WobLog

The recent jump in North Korea coverage in the wake of their nuclear test has included lots of B-roll footage of goose-stepping KPA soldiers at DPRK military parades in Pyongyang. Why is the goose-step so ominous? In his 1940 book, "The Lion and the Unicorn," George Orwell wrote:

The goose-step, for instance, is one of the most horrible sights in the world, far more terrifying than a dive-bomber. It is simply an affirmation of naked power; contained in it, quite consciously and intentionally, is the vision of a boot crashing down on a face. Its ugliness is part of its essence, for what it is saying is "Yes, I am ugly, and you daren't laugh at me," like the bully who makes faces at his victim.

Where did this style of marching come from? With the most senseless waste of human life in history. Over at Done With Mirrors, Callimachus notes:

The curious thing that nobody seems to question is, why is it called the "goose step?" Geese waddle, sway from side to side as they move on their feet on land. It looks nothing like a "goose step."

Turns out, the original goose step (it dates back to the Napoleonic era, naturally) was a military drill to teach balance. You stood on each leg alternately and swung the other back and forth. This at least looks vaguely like a goose's way of walking. It must have acquired a general sense of "militaristic way of marching" by the time it was applied to "marching without bending the knees." That seems to first have happened in 1916. Like much of the horrible ugliness of the 20th century, it seems to have its roots in WW1.

Hat-tip Don Jim

Posted by Don Roberts at 8:51 AM | Permalink

As reported by Nancy Frazier O'Brien via Catholic News Service, many churches in the U.S. follow the practice of Extraordinary Eucharistic Ministers (lay people) purifying the vessels used during the Mass for Communion. Apparently, the U.S. bishops received an indult in 2002 to allow this practice despite its difference from the general rules for the Latin Mass. This time, when the U.S. Bishops asked the Vatican to extend the indult, Pope Benedict said, "No." Now lay ministers may no longer purify the vessels, in accord with the practice of the rest of the Church. I have gotten so used to the Vatican just saying "Yes" to any practice already in place, that this result surprised me a little. I think it bodes well for restricting and abolishing some of the liturgical abuses now rampant in the Novus Ordo Mass.

Posted by Lisa Roberts at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sarah and I spent much of Saturday afternoon watching Notre Dame host UCLA. The Irish played competively all day, but UCLA just seemed a little sharper. Well, with 2:25 left in the fourth quarter, ND quarterback Brady Quinn failed to convert on a 4th and 1yd play. Since we had to go out for dinner Saturday night, I shut off the game in disappointment, figuring the Bruins had it wrapped up.

Here's what happened:

October 23, 2006 4:56 a.m. EST

Todd Sikorski - All Headline News Staff Writer

South Bend, IN (AHN) - Notre Dame needed all the help from "Touchdown Jesus" on Saturday to beat UCLA in South Bend. There is no other way to explain the way Notre Dame won-on a last minute 45 yard bomb from QB Brady Quinn to Jeff Samardzjia. The 20-17 win left Notre Dame with a record of 6-1 and still alive to be eligible for the Bowl Championship Series.

It was not only that last second pass that makes one figure "Touchdown Jesus"-a famous mural of Jesus overlooking Notre Dame Stadium with his hands up in the air-had something to do with the win.

It looked like UCLA won the game late in the fourth quarter when it stopped Brady Quinn on a fourth-and-1 play from the Notre Dame 35. With only 2:25 left in the game, it seemed like the Irish would fall to their second loss of the season.

However, thanks to a stingy Irish defense and the wise use of two timeouts, Notre Dame got the ball back with a little more than a minute left in the game.

Quinn then went to work and hit Samarzjia with a 21-yard pass and then hit David Grimes with a 14-yard pass. After that came that winning bomb to Samardzjia.

For those who are unfamiliar, "Touchdown Jesus" refers to the "Word of Life" mural on the Hesburgh Library at Notre Dame, which can be seen from Notre Dame stadium.

I've been kicking myself ever since we got back from dinner late Saturday. I've learned my lesson, I promise...

Posted by Don Roberts at 5:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I mentioned in a previous post a few of the challenges we faced preparing Sarah for First Confession and First Holy Communion in the Old Latin Rite. Our troubles were tiny bumps in the road compared to the roadblocks to getting married in the Old Rite described by a couple in a recent piece in the Wall Street Journal:

Thus the greater New York metropolitan area is currently permitted only a handful of weekly celebrations of the Tridentine Mass. Unfortunately, finding a parish for our own nuptial Mass was a painful process. A priest at one such parish in Manhattan told us that the rector and his parish council were not interested in having more old Masses celebrated there. A parochial vicar in Long Island nearly chortled at the suggestion that any additional Tridentine Masses would be allowed in the diocese that he serves. The secretary of Edward Cardinal Egan, the Archbishop of New York, responded to our impassioned plea by offering us the ugliest church in the borough.

Finally, however, we were welcomed into a church in Manhattan by a pastor who, happily, cares little for the antitraditional biases of his ecclesiastical colleagues. And so on July 22 we were wed at the Church of Our Saviour, with all the rich trappings of a traditional Catholic Nuptial Mass--from the ethereal strains of Latin chant down to the lace trimmed hems of the priests' vestments.

The pastor in question is none other than Fr. George Rutler, unofficial chaplain of National Review Online and host of EWTN's Christ in the City.

Hat Tip: Amy Welborn.

Posted by Don Roberts at 4:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

We (and by that I mean, Lisa) are preparing Sarah for First Holy Communion. Since there are some differences in the details of how the sacrament is celebrated between the New Rite and the Old, Lisa wanted to get instructional books that had the correct details. This proved to be a much tougher job than either of us anticipated. Over a month and a half before Sarah's First Holy Communion was scheduled, Lisa ordered the books from a location online that had just the right materials.

Weeks went by and the books never arrived. A little investigation revealed that our credit card hadn't been charged, either. Since we'd received no contact from the site where Lisa placed the order, she called their customer service. Turns out they had copied our credit card information incorrectly and besides that, the books were out of stock.

Fortunately, I managed to figure out where the books were published and discovered that the Canadian publisher, St. Francis Books has a website. We ordered the books directly from them, and they arrived this past week. The books are quite good, and we still have time to prepare Sarah for her First Confession (a prerequisite for First Holy Communion).

Posted by Don Roberts at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This unattractive scenario might actually convince China to crack down on Kim's regime - something they've avoided for fear of the flood of refugees that would result from a regime collapse in their basket-case neighbor.

Sadly, Kim seems to have gotten his wish: he's now the center of attention, rather than being "ronery."

Posted by Don Roberts at 9:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today, October 7, is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, which commemorates the victory of the Christian fleet under Don Juan of Austria against the Turkish fleet at the Battle of Lepanto. Lepanto is recognized as the final stand of the Christians against the onslaught of the invading Turks. As Michael Novak writes in his article on the battle (linked above):

The passion for defending their own civilization against ruthless invaders also strengthened the muscles of those engaged in the close, bloody, violent hand-fighting when one vessel came alongside another. With their new fire power the smaller Christian fleet quickly sank galley after galley until, after not too many hours, the Turkish center also collapsed, as if cut through by a hot knife. The Admiral’s galley was captured, along with 240 more Turkish ships. Only on the other flank some Christian vessels hesitated, approached the enemy half-heartedly, and thus spurred defections by still other vessels. Although even there some acts of heroism appeared, a number of Turkish vessels were able to slip away through that gap in the battleline.

The Christian victory was far more complete than anyone had dreamed. The victory seemed to many quite miraculous, and victory was immediately attributed to Our Lady Queen of the Rosary — soon to be called by a new title, Our Lady Queen of Victory. All over Europe, from city to town, church bells rang out continuously when news of the impressive victory arrived. Ever since, October 7 has been celebrated as a feast day by the Catholic Church.

Posted by Don Roberts at 1:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)