Frances approaches, relentlessly and slowly. As in Andrew Marvell's "vaster than empires and more slow." She's a huge and slow behemoth. We experienced one rain band about 11:00 it dissipated in about 15 minutes. Strongish winds now, but nothing most of you haven't experienced in the course of a normal thunderstorm.
Frances is supposed to come ashore between West Palm Beach and Melbourne. The eye is so large and disorganized it may span much of that stretch. So eventually we will get hurricane winds (so the scientists tell us, I remain hopeful that God will ameliorate the worst of these possibilites. Prayer has been powerful in reduding this storm thus far.
So my message, keep praying. The Weather Channel is a good source of info, but they do tend toward the sensationalistic.
Thank heavens Florida Officials had the wisdom to clear people out of places that were likely to be most highly affected. We should not blame officials for taking all necessary action, nor should we become complacent and allow this to affect future actions. For one, I think I'll be looking into investing in some heavy duty installed shutters ASAP after the storm. They may provide only minimal protection, but then I will at least have the comfort of feeling that I have done as much as I can.
All I can say is that clear though it is now, please keep praying and praising God for the great good that is in His will as He breaks this storm apart. Flooding is still a real possibility, and we wait. . . .
Hi All,
Keep praying. So far much has happened that has been utterly unexpected. The danger still includes flooding for many areas, so prayers are desparately needed. Thank you all so much for all that you have already done.
Pray that those poor coulds in Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte receive nothing like what is predicted. The Lord can continue to diminish this storm. They are predicting strengthening over the course of the day, but let us insist on its gradual destruction. Let the Lord work His will, may He preserve His people from this storm.
Nothing so far in Orlando. One of the worst things is waiting for something to hapen. Those nearer the coast are having rain bands, so by noon we should start getting whatever will happen. I'm praying for tropical storm force (or less) winds.
People will be disgruntled at having been moved because of this, but let me say right now that the evacuation was absolutely right. Remember it threatened us as Category 4 with a possibility of strengthening to 5. The Lord in His Mercy has weakened it to this extent.
Now pray for the people of the severely damaged Bahamas, people far less able to recover and rebuild from such a terrible storm that has lingered so long over the islands.
At any rate, keep praying! And thank you so much for your prayers.
With enormous thanks to Neil.
All quiet so far--tomorrow the fun begins. Pray the roof holds and ward off any flooding. This slow-moving storm is bad news for a great many. It's a mixed blessing--more time to prepare for those things that can be prepared for, but subject to those things one can do nothing whatsoever about.
O God, Master of this passing world, hear the humble voices of your children. The Sea of Galilee obeyed your order and returned to its former quietude; you are still the Master of land and sea. We live in the shadow of a danger over which we have no control. The Gulf, like a provoked and angry giant, can awake from its seeming lethargy, overstep its conventional boundaries, invade our land and spread chaos and disaster. During this hurricane season, we turn to You, O loving Father. Spare us from past tragedies whose memories are still so vivid and whose wounds seem to refuse to heal with the passing of time. O Virgin, Star of the Sea, Our Beloved Mother, we ask you to plead with your Son in our behalf, so that spared from the calamities common to this area and animated with a true spirit of gratitude, we will walk in the footsteps of your Divine Son to reach the heavenly Jerusalem where a storm-less eternity awaits us. Amen.--found on Belief.net
Thanks to all of you praying. Keep it up. Prayer will yet prevail and keep a great many from harm.
Keep praying. Much change in Frances (category 4 to category 3--slowed progress, different entering point (bad for east coast, but perhaps those already ravaged by Charley will be spared the worst of this), and let us pray for continued weakening. The forecasts are still uncertain, and a storm from the east is much worse than one from the west for us. But prayer availeth much and hope strengthens in the wake of such an outpouring of prayer. Thanks to everyone who is praying. I will attempt to keep you updated as the day goes on.
This may be the last you hear from me for some time--at least until after the storm passes, if it follows the track most commonly predicted. (There is consolation in the fact that Charley did not follow predictions, so there is some hope).
The more I read the more terrified I am of the potential harm, even inland, of this storm. St. Therese said that all of our sorrows are in yesterday and tomorrow, and yet there is something anticipatory about the human animal.
Both the winds and the rains stand in position to do tremendous damage to my own house to those of ourneighbors. If as much rain falls as is predicted there could be flooding such that the entire Orlando/Kissimmee metroplex becomes one large lake. (Or so the doomsayers say. I suppose it is possible, I don't really know.)
I've already got a "blemish" on the roof, these winds will exacerbate it and if this rain falls, the ceiling in one of my rooms will come down as well.
In addition, the debris on the streets makes for powerful projectiles to go through windows and even our concrete block. If you've never experienced a hurricane, I don't think you can imagine how really very frightening it may be.
Please pray for protection and safety of all of the people of Florida and for those already hit hard by Charley. I am in a relatively good place compared to my neighbors. Even so, I have been unable to eat for the last two days and don't anticipate any improvement in this condition until after the crisis passes Sunday evening.
I need the consolation of knowing that some small group is holding us all up in prayer. I need to internalize that God's will is done in this as in all things. I'm just not certain I want to see the outcome of this aspect of His will. Pray particularly for Samuel and his protection. With his father a basket case, he needs protection both from the physical elements and any lasting harm such a traumatic event might wreak on him incidentally from his father's weakness.
Jaime's comment below provoked my interest and I thought I would scrounge around for more information. The following is an excerpt from an article available at EWTN by John Saward.
from " The Grace of God in Courtesy"
John Saward
Courtesy is not strictly distinct from the other virtues, but rather
a quality to be found in them all. It has something to do with
reverence, humility, and chastity. It is shaped by charity, the form
of all the virtues, into the quality of mercy. It is the beauty of a
brave and generous life.Courtesy is, first of all, reverence for one's fellow man. In the
Christian knight, it is a habit of seeing made possible by faith and
charity, an eye which sees in every man, great or small, the shining
image of the Trinity, the brother for whom Christ died. The courteous
person has an attitude of "worship" toward his fellows: by small
deeds of kindness, he acknowledges their worth, their dignity, as
human persons. In the Sarum marriage rite, the husband vows reverence
and thus courtesy toward his wife in the very acts of married love.
"With my body I thee worship." Chivalrous respect is of the very
essence of husbandly love.Secondly, courtesy is closely tied to humility. In fact, Chesterton
defined courtesy as "the wedding of humility with dignity" and gave
us an example of the Black Prince, who waited like a servant on a man
who was his own prisoner (). The courteous
man has dignity, but he does not stand on it. He does not lose his
throne, and yet he is ready to leave it. There is something in
courtesy that deserves to be called self-emptying, the noble refusal
of self-worship. The proud or self-centered man may be polite, but he
can never be courteous, because he refuses to serve.is
the defiant cry of the prince of death and discourtesy.Thirdly, courtesy is the first cousin of chastity, what the Middle
Ages called "cleanness." A man blinded by lust cannot see his lady as
the fitting recipient of his courtesy. She has become a thing to be
used rather than a person to be served. Malory's Sir Lancelot does
not consort with paramours "for dread of God." The debauched knight
will not only be distracted in the short term, but disappointed in
the long: "Knights that are adventurers should not be adulterers or
lechers, for they would not be happy nor fortunate in wars." (Sir
Thomas Malory, Works.)
The whole article is worth your attention. And I find this notion of courtesy very evolved and quite appealing.
from God's Secretaries
Adam NicolsonThese were moderate and distinguished men, suggesting moderate changes. But James--and Bancroft who seems to have been in an excitable state at the theatre unfolding around him--was treating them like extreme schismatics from the outer reaches of Anabaptist lunacy. . . .
Reynolds, who had never married, said he didn't like the phrase 'with my body I thee worship,' which formed part of the marriage service. James couldn't resist a vulgarity: 'Many a man speaks of Robin Hood', he said, 'who never shot his bow; if you had a good wife yourself, you would think that all the honor and worship you could do her were well bestowed.'
The picture one gets of King James in reading this book is utterly fascinating. One intimately involved in Church affairs, vain, vulgar, sometimes profance. The times themselves were interesting in their hopes and horrors. But most interesting of all is that providence would lead me to so pointed a passage on the anniversary of my own marriage.
God bestows His blessing when and as He will. We need only keep our eyes open to see them.
This link courtesy of Mr Perry's new blogsite that is shaping up to be a fascinating place to venture.
Because human ignorance is slow to believe what it does not see, and equally slow to hope for what it does not know, those who were to be instructed in the divine traching had first to be arooused by bodily benefits and visible miracles so that, once they had experienced his gracious power, they would not longer doubt the wholesome effect of his doctrine. from A Sermon on the Beatitudes--Pope St. Leo the Great
Praise Report
Yesterday was my twentieth anniversary--married to one of the most wonderful and frustrating women on Earth--alternately heaven and well at least purgatory--and I wouldn't for a moment consider having it any other way. May the Lord continue to strengthen our marriage and our family and may the grace of the sacrament support us both on the way to salvation. Please pray for us today in praise and thanksgiving to God for forging so wonderful a family.
Prayer Requests
Please continue to pray for Dylan
Please pray that the effects of Francis will not be felt by those already reeling from the effects of Charley, most particularly those in Central Florida and South Western Florida. Pray hard that the storm follow a trajectory that will result in the least harm for all people.
A quick sale and an easy move for Tom and his family as they set out on another exciting adventure in life.
Pour out prayers on the people of Florida who have lost their homes, their livelihoods, and their lives in this storm.
For the continued recovery of Katherine's mother.
For a deeper understanding of and commitment to the strengthening grace of the sacrament of marriage, especially for those who are presently undergoing trials.
Please storm heaven for my friends in Louisiana, they've had a long string of misfortune and could do with some good news.
For a dear friend who is undergoing a troubling period in her life, beset with a number of problems, physical, financial, emotional. May God hold her close to His heart.
For a St. Blog's parishioner in need of work to forestall financial catastrophe, that the Lord provide all that is needed in both material and spiritual blessings.
For those struggling against self to attain holiness, that the Good Lord will raise up new Saints for our times, visible beacons that draw all people toward Christ.
For the people of the Sudan that they may know peace and security and that they might learn to live together.
A special request from two gentleman battling particularly troublesome and besetting sins for grace and help as they continue forward.
For all those in the process of discerning vocations to the religious life, for guidance, prudence and good counsel
For our children, that they grow up in security, comfort, and the certain knowledge that they are loved and that they be released from any bonds of darkness, fear, anger, or sadness that bind and threaten them
For all those living under the curse of generational sins, that they may have protection and the inheritance of the past may be made void in their lives.
For all who are suffering from marital problems, most particularly those in our own families or communities, that the Lord may intervene and remind them that a marriage is of three persons.
For mothers and families that struggle with autism and autistic-related disabilities: particularly for M'Lynn, Melissa, Christine, and Betty.
For families that desire more children
For the conversion or return of spouses and loved ones to the Catholic Church, most particularly for Amanda's husband
For the men and women of the American Armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and for their families, may the Good Lord provide sustenance, support, compassion, and love that these separated families might continue to grow in strength and love.
Special Prayer Projects:
(1) For Katherine and Franklin, Gordon and Christine, Peter Kucera, and for all who are seeking employment and suffering through difficult times as they wait.
(2)Healthy Pregnancies and good and safe deliveries: For Suki, for a healthy pregancy and a safe delivery. For JCecil3 and Wife. For Pansy Moss. For Mrs. White and child. For Katherine and her friend Corren. Our Lady of La Leche, pray for us. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. St. Gerard Majella, pray for us. Blessed Gianna, pray for us.
Hurricane Frances has taken a notably Eastern Jog over the course of the day. This could be very good news. Keep praying that it follow a course to the East of the Bahamas and that meterological interevention force this monster out to the middle of the ocean where it can roil about harmlessly. Nothing is beyond God's power and nothing can compare to the virtue of hope when faith seems very, very weak.
(The problems of a rational, modernist-shaped, mind. I repudiate the modernist heresy, but I have to admit to being influenced by it.)
Linda and Steven Riddle are delighted to announce the celebration of their 20th anniversary TODAY! (loud cheers, some coughing, a few hiccoughs)
You are all cordially invited to contribute to your own spouses and loved ones all prayers, well-wishes, and any individual expressions of congratulations you wish to offer. May they rise up and become a sweet smelling incence in Heaven, which I am certain rejoices with us in this celebration of continued sacramental union.
May our day of blessing bless all who are married with moments of peace, tranquility, and ardent love. God bless you all.
If Frances were the only storm to have reached Florida this year, it would be bad news. Following less than a month after Charley if comes as particularly difficult news.
I speak from reports of people who have visited their properties in Southern Florida and from what I presently see around me. If Frances were to decide to take a direct route through the already damaged areas of Florida, the potential for harm would be greatly multiplied. We have not yet begun to recover from all the downed trees and removed shingles. While many of these have been picked up from the lawns, etc. and piled carefully to be taken away. In a storm with any sort of wind at all, these objects become projectiles--ready to plunge through glass, or given a high speed wind, even through concrete block.
Some people I know have only this week seen a return of power and water to their houses. (Admittedly this is because of massive bureaucratic bungling, however, it is the reality they face, regardless of the reason. Countless houses near me have had roofs stripped to bare wood. Some have had the wood stripped from the roof. This is to say nothing of the trailers and houses that were completely destroyed or rendered uninhabitable because of the previous storm. We are not in the position to take even the heavy rains that accompany the outer bands of a hurricane.
Naturally, I am quite beside myself with concern about the Storm. The present track seems to have it visiting southern Florida. This is terrible news considering the enormous population of the south, but if it deviates even a little from the course it could bring really bad news to people already hard hit. A friend of mine reported that in areas like Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda, there are long lines of tent cities near the major roads--residences for people whose homes were destroyed in the wake of Charley. Presumably the shelters would handle these people and keep them safe from the storm; however, the wreckage is would be unbelievable in its extent.
Please pray that the storm track in the course of least damage to all people, wherever it may go, and remember in your prayers those who have lost their homes and their lives in these terrible storms. God's hand redeems. God's will rules completely. "If you have the faither of a mustard seed you can say to this mountain, 'Go, be uprooted and plunged into the sea' and it shall be so." Let us count on this as we pray and God's guiding hand shall protect all those around us from harm. There are a great many natural means by which this storm can weaken, pray that it be sheared, pummeled and reduced to insignificance before it touches any land. Pray especially for those most immediately in its path.
For the third day will dawn upon a new heaven and a new earth when these bones that form the whole house of Israel are raised up on the great day of the Lord, when death had been defeated. So the resurrection of Christ, accoplilshed after his suffering on the cross, embraces the mystery of the resurrection of his whole body. from a Commentary on John-Origen
Praise Report
Today is my twentieth anniversary--married to one of the most wonderful and frustrating women on Earth--alternately heaven and well at least purgatory--and I wouldn't for a moment consider having it any other way. May the Lord continue to strengthen our marriage and our family and may the grace of the sacrament support us both on the way to salvation. Please pray for us today in praise and thanksgiving to God for forging so wonderful a family.
Prayer Requests
Please continue to pray for Dylan
Please pray that the effects of Francis will not be felt by those already reeling from the effects of Charley, most particularly those in Central Florida and South Western Florida. Pray hard that the storm follow a trajectory that will result in the least harm for all people.
A quick sale and an easy move for Tom and his family as they set out on another exciting adventure in life.
Pour out prayers on the people of Florida who have lost their homes, their livelihoods, and their lives in this storm.
For the continued recovery of Katherine's mother.
For a deeper understanding of and commitment to the strengthening grace of the sacrament of marriage, especially for those who are presently undergoing trials.
Please storm heaven for my friends in Louisiana, they've had a long string of misfortune and could do with some good news.
For a dear friend who is undergoing a troubling period in her life, beset with a number of problems, physical, financial, emotional. May God hold her close to His heart.
For a St. Blog's parishioner in need of work to forestall financial catastrophe, that the Lord provide all that is needed in both material and spiritual blessings.
For those struggling against self to attain holiness, that the Good Lord will raise up new Saints for our times, visible beacons that draw all people toward Christ.
For the people of the Sudan that they may know peace and security and that they might learn to live together.
A special request from two gentleman battling particularly troublesome and besetting sins for grace and help as they continue forward.
For all those in the process of discerning vocations to the religious life, for guidance, prudence and good counsel
For our children, that they grow up in security, comfort, and the certain knowledge that they are loved and that they be released from any bonds of darkness, fear, anger, or sadness that bind and threaten them
For all those living under the curse of generational sins, that they may have protection and the inheritance of the past may be made void in their lives.
For all who are suffering from marital problems, most particularly those in our own families or communities, that the Lord may intervene and remind them that a marriage is of three persons.
For mothers and families that struggle with autism and autistic-related disabilities: particularly for M'Lynn, Melissa, Christine, and Betty.
For families that desire more children
For the conversion or return of spouses and loved ones to the Catholic Church, most particularly for Amanda's husband
For the men and women of the American Armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and for their families, may the Good Lord provide sustenance, support, compassion, and love that these separated families might continue to grow in strength and love.
Special Prayer Projects:
(1) For Katherine and Franklin, Gordon and Christine, Peter Kucera, and for all who are seeking employment and suffering through difficult times as they wait.
(2)Healthy Pregnancies and good and safe deliveries: For Suki, for a healthy pregancy and a safe delivery. For JCecil3 and Wife. For Pansy Moss. For Mrs. White and child. For Katherine and her friend Corren. Our Lady of La Leche, pray for us. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. St. Gerard Majella, pray for us. Blessed Gianna, pray for us.
Following on the previous post (my enthusiasm for this book bubbles over) this bit of analysis:
from The (Mis)Behavior of Markets
Benoit Mandelbrot and Richard L. HudsonSecond, contrary to orthodoxy, price changes are very far from following the bell curve. If they did, you should be able to run any market's price records through a computer, analyze the changes and watch them fall into the approximate "normality" assumed by Bachelier's random walk. They should cluster about the mean, or average, of no change. In fact, the bell curve fits reality very poorly. From 1916 to 2003, the daily index movements of the Dow Jones Industrial Average do not spread out on graph paper like a simple bell curve. The far edges flare too high: too many big changes. Theory suggests that over time there should be fifty-eight days when the Dow moved more than 3.4 percent; in fact, there were 1,001. Theory predicts six days of index swings beyond 4.5 percent; in fact, there were 366. And index swings of more than 7 percent should come once every 300,000 years; in fact, the twentieth century saw forty-eight such days. Truly a calamitous era that insists on flaunting all predictions. Or, perhaps, our assumptions are wrong.
When I was doing my graduate work, I hated most statistics. Most particularly I hated "random walk" models and "monte-carlo simulations." Whenever there was an anomalous blip that could not be readily explained, someone trotted out these hoary old creatures and set them to dancing.
How dellightful then to chance upon this:
from The (Mis)Behavior of Markets
Benoit Mandlebrot and Richard L. HudsonWith such theories [Bachelier's Analysis, Gaussian Curves (Bell-Curves), and Random Walks] , economists developed a very elaborate toolkit to analyzing markets, measuring the "variance" and "betas" of different securities and classifiying investment portfolios by their probability of risk. According to the theory, a fund manager can build an "efficient" porfolio to target a specific return, with a desired level of risk. It is the financial equivalent of alchemy. Want to earn more without risking too much more? Use the modern finance toolkit to alter the mix of volatile and stable stocks, or to change the ratio of stocks, bonds, and cash. Want to reward employees more without paying more? Use the tollkit to devise an employee stock-option program,with a tunable probability that the option grants will be "in the money." Indeed, the Internet bubble, fueled in part by lavish executive stock options, may not have happened without Bachelier and his heirs.
Alas, the theory is elegant but flawed, as anyone who lived through the booms and busts of the 1990s can now see. The old financial orthodoxy was founded on two critical assuptions in Bachelier's key model: Price changes are statistically independent, and they are normally distributed. The facts, as I vehemently argued in the 1960s and many economists now acknowledge, show otherwise.
The financial equivalent of Alchemy! Now there's a delight. I'll be the first to admit that I understand almost nothing of the stock market and its workings. What's more, life is too short, I don't plan to spend a lot of time learning more--I have far more essential things to be spending time with. However, my general theory of statistics and most statistical approaches was shaped, in part by my advisor, who quoting some source, now lost to memory, used to say, "A scientist uses statistics as a drunk uses a lamppost--for support, not illumination."
Yeah. Well, he had a higher opinion of most statistical work than I do. Once I discovered that you could manipulate your statistics by running non-parametrics, I realized that you could indeed make black into white. Didn't like the graphing in eigenspace try canonical cross-correlation, or better yet, run a rank variable analysis and then use a nonparametric correlation technique. I could run the information from my fossil sites through the number cruncher and come up with any environmental model you wanted. Want to prove that there was a gigantic four-hundred mile-an-hour hurricane that lasted most of the Permian Period? Just dump that paleocurrent data you derived from bryozoan analysis into the magic black box and turn the crank. You'd be amazed at what could spill out.
So, I will long cherish the trenchant analysis--"The financial equivalent of alchemy." Oh well, perhaps it's one of those things that you have to have been there.
I found this quotation interesting and horrifying.
"At the beginning of the year [1603], there were about 4,000 people in Lancelot Andrewes's parish. By December 1603, 2,878 of them had been killed by the disease [plague]."
from Adam Nicolson God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible
No matter how I try, Ronald Knox cannot seem to keep my attention for more than a short essay at a time. I've tried all of his apologetical work, his mysteries, and his Enthusiasm. They all pall--rapidly. I'm trying The Hidden Stream--knowing with certainty that the faults lies within me. But I think that in addition to the two genres I mention below, there are very few apologetical works that can hold my attention. (Karl Keating comes to mind as the exemplar of apologetics that I DO like.) I don't know why I don't care for it (except for Keating, Kreeft, and C.S. Lewis) and I do recognize the importance of the work. I guess each person has that to which they are attracted.
However, if there are fans of Ronald Knox out there, I'd love to hear from you and most particularly what you consider his very finest work (in case The Hidden Stream doesn't cut it).
Yes, my mood changed and so my reading list shifted. (In addition I went to the library and found some absolutely irresistable delights.)
God's Secretaries--Adam Nicolson
The (Mis)Behavior of Markets--Benoit Mandelbrot and Richard L. Hudson
The Hidden Stream--Ronald Knox
Time of the Ghost--Diana Wynne Jones
Next up is still
Queen of the South--Arturo Perez-Reverte
and a host of contenders from my personal library.
My son, says the Lord, listen to my words, the most delightful of all words, surpassing all the knowledge of the philosophers and wise men of this world. My words are spirit and life and cannot be comprehended by human senses alone.
They are not to be interpreted according to the vain pleasure of the listener, but the must be listened to in silence nd received with all humility and great affection. Imitation of Christ-- Thomas á Kampis
Prayer Requests
Please continue to pray for Dylan
For the continued recovery of Katherine's mother.
Pour out prayers on the people of Florida who have lost their homes, their livelihoods, and their lives in this storm. Pray that Francis does not decide to pay a visit.
For a deeper understanding of and commitment to the strengthening grace of the sacrament of marriage, especially for those who are presently undergoing trials.
Please storm heaven for my friends in Louisiana, they've had a long string of misfortune and could do with some good news.
For a dear friend who is undergoing a troubling period in her life, beset with a number of problems, physical, financial, emotional. May God hold her close to His heart.
For a St. Blog's parishioner in need of work to forestall financial catastrophe, that the Lord provide all that is needed in both material and spiritual blessings.
For those struggling against self to attain holiness, that the Good Lord will raise up new Saints for our times, visible beacons that draw all people toward Christ.
For the people of the Sudan that they may know peace and security and that they might learn to live together.
A special request from two gentleman battling particularly troublesome and besetting sins for grace and help as they continue forward.
For all those in the process of discerning vocations to the religious life, for guidance, prudence and good counsel
For our children, that they grow up in security, comfort, and the certain knowledge that they are loved and that they be released from any bonds of darkness, fear, anger, or sadness that bind and threaten them
For all those living under the curse of generational sins, that they may have protection and the inheritance of the past may be made void in their lives.
For all who are suffering from marital problems, most particularly those in our own families or communities, that the Lord may intervene and remind them that a marriage is of three persons.
For mothers and families that struggle with autism and autistic-related disabilities: particularly for M'Lynn, Melissa, Christine, and Betty.
For families that desire more children
For the conversion or return of spouses and loved ones to the Catholic Church, most particularly for Amanda's husband
For the men and women of the American Armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and for their families, may the Good Lord provide sustenance, support, compassion, and love that these separated families might continue to grow in strength and love.
Special Prayer Projects:
(1) For Katherine and Franklin, Gordon and Christine, Peter Kucera, and for all who are seeking employment and suffering through difficult times as they wait.
(2)Healthy Pregnancies and good and safe deliveries: For Suki, for a healthy pregancy and a safe delivery. For JCecil3 and Wife. For Pansy Moss. For Mrs. White and child. For Katherine and her friend Corren. Our Lady of La Leche, pray for us. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. St. Gerard Majella, pray for us. Blessed Gianna, pray for us.
Via Smock & Mama T
Hardback or Paperback
Highlight or Underline (And write in margins, whatever's conventient--ebooks are even better because you can copy out and annotate exactly as you wish)
Lewis or Tolkien Lewis for apologetics, Tolkien for his magnificent studies of Medieval literature and philology. I don't understand some of them, but I love to read them. On the trilogy, I have cooled appreciably since my youth, but still find it magnificent and unmatched.
E.B. White or A.A. Milne
T.S. Eliot or e.e. cummings
Stephen King or Dean Koontz
Barnes & Noble or Borders (If either group would deign to hire someone who was literate, it might help. No, give me Half-Price Books, PLEASE!!!)
Waldenbooks or B. Dalton
Fantasy or Science Fiction
Horror and Suspense
Bookmark or Dogear
Large Print or Fine Print I'll read anything I can get my hands on.
Hemingway or Faulkner (Without Faulkner, no Flannery, no Walker Percy, perhaps even no Eudora Welty--although her debt is somewhat vaguer)
Fitzgerald or Steinbeck
Homer or Plato
Geoffrey Chaucer or Edmund Spenser--Some of the greatest Anti-Catholic Diatribe ever in the pamphlet spewing dragon of Canto I, not to mention the foul Duessa, whore of Babylon and potential seducer of the Red Crosse Knighte.)
Pen or Pencil Depends on the task
Looseleaf or Notepad--Theme books--harder to remove something you don't like so you're forced to see it over and over again. Excellent for journals, no self-censoring after the fact.
Alphabetize: By Author or By Title (neither)
Shelve: By Genre/Subject or All Books Together
Dustjacket: Leave it On or Take it Off
Novella or Epic
John Grisham or Scott Turrow (Ick!! One of two genres I can't get into at all. The other is the Clancy/Ludlum school of spy and know how to do everything books.)
J.K. Rowling or Lemony Snicket
John Irving and John Updike
Salman Rushdie or Don Delillo
Fiction or Non-fiction
Historical Biography or Historical Romance
Reading Pace: A Few Pages per Sitting or Finish at Least a Chapter Depends on the book and the purpose for reading.
Short Story or Creative Non-fiction Essay
Blah Blah Blah and Yada Yada Yada
“It was a dark and stormy night…” or “Once upon a time…”
Books: Buy or Borrow (buy early & often)
Book Reviews or Word of Mouth
In other words, when it comes to reading, the answer is yes--whatever (with the exceptions noted above) whenever, with whatever tools I have at hand.
My only hope is that it is as rich and as rewarding as the conversations that Mr. Perry has initiated and continued over here. I suppose it means less frequent conversations here, but that's all to the good I suppose. Perhaps he'll give us an overview of an exciting book I found at the library this afternoon--Benoit Mandelbrot's analysis of the fractal nature of the stock market. Hope it's as much fun as fractals normally tend to be.