1. The Super Friends

2. Hong Kong Phooey

3. King of the Hill

4. Scooby Doo

5. Space Ghost

6. Batman & Robin

7. Fat Albert

8. Thundercats

9. The Flintstones

10. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

11. GI Joe

12. Transformers

13. Frosty the Snowman

Don't screw around on the Rez!

2007-11-14T10:15:00.000-05:00

Justice...

Miccosukee Style!

So, a guy was evidently running from the police on my rez (Miccosukee Indian Reservation) back in Florida and jumped in a pond and was eaten by Poncho, the gator who lives in the pond. I find the story Hi-freakin-larious! (story here)

Poncho has lived in that pond forever. Everybody back home knows who Poncho is.

I cannot believe the state is going to kill Poncho for doing what gators do. He was just being himself. You can't fault a gator for going for a meal...can you? I know the law is similar to when a dog bites a human the dog is usually killed also. But a dog is not a wild animal. Wild animals are, well, just that...wild. They do what they do and if you get bit/maimed/killed it isn't the animals fault. Poncho was just doing what Heseketvmesse (God/Creator) taught him to do.

It's really sad.

Suspected Car Thief Eaten by Gator
Man Died After Fleeing From Police Into Pond on Fla. Indian Reservation
By DAVID SCHOETZ
Nov. 13, 2007 —
Authorities in Florida are saying very little about an incident last week in which a suspected car thief reportedly fled from police into a small pond on an Indian reservation and was eaten by an alligator.

ABC News' South Florida affiliate WPLG reported that Thursday the Miccosukee Police Department, which handles law enforcement for the Miccosukee Indian Reservation, along with K-9 units from the nearby Sweetwater Police Department, responded to a call about two men breaking into vehicles in the parking lot of the tribe's 300-room resort and casino.

Police reportedly captured one of the men, but the other dived into a nearby retention pond ignoring a sign that warned about dangerous alligators in the pond.

Eyewitnesses told WPLG that bystanders on the bank of the pond saw the gator, which the station reported was nicknamed "Poncho" by resort employees, and urged the man to swim back to shore, but he eventually screamed before disappearing underwater. The body of the man, who has not been identified by police, was discovered by divers Friday, 50 feet below the water's surface.

A dispatcher for the Miccosukee Police Department told ABC News that the department could not comment and that an investigation into the death was ongoing. A lieutenant for the Sweetwater Police Department referred all questions to the Miccosukee police.
Gator Trapped, Put Down

The alligator that authorities believe is the one that killed the man was trapped and killed, and is now being held at All American Gator in Pembroke Park, Fla.

Under Florida state law, any alligator that kills a person must be destroyed.

Brian Wood, owner of All American Gator, told WPLG that the Miami-Dade County medical examiner hold him to hold the reptile for inspection. Neither the medical examiner's office nor Wood was available for comment, but Wood reportedly told the local station that it's not uncommon for a gator to behave defensively.

"Some gators have a nasty disposition, and he was a nasty gator," Wood told WPLG. "He seemed to have no fear of people, which indicates that he was fed."

Though alligators have a reputation for attacking Florida pets, they also occasionally attack humans. Since 1948, 275 unprovoked human attacks have been reported in Florida, with 17 resulting in death.

More than 18,000 alligator nuisance complaints were filed in Florida last year, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and 7,000 gators were removed by authorities.

In October, an 83-year-old woman in Savannah, Ga., bled to death from wounds she suffered in a gator attack. It was the first fatal alligator attack in that state since 1980. The eight-foot alligator was captured by resource officers and killed.

Also in October a Florida man was sentenced to die for a 1998 crime in which he left a 5-year-old girl in a section of the Florida Everglades known as "Alligator Alley." When the girl's body was found, her skull was crushed and an arm was missing.

(story source)

Tonight on PBS

2007-11-13T11:32:00.000-05:00

As part of Native American Heritage Month the PBS show Independent Lens will be premiering the documentary Miss Navajo at 10pm eastern time.

Synopsis:
For the past 50 years, the Miss Navajo Nation pageant has celebrated Navajo women and traditional values, language and inner beauty. Held over a five-day period at the annual Navajo Nation Fair, contestants are required to showcase skills that are crucial to Navajo daily life, including sheep butchering, fry-bread making and rug weaving. Through interviews with new and previous pageant contestants, Miss Navajo reveals the importance of cultural preservation and the meaning of being a woman in Navajo culture.

Crystal Frazier, a twenty-one-year-old Navajo woman, lives on the reservation in Table Mesa, New Mexico. Living in a house without running water, Crystal helps care for her family’s livestock, makes a weekly trip to the well for water and does a share of the cooking. A tomboy and former high school basketball champ, Crystal is confronted with a new set of challenges when she decides to compete in the 2005–06 Miss Navajo pageant. She acknowledges her own shyness and says that participating in the Miss Navajo contest would probably be a good experience. Miss Navajo follows Crystal’s journey leading up to the competition, while former Miss Navajos share their own memories of the pageant and what it meant to them. Each previously crowned “queen” also experienced life on the reservation and faced the challenges of working as a leader in the preservation of their culture.

Conceived as a “celebration of womanhood” by filmmaker Billy Luther—whose mother, Sarah Johnson Luther, was Miss Navajo Nation 1966–67—Miss Navajo offers a different take on what it means to be beautiful, exploring tradition in Diné, or Navajo, culture through one woman’s quest for the Miss Navajo Nation crown.

Trailer:

Music Monday

2007-11-12T22:29:00.000-05:00

1. 'Til the Day I Die. Third Day
2. Free Ride. Audio Adrenaline
3. Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses. U2
4. Kashmir. Bond
5. Blessed Assurance. Avalon
6. Beverly Hills. Weezer
7. I've Always Loved You. Third Day
8. Yes, I Believe in God. Rebecca St. James
9. Lord I Lift. Sammy Ward
10. Hip Hop Star. Beyonce

The rules for bloggers who want to play:
Get your iPod or media-player of choice set the thing to shuffle, then post the first ten songs that come out. No cheating, no matter how stupid it makes you feel!

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!
Feast of St. Josaphat (ca. 1580-1623)

Aging and such...

2007-11-10T18:08:00.000-05:00

Not a lot of people know how old I am. It isn't that I keep it a secret. In fact, I'll happily tell anyone the truth when asked.

So, for inquiring minds...I am 35 (36 in March).

My age is becoming increasingly important to me. Not because of vanity...actually quite the opposite.

I'm a 35 year old man who looks, at best, 22 (see left). Now most people would consider this a great thing. But, I feel it is a kind of burden.

You see, as a 35 year old who looks to be in his early 20s it has become really hard to deal with people who think I'm in my 20s. I'm tired of getting carded for EVERYTHING! I even got carded at a Wal-Mart once because the town had a curfew. Now, I know most people my age and older would love get carded, but I'm tired of it.

I'm tired of people not taking me seriously because they think I'm so young or too young. I'm tired of walking into offices on my campus (I work at a university) and people just assume I'm a student...and treat me like one. I even had one person who I had to tell 3 times that I wasn't a student before they could even hear what I was asking.

You know what the worst part of looking like a man in his early 20s is...dating women my own age. Some men will claim that this would be a HUGE advantage. But, I'm not one of them. I would love to meet and go out with someone near my own age (30ish). But, when women my age see me they totally write me off as being too young (not that I blame them).

And therein lies the problem I'm noticing in my semi-old age. I'm starting to think more and more about "adult" things. Getting a house, finding a job I can retire in, marrying, children, retirement, etc. Maybe it's because I look so young (even to myself), or because I started college early and am just now getting out into the professional world (for real this 2nd time around).

I'm just starting to find myself thinking about life issues I've never really thought about before. I used to think I didn't want children, and I'm still not sure, but I'm thinking about children and what it would be like to be a father more and more lately. Even what it would be like to serve as a foster parent.

I think that may be the oddest part for me. I didn't have the best childhood, which used to make me not want to raise children. I was terrified I'd be exactly like my parents. Now, I'm not saying that I'm totally over that fear. What I am thinking, though, is that because of my experience, I might be able to give another child who has had a rough time of it something more...especially because of my experience.

It's kind of weird. All this started happening right after I graduated from Harvard. And then I ask myself, was it my graduation from Harvard or is it the fact that I have a real job now? Or is it the fact that I've had to switch from being a student to becoming an advisor of students. I mean, my job is requiring me to be much, much more adultlike than I've ever had to before.

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I don't feel like I have a home right now. I've been in my job and my new town for about five months right now, and the town most definitely does not feel like home at this point. It's hard being on a college campus when you're basically the only one starting new.

This wasn't the case when I was a student. As a student you always start the year off with a group of fellow students who are new, and this allows you to bond over that experience and create friendships. This isn't the case with my job. I'm the new person...the only new person. No one to bond with over the same experiences.

And I'm not a student...I'm not one of the "guys," in fact, I'm now one of "them." I don't think I ever consider the consequences of becoming one of "them." I'm totally by myself.

This was exacerbated this weekend while I was taking a group of students to a conference at Dartmouth.

I was never particularly fond of Boston, though I think this had a lot to do with my experiences at Harvard Divinity School which skewed my perception of Boston.

But, this weekend as I was driving in New Hampshire, I felt a soft spot in my heart for...get this...Shaw's Supermarket. It made me think of Boston and my friends there. Not quite home, but more of a home than my current situation. I mean I had all these disconcerting emotions over a grocery store? It was more than weird.

Anyway, I guess all I'm trying to say is that I'm in a period of transition and it's a transition I'm not quite sure what to think. In some ways I think it is really good, and in some ways I think it is causing me to miss other things I should be taking note of.

I don't know...I guess I'm just venting...thanks for listening.

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!

Feast of St. Martin of Tours (ca. 316-397)

Thursday Thirteen

2007-11-08T22:07:00.000-05:00

13 Pet Peeves

Special thanks to WorksForMom

(per usual...in no particular order)

Not getting a real person when I call a company or service department.
Not having what I need to do my work when I need it.
People who don't know the difference between a "podium" and a "lectern." (answer: you stand on a podium, you speak from a lectern)
Excuses.
Stores that put carpet or uneven flooring at the location the carts are so you can't tell if your cart has a bad wheel.
People who don't do what they say they will.
Priests who don't follow the liturgy.
Smokers & Smoking.
Unironed clothes.
People who listen to their iPods so loud that I know exactly what they're listening to...dude, turn it down!
Elitism.
Using selective scripture quotes to support a point...anybody can pick and choose scripture out of context.
Professors who use the classroom to further their political/moral/ethical agenda.

Sooner Joke of the Week...

2007-11-08T21:30:00.000-05:00

Sooner Joke of the Week!

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!

Feast of Bl. John Duns Scotus (1266-1308)

WTF...this is really sad:

2007-11-08T09:11:00.000-05:00

Priest Accused of Stalking Conan O'Brien (Source)
Nov. 7, 2007, 11:26 PM EST
Associated Press

NEW YORK -- A priest has been arrested on charges of stalking late-night talk-show host Conan O'Brien by writing him threatening notes on parish letterhead, contacting his parents and showing up at his studio, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The Rev. David Ajemian, a priest in the Archdiocese of Boston, was arrested last week while trying to enter a taping session of NBC's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" at New York's Rockefeller Plaza, said Barbara Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan prosecutor's office.

Ajemian referred to himself as "your priest stalker" in one note and complained of not being allowed in to see an earlier taping of the O'Brien show, court papers say.

"Is this the way you treat your most dangerous fans?" the note said.

The letters and e-mails, which started coming in September 2006, continued even after Ajemian was asked to stop and were "intended to cause annoyance and alarm," Thompson said.

"I want a public confession before I ever consider giving you absolution — or a spot on your couch," wrote Ajemian, who signed the notes "Padre," Thompson said.

Ajemian also has been in contact with O'Brien's parents, Thompson said.

A telephone message left Wednesday night at St. Mary-St. Catherine of Siena Church in Boston, which Ajemian gave as his address, was not immediately returned.

O'Brien is not commenting, an NBC spokesman said.

The Boston Archdiocese said in a statement that Ajemian had been placed on leave and was no longer allowed to minister publicly. O'Brien has participated in fundraising activities for the archdiocese.

The priest and the late-night host may have attended Harvard University at the same time.
O'Brien graduated in 1985, and Ajemian graduated from high school in 1979 before attending the Ivy League school, according to an alumni magazine published by his high school.

The priest could face up to a year in prison if convicted of aggravated harassment and stalking.

Music Monday & Week in Review

2007-11-05T22:50:00.000-05:00

Music Monday

1. Intertribal Whistle Song. Cozad
2. Kryptonite. 3 Doors Down
3. Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey. The Beatles
4. Bus Driver. Caedmon's Call
5. Great Expectations. Steven Curtis Chapman
6. Live. Nichole Nordeman
7. Brass Monkey. Beastie Boys
8. Paris. Faith Hill
9. The Fightin' Side of Me. Merle Haggard
10. Knee Deep. George Clinton

The rules, for bloggers who want to play:
Get your iPod or media-player of choice set the thing to shuffle, then post the first ten songs that come out. No cheating, no matter how stupid it makes you feel!

Week in Review
This section is new and I'm just trying it out. I'm borrowing/aquiring/stealing this idea and format from Who Am I...Thanks Who Am I! Though most of this is from 2 weeks ago since I was out of town last week...but you get the point.

Reading-
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
This book has received rave reviews, but I just don't get it. It was a good enough read. I kept turning pages to see if something major was going to happen, but it never really did. The book just seemed to go on and on with no discernable reason. Oh well, if you're just looking for something to read I suppose it's ok.

Watching-
Heroes
I didn't watch this at all before this year because it came on at the same time as 24, which I LOVE. But, I started watching it this season and I have to say I'm intrigued even though I don't know what happened last season. I'm still a little confused by the story-line, but I keep watching so it can't be that bad.

The Hills
This is my big, dark secret...I'm a fan of MTV's The Hills. I love this show. It is so totally wrong. It's a semi-reality (meaning MTV knows the characters schedules and such, but it's unscripted) show that follows some really, really rich 20-somethings as they live out their lives in Beverly Hills. I like this show mainly to see the absolutely insanity of these kids lives.

In My Netflix Queue-
The Fox and the Hound
I wanted to see this and relive part of my childhood, but you know what...it wasn't as good as I remember it being. The animation was really poor and it was readily apparent that this was a movie Disney was hoping would save its fortunes in the early 80s. Though the part where the fox and hound meet each other and the hound says "I'm a hound dog...hoooowwwl!" Is just as funny now, as it was in my childhood.

The R.M
This movie was about a Mormon missionary who returns home from his 2 year mission to find that his parents don't really miss him and his girlfriend left him. That's about as far as I got. This movie was horrible. I couldn't even watch it to the end. I maybe watched 30 minutes of it before I turned it off.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
This HBO movie followed the plight of the Lakota during the late 1880s culminating in the Massacre of Wounded Knee in 1890. The movie was supposed to be fairly well-balanced between the Euro-American view and the Lakota view. I suppose it was, but I felt it got some of the historical facts mixed up and that those mistakes will cause some people to misinterpret what the Lakota were experiencing. I suppose it was a really good attempt, but I just feel it really fell short, though I'd still give it 3 stars on the Netflix scale.

Listening-
Carnival Ride, the new album from Carrie Underwood
This album is amazing! It's better than her first one and every track is a winner!

I especially love the song So Small. I literally cried the first time I heard it. It's amazing!

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!
Feast of Ven. Solanus Casey (1870-1957)

Twice in a lifetime!!!!!

2007-11-04T00:08:00.000-04:00

Just in case you missed it...as I did because I was on an airplane and missed game 4!

The BOSTON RED SOX

are the

WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!

B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!!!

2007-11-03T23:33:00.000-04:00

So, I've been on the road most of this week traveling across the Navajo and Hopi Nations. Let me tell you, this is some of the most beautiful country in the world!

Having grown up in the humid south, it was a little (ok, a lot!) dry for me. But, this just may be the most beautiful part of Indian Country...and it's definitely the most beautiful part I've ever been too.

I wanted to go to the Grand Canyon, but I just couldn't bring myself to pay $25 to see God's creation. There is just something morally wrong about charging people to see God's creation and perhaps I made a mistake, and should have gone ahead and paid to see it, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

So, though my photographic talent doesn't do the region justice, here's some pictures for your enjoyment.

This is a roadside stand that sells Indian arts near Tuba City, Navajo Nation. I LOVE the fact they advertise themselves as "Nice Indians"...too funny!

This is on the Hopi Reservation near Tuba City, Navajo Nation.

On the Hopi near 2nd Mesa.

At the Hubbel Trading Post near Ganado, Navajo Nation.

At the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, Navajo Nation.

Dine' College in Tsaile, Navajo Nation (Dine' is the Navajo word for themselves).

Near Tsaile, Navajo Nation.

Wheatfield Lake, Navajo Nation.

Near Ft. Defiance, Navajo Nation.

So, I stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Phoenix and they were nice enough to leave water in my room for my convenience. Nice, huh?

Note that the convenient water costs $5.25, but they'll bill me for it...oh, and they'll replace it for me too. What a deal!

All in all, it was a great trip.

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!

Feast of St. Martin de Porres (1579-1639)

Blogging will be light...

2007-10-27T19:16:00.000-04:00

I'm flying out to Arizona tomorrow to do some recruitment travel and to attend the National Conference of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society.

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I will be visiting the Navajo & Hopi tribes in northern Arizona to do some recruitment. And, then from Thursday through Sunday I will be in Phoenix for the AISES conference.

I will try to blog about my travels while I'm on the road, but Hopi & Navajo land tends to be extremely rural so I don't know how much internet access I will have, but I'll try.

Flag of the sovereign Hopi Nation

I've never been to Arizona, Hopi or Dinetah (Navajo Nation) so I'm really excited to be able to go. I'm going to try and make the most of this trip and see as much as I can. Hopefully I'll be able to make it to the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley, among other stops.

Flag of the sovereign Navajo Nation

I'll be back in New York by Nov. 5 and will resume normal blogerly duties then.

Thanks Be to God, Boomer Sooner and GO RED SOX!
Feast of Bl. Barthomew of Vincenza (1200-1271)

13 men I admire.

2007-10-25T20:11:00.000-04:00

For the Thursday Thirteen I give you thirteen men I admire.

I admire these men for many different reasons. Some were great men, great leaders, and have left their mark on the history of their people, and even on mankind. Some of these men are simply important to me and have been important advisors, confidants and friends.

So, I give to you, in alphabetical order...

13 Men I Admire:

Asi-Yvhola, aka Osceola, (1804-1838) leader of the Seminole-Miccosukee during the 2nd Seminole War (1835-1842). He was taken Prisoner of War while meeting with the US under a white flag of truce.
Barboncito (1820-1871), Navajo spiritual and political leader.
Vine Deloria, Jr. (1933-2005), Oglala Lakota author, academician and one of the greatest advocates of American Indian self-determination of the 20th Century. His book, Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto, is the seminal work in Native American Studies.
Goyathlay, aka Geronimo, (1829-1909) Chiricahua Apache leader and freedom fighter.
Hvlpvtah Micco, aka Billy Bowlegs, (c. 1810-1864) leader of the Seminole-Miccosukee during the 2nd (1835-1842) and 3rd (1855-1858) Seminole Wars.
Jesus of Nazareth (c. 6bc-33ad), my Lord and Savior.
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968), civil rights leader.
Oren Lyons (1930- ), Chief and Faithkeeper of the Onondaga Nation.
Rev. Scott Rodgers (c. 1977- ), United Methodist minister and my best friend.
Tatanka Yotanka, aka Sitting Bull (1831-1890), Hunkpapa Lakota Holy Man.
Ronald Templin (1919-1994), my grandpa and pilot who served in WWII, Korea & Vietnam.
Robert Allen Warrior (1963- , Osage), my professor and mentor at the University of Oklahoma.
Lindy B. Waters, Jr. (c. 1963- , Kiowa/Cherokee), Director of American Indian Student Services at the University of Oklahoma, and my mentor, advisor and friend.

Thanks Be to God, Boomer Sooner and Go Red Sox!
Feast of Bl. Antonio de Sant'Anna Galvao (1739-1822)

Sooner Joke of the Week

2007-10-23T22:06:00.000-04:00

A Sooner fan was driving down a country road when he came upon two OSU Cowboys hitchiking.

He told the Cowboys to jump in the back of his pick-up truck.

He then drove down the dirt road rather fast and lost control of the truck as they were going around a curve.

The truck landed in a lake.

The Sooner fan scrambled to the surface and swam to the bank. When he looked back at the lake, the two Cowboys were still sitting in the bed of the truck looking frantic.

As the truck began sinking the Sooner fan yelled for the OSU players to get out truck, to which they replied, "We're tryin' to get out, but we can't get the dang tailgate open!"

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!

Feast of St. John of Capistrano (1386-1456)

Music Monday & Let's Go Red Sox!

2007-10-22T23:05:00.000-04:00

2007 World Series

-VS-

Game 1

Wednesday, October 24

8pm (Eastern) on Fox

LETS GO RED SOX!!!

Music Monday

1. Bond on Bond (James Bond Theme). Bond

2. Center Aisle. Caedmon's Call

3. The Solid Rock. Charlie Call

4. Ancient of Days. Insyderz

5. The Torch. Dropkick Murphs

6. You Win My Love. Shania Twain

7. Walk Like an Egyptian. The Bangles

8. Mirror. Rebecca St. James

9. Junto a Mi. Jaci Velasquez

10. Fall Down. Jennifer Knapp

The rules, for bloggers who want to play:

Get your iPod or media-player of choice set the thing to shuffle, then post the first ten songs that come out. No cheating, no matter how stupid it makes you feel!

Thanks Be to God and Go Red Sox!

Feast of St. Peter of Alcantara (1499-1562)

Niagara Falls

2007-10-20T22:20:00.001-04:00

Check it out, I'm at Niagara Falls!

So, as I've said, I spent about 3 days in Niagara Falls for the National Johnson-O'Malley Conference. Johnson-O'Malley is a federal program that provides supplemental programming that addresses the unique cultural needs of American Indian public school students. It was great getting to meet so many people from across the country who work with Native students.

After the conference was over I took a representative from the American Indian Graduate Center to several New York state high schools that have high Native enrollments so he could present the scholarship opportunities available through AIGC, as well as to several higher education offices of the Six Nations of the Haudenesaunee (Iroquois).

The day after the conference we spent the morning visiting Niagara Falls, Canada. It was neat to see the falls, but I don't know if it was worth the cost. It cost us $3 to cross the bridge into Canada and then parking was $10 (and that was the cheap parking). We literally spent all of about 15 minutes looking at the falls. I mean, once you've seen them there really isn't much to do but watch more and more water fall over them. Nothing changes, just more and more water.

Well, the Canada side of the falls is a friggin' theme park! The whole time we were there, we kept talking about how ghetto Niagara Falls, NY was and we just thought it was partly due to it being the off-season, but after having seen the Canada side we knew why the New York side has become so run down. New York just can't compete with the variety of things to do on the Canada side and how family friendly the Canada side was. There was tons of stuff to keep a young family occupied for days.

It was a really great trip and I had a fabulous time. Here are some pictures from our day visiting Niagara Falls, Canada.Check out the dude climbing a rope on the Guinness sign! It was a real guy climbing the sign, not some sort of special effect. I have no clue what he was doing?

Seneca Niagara Casino

2007-10-20T22:16:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures from my trip to Niagara Falls.

These are pictures of the Seneca Niagara Casino which is owned and operated by the Seneca Nation.

I didn't come from an especially well-off family and my room at the casino was by far the nicest place I've ever stayed in my entire life...including any of my homes! Though, I readily admit that I'm especially thankful that my job paid for it.

I'll be staying at the Hyatt Regency in Phoenix in about a week, so I'll have to see how it rates against this experience.

Anyway, here's some pics.

Taughannock Falls

2007-10-20T22:06:00.000-04:00

So, as promised, here is the first post about some of my travels during the past week or so.

I started out heading towards Niagara Falls and stopped at Taughannock Falls (Ulysses, NY) on my way. Taughannock Falls is not nearly as big overall as Niagara Falls, but the falls are taller than Niagara and the gorge it flows through has walls as high as 400 ft. tall.

I took these photos on October 13, which was a beautiful fall day here in central New York.

Enjoy

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!

Feast of St. Hilarion (c. 291-371)

I'm back & Sooner Joke of the Week

2007-10-19T21:57:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone,

Sorry, I haven't been posting much lately I was on a recruitment trip for my job. I was in Niagara Falls (I'll post some pics later) and up in northern New York (north of Albany by the Canada border...another great story soon) and then visited a couple of places in the Syracuse area. I was in some pretty rural places and didn't have internet or cell service. I'll try and post some stuff about the trip tomorrow or Sunday.

But, right now here's the Sooner Joke of the Week*:

Unprecedented Child Custody Ruling
AP Wire
Ames, Iowa.

A seven year old boy was at the center of a courtroom drama today when he challenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him.

The boy had a history of being beaten by his parents and the judge initially awarded custody to his aunt, in keeping with the child custody laws and regulations requiring that family unity be maintained if at all possible.

The boy surprised the court when he proclaimed that his aunt beat him more than his parents and refused to live with her.

The judge then suggested the young boy's grandparents as possible guardians, but the boy claimed they beat him also.

After considering the remainder of the immediate family and learning that domestic violence was a common occurance in the boy's family, the judge took the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to propose who should receive custody of him.

After two recesses to check references and confer with child welfare officials, the judge granted temporary custody to the Iowa State Cyclones, whom the judge found to be incapable of beating anyone.

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!
Feast of St. Isaac Jogues, John de Brebeuf and Companions

*Please note that I am in no way meaning to make light of physical or emotional domestic violence...which I totally abhor. This is simply a footbal joke.

A new beginning.

2007-10-12T22:25:00.000-04:00

I have a love-hate relationship with Harvard University, and this is no secret to anyone who knows me. I spent two years as a student of Harvard's Divinity School and every day I was there. I struggled culturally, socially, academically, and emotionally. It was one of the worst two year periods of my life.

But, I always have to remind myself to temper the bad times with the good. Harvard, while having many shortcomings, does have a myriad of positives. I met absolutely amazing people while I was there. The freedom to study literally anything that interests you was stimulating. The breadth of research and access to it was, and is, simply amazing.

Yes, Harvard was an extremely difficult place for me to get through...but, I did get through. I am a Harvard graduate. People look at you differently when they hear you went to Harvard. I'm pretty sure that is a bad thing, but they do it nonetheless. Oftentimes it is extremely embarrasing when people quite literally swoon at having heard those seven letters pronounced together---H-A-R-V-A-R-D. I think a lot of the awe people seem to have for the place is unwarrented, but they have it jst the same.

But, today was a day to revel in the awe. Today marked the inauguration of Drew Gilpin Faust (bio) as the 28th President (the US, which is more than 150 years younger than Harvard is on its 43rd President) of Harvard University (history of the office). President Faust is the first President to be inaugurated int the 21st Century, but more importantly President Faust is the first...Southerner (gasp!) and woman to ever hold the office.

Now I give you President Faust's Inaugural Address (and my comments):

For some reason the coding isn't working right so I put an * at the beginning of each paragraph.

Unleashing Our Most Ambitious Imaginings

President Drew Gilpin Faust

Cambridge, Massachusetts

October 12, 2007

As prepared for delivery.

*I stand honored by your trust, inspired by your charge. I am grateful to the Governing Boards for their confidence, and I thank all of you for gathering in these festival rites. I am indebted to my three predecessors, sitting behind me, for joining me today. But I am grateful to them for much more – for all that they have given to Harvard and for what each of them has generously given to me – advice, wisdom, support. I am touched by the greetings from staff, faculty, students, alumni, universities, from our honorable Governor, and from the remarkable John Hope Franklin, who has both lived and written history. I am grateful to the community leaders from Boston and Cambridge who have come to welcome their new neighbor. I am a little stunned to see almost every person I am related to on earth sitting in the front rows. And I would like to offer a special greeting of my own to my teachers who are here – teachers from grade school, high school, college and graduate school – who taught me to love learning and the institutions that nurture it.

*We gather for a celebration a bit different from our June traditions. Commencement is an annual rite of passage for thousands of graduates; today marks a rite of passage for the University. As at Commencement, we don robes that mark our ties to the most ancient traditions of scholarship. On this occasion, however, our procession includes not just our Harvard community, but scholars – 220 of them – representing universities and colleges from across the country and around the world. I welcome and thank our visitors, for their presence reminds us that what we do here today, and what we do at Harvard every day, links us to universities and societies around the globe.

*Today we mark new beginnings by gathering in solidarity (for those outside the know, Harvard's various schools rarely do anything in solidarity); we celebrate our community and its creativity; we commit ourselves to Harvard and all it represents in a new chapter of its distinguished history. Like a congregation at a wedding, you signify by your presence a pledge of support for this marriage of a new president to a venerable institution. As our colleagues in anthropology understand so well, rituals have meanings and purposes; they are intended to arouse emotions and channel intentions. In ritual, as the poet Thomas Lynch has written, “We act out things we cannot put into words.” But now my task is in fact to put some of this ceremony into words, to capture our meanings and purposes.

*Inaugural speeches are a peculiar genre. They are by definition pronouncements by individuals who don’t yet know what they are talking about. Or, we might more charitably dub them expressions of hope unchastened by the rod of experience.

A number of inaugural veterans – both orators and auditors – have proffered advice, including unanimous agreement that my talk must be shorter than Charles William Eliot’s – which ran to about an hour and a half. Often inaugural addresses contain lists – of a new president’s specific goals or programs. But lists seem too constraining when I think of what today should mean; they seem a way of limiting rather than unleashing our most ambitious imaginings, our profoundest commitments.

*If this is a day to transcend the ordinary, if it is a rare moment when we gather not just as Harvard, but with a wider world of scholarship, teaching and learning, it is a time to reflect on what Harvard and institutions like it mean in this first decade of the 21st century.

*Yet as I considered how to talk about higher education and the future, I found myself – historian that I am – returning to the past and, in particular, to a document I encountered in my first year of graduate school. My cousin Jack Gilpin, Class of ’73, read a section of it at Memorial Church this morning. As John Winthrop sat on board the ship Arbella in 1630, sailing across the Atlantic to found the Massachusetts Bay Colony, he wrote a charge to his band of settlers, a charter for their new beginnings. He offered what he considered “a compass to steer by” – a “model,” but not a set of explicit orders. Winthrop instead sought to focus his followers on the broader significance of their project, on the spirit in which they should undertake their shared work. I aim to offer such a “compass” today, one for us at Harvard, and one that I hope will have meaning for all of us who care about higher education, for we are inevitably, as Winthrop urged his settlers to be, “knitt together in this work as one.”

*American higher education in 2007 is in a state of paradox – at once celebrated and assailed. A host of popular writings from the 1980s on have charged universities with teaching too little, costing too much, coddling professors and neglecting students, embracing an “illiberalism” that has silenced open debate. A PBS special in 2005 described a “sea of mediocrity” that “places this nation at risk.” A report issued by the U.S. Department of Education last year warned of the “obsolescence” of higher education as we know it and called for federal intervention in service of the national interest.

*Yet universities like Harvard and its peers, those represented by so many of you here today, are beloved by alumni who donate billions of dollars each year, are sought after by students who struggle to win admission, and, in fact, are deeply revered by the American public. In a recent survey, 93 percent of respondents considered our universities “one of [the country’s] most valuable resources.” Abroad, our universities are admired and emulated; they are arguably the American institution most respected by the rest of the world.

*How do we explain these contradictions? Is American higher education in crisis, and if so, what kind? What should we as its leaders and representatives be doing about it? This ambivalence, this curious love-hate relationship, derives in no small part from our almost unbounded expectations of our colleges and universities, expectations that are at once intensely felt and poorly understood.

*From the time of its founding, the United States has tied its national identity to the power of education. We have long turned to education to prepare our citizens for the political equality fundamental to our national self-definition. In 1779, for example, Thomas Jefferson called for a national aristocracy of talent, chosen “without regard to wealth, birth, or other accidental condition of circumstance” and “rendered by liberal education ... able to guard the sacred deposit of rights and liberties of their fellow-citizens.” As our economy has become more complex, more tied to specialized knowledge, education has become more crucial to social and economic mobility. W.E.B. DuBois observed in 1903 that “Education and work are the levers to lift up a people.” Education makes the promise of America possible.

*In the past half century, American colleges and universities have shared in a revolution, serving as both the emblem and the engine of the expansion of citizenship, equality and opportunity – to blacks, women, Jews, immigrants, and others who would have been subjected to quotas or excluded altogether in an earlier era. My presence here today – and indeed that of many others on this platform – would have been unimaginable even a few short years ago. Those who charge that universities are unable to change should take note of this transformation, of how different we are from universities even of the mid 20th century(a very good point). And those who long for a lost golden age of higher education should think about the very limited population that alleged utopia actually served. College used to be restricted to a tiny elite; now it serves the many, not just the few. The proportion of the college age population enrolled in higher education today is four times what it was in 1950; twelve times what it was before the 1920s. Ours is a different and a far better world.

*At institutions like Harvard and its peers, this revolution has been built on the notion that access should be based, as Jefferson urged, on talent, not circumstance. In the late 1960s, Harvard began sustained efforts to identify and attract outstanding minority students; in the 1970s, it gradually removed quotas limiting women to a quarter of the entering college class. Recently, Harvard has worked hard to send the message that the college welcomes families from across the economic spectrum. As a result we have seen in the past 3 years a 33 percent increase in students from families with incomes under $60,000 (Harvard is now free for undergraduates whose family income is less than $60,000). Harvard’s dorms and Houses are the most diverse environments in which many of our students will ever live.

*Yet issues of access and cost persist – for middle-class families who suffer terrifying sticker shock, and for graduate and professional students, who may incur enormous debt as they pursue service careers in fields where salaries are modest (especially grad students in Harvard's Education and Divinity Schools who go on to low paying, but especially important jobs). As graduate training comes to seem almost as indispensable as the baccalaureate degree for mobility and success, the cost of these programs takes on even greater importance.

*The desirability and the perceived necessity of higher education have intensified the fears of many. Will I get in? Will I be able to pay? This anxiety expresses itself in both deep-seated resentment and nearly unrealizable expectations. Higher education cannot alone guarantee the mobility and equality at the heart of the American Dream. But we must fully embrace our obligation to be available and affordable. We must make sure that talented students are able to come to Harvard, that they know they are able to come, and that they know we want them here. We need to make sure that cost does not divert students from pursuing their passions and their dreams.

*But American anxiety about higher education is about more than just cost. The deeper problem is a widespread lack of understanding and agreement about what universities ought to do and be. Universities are curious institutions with varied purposes that they have neither clearly articulated nor adequately justified. Resulting public confusion, at a time when higher education has come to seem an indispensable social resource, has produced a torrent of demands for greater “accountability” from colleges and universities.

*Universities are indeed accountable. But we in higher education need to seize the initiative in defining what we are accountable for. We are asked to report graduation rates, graduate school admission statistics, scores on standardized tests intended to assess the “value added” of years in college, research dollars, numbers of faculty publications. But such measures cannot themselves capture the achievements, let alone the aspirations of universities. Many of these metrics are important to know, and they shed light on particular parts of our undertaking. But our purposes are far more ambitious and our accountability thus far more difficult to explain.

*Let me venture a definition. The essence of a university is that it is uniquely accountable to the past and to the future – not simply or even primarily to the present. A university is not about results in the next quarter; it is not even about who a student has become by graduation. It is about learning that molds a lifetime, learning that transmits the heritage of millennia; learning that shapes the future. A university looks both backwards and forwards in ways that must – that even ought to – conflict with a public’s immediate concerns or demands. Universities make commitments to the timeless, and these investments have yields we cannot predict and often cannot measure. Universities are stewards of living tradition – in Widener and Houghton and our 88 other libraries, in the Fogg and the Peabody (Yay Peabody, I worked there as a grad student!), in our departments of classics, of history and of literature. We are uncomfortable with efforts to justify these endeavors by defining them as instrumental, as measurably useful to particular contemporary needs. Instead we pursue them in part “for their own sake,” because they define what has over centuries made us human, not because they can enhance our global competitiveness.

*We pursue them because they offer us as individuals and as societies a depth and breadth of vision we cannot find in the inevitably myopic present. We pursue them too because just as we need food and shelter to survive, just as we need jobs and seek education to better our lot, so too we as human beings search for meaning. We strive to understand who we are, where we came from, where we are going and why. For many people, the four years of undergraduate life offer the only interlude permitted for unfettered exploration of such fundamental questions. But the search for meaning is a never-ending quest that is always interpreting, always interrupting and redefining the status quo, always looking, never content with what is found. An answer simply yields the next question. This is in fact true of all learning, of the natural and social sciences as well as the humanities, and thus of the very core of what universities are about.

*By their nature, universities nurture a culture of restlessness and even unruliness. This lies at the heart of their accountability to the future. Education, research, teaching are always about change – transforming individuals as they learn, transforming the world as our inquiries alter our understanding of it, transforming societies as we see our knowledge translated into policies – policies like those being developed at Harvard to prevent unfair lending practices, or to increase affordable housing or avert nuclear proliferation – or translated into therapies, like those our researchers have designed to treat macular degeneration or to combat anthrax. The expansion of knowledge means change. But change is often uncomfortable, for it always encompasses loss as well as gain, disorientation as well as discovery. It has, as Machiavelli once wrote, no constituency. Yet in facing the future, universities must embrace the unsettling change that is fundamental to every advance in understanding.

*We live in the midst of scientific developments as dramatic as those of any era since the 17th century. Our obligation to the future demands that we take our place at the forefront of these transformations. We must organize ourselves in ways that enable us fully to engage in such exploration, as we have begun to do by creating the Broad Institute, by founding cross school departments, by launching a School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. We must overcome barriers both within and beyond Harvard that could slow or constrain such work, and we must provide the resources and the facilities – like the new science buildings in both Cambridge and Allston – to support it. Our obligation to the future makes additional demands. Universities are, uniquely, a place of philosophers as well as scientists. It is urgent that we pose the questions of ethics and meaning that will enable us to confront the human, the social and the moral significance of our changing relationship with the natural world.

*Accountability to the future requires that we leap geographic as well as intellectual boundaries. Just as we live in a time of narrowing distances between fields and disciplines, so we inhabit an increasingly transnational world in which knowledge itself is the most powerful connector. Our lives here in Cambridge and Boston cannot be separated from the future of the rest of the earth: we share the same changing climate; we contract and spread the same diseases; we participate in the same economy. We must recognize our accountability to the wider world, for, as John Winthrop warned in 1630, “we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us.”

*Harvard is both a source and a symbol of the ever expanding knowledge upon which the future of the earth depends, and we must take an active and reflective role in this new geography of learning. Higher education is burgeoning around the globe in forms that are at once like and unlike our own. American universities are widely emulated, but our imitators often display limited appreciation for the principles of free inquiry and the culture of creative unruliness that defines us.

*The “Veritas” in Harvard’s shield was originally intended to invoke the absolutes of divine revelation, the unassailable verities of Puritan religion. We understand it quite differently now. Truth is an aspiration, not a possession. Yet in this we – and all universities defined by the spirit of debate and free inquiry – challenge and even threaten those who would embrace unquestioned certainties. We must commit ourselves to the uncomfortable position of doubt, to the humility of always believing there is more to know, more to teach, more to understand.

*The kinds of accountability I have described represent at once a privilege and a responsibility. We are able to live at Harvard in a world of intellectual freedom, of inspiring tradition, of extraordinary resources, because we are part of that curious and venerable organization known as a university. We need better to comprehend and advance its purposes – not simply to explain ourselves to an often critical public, but to hold ourselves to our own account. We must act not just as students and staff, historians and computer scientists, lawyers and physicians, linguists and sociologists, but as citizens of the university, with obligations to this commonwealth of the mind. We must regard ourselves as accountable to one another, for we constitute the institution that in turn defines our possibilities. Accountability to the future encompasses special accountability to our students, for they are our most important purpose and legacy. And we are responsible not just to and for this university, Harvard, in this moment, 2007, but to the very concept of the university as it has evolved over nearly a millennium.

*It is not easy to convince a nation or a world to respect, much less support, institutions committed to challenging society’s fundamental assumptions. But it is our obligation to make that case: both to explain our purposes and achieve them so well that these precious institutions survive and prosper in this new century. Harvard cannot do this alone. But all of us know that Harvard has a special role. That is why we are here; that is why it means so much to us (so is this why people swoon at the Harvard name?).

*Last week I was given a brown manila envelope that had been entrusted to the University Archives in 1951 by James B. Conant, Harvard’s 23rd president. He left instructions that it should be opened by the Harvard president at the outset of the next century “and not before.” I broke the seal on the mysterious package to find a remarkable letter from my predecessor. It was addressed to “My dear Sir.” Conant wrote with a sense of imminent danger. He feared an impending World War III that would make “the destruction of our cities including Cambridge quite possible.”

*“We all wonder,” he continued, “how the free world is going to get through the next fifty years.” But as he imagined Harvard’s future, Conant shifted from foreboding to faith. If the “prophets of doom” proved wrong, if there was a Harvard president alive to read his letter, Conant was confident about what the university would be. “You will receive this note and be in charge of a more prosperous and significant institution than the one over which I have the honor to preside ... That ... [Harvard] will maintain the traditions of academic freedom, of tolerance for heresy, I feel sure.” We must dedicate ourselves to making certain he continues to be right; we must share and sustain his faith.

*Conant’s letter, like our gathering here, marks a dramatic intersection of the past with the future. This is a ceremony in which I pledge – with keys and seal and charter – my accountability to the traditions that his voice from the past invokes. And at the same time, I affirm, in compact with all of you, my accountability to and for Harvard’s future. As in Conant’s day, we face uncertainties in a world that gives us sound reason for disquiet. But we too maintain an unwavering belief in the purposes and potential of this university and in all it can do to shape how the world will look another half century from now. Let us embrace those responsibilities and possibilities; let us share them “knitt together . . . as one;” let us take up the work joyfully, for such an assignment is a privilege beyond measure.

~~~

Thanks Be to God and Veritas!

Feast of St. Seraphin of Montegranaro (1540-1604)

13 Favorite Athletes

2007-10-11T17:47:00.000-04:00

Thursday Thirteen: My 13 Favorite Athletes
Note: there was a tie for first place and these are subject to change on a whim

13. Josh Heupel
OU QB 2000 National Championship team

12. Jeff Gordon

4x NASCAR Champion

11. Notah Begay III

PGA Tour Pro and Navajo

10. Entire 2004 Boston Red Sox team

2004 World Champions

9. Warren Spahn

Hall of Famer, Winningest Left-handed pitcher, my grandpa's favorite player

8. Greg Maddux
Future Hall of Fame pitcher and 4x (consecutive!) Cy Young Award Winner

7. Jason White

2003 Heisman Trophy Winner & OU QB

6. Eduardo Najera

Former OU player and current Denver Nugget

5. Jim Thorpe

Arguably the greatest athlete of all time and Sac & Fox

4. Jacoby Ellsbury

Current Boston Red Sox rookie and Navajo

3. Tom Brady

Super Bowl Champion QB for the New England Patriots

1. David "Big Papi" Ortiz

DH for the Boston Red Sox

1. Ricky Bobby

Greatest NASCAR driver of all time!

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!

Feast of Bl. Angela Truszkowska (1825-1899)

Oh, by the way...

2007-10-10T22:36:00.000-04:00

Cleveland defeated the Skankees

in the ALDS 3 games to 1!

Oh Happy Day!

Sooner Joke of the Week

2007-10-10T22:18:00.000-04:00

Surprise, surprise, it's another busy work in my student services life.

I'm trying to get things organized for a week long recruitment trip here in New York state next week. It's really trying to get everything done that needs to happen.

But, what is making it really trying are the students...God love'm. Can't elaborate too much, but they just aren't getting things done that need to happen and it's gettin' darn infuriating. These aren't difficult things either. It's as if they don't even care. I could easily do it for them, but they wouldn't learn anything then. Oh well, you can drag a horse to water...

For your joyous amusement, here's the Sooner Joke of the Week!

Albert Einstein goes to a party. He introduces himself to a lady and says, "Hi, I'm Albert Einstein. What's you're IQ?"
"240," she says.
"Great, we can discuss the mysteries of the universe and other things. We have a lot we can talk about " he replies.

Later he is talking with a man and says, "Hi, I'm Albert Einstein. What's you're IQ?"
"145," he replies.
"Great, we can talk about thermodynamics," says Albert.

Later he is talking to another gentleman and says, "Hi, I'm Albert Einstein. What's you're IQ?
"43," the man manages to say.
Einstein gets a puzzled look on his face for a minute then says, "Hook'em Horns!"

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!
Feast of St. Francis Borgia (1510-1572)

Music Monday

2007-10-08T18:23:00.000-04:00

Well, the Skanks pulled one out last night against Cleveland, but hopefully Cleveland can put the Skanks out of the playoffs for good tonight.

Nothing much happened today. Another Holocaust Day (aka Columbus Day) has come and gone and the majority of the country is still oblivious to the atrocities carried out by Columbus and those he led.

I'm renewing a part of this blog that I let go into hibernation for a long while. At the bottom of each post I will note what/whose feast day it is according to the Catholic calendar. I will also link to a site that will tell you a little about the person or event the feast commemorates.

This is a really busy week. I'm finalizing the details for a week-long recruiting trip to western New York next week. The Dalai Lama is in town this week, and I get to see him speak on Wednesday morning. I knew October was going to be jam packed, but I'm starting to feel the pinch.

And, without further ado, Music Monday:

1. Say the Words. DC Talk
2. Nothing Else Matters. Metallica
3. Lazy River. The Mills Brothers
4. The Invitation. Steven Curtis Chapman
5. Free Fallin'. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
6. So Pray. Stacie Orrico
7. Boy Like Me, Man Like You. Rich Mullins
8. Flower in the Rain. Jaci Velasquez
9. We Were in Love. Toby Keith
10. Knee Deep. George Clinton

The rules, for bloggers who want to play:
Get your iPod or media-player of choice set the thing to shuffle, then post the first ten songs that come out. No cheating, no matter how stupid it makes you feel!

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!
Feast of St. John Leonardi (1541?-1609)

Happy Holocaust Day!

2007-10-08T00:06:00.000-04:00

Happy Holocaust Day!

Some people out there seem to think that Christopher Columbus is someone to be honored, and that people who speak out against him are liberal pc whackos. I wonder if they truly know what Columbus did and/or allowed those under him to do?

Perhaps they should read the diaries of the Dominican Friar Bartolome de Las Casas, and then they might have an idea what a butcher Columbus and the Spanish really were.

A blog author that I generally like to read, though often disagree with, recently labled one of his posts Maybe Colonialism Wasn't All Bad After All. Hmm, I don't think my ancestors would agree.

If anyone has a reason to complain about illegal immigration, it is the indigenous people of the so-called "Americas."

"[The Indians] suffered and died in the mines and others in desperate silence, knowing not a soul in the world to whom they could turn for help."

Bartolome de Las Casas, 1542

"I suppose that I should be ashamed to say that I take the Western view of the Indian. I don't go so far as to think that the only good Indians are dead Indians, but I believe nine out of every ten are, and I shouldn't like to inquire too closely into the case of the tenth."

Theodore Roosevelt, 1886

"What we have committed in the Indies stands out among the most unpardonable offenses ever committed against God and mankind and this trade [Indian slavery] as one of the most unjust, evil and cruel among them."

Bartolome de Las Casas

And finally, two videos for your viewing pleasure that speak to the misinformed belief that Columbus Day is an honorable holiday (the 2nd video is really good if you can get past the music of the first two minutes or so).

Hmm, it all makes me wonder why any of us ever accepted Christianity?

There's an old story that makes the rounds in Indian Country, it goes something like this:

Missionary: If you do not accept Christ as your savior you will go to hell.

Chief: If you had never told me of this Christ, and I never knew of him, would I still go to hell?

Missionary: No you would not got to hell for it would not be your fault if I had never come or you never learned of Christ.

Chief: Then why did you tell me of him?

What a weekend!

2007-10-07T21:09:00.000-04:00

Oh my, what a weekend!

All in all, it was one heck of a weekend in sports!

Now, first off, I didn't get to see the OU-Texas game for the first time in 10 years! The first time since I was a freshman at OU! Un-friggin'-belivable!

The "nationally" televised game was NOT televised in New York! Can you believe they televised the Iowa-Penn St. game? Wh-wh-what? You gotta be kidding me! There is no way on God's green earth that Iowa-Penn St. is a bigger game than OU-Texas! No way! Not ever! Regardless of polls! The Iowa-Penn St. game will never, never, ever be as a big a game in any year, under any circumstances, as the OU-Texas game. Unbelievable!

I tried to call my cable operator, Time Warner Central New York, to order ESPN Game Plan which was showing the OU-Texas game. The ESPN site clearly stated that you could order Game Plan by the week for $21.95. But, Time Warner told me they only sold the entire season. The entire season costs $129. I don't want the entire season...I only wanted this week. OMG!

But, I followed the score on the tv and ABC/ESPN cut away from the Iowa-Penn St. game with about 4 minutes to go in the OU-Texas game, so I was able to see the end. And today (Sunday), ESPNU showed the game so I watched it today.

But seriously, Iowa-Penn St. over OU-Texas? What're they smokin'?

My Sooners looked absolutely amazing against UT. They didn't dominate the shorthorns the way they did their first four opponents, but they played a solid, well-played game and I'm telling you Sam Bradford is looking friggin' amazing!

If Bradford stays healthy it is going to be one stupendously awesome next couple of years!

The Sooners can't get ahead of themselves though because we've got the #11 Missouri Tigers coming into Memorial Stadium on Saturday. This is just another big game for the Sooners...heck, even ESPN GameDay will be there for this one.

That should tell you how big this game is...as if any of the Sooners games aren't big (ok, maybe North Texas wasn't big)! Now as long as Corso doesn't pick the Sooners and impart his friggin' gypsy curse on us!

And, in case you missed it...the Stanford Big Trees beat USC in the Coliseum!

Things are startin' to fall into place for OU to still have an outside shot at a championship. With Kentucky, Wisconsin and USC falling it opened up enough room for OU to jump up in the polls.

The only downside is that LSU won their game against Florida. Florida was firmly in control of that ballgame until they announced that USC had lost to Stanford. That just fired up LSU and they never looked back after that.

I'm not sure what's most out of whack about the football polls right now...the fact that USF (the University of South Florida has a football team? Since when?) is in the top 5, or the fact that the Kansas Jayhawks are ranked ahead of Texas and it's not a basketball poll?

You can't make this stuff up. Between the Appalachian State win over Michigan, Notre Dame's 0-5 start, and the Stanford Big Trees upsetting USC at home, it has been one hell of a football season! And we're just halfway through the regular season with the BCS poll due out next week!

Can you believe it?

In baseball, my Red Sox swept the Anaheim Angels and have home field advantage in the American League Championship Series against either Cleveland or the Skankees. Dangit, Cleveland let the Skanks win tonight to cause a game 4...c'mon Cleveland, take the friggin' Skanks out!
The Patriots are looking fan-dang-tastic and are 5-0! Assuming Dallas wins their game against Buffalo on Monday night, next weeks game against what could be a 5-0 Dallas looks to be huge!

I think, with the exception of Holocaust Day (aka Columbus Day), that October may be the best month of the year! Think about it...

football (college & pro) is in full swing
baseball is in the playoffs
basketball is about to start
hockey is starting
Soccer/Futball is in full swing

I swear October is a sports lovers dream!

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!

Surely not in my diocese?

2007-10-06T11:11:00.000-04:00

There's been a lot of fallout about Pope Benedict XVI's recently published Motu Proprio regarding the so-called "Traditional Latin Mass," but I never thought there'd be a priest openly speaking out against the Pope's directive in my home diocese, the Archdiocese Oklahoma City.

The Archbishop of Oklahoma City, Eusebius Beltran, has always seemed to be fairly orthodox and supportive of orthodox Catholic values. And, because of his orthodox stance I never fully expected any of his priests to speak out so vocally against the Holy Father or the Vatican as Fr. Jack Feehily has in a recent letter to the archdiocesan newspaper the Sooner Catholic (current issue in pdf, for letter see pg. 13).

I knew there were some leftover priests from the hippie '60s left in the archdiocese, I just didn't expect any of them to have the chutzpah to speak so openly against the Holy Father. I'm also surprised the Archbishop allowed the letter to be published.

I've heard of this priest before, but I don't know anything about him other than his name.

Anyway, here's the letter...tell me what you think.

The Power of Participation
Earlier this summer, Pope Benedict gave permission to all priests who so desire to use the Latin missal of 1962 "in Masses celebrated without the peole." He also indicated that such Masses may be "attended by [the] faithful, who of their own free will, ask to be admitted." Since there is no such thing as a "Solemn High Mass" celebrated without the people, I am confused by the publication of your invitation to such a Mass in Kingfisher [Scott's note: see text below]. I don't remember reading anything in the pope's document that made provision for the public promotion of this rite, but I'm sure the archbishop has the authority to do so if he chooses. I'm concerned that it is likely to cause confusion, or a least curiosity, among so many Oklahoma Catholics who have little or no knowledge of such a rite. They could understandably ask, "why would anyone want to celebrate Mass in a language no one understands," or, "is there something wrong with the Mass we have been celebrating all or most of our lives that we should want to go back to an older form of it?" And among those of us who remember the older form well, we could ask, "Why would we want to celebrate a Mass with the priest looking away from us and in which he says all the prayers himself save for a few responses by an altar boy?"

From my reading of the motu proprio (on his own authority), the pope wished to make it clear that the former rite, because of its usage over hundreds of years, continues to be a legitimate expression of the church's fundamental law of prayer ("as the church prays, so does she believe"). He was primarily motivated by his desire to reconcile Catholics who continue to revere this form of the Mass and wish to have freer access to it. But while the Mass we have been celebrating since 1970 may be no more valid than any of its predecessor rites, it came about as the result of a great church council (Vatican II) which called for a renewal of the Mass and all the sacramental rites of the church so that their rich meaning may be more readily accessible to all the faithful. The council called upon the "pastors of souls [to] realize that, when the liturgy is celebrated, something more is required than the mere observation of the laws governing valid and licit celebration; it is their duty also to ensure that the faithful take part fully aware of what they are doing, actively engaged in the rite, and enriched by its effects." The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy stated unequivocally that the Church "earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that fully conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy. Such participation by the Christian people as a 'chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a redeemed people, is their right and duty by reason of their baptism.'" Wherever the revised rites of the Mass and the other Sacraments have been celebrated with both reverence and enthusiasm, Christ's faithful have been empowered to live out their baptismal calling by loving and serving the Lord.

I respect those who express nostalgia for "the good old days," but there can be no going back to the future. I think I speak for many priests and a great many of the faithful when I say that I am profoundly grateful for the many positive fruits that were generated by the Second Vatican Council. Chief among them is a deeper appreciation of why the bread and wine become the very substance of the body and blood, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is no less than this: Christ becomes fully and truly present so that we who receive him can become the very substance of his body --the Church -- so that in us and with us and through us he can continue to transform the world. Deo Gratias!
Father Jack Feehily

The Kingfisher reference:
This was announced in the Sept. 9 issue of the Sooner Catholic on p. 23

High Mass to be Celebrated
A celebration of a Solemn High Mass according to the 1962 ritual of the Mass (the Tridentine Mass) will be held on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross at Sts. Peter & Paul Church, Kingfisher, at 6pm Sept. 14. A reception will follow in Ross Hall.

The choir from St. Michael's Chapel in Bethany will be singing Spanish composer Tomas Luis de Victoria's (1548-1611) "O Quam Gloriosum," a rarely heard polyphonic masterpiece from the golden age of classical church music. Everyone is invited to attend to make Pope Benedict's recent instruction allowing the celebration of both forms of the Holy Mass in the Roman Catholic Church (both the 1962 Mass and the Novus Ordo Mass). Both forms of the Holy Mass are privileged expressions of the teaching of the Second Vatican Council that "the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; it is also the fount from which all her power flows." (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, 10). for both those who remember the 1962 Mass and those who have never experienced it, this will be a unique opportunity to visit and to participate in one aspect of the Church's rich spiritual treasury. "For it is the liturgy through which, especially in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist, the work of our redemption is accomplished, and it is through the liturgy, especially, that the faithful are enabled to express in their lives and manifest to others the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Church." (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, 2).

Everyone is welcome and encouraged to unite for this special event.

and Texas still sucks!

2007-10-04T20:52:00.001-04:00

Thanks Be to God and

BOOMER SOONER!!!!

I've been tagged...

2007-10-04T20:35:00.000-04:00

I was tagged by The Mom...I'm not sure who to tag, so if you're reading this and you have a blog consider yourself tagged!

1. Do you attend the Traditional Latin Mass or the Novus Ordo?
NO, I've never been to a TLM and am kind of skeptical as to whether I'd like it or not, but I'm open to checking one out if I ever have the chance.

2. If you attend the TLM, how far do you drive to get there? 0, please see answer to #1

3. If you had to apply a Catholic label to yourself, what would it be? probably fairly middle of the road with traditionalist/conservative leanings

4. Are you a comment junkie? if you mean checking out the comments on other people's blogs while rarely leaving any comments...then, yes

5. Do you go back to read the comments on the blogs you’ve commented on? Sometimes, especially if I expect there to some fallout from my comment

6. Have you ever left an anonymous comment on another blog? not that I can remember, I'm pretty much of the opinion that if you don't want people to know you said it, then you probably shouldn't say it

7. Which blogroll would you most like to be on? I get pretty psyched anytime I'm on any blogroll

8. Which blog is the first one you check? I read The Cafeteria is Closed and The Crescat pretty religiously (nod, nod, wink, wink)

9. Have you met any other bloggers in person? just some friends I know who blog

10. What are you reading? The Painted Drum by Louise Erdich

Bonus Question! Has your site been banned by Spirit of Vatican II? Umm, idk?

It's busy...

2007-10-02T06:26:00.000-04:00

Oh, my Sooners completely shot themselves in the foot (feet?). Not to take anything away from Colorado who played a great game, but turnovers, penalties, and dropped passes absolutely killed us. But, at least Texass also lost...and don't forget that Florida won a championship last year with one loss---but it's a long shot and we'd need a lot of teams to help us out along the way. Oh well, bring on the Shorthorns!

Sorry for not posting for a few days. It's been really hectic here. We hosted 33 American Indian senior high school students from around the country to come and visit the campus and see if it might be where they'd like to go to college.

Needless to say, with that many people there were a number of small travel problems along the way. But, I think we got most of them taken care of and it seems that everyone had a pretty decent time.

Yet, I definitely have a long list of things that we can address to hopefully make next year's program better.

I've got to take two students to the airport today, which is about an hour away, and then I'm off for a recruitment trip until Thursday when I'm due back on campus to make a presentation to a university committee. It's kind of an important presentation so I'm praying it all goes well.

Until later...

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!

I get to see the Dalai Lama!

2007-09-27T21:56:00.000-04:00

I am so freakin' psyched! I was given a ticket to see the Dalai Lama when he comes to Ithaca in a couple of weeks. I don't even believe in Nirvana, but you know what? I'm there!

So, here's the scoop...

The Cornell United Religious Work (CURW is the clearinghouse for all the various chaplaincies on campus) invited me to come and speak to the chaplains about the American Indian Program, challenges faced by American Indian students, and my personal academic interest in the intersection of Native and Christian traditions.

It was a great meeting. I really enjoyed meeting all of them. There were chaplains from all the various Christian traditions, as well as other world religious traditions. They seemed really interested in learning more about the challenges American Indians face in the American educational system. I hope I was able to give them information that they may not have known and will be useful for them.

Then, they gave me a ticket to the Dalai Lama event, which CURW is basically hosting. I'm telling you that just getting to meet those chaplains and talking with them was probably the best thing I've done in months...but, then they gave me a ticket to see the Dalai Lama.

This job just keeps getting betterer and betterer!

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!

13 Things Rockin' My World Right Now

2007-09-27T18:57:00.000-04:00

Well, Thursday Thirteen #1 went ok, so here's another dose...

13 Things Rockin' My World Right Now
(in no particular order)

1. Takin' students leaders to dinner to plan out their year.
2. 33 American Indian high school seniors visiting campus this weekend.
3. I love, love, love my job!
4. Getting to speak to all the campus chaplains about things I'm passionate about.
5. My new rice cooker.
6. The energy that college & high school students have.
7. Jesus...he constantly rocks my world!
8. The weather finally cooling off.
9. My iPod...what'd we do before these things?
10. Getting to do recruitment travel next week.
11. Seeing friends from Harvard who are now grad students at my new university.
12. Netflix...dude, they deliver movies to your house! How cool is that!
13. Getting a ticket to see the Dalai Lama when he visits! Too Awesome!

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!

Sooner Joke of the Week

2007-09-25T20:36:00.000-04:00

Only 2 weeks to OU-Texass

Avoid the Rush, Hate Texass Now!

Crook'em Horns! (Special thanks to Laroo)

1. What do you call a drug ring in Austin? A huddle.
2. There's four Texass Longhorns in a car, who's driving? The police.
3. Did you hear the Texass Longhorns have adopted a new "Honor System"? "Yes your Honor, No your Honor."
4. The Texass Longhorns knew they had to do something for their defense,so they hired a new defensive coordinator: F. Lee Bailey.
5. How did the Texass Longhorns spend their first week at fall practice? Studying their Miranda Rights.
6. What do you say to a Longhorn in a suit? "Will the defendant please rise?"
7. If you see Longhorn football player on a bike, why don't you swerve to hit him? It might be your bike!
8. The Longhorns employ scouts. But they're to look out for cops, not to scout high school kids.
9. I heard a rumor that the Texass Department of Corrections plans to build a new prison in Austin so Longhorns can walk to school.
10. What do you call it when a Longhorn goes on vacation? Time off for good behavior.
11. Why couldn't the Longhorn enter huddle on the football field? It's a parole violation to associate with known felons.

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!

Music Monday

2007-09-24T20:12:00.000-04:00

She gives me a hat tip for giving her the idea for the so-called iPod Shuffle of the Week...well, I'm givin' a hat tip to Melessa for giving me a better name and a regular day to do it on!

I debut for your blog reading pleasure:

Music Monday

1. Do It Again. Point of Grace
2. This is Worth Fighting For. The Ink Spots
3. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy. The Andrews Sisters
4. Real Emotions. Los Lonely Boys
5. My Toy Soldier. 50-Cent featuring Tony Yayo
6. A Cold Heart Turns. Rebecca St. James
7. The Love He has for You. Point of Grace
8. I Walk the Line. Los Lonely Boys
9. Mrs. Morgan. DC Talk
10. Men's Grass Dance. Eagle Claw

Now, I swear I put the first 10 songs that came up, and I definitely had it on shuffle...and that's what so weird. 2 Point of Grace songs, 2 Los Lonely Boys songs.

But, by far the weirdest of all are numbers 2 and 3 because those are both Big Band songs from the World War II era (hey, I grew up with my grandparents)...and what's on tv right now? Ken Burns' The War on PBS. I tell you it's just plain freaky!

The rules, for bloggers who want to play:
Get your iPod or media-player of choice set the thing to shuffle, then post the first ten songs that come out. No cheating, no matter how stupid it makes you feel!

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!

Sexist post alert!

2007-09-21T21:14:00.000-04:00

Romney? Obama? Giuliani? Clinton? McCain?

Screw the candidates...

I'm votin' for First Lady!

Former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-TN) with his smokin' hot trophy-wife Jeri.
(I learned about Thompson's wife here)

The Thompsons at a party for the Macedonian Embassy (source)

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!

Thursday Thirteen

2007-09-20T23:22:00.000-04:00

So, I know quite a few bloggers play Thursday Thirteen and I thought I might try it too. The basic idea is every Thursday you come up with a list of thirteen items. Thursday Thirteen can literally be about anything.

I guess I'll see how it goes. So, my very first Thursday Thirteen (in no particular order):

13 Things You'll Never Hear an Indian* Say:

1) "You can't feed that to the dog!"
2) "Do you think my hair is too long?"
3) "I can't wear shorts - look how white my legs are."
4) "My Grandma was a Cherokee Princess."
5) "I've never eaten beans."
6) "Sorry, but you can't sleep hear tonight."
7) "Hey, anybody want this block of cheese?"
8) "The judges were right, the other dancer deserved to win."
9) "No thanks, I'm a vegetarian."
10) "No, I won't help you move."
11) "My tribal officials are the most trustworthy people in the whole world."
12) "No thanks, I don't want any frybread."
13) "I'm gonna vote for the most qualified candidate for Tribal Council and not my relative."

*American Indians...not India Indians.

Sooner Joke of the Week

2007-09-19T21:47:00.000-04:00

Why did Oklahoma State choose orange as its primary color?

So they could wear their uniforms to the game on Saturday, to go hunting on Sunday, and to pick up trash the rest of the week!

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!

Batsh*t Crazy Award

2007-09-18T22:08:00.000-04:00

The story (here) isn't reported very well, but there most likely wasn't much to work with.

Evidently, State Senator Ernie Chambers (left) of Nebraska has filed a lawsuit and named...get this...God as the defendent.

This whack-job even tried to serve God with papers and states, "Plaintiff, despite reasonable efforts to effectuate personal service upon defendant 'Come out, come out, wherever you are,' has been unable to do so."

I hope Senator Chambers hasn't forgotten that God has subpoenaed him to the Final Judgement.

Cukoo, Cukoo, Cukoo!!!

Image Credit

Man, I love football season!

2007-09-18T21:50:00.000-04:00

BayouDog posted these "motivational" posters about the SEC over at his blog (here). They are Hi-freakin'-larious! He's sayin' he wants to do a set for each conference. I cannot wait to see what he comes up with for the Big XII. Enjoy!

Note: click on the photo to make bigger if necessary.

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!

breathing room

2007-09-17T20:35:00.000-04:00

Finally...a little breathing room.

I've been living from paycheck to paycheck for years now. I was the epitome of starving college/grad student. Ramen noodles and I are good, good friends (luckily, I actually like ramen noodles).

Then I got this sweet job that I have now. I love my job! Maybe I'm still in the honeymoon program, but I'm loving it right now. I love being able to work with students and help them succeed.

But, one would think that leaving school and finally getting a good paying job, with real benefits would really loosen up the purse-strings. But, in my case that wasn't the case. Here's why.

When I received my job offer I had already made plans to stay in Boston for at least a year, and had plans to stay on at the museum I was working with. I had already agreed to rent an apartment for the summer in Boston when I realized I would be moving prior to the end of that sub-lease.

So, I moved to my new job and rented a place in the town, but I was still paying rent in Boston. Now, I know some of you will say I should have just let the Boston apartment go. And normally I would have. The problem was that I was sub-leasing from a friend of mine at Harvard. If it weren't for that fact I would have definitely stopped paying the rent in Boston. But, I just couldn't do that to a friend.

So, from June though August I was paying two rents in two cities. It wasn't until this past Friday that I received a paycheck that wasn't taken by one of the rents. Wow, it's like I'm rich all of a sudden. Too bad I'm not!

Now, don't go assuming that I'm rolling in dough now...I'm not. There are a billion things I need to get, that I haven't because I was spending all my income on two apartments.

When I moved to Boston, I sold everything, and I mean everything, I owned. Now, I have a new apartment and I have nothing. I'm trying to get all my kitchen stuff, all the normal stuff a house needs like cleaning stuff, bed linens for a new bed (luckily I rented a place that was furnished).

And, on top of home needs, I need to outfit myself. I've been living, and dressing, as a student for about ten years. Needless to say, my wardrobe wasn't exactly office friendly. Luckily for me, the office I work in is very flexible and I've been able to wear jeans and polo shirts most of the time and its hunky-dory.

But, I definitely would like to upgrade my wardrobe to a more business casual look. It would make me feel more professional, and I think it would help me as I navigate different offices on campus. 'Cause, let's be honest, I don't look like a 35 year old student services professional...I look like a young grad student...and people often treat me as such. It isn't their fault, that's what they are used to and I look the part. So, I'm working on upgrading my wardrobe.

And then I'm also trying to save for a decent older used car, wanting to take a trip back to Oklahoma to see friends, etc., etc., etc.

So, it definitely feels good to be a little more financially free since I'm not paying two rents, but there are lots of other places I need to direct that money. I guess, in reality, I'm not really any better off financially, but that I'm finally able to focus on some of my material needs. Which, all in all, feels pretty darn good.

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!

iPod shuffle of the week

2007-09-16T15:18:00.000-04:00

I haven't done this for a while and I'm thinking I should update more on this than I have been. So, I thought reviving the iPod shuffle could kick-off a more active blog. Here goes:

1. Sinking. Jars of Clay
2. Centerfold. The J. Geils Band
3. A day in the life. The Beatles
4. Cave of the Heart. John Michael Talbot
5. When You Hold Me. Jaci Velasquez
6. Someday Right Now. Mustard Plug
7. Blackbird. The Beatles
8. Ocean. Ten Shekel Shirt
9. Phase 4 Gourd Song 3. Cozad Family & Friends Oklahoma Gourd Songs
10. Sunday Morning Comin' Down. Kris Kristofferson

The rules, for bloggers who want to play:
Get your iPod or media-player of choice set the thing to shuffle, then post the first ten songs that come out. No cheating, no matter how stupid it makes you feel!

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!

Church, football, Sooner joke & life...

2007-09-13T22:16:00.000-04:00

Church update...
Thanks to everyone who left comments after my post (here) on my dilemma with church right now. I haven't found a solution to my problem yet. I've still considering going to a Protestant church, but haven't done so yet. Nor have I been to Mass (I know, I know).

I will say that I have started listening to a couple of Podcasts and I've started listening to Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) more lately. I know a lot of conservative Catholics, especially the Latin Mass enthusiasts, find CCM to be really troublesome and not good quality. But, having grown up Protestant with that style hymnody, I really find CCM to be very uplifting. I find my entire mood changes when I'm listening to CCM...even my spiritual mood, which is awesome in my book. But, as I said, I'm still not going to church.

I really appreciate everything that was said, and I will even make a couple of comments on the comments.

---Eucharistic Adoration
Yes, Rebecca, I have kept Eucharistic Adoration at various times in my life. Right now is, admittedly, not one of those times. Perhaps it is something I should try again...I'll think about it.
And thanks for the encouragement to know that JPII and Mother Theresa also suffered times of doubt or darkness. It always helps to know one isn't alone.

---TLM
And, thanks to you, YoungCatholicSTL, for suggesting I might find what I'm missing by attending a Traditional Latin Mass (TLM). I admit that I've never been to one and don't even know if one is available in my area. I don't currently have a car, so that does curtail my ability to make it to different parishes in the area also. If I could find a TLM in the area that I could get to given my transport deficiency I would probably go just out of curiosity. However, I'm still not convinced that I would like the Mass in Latin. I really believe, that no matter what else, if the Mass was still said exclusively in Latin I would never have considered entering the Church. Again, I'm reserving judgement, but I'm skeptical.

---and thanks to
Thanks to Buckeye Catholic who gave some sound advice, to Steve who can relate, and to Melessa for reminding me I'm not alone.

I'll be sure to keep updating on this. I think this may just be a process I need to work through...and hopefully I'll come out with an even stronger faith in the end.

Football
Holy Cow! My Sooners opened up a great big'ol can of whoop ass on the Miami Hurricanes, beating the U 51-13! It was an amazing game. The only way it could have been better is if I had been watching it with other OU fans. But, seeing as I'm in central New York there aren't that many Sooners around here. Though I have met one person at the school I work at who got a PhD from OU.

Sam Bradford is lookin' flat dang amazing! I know everyone is surprised at how good the team looks at this point, but let's be honest, we all knew the team was going to be good and that the only question was if Stoops could find a QB. Well, I don't know what rock Stoops found Sam Bradford, but we need to have that rock put on a pedastal and stored in the Switzer Center!

We started out the season #8, moved to #5 after the opener, then jumped to #3 after the Miami win. Now, if only USC or LSU would lose.

Sooner Joke of the Week
So, after the joke about creation I thought I'd add a new section to my blog weekly called Sooner Joke of the Week. Here's this week's joke:

What does a University of Texas graduate say to a Sooner?
Would you like fries with that?

Life in general
Life is fairly good right now. I'm really liking my job. I went through a little bump with the students a couple of weeks ago, but it's looking really good right now. I'm working a bunch of hours, but I'm really not mindng since I like the job so much.

The recruitment season for me will start in earnest in a couple of weeks and then I'll be on the road for about 17 days in October. I'm excited about it though.

That's about it for now.

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!

It's all about balance...

2007-09-04T22:59:00.001-04:00

Once upon a time in the Kingdom of Heaven, God was missing for 6 days.

Eventually, Michael, the archangel found him resting on the 7th day. He inquired of God, "Where have you been?"

God sighed a deep sigh of satisfaction and proudly pointed downward through the clouds. "I've put LIFE on it. I'm going to call it Earth and it's going to be a great place of balance."

"Balance?", inquired Michael, still confused.

God explained, pointing to different parts of Earth. "For example, Northern Europe will be a place of great opportunity and wealth, while Southern Europe is gong to be poor, the Middle East over there will be a hot spot."

"Over there, I've placed a continent of white people and over there is a continent of black people"

God continued, pointing to different countries. "This one will be extremely hot and arid, while this one will be very cold and covered with ice."

The archangel, impressed by God's work, then pointed to a beautiful land in the center of a large mass. "What is that one?"

"Ah" , said God.

"That is Oklahoma, the most glorious place on Earth. There's beautiful lakes, rivers, and streams, and prairie. The people from Oklahoma are going to be modest, intelligent and humorous, and they are going to be found traveling the world. They will be extremely sociable, hard-working and high achieving and they will be known throughout the world as diplomats and carriers of peace."

"I'm also going to give them a super human football team which will be admired and feared by all who come across them."

Michael gasped in wonder and admiration, but then proclaimed, "What about balance, God? You said there will always be balance."

God replied wisely, "Wait until you see the land of loud-mouth morons I'm putting next to them."

"I will call it TEXAS"

#5 and Quote of the week...

2007-09-04T20:33:00.000-04:00

My beloved Oklahoma Sooners moved up to #5 in the AP Poll this week after kicking the snot out of North Texas 79-10!

Rumor has it that Coach Stoops instructed the running backs to just fall down if they broke past the offensive line in the fourth quarter. TOO FRIGGIN' AWESOME!

Sam Bradford looked really good this past weekend. We'll be able to tell more this weekend though when Miami comes into Norman. This should be a real test for the Sooners and we'll be able to see just how good the Sooners could be.

Quote of the week:

"You know you're not in high school anymore when you see the Sooner Schooner rollin' in!"

Reese Davis referring to rookie North Texas head coach Todd Dodge who took over the Mean Grean straight from coaching high school.

QB Sam Bradford against UNT

Thanks Be to God and BOOMER SOONER!

Sooner Legend: Jack "Indian Jack" Jacobs

2007-09-02T21:02:00.000-04:00

No Hitter in Beantown!

2007-09-02T14:07:00.000-04:00

BOSTON -- For 23-year-old right-hander Clay Buchholz, whose understated Beaumont, Texas, drawl bespeaks a grasp of higher powers, the moment came around the seventh inning of his second Major League start.

"You know when everybody knows what's going on," said Buchholz on Saturday night, still wearing his Red Sox jersey, "and then you look at the scoreboard, and then say, 'Oh, Lord.'"

And so the 6-foot-3 rookie, whose Major League focus matched a singularly dominant repertoire on one historic night, finally noticed a lack of Red Sox sitting near him in the dugout. Then he went out and became only the third pitcher since 1900 to throw a no-hitter in his first or second Major League start.

By completing the 17th no-hitter in Red Sox history, Buchholz accomplished at such an early stage in his career what Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling never did in a Red Sox uniform.

Buchholz struck out nine, walked three and hit a batter as Boston won, 10-0, before 36,819 thrilled fans. And he threw 115 pitches before a workload-leery Red Sox front office, which gleefully celebrated with hugs and fist pumps on the last offering, a 1-2 curveball that froze Nick Markakis.

Buchholz joined Mark Buehrle of the White Sox (April 18) and Justin Verlander of the Tigers (June 12) among the pitchers to throw a no-hitter this season -- all of whom are American Leaguers. He also became the 21st rookie to throw a no-hitter, the first since Florida's Anibal Sanchez on Sept. 6, 2006.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Buchholz is the third pitcher since 1900 to throw a no-hitter in his first or second Major League start. Bobo Hollomon threw a no-hitter in his debut on May 6, 1953, for the St. Louis Browns at home against the Philadelphia A's, and Wilson Alvarez did it in his second start on Aug. 11, 1991, for the White Sox at Baltimore.

Considered one of the franchise's top pitching prospects since his arrival as a sandwich pick -- 42nd overall -- out of Angelina College in 2005, compensation for Martinez leaving as a free agent, Buchholz didn't take long to establish himself in the Majors.

For nine innings, Buchholz sparkled among thousands of flashbulbs. He commanded his fastball early, working in a devastating array of offspeed pitches.

After each out, typically the result of a gravity-defying curveball or an immaculately released changeup, the nervous Red Sox rookie nibbled on his glove, enjoying the scene. No later than the seventh inning, the crowd had reached a fever pitch.

Miguel Tejada led off the seventh with a hot shot up the middle. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia dove to his right, stabbing the bounding ball. He turned and threw. Tejada, hurtling headfirst into first, was late.

"To me," Tejada said, "that was the best play they made the whole night."

Buchholz's defensive reputation lags behind the Gold Glove candidate Pedroia's. Nevertheless, he came up with his own top play in the eighth, snaring a Jay Payton rocket on the mound and throwing him out.

Still, Jason Varitek took special care to note the impressive ground that center fielder Coco Crisp covered on a pair of Corey Patterson drives to the outfield gap -- one in the sixth, one in the ninth. That was the most "overlooked" performance, the Sox catcher said.

Answered Crisp, "All the credit goes to [Buchholz]."

"We're back there just trying to make plays for him," Crisp said. "We're his pawns ... and you know, we've got to come up with the plays. That's our job."

The night belonged to Buchholz. When he rang up the final out, a delayed punchout that sent the crowd and the home dugout into a frenzy, the Red Sox spilled onto the field, forming a bounding huddle around the rookie pitcher.

Crisp and third baseman Mike Lowell expressed disappointment that David Ortiz -- "camera hog," Lowell called Big Papi -- beat them to the punch.

"You're rooting for him," Lowell said. "You're absolutely rooting for him."
After the game, Crisp ticked off the many ways in which Buchholz took control.

"He was able to stay focused," he said, "and not allow too many hard-hit balls. And the ones that were hit stayed up in the air."

Perhaps most importantly, Crisp said, on a night when he began the fifth and sixth by walking leadoff men -- "a couple of big innings that can throw a pitcher off" -- Buchholz "was able to relax, go back out there, take a couple of deep breaths at times and stay in his rhythm."

Before the game, Red Sox manager Terry Francona spoke of a letdown in Buchholz's Triple-A performance after he made his Major League debut on Aug. 17. For two weeks, the prospect shuttled across upstate New York, losing his next two starts as a member of the Pawtucket Red Sox.

But, Francona added, "I think we still love this kid to death. And we're excited for a chance to run him out there and see how he does."

Kevin Youkilis added a three-run home run to the cause. Still, the Red Sox's 10-run outburst and the circumstances of the effort -- the Yankees won in the afternoon, staying five games back in the AL East -- remained secondary to Buchholz's singular brilliance.

"I don't even have a word for it," Buchholz said.

There's only 1 Oklahoma!

2007-08-30T22:23:00.000-04:00

Saturday marks the start of the Oklahoma football season as the #8 Oklahoma Sooners take on the Mean Green of the University of North Texas at 7pm eastern on Fox Sports.

Now, the Mean Green may not be much of a test for OU, but there's still a lot to learn about this year's Sooner team. Most importantly, it will be interesting how the new starting quarterback, Sam Bradford, will do.

I CAN NOT wait for 7pm Saturday night! It's a little weird living in New York state and being in an area where college football just doesn't seem to be important in the general culture as it was in the South where I grew up. I mention football to someone and all I normally get is a blank stare...WTF?

Anyway, in honor of Saturday's kick off here's some history and great videos for your (and my) enjoyment!

The #1 Program of the modern era:

Oklahoma is the winningest program in what is widely considered the modern era of college football. OU has the most victories and best winning percentage of any team since the end of World War II.

The Sooners have earned seven AP National Championships in that span and are recognized by the NCAA for 16 titles (source). OU has spent more weeks ranked in the top five (342) of the poll than any other team and is tied with Notre Dame for most weeks ranked No. 1 (95). The AP poll began in 1936.

Victories, 1946-2006:

1. Oklahoma: 524

2. Alabama: 492

Winning Percentage, 1946-2006:

1. Oklahoma: .761 (524-160-13)

2. Ohio State: .743 (484-160-20)

Weeks Ranked Top 5 in AP Poll:

1. Oklahoma: 341

2. Nebraska: 294

Weeks Ranked #1 in AP Poll:

1 tie. Oklahoma & Notre Dame: 95

3. Ohio State: 88

2000

1985 - 1975 - 1974

1956 - 1055 - 1950

And finally, two great highlight videos (first is a general highlight, the second video is a highlight video from the 2000 National Championship season and gives me goosebumps every time I watch it!

Thanks Be to God and BOOMER SOONER!

Church...or the lack thereof

2007-08-11T21:07:00.000-04:00

I consider myself a lifelong Christian and someone who truly loves his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Yet, for the last couple of years I've had a really difficult time attending church. The problem is that I just don't feel that I'm getting much out of it.

Now, the conservative Catholic bloggers I read on a normal basis would say that my problem is that I'm focusing on feelings, and the Mass isn't about feeling. And, intellectually, I know they're correct. But what am I supposed to do when I don't believe that I'm growing and maturing spiritually by my attendance at Mass.

Perhaps this all goes back to my upbringing as a United Methodist. I don't know.

I feel the need to attend a Methodist Church, if only to see whether this trouble is confined to Catholicism or other strains of Christianity for me. The problem is, though, that I simply can't stomach the liberal leanings of the Protestants I've found thus far in the North.

The liberal, welcoming, rainbow flying Protestant chuches I've come across both here in NY state and in Boston, just don't mesh with my southern understanding of Protestantism. They may as well not be Christians...well, perhaps that's a little harsh.

The other problem I have with Protestantism is that I've truly come to believe what the Catholic Church teaches. Even when I have gone out and attended a Protestant service, I just have this big rock in my gut, because I know I believe something they don't.

Which leads me back to feeling I have no spiritual home and leaves me sitting at home on Sunday's when I should be at Church (never mind the whole mortal sin problem).

What do I do? Where should I turn? I just don't know?

I'm a Considerate-Realist...

2007-07-30T15:26:00.000-04:00

What's up & Harry Potter VII

2007-07-26T21:18:00.000-04:00

Well, I've been in Ithaca about a month now and things are going really well.

I'm starting to get more settled in the area and getting a better idea of where stuff is and how to get there.

I'm getting to know more people on campus, but I still can't wait until the students get back next month...that'll be when my job really gets going.

My boss asked me today about the transition from being a full-time student into (well, in my case, back into) the working world. I guess the biggest transition for me has been getting used to a new schedule. Right now, my schedule is fairly set, but will probably be more fluid when the students get back. As a student, my schedule was very fluid. Things changed from day to day and week to week. I mean, classes and my work schedule was pretty set at the beginning of each summer. But, the workload and what I needed to do would change from week to week based on what assignments were due or coming up. Also, the readings always cause things to be different all the time. Right now, at least, I'm pretty much working 9-5...it's kinda weird for me because I haven't had a 9-5 job since 1994 when I worked for a law firm back in Florida. But, I'm enjoying myself and life should be enjoyable.

About the most exciting thing lately for me, though, was the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! I was talked into going to the release party at the local Barnes & Noble and had a pretty good time. I'm glad I went...I'd of just been sitting at home by myself if I hadn't gone and I got to see some VERY interesting people.

WARNING

SPOILER ALERT!

So, I managed to get the book at midnight on Saturday morning (or Friday night, depending on how you look at it) and I had finished all 759 pages by Sunday morning at 3:40! It was really, really good!

It pretty much answered most of the questions I had up to this point. So what were my favorite parts? Well, in no particular order...

learning about the memorial in place at Godric's Hollow (where Harry was born and lived, in spite of you know who!)

the epilogue...I loved getting to see how the three heroes were doing in future years, though I'd have loved to learn more about their careers, who was teaching at Hogwarts...stuff like that

the Battle of Hogwarts...I CAN NOT WAIT to see this played out on screen in the movie!!

Even though it was really sad (I teard up...there I admitted it) one of the most touching parts was when Dobby died...followed by the death of Fred

And my absolute favorite...

"NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!" (p 736, US version) Mrs. Weasley to Bellatrix Lestrange during the Battle of Hogwarts! Oh yeah, baby!

All in all, it was awesome and a fine, fine end...worthy of the series.

Thanks Be to God and Long Live Harry!

2007-07-22T23:28:00.000-04:00

The sorting hat says that I belong in Hufflepuff!

Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot, and treat them just the same."

Hufflepuff students are friendly, fair-minded, modest, and hard-working. A well-known member was Cedric Digory, who represented Hogwarts in the most recent Triwizard Tournament.

Take the most scientific Harry Potter
Quiz ever created.

Get Sorted Now!

I scored: 83 Hufflepuff, 73 Ravenclaw, 61 Gryffindor, 47 Slytherin

iPod Shuffle of the week...

2007-07-09T23:17:00.000-04:00

1. News Items. Larry the Cable Guy
2. Chattahoochee. Alan Jackson
3. Shilo. Neil Diamond
4. Tessie. Dropkick Murphys
5. Don't Worry. Rebecca St. James
6. I Can't Dance. Genesis
7. Aish Tamid. Matisyahu
8. Uneasy Rider. Charlie Daniels
9. Take You Back. Jeremy Camp
10. Bankshot. Operation Ivy

The rules, for bloggers who want to play:
Get your iPod or media-player of choice set the thing to shuffle, then post the first ten songs that come out. No cheating, no matter how stupid it makes you feel!

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!

I miss Oklahoma...

2007-07-05T20:56:00.000-04:00

Yes, there are times when I miss Oklahoma soooo much! While I was living there, I never thought I'd miss the place so much. I'm not a real fan of the climate or the geography, as varied as it is, but I absolutely fell in love with the people.

Oklahomans may just be the best people on the planet! Everyone there welcomed me with open arms, supported me when I was down and generally made my life worth living.

You've probably seen the news about the storms that have been pummeling Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas...some of you may be wading through them. While my heart breaks for the people who've been affected, I know they'll rebound just as strong as they were prior to the flooding and they'll make life better...that's just the kind of people they are!

My friend Diana sent me these pictures of Turner Falls, located in southern Oklahoma near Ardmore.

before the rains

and

after the rains

And unless you're from Oklahoma, you have no idea how seriously Oklahomans take the weather. I used to complain constantly that the tv weathermen in Oklahoma would interrupt any tv show, even the Super Bowl or Billy Graham, to let you know it was raining 300 miles from you! But, I have to admit, I kinda miss Rick Mitchell, Mike Morgan, and especially Gary England. Even Jon Stewart and The Daily Show (via Melessa) have found the glory that is Gary England...

And what's even better is that KWTV 9 and Gary England, while finding Stewart's bit funny, DEFENDED the commercial (watch the following to the end)! Too funny!

Thanks Be to God and God Bless Oklahoma!

Scotty's Big Adventure?

2007-07-03T20:53:00.000-04:00

So, I realized that the name of my blog was out of date...I had originally named it A Catholic Sooner, then Anastasia had dubbed it Scotty's Big Harvard Adventure. I really liked Anastasia's title, but the Harvard adventure has ended.

What should I all my blog now? For the time being I'm just calling it Scotty's Big Adventure, but I'm not real happy about that...doesn't seem quite right.

Anybody got some suggestions?

2007-07-01T16:43:00.000-04:00

Well, I've been in Ithaca for my first full week. Work is going well. It's a little slow because of the student's being gone. And also, because I'm still feeling my way in the job.

I spent most of this week going through and straightening up my office. There are files in there from the 80s and they certainly all that necessary at this point. But, I'm slowly making my way through it.

I met with the University Admissions Office on Thursday and got their take on recruitment from an official standpoint. Their input and assistance will definitely come in handy as I continue to learn the various recruitment aspects of my job.

All in all, it was a good first full week in my opinion. Jobwise, I don't know that it could have been better? Personally, my biggest issue is finances as I won't receive my first pay until July 13, but I'll make it through.

Well, here's the iPod Shuffle of the week...

iPod Shuffle of the Week
1. A Country Boy can Survive! Hank Williams Jr.
2. Church of the Poison Mind. Boy George & The Culture Club
3. Done too Soon. Neil Diamond
4. Love and Peace or Else. U2
5. Last Dance Rodeo. Jewel
6. Roxanne. The Police
7. I'm Not Afraid to Love You. FFH
8. Lead of Love. Caedmon's Call
9. A Little More. Jennifer Knapp
10. Fight for OKU. The Pride of Oklahoma

The rules, for bloggers who want to play:
Get your iPod or media-player of choice set the thing to shuffle, then post the first ten songs that come out. No cheating, no matter how stupid it makes you feel!

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!

Prayer Request...

2007-06-24T22:50:00.001-04:00

I'd like to ask for prayer for a cyber friend who's going through a tough patch.

Hail Mary, full of grace.

The Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women,

and blessed is the fruit of your womb,

Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us sinners,

now and at the hour of our death.

+++Amen+++

I'm here!

2007-06-22T22:45:00.000-04:00

Well, I made it to Ithaca on Wednesday and got moved in and stuff. The trip from Boston to Ithaca was pretty uneventful, though I did get lost in Boston for about an hour. I just spent two years in Boston but I never drove, so getting out of town was harder than I thought it was going to be. It's a good thing I chose to leave at 4:30 am to avoid traffic because I can't imagine being lost in Boston in a moving van trying to navigate through traffic. But, at any rate, I made it out of the city in about an hour.

The rest of the trip was really easy, one wrong turn outside of Albany, but I managed to make it to Ithaca and my apartment by noon which was my goal.

The apartment is nice and fairly spacious. My only complaints are there are no drawers in the kitchen or bathroom, plenty of cabinets, but no drawers, and the ceilings are really high, and finally it's a little dorm-like, but all in all it's ok. I haven't ventured out into the neighborhood yet, but it's within a block of city center and close to a shopping area in downtown Ithaca. It'll do alright for an initial place.

Started my new job on Thursday and it has been ok so far. I think I'm really going to like it. The people I've met so far are really keen and nice.

Well, that's an update for now. I'll try and post more later.

Thanks be to God and Boomer Sooner!

2007-06-17T23:13:00.000-04:00

Had a headache for most of the day, not sure if it's sinus's or what? But, it was still a good day.

One of my best friend's was ordained into the Presbyterian (PCUSA) ministry today. I got to visit the church he attended here in Boston and it was really great. They really seem to appreciate and truly love him. He is so lucky.

Though I'm really sad that he's going back to Atlanta where he'll spend a year in a chaplaincy at a local hospital.

And, then I move to New York on Wednesday...I'm already packed, but I still feel like there's so much to do and too little time. But, I'm really counting my blessings these days!

iPod Shuffle of the Week...
1. I can feel it. Third Day
2. Hands Up. Black Eyed Peas
3. Viva! Bond
4. Old Flame. Alabama
5. Too Much to Ask. Avril Lavigne
6. She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy. Kenny Chesney
7. My very own flag. Less than Jake
8. Video Killed the Radio Star. The Buggles
9. You Love Me Anyway. FFH
10. Old Haskell Tune. Tha Tribe

The rules, for bloggers who want to play:
Get your iPod or media-player of choice set the thing to shuffle, then post the first ten songs that come out. No cheating, no matter how stupid it makes you feel!

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!

in limbo...

2007-06-12T14:33:00.000-04:00

So, I moved out of graduate housing this past weekend and am in the apartment I had rented for the summer because I thought I was going to be in Boston next year.

But, hey, Jesus had bigger plans than I did! I move to New York next week and am kind of ready to be gone. I feel like I'm just stuck in between places at this point. I'm not totally in Boston, but not totally in New York yet either. Limbo...that is where I am right now.

I'm really looking forward to getting to New York and setting up my new place and meeting new people and experiencing new things. It's going to be awesome!

iPod shuffle of the week...

1. Violin Concerto in C, K296. Mozart
2. Glory to God. John Michael Talbot
3. God Bless America. Kate Smith
4. Letting Go. Jeremy Camp
5. I think I'll just stay here and drink. Merle Haggard
6. My Very Own Flag. Less than Jake
7. Blood and Roses. The Smithereens
8. Into Your Arms. By the Tree
9. Loud and Proud. Tha Tribe
10. Where the streets have no name. U2

The rules, for bloggers who want to play:
Get your iPod or media-player of choice set the thing to shuffle, then post the first ten songs that come out. No cheating, no matter how stupid it makes you feel!

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!

I'm a freakin' Harvard graduate!!!!

2007-06-07T22:59:00.001-04:00

WOW!! I graduated from Harvard today! What a great day! I had such a good time...probably the best time I've had since I've been at Harvard. Here are some pictures...

Me, in front of the Peabody Museum

My co-workers at the Peabody Museum

In Harvard's Memorial Church just before the Harvard Divinity School diploma ceremony

My friend Veronica and I

My good friend Quardricos (Moorhouse '05) and me

2007 Harvard University Native American graduates

Thanking the Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP) family for helping me make it through my degree program

The big fancy paper! It's in Latin, so I don't totally know what it says. But basically it says that Scott (i.e. me!) is a Harvard graduate with a Masters of Theological Studies degree!

What a great day!

Thanks Be to God and Boomer Sooner!