Monday, January 30, 2006

2006 Catholic Blog Awards


Katie was kind enough to nominate my blog for the "best new blog" category in the 2006 Catholic Blog Awards. It seems unethical to ask, but I could use more nominations to ensure I make it to the voting. Nomination ends Friday, February 3rd, at 3:00 PM CST.

Here is the link.

For name, put: Thursday
For blog name, put: Thursday's Trifles
For blog address, put: http://thursdaystrifles.blogspot.com
For category, put: "Best New Blog"

Thank you all in advance, and if my nomination makes it through, I'll post the link so that you can vote.

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

interesting test

The BBC has a link to a research group doing an interesting test. Apparently some people literally cannot tell the difference between tunes. This test plays 30 pairs of clips, and you have to say if they are exactly the same, or slightly different. I got 26 out of 30 right, so I guess I'm not tone deaf.

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Catholic Nerd Game round XVI

I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself!

Here is round XVI:


Good luck!

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Two new Caravaggio's discovered!




The BBC has a story on two Caravaggio's that were found hanging in a French church. They are both similar to other known Caravaggio's, but he did like to do multiple copies of scenes. The paintings are of Saint Thomas Putting his Finger on Christ's Wound and the Pilgrimage of Our Lord to Emmaus. The top one is not the version that was found, I couldn't get a picture of that. The bottom one however is the version found in France.

Caravaggio has always been my favorite artist. His gift is to capture all the emotion of the scene in the darkness surrounding it. His greatest work is undoubtedly this version of "The Taking of Christ" hanging in Dublin:


Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Catholic Nerd Game round XV

I let the encyclical take the place of the Catholic Nerd game yesterday.

Here is round XV:


OK, I know there are a lot of female saints with an arrow as an attribute, but bear with me.

Good Luck!

Yours in Christ,
Thursday


P.S.
Remember, there is still one saint left from the last round who has not been named. Zenobius has been named!

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

That is fantastic!

I have finished reading through "Deus Caritas Est," and right now, all I can say is wow. The language is so simple, but the message is so deep. I'm not really sure how much I can comment on this. Everything that I could possibly say would seem to be nothing more than broken and graceless ramblings compared to the elegance of Benedict's language. Let me give you an example:

Yet eros and agape—ascending love and descending love—can never be completely separated. The more the two, in their different aspects, find a proper unity in the one reality of love, the more the true nature of love in general is realized. Even if eros is at first mainly covetous and ascending, a fascination for the great promise of happiness, in drawing near to the other, it is less and less concerned with itself, increasingly seeks the happiness of the other, is concerned more and more with the beloved, bestows itself and wants to “be there for” the other. The element of agape thus enters into this love, for otherwise eros is impoverished and even loses its own nature. On the other hand, man cannot live by oblative, descending love alone. He cannot always give, he must also receive. Anyone who wishes to give love must also receive love as a gift. Certainly, as the Lord tells us, one can become a source from which rivers of living water flow (cf. Jn 7:37-38). Yet to become such a source, one must constantly drink anew from the original source, which is Jesus Christ, from whose pierced heart flows the love of God (cf. Jn 19:34).

What can I say that would add anything meaningful to this? I think all I can do is shout "Bravo!" very loudly.

What about this:

8. We have thus come to an initial, albeit still somewhat generic response to the two questions raised earlier. Fundamentally, “love” is a single reality, but with different dimensions; at different times, one or other dimension may emerge more clearly. Yet when the two dimensions are totally cut off from one another, the result is a caricature or at least an impoverished form of love.

I cannot add anything meaningful to this, and if I tried, it would lose some of it's elegance. I am not able to comment on the second half of the encyclical either. As I was reading it, I thought it had a JPII feel about it, and I have just read on the BBC, that parts of the encyclical were indeed written by JPII.

I think this paragraph is probably the best in the second part. It is the greatest denunciation of Marxism that I have ever read.

b) Christian charitable activity must be independent of parties and ideologies. It is not a means of changing the world ideologically, and it is not at the service of worldly stratagems, but it is a way of making present here and now the love which man always needs. The modern age, particularly from the nineteenth century on, has been dominated by various versions of a philosophy of progress whose most radical form is Marxism. Part of Marxist strategy is the theory of impoverishment: in a situation of unjust power, it is claimed, anyone who engages in charitable initiatives is actually serving that unjust system, making it appear at least to some extent tolerable. This in turn slows down a potential revolution and thus blocks the struggle for a better world. Seen in this way, charity is rejected and attacked as a means of preserving the status quo. What we have here, though, is really an inhuman philosophy. People of the present are sacrificed to the moloch of the future—a future whose effective realization is at best doubtful. One does not make the world more human by refusing to act humanely here and now. We contribute to a better world only by personally doing good now, with full commitment and wherever we have the opportunity, independently of partisan strategies and programmes. The Christian's programme —the programme of the Good Samaritan, the programme of Jesus—is “a heart which sees”. This heart sees where love is needed and acts accordingly. Obviously when charitable activity is carried out by the Church as a communitarian initiative, the spontaneity of individuals must be combined with planning, foresight and cooperation with other similar institutions.

As I am not sure that I can adequately comment on any of this, I am going to restrict myself to commenting on other people's comments. In the next few weeks, I'm sure "Deus Caritas Est" will be attacked from both the left and the right. Chesterton wrote in "Orthodoxy," that: It [Christianity] was attacked on all sides and for all contradictory reasons. No sooner had one rationalist demonstrated that it was too far to the east than another demonstrated with equal clearness that it was much too far to the west. I think this is what we will see in the next couple of weeks. Of course, being attacked from all sides is always a good indication that you have found the Truth.

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Here's Benny!

DEUS CARITAS EST is out! Here's the link.
I'll post on my initial impressions later tonight.

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Weird Site. . .

Check out this.

To answer your question, yes that's all there is.

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

P.S.
If you want to know what it's about go here.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Conservatives win! (ok, best two out of three?)

The Conservatives have won in Canada, but they only have seats 124, which isn't enough for a majority. This means, there will probably be another election in less than a year. Oh well, at least they ended the liberals decade in power!

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Monday, January 23, 2006

Tradition in action confuses me greatly.


Tradition in Action has posted this picture along with the caption "To show that he is a modern Pope duly adapted to the modern world,
Pope Benedict XVI introduces the use of designer sunglasses to the papal vestments."

It was sunny, would they prefer he wore the triple tiara with a big sun brim on it! I'll try to make one in photoshop. I've heard, but not had it confirmed, that Benedict is getting his fashion advice from his private secretaryMonsignor Georg Gänswein.

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Catholic Nerd Game round XIV

I've decided that I won't be posting the Catholic Nerd Game on weekends, due to scheduling problems. This doesn't mean I'm running out of artwork, I can still keep going for another couple weeks.

Here is round XIV:

(It isn't necessary to try and name Angels!)

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Podcasts embedded!

I have been trying to figure out how to get audio embedded into blogger for sometime, and I finally figured it out. From now on, my podcasts will be right here on Thursday's Trifles. I haven't recorded a new podcast yet, so here is my third episode. Just click on the image below the description to launch the audio player.

Description: This podcast is just on G.K. Chesterton's incredible first novel, "The Napoleon of Notting Hill."

<--- Click Me!

Friday, January 20, 2006

Catholic Nerd Game round XIII

This the image of this saint shares something in common with the image from last round. Neither started out as portraits of saints.
Here is round XIII:


Good Luck!

Yours in Christ,
Thrusday

Thursday, January 19, 2006

The View from here.

Posting classes seems to be popular now, so I might as well jump on the bandwagon.

Physics II: Electricity and Magnetism
Same prof. as Physics I. At least E&M is more interesting than classical mechanics. The best part is the E&M lab, as we get to use powerful electromagnets. (Though not "The Sterilizer," or "Big Bertha almost known as The Widow Maker."

Calculus II
Fun class! The prof. is awesome, and the material is easy.

General Chemistry II
Chemistry and I don't normally get along, but the prof. is good enough that I'll be OK. Last semester we were in a classroom that could fit 50, and there were around 40 of us. This semester they put us the the biggest classroom on campus (Bishop William's Hall, seating capacity 130), and there are maybe 25 of us. I also have 3-5 hours in the Chemistry lab on tuesdays, which is my own cross to bear.

Issues and Problems in Religion II: Radical Orthodoxy
This is probably my favorite course this semester. The Professor is incredible, and the subject is fascinating. Basically, Radical Orthodoxy is an AngloCatholic movement that challenges Postmodernism. The course is going to be a lot of work, seeing as I have two seminars to write, but it is just so much fun!

Spinoza

Lastly, I'm taking a course on Spinoza's "Ethics." Spinoza really is the philosopher for Mathematicians. He uses the geometric method to prove all of his propositions. I'm not quite convinced that this is a valid method, but I'll post on that some other time. The class is taught in "Preston room," which is this beautiful room in one of the oldest parts of the University


That's all.

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Catholic Nerd Game round XII

I'm all set for another week of the game. If I do some more creative googeling, I can probably keep it going for three more weeks. Today's saint took the easier of the two ways to heaven, and it looks like he had a really bad half hour.

Here is round XII:


Good luck!

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

I'm somewhat disapointed. . .


How evil are you?


Yours in Christ,
Thursday



Hat Tip to Katie

Countdown to the Encyclical!!

Benedict has confirmed the January 25th date as being the release date for his first Encyclical. I had my countdown widget set to that date from the moment I heard that it might be the date. Right now, I have it at 6 days, 6 hours and 27 minutes (9 am GMT+1) till I can grab a copy. "Deus Caritas Est" looks to be a good read. Thursdays are my easy days, so I can stay up extra late and plough through it, and then post my initial impressions later Thursday afternoon.
Till then. . .

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

P.S.
Tradition in Action has been very quite in the run up to the release. I wonder what sort of craziness we can expect from them on the 25th.

Catholic Nerd Game round XI

I have to say that new pictures of saints are getting pretty thin on the ground, thin in the air also, just all around generally trim.
But, when I run out, I have a super last one picked out.

Here is round XI:


Not a bad bit of photoshopping to remove her name if I do say so myself.

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Catholic Nerd Game round X

Wow, I never thought there would still be interest ten rounds later.

Here is round X:


Good Luck!

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Monday, January 16, 2006

Right once again!

My University path has been vindicated by a 5 minute online test.
You scored as Mathematics. You should be a Math major! Like
Pythagoras, you are analytical, rational, and when confronted
with a probelm are always ready to tackle it head-on!

Mathematics

100%

Philosophy

92%

English

92%

Journalism

75%

Engineering

67%

Psychology

58%

Linguistics

50%

Biology

50%

Art

42%

Sociology

42%

Theater

42%

Anthropology

33%

Dance

33%

Chemistry

25%

What is your Perfect Major?
created with QuizFarm.com



Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Hat Tip to Katie

Catholic Nerd Game round IX

Well, if I don't give an easy one after that last one, there might be a mutiny!
Here is round IX:


Good luck!

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Sunday, January 15, 2006

"I have a bad feeling about this. . ."

Despite what I said in my latest podcast about not having the talent to write a screenplay, I am attempting to write one for "The Napoleon of Notting Hill." I could use all the help I can get, so if anybody has an idea or thought about NoNH, drop me a message. I just read that a usual screenplay is between 90 and 120 pages, and I feel like I have been thrown in the deep end. (of course, I threw myself in, does that make it suicide?)

I'll try to post updates on my progress, but it will be an uphill battle.

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Catholic Nerd Game round VIII

I'm sorry I couldn't get a better picture of this saint. To make up for it, I will post two pictures.

Here is round VIII:




Here is a clue: The Sober Sophomore shouldn't have to seek this saint's intercession.







Good Luck!

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Saturday, January 14, 2006

The Birth of the Internet!

I was surfing around google videos today, and came across this. It is a CBC news story about the "growing phenomenon known as 'Internet'." Oh, how far we've come.


Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Catholic Nerd Game round VII

I'm pretty sure this saint won't be as ambiguous as the last one.

Here is round VII:


Good luck!

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Friday, January 13, 2006

That was fast.

It took me four months to reach my first milestone of thousand visitors. To the day, it has taken seven weeks to reach my second thousand. Now I'm no mathematician but. . . oh, wait I am a mathematician. . . Moving right along. . . The visit rate is certainly increasing. This is one of the features I like about blogger, it allows for limitless growth. I definitely want to hit 10,000 visitors before the end of 2006, and at the current rate of growth, it looks like I might make it.
Thank you to Andrew, who was searching for "Pope Undercover", and was my 2,000th visitor.

Yours in Christ,
Thursday


P.S.
I promise no more statistics posts until I hit 10,000.

The proper table setting is pivotel to Civilization?


It's been awhile since I mentioned those "more Catholic than thou" traditionalists at "Tradition in Action." In fact, I fell of the first page of google's results for "Tradition in Action!" But, wouldn't you know, just as I was thinking "It's been a while since TIA did something outrageous," they give me this. The article is all about how the traditions we have inherited, for the most part proper manners, are the cornerstone of Christian Civilization. I sent this to my Mum (should I call her Monday?), and she responded with this:

So where does one begin to explain the mistakes in logic? Perhaps it is best to begin with the idea that just because a cat has kittens in the oven does not make them biscuits.

Most of the customs mentioned are basic manners. The sole purpose for manners is to make the other person comfortable and the exterior expression of them will change with the times as the author demonostrates...which makes me wonder what the point of the article is.


One tradition that the author notes that did not have to do with manners, was this:

The use of shoes is another custom and tradition. There are peoples who walk barefooted. Others, like the Egyptians or Romans used sandals; the Chinese or Hindus used some sort of slipper; yet others used different protection for their legs and feet like the Mongolians or Eskimos who used footgear that look like our boots. But none of them offered a full protection for the feet. It was in the countries of Christendom that a shoe was created which protects the entire foot; and its use was adopted and it became the norm. Also, the use of buttons, which became generalized in the Middle Ages, is a Catholic tradition. The ancient peoples did not use them.

All the evidence the author gives shows that traditions change, but their conclusion is that we should stop any social development, and revert to an arbitrary set of social rules from 500 years ago. Did anyone ever teach the author how to make a logical argument? The evidence must support the conclusion for the argument to be valid. TIA will never cease to amaze me with its disregard for any form of logically consistent arguments.

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Benedict likes to ad-lib

CNS has an article on Benedict's recent homilies. Apparently, he has been throwing away his staff-prepared texts, and improvising incredible homilies. Take for instance his recent homily at a baptism:

When the pope presided over a Mass in the Sistine Chapel to baptize 10 infants in early January, he was supposed to deliver a sermon presumably prepared by his staff. The text, released to journalists ahead of time, was nothing special. Maybe that's why the pope pitched it.

Instead, he stood beneath Michelangelo's fresco of the "Last Judgment," looked out at the small congregation of parents and relatives, and began, "Just what happens in baptism?" Then he extemporized on the topic for 16 minutes -- twice the length of his planned homily.

The Vatican press office, meanwhile, sent out an urgent disclaimer telling reporters to ignore the prepared text.


I seem to remember reading something about another pope who ad-libbed very well. . .

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Possible changes ahead

I am considering getting a .mac account and moving my blog, podcasts, and photo hosting to one website. After seeing iWeb (a new part of Apple's iLife 06) I really think it might be the way to go. If it happens, it might be this month, it might be six months from now. I am still doing research into what capabilities iWeb has, and how smooth the transition would be. I will keep you all posted of any decisions I make.

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Catholic Nerd Game round VI


This one is trickier than the last couple of rounds.
Here is round VI:

Good luck!

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

You know how I said that this depiction of St. Sebastian's martyrdom by Gerrit Van Honthorst was my favorite? Well, after looking through a couple hundred others I have decided it is the ONLY depiction I like. Pre-1400s, they tended to overdo the arrows, making him look like a pin cushion. In the 1700s-1800s, they forgot about the arrows altogether. In the 1900s-2000s? I have seen every celebrity depicted as Sebastian, female Sebastians, Sebastians pierced by planes, and a violin standing in for Sebastian. But the modern depictions are mostly just soft-core gay erotica. It seems really strange that only one artist in 1500 years has been able to do the subject justice. Oh well. . . I wonder what search hits I will get for some of the phrases in this post?

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

New Podcast Up!

It has been awhile, but I finally recorded a new podcast. It is a whopping ten and a half minutes on Chesterton's greatest novel, "The Napoleon of Notting Hill." It isn't up on iTunes yet (should be a couple of hours) but it is here. Happy listening.

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Catholic Nerd Game round V

I'm going to keep these going as long as I can find good quality pictures, so there might be quite a few rounds.

Here is round V:

Good luck!

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Catholic Nerd Game round IV

Sorry about not getting this up earlier, but blogger wasn't allowing me to upload images.
Here is round IV:


Good Luck!

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Monday, January 09, 2006

Microsoft and google???



I just saw this in my site meter. Someone at Microsoft visited my blog using a google webbrowser? 0.9 would mean it is still in beta, but why would Microsoft be beta testing for google? Google always does open betas. I wouldn't mind testing out a browser designed by google. I love gmail, google Earth, and blogger. Strange things are afoot.
While I'm on the subject of technology, MacWorld San Francisco (MWSF) 2006 is tomorrow. Be prepared for something amazing that you can't afford to be announced by Steve Jobs during the Keynote.

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Motovational poster

I made this here. It is really easy. The image is of Saint Sebastian. This is my favorite depiction of his martyrdom, I have a print of it hanging above my computer. The advice is taken from my spiritual director. I hope you like it.

Catholic Nerd Game round III

I have put the name for round II in black between the plus signs because nobody got it right +St. Vitus+ just highlight to see the name. Here is round III.



There is no need to name the virgin and Child, just the other saints.

Good luck!

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Sunday, January 08, 2006

Apocalypto

Apple has the exclusive teaser trailer for Mel Gibson's new movie "Apocalypto." You can check it out here.
It is a very slow stream, normally I can get a trailer in 2 seconds, but it took about 25 minutes.
It looks really good! I have always been fascinated by the mystery of the Mayans. How can an entire civilization just vanish. I have to say that running through a corn field with big torches looks dangerous. The filming of the chase looks fantastic, I found my pulse quickening, like I was being chased. And wonderful effect on the eclipse. This is a film I really want to see this summer.
The official site is here.

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Catholic Nerd Game round II

Here are the answers to the previous saints:
Scholastica/ Mary Magdalen/ Anne/ the Virgin Mary/ Christ crucified/ John the Evangelist/ Andrew/ Benedict/ Agnes.


Here is Round II


Clue: "All University students should have a devotion to him."


EDIT: Here is another image of him, the smudge above his head is where his name was.

Good luck!

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Saturday, January 07, 2006

The Weird Meme

The ever Sober Sophomore has tagged me with a meme. I have to post 5 weird habits I have. That shouldn't be too difficult.

1) When I get a new season of T.V. on DVD or over Lime Wire, I can't stop watching. I will watch entire seasons in 48 hours.

2) I will use OS X's unix terminal to do easy actions like empty the trash. (Fear me, for I am the "Super User!")

3) I prefer to use the command prompt (DOS) window when I have to use windows.

4) When ever I quote a comedian I do it in Eddie Izzard's voice.

5) Sometimes, when I am someplace were no one knows me, I take on a British Accent (though some people tell me my normal accent is British (trust me it isn't (I wonder how many parenthetical remarks I can make before you lose interest(I guess only four!))))

I now tag Joey "the Gangsta", and Antonia

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

Merry Christmas!

I forgot to post a Christmas message here, but I found a loop hole! Today is December 25th, 2005 according to the Julian Calendar (well, for two more hours.) So, I wish a Merry Christmas to all my readers! I figure I have three icons in my room (Christ Pantokrator, Dimitri the Great, and Raphael the Archangel) I can use the Orthodox calendar to get out of a jam.

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

The Game for Catholic Nerds.

Every time I have visited an art museum, such as the National Gallery in London, I have played "The Catholic Nerd Game." Basically, you look at the works that have saints, and try to identify the saints by their symbols. It requires a fair knowledge of iconography, and hagiography, hence the name. The artists could be very tricky, and liked to used obscure (well obscure now.) saints, or little known symbols. I have decided to make "The Catholic Nerd Game" a part of my blog. Each day (hopefully) I will post a picture, and you can try to identify the saints. I probably should make a nomenclature for the order identifying the saints, as some of the altar pieces cram a lot on. So, start on the left, and work right, if there are multiple rows, identify the row with the bottom being row 1. Leave dashes where you cannot identify a saint.
Here's the first one. I chose a fairly easy one. Good luck!


You can click for a larger image.

Yours in Christ,
Thursday

P.S.
I'm back at University, so I should have an easier time updating.