April 15, 2008
A Mitzvah for a Blogger Friend in Need
I have not posted memes or quiz answers in a very long time, and have no intention of resuming after this post. However, because Enbretheliel asks so nicely and is in need of our prayers and good wishes and acts, I offer this small mitzvah--an answer to her tag:
1. Do you associate reading particular books with the places you read them or events of the time you read them?
Unfortunately, in one case, quite vividly. I think I was reading Stephen King's Four Past Midnight or a collection of his short stories--I know it by looking at the cover, when my mother died. I never finished the book.
On a happier note, but a sadder book, I read Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner on a flight home from Sacramento California.
Similarly, I finished my most recent read of The Sound and the Fury on a flight back from Boston.
2. Do you remember the books you read or do they fade quickly? Or do you remember some better than others? How about remembering details like character names, not just overall plot?
Some books remain with me and pluck at me. Chief among those are Henry James's The Golden Bowl, which struck me as a very odd predecessor to the absurdist dramas of Samuel Beckett. It seemed to me that throughout this entire book there were four or five disembodied heads that swirled around making life miserable for one another.
Tom Sawyer is another. I think of Aunt Polly looking over her glasses and under her glasses, but never through her glasses for so small a thing as a boy.
Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance haunts all of my reading--most particularly the hair collector and the beggar-maker.
As a general rule, however, I forget most of a book and retain a sense of it or a scene or two. For example, I remember very clearly the climactic scene from Silence by Shusaku Endo. Same with near the end of The Violent Bear it Away, l was stunned by Flannery's venturing into the world she did.
But I've gone on too long. Suffice to say that some books, stylistically or incidentally remain firmly in mind, while other evaporate out of my head almost immediately.
3. Have you ever forgotten you've read/own a book and borrowed/bought it again?
All the time, particularly with unmemorable books that sound as though they ought to be memorable.
Not that I remember, if you don't mind such a perversely ironic answer.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 10:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 21, 2008
Ten Favorite Cities
TSO listed his, here are mine:
Washington D.C.
Boston
San Antonio
San Diego
Everglades City (hardly even a town, and lovely)
Naples, FL.
Well, I guess I don't have ten. I do have a short-list of ciities I would like never to go to again, or in the event that I've never been there, to be spared that ordeal:
Atlantic City
St. Louis
Seattle
New Orleans
Miami
Las Vega
Los Angeles
And may favorite near neighbor city:
Victoria, British Columbia
Posted by Steven Riddle at 4:22 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
August 19, 2006
Five Quotes--Via Mixolydian Mode and Mama T
Five quotes that describe you or your belief systems from the Random Quote Page
If there is anything the nonconformist hates worse than a conformist, it's another nonconformist who doesn't conform to the prevailing standard of nonconformity. --Bill Vaughan
I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it. --Groucho Marx
If it's true that our species is alone in the universe, then I'd have to say that the universe aimed rather low and settled for very little. --George Carlin
Those who flee temptation generally leave a forwarding address. --Lane Olinghouse
Nobody sees a flower - really - it is so small it takes time - we haven't time - and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time. --Georgia O'Keefe
And then some sundries I just wanted to keep around:
"Either this man is dead or my watch has stopped."Groucho Marx (1890 - 1977)
"I know not, sir, whether Bacon wrote the works of Shakespeare, but if he did not it seems to me that he missed the opportunity of his life." J. M. Barrie
"A judge is a law student who marks his own examination papers." H. L. Mencken
"The whole problem can be stated quite simply by asking, 'Is there a meaning to music?' My answer would be, 'Yes.' And 'Can you state in so many words what the meaning is?' My answer to that would be, 'No.'" Aaron Copland
"There is no expedient to which a man will not go to avoid the labor of thinking." Thomas A. Edison (And Edison's own association with and sympathy for anti-semites and proto-nazis certainly goes a long way to proving this point.)
"One should absorb the colour of life, but one should never remember its details. Details are always vulgar." Oscar Wilde
"Thomas Jefferson once said, 'We should never judge a president by his age, only by his works.' And ever since he told me that, I stopped worrying." Ronald Reagan
"If you scatter thorns, don't go barefoot." Italian Proverb
Posted by Steven Riddle at 7:19 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 7, 2006
Oddest Food
Okay, I've freighted your mind with weighty issue enough today. So a poll, answer, if you please in the comments box:
(1) What is the oddest food you've ever deliberately eaten? (We're not counting swallowed flies or accientally ingested spiders here--this is food that you chose to eat.)
(2) What food do you really, really like to eat but many people around you find utterly revolting?
My answers:
(1)This is a tough one. On the plant side I've had stewed nettles, fiddleheads from maidenhair fern, and the cabbage palm "cabbage" and the stewed seeds of a local ground-cover cycad (I think--although it strikes me that they would be likely to be filled with taxine, so perhaps it was something else). On the animal side I've had fresh nautilus, Cassiopeia jellyfish (served as a sort of dried chip), scorpions, a bread made primarily from bees (and yes, surprising it was sweet), and most revolting of all holothurian. Google it and look for a picture. (In grad school we used to have "phylum feasts" to see how many phyla we could cover in one meal and throughout our career. My brave and intrepid little group managed a great many of the more common phyla--we balked at a few because of the rarity of the animals.
(2) Stewed okra, pickled okra, fresh okra, fried okra, gumdoed okra, fricasseed okra. People think of this as a southern thing, but I got into the habit from my Grandma who lived in South eastern Ohio at the time. She took me out to her garden and showed me one of the loveliest flowers I had ever seen and told me it was the flower of the okra plant. And later that season I got to eat my grandma's fresh cooked okra--yum!
Posted by Steven Riddle at 7:48 PM | Comments (11) | TrackBack
August 2, 2006
I'm Always Ready to Talk about Books
Book Meme
1. One book that changed your life: Honestly, I'm not certain there are any, the closest might be Tom Sawyer or Winesburg, Ohio.
2. One book that you've read more than once:
See above and add to it Turn of the Screw by Henry James
3. One book you'd want on a desert island:
(excepting the Bible) Tom Sawyer or perhaps Robinson Crusoe (might be something useful there).
4. One book that made you laugh:
The Wit and Wisdom of Oscar Wilde
5. One book that made you cry:
The Kite Runner and I was on the plane-trip home--how embarrassing.
6. One book that you wish had been written:
A really good ghost story like those of M.R. James--either a collection or a novel.
7. One book that you wish had never been written:
The Kinsey Report
8. One book you're currently reading:
The Book of the Dead
9. One book you've been meaning to read:
Gilead--tried three times now to get enough of a running start to get through it--failed miserably.
And I pass this on to TSO, if He's willing, Brandon S., who could answer in the comments, and Zippy, if he has the time and inclination.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 1:36 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
January 30, 2006
A Meme A gain
Probably as a ploy to see if I were paying attention, Erik tagged me. So here's my response:
Four Jobs
1. Children's Librarian
2. Night manager at Sewer Line Maintenance
3. Museum cataloger and photo developer
4. My present position
Four Movies I Would (and do) Watch Over and Over:
1. Harry Potter (any of them)
2. Miss Congeniality
3. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
4. The Spongebob Squarepants Movie
Four Places I Have Lived:
1. Pensacola, FL
2. Norfolk, VA
3. Fairfax, VA
4. Columbus, OH
Four TV Shows I Love to Watch: (Don't expect sophistication here)
1. Jimmy Neutron
2. Spongebob Squarepant
3. Fairly Odd Parents
4. Rachel Ray (Sometime Iron Chef America or Good Eats)
Websites I visit daily (well, not quite daily, as I usually go a couple of days a week without even checking email):
1. Listed Blogs
2. Library Thing Library Page
3. Yahoo/Google/search pages
4. On-line Books Page
Favorite Four Foods
1. Olives--any size, any shape, any color, stuffed with just about anything
2. Pizza
3. Macaroni and Cheese
4. Chicken and Dumplings
Four Places I Would Rather Be:
1. Key West/Dry Tortugas
2. Naples, FL
3. La Jolla (but not anywhere near town)
4. San Antonio, TX
But the truth is, on a permanent basis, nowhere else on Earth. I love where I live.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 11:56 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 5, 2005
The Seven Meme
Not that you really wanted to know:
1. Seven things to do before I die
* Visit Uluru and Shark Bay
* Visit Romania/Transylvania
* See my son happily married/otherwise engaged in vocation
* Visit Stratford-on-Avon
* Weave a cloth/tapestry
* Play the digeridoo
* Visit Chichen Itza.
2. Seven things I cannot do
* Sing
* Home repair.
* Speak Latin.
* Car maintenance.
* Care of living things--plants or animals.
* Paint.
* Keep patience with rude people.
3. Seven things that attract me to my spouse.
* Her sense of humor.
* Her practicality.
* Her friendliness.
* Her patient endurance in trial.
* Her patient endurance of me.
* Her intelligence, good taste, ambitions.
* Her kindness and softheartedness.
4. Seven things I say most often
* You're the greatest! (To Sam)
* Sweetheart. (Sam and Linda)
* Thanks be to God!
* Cunieverse world (don't ask)
* What do you think? (And not with an attitude--cultivating a response from within rather than reliance upon external resources)
* I love you.
* You can do this. (Said a lot at work AND at home. Coupled with its complement, "You can't if you don't try.")
5. Seven books I love
* The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
* The Great Divorce
* Story of a Soul
* Dark Night of the Soul
* The Golden Bowl
* All of Nathaniel Hawthorne--every word.
* All of Flannery O'Connor--every syllable.
6. Seven movies I watch over and over again (
* Legally Blond
* Miss Congeniality
* Scrooge
* Christmas in Connecticut
* Sunset Boulevard
* Citizen Kane (I'm utterly mesmerized--my wife--mystified and bored)
* Working Girl
7. I have a poor success rate at passing these things one and as this is rather old now, most have probably done it. I don't recall seeing this at TSO's however--so TSO, if you're so inclined.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 11:32 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
November 22, 2005
I Confess
Sometimes a meme becomes pandemic. Suburban Banshee--long may she wail--has tagged me for this.
I confess . . .
. . . that responding to this meme rather frightens me (can't say why.)
. . . I actually enjoy holding hands during the Our Father, largely because it so much forces me out of who I normally am
. . . that at one time I did a bad job of discerning a vocation to the Carthusians (praise God!--Camoldalese would have been another possibility had I been aware of them)
. . . I think some people (including myself) think waaaaaaaay too much sometimes
. . . not particularly liking the prose and poetry of Chesterton and Belloc (love some of his poetry), but really, really liking the person of Chesterton
. . . monastic life and complete solitude hold a real and everpresent appeal (though they do not compare with the joy of the Vocation of Marriage and Family)
. . . to viewing blogs and associated projects as having possibilities as apostolates
. . . to being a far nicer person on-line than I could ever hope to be in person
. . . to liking Spiderman, the Fantastic Four, Sponge Bob, and the Fairly OddParents far more than I ought
. . . to being TSO's number one fan and nuisance e-mailer
. . . wishing my blog could be more like Fructus Ventris, Sancta Sanctis, Happy Catholic, and Summa Mamas (but it just ain't gonna happen)
. . . wishing I could do what Tom at Disputations does so well (but then if I did, we wouldn't need Tom, and that would be a terrible shame)
. . . a scrupulous attempt at Orthodoxy which stems from coming from a Protestant background
. . . not really understanding what many traditionalists think or want
. . . not really understanding what most progressives really want
. . . not really understanding why we can't all just get along
. . . to owning no fewer than 41 different Bibles (different translations, different annotations, different assemblies of similar translations, including at least two four column parallel Bibles)
. . . and to having read or studied every one of them
. . . and to still being ignorant of the majority of God's word
. . . being an ardent fan of James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, William Faulkner, Henry James and a whole slew of people who bore most people silly
. . . to having won an award for poetry composed in the manner of Finnegan's Wake (First place--a complete set of the critical edition of the works of James Joyce, commentary by Anthony Burgess on Finnegan's Wake and Ulysses, and a guide to Dublin)
. . . to being a complete tea-totaler, having had in my entire college career three alcoholic drinks
. . . but nevertheless liking the strawberry margarita sorbet at a local ice-cream chain
. . . Carravagio, Monet, Renoir, Dali, Tanguy, and Magritte are my favorite artists
. . . I get an enormous fit of the giggles every time I think that someone actually paid money for most of Robert Motherwell's "art" (that should get a rise out of Erik)
. . . getting a rise out of Erik amuses me far more than it ought
. . . loving the St. Blogs community inordinately for what it consitutes in the real world
. . . having grown tremendously because of my exposure to the many opinions, minds, and persons of the people at St. Blogs.
TMI, I know, but this allows me once again to consider the things I am thankful for.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 10:39 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
October 30, 2005
A Sigh of Relief
This was one of those things I avoided as long as possible. But now it is now longer possible and I reveal the results of this:
"While the image is an inverse of St. Therese of Lisieux's "Elevator to God," it is, nevertheless an extremely appealing image. "
On your blog...
1. Go into your archives.
2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to it).
3. Post the fifth sentence (or closest to it).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
5. Tag five other people to do the same thing.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 5:04 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 19, 2005
TSO Invites Us All to a Meme
Video meliora, proboque; Deteriora sequor
TSO's
7 People I Admire (in no particular order):
1. Pope John Paul the Great
2. Blessed Mary Teresa de Soubiran
3. St. Anthony Claret
4. my grandmother
5. St. Pope Pius X
6. Mother Angelica
7. my wife
My Seven I admire most, in no particular Order:
1. My Grandma Smith
2. My Wife
3. John Paul the Magnificent
4. St. Therese of Lisieux
5. St. Maximilian Kolbe
6. St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
7. St. John of the Cross (with St. Teresa of Avila running so close that it would be a photo finish--but to include both my grandmother and my wife I had to choose.)
Posted by Steven Riddle at 12:06 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
October 16, 2005
WOW! They Got That One Frighteningly Right
You've been to a parish bingo game once. Don't
worry, we won't tell. After all, WASPs are
allowed in the Church as well.
We just don't trust you very much.
Provided by
Are You A Cultural Catholic?
brought to you by Quizilla
Posted by Steven Riddle at 9:21 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
October 10, 2005
Star Wars Person
Don't you believe it. From Julie D.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 8:01 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
October 9, 2005
From Summa Minutiae--My Style of Catholicism
QuizFarm.com :: What is your style of American Catholicism?
| You scored as New Catholic. The years following the Second Vatican Council was a time of collapse of the Catholic faith and its traditions. But you are a young person who has rediscovered this lost faith, probably due to the evangelization of Pope John Paul II. You are enthusiastic, refreshing, and somewhat traditional, and you may be considering a vocation to the priesthood or religious life. You reject relativism and the decline in society that you see among your peers. You are seen as being good for the Church.
A possible problem is that you may have a too narrow a view of orthodoxy, and anyway, you are still a youth and not yet mature in your faith.
What is your style of American Catholicism? created with QuizFarm.com |
And how the heck does how I view capitalism dictate what kind of Catholic I am? I don't know what a "new Catholic" is, and frankly I don't care because I love the church--her traditions, her innovations, her many forms of Mass, her holiness, her guidance, her Joyous proclamation of the truth, her Saints, her leaders, and all of her people, New, Traditional, Radical, Evangelical, Neo-Conservtive, Liberal, and Lukewarm. I love the Church and thank God daily that I am now a Catholic!
Posted by Steven Riddle at 5:21 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
October 4, 2005
Rum and Monkey: The Historical Lunatic Test
Which Historical Lunatic Are You?
From the fecund loins of Rum and Monkey.
I've done this one before, but people change over time. Glad to know that I'm the same lunatic today as I was some time ago!
Thanks to Hot Carmel Sundae.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 9:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 1, 2005
So Who's Surprised?
OKCupid! The Which Historic General Are You Test
| A Hippie You scored 55 Wisdom, 56 Tactics, 50 Guts, and 16 Ruthlessness! |
 |
My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
|
| Link: The Which Historic General Are You Test written by dasnyds on Ok Cupid |
I may not have been surprised, but I'm very amused. I've seen at least 2 Scipio's around St. Blog's.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 6:41 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
September 28, 2005
Blogging Personality--No Way!
I didn't blog this yesterday when I did it because I thought no way. And since MamaT had the courage to say no way, I thought I could too.
| Your Blogging Type is Artistic and Passionate |
 One moment you may be working on a new dramatic design for your blog... And the next, you're passionately writing about your pet causes. Your blog is very important - and you're careful about who you share it with. |
This is completely true except--since I've settled on a design for the blog I haven't changed it, and likely won't (although I now have some photo swatches of the real blue I want in the background, so I might go that far.)
I don't regard this as anything near my ultimate personal expression, which can only come through prayer.
And, I'm not particularly careful who I share it with. The whole world is welcome to read if they choose to do so, wipe their feet, and behave themselves as civilized individuals when they visit. It's just about the only neat thing in my life at the moment.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 1:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 22, 2005
Which Emperor
From Noli Irritare Leones--it could have been worse.
You're Augustus, the first emperor of Rome. He had
a lot of drive and skill, possessing a
respectable spirit and the ability to persuade.
His wife was alwasys in his ear, she has a
BIGGER persuasive spirit. He's a God.
What Julio-Claudian Roman Emperor are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
Posted by Steven Riddle at 4:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 18, 2005
Well, It's the First Time I've Heard THAT Said About Me
From Julie of Happy Catholic:
| You are a Social Liberal (65% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (10% permissive) You are best described as a:
Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid |
I do think they've got their numbers mixed a bit. I think I'm supposed to be 10% socially permissive and 65% economically permissive if their plotting on the graph is correct.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 10:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Well, Of Course. What Else Could It Be?
from Happy Catholic, this quiz:
| Your Element is Earth |
 Your energy: balancing Your season: changing of seasons Dedicated and responsible, you are a rock to your friends. |
Posted by Steven Riddle at 11:20 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 12, 2005
Here's the One I Was Looking for When I Found t'other
Touchstone You scored 9 evilness, 27 romance, 27 tragic, and 63 comic! |
You are the fool from "As You Like It." Touchstone's name comes from an Elizabethan word that refers to anything that could be used to test the genuineness or value of something else. Touchstone tests the world by making fun of it. |
 |
|
My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
|
| Link: The Shakespeare Character Test written by mandi_g on Ok Cupid |
Posted by Steven Riddle at 9:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Who Would I Be in 1400
The Prioress You scored 7% Cardinal, 82% Monk, 52% Lady, and 29% Knight! |
You are a moral person and are also highly intellectual. You like your solitude but are also kind and helpful to those around you. Guided by a belief in the goodness of mankind you will likely be christened a saint after your life is over. You scored high as both the Lady and the Monk. You can try again to |
 |
|
My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
|
| Link: The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test written by KnightlyKnave on Ok Cupid |
Found by mistake from Julie's Happy Catholic. But I'm always happy to know what my role might be. A little disturbing that I scored better than half of the population on "Lady" but, oh well, there were relatively fewer niches for the withdrawn in 1400.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 9:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The Wojtyla-Ratzinger Continuum
Brought to you by your friend at Speculative Catholic. Of course, one can pretty much determine one's course through the quiz, but then, that's what makes it all the more enjoyable.
Wojtyla! You take after the energetic and
enthusiastic John Paul II (the Great). Your
vision is prophetic and BIG - when it comes to
saints, travel, or crowds you can't get enough!
Where do you fall on the Wojtyla-Ratzinger Continuum?
brought to you by Quizilla
Posted by Steven Riddle at 9:10 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
September 11, 2005
From Speculative Catholic
You are St Brigid's Cross: St. Brigid is an Irish
saint who hand-wove a cross,out of rushes she
found by the river. She made the cross while
explaining the passion of our Lord to a pagan
man.
What Kind of Cross are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
Posted by Steven Riddle at 9:56 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 29, 2005
Something to Astound JCecil3
A quiz found at Dappled Things links one to a "political philosophy indicator." While it will come as absolutely no surprise to those who visit frequently, I think Mr. Cecil will be suitably shocked and chagrined (if he ever stops by any more) by these results.
#1 Liberal
#2 Conservative
#3 Neoconservative
#4 Radical
#5 Libertarian
#6 Centrist
#7 Paleoconservative
#8 Third Way
#9 Paleo-libertarian
#10 Left-libertarian
The juxtapositioning of Conservative against liberal comes from my general tendencies to economic liberalism with very strong socially conservative trends. (Although abolishing the death penalty and registering handguns--both of which I agree with, would both qualify for liberal causes. But I didn't rate the latter as a key issue, because while I'd like it to happen, I have certain sympathies with those who say it shouldn't.) Actually a lot of this may be a result of having my own very strong viewpoints, but being persuaded of the reason of the other side. In short--being generally mixed up.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 12:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 23, 2005
Survey Results that Tell You Nothing You Didn't Already Know
Survey:
Age: Not a subject for polite company
[Gender] Sex: Male**
Location: Orlando, FL
Religion: Roman Catholic
Occupation: Education
Began blogging: (dd/mm/yy): 07/02
Political Compass results:
Left/Right: -3.63
Libertarian/Authoritarian: -2.82
IPIP-NEO results:
EXTRAVERSION: 2
AGREEABLENESS: 96
CONSCIENTIOUSNESS: 95
NEUROTICISM: 52
OPENNESS TO EXPERIENCE: 84
Track List:
1. Philosophy, et cetera - pixnaps.blogspot.com - pixnaps97a2
2. Parableman - parablemania.ektopos.com - p8r8bl9m8n18
3. Rebecca Writes - everydaymusings.blogspot.com
4. Ales Rarus - alesrarus.funkydung.com - ales2112avis
5. Here I Stand - exiledcatholic.blogspot.com - exiled323catholic
6. Catholicism, Holiness, and Spirituality
**(I have gender only in the sense that man is masculilne--I refuse to be a grammatical element and to succumb to the casual use of a grammatical term to describe my human identity. Please pardon the vulgar pun, but Humans have sex (as do most animals), objects have gender. One of my favorite bugbear/lectures).
Now, you can find more about the personality assay at the above sites or or Fr. Jim's site. The short personality assay gave more extreme results in all categories, the longer mellowed out many things--but as you can see extraversion is still at extremely low amounts. According to the assay, this is somewhat counterbalanced by agreeableness which is very high levels. Oh, who really cares anyway.
And the political thing--that I should be in the same bin with Gandhi, this surprises whom? Not exactly a newsflash. On the other hand, you can see it is a slow day for blogging for me (energies are turned elsewhere in the writing world). So, I present this for your delectation and delight and encourage you to visit many of these other people and learn more from them.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 4:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 21, 2005
Found at a Blog New to Me
Can't say I was thrilled to death with the results--however here they are unvarnished. Interesting the two that should tie. I guess all that jungina stuff about a shadow self may not be so far off the mark!
 | You scored as Severus Snape. Well you're a tricky one aren't you? Nobody quite has you figured out and you'd probably prefer it stayed that way. That said you are a formidable force by anyone's reckoning, but there is certainly more to you than a frosty exterior and a bitter temper.
Your Harry Potter Alter Ego Is...? created with QuizFarm.com |
Found at Catholic Pillow Fight (new to me) via Catholic Light.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 9:16 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 13, 2005
A Gift From TSO
I saw this the other day and only just now had time to actually respond:
Name your three biggest non-reference books (excluding the Bible and text books):
The Libretti of the French, Italian, and German Operas with Commentary and Musical Annotations
A La Recherch du Temps Perdu a single volume French Edition
The Riverside Shakespeare (Was a text-book, but isn't anymore--worn to a frazzle with years of reading).
Name your three biggest reference books:
Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology--Volume S Echinodermata
The Oxford Classical Dictionary
A Compendium of Syro-Phoenician, Akkadian, Sumerian, Egyptian, and Other Ancient Sources
Posted by Steven Riddle at 9:40 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 29, 2005
Via Julie at Happy Catholic
 | I am:Hal Clement (Harry C. Stubbs)A quiet and underrated master of "hard science" fiction who, among other things, foresaw integrated circuits back in the 1940s. |
At the bottom of the same page, you can find out which composer you are and I'm pleased to announce that
You are:
Johann Sebastian Bach
Only a hundred years after his death was he recognized as possibly the profoundest musical genius of all time.
I would only be happier to be Vivaldi, or anyone who composes extensively for mandolin.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 12:53 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
July 28, 2005
A Quiz Found in My Travels
I think I found this at Zadok's Place, but I don't remember and I wasn't able to get back to the site after taking the quiz. Please accept my apologies for lack of reference.
 | You scored as Mystical Communion Model. Your model of the church is Mystical Communion, which includes both People of God and Body of Christ. The church is essentially people in union with Christ and the Father through the Holy Spirit. Both lay people and clergy are drawn together in a family of faith. This model can exalt the church beyond what is appropriate, but can be supplemented with other models.
What is your model of the church? [Dulles] created with QuizFarm.com |
Posted by Steven Riddle at 12:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Via Siris
Posted by Steven Riddle at 9:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 16, 2005
States Visited
From TSO--
I included only the states I have statyed in or gone to deliberately for some reason, not the ones I have passed through.
create your own personalized map of the USA
or check out ourCalifornia travel guide
Posted by Steven Riddle at 7:38 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
A Meme! A Meme!
I have not been as faithful in my blog-reading as I ought to be in the course of vacation--I'm sure you'll all note why. Nor have I written as much as I could have written either about the vacation nor about other matters. That is partially because I spend so much time in conversation with my excellent host that all things I have to say are said before they make it to ether.
However, Father Jim has passed a meme that ask what is atop my nightstand. That is a tough question in a couple of ways because my nighstand amounts to a multi-shelf bookshelf. However sticking to the absolute letter of the law, I will detail what is on the uppermost shelf: a lamp, three piece of fossilized coral from a reef on San Salvador Island, Bahamas; a basalt hand carved Tiki; a Queen Conch also taken from the rubble pile outside the cracked conch shack near the ex-naval station, now research station on San Salvador Bahamas; a polished nautilus (to reveal the mother-of=pearl layer beneath the brown and white exterior; and finally a lump of amethyst. This peculiar array is in deference to my wife's decorator sensibility. Obviously there are other more practical things on the other shelves )among them, books) but, this is the topmost shelf.
As a meme requires a vector and a host, I operating as vector, pass this on to bill (Summa Minutiae), TSO, MamaT, Julie, and Dan (Lofted Nest) unless they should prove to be resistant to its charms.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 7:15 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
June 23, 2005
Neo Orthodox Catholic Wesleyan Methodist
I'm sure that John Wesley would be most interested in the results of the following quiz
 | You scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan. You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God's grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly by John Wesley and the Methodists.
What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com |
Who knew that Wesleyan Methodism and Catholicism were so completely overlapping. I can believe 100% of both apparently without conflict. Somehow, that strikes me as a bit odd--but given me and my usual state of mind, hardly unlikely. I was sorted out by the last question which gave a "trilemma" of which is these statements is most accurate: (1) It is right to Baptize Infants; (2) The theology of Karl Barth is hugely important; (3) God's grace enables us to respond to Him. How then does one choose between 1 and 3, both of which are the objective truth and therefore "the most accurate." Number 2 may be dismissed out of hand as a mere opinion. So always being one to favor Grace, I wound up a Methodist, even though it is right to baptize infants (which would have made me a Catholic). Surely there are doctrinal divides sharper than that between the two churches.
Perhaps what this best reflects is the remnant protestant thought that lingers behind the encompassing Catholicism of my present life. Well, to paraphrase the White Queen in Through the Looking Glass, I can resolvesix irresolvable contradictions before breakfast.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 9:49 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 24, 2005
Via Summa Minutiae
Another quiz--reasonably accurate, though I'd rate the influence of progressive somewhat higher--but they didn't give me a choice of Gentle Giant, Gryphon or Renaissance.
Your Taste in Music: |
| 80's Alternative: Highest Influence |
| 80's Pop: High Influence |
| Country: High Influence |
| Progressive Rock: High Influence |
| 80's Rock: Low Influence |
| Classic Rock: Low Influence |
| Punk: Low Influence |
Posted by Steven Riddle at 4:00 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 18, 2005
Truly Frightening Answers to the Meme
1. Total number of books I've owned.
The answer to this question is truly frightening. The current accurate census is about 15,000 this does not include last week's bookstore runs. Or the nearly 200 children's books I have waiting for me to bring home. In my life, given the very high turnover rate of my library previously I would guestimate that I have owned very close to 25,000 books.
I should note that a goodone third or so of these are my wife's collection of contemporary Romances/romantic thrillers, etc. Catherine Coulter, Amanda Quick, Jude Devereaux, J.D. Robb, etc. etc.
2. Last book I bought.
A Jesuit study of the books of Luke and Acts, the name of which escapes me at the moment.
3. Last book I read.
Captiva
4. Five books that mean a lot to me.
The KJV
The Riverside Shakespeare
The two-fold gems of the English language--unsurpassed and perhaps unsurpassable. Sorry GBS.
Ulysses James Joyce--for two reasons--the professor who taught the course said one very provocative thing that sent me in search of the truth he knew (The Catholic Church), and Joyce himself convinced me absolutely of the truth of the Catholic Faith in the context of the novel. He didn't mean to, but he couldn't really help it--grace always prevails.
Wilfrid Stinissen's Nourished by the Word: Reading God's Word Contemplatively
Carter Dickson Night at the White Priory Not because it was the best of the Sir Henry Merrivale but because it is the only one I own in a first edition signed copy.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 6:41 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
March 14, 2005
Why Do I Fail to Be Surprised at This?
| The Monk You scored 5% Cardinal, 84% Monk, 47% Lady, and 35% Knight! |
You live a peaceful, quiet life. Very little danger comes you way and you live a long time. You are wise and modest, but also stagnant. You have little comfort, little food and have taken a vow of silence. But who needs chatter when just sitting in the cloister of your abbey with The Good Book makes you perfectly content. |
 |
My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
|
| Link: The Who Would You Be in 1400 AD Test written by KnightlyKnave on Ok Cupid |
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March 8, 2005
What Obsolete Skill Are You?
From Mixolydian Mode I discovered that:
You are 'regularly metric verse'. This can take
many forms, including heroic couplets, blank
verse, and other iambic pentameters, for
example. It has not been used much since the
nineteenth century; modern poets tend to prefer
rhyme without meter, or even poetry with
neither rhyme nor meter.
You appreciate the beautiful things in life--the
joy of music, the color of leaves falling, the
rhythm of a heartbeat. You see life itself as
a series of little poems. The result (or is it
the cause?) is that you are pensive and often
melancholy. You enjoy the company of other
people, but they find you unexcitable and
depressing. Your problem is that regularly
metric verse has been obsolete for a long time.
What obsolete skill are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
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February 7, 2005
"Nervous" Melancholic
Fascinating Medieval Personality quiz found via Trousered Ape
Here's a summary of my results:
MelancholicYou are a "nervous" Melancholic, with an abundance of black bile. Melancholics are characterized by the element of Earth, the season of Autumn, middle-aged adulthood, the color blue, and the characteristics of "Cold" and "Dry." Famous Melancholics include St. John of the Cross, St. John the Divine, St. Francis, and St. Catherine of Siena.
If you were living in the Age of Faith, perfect career choices for you would be contemplative religious, theologian, artist, or writer.
And, having a score of 85%, I suppose I must be one in spades.
More extensively here.
Take the quiz here
What is truly remarkable here is how much more reasonable many of these descriptions sound. Naturally, they are tending to cluster people so individual differences tend to get lost. I mean any group that contains both St. John of the Cross and St. Catherine of Siena, great contemplatives that I would consider at opposite ends of the scale, must perforce be somewhat vague. But I am considerably better inclined to these analyses than I am to most contemporary ones.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 10:15 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
December 23, 2004
Via Mixolydian Mode
Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.
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November 29, 2004
A Quiz Result with a Zinger
You scored as Catholic. Welcome to the One, Holy, CATHOLIC, and Apostolic Church!
You my Friend are a Catholic.
You have a strong sense of something outside of yourself and feel drawn to answer profound questions to satisfy your desires. You recognize that truth isn't self-centered or about inventing something new, but rather following the road map of your heart to a bigger picture. You are probably baptized.
Religion created with QuizFarm.com |
And now the zinger--an old complaint, but one I never tire of repeating. Why the heck is there "Catholic" as some sort of distinct entity from Christian. It is this mindset/divide that really defines Catholic identity in the minds of many. My wife had a very dear friend of long duration with whom she had spoken for a great many years. When my wife announced that she was becoming Catholic, the friend's response was, "Well you won't be Christian any more and I don't assoicate with non-christians." (She was following a supposedly Biblical injunction to this effect. However, I wonder how well she functioned as an evangelist if this was truly what she practiced.)
Anyway, for future quizmasters--Catholic is Christian, definitively Christian, one of two "Churches" that has the right and obligation to define the meaning of Christian. We do not sit outside of tradition, we are the tradition which gives meaning at all to the word Christian.
Diatribe over, but sure to rise to the surface again given the next quiz to separate the groups without appropriate modifiers, i.e. "Other" Christians.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 10:45 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
November 6, 2004
Probably Not
| You Are a Conservative Democrat |
 Frankly, the way most other Democrats behave embarasses you greatly. You pride yourself on a high level of morals, and you have a good grasp on right and wrong. It's likely you think America needs to get back to its conservative, Juedo-Christian values. Why aren't you a Republican then? Because you believe the goverment helps more than hurts. |
No, not really. But when in the midst of a quiz you are constrained by the choices. Mostly government tends to hurt more than it helps. But I cannot deny that it DOES help and should help and so I end up with this weird label. On the other hand, I do admire Zell Miller, and I am a Southerner to the core, so it's hardly surprising that I would look to THAT party historically. (Too bad that, like the republicans, it no longer even vaguely represents what it started out as.)
Posted by Steven Riddle at 4:39 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
November 1, 2004
Slap the Candidate
The MOST IMPORTANT SITE EVER to visit before voting. That way you can do it with a clear conscience.
(via Don of Mixolydian Mode)
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October 11, 2004
Another Quiz Result
Quiz from Mr. Bogner's place.
You are water. You're not really organic; you're
neither acidic nor basic, yet you're an acid
and a base at the same time. You're strong
willed and opinionated, but relaxed and ready
to flow. So while you often seem worthless,
without you, everything would just not work.
People should definitely drink more of you
every day.
Which Biological Molecule Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
And I didn't go back and change a single answer. I was so excited with this result. Undoubtedly it would be salt water. 35 parts per thousand salt.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 8:04 AM | TrackBack
June 29, 2004
SECF--Revealed to Me via Disputations
It appears that I am the light side of Mr. Disputations. (Although, having seen some of his outcomes in the past, I suspect he knows too much for the quiz makers and tailors his results. Here, flaky and harebrained as it may be, unadulterated and pure are my own results:
You are an SECF--Sober Emotional Constructive Follower. This makes you a hippie. You are passionate about your causes and steadfast in your commitments. Once you've made up your mind, no one can convince you otherwise. Your politics are left-leaning, and your lifestyle choices decidedly temperate and chaste.
You do tremendous work when focused, but usually you operate somewhat distracted. You blow hot and cold, and while you normally endeavor on the side of goodness and truth, you have a massive mean streak which is not to be taken lightly. You don't get mad, you get even.
Please don't get even with this web site.
If you really need to know visit this place.
Posted by Steven Riddle at 11:32 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack