Meteorology, Mama & Baby -or- How I Was Befriended By Luck

It was Easter Sunday, 2010, and unknown to me, dumb luck had befriended me.

Pure dumb luck.

Even scientists believe in it.

In 1996, Duncan C. Blanchard, a meteorological researcher then affiliated with the State University of New York at Albany, authored a scientific paper entitled “Serendipity, Scientific Discovery, and Project Cirrus” published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society in which he cited Project Cirrus (1947-52), a period and project of research from which “many serendipitous discoveries and inventions were made, opening up areas of research still being pursued today.”

Blanchard’s work was cited a decade later in 2006 by David M. Schultz, who was then affiliated with the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, and the NOAA/National Severe Storms Laboratory, Norman, Oklahoma in a research paper entitled The Mysteries of Mammatus Clouds: Observations and Formation Mechanisms. In it he wrote that what little we know about mammatus clouds was, because of their nature, “obtained largely through serendipitous opportunities.”

In other words, what little we know about the clouds (so named after human breasts because of their appearance), has been obtained by pure dumb luck – although, being prepared, and being in the right place at the right time does account for something.

In conversation recently with a dear, and longtime friend, I shared about

Beans So Bad Even My Dog Won’t Eat ‘Em

Dogs’ll eat anything.

Well, almost anything.

Yeah, they were are that bad!

You know beans’ve gotta’ be REALLY bad when even a 4-day hungry dawg won’t eat ’em!

Or, any food.

You KNOW food is genuinely bad when even a hungry dog won’t eat it!

It’s summertime, and truth be told, folks and critters don’t do much eating.

‘Cept for bears. Bears chow down during summer. They eat up, meat up, and sleep it all off over winter.

But this was the case with

From Here To There: A Brief Journey In Life

Having been raised in the Methodist church, over time, I had “been around” in various Christian traditions

– including participation in by membership in some – 

such as:

• independent
• inter-denominational
• trans-denominational
• non-denominational
• make-your-own church
• Pentecostal (talking in tongues, dancing, but no snake handling)
• Church of God
• Church of Christ
• Church of God in Christ
• Baptist (hard shell, soft shell, primitive, mainline, and corn on the cob varieties)
• Cumberland Presbyterian
• Presbyterian
• Seventh-Day Adventist
• Lutheran
• Evangelical Protestant
• Episcopal
• Anglican (Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin – Southern Cone, while in California)

and then, finally…

Evolution is not Contradictory to Scriptural Creation

And God said, “Let there be light,” and POOF! As if by magic, the sun suddenly appeared fully formed and functional!

And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” And POOF! As if by magic, every bird and fish was fully formed & functional, and there were bazillions of ’em!

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image.” And POOF! As if by magic, Adam, the first human, was fully formed and functional.

Sounds ludicrous, doesn’t it?

It should. Yet that’s precisely what it says. Of course, the “And POOF! As if by magic” part was added for purposes of ludicrous illustration.

And, it is equally preposterous to imagine that God is a magician, and that POOF! As if by magic, everything just suddenly appeared.

What we see and understand – if we can use observations of the natural world to guide us – is that

Here’s what the Hobby Lobby SCOTUS decision ~REALLY~ means

In essence, here’s what today’s SCOTUS ruling in the Hobby Lobby case means:

We’re good with Sharia Law as long as it’s for business purposes.

Think about that next time someone’s favorite religious nut job goes to court.

Because of extremist, right-wing religious radicals, women are again being relegated to second class citizens, WITHOUT full rights and being further  victimized by having access denied to birth control/oral contraceptives – i.e., Ortho Novum 777, progesterone, estrogens, etc. – NOT abortion.

Those medications also treat other diseases exclusive to women, including polycystic ovarian disease, endometriosis, amenorrhea/ dysmenorrhea, etc.

The question before the court was this:

“At issue here are regulations promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA), which, as relevant here, requires specified employers’ group health plans to furnish “preventive care and screenings” for women without “any cost sharing requirements,” 42 U. S. C. §300gg–13(a)(4). Congress did not specify what types of preventive care must be covered; it authorized the Health Resources and Services Administration, a component of HHS, to decide.”

One’s private personal religious beliefs should never be on trial.

Yet now, because of extremist right-wing radicals, the door is now opened wide to mandate any employee of a “closely held” multi-national corporation, to FORCE them to adhere to THEIR religious beliefs… even when it jeopardizes their health.

Any well-read, well-studied Christian should be familiar with

We All Love… Silly Pet Pictures

Seen here, Izzy, the dog has “rescued” a discarded empty of chips from the trash bin, apparently in hopes of obtaining a smidgen of a tasty morsel. / Photo by SRL

Do Animals…

Things like this – Cat LOL videos, stories of animals having friendships, and other similarly expressive photos & stories (such as the depressed goat which was separated from, then was reunited with it’s longtime donkey companion) – are quite fascinating.

The reason why should be self-evident. Which is, that we find them humorous or entertaining because we ascribe human traits to animals.

From childhood, I never considered the

Be nice to me… or else!

It certainly seems that there’s no shortage of opinion on FaceBook.

Recently, I had seen this posted on a friend’s page, and remarked upon it. Whether or not Eminem said it, I am uncertain. However, the sentiment expressed was what caught my attention.

Since we’re now in

Athanasius the Great, Doctor of the Church, Father of Orthodoxy, and Defender of the Faith

Today marks the feast day celebrating the life of Athanasius – Saint, Doctor of the Church, Father of Orthodoxy, Defender of the Faith and “Father of The Canon” – who is highly respected not only within the Catholic Church, but in all of Christendom not just because he defended orthodox Christianity (then in its infancy) against what is described as the greatest greatest crisis of faith ever to befall the Church, the Arian Heresy, but because in the process, he was also the first to effectively elucidate the nature of the Trinity. “Athanasius contra mundum” – Latin, meaning “Athanasius against the world” – was the hallmark phrase noting his dedication to Apostolic tradition during the First Council of Nicaea.

When I converted, I took two patrons: First, Saint Athanasius the Great, and Second, John Henry Newman (now Blessed John Henry Newman).

{NOTE: The tradition of taking a saint’s name in baptism began in Germany and France during the Middle Ages. The custom spread throughout the church, with the exception of Ireland until after the Norman invasion in 1066 (11th century), were at first, it was considered an irreverence. However, a baptismal saint becomes a special and personal patron, protecting the person who bears his or her name. It was expected that the baptized eventually learn the story of their patron saints, model themselves after them, and seek their intercession for guidance and protection. Taking a particular saint as a patron and model of one’s own personal faith might seem somewhat out of character for modern believers, because the saints lived in different times. However, their lives continue to testify that a a baptized person can walk with the mystery of God and thrive in faith. Their lives tell how the Good News of the Gospel can be lived in a practical way. This doesn’t mean that people of today should copy saints in some external way, but rather, that the saints’ lives can be a stimulus and source of inspiration toward one’s personal efforts to follow the way of Jesus in our own time, situations and culture.}

Simply put, Arianism taught that Jesus was created “a son of God” and therefore was not fully divine, but only partially. And as it seems today, increasingly, Arianism had become more a political ideology, rather than a religious movement. At the time, Theology was a topic which most deeply engaged men’s thoughts, and the Arian controversy interested all classes of people. Indeed, the heretical propositions of Arianism made rapid inroads into popular thinking because they were publicized in the form of songs set to popular tunes, were chanted in forums, and carried by sailors from port to port.

Complicating matters was that simultaneously

Alabama is USA’s 2d most religious state

Alabama also ranks up there in poverty, divorce, sexually transmitted diseases, lack of a high school education, spousal abuse, and…

Thank God for Mississippi, eh?

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Gallup: Alabama 2nd most religious state in America

By George Talbot | gtalbot@al.com
on February 17, 2013 at 10:51 AM, updated February 17, 2013 at 12:31 PM

Alabama ranked as the nation’s second most religious state in 2012, behind Mississippi and tied with Utah, according to a new survey by Gallup.

The Washington, D.C.-based polling firm found that 56 percent of Alabama residents identified themselves as “very religious” – based on saying religion is an important part of their daily life and that they attend religious services every week or almost every week.

Alabama trailed only Mississippi, its Deep South neighbor, where

Pope Benedict XVI shocks Catholic faithful, announces resignation

Peace be with you, Papa, and bless your for your honesty by acknowledging that “…both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.”

May your successor be more than four times as strong as you, ten times as wise, a hundredfold more personable than John Paul II.

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Pope Benedict XVI left a meeting at the Vatican on Monday, February 11, 2013, when he announced he would resign. –
Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Pope Benedict XVI announced he will resign at end of month:

“I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.”

.

Pope Benedict XVI on Monday said he plans on resigning the papal office on February 28th. Below please find his announcement.
Full text of Pope’s declaration

Dear Brothers,

I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that

An International Dialogue on the Recent Tragedy of an English Nurse’s Suicide

Over the past year, I have established friendship with a young man whom is an Irish resident. We share several common interests, among them our religious faith – we are both Catholic – and the creative arts – he is an active musician, while my musical talents & skills have taken a respite.

Recently, on his FaceBook page, he had shared a news story, which was in response to the news of the tragedy of the suicide of the English Nurse who had been involved in an international prank, and later found to have committed suicide.

While the volume of dialogue was principally between he and I, there were other respondents, some of whom were situated on the opposite side of the globe, in the Southern hemisphere, in Australia, where the prank originated.

As I returned to the post to read the other responses, it occurred to me that they were civil in tenor, and it was that aspect of the dialogue which was perhaps the most enjoyable, and which – as I perceive it – has remained sorely absent in many so-called online “forums.” The lack of civility has also taken a toll in politics, even on a worldwide basis. And that loss of civility is wholly and entirely regrettable.

So, it is because of the presence of civility – which is an acknowledgement of respect for another person, even though there may be vastly differing perspectives – that I wish to share the dialogue. For respect of others’ privacy, and because their identities are not germane to the topic, their names are redacted.

Young Irish Male: ‎Female 1, we were just talking about pranksters last week and how pranks really can destroy a persons life. This is just one example. Very sad story.

Nurse who took Kate prank call at hospital found dead
www.independent.ie
KATE Middleton said she was deeply saddened yesterday by the apparent suicide of a nurse who fell victim to a hoax during her stay in hospital.

Female 1: Oh i know..isn’t that just terrible! I put a video on just last week…i don’t know if it was real or not but it showed

Paul Ryan & campaign bum rush Ohio Catholic charity soup kitchen for Fake Photo Op (fauxtaux)

“Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels.”
–Jesus Christ, Matthew 23:5 (NLT)

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Charity president unhappy about Paul Ryan soup kitchen ‘photo op’

By Felicia Sonmez , Updated: October 15, 2012

Paul Ryan & wife “wash” already clean dishes for a fake photo op in Youngstown, OH.

The head of a northeast Ohio charity says that the Romney campaign last week “ramrodded their way” into the group’s Youngstown soup kitchen so that GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan could get his picture taken washing dishes in the dining hall.

Brian J. Antal, president of the Mahoning County St. Vincent De Paul Society, said that he was not contacted by the Romney campaign ahead of the Saturday morning visit by Ryan, who stopped by the soup kitchen after a town hall at Youngstown State University.

“We’re a faith-based organization; we are apolitical because the majority of our funding is from private donations,” Antal said in a phone interview Monday afternoon. “It’s strictly in our bylaws not to do it. They showed up there, and they did not have permission. They got one of the volunteers to open up the doors.”

He added: “The photo-op they did wasn’t even accurate. He did nothing. He just came in here to get his picture taken at the dining hall.”

Ryan had stopped by the soup kitchen for about 15 minutes on his way to

Catholics find fault and blessing with @RepPaulRyan’s politics

Catholics find fault and blessing with Ryan’s politics

September 09, 2012 9:00 am  •  Wisconsin State Journal

MADISON — For months, Janesville Congressman and now Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan has spoken passionately about how Catholic social teaching helped shape his budget priorities.

And for months, leaders within his own denomination have ripped him.

Republican vice presidential candidate, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., speaks during a campaign event at East Carolina University, Monday, Sept. 3, 2012, in Greenville, N.C. / Mary Altaffer

A committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops blasted his federal budget approach for “unjustified and wrong” cuts to the poor. A busload of nuns motored through nine states, including Wisconsin, contending his fiscal priorities are “immoral” and would “devastate the soul of our nation.”

But in Ryan’s own Catholic diocese, the reception has been much more nuanced, even flattering at times. Ryan attends St. John Vianney Parish in Janesville, a church of about 1,400 households in the Madison Catholic Diocese.

While never commenting on specific budget proposals, Madison Catholic Bishop Robert Morlino has described Ryan as a Catholic in good standing and vigorously defended Ryan’s right — and the right of any prayerful Catholic layperson — to form conclusions about the best ways to help the poor.

“The fact that we’re friends does not cloud my judgment when I say he is an excellent Catholic layman of the very highest integrity,” Morlino said of Ryan on a Catholic radio show last month.

In a column Aug. 16 in the Catholic Herald, the newspaper of the diocese, Morlino wrote that Ryan “is aware of Catholic social teaching and is very careful to fashion and form his conclusions in accord with (Catholic principles). Of that I have no doubt.” Morlino said he felt compelled to mention the matter “in obedience to church law regarding one’s right to a good reputation.”

In the same column, Morlino said it is not for bishops or priests to endorse particular candidates or political parties.

Similar approaches

Diocesan spokesman Brent King said

Paul Ryan’s Catholic Problem

A very succinct OpEd.

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By Daniel C. Maguire, Professor of Moral Theological Ethics, Marquette University

Posted: 08/21/2012 12:08 pm

Sound the alarm! There has been a Catholic coup d’etat in the United States of America! Six members of the Supreme Court are Catholics (just imagine the furore if six were Muslims or Jews!). Speaker of the House John Boehner and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell are Catholics. And now, rising to top of this surging Catholic dynasty is the alleged Wunderkind of Republican economics, perky Paul Ryan.

Ryan wears his strange version of Catholicism with a jaunty sophomoric pride. “Catholic social doctrine is indispensable for officeholders.” If only Paul Ryan knew what “Catholic social doctrine” is he would take flight from it just as fast as he is scrambling from the Ayn Rand breasts that, as he has proclaimed, suckled him and inspired all his political and economic views. Catholics who know the difference between Jesus Christ and Ayn Rand skewered perky Paul. They know that Jesus’ mission, unlike Ayn Rand’s, was “good news for the poor” (Luke 4:18). They embarrassed the righteous Ryan when he spoke at the Jesuit Georgetown University carrying a sprawling sign that asked: “Where were you, Paul Ryan, when they crucified the poor?”

Of course they know where he was. He was driving the nails into everything that helps the poor — and remember most of “the poor” are children. Budgets are intensely moral documents. They show where the heart is. To budget-makers we can say: show me the losers and the winners and I will tel you what you are. The Ryan budget plan, embraced by Mitt Romney as “marvelous,” puts greed over need. Among its losers:

“Gone With the Wind” heir leaves estate & 50% trademark share to Church

Apropos for the item is another famously Southern line by the Allman Brothers Band:
“You can’t take it with you, everybody knows. You can’t take it with you when you go.”

Can’t Take It With You
BMI work #177287
By Richard Forrest “Dicky” Betts- BMI – 56772062
Don Johnson – NA – 0
EMI BLACKWOOD MUSIC INC – BMI – 223437493
PANGOLA PUBLISHING

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Mitchell Heir Leaves Estate To Archdiocese

GRETCHEN KEISER, Staff Writer

Published: August 16, 2012

ATLANTA—The Archdiocese of Atlanta has received a substantial gift from the estate of Margaret Mitchell’s nephew, Joseph, including a 50 percent share of the trademark and literary rights to “Gone With the Wind.”

The estate of Joseph Mitchell included a multi-million dollar bequest to the archdiocese and the donation of his home on Habersham Road in Atlanta.

One of two sons of Margaret Mitchell’s brother, Stephens, Joseph Mitchell died in October 2011. He was a member of the Cathedral of Christ the King and asked that, if possible,

University of Notre Dame Students Petition Administration to Drop Birth Control Mandate Lawsuit

“She should have died hereafter;
“There would have been a time for such a word.
“To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
“Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
“To the last syllable of recorded time,
“And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
“The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
“Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
“That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
“And then is heard no more: it is a tale
“Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
“Signifying nothing.
(Enter a Messenger)
“Thou comest to use thy tongue; thy story quickly.”

-Spoken by Macbeth; Act 5, Scene 5

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University Of Notre Dame Students Petition Administration To Drop Birth Control Mandate Lawsuit Against Feds

Tyler Kingkade
tyler.kingkade@huffingtonpost.com

Posted: 08/01/2012 6:45 pm Updated: 08/01/2012 6:48 pm

At first, Kathryn Pogin was simply writing a personal letter to the Rev. John Jenkins, C.S.C., the president of the University of Notre Dame.

It was a response to his announcement the school would sue the federal government over the requirement that health insurance plans, including those provided by Notre Dame to faculty, staff and students, cover birth control and contraception without co-pays. The university claimed that the mandate would require it to violate Catholic teachings.

But when Pogin, a Notre Dame Ph.D. student in philosophy, showed the letter to Benjamin Rossi and a couple of other friends, they decided to

Louisiana Monks challenge state law making their work a crime… making & selling caskets

It’d be funny if it weren’t sad.

Or, would it be sad if it weren’t funny?

Either way, it’s sad and funny.

Or, should that be ironic?

Whatever it is, it’s weird… and unjust.

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It’s Illegal for Monks to Sell Caskets In Louisiana

By Claire Suddath on June 01, 2012

The monks just want to sell caskets. That’s the simple plea of a relatively simple case, in which a Louisiana monastery—St. Joseph Abbey, about an hour outside New Orleans—is suing the Louisiana State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors for the right to sell their handmade wooden caskets. Only licensed funeral establishments can sell caskets in Louisiana, which means that St. Joseph’s monks would have to hire a funeral director, install embalming equipment, and construct a funeral parlor even though they have no plans to embalm the deceased or perform actual funerals. “They would have to take an exam about the whole panoply of funeral directing,” says Scott Bullock, an attorney with Institute for Justice, which is representing the monks. “It’s like telling someone who sells shoes that they have to first become a podiatrist.”

Photograph by David Moore/Gallery Stock

St. Joseph Abbey, founded in 1889 as part of the Order of Saint Benedict, has been producing caskets for as long as its monks can remember, but until recently, they were only used for the private burials of their own members. In the 1990s they built a few coffins for the funerals of local bishops and the Catholic community began to take notice. “People would come to our funerals and see them and ask

Is is true that “economics is a faith-based pursuit forever in search of a new deity”?

Do not put your faith in the false deities of economists

June 18, 2012 8:14 pm

By Philip Stephens

Economics is a faith-based pursuit forever in search of a new deity. Those who believe in a compassionate God struggle to explain how such a being can allow such terrible misery to be inflicted on life’s innocents. Belief in the canons of economics demands a comparable leap of imagination.

When I first started writing about the subject for the FT during the early 1980s, Margaret Thatcher worshipped at the altar of something called “monetary base.” The government, this creed promised, had only to regulate the quantity of notes and coins circulating in the economy and just about everything else would fall into perfect place.

Soon enough, monetarist fundamentalism proved a false prophet. The experience led to the annunciation of the heretical Goodhart’s Law. Bearing the name of one of the trade’s distinguished free thinkers, this says that as soon as

In praise of John Shelby Spong

“John Shelby Spong… I recognized his face right off the bat.

“God bless him. He needs it – as we all do.”

That was how I started my response.

It wasn’t as if I went looking for something, and rather, had briefly

Peter Schiff exposes a TEA Party fatal flaw at Occupy Wall Street

In a YouTube video entitled “Peter Schiff nails Wall Street Protesters,” Peter Schiff asks one of the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators the following question – verbatim: “Wouldn’t you like to get in the 1%? You don’t want more money?”

By asking that question, Mr. Schiff makes a very critical error. In fact, it’s a very simple one to understand. Not everyone will be the 1%. By adding more to the category identified as “the 1%,” it suddenly becomes more than 1%.

As the video progresses, Mr. Schiff continues rhetorically down that deeply and fundamentally flawed path, so that by the end of the video, the conclusions he infers from the statements he makes seem to make reasonable, rational and logical sense. They are, however, founded upon logically flawed premises.

I posit that most viewers would not even casually consider such a blatant problem.

Video follows the break.