30Nov/090
Criss-Cross, Applesauce
Tweet ThisWhatever happened to sitting "Indian-style?" It got wussified into "Criss-Cross, Applesauce," that's what happened.
I was shocked after Thomas' first day of preschool a few months ago when we picked him up and he informed me that it wasn't "Indian-style," it was "Criss-Cross, Applesauce."
Seriously? Criss-Cross, Applesauce? Who on earth came up with that? Or are they hiding behind a big rock somewhere so they don't get the swirly of the century?
This justifies a new Tag: "Stupid."
I'm going to go sit Indian-style for a bit to calm down about this again.
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30Nov/090
Obama Bumps Charlie Brown
Tweet ThisTomorrow night, President Obama will be trumping ABC's primetime airing of A Charlie Brown Christmas, bumping it to next Tuesday at 8 PM Eastern. He'll be on all of the major networks.
C'mon, Mr. President. You couldn't just let your press secretary tell the gaggle tomorrow during the daily briefing that you're doubling the commanders' recommendations and giving a true U.S. of A. show of force?
Tonight I'll dream that someone messes up the teleprompter script and he calls out the climate "scientists", halts efforts toward socialized healthcare, and announces significant cuts in non-defense government spending. Okay, maybe not all of that, but I had to get someone fired up.
Poor Charlie Brown.
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30Nov/090
Our Cathedral is the ‘09 Springfield City Ornament
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Check this one out... our cathedral (here in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois) is this year's Springfield, Illinois city ornament, in the Lincoln's Home Town Ornament Series.
The beautiful three-dimensional representation of the cathedral is plated with 24-karat gold and comes with a signed and numbered certificate.
Proceeds from sales of the ornament benefit St. Joseph's Home, serving Springfield's elderly.
The ornament reads: "Cathedral Of The Immaculate Conception - Built On Faith 1928 - Renewed In Hope 2009"
You can order here for $27, but order soon... it'll take 3-4 weeks for delivery.
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29Nov/090
Dedication of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Tweet ThisI'm really getting excited about the dedication of our cathedral (the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield, Illinois) that I'll be going to on Wednesday afternoon this week.
I was honored to have been asked, knowing that the tickets for the dedication Mass were extremely limited. But then it didn't really set in until today, as I was reading this week's special edition of our diocesan newspaper, the Catholic Times, which was all about the renovation and dedication.
Those who have been reading for a while know that I wasn't thrilled about everything surrounding the renovation, including the timing of the request for financial support, simultaneous to one in our own parish. But looking at the results of the renovation, I'm proud of and excited about what our diocese and cathedral have accomplished.
Keep an eye here. I'll post more, and photos, as the week progresses.
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27Nov/090
Christmas Music Project
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THE SITUATION:
On Thanksgiving, I was made aware of a friend of a friend here in the metro east who is living with extremely meager means right now. They own a comic book type store here in the St. Louis area and are blessed to be moving into a Habitat for Humanity House this coming week.
They have two little daughters, and the older daughter (8 years old), wants to play a violin. A violin and the necessary accessories to start to learn are well beyond their means this Christmas.
THE IDEA:
I realized right away that I wanted to help this family give this girl her dream of a Christmas violin. Music is one of the most important things in my life, and in fact has had a transformational impact upon my life at times. And I thought of how much music and their musical instruments mean to my two young boys already in their lives.
My first thought was to talk to Suzanne and to discern making this purchase as an anonymous gift to the family.
My second thought, and the one that stuck, was to reach out to my family and friends and crowdsource making this dream happen for this young girl. Let's make it happen together.
LET'S DO THIS:
I'd like to challenge my friends and family to join with Suzanne and me in donating toward the purchase of a violin and accessories for this girl's family to give her for Christmas this year.
Any amount will help. I'm confident that the Spirit will provide, and that from among my friends and family, donations of $5, $10, $25, $50 or more will add up quickly and we'll be able to pull this off.
If and when we pull this off, I'll commit to taking on a similar music-based Christmas gift project next year and in years to come.
Will you join me? If so, contact me via email to arrange to get my a donation or donate online quickly and easily here via Paypal:
DONATE NOW:
AND THEN SOME:
Whatever donations I receive above and beyond the cost of a violin and accessories to get this young girl started in her dream of playing the violin, I'll either (1) arrange in advance for some pre-paid lessons for her in the area and/or (2) put the money into escrow toward a similar project next year. So please be as generous as you can, and as you feel called to be, and the money will go to good use to a project along these lines.
Thank you, and God bless you!
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25Nov/090
Juggle.com
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In case you hadn't heard about it or explored it yet, I wanted to introduce you to Juggle.com. A close friend, fellow scout, and former coworker works there. (He's so close a friend, he's going to be Joseph Michael's Godfather.)
Juggle.com is a new way to explore information. For an example of how you can explore information and learn via the site, take a look at a top-level category... Government, for example. Then you could explore right over to Government Agencies... then to the Library of Congress, for example.
The coolest thing: This isn't out of Silicon Valley or Silicon Alley. It's not even out of the Windy City. It's out of Belleville, IL. Just down the road from here.
Check out Juggle.com.
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25Nov/090
Thanksgiving
Tweet ThisWell... it's time for my annual "Giving Thanks" post. (See last year's post.) After all, "Eucharist" means "Thanksgiving!"
Thanks to you, my family and friends. And thanks, above all, for the gift of life... for my wife and boys... and for all of our blessings. God is good... All the time!
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17Nov/090
Halbrook for Congress, IL-0, 20, 21, 22, 44, and 59
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Friends,
I am pleased to announce my candidacy for Illinois' 0th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 44th, and 59th Congressional Districts. Like many of you, I didn't even know that Illinois had that many Congressional districts. I thought we only had 19. But we now know based on information from the White House's website tracking jobs created or saved, Recovery.gov, that jobs have been created or saved in these Congressional Districts.
In fact, in the 00th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 44th, and 59th Congressional Districts in Illinois, 26.1 jobs were created or saved at a Recovery cost of over $6.5 million dollars. I think I'm the man to represent those interests.
When I heard this news, I noticed that these people did not have elected representation in the United States House of Representatives. Illinois only has 14 congressmen! If elected, I will fight to represent all the people of all six of these new Congressional Districts, especially the ones whose jobs were created or saved.
Please spread the word about this campaign. We'll have a long road ahead of us. Together we can work to improve the lives of the hard-working Americans in Illinois' 0th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 44th, and 59th Congressional Districts.
[H/T to Josh Schroeder for the idea]
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16Nov/090
Books for Boys
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Over at Art of Manliness today, Brett & Kate McKay share the "50 Best Books for Boys and Young Men."
I must say, it's quite a list. It reminded me of a few of my favorites from my own boyhood - some that are still in mind, and some that I had forgotten. I remember my collection of every Hardy Boys book... I loved reading those. And it made me pull out my original "BSA Handbook for Boys" to look back at some of what Scouting used to teach.
Check out the post, and let me know what you think. Any favorites that aren't on the list? Any that it reminded you of?
I know one thing... there are a few books that I need to pick up so that I don't forget to introduce the boys to them as they grow up.
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16Nov/090
A Painful Disease in My Loins
Tweet ThisSeriously... if you're gonna draw a blank like this, at least do something you know, like Gen 1:1. Or anything in Sirach. Like Sirach 40:20.
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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.
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