Loading Dishwashers

This afternoon, we caught the new movie "Rachel Getting Married." The film looks at a few days in the life of a young woman named Kim, played by Anne Hathaway, who leaves a drug rehabilitation clinic to attend her sister's wedding festivities.

Directed by Jonathan Demme of "Silence of Lambs" and "Philadelphia" fame, "RGM" is a well-done movie that I never need to watch again -- only a voyeur would want to see one dysfunctional family's problems laid so tragically bare. (I've got enough of my own, thank you very much.)

I particularly never again want to watch the tension-laden rehearsal dinner scene in which Kim gives a drawn-out and painful toast.

There is a bit of Oscar buzz surrounding Hathaway's performance and it's somewhat deserved. In this role, she shows her more serious acting chops. At one point, I thought she was channeling a late-in-life Judy Garland.

The great actress Anna Deavere Smith had a bit part in "RGM" as the wife of Kim's father. It would be great to see more of Smith on the big screen -- in her own starring role.

Kim's father was portrayed by Bill Irwin, who is probably best known for his work as a mime. It was an unusual casting choice that worked quite well. He was the energy in a good scene in which he loaded a dishwasher. (Symbolism likely, I guess.)

Of Aliens & Neighbors

The Gospel at Mass today contains "The Great Commandment."

Coupled with the upcoming election and a first reading from Exodus that begins "You shall not molest or oppress an alien," I suspect many a homily today may mention Catholic teaching on immigration policy.

From Matthew Chapter 22:

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a scholar of the law tested him by asking,"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"

He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."

A Concord Pastor has a good homily on this Sunday's readings. He ended it with "The Summons":

American Catholics: "Politically Homeless"

John Allen, the respected Vatican observer, today came out with what has to be the smartest commentary yet on American Catholics and the dilemma they face in the 2008 presidential election.

Some graphs:

First, a disclaimer: This is not one of those nod-and-a-wink exercises, technically phrased in non-partisan language but obviously crafted to support one candidate or another. There's plenty of that already in Catholic discourse, from a handful of bishops on down. Instead, I'd like to try to think for a moment beyond Nov. 4, to the long-term implications of these elections for Catholicism in America.

Political Homelessness

Most analyses of the "Catholic vote" presume there are three basic camps: pro-Obama Catholics, pro-McCain Catholics, and the undecided. For purposes of electoral handicapping, that's a natural way of slicing the pie, but it neglects another important constituency. This block has no candidate, no network of think-tanks and advocacy groups, and it only registers indirectly in the polls: Catholics alienated from both parties, who aren't undecided but rather disenfranchised.

I was in Baltimore earlier this week for a speaking engagement, and fell into conversation with a bright young Catholic theologian who offered a terrific sound-bite for this camp: "I can't help thinking that both parties are addicted to preemptive strikes," he told me, "whether it's in the womb or on the battlefield."

John Carr, a veteran policy expert for the U.S. bishops, has said that Catholics who take the church's social teaching seriously wind up "politically homeless" in America. Just like the real homeless out on American streets, the politically homeless are often forgotten, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

If you want proof of the point, just look at the data from the Pew Forum about the preferences of religious sub-groups. The results for white Evangelicals, white mainline Protestants and black Protestants form flat lines since June; their attitudes haven't really budged in statistically significant fashion. White non-Hispanic Catholics, on the other hand, have oscillated dramatically. In July, they were going 47-44 for Obama; in late September, it was 52-39 for McCain; and by early October, it was 54-39 for Obama. One obvious reading is that there's a sizeable chunk of the Catholic population that simply isn't persuaded by either guy.

Here's a thought exercise: In the abstract, what would the political fortunes be in America of a candidate who actually embodied the full range of Catholic social concerns? What would happen if a serious candidate came along who's pro-life, pro-family, anti-war, pro-immigrant, anti-death penalty, pro-sustainable development, and a multi-lateralist in foreign policy concerned with religious freedom and a robust role for believers in public life? My hunch is that such a candidate could be attractive to a broad cross-section of moderates and independents. The machinery of both major parties, however, appears almost designed to prevent such a person from ever being nominated.

Agreed. And it bugs me.

In a post today, Deacon Greg said he too falls into this "politically homeless" category.

Appreciated for Simply Showing Up

Today's New York Times carries a high school sports story out of the foothills of western Washington County, Pennsylvania.

The story tells the tale of the Avella High School Eagles, a varsity football squad down to 10 or 11 players.

From John Branch's well-done article:

At practice earlier this week, only 10 boys and a girl were willing and able to put on pads. Against the powerhouse Clairton last week, Avella dressed 11 players, leaving not a single substitute on the sideline. One player was hurt in the second quarter, and the Eagles played the rest of the game with 10. They lost, 56-0. It was Avella’s 26th defeat in a row and the 50th in 51 games dating to 2003.

Coach Frank Gray sent a thank-you note this week to his Clairton counterpart for showing class and restraint.

People around town are rather embarrassed by how far the program has fallen. They bemoan a teenage culture in which playing for the high school team has lost its allure in western Pennsylvania, of all places, where football and coal long represented toughness and resilience, where names like Joe Namath and Joe Montana were forged. But slowly this season, the remaining Eagles have come to represent something completely different from losing. They are being appreciated simply for showing up.

Hat-tip: Cousin Luke

The photo above is credited to Jeff Swensen for the NYT.

Autumn in New York

I have never been one to welcome the cooling temperatures and falling leaves -- I'm really a sumer person. But, there is one part of the fall routine the I do enjoy: hearing the soulful tune "Autumn in New York."

Here are some variations on that piece for this week's "YouTube clip for a peaceful weekend."

Paz:

Billie Holiday:



Charlie Mariano:



The Stuart Mindeman Trio:

The 39 Steps

I've been remiss in mentioning here that, on Sunday afternoon, we caught the matinee performance of the Broadway play "The 39 Steps" at the Cort Theater.

The winner of two '08 Tony Awards (one for sound design, one for lighting design), the play is a take on the 1915 novel by John Buchan and the 1935 film by Alfred Hitchcock.

The play was pleasant and humorous -- an enjoyable way to spend a few hours on a fall afternoon.

When the play premiered in January, the headline of Ben Brantley's positive review in The New York Times was "Spies, Blonde and a Guy Go North by Northwest." Two notable lines from the review:

But the appeal here is ultimately more to theater aficionados than to movie buffs, and you don’t need to have seen the movie to appreciate the accomplishment of the show. Ms. Aitken and company are using their cinematic template to celebrate the art of instant illusion making that is theater. Much of the show’s pleasure comes from being in on the magician’s tricks even as, on some primitive level, you accept them. ...

For in addition to providing the relief of being committedly silly in a season of fine dramas about unhappy families, “The 39 Steps” stands out for its plying of minimal resources to maximal effect.

Faithful Citizens in Fairfield, NJ

A word of thanks to the pastoral council, pastor and parishioners of St. Thomas More Church in Fairfield, New Jersey, for asking me to join them earlier tonight for a presentation on "Faithful Citizenship."

It was a good gathering centered around the issues facing Catholics headed into the voting booth in just two weeks. The presentation was preceded by an hour of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (perhaps the hardest act to follow ever).

Thanks also to the evening's co-sponsors, the West Essex Catholic Young Adults -- and to Chris Hrycyshyn, a St. Thomas More Church pastoral council member and young adult leader, who very graciously got me to and from the bus stop.

The stained-glass window shown here is from the parish's Website. It depicts the parish's patron saint, St. Thomas More (1478 - 1535). The chancellor of King Henry VIII's England, he lost his head for being faithful to his beliefs in difficult political times.

Eskimos!

LOL:

What Belongs To God

The Gospel at Mass today is the well-known "Render unto Caesar" passage.

From Matthew Chapter 22:

The Pharisees went off and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech.

They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyone's opinion, for you do not regard a person's status. Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?"

Knowing their malice, Jesus said, "Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? Show me the coin that pays the census tax."

Then they handed him the Roman coin.

He said to them, "Whose image is this and whose inscription?"

They replied, "Caesar's."

At that he said to them, "Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."

The image above is from here.

Racism in WashPA

The lead anecdote in this post out of Washington, PA, doesn't exactly make me proud of my old stomping rounds. It's from the blog FiveThirtyEight.

Hat-tip: Sully

The Great Schlep

Advisory #1: I do not necessarily agree with the premise of the video I am posting below. In posting the video, I am not lobbying for Senator Obama.

Advisory #2: I AM NOT endorsing the language used in the video. If you are offended by the "a" word or the "f" bomb, do not click play.

But, I am posting this video because I find "The Great Schlep" original. It's the kind of creative, Internet-based, niche-group political activity that has helped propel Senator Obama to where he is today. I don't think thousands of young Jews are actually buying plane tickets to Florida. But, I do think it may have them picking up the telephone.

Here's Sarah:

The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.

It's dismaying that the Republicans aren't doing similar kinds of niche outreach in key states and beyond. And, they should.

Confidential to the McCain campaign: my own grandma called me on Friday asking for advice on the prez vote. She's a strong pro-lifer who has yet to be inspired by either candidate. So, there's at least one GOP super voter senior citizen in Western Pennsylvania you have yet to lock up.

Chicago

I am outside of Chicago, Illinois, where later today and tomorrow we will be exhibiting at the Archdiocese of Chicago's annual religious education conference. It's my second time at this one.

In honor of the visit, here is Sufjan Stevens with his mellow song "Chicago" for this week's "YouTube clip for a peaceful weekend."

Pax:



Here's a cool a capella version of the tune:

Jealous of Joe

I'm rather jealous of "Joe the Plumber."

What about Paul the Marketing Manager?

Paul the Marketing Manager has opinions. He's worried about tax rates, too.

Worthy of the Moment?

The last of the presidential debates between Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama is slated for tonight at Hofstra University on Long Island. My tentative plan is to watch it at a YR debate watch party at the Houndstooth Pub in Midtown Manhattan.

I'm hoping the senators are truly respectful of each other and keep it issues-based. I'd love to be inspired and come out of it feeling better about both men and the American democracy. But, if past is prologue ...

In her column in last Friday's Wall Street Journal, Peggy Noonan expressed thoughts similar to my own on the last debate and what the two campaigns have been saying recently:

Both campaigns, in the closing stretch, seem not fully worthy of the moment. We are in crisis—a once-in-a-century event, as we now say. And what we got from the candidates, in this week's presidential debate, was a bunch of gummy meanderings—smooth, rounded sentences so full of focus-grouped inanities that six minutes in viewers entered a kind of trance in which we almost immediately gave up on trying to wrest meaning from what was being said and instead focused on mere impressions. The look of things. The men on the plane, the pseudo-tough political operatives who surround both candidates, sometimes grouse, in private, that it's all symbols now, all mood, all about the visual.

But they have some real responsibility here. They send their candidates out to speak such thin gruel, such spat-out porridge, that we are struck dumb, and left daydreaming about the fact that Mr. Obama's suits are always slate gray and never seem to wrinkle, and Mr. McCain tonight seems like a rabbity forest creature darting amid the hedgerows.

As to what they will do about the crisis, Mr. Obama will raise taxes on the rich and help us weatherize our homes, while Mr. McCain favors "energy independence" and buying up mortgages. On the causes of the crisis they spoke of insufficient regulation, or high spending.

But these were not the great causes. Neither party has clean hands. Or rather, both parties have dirty hands. Here is the truth, spoken by the increasingly impressive Sen. Tom Coburn: "The root of the problem is political greed in Congress. Members . . . from both parties wanted short-term political credit for promoting homeownership even though they were putting our entire economy at risk by encouraging people to buy homes they couldn't afford. Then, instead of conducting thorough oversight and correcting obvious problems with unstable entities like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, members of Congress chose to . . . distract themselves with unprecedented amounts of pork-barrel spending." That is the truth.

And yet at the debate, when one citizen-questioner invited both candidates to think aloud about the responsibility of our representatives in Washington, they both gently suggested she was cynical.

She was not cynical. She was informed.

Why would anyone trust either candidate to help dig us out of this if they can't speak frankly about what got us into it?

One had the sense this week that our entire political class is playing Frisbee on the edge of a precipice, that no one is being serious enough, honest enough, that it's all too revved, too intense, and yet too shallow. I have grown impatient with the strategists from the campaigns, the little blond monsters who go on cable TV to give us their bouncy, aggressive, tendentious talking points. They are like the men on the plane, the gargoyles with BlackBerrys who think the race is about them and their personal win/loss ratio, who think history is their plaything, who stay up with the press in the bar sipping Perrier and calling it seltzer, and who advise their candidates, in essence, to talk down to the voters, to the American people. They treat every crisis as if it is a political fact to be used for gain or loss, and not as a real crisis, something that deserves a response of gravity and seriousness.

It is asking a lot to ask a political animal to be thoughtful, because they find meaning in action. They are propelled through life by the force of their hunger. But now and then you want to see them think. You want to see them speak the truth. This is one of those times.

The photo above is from Gothamist.

Pie

Campaigning makes you hungry:



Hat-tip: The Anchoress

Infinite Playlist

I have been remiss in doing a post on the new movie "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist," which we caught last Thursday evening.

While I don't think it's destined to be a classic, "N&NIP" was a decent, enjoyable flick. (As of this writing, it has a 72 percent rating at Rotten Tomatoes.)

The story follows two New Jersey teenagers (and some assorted friends) during a long night in Manhattan. The big name in this one is Michael Cera of "Juno" and "Superbad" fame.

Note to my crew in Pittsburgh who have not yet been to NYC: go see this movie if you want a sense of my current surroundings. A number of the scenes were filmed in my neighborhood.

One late-night scene was shot at Veselka, a Ukrainian restaurant on Second Avenue at 9th Street. It's a place I often take out-of-town guests for an affordable dinner that's different yet safe and homey.

The Feast is Ready

I went to Sunday Mass yesterday during the Pilgrimage of Hope in Boston. The solemn liturgy was celebrated by Boston's archbishop, Cardinal Sean O'Malley. Cardinal O'Malley brought his diverse, humble and intelligent approach to his homily on the Gospel, a challenging (and rather violent) passage containing "The Parable of the Wedding Feast."

From Matthew Chapter 22:

Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and elders of the people in parables, saying:

"The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come.

"A second time he sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast.”’

"Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them.

"The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.

"Then he said to his servants, 'The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.’

"The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to meet the guests, he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. The king said to him, 'My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?'

"But he was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants, 'Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’

"Many are invited, but few are chosen."

On Pilgrimage

Today, I am heading to Boston where this weekend my gig is hosting a two-day "Pilgrimage of Hope." On Saturday evening, the program includes a concert of sacred music that will conclude with Bach's "Magnificat in D."

For this week's "YouTube clip for a peaceful weekend," below is a sample of that stirring work.

Peace:

Cognitive Causes

A reminder:

Researchers from the NYU Psychology Department, supported by the National Science Foundation, are investigating the cognitive causes of voting behavior, political preferences, and candidate evaluations throughout the course of the 2008 U.S. Presidential election.

They are now looking at information people use to inform evaluations during the last few weeks before the election.

Their on-line questionnaire takes about 15 minutes to complete if you would be willing to participate. It's anonymous.

Fundamental Architecture

David Brooks had some good thoughts today in his NYT column on the economic crisis. Key graphs:

At these moments, central bankers and Treasury officials leap in to try to make the traders feel better. Officials pretend they’re coming up with policy responses, but much of what they do is political theater. In reality, they’re trying to cajole, bluff and calm their audience of global money-sloshers.

This is more than a mortgage problem. We live in a world in which trillions of dollars can move instantly, but they are in the hands of human beings who are, by nature, limited in knowledge, and subject to self-deceptions and social contagions. By one count, financial crises are twice as prevalent now as they were 100 years ago.

In his astonishingly prescient book, “The World Is Curved: Hidden Dangers to the Global Economy,” David M. Smick argues that we have inherited an impressive global economic system. It, with the U.S. as the hub, has produced unprecedented levels of global prosperity. But it has now spun wildly out of control. It can’t be fixed with the shock and awe of a $700 billion rescue package, Smick says. The fundamental architecture needs to be reformed.

Coates & McWhorter

I find myself more and more a fan of Ta-Nehisi Coates, an author and now a blogger for The Atlantic. I was especially drawn to his September 26 column on Governor Sarah Palin -- even though I don't agree with his conclusion.

Below is a recent bloggingheads.tv discussion between Coates and John McWhorter of the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank. It's a strong, wide-ranging conversation on hip hop, Senator Barack Obama and more.

It's 52 minutes long but worthwhile viewing:

Time for Some Campaignin'

For some Monday morning levity, here's JibJab's offering for the 2008 election:

Time for Some Campaignin' Funny Jokes at JibJab

Hat-tip: Haze

Jews & Cuban Food

Saturday Night Live nailed it last night with their take on the VP debate.

LOL:

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust

I WENT to sleep; and now I am refreshed.
A strange refreshment: for I feel in me
An inexpressive lightness, and a sense
Of freedom, as I were at length myself
And ne’er had been before. How still it is!
I hear no more the busy beat of time,
No, nor my fluttering breath, nor struggling pulse;
Nor does one moment differ from the next.

I had a dream; yes: — someone softly said “He’s gone;”

and then a sigh went round the room.
And then I surely heard a priestly voice
Cry “Subvenite;” and they knelt in prayer.

-- John Henry Newman, "Dream of Gerontius"

Some of these words of Cardinal Newman (1801 - 1890) were recalled Thursday by Fr. Paul Chavasse, provost of the Birmingham Oratory and postulator of the cardinal's cause for beatification and canonization.

He recalled the lines after announcing that no physical remains of the great 19th Century English churchman were found in his grave in a small secluded cemetery. The discovery means Cardinal Newman's casket did not have a lead lining as had been expected.

The body of Cardinal Newman was to have been exhumed and moved to a prominent location in the Birmingham Oratory in anticipation of his beatification -- a not uncommon practice for Saints of the Church.

The inscription plate of Cardinal Newman's coffin was found in the grave:

From the Archdiocese of Birmingham statement:

"During the excavation the brass inscription plate which had been on the wooden coffin in which Cardinal Newman had rested was recovered from his grave. It reads:

'Eminent [issimus] et Reverend [issimus] Joannes Henricus Newman Cardinalis Diaconus S Georgii in Velabro Obiit Die XI August. MDCCCXC RIP'

English Translation:

'The Most Eminent and Most Reverend John Henry Newman Cardinal Deacon of St George in Velabro Died 11 August 1890 RIP'

Somewhere in heaven I think an old Englishman may be smiling at our earthly presumptuousness.

Hat-tip: Whispers in the Loggia

"This is the Heir"

The Gospel at Mass today brings us another parable set in a vineyard in which Jesus speaks about the Kingdom of God.

From Matthew Chapter 21:

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:

"Hear another parable.

"There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.

"When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned.

"Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, 'They will respect my son.'

"But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another,'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’

"They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?"

They answered him, "He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times."

Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?

"Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit."

Deacon Greg has an excellent homily on today's Mass readings in which he reflects on the financial crisis and the example of Dorothy Day. (BTW: prayers for Deacon Greg as he begins a new segment of his journey.)

The image above, called "The Wicked Tenants," is by Austin artist James B. Janknegt.

Debate Watch

Speaking of Governor Palin, I was pleasantly surprised Thursday evening to get a call from one of the long-time readers of this blog looking for me to be live-blogging on the vice presidential debate.

Unfortunately for the blog -- but fortunately for my sanity and social life -- I watched the VP debate at a debate watch party, one of several held in Manhattan that night.

My overall impression? First of all, it was great television -- much more engaging and lively than the first presidential debate.

And, while I wish Governor Palin had not skipped a number of questions posed to her, I thought she came off fairly well. She seemed strong and determined. As Peggy Noonan said yesterday in her Wall Street Journal column, "There were moments when she seemed to be doing an infomercial pitch for charm in politics."

It wasn't a bad night for Senator Joe Biden either. He seemed to be having a good time. I loved his smile when Governor Palin threw zingers his way. It almost looked as if he wanted to congratulate her (in a grandfatherly way) for being in the ring and holding her own.

My friend and fellow NYU Journalism alum Sylvan Solloway captured two of the Manhattan VP debate watch parties on video for the New York Post.

Her report is here.

The photo above is from here.

Seeing Old Problems with Fresh Eyes

I am late in posting this but felt it was still a relevant aspect of the presidential campaign to remember:

For the September 15 edition of America, the magazine's editors penned an excellent editorial called "Young Americans" in which they praised a particular shared biography point of Senator Obama and Governor Palin:

What now seems like eons ago, the presidential race began with arguably the most diverse cast of candidates in our nation’s history. As we enter the fall stretch, the field includes an African-American and a woman, a heartening display of the diversity that is now acknowledged as a fact of life by most Americans. The ascendancy of both Barack Obama and Sarah Palin was unexpected, and in many ways they are unlikely representatives of their respective demographic groups. Unlike most African-American leaders of the last 40 years, Obama did not take part in the civil rights movement of the 1960s, nor is he is a descendant of American slaves. Palin is a pro-death penalty, pro-drilling-in-the-Arctic-Reserve member of the National Rifle Association and Feminists for Life. She has little in common with Hillary Clinton, much less with Gloria Steinem.

Perhaps because of their unusual biographies, both Obama and Palin have proved able to confront divisive issues and mend longstanding rifts. In a speech delivered on Father’s Day, Obama called for African-American men to play a greater role in their children’s lives, a neuralgic issue in the black community, and under his leadership the Democrats have started to bring some pro-life Catholics back into the tent. Sarah Palin targeted members of her own party suspected of corruption, and her rise to prominence is proof that the term anti-abortion feminist is not an oxymoron.

Much has already been made of the youth of these candidates (both are in their 40s) and their relative inexperience. Yet could it be that their youth is an asset, that it allows them to see old problems with fresh eyes?

Laser Monks

Here at the end of another week of uncertainty for our financial systems, it is nice to see that there is another way of operating in the market:



Hat-tip chain: The Anchoress via Deacon Greg via Padre Steve

t-time

Tiffany Boardman, a friend from the years of my PA State House races, has started her own Christian inspiration blog called "t-time."

From the new blogger:

"About five years ago, when our church started its “Contemporary Service,” I would send out the weekly 'order of worship' via e-mail to those that attended so they would have a clue about what was coming up on Sunday morning. Because I couldn’t just send out the order by itself, I started adding my own little bits of inspirational messages to go with the week’s theme. After much prayer, I felt it was time to 'go public' with my messages. Well, the time is now and “t time” is alive and running. Check it out!"

"t-time" includes a player with Christian contemporary music (starts automatically) -- great for those days when you need a lift.

An aside: I met Tiffany through Michael Wallace.

Prayer of St. Francis

Saturday (October 4) is the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi. So, for this week's "YouTube clip for a peaceful weekend," here are a few settings of "The Prayer of St. Francis."

Pace:

5769

Sundown this evening, September 29, marked the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, the New Year celebration for the Jewish people. Year 5769 to be precise.

Rosh Hashanah is for Jews the beginning of a special 10-day period (called the "days of awe" or "days of repentance") that will end on October 8 with Yom Kippur, the day of atonement.

I pray that this will be a blessed time of meaningful prayer and spiritual growth for all those marking the days.

On this Rosh Hashanah that also was a day of unrest for our nation's economy, perhaps it would be appropriate to pray together some of the verses from Psalm 25:

Remember your mercies, O Lord.

Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.

Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your love are from of old.
The sins of my youth and my frailties remember not;
in your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.

Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
and teaches the humble his way.

An aside: In the spirit of inter-religious understanding, I also should note that tomorrow is the final day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan for 2008.

The photo above is from here.

Running for Heartbeat Away

Peggy Noonan well summarized Governor Sarah Palin's status at the end of her Friday column:

As for Sarah Palin, the McCain campaign continues to make mistakes. They don't seem to understand her strengths and weaknesses. The U.N. photo-ops were a staged embarrassment. Keeping the press away made her look infantilized. When she finally began to sit for television interviews, the atmosphere was heightened, every misstep magnified. With Katie Couric she seemed rattled. In the Charlie Gibson interview it was not good when she sounded chirpy discussing possible war with Russia. One should not chirp about such things. Or one wouldn't if one knew the implications. And knowing the implications is part of what we hire leaders for.

Mrs. Palin is a two-term mayor and has two years as a governor of an American state. She is well-liked and highly regarded back home. She rose for a reason. She has to show America what she showed Alaska.

It is true that the mainstream press, in interviews, will tend toward muted hostility. That's life for Republicans. But it's also part and parcel of the game and its requirements. Mrs. Palin gave a great speech at the Republican convention, and has roused crowds since. But there is much about her we do not know. Are her impulses, in terms of foreign policy, Reaganite or Bushian? Is she of the realist school, is she a neoconservative, does she see such a distinction? How does she see the world?

Mrs. Palin is charming, bright and strong enough to be a social conservative in a world whose establishments don't love social conservatism. But she is still a largely unknown quantity in terms of how she thinks, what she thinks, and who she is. And voters must be able to judge these things, because she is running for Heartbeat Away.

Two Sons

The Gospel at Mass today contains a parable and a strong rebuke.

From Matthew Chapter 21:

Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people:

"What is your opinion?

"A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, 'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.' He said in reply, 'I will not, ' but afterwards changed his mind and went.

"The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, 'Yes, sir,' but did not go.

"Which of the two did his father's will?"

They answered, "The first."

Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him."

In his homily for today, Deacon Greg states, "Conversion in one way or another is at the center of this Sunday’s readings."

Brick

The iconic actor Paul Newman died Friday at the age of 83.

Newman's role that most sticks in my mind is that of Brick in the 1958 film version of Tennessee Williams' play "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." In the movie, he played opposite Elizabeth Taylor in the role of Maggie and Burl Ives as Big Daddy.

Here is the first scene featuring Brick and Maggie:



The "mendacity" sequence:



Brick and Big Daddy resolution:

"Poinciana"

I realize the weekend is half over but better late than never ...

For this week's "YouTube clip for a peaceful weekend," here is "Poinciana" by the Ahmad Jamal trio. This morning, while listening to a podcast of National Public Radio's "Piano Jazz," I learned that Jamal (a "noted jazz pianist") is a Pittsburgh native. In fact, Jamal and host Marian McPartland spoke for a few minutes about all of the jazz greats from the 'Burgh.

Paz:

Live-Blogging the 1st Debate

I have never live-blogged before. But, I find myself still at the office and in front of a computer watching the first presidential debate on CNN live stream. So, here goes:

9:04 p.m. I agree with Senator Obama on CEOs not getting golden parachutes following government bail-outs.

9:09 p.m. Jim Leher: "We can negotiate a deal right here." Good line.

9:11 p.m. Senator McCain: "A lot of us saw this train wreck coming." Really? Too bad more wasn't done about it.

9:13 p.m. I don't think the senators understand the "talk to each other" idea. Mastering it could help win the debate. Probably would have helped if the debate organizers had sat the candidates and moderator at a table instead of using podiums.

9:17 p.m. Senator McCain: "I've got a pen." Ugh.

9:22 p.m. Senator McCain's example of Ireland's lower business taxes was a good defense of his proposal to cut those.

9:28 p.m. It's depressing to think of how the financial system bailout may limit the ability of tax dollars to go to other worthy goals -- especially infrastructure development and increasing the amount of student grants for higher education.

9:34 p.m. Senator Obama is correct that we need more investment in early childhood education. But, I'm not certain that it's the proper role of the federal government. Seems like that it something better left to state and local governments -- if a higher percentage of our tax dollars stayed at those levels.

9:39 p.m. It's telling that it wasn't until 40 minutes into the debate that there was a question on Iraq. (Remember, this debate was supposed to be about foreign policy.)

9:46 p.m. Senator McCain would serve himself better if he would turn his body toward Senator Obama and speak to him directly. He would seem more human and real. Senator Obama seems much more comfortable and more nimble.

9:57 p.m. Senator Obama: "... singing songs about bombing Iran." That was stupid.

10:00 p.m. I don't mean to be disrespectful to the soldiers who died, but I'm not fond of the bracelet references. It's so contrived.

10:04 p.m. This would have been so much more helpful if Senator McCain had followed the format and spoken directly with Senator Obama. He has yet to call him by his first name. Senator Obama has been saying "John" since the second or third reference.

10:08 p.m. I need to look up "centrifuge." Or is that "centrofuge"? Senator Obama is getting professorial ...

10:12 p.m. I think Senator Obama probably wins more votes on this question of meeting with antagonistic foreign leaders (maybe even clear enemies). It shows he is broad-minded and intellectually brave. But, Senator McCain is correct that it does give the bad guys legitimacy.

10:16 p.m. Somebody get Kissinger on the phone and just settle this one. ;-)

10:19 p.m. I hate it when someone calls an opponent naive. The honorable gentleman from Arizona should do better.

10:22 p.m. I have a 10:31 p.m. train into the city to catch so this is my last thought on the debate. I think it's pretty much a draw. Neither senator really said anything we haven't heard before.

Too bad.

The Guv & Father Mychal

Governor Sarah Palin met many people during her visit to New York this week. Yesterday, she got to know Father Mychal Judge, OFM.

NY Daily News columnist Michael Daly facilitated the meeting:

... My hosts suggested it would be fitting for me to give her a book, and there I was, a liberal puke of a columnist, faced with writing an inscription for Sarah Palin.

I thought of Mychal, who had bridged all differences. I recalled that Sen. Hillary Clinton, former Mayor Dave Dinkins and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani had all welled up while talking to me of their fallen friend. I now wrote in the title page what I felt sure to be true.

"For Governor Palin, who would have loved Mychal."

I was introduced to her and I handed her the book, not entirely sure she knew who Mychal was. I opened the book to what some have called the modern Pieta. Her eyes welled again as she gazed at the photo of the anguished first responders carrying him from the fiery ruins.

Ielpi presented Palin with another holy card he carries, one with a photo of Mychal on the front and a prayer he composed on the back. She placed the card inside the book and closed it, a woman who had come out of seeming nowhere, delightful to some, terrifying to others.

"Mychal always said, 'If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans for tomorrow,'" I told her, adding, "I guess a lot of people in this country have been feeling that way lately."

Palin stepped over to sign the visitor's log.

"From your 49th state.... We will never forget....
Governor Sarah Palin, ALASKA"

The NYT has coverage, too.

I hope Governor Palin learns Father Mychal's prayer:

Lord, take me where you want me to go;
Let me meet who you want me to meet;
Tell me what you want me to say, and
Keep me out of your way.

"The Duchess"

"The Duchess," the new Keira Knightly vehicle about the life of English noblewoman Georgiana Spencer, the Duchess of Devonshire (1757 - 1806), opened last weekend here in New York. It's based on the biography of the same title by Amanda Foreman.

I had the chance to check it out. It's more soap opera than History Channel but I'd recommend it for fans of the 18th century biopic genre.

Keira Knightly, an enchanting beauty, was good but not great.

Ralph Fiennes plays Georgiana's cold husband, William Cavendish, the 5th Duke of Devonshire (1748 - 1811). He was quite good, as always. But, it's getting difficult to separate him in my movie-goer brain from his role as Voldemort in the "Harry Potter" films.

It's also hard not to like Hayley Atwell who portrayed Bess Foster, Georgiana's charming friend who becomes the Duke's "other woman."

Genealogical aside: Diana, Princess of Wales, was a descendant of Georgiana's brother, the 2nd Earl Spencer.

"Professional" movie critic note: Manohla was snippy and condescending in her dislike of this one. But, she and I have disagreed before.

A Model Campus Ministry

Yesterday evening, I had a great time visiting the Newman Catholic Community at Long Island University's C.W. Post Campus.

I was honored to be asked to speak with the students about Faithful Citizenship. The visit also gave me the chance to give a brief commercial about the National Catholic Student Coalition (NCSC).

It was through NCSC that I first met C.W. Post's Catholic chaplain, La Salette Father Ted Brown, in the late '90s when I was active in the Newman Club at NYU.

I was very impressed with the ministry of Fr. Ted and the Catholic students at C.W. Post. In addition to Sunday evening Mass, retreats, a bible study, soup kitchen work and trips to places like the Bronx Zoo and Washington, D.C., the C.W. Post Catholics travel each year to Mexico to help build houses and schools.

I also was extremely impressed by C.W. Post's superb Interfaith Center (pictured above). It's a beautiful building in the heart of campus that houses ministries to Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Islamic students (as well as other belief traditions). It's a model that should be replicated on campuses across the country.

When I arrived at the Interfaith Center, the C.W. Post Hillel was meeting in the same meeting space later used by the Newman Club. (The Hillel students donated some kosher pizza for the Newman meeting.) As I left at the end of the night, a gospel choir was practicing upstairs in the large chapel that is used by all of the faith communities on campus.

Very impressive indeed.

Disgusting

How do people like this get elected to public office?

CNN has video.

Disgusting.

"My First Son"

Two weeks in a row, the NYT Fashion & Style section produces a piece deserving of mention here.

This beautiful "Modern Love" essay is "My First Son, a Pure Memory" by David Hlavsa.

A clip:

So I typed out an e-mail message, brief and plain, explaining: Lisa had been pregnant, the child had died and we took some comfort from the belief that all he had ever known was love. I stared at the screen for a long time.

Then I clicked on the top of the e-mail program and addressed the message to everyone at the college: faculty members, students, staff, people I knew well, people I didn’t know at all. I had a fleeting thought that this might be inappropriate, but then I pressed “send.” It felt like a form of protest.

I wasn’t really looking for a response. I wanted just to get the news out; I couldn’t bear to repeat it over and over. And although my department’s administrative assistant did field a few complaints about receiving something so personal by a general message (“Who is this guy?”), most apparently understood or at least excused my gesture.

AND then came the outpouring: for weeks after, people I barely knew would come into my office, gently shut the door and burst into tears. I heard stories of single and serial miscarriages, pregnancies carried nearly to full term, stillbirths — all the lost, lost children. Grief hauled about, and nowhere to put it down. Some said they had never told anyone; who would understand?

Hat-tip: Deacon Greg and American Papist -- both via Amy.

Helping the Alma Mater

Researchers from the NYU Psychology Department, supported by the National Science Foundation, are investigating the cognitive causes of voting behavior, political preferences, and candidate evaluations throughout the course of the 2008 U.S. Presidential election.

They are now looking at information people use to inform evaluations during the last few weeks before the election.

Their on-line questionnaire takes about 15 minutes to complete if you would be willing to participate. It's anonymous.

A Day in the Vineyard

The Gospel at Mass today finds Jesus teaching about the Kingdom of Heaven through a parable known as the "Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard" or "The Parable of the Generous Employer." It also has something to say about work, wages and unemployment.

From Matthew Chapter 20:

Jesus told his disciples this parable:

“The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.

After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard.

Going out about nine o’clock, the landowner saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.’

So they went off.

And he went out again around noon, and around three o’clock, and did likewise.

Going out about five o’clock, the landowner found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’

They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’

He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’

When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’

When those who had started about five o’clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage.

And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’

He said to one of them in reply, ‘My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?’

Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Of Loaves, Fish & A Spillway

Speaking of news from Western PA:

I was tickled Thursday to see a report in The New York Times about the feeding of bread to the fish in Pymatuning Lake spillway, which my family visited once or twice when I was a kid. The report was a follow-up to this article (that I missed) on August 31.

From Sean D. Hamill:

Every year, an estimated 500,000 people trek to the lake in northwestern Pennsylvania to see a veritable carpet of carp in the water.

The impromptu roadside attraction is known in part for the sight of ducks walking over the backs of the carp to get at some of the bread themselves. This has spurred Linesville to call itself “Where the Ducks Walk on the Fishes.”

In July, the state said it wanted to end the 70-year tradition because it was generating litter and attracting geese that were defecating on local beaches and campgrounds.

A community uproar led to a three-hour public meeting on Sept. 8 that attracted nearly 400 people, who nearly unanimously opposed the move. Many worried that the change would deter visitors, who spend money in local restaurants and other businesses.

“Hey, with that many people, numbers speak,” Pete Houghton, manager of Pymatuning State Park, said Thursday.

The photo above, of the Pymatuning Lake spillway, is credited to Jeff Swensen.

A Deserved Tribute

Yesterday evening, back home in the hills of northern Washington County, Pennsylvania, the football field at my alma mater, Fort Cherry High School, was quite deservedly renamed "Jim Garry Stadium."

Mr. Garry, who died last year at the age of 80, was one of the longest-serving high school football coaches in the history of Western Pennsylvania (if not the longest-serving). He guided the Rangers for 43 years.

The Observer-Reporter has video of the occasion.

The photo of Mr. Garry above is from the Post-Gazette.

Bailouts All Around

Great one in Wednesday's NYTimes letters:

To the Editor:

Dear Mr. Bernanke and Mr. Paulson:

My student loans are too big and it is hurting the economy. Can I have a bailout, please? I need $92,000.

Thanks.

Nathan Kottke
St. Paul,
Sept. 17, 2008

Me, too.

Learn To Fly

For this week's "YouTube clip for a peaceful weekend," here is the great Beatles tune "Blackbird" as performed by Sara McLachlan:



And a jazzier approach:

Bob Dole Impersonating Huey Long

NYT columnist Gail Collins nailed Senator John McCain today for his new-found affinity for government regulations.

Money Line:

... McCain’s willingness to make speeches that have nothing to do with his actual beliefs is not matched by an ability to give them, he wound up sounding like Bob Dole impersonating Huey Long.

T.J.

In June, I posted a rendition of the fun tune "Taylor the Latte Boy."

Here is a new, slightly more urban, take:



Hat-tip: Best Arts

The Neighbors

For years, I have been aware of the sociological reality that wealthy people and poor people often live close to each other -- usually in cities.

But, last night, that reality became very clear to me as I stood on East 1st Street on NYC's Lower East Side. I had just left a political fundraiser in a condo building that looked normal on the outside but was amazing on the inside. The fundraiser was in a tony apartment boasting a huge kitchen (by NYC apartment standards) and what was likely several millions of dollars worth of artwork on the walls. (A set of four Marilyn Monroe silkscreens by Andy Warhol -- said to be real -- graced one wall.)

The fundraiser had been headlined by the majority leader of the New York State Senate along with another state senator and four members of the State Assembly. Edward Cox, President Nixon's son-in-law and the head of the McCain campaign in New York, was there too.

When I came outside, I paused for a moment only to see that this building was literally next door to the Catholic Worker "House of Hospitality" for many of the city's hungry and homeless. It was founded in the 1930s by Dorothy Day, Peter Maurin and the other pioneers of the Catholic Worker movement.

I felt guilty for passing it without notice as I had arrived. I felt guilty for never having been there to volunteer. My first visit (in recent memory, anyway) to that block shouldn't have been for a cocktail party.

But, the maxim proved true: immense wealth and the homeless, next door neighbors. Although, I must say, seemingly co-existing peacefully.

The photo above is from here.

A Place Like This

Rod Dreher over at Beliefnet has a good take on Jan Hoffman's article in today's NYTimes about the beauty shop in Wasilla, Alaska where Governor Sarah Palin is a regular.

It's a piece that says a lot more about Palin than its placement in the "Fashion & Style" section may seem to indicate.

Dreher's reflection reminded me of why I too am still rooting for the Alaska Governor -- despite the many negatives that Sully keeps articulating by the hour.

From "Sarah Palin, steel magnolia":

This is where I came from, a place like this. These women are the kind of women my sister and my mother are, even though they live in a small town far, far away from Alaska. I could be reading this story about my own town (except whitetail deer would replace bear).

Reading this story, I understood more than anything else I've read about Sarah Palin why she's made that gut connection with so many Americans. She really is from a small town, and does not seem to have forgotten that. Think about the powerful message this sends to small-town, rural and working-class voters. Think about what it says about the place she comes from internally, and how she interprets the world. This is a woman who goes to the small-town beauty shop to trade hunting stories with her girlfriends, and to pray with them through their crises -- and she didn't stop going there when she became governor of the state.

Obviously no criterion to select the second to the most powerful man on earth, and I'm not arguing that it is, so don't be obnoxious in the comboxes. But if you are going to extend your empathy to the African-American who votes for Barack Obama because he sees in Obama something deep and important about himself, and finds that makes Obama trustworthy, you have to extend your empathy to the small-town, rural folks who see the same in Sarah Palin, and have confidence in her. Her experiences have given her a certain place from which she judges the world, and it's a place shared by tens of millions of Americans -- men and women whose views and values are scarcely represented in American newsrooms.

I'm from a place like this, too. And, I think that recent, first-hand knowledge of towns like Wasilla, Alaska, and McDonald, Pennsylvania, would be a good characteristic to have in a VPOTUS.

Yes, I wish Governor Palin had traveled to more places around the world and had more first-hand knowledge of foreign policy issues. Yes, I disagree with her on some significant policy positions (evidenced by the post below and the links to Sully above).

But, I still like her. I like that a young, pro-life woman who served in local government and had the courage to challenge the party bosses could rise to the second highest office in the land.

The NYT photo above is credited to Jim Wilson. Caption: LOCAL COLOR Jessica Steele of the Beehive salon, where Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been a client.

Hat-tip: The Anchoress

Invent, Baby, Invent

Thomas Friedman had another strong column on his recurring theme in today's New York Times. Title: "Making America Stupid."

Key graphs:

Why would Republicans, the party of business, want to focus our country on breathing life into a 19th-century technology — fossil fuels — rather than giving birth to a 21st-century technology — renewable energy? As I have argued before, it reminds me of someone who, on the eve of the I.T. revolution — on the eve of PCs and the Internet — is pounding the table for America to make more I.B.M. typewriters and carbon paper. “Typewriters, baby, typewriters.”

Of course, we’re going to need oil for many years, but instead of exalting that — with “drill, baby, drill” — why not throw all our energy into innovating a whole new industry of clean power with the mantra “invent, baby, invent?” That is what a party committed to “change” would really be doing. As they say in Texas: “If all you ever do is all you’ve ever done, then all you’ll ever get is all you ever got.”