WobLog

The other day, a friend of mine went for a "ride-along" with his buddy on the Livermore Police force. They ended up at one of the local high schools where the school administration called the police in to deal with the aftermath of a campus brawl. Turns out the fight was gang related; it seems "Red" and "Blue" gangs are established at the school ("Bloods" and "Crips," I guess). From what my friend tells me, the police officer did a great job of handling the situation and gave the ringleader a taste of where his life was headed, while giving him a choice to get himself squared away.

What's going on? Have we so coddled kids for fear of bruising their fragile "self-esteem" that we've spawned a generation that has never had to meet even a minimum standard of civil behavior? How such a rabble will end up as responsible citizens of the republic is hard to imagine.

Posted by Don Roberts at 9:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Ramesh Ponnuru cites the results of a poll sponsored by the Susan B. Anthony List on the public's opinion regarding the following six abortion options:

1. Abortion should be illegal
2. Illegal with an exception for the life of the mother
3. Illegal with that exception and an exception for rape and incest
4. Legal for any reason in the first trimester
5. Legal for any reason in the first and second trimester
6. Legal for any reason throughout pregnancy

The results were: 16%, 16%, 22%, 21%, 8%, and 12%, respectively. In other words, 54% support some variation of the pro-life position (the first three choices) and 41% support some variation of the pro-choice position (the last three). Only 12% support the current legal status quo, the sixth option.

Posted by Don Roberts at 4:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Here's a cool link to a movie that uses orbital probe data to create a 3-D model of Mars, similar to the 3-D Earth model in Google Earth. The Quicktime H.264 version of the movie is a nice, high resolution choice that's ideal if you have a brodband connection.

Posted by Don Roberts at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today marks the first anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI's pontificate. After two years of terrible scandal, the Church has had a good year, and what a blessing our new Holy Father has been. He sets an example for us all of how to faithfully proclaim what the Church teaches and professes with love and charity. He teaches us that the way Christ calls us to live is a gift, not a burden. It is the evil of modern relatvism that is the real burden we must struggle against.

On a personal level, I love Pope Benedict's preaching and writing style. The clarity of his approach to theology, liturgy, and morality speaks to me and has helped me deepen my faith. And it's not just me: he seems to connect to the faithful in a way that addresses the needs of the Church in our current age. He has broken attendance records with his appearances and liturgies in this first year or his pontificate.

Sunday was the Pope's 79th birthday. I pray that he continues in good health, enjoys a long and successful pontificate.

Posted by Don Roberts at 6:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Washington Post has an excellent piece today on Brit Hume, who hosts one of the few shows that Lisa and I regularly watch on television, "Special Report." I remember Hume from his days covering Capitol Hill for ABC News -- I was a big fan of David Brinkley's "This Week" Sunday program back in those days. I've liked Brit Hume ever since and have been a big fan of his Fox News show from the beginning.

The article describes a personal tragedy that Hume confronted in 1998 when his son took his own life. Hume's response, including a deepening of his Christian faith, is inspiring.

Posted by Don Roberts at 3:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's a shot with my parents and my brother Dave from Easter Sunday. As you can see, Sarah and Alex got lightsabers from Grandma and Papa in their Easter baskets.

Posted by Don Roberts at 7:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The Vigil Mass last night raised my heart to a fever pitch of joy. When the lights blazed forth on the Gloria, and the bells rang and rang and rang and rang, and the shrouds fell from the statues, I felt a foretaste of the joy of Heaven. How loving the Church is to give us this glimpse into true joy in Christ! In particular, the contrast to the sorrow of Good Friday -- to go from kissing Christ's blood-stained feet to the blazing light of Easter -- helps me to more fully realize the import of what Jesus did for us, so unmerited by us but freely given by Him.

After the end of the Gloria, once the bells had stopped and all the statues were uncovered, our three-year old son Alex, who had watched in rapt attention, sighed and said audibly in the silence, "It's gorgeous in here!"

Thank you, Jesus, for Your incredible gift to us. Alleluia, He is Risen!

Posted by Lisa Roberts at 10:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Holy Father continued the Good Friday tradition established by his predecessor, Pope John Paull II, of leading the Stations of the Cross at the Coliseum. We weren't able to attend the mid-day Good Friday Stations in our parish. However, Sarah worked with Mommy to learn the Stations today and colored pictures of each Station. When I got home mid-afternoon, she showed me her work and recounted the events of each Station to me. She did a great job, and was very pleased with her accomplishment.

We attended the Tridentine Commemoration of the Lord's Passion (aka, "Mass" of the Presanctified Gifts) Friday evening. Sarah (5) and Alex (3) were really good, especially when one considers this was their second two-hour Latin liturgy in as many nights. The ministers of the liturgy made a very wise decision that helped keep our kids interest: instead of chanting the Passion narrative from the Gospel of John aloud in Latin and then reading it again in English, Fr. Wiener chanted quietly up at the altar, while a seminarian visiting the parish during Holy Week from the Institute of Christ the King, Abbe Aaron Huberfeld, read the Gospel in English. The kids did a pretty good job of paying attention.

Following the Gospel, everyone approached the altar rail for the Veneration of the Cross. Alex seemed to be particularly impressed by his close inspection of the nail piercing Jesus' feet. Holy Communion followed the Veneration, and as usual, the kids settled down once Communion began, knowing that means we're in the "home stretch."

Posted by Don Roberts at 7:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's an interesting bit of trivia: John Wilkes Booth shot President Lincoln 141 years ago today. April 14, 1865 was Good Friday.

(Hat tip: National Review Online)

Posted by Don Roberts at 7:47 AM | Permalink

The kids and I have recently been listening to the story of Gilgamesh the King and his enemy-turned-friend, Enkidu on The Story of the World CDs. Recently the kids asked me if Gilgamesh was good or bad. I told them that originally he was bad. As an example (spoilers to the tale of Gilgamesh, if you're planning to read it), I cited when Gilgamesh attended a wedding and decided to take the bride away. I said something like, "Imagine if someone had come to take me away on the day I had married Daddy!" They agreed it was bad, and Sarah ran off to ask Daddy who he had had to fight to save Mommy on his wedding day. Meanwhile, Alex started racing around the house pretending he was Enkidu. Except, he pronounced it Yankidu. And then, of course, Yankee Doodle.

Posted by Lisa Roberts at 6:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Alex, who recently turned three, sat upon the changing table after being awake for a few minutes. His mouth hung open as he struggled to wake up. (Not one of his more intelligent looks.) Don commented to him, "You'd better close your mouth, or flies will get in."

Alex: What? (Said with some surprise.)
Don: Flies are going to get in your mouth. You need to close it.
Alex: (After a pause.) But there aren't any flies in here.
Sarah: There are, too!
Alex: (Suspiciously) Mom, are there flies in here?
Me: Not right now. Probably you wouldn't get any flies in your mouth, but you could.

Alex thought for a moment then said to Don, somewhat triumphantly:

"You open your mouth when you talk!"

Not bad thinking for a three year old! I think Don tried to convince him that while he did open his mouth to talk, he closed it quickly again so flies couldn't get in, but I think Alex realized he had won the argument.

Posted by Lisa Roberts at 4:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Next week, A&E will debut a five-part reality TV series called "God or the Girl" (see also here). The series will follow four men as they discern whether they have a vocation to the celibate priesthood or to married life. While one would expect TV's take on this subject to be disastrous, the "buzz" on the religious blogs is quite good. This review on Catholic Online sounds promising.

The show airs on the following dates (double-check your local listings):

• Easter Sunday, 16 April, 9-11 p.m. Eastern (Episodes 1 & 2)
• Easter Monday, 17 April, 9-11 p.m. Eastern (Episodes 3 & 4)
• Easter Friday, 21 April, 8 p.m. -12 a.m.. Eastern (Marathon, Episodes 1 - 4)
• Low Sunday, 23 April, 10-11 p.m. Eastern (Finale)

Posted by Don Roberts at 1:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I love the Web.

Today, I came across the news (see also here) that a fossil fish has been discovered that shows evidence of the migration of aquatic animals to life on land. The fossil was discovered on Ellesmere Island, part of the Canadian territory of Nunavut (formerly Northwest Territories). I learned from Wikipedia, that Ellesmere has the distinction of hosting the northernmost permanent settlement in the world, Alert.

Well, thanks to Google, I came across the home page of Kevin Anderson, who spent a year in Alert working for Environment Canada. Kevin documented his "Arctic Adventure" here. If you're interested in seeing what it's like to spend a year living at the top of the world, and you have a little time to kill, check out Kevin's site.

Posted by Don Roberts at 5:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Ironic Catholic reports the "news" of a large group of Catholic families lining up at their local Barnes & Noble at 12:01 am to be the first to purchase the newly released Compendium of the Catechism. The eager parents brought along their kids, who dressed up as their favorite theologians. Sadly, the group was disappointed when no release party took place. It seems Barnes & Noble didn't have a clue what they were talking about.

Any disappointment the parents expressed was lost on the kids present. "It's OK. I mean, we'll get it eventually, and we've got the big one at home. Besides, we're all standing around in cool characters, way after bedtime, having theological arguments with each other. It doesn't get better than this," said Matthew Tripoli, dressed as St. John of the Cross. As he spoke, two kids dressed as St. Anselm and Peter Abelard were having a vigorous debate about atonement theory, punctuated by jousting light sabers they had brought along from the the Star Wars trilogies. ("Hey-yah! Moral influence rules!" shouted little Abelard.)

Although the "report" doesn't say so explicitly, it sure sounds like a bunch of homeschoolers to me!

Posted by Don Roberts at 6:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gerald Augustinus has a great photo tribute to Pope John Paul II over at "The Cafeteria is Closed."

Posted by Don Roberts at 5:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)