Farrakhan praises Obama (heh-heh-heh)...

Nation of Islam head, Louis Farrakhan, spent nearly two whole hours singing the praises of The Obamessiah.


And Tim Russert brought up this fact (and the connection to Jeremiah Wright) during the latest debate between B. Hussein O. and Lady Macbeth.

Go ahead... click on the links and read away. Smashing good fun. Makes me chuckle. The far left fringe of the "D" party are just a few days away from nominating a trainwreck for the November elections.

I'm actually gonna quote Hillary Clinton...

Shocking, isn't it???

But, I have to say that she is 100% dead-on target with this summation of her primary opponent (given yesterday in Rhode Island at a rally of several thousand):

“Now I could stand up here and say, ‘Let’s just get everybody together. Let’s get unified. The sky will open. The lights will come down. Celestial choirs will be singing and everyone will know we should do the right thing and the world will be perfect.’

“Maybe I’ve just lived a little long, but I have no illusions about how hard this is going to be. You are not going to wave a magic wand and have the special interests disappear,” she said.

She's going to need wins in Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania in order to stave off the Obamessiah. It'll be interesting to see if she can pull it off.

The Oscar Goes To...

Watched the Oscars last night. I only had two horses in the race since it was such a weak year for films last year. It was thrilling to see Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova win for Best Song from the film "Once". That was, by far, the best moment of the night. From their performance of the song, "Falling Slowly" (which received enthusiastic applause at it's conclusion), to their winning the award, to Glen's acceptance speech, to Jon Stewart (after the commercial break) apologizing for the cutting off of Ms. Irglova's speech and bringing her back on stage to delivery her own "thank you". Awesome!

P.S. The film "Once" also won for Best Foreign Film the evening before at the Independent Spirit Awards! That was great!

My second horse in the race: Marion Cotillard winning Best Lead Actress for her performance in "La Vie En Rose". The film wasn't put together well, but her performance as the famed French singer Edith Piaf was by far the best performance last year. Her getting the award was well deserved (and not a surprise to me).

Most embarrassingly shameful moment? Having the U.S. troops in Iraq introduce the nominees for Documentary Short Films and then, just a few minutes later, basically spitting in their faces by awarding the Documentary Full Length Film award to an anti-American military hatchet job of a film (the title of which I'm not even going to bother to mention here). You could sense a bit of unease in the auditorium. Serves them right. Shameful. Absolutely shameful.

I just got tagged...

Eric over at The Daily Eudemon tagged me for a meme. (Hah! My first meme.)

The rules for this meme:

(1) Link to the person that tagged you.
(2) Post the rules of the meme on your blog.
(3) Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
(4) Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
(5) Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

Six non-important things:

1. I have a bad habit of being in the middle of several books at the same time. I think the record is six books, all completely unrelated. Wasn't always that way. Somehow, though, I do keep track... I think.

2. I was eleven years old when I first became an uncle. That nephew is now older than I was when I moved to California thirteen years ago. (Uhhg!) I'm now a grand-uncle six times over. (Double-Uhhg!!)

3. March Madness, baby!!! College hoops playoffs! It's in my blood. I graduated from Villanova the year they won it all against the hated Hoyas of Georgetown. (GO WILDCATS!!!) Just put me on a swivel chair in a room with twenty TVs around me. Add food and water when necessary. I'll be there 'til I'm bleary-eyed and passed out from a heart attack if not from shear exhaustion. That first four-day weekend when 64 teams play 48 games to get to the Sweet Sixteen. Nothin' like it!

4. I am a virtual virtuoso and musical master of the steering wheel. Others sing in the shower. Not me. I need to be mobile, and on four wheels. I play steering wheel guitar, drums, keyboards, bass... and if I'm really in the mood, I'll crank up the music really, really loud in the car so that I can "sing" along (horribly out of key, of course).

5. I'm learning how to play a real instrument, though. Guitar. Seven months in (at age 44). It's infuriatingly good fun. Wished I had done this when I was much younger. (oh, and I am a lyricist.)

6. I am NOT a morning person. Never was. Never will be. Yet, somehow, I've been dragging myself outta bed every Wednesday morning at 6 o'clock for the past six years to get to my Men's Catholic Bible Study group.

Okay... I'm gonna tag the following peeps:

Julie over at the Happy Catholic (she's the best at this whole Catholic blogging thing)

Nancy over at the ACS blog (for all things G.K. Chesterton)

Sean over at The Blue Boar (for even more things GKC, and other things)

Dim Bulb over at the Divine Lamp (this guy is theologically deep... in other words, he ain't dim... even I need to visit his site more often... and, he was one of the first people to comment on this fledgling blog of mine.)

Catholic Lady over at Holy Boldness (the newbie on my blog row)

and the West Coast Catholic (a fellow west coaster who keeps it real)

So, about this "BARACK the MESSIAH for CHANGE" guy...

Do you people really think (knowing that we've been fighting the fanatical minions led by Osama Bin Ladin and Saddam Hussein for the last 6+ years) that a majority of Americans would vote for an inexperienced empty suit of a guy named BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA for President of the United States???

Come on... wake up and smell the coffee!

My sister sent me some love by mail...

She kept on promising me that she'd send me some cookies from her bakery for my birthday (it came and went sans cookies). Then she promised me that she'd send them for Christmas (it also came and went with nary a crumb). So last weekend I had our Dad tell her, "Mike said that he's absolutely enjoying all those cookies you didn't send him." (Yeah, I know... I'm so evil... but that's what little brothers are for... heh!)

So, today, a package arrives... with more cookies than I know what to do with. And it's LENT, sis!!! (Her way of getting back at me, I just know it.) The guys in the office, I'm sure, will enjoy 'em.

If you live in the Philly area, feel free to check out La Dolce Bakery in Havertown. They've been so busy since they moved from Wayne, PA, that they haven't had time to re-do their website. But I guarantee you that all those hand-made Italian baked goods will please your palate and tickle your tummy.

Now, if you'll excuse me... I've got some biscotti with my name written all over 'em.

My fledgling blog gets noticed...

I would like to thank Catholic Lady of the Holy Boldness blog for her wonderful comment in my last post. I had absolutely NO idea that my blog was mentioned in the National Catholic Register last week! (Woah, dude!!!)

Apparently, Eric Scheske (of the great Daily Eudemon blog) wrote an article about the blogosphere (registration required) and he must have mentioned my fledgling little blog. I'm not registered to the NCR website, so I can't read the article. But I want to thank him for such a generous gesture. I'm truly humbled.

Thanx again to both Eric and to the Catholic Lady.

You can thank both of them yourselves by paying their blogs a visit.

It's Ash Wednesday Today...

This about sums it up for me right now...

Once...

Hat-tip to Dom over at Bettnet for posting his own review of this film. It forced me to create my own post which I had intended to do last week. So, my review is down below.

(Hey, Ang!...... yeah, you...... this is a perfect movie for you to rent.)
===================================================
I must say that I have been affected by a hauntingly beautiful little independent film entitled, "Once". It's a very small budget film set in Dublin about a busker (that's Irish/English for "street musician") who has a chance meeting with a young woman who is also a musician. We end up following their lives and the burgeoning relationship between them through the course of a week.

The movie is presented in an atypical musical fashion in that though there is singing and performing throughout the movie, the characters do not break out into song like Judy Garland singing "Over the Rainbow" in "The Wizard of Oz". Instead, the music (all original and written for the film) is used as a story catalyst and as a window into the hearts and souls of these two people, revealing to each other (and to the audience) the details of their past relationships. And as they form a bond between them they eventually head into a recording studio to record some of their inspired songs.

The two actors (who are both really musicians who just happen to be able to act) are relative novices to acting. The music is simple, yet soulful and heart-wrenching. Glen Hansard (the male lead) is the lead singer of the irish band "The Frames" (and whose only other acting role was in the film "The Commitments") and his music is captivating. Marketa Irgolva (the female lead) had never acted before this film. She brings not only her classically trained piano playing, but also beautiful vocal harmonies and an equally soulful acting performance.

I highly recommend renting (if not buying) the DVD. Also, pick up the soundtrack (make sure to get the "Collector's Edition" version of the CD which includes a couple extra tunes plus a "Making of..." DVD). If you go to the official website there is streaming audio of the soundtrack as well as quite a few short videos on the film, the actors/musicians, and the making of the movie.

You will not be disappointed.

Santorum on McCain (not pretty)...

EWTN link to a Catholic News Agency story:

Santorum Alleges Sen. McCain Unreliable on Pro-life Issues

Washington DC, Jan 14, 2008 (CNA).- Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum has attacked Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain of Arizona for hindering social conservative issues, arguing that McCain is a poor choice to lead the effort to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Speaking to radio host Mark Levine on Levine’s Thursday night radio show, Senator Santorum cited Senator McCain’s compromises in congressional debates about Supreme Court nominations as evidence the Arizona politician was not a strong pro-life candidate. Santorum, who is now a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, said of McCain, “this is not a guy who would give me a lot of confidence that he would appoint the judges who are necessary on the court to overturn Roe v. Wade, who would be strict constructionist judges.”

McCain’s largely pro-life record, Santorum claimed, concealed other problems, such as McCain’s support for embryonic stem cell research and his vote against a Federal Marriage Amendment.

Further, Santorum alleged that during his tenure in the Senate McCain did not provide the necessary support to discuss and vote on social conservative issues on the Senate floor.

Santorum disclosed what happened behind the scenes when he held meetings to gather votes for proposed legislation, telling Levine, “That discussion is held in private, where you’re jostling and jockeying to get your legislation into the queue so that you can have your time on the floor to get something done.”

“And I can tell you, when social-conservative issues were ever raised — whether it was marriage or abortion or a whole host of other issues — there were always the moderates who said ‘no, no, no, we can’t: they’re divisive, divisive, divisive.’ And more often than not, John McCain was . . . with them” in preventing votes on such issues.

Campaign finance reform was another area in which Santorum thought McCain was a weak candidate. Santorum said that the McCain-Feingold campaign reform bill, whose regulations have hindered some pro-life political campaigns, was “an affront to personal freedoms and liberty.”

Santorum called Senator McCain “solid” on the Iraq conflict, but said to Levine that the Arizona senator “was the one who was out there blocking our ability to adequately question… detainees… He did not come down on the side of what I think is appropriate and proper for the kind of war we are fighting today.”

Senator Santorum also attacked McCain’s support for immigration reform, stricter environmental policies, smaller tax cuts, and medical drug re-importation.

An even more detailed case against McCain here (a must read).

Watched the SC Republican debate last night...

Fred Thompson was one fire last night. Made Huckabee look like a fool, while overshadowing everyone else. Flopping Aces has a nice list of blog & news links for the round-up. Plus, today he's picked up the endorsement of Human Events magazine (major coup, there).

My one sentence summations of the six candidates:

Romney is the Bill-Clinton-slick politician with John-Edwards metro-sexual self-obsession.

Huckabee is Gomer-Pyle-as-G.W.Bush (more big goverment mixed with social conservativism).

McCain is the angry-old-man disguised as a hip-maverick.

Guliani has been riding his 9/11-America’s-mayor-coattails to threads for far too long.

Ron Paul is Ross-Perot-redux only less sane.

Meanwhile, Fred is the tortoise in the old tale of The-Tortoise-&-The-Hare. And the one true common-sense conservative in the bunch.

Apologies to MasterCard...

Doing laundry at the local laundromat on a Saturday morning?..... $8.50 (in quarters)

Patiently struggling through guitar lessons every Saturday afternoon?..... $95 per month.

Spending a Sunday morning with a friend at a sports bar eating a breakfast burrito and a decaf coffee while watching the Giants beat Tampa Bay?..... $15 (including tip).

Talking on the phone with a beautiful woman into well after midnight on a Sunday night?............. priceless!

Bin Laden's bodyguard captured?...

Potential reeeeeally good news on the WoT front:

The alleged security coordinator and bodyguard for Al Qaeda terror chieftain Usama bin Laden was arrested in Pakistan sometime last week, the influential newspaper The Nation reported Monday.

Amin al-Haq, 48, also known under the alias Dr. Amin Ah Haq, was arrested last week in Lahore during a special police operation and is being interrogated by Pakistani intelligence, the newspaper reported citing an anonymous law enforcement source.

Pakistani officials have not yet confirmed the arrest.

Amin al-Haq was part of the Afghan delegation flown to Sudan in 1996 to bring bin Laden to Afghanistan. Amin al-Haq is believed to be an active member of the Hizbe Islami Afghanistan party, which joined the Taliban movement in 1996.

The U.S. froze Amin al-Haq's assets after the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

Story & Video on Fred Thompson...

First, a breath of fresh air from a candidate who's not totally consumed with wanting to be president.

Then, watch the Iowa video that Fred Thompson aired throughout the final week leading up to Thursday's Iowa caucus.

Combine that with this official endorsement (pdf file) by the National Right to Life organization, and that's the reason why I made my first political contribution (modest as it was) this election season.

To those of you who read this fledgling blog...

THE REASON FOR THE SEASON...



WISHING EVERYONE A WARM, SAFE, PEACEFUL, LOVING AND BLESSED CHRISTMAS!!!

Mars Attack!

A newly discovered hunk of space rock has a 1-in-75 chance of slamming into the Red Planet on Jan. 30, scientists said Thursday.

"These odds are extremely unusual. We frequently work with really long odds when we track ... threatening asteroids," said Steve Chesley, an astronomer with the Near Earth Object Program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

This should be interesting to watch... from afar, of course.

Good News...

... Dad comes home from the hospital tomorrow morning. He's recovering well, and is able to stomach real food now. Needless to say, he's happy to get outta there. He'll be staying with one of my brothers for the short-term as he'll need to take it easy at first. He'll also have a physical therapist and nurses visiting three times a week (lucky guy) until he's strong enough to be on his own again. He'll also have to visit his cardiologist to go over, monitor and check out the old ticker. But, overall, he's in much better spirits. As one of his granddaughters said to him today while visiting him at the hospital, "You look like grandpop again!"

Kasparov Pulls Out... and Putin is Man of the Year???

Garry Kasparov has pulled out of his fledgling run for president of Russia. [hat-tip to First Things]:

Former world chess champ and thorn in Vladimir Putin’s side Gary Kasparov has called it quits: He will not continue his bid for the Russian presidency as the “Other Russia” candidate.
Kasparov has been a none-too-subtle critic of what he considers a thugocracy in the original Russia. But it seems that opposition to opposition has made a viable candidacy untenable, to the point where Kasparov couldn’t even rent meeting space.

Meanwhile, Time Magazine selects Putin as the "Man of the Year"???

Odd... very odd.

Ridin’ that emotional roller coaster...

So... Dad's back on the up-swing again. I'm sure this is wreaking havoc on him, physically, emotionally and psychologically. I know it's certainly doing a number on me and my siblings.

Here's the upshot: He wasn't able to keep food down, and they had to put the NG tube back in. It's still unclear whether or not he also went into another congestive heart failure during this episode. The doctors ran a bunch of tests and found........ nothing - no blockages, no additional adhesions, nothing. They believe that they moved him too quickly onto solid foods, and his stomach wasn't ready to handle it so soon after the surgery.

As of this morning, they removed the NG tube and he's to start on pure liquids only (water first, then apple juice/grape juice, clear broth, etc.). If that goes well, then they move him up the proverbial food chain to apple sauce and similar soft foods - all with the intention of gradually working him up to solid food.

I talked with him today, and he's tired but in good spirits. He's glad the tube is out. Depending on how he's able to handle the slow upgrade of various forms of nourishment, the doctors hope to have him leaving the hospital before Christmas (maybe even before next weekend). But that's putting the proverbial cart before the horse. As you can see, this whole thing is very proverbial.

Thanks again for the continued prayers and well wishes.