Off to Memphis

April 29, 2008 | 2 Comments

The Mississippi Delta was shining Like a National guitar, I am following the river Down the highway Through the cradle of the civil war, I’m going to Graceland Graceland In Memphis Tennessee I’m going to Graceland I’m outta here until Saturday.  Have fun, and stay out of trouble.

Shea Memories – October 15, 1999

April 28, 2008 | Comments Off

Six days after attending the thrilling game four of the NLDS, I wound up with tickets to games three and four of the National League Championship Series against the Braves.  The Mets had dropped five out of six against the Braves in September, not only knocking them out of the division race, but nearly knocking [...]

R.R. Reno on the death penalty

April 28, 2008 | Comments Off

R.R. Reno manages to write everything I have ever thought about the death penalty.  It’s a perfect encapsulation of my own sentiments.  Some choice excerpts: Although I’ve come to think capital punishment wrongheaded, I welcomed the decision to uphold lethal injection. The death penalty is not a simple matter of justice or injustice. As Avery [...]

Forecasting November

April 25, 2008 | 5 Comments

My former professor, Alan Ambramowitz, has an article on TNR that preaches cautious optimism for the Democrats.  Ambramowitz is as good as it gets when it comes to analyzing political trends, and I agree with much of what he says here.  Clearly the trends favor the Democratic party for the upcoming election, and we could [...]

For an ex-Catholic, Rod Dreher evidently spends a LOT of time writing about the Catholic Church. Normally I just don’t read Dreher, aka Andrew Sullivan-lite, but I was pointed in his general direction by Pauli at Est Quod Est, and I was also treated to this gem, (written by a colleague of Dreher’s): They are [...]

Bleg

April 24, 2008 | Comments Off

Is anyone out there familiar with Fr. Gerard Sloyan’s theological writings?  If so, please share, preferably by email, but also in the comments section if you prefer.

John Adams

April 21, 2008 | 3 Comments

I have not mentioned but in passing the fantastic HBO mini-series that concluded last night.  John Adams the mini-series was adapted from David McCullough’s excellent biography.  If you haven’t had the opportunity to watch it, grab it as soon as it comes out on DVD, or else it might still be available right now on [...]

Mojo rising Mr. Mojo rising Gotta keep on rising The Mets almost choked away their chances at making the playoffs in 1999, but a final weekend sweep of the Pirates mixed with the Reds losing 2 out of 3 to the Brewers led to a wild card playoff game, which the Mets won 5-0.  Leiter [...]

Laying Low

April 21, 2008 | Comments Off

Between finishing up (hopefully) my draft of the dissertation this week, and travelling on business next week, posting might be light for a couple of weeks.  I’ll write when I can, but don’t think I’ve gone away if you don’t see many posts.

Enough

April 20, 2008 | Comments Off

Jimmy Rollins won the MVP award last year?  I didn’t know that.  It’s a good thing ESPN spent the last thirty minutes discussing it. By the way – Joe and Peter, you both have something on your chin.  It looks a little sticky.  You might want to check that out.

Since the Papal mass yesterday there has been a lot written on the liturgy, particularly the musical selection.  Many have criticized the choices – some vehemently – and some in turn have either defended the musical selection or have simply criticized the critics themselves.  I don’t think I need to link to all the commentary [...]

Mass Pics

April 18, 2008 | 1 Comment

A little late, but here are the pics from yesterday (courtesy of the CrankyWife). Here’s the stadium itself, before everything got underway (or maybe halfway through, I forget).   Behold! The most glorious HD television in all the land: Here come my brother Sir Knights.  I was very jealous. Here they are, all lined up. [...]

Playoff action

April 17, 2008 | Comments Off

I haven’t paid as much attention to the NHL as I did before I moved to DC and started grad school.  For a time hockey was my favorite sport, and the Rangers my favorite franchise.  But I just sort of lost track of the sport, focusing most of my sports attention on baseball and football.  [...]

That’s the only way to describe this. Update: The CrankyWife notes in the comments section that this was a hoax.

The Papal Mass

April 17, 2008 | Comments Off

I just returned from the Papal Mass.  It was a beautiful service in many ways – in some ways perhaps less so.  As was the case yesterday, I will post pictures later tonight after I get home – probably not til very late. Some reflections:  There’s definitely something different about being there.  Just being in [...]

Pope Pics

April 16, 2008 | 2 Comments

I may not have been as close to the action as some people, but at least I got to see the Pope and the President, which is an honor in and of itself. We got to the South Lawn at about 8, and got to stand around for a loooooong time.  The most interesting thing [...]

Lethal Injection case

April 16, 2008 | Comments Off

The Supreme Court voted 7-2 (sort of) to uphold the constitutionality of Kentucky’s use of lethal injection.  It was actually a plurality opinion given by the Chief Justice.  Whatever your view of the outcome, there is nothing sweeter than to read Justice Scalia’s opinion, wherein he rightly rips Justice Stevens a new one. But of [...]

The Pope and the President

April 16, 2008 | Comments Off

I just got back from the South Lawn of the White where I saw the President’s welcome of the Pope.  I’ll have a more detailed post later this evening when I get home and can download my pictures (taken from very far back).  It was truly wonderful to be there, and I think my favorite [...]

That explains it all

April 15, 2008 | Comments Off

Steve Phillips is a bumbling EX-general manager who offers completely useless analysis on ESPN.  Mark Shapiro is a very successful general manager of a very good baseball franchise.  This exchange perfectly encapsulates why that is. How the hell did Phillips ever guide the Mets to a World Series? 

By now you’ve all heard these remarks from Obama, so there’s nothing wrong with re-posting them one more time.  In the interest of fairness, I am going to link to the larger quote in context as McQ has done, with the key part underlined. OBAMA: So, it depends on where you are, but I think [...]

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