Thursday was supposed to be the highlight of the year for more than 100 kindergarteners from Stafford County, Va. They got up early and took a chartered bus to the White House for a school field trip. But when they arrived, all the 5-year-olds got was a lesson in disappointment.
The buses from Conway Elementary arrived at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue a little later than planned, and they were locked out.
"We were going to the White House, but we couldn't get in so I felt sad," 5-year-old Cameron Stine said.
Parents say they were just 10 minutes late for their scheduled tour. School officials say White House staff said they needed to get ready for the president's event with the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers, so they couldn't come in.
"I was angry cause they were disappointed," parent and chaperone Paty Stine said.
The Steelers and the Obama administration used their time together to create 3,000 care packages for U.S. troops as part of a Wounded Warriors initiative.
A lot of preparing had gone into the trip. Conway Elementary teachers had been planning the trip for months, each child paid $20 for a seat on the chartered bus, and names were submitted to the White House for clearance.
Parents say they tried to make it on time, but their chartered buses hit heavy traffic that slowed them down substantially. They thought they were supposed to show up by 10:15, but they say they arrived at 10:25 instead, and couldn't get in.
"The person who headed this White House trip up came out and said, 'I'm sorry, the White House tour's off.' There were a lot of crying kids," parent Barbara Stine said.
I would like to go on the record and suggest that someone from the White House needs to get to work on re-arranging another visit for these kids ASAP.
The day is celebrated in most countries, on the recommendation of the bishops of the world, on the Sunday before Pentecost (yep, that's this Sunday.)
The announcement of the theme is made on September 29, the Feast of the Archangels Michael, Raphael and Gabriel, who has been designated as the patron of those who work in radio. This year's theme is "New Technologies, New Relationships: Promoting a culture of Respect, Dialogue and Friendship."
The Holy Father's message for World Communications Day is traditionally published in conjunction with the Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, patron of writers (January 24), to allow bishops' conferences and diocesan offices sufficient time to prepare audiovisual and other materials for national and local celebrations.
At the end of this week's Wednesday General Audience, Pope Benedict made the following appeal - notably in English, not the typical Italian:
This coming Sunday, the Church celebrates World Communications Day. In my message this year, I am inviting all those who make use of the new technologies of communication, especially the young, to utilize them in a positive way and to realize the great potential of these means to build up bonds of friendship and solidarity that can contribute to a better world.
The new technologies have brought about fundamental shifts in the ways in which news and information are disseminated and in how people communicate and relate to each other. I wish to encourage all those who access cyberspace to be careful to maintain and promote a culture of respect, dialogue and authentic friendship where the values of truth, harmony and understanding can flourish.
Young people in particular, I appeal to you: bear witness to your faith through the digital world! Employ these new technologies to make the Gospel known, so that the Good News of God's infinite love for all people, will resound in new ways across our increasingly technological world!
It's wonderful to hear the call to the young to "utilize [the new technologies of communication] in a positive way... and to bear witness to [our] faith through the digital world... to make the Gospel known... in new ways across our increasingly technological world."
I'm going to say a little right now about two things I've never blogged about: (1) American Idol and (2) Sexual preference.
I'm doing so because I've seen some stuff the last couple of days that really have me fuming mad about our culture and lack of respect for one another's viewpoints. Sure, I know I'll rile my friends who fall on the other side of this cultural fence, but here goes...
For starters... In all honesty, I didn't really get "into" American Idol until the end of last season. It just sort of happened, since whenever I would come home from music practice on Tuesday nights, Suzanne and Thomas would be watching in the living room. They both love the show, and Thomas would frequently play and sing along. Over time, I started to like the show. I realize it's a natural fit for me because of my musical and artistic bent and my past life working in radio & media, as well as in advertising & marketing. The show is really the pop culture culmination of all of those disciplines.
I started watching about half way through this season. Immediately, my gut told me that Adam Lambert would be the winner (didn't everyone's gut tell them that?) but I was really drawn to the other two contestants who made it closest to the finals - Kris Allen and Danny Gokey.
I thought the rest of the contestants this season were pretty much flat. Unfortunately, none of the girls were really good this year at all. That's beside the point, though.
So here's what has me perturbed right now: I don't think I've seen anything similar in our culture where people on opposite sides of a contest (yes, a CONTEST!) are so at each other's throats about accusations of cheating and accusations that the only reason the winner won is because of a vast right-wing conspiracy of homophobic mega-church red-state grandmothers who couldn't stand to see Adam Lambert win. It's been all the range in everything from youth blogs to major "news" outlets the last couple of days.
I was finally set off this morning when I ran across a comment by "PhDude" on a blog entry elsewhere... He (I'm assuming he's a dude since his alias, which provides some level of anonymity includes "Dude") says "Kris is a K K K Kristian 'hate vote' winner."
Seriously folks. First, you're pinning a lifestyle and/or sexual orientation on Adam Lambert that the guy hasn't pinned on himself. Second, you're attributing his loss to the inability of Americans to look past that and vote for talent.
Neither matters. It's a contest about singing. And I'm willing to bet you that at least 90-95% of the 100 million votes that were cast were based upon that. That's a pretty fair contest, in my humble opinion.
I, for one, voted for Kris in the final because I felt, after watching the last few weeks, that he was a better singer. Adam was definitely a better performer. But that's not what I was voting for. I was voting for the singer in a singing competition. And the last few weeks, Adam's squawking of the high notes and pouty face started to get to me. Had the final been held a few weeks earlier and the repetition of his act not started to wear off on me, my vote might've been different.
Sure, I related with the guy I voted for (Kris) too. But that's part of what happens when you're voting for people in a contest: you vote for who you feel you can relate with. Both Kris and Danny were music directors at their respective churches. I felt I could connect with them on that. And, as I told the ensemble many times, whenever Kris would sit at the piano and start to play and sing, I related and felt like if I were young enough to try out for the show, that's precisely how I would approach it. After, all, that's my instrument, and that's how I play and sing. Heck, I think my head even does the funky "sink to one side" thing when I sing too.
I called it two weeks ago. The simple fact of the matter was: Danny and Kris were entirely similar in their style and approach to what they showed of their personalities on the show. They both made it to the top three. Whoever was left between them would end up carrying a good number of the other's votes in the final to help them defeat Adam. That's simple math, really.
Trying to project other social or personal factors into the voting is, in my opinion, petty and juvenile. In the scheme of things, who really cares about the personal lives or choices of any of the candidates?
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, obviously.
But seriously. It's not a "gay" thing or a "Christian" thing or whatever else. It's a music thing. People are passionate about their music in varying ways.
I would just suggest that rather than point fingers at each other accusing one another of voting for such stupid reasons in such a trivial contest, perhaps we accept that (as a Facebook friend said) American really, truly "prefers musicians over performers." Adam was absolutely a performer. And that's going to have its own appeal.
Or as another friend, a culture geek who actually worked on Broadway, in musical theatre, explained: "[she] would like to hear Adam Lambert do 2 tunes at 1am in a piano bar or maybe as a surprise guest at a benefit at Birdland, but wants to hear Kris Allen's entire album."
After all, it's just the American Idol. And I'm sure all of the top contestants will do just fine in music careers and in life. They'll all go on to have separate, distinct, unique careers in their own styles, and we'll all buy the music that interests us.
I'm amazed, yet again, how unifying, but also how divisive, music can be.
Personal Note: I post this one at great personal risk. Not because I really care about comments and commenters from the folks who will likely find this via various Google searches, but because my wife disagrees vehemently with me on who should've won this year - based on her music tastes and perceptions. So in her honor, I include:
PSS: I'd love to see someone (opining on legitimate, music-based aspects of the American Idol voting outcome) write about the styles of each singer and our current economic situation. After the p
eriod of Grunge music in the early through mid '90s, I became keenly aware of the "reaction" of popular attraction to various music styles being strongly influenced by economic situations in the culture. I'm not going to discuss it, but would be fascinated to read an analysis of Kris' simpler sound and musical approach being more appealing given the drive to "simplify" our households and lifestyles in current times.
Just got this from a friend: Thursdays and Fridays, the Garden Gate Tea Room is showing free movies in their garden here in West Granite. All movies begin at sunset. Bring a chair or blanket.
If you're thinking about going to any of these, let me know. We'll likely be going to a few as well, and we'll let you know if we plan to be there at the same time.
Here's the schedule:
May 22: Cinderella
May 28: Somewhere in Time
May 29: Sleeping Beauty
June 4: Mildred Pierce
June 5: Dumbo
June 11: Double Identity
June 12: The Incredible Mr. Limpet
June 18: Sunset Boulevard
June 19: The Wizard of Oz
June 25-27: Live stage production of The Wizard of Oz at GCHS
When I had an email this morning from a "Fr. Paolo Padrini, Pope2You Project manager" explaining a new social media project the Vatican is launching, I thought, "Wow, the phishers are getting really clever... and how did they ever decide to target me with this?"
But then I realized it really was the fisher... not the phishers... of men.
This weekend is the 43rd annual World Communications Day in the Church, and the Vatican is launching iPhone and Facebook applications in an effort to help Catholics, especially younger generations, use new technologies to create a culture of dialogue, respect and friendship.
From Father's email:
As Pope Benedict XVI noted in his message for the 43rd annual World Communications Day, the Internet is a place where young people need to develop true friendships which spring from an encounter with the Risen Christ. With this awareness and the courage to enter into the world of social networks, the project Pope2You was started with the idea of helping these networks become authentic places of friendship and true dialogue.
Pope2You was created in collaboration with the Pontifical Council for Social Communications as an experiment in providing a new forum and channel of communication using the latest platforms. The Pope2You website provides a new way for Pope Benedict XVI to reach out to young people around the world. The site can be viewed in five languages and allows young people to learn more about the Church and Benedict XVI through his own writings, starting with the message for the 43rd World Communications Day. While the site aims to generate the interest of young people, it is also meant for people of all ages. It features news on the Catholic Church and details on the pastoral activities of Benedict XVI incorporating content from the Vatican's YouTube channel. At the same time, a new application for the iPhone and iPod Touch has been created by the Catholic news agency H2Onews, with plans to add other mobile platforms later.
Pope2You also provides a gateway to a parallel world in Facebook with an application where you can create and send to your friends virtual postcards with the Pope's own words, greetings and excerpts of his writings staring with this year's World Communications Day message. Also, with the help of the Media Office of the Italian Bishops' Conference, a special area has been created along the lines of a WIKI with suggestions on how to put into pastoral practice the Pope's 2009 Message.
These new applications highlight the latest example of the Church reaching out in new ways in the world of social networks - a forum where the Church can meet new people, make new friends, dialogue and offer solidarity.
How shall I find words to describe the happiness of a marriage, whose tie is formed by the hands of the Church, which is confirmed by the sacred oblation, sealed by the blessing, proclaimed by the angels, and ratified by the heavenly Father?
How wonderful a yoke is that which is taken up by two of the same faithful united together in the same hope, in the same law, in the same duty!
They have the same God for their Father, they serve the same Master, they are two in one flesh, they are one heart and soul.
They pray together, they prostrate together, they fast together; they instruct each other, they exhort each other, they encourage each other.
You see them together in the Church, and at the holy Table.
They share in each other's trials persecutions, and joys. There are no secrets between them; no such thing as shunning each other, or being wearied of each other's company. They have not to hide from each other, in order to visit the sick or the needy. Their alms excite no disputes; they approve of each other's sacrifices; they interfere not with each other's practices of piety.
They have no need to make the sign of the Cross stealthily; neither are they afraid to give way, in each other's presence, to feelings of love and gratitude for their God.
They sing together the psalms and canticles: and if there be any rivalry between them, it is which of them shall best sing the praises of God.
Oh! these are the marriages which gladden the eyes and ears of Christ. These are the marriages to which he imparts his blessing of peace. He has said, that He would be where two are united together; therefore, He is in such a house as the one we are describing; and the enemy of man is not there.
You know CNN isn't my favorite. But when they post a commentary titled "Man up and be a real dad", I even perk up.
Amen, brother! Tell our fellow dads how it is.
As Brett over at Art of Manliness (h/t) points out, "Gotta love any article that ends with 'It's time for men to man up.'"
Other favorite clips:
"I remember watching an OnStar commercial. And as the company touted the features, it showed a father driving his child around, and when the kid starts to cry, the dad freaks out and has to quickly call the mom to calm the baby down. I'm watching that and saying, 'Man, it's your child, too! So calm it!'"
"I am convinced that our city streets have turned into killing fields because dads have abdicated their responsibility in the raising of their children. Yes, mom is vital. But there is something different about dad speaking, lecturing, cajoling, disciplining, embracing, loving and caring."
"I know what it means to have a dad raising and caring for you, and not seeing his child in a drive-by style, or just sending a check. Dads must be present and accounted for, playing a vital role in their children's life."
"It's time for men to man up, so children can grow up with an equal amount of love and affection from both parents."
Amen, brother! Come on dads. Man up. Support and love the mother of your children and be the solid rock in raising them.
This is the online home of Michael Halbrook, Suzanne Halbrook, and their growing family. We're a family of five living out our Catholic faith and vocation in the St. Louis, Missouri area.
Man, regardless of politics, I feel sorry for these kids. From the DC area NBC affiliate:
Print This Post
I'm going to say a little right now about two things I've never blogged about: (1) American Idol and (2) Sexual preference.
When I had an email this morning from a "Fr. Paolo Padrini, Pope2You Project manager" explaining a new social media project the Vatican is launching, I thought, "Wow, the phishers are getting really clever... and how did they ever decide to target me with this?"
Subscribe via RSS
Halbrook.net on Facebook
Michael's Tweets
