Times Sure Have Changed.

Zuccetto Spin to the Retired DRE.

The Bunnies Go On Vacation At Christmas.

(Click on picture.)

Pondering...

how I can afford to buy one of these before the Obamanation tries to outlaw them. Why do I want one? So that I can shoot it. Guess I will have to take a trip next week up to Idaho to once again try my hand at the Utah State Lottery. That is unless some nice person wants to buy one for me.

I Plead Guilty!

If it comes to this, may God grant me the grace to be truly guilty! (Whether they will take me alive is another issue.)

Hey! Sir Richard Rich (Doug Kmiec) and other 'Catholic' Obamabots...

read this and tell me again how Obama is so in tune with the Church's thinking.

Annonymous Mail.

Some one sent a copy of a poor written and slanted CNS article on the Fr. J. Scott Newman flap from the latest issue local Diocesan newspaper. It was addressed to Father Erik and Deacon with no return address. The subtext was, "See there was nothing wrong with voting for Obama and you should shut up about politics." On the off chance that the author reads this blog, it is still wrong to vote for Obama, the issue is whether or not and under what conditions a person would be morally culpable. (This is what Fr. Newman needed to be a bit more precise about in his otherwise excellent statement.) Also, you might want to look elsewhere for a more accurate presentation of news. See this Newsbuster post for better info. Lastly, I really should just tear up anonymous non-sense.
(Our paper's dubious editorial judgment is one of the reasons I wish Fr. Rohlheiser really was in exile.)

Advent Is Coming...

thus, three issues need to be made clear:

First, BLUE is not the liturgical color of Advent. (In the Latin Rite, Blue is not a liturgical color except for feasts of Our Lady where the Spanish indult applies.) Don't give me the BS that it is really just a very dark purple. If it looks like blue, then it is blue. (My favorite story about this concerns Cardinal Levada when he was the ordinary of Portland. It seems that he arrived at a parish to celebrate Mass and the parish was decorated with joyfully expectant Advent blue. His emminence then informed the pastor that he would wait to beginning Mass until after the blue was exchanged for the proper liturgical color. I don't know whether this is true as I heard it second-hand, but I hope it is.)

Second, Ebeneezer Scrooge is not the patron saint of Advent. There is no need to be a liturgi-nazi concerning Christmas lights and decorations during Advent as long as a) Baby Jesus is left out of the manger until Christmas Eve and b) lights and decorations are left up through the Christmas season.

Third, it is possible and in deed laudable to go to Confession more frequently than communal penance services during Advent and Lent.

Vampire Day: Follow Up.

How many of my left-coast readers remember this guy? For those of you who don't, he is Bob Wilkins host of Creature Features. He introduced me to many great and many crappy monster movies as a child. (We got him on the cable up in SLC.) One of the great things about Bob was that if a movie was bad, he would tell you. (Not that it would stop me from watching it.)

Anyway, I should have mentioned Bob yesterday in my posts. (Here is a link to his website.)

Vampire Day: Tangential Observation.

I used to think Vincenzo was Comic Book Guy on The Simpsons. But, now I think he is Anthony Vincenzo, Carl Kolchak's boss in The Night Stalker.

Vampire Day: Some Favorite Vampire Movies.

The Night Stalker starring Darren McGavin as Carl Kolchak (who along with Dr. Abraham Van Helsing and Robert Nevile have the dubious honor of being my childhood fictional heroes). About a reporter chasing a vampire in 1970s Las Vegas, this TV movie is one of the best vampire movies ever.


The best Stoker adaptation is Count Dracula with Louis Jourdan. It is faithful to the spirit of the book, though it has the common fault of collapsing the Holmwood character into Morris. This BBC production is quite good and finally available on DVD.

'salem's Lot. There have been two TV adaptations of this; one in 1979 and one in 2004. Both are good but the 1979 version directed by Tobe Hooper is more faithful to the book and still holds up well. The 2004 TNT version staring Rob Lowe tries too hard to be modern, topical, and socially relevant. (Trivia: there was a planned series based on the 1979 version that, much to Stephen King's relief, was never made.)

30 Days of Night. Gorey, dark, and flawed. But also scary as all get out. (The original graphic novel is better.)

Last and certainly least is The Deathmaster. This 1972 schlockfest is about a vampire who takes over a hippie commune. (See, I told you hippies were evil!) It troubled my sleep for weeks when I first saw it; of course I was nine.

Vampire Day: Five Favorite Vampire Novels.

Dracula by Bram Stoker. This is the granddaddy of the all. While there were earlier novels, this is the one that set the standard for all that followed. It is an interesting story with great characters written in an engaging epistolary form. If you have only seen the movies, don't think you know the story (especially if your knowledge is based on the woefully mis-titled Bram Stoker's Dracula.)
Read the book.

'salem's Lot by Stephen King. Not only is this a great vampire novel that I have read more times than I can remember, it is among King's best despite its pretentious 70s style. King himself envisioned it as a modern Dracula. It certainly lives up to that vision and is even scarier than the original. (When I first read it in 1979, I started the book at 7:00 pm and finished it at 4:00 am the next morning. I waited until the sun rose to go to sleep.) The confrontation between the vampire Barlow and the alcoholic priest Calahan is a classic as is the revenge of the town children on the mean bus driver.

Vampire$ by John Steakley. This is a fun book that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The hunters include a young priest and a former pro-football player headed up by a former government operative named Jack Crow. And get this, they work for the Vatican and the Church is presented in a positive and respectful light. The vampires are thoroughly evil and nasty. (We even learn that vamps love opera and hate rock-n-roll. Lots of great characters in here. A good vampire novel has to have good characters. Don't judge this book by the John Carpenter movie based on it. (Does Carpenter hate the Church and priests or is it just me?)

They Thirst by Robert McCammon. Picture 'salem's Lot on steroids. This time the vamps take over Los Angeles. One complaint; if one is going to include the Church in a book, it helps to do research so that you get the terminology right. Crosses and crucifixes are not the same thing. Alas, this has been out of print for several years.

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. All the movie adaptations have been good ( I am a big Omega Man fan--Chuck Heston and machine guns!) but the book is so much better.

Vampire Day Comes To Orthometer.

There is a new vampire movie out today, Twilight. Evidently, it is selling well. Ordinarily, I would be happy. I like vampire movies. Unfortunately, this isn't a real vampire movie. It is a "poor-misunderstood-angstridden-creature of the night" movie; think Anne Rice. Amy Wellborn criticizes it for "overheated needy romanticism". I don't understand the tendency to reinterpret evil as good and good as evil. (In a lot of revisionist vampire fiction, the hunters are presented as evil narrow-minded bigots. How dare you judge blood drinking corpses! Commentaries on Dracula like to insult Van Helsing, Harker, Holmwood, and Morris and exalt the Count.) None of that for me! I like the clear cut good v. evil let's stake the bloodsucker tales.

Begin Deprogramming

Change? What change?

Hey Obamabots! You voted for the guy who said you would give you change you can believe in (tm). What has he given you so far? Let's look at his executive appointments: State-the Hildebeast, HHS-Tom Daschle, AG-number 2 AG under Clinton, CoS-another Clinton guy. Yeah, feel that fresh breeze from outside Washington. Feel betrayed yet?

(Update: This image from the incomparable Vincenzo, of course.)

Ferrets

Charlie the Unicorn III

(Rotten Tara beat me to this.)

Monster Crapper Fire.

Who says Ogden is boring? From KUTV news:

A large number of portable toilets caught fire in back of a building in Ogden sending a plume of smoke into the air that was visible all over the valley.

The structure fire ignited in Ogden at 1263 West 3050 South. Sky-2 video showed dozens of porta-potties melted down. Firefighters have dowsed the blaze. The cause is not known.

A "World War Z" Movie!

From Dark Horizons:

Marc Forster Initiates "World War Z"

By Garth FranklinFriday, November 14th 2008 7:43am

The "Quantum of Solace" director is set to helm "World War Z", the film adaptation of Max Brooks's best-selling and politically charged novel about a worldwide infestation of flesh-eating zombies reports Variety.

The book is a collection of first person accounts of various survivors from around the globe a decade after a zombie pandemic first emerged from the Three Gorges Dam area in China in the 2010s and proceeded to decimate the globe.

The accounts involve not just some diverse stories of battles for survival, but the religious, geo-political, and environmental implications that came with the plague.

"Changeling" scribe and "Babylon 5" creator J. Michael Straczynski is writing the screenplay, and Brad Pitt's Plan B is producing.

If they don't butcher the book, this should be great!

Props To The Mormons.

Long time readers will know that I disagree with the Mormons on many issues. (Someone even ouch speculated that I would be happier if they would all move to the moon; no Kolob would be just fine.) But I have to give them an extended Zuccetto spin for standing up to the gay lobby and fighting for Prop 8 tooth and nail in California. Now they are getting a lot of grief from the homo-fascists. Well they have my prayers that things won't get out of hand and my gratitude for their efforts.

Mad TV: Davey and Goliath II - Pet Cemetery

(Zuccetto Spin to Kindertrauma.)

Bishops For Obama?

Yesterday, Jesterius Magnus posted concerning an exchange between Laura Ingram and Raymond Arroyo of EWTN concerning the bishops and the Obamanation of Desolation. Here is what was said,

Laura Ingraham: Here is the problem, how many of the bishops voted for Obama.

Raymond Arroyo: ...The bishops I spoke to say that maybe half of their brother bishops if not more voted for Obama. Because they thought the symbol of Obama would overcome racism and be a great healer and unity.

Yeah, it made me mad too. While this is hearsay, it rings true to me. I know of several priests who supported little O. Some of them are moonbat heretics sure, but a couple are otherwise good priests, but stuck in the 1960s.

Don't get me wrong. Racism is an evil. But it is not the greatest evil. Healing and unification are goods, but not the highest good. Choosing this values over a respect for innocent human life is opting for a lesser good. What is sin but choosing the lesser good?

Some may have bought the arguement that more welfare will mean few abortions. Even if this were true and I don't believe it is, this is to forget the words of St. Paul to do no evil even if good should come of it. The object is not to reduce abortions but elliminate them. Obama's policies will increase them, end of story.

Assuming that what Arroyo was told is true, why is it true? First, many bishops are from a generation that was educated to see statism as a good and desirable thing. They are sympathetic to classical big government solution of the Democrats. They were given the view that to be a good person, one has to be a Democrat. You find this when someone say, "Sure Congressperson Nancy is bad on respect life, but she is soooo good on social issues. Social issues effectively trump life issues for them.

Second, they are surrounded by the left. Look at many of those who serve in chanceries. Just as it would be foolish to expect a media that is 90% Democratic to give a conservative a fair shake, so it is unrealistic to expect bishops to receive good and even counsel when the views they hear are largely from the left.

Third, there may be some white liberal guilt at work. We can all feel good now because we have voted for the Black fellow. See we have proven we are not racists.

These are largely political reason, but there is a fundamental spiritual and theological flaw. They have forgotten what is truly important and fundamental. Yes, we are not one issue voters, but we are fundamental value voters. Life and the sanctity of the traditional family have been traded for lesser things. In this, I detect the influence of proportionalism.

Some Good, Some Bad.

I was watching the USCCB meeting on EWTN today. Bishop Trautperchild showed himself yet again to be an elitist ass, but was fortunately voted down. (Your Excellency, please go gentle into that good night of retirement.) Many bishops evidently and vocally recognized their collective failure in educating for the election. However, there did not seem to be a recognition that Faithful Citizenship itself contributed to that failure; too nuanced and apt for selective reading. Also, CCHD needs to be shut do or radically restructured to eliminate support of so-called 'advocacy' groups.

A Great Step Forward? My @#$!

A comment by a friend of mine on Roman Catholic Blog upon Bishop Gregory's post election statement:

"the election of Mr Obama was "a great step forward for humanity..."

Really, Archbishop Gregory? The greatest pro-abort presidential candidate and who has vowed to pass the Freedom of Choice Act, is a great step forward for humanity? Towards where, Archbishop? Is is the same "where", that President Obama referred to in his victory speech when he stated "I promise you, we as a people will get there."?

If a white presidential candidate with an equally horrific abortion record was elected last night, would you Archbishop Gregory, think that it was a great step forward for humanity as well?

Let us recognize prejudice when it rears its ugly head. Let us not sacrifice the moral absolute truths of our Christian Faith for the supposed advancement of one's own race. What answer at the Last Judgment will one give to the many more Black infants aborted in their mother's womb under Obama's Presidency? It advanced our humanity?

Where was the Catholic vote for the only pro-life Catholic nominee who happens to be Black, Allen Keyes?

That's My Kind Of Lighter!

Having read the comics, I am looking forward to this movie.

Want To Know How We Got Here and Where We Are Going? Read This!

Fascinating read and a cool cover.

Who Says War Is Never Justified?

The only good smurf is a dead smurf.

Not In My Name!

(From a John Allen NCDistorter piece via Pewsitter.)

Another tension between “hardliners” and “compromisers” that could surface at Baltimore concerns a parish collection set for late November by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, a church-affiliated charity intended to support the working poor. Neuhaus has called upon the bishops to “shut down” the campaign, asserting that it has funded pro-abortion activities over the years, that its resources go entirely to non-Catholic agencies, and that it was a major contributor to ACORN, a network of community-based groups that backed Obama.

Barring something dramatic in Baltimore, it seems for now the Nov. 22-23 collection will go ahead as planned. On Nov. 3, the bishops’ conference issued a press release from Bishop Roger Morin, auxiliary bishop of New Orleans and chair of the conference subcommittee on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, urging church-goers to contribute.

“In the name of all of the Catholics in the United States, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development fights poverty and challenges injustice,” Morin said.

Well I am opposed to poverty and injustice. However, I don't think supporting Alinskyite or Marxist organizations is the way to do it. So kindly don't support them in my name thank you very much.

Aftermath

Did You Notice...

That our next president's initials are B. O.? That just stinks.

What The ?

I think they are scraping the bottom on collector DVDs. I just ran across an add for a 2-disc collectors extended edition of the Kevin Costner crap fest known as Waterworld. (Oh my! You mean the theatrical cut could have been longer?!?) What's next? The director's cut of The Last Action Hero?

A Thought To Cheer You Up.

However bad you feel this morning, realize that Hillary feels worse.

Initial Post Election Comments.

May God help us. The majority of the people of America have spoken. Fundamentally, they have spoken against life and the Gospel and for the culture of death and secularity. (Though I think a good many simply said, Hey this guy will give me stuff and stick it to the rich.) It also shows what the unrelenting partisanship of the media can do and that yes you can buy an election. While it would be tempting to crawl under a rock (I dread the inaugural celebrations. Remember the love fest Hollywood did for Carter?), we have work to do. We need to fight tooth and nail everything that is contrary to the Gospel or injurious to our country, beginning with the FOCA act. (I also hope Senate Republicans develop a pair.)

Most of all, we need to pray. First, pray for Obama's conversion. Second, pray for Obama's frustration. Third, pray for his safety. (Yes, there are likely some nuttjobs who want to assassinate him. Aside from the fact that no one should be murdered, the thought of him as a martyr is truly chilling.)

Lastly, it is my fervent prayer that the media and popular culture will treat President Obama with the same respect and fair-mindedness they have show President Bush over the last eight years.

Standing Up To The ONE.

Sent by a reader.

VIRGINIA RESIDENTS COUNTER ELECTION-EVE OBAMA RALLY

Manassas, VA - When Sen. Barack Obama chose Manassas, Virginia, to make his last stand Monday night before the polls opened, he knew well that he was in a very pro-life, conservative area with large numbers of Catholics and homeschoolers. Surprised that Obama would come to their hometown and with just hours to get the word out and secure a city permit, about 70 local residents rallied to protest Obama’s radical positions on abortion.

“Obama wants to prove that Virginia is in play,” said Rosario Reilly, a Catholic homeschooling mother in Manassas who helped organize the rally. “Not in my backyard!”

Protesters noted that roughly one-third of the cars passing by to attend the Obama rally were from Maryland and other states as far away as Michigan. Buses filled with Obama supporters came from Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Protesters carried signs supporting the McCain-Palin ticket and reminding passers-by of the horrors of abortion. Obama has pledged that he will sign the Freedom of Choice Act, which would reduce abortion restrictions and significantly increase the numbers of abortions in the United States.

Kaiser Wilhelm Action Figure!

How cool is that! (I could do without the Private Adolf Hitler one.) This is from a catalog I received yesterday.

Now I am off to vote.

BTW, my parish has adoration from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm today for those who are near.

Zombie Survivor.

Sen. Obama, I Have One Question...

Pilgrimage Stop #2 -- Coimbra

Our second stop was the Portuguese city of Coimbra. It is a beautiful university town, but more importantly it is the site of the Carmel where Lucia, last of the Fatima visionaries, lived and died. They have a little Lucia museum. (I suspect exists so that people won't bug the nuns and will come in handy if she is beatified.) It is very well done and doesn't presume to canonize Sr. Lucia. It simply explains the events at Fatima and how she lived her life in Carmel. The sister's chapel is beautiful and the liturgical vandals haven't hit it.

What I Am Going To Do Tomorrow.

I am going to do what I did in 2004. I will go to vote. But then I will stay away from the net, the TV, and the radio. I am not interested in exit polls or the opinions of so-called expects. And I will pray A LOT. When I wake up on Wednesday morning, I will check the net and see whether or not our country has lost its soul. In a way I envy the liberals. They can always go running off to Canada, England, or some other socialist paradise. If America falls, there is nowhere else to go.

Did I Do Enough?

"So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, you shall give them warning from Me. If I say to the wicked man, O wicked man, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way; he shall die in his iniquity, but you will have saved your life." --Ezekiel 33: 7-9.

These words have weighed heavily on my conscience of late. I ask myself, "Have I done enough to prepare my flock for the momentous moral decision our country faces?" Yes, I have preached the Church's teaching on the sanctity of innocent human life. Yes, I have preached on our responsibility to act in accord with the Church's teaching all of time, even in the voting both. We have respect life signs in the church. We distributed the Catholic Answer's voters guide.
I could take comfort in the fact that I am not one of those shepherds who walks on eggshells lest he offend someone. I am not a priest who give money to Obama knowing that he stands against the most important values taught by the Church. I haven't channeled Bernardin's seamless garment non-sense. And while this is all true, it seems rather hollow today.
I can't help but wonder if I could have done more. Whether or not I should have spoken about the sanctity of life and traditional (i.e. real) marriage more often. Maybe I should have taken the risk and bluntly said from the pulpit, "No Catholic can in good conscience vote for Obama. If you do so, you are risking your soul." I hope I did enough and if I didn't that God and the innocents will forgive me.

Pilgrimage Picture #1

Three ugly things: me, the AOL crucifix, and the new basilica at Fatima.

The A-TEAM ( Actually The

BTW I'm Voting For Mccain / Palin

And The Sir Richard Rich Award Goes To...

Douglas W. Kmiec for his tireless work in subverting Catholic consciences to vote for the most pro-abortion, pro-gay, pro-anything the Church teaches against candidate every. To paraphrase Sir. Thomas More in the Robert Bolt play, "Douglas, it profits a man nothing to gain the whole world and lose his soul. But for a federal judgeship?"

(Don't know who Richard Rich was? Click here.)

Scarey Houses On Mom's Street.

Mom's neighbors Leanne and Betty go all out in decorating their house all year long, but most especially at Halloween. They out did themselves this year. (Notice all the carved pumpkins.) But this year they had competition up the street. I have to say that the Barry sign is scarier than anything Betty and Leanne put up.

I would never go trick or treating at that house. They would likely take candy from the kids who have too much and give it to the ones too lazy to trick or treat. (Of course most of it would likely go to those administering the redistribution.)

Scarey Senior Godson And Family.

Here is senior godson Matthew and his brothers dressed up for Halloween. (The big kid is their dad Dave. You may remember that Dave was severely burned in a shower accident while working as a contractor in Iraq. As you can see, the prayers worked and he is fully recovered.)

Official Orthometer Gunboy At Halloween.