Celledoor Miscellany

Best food video evah!

2012-05-11T17:34:00.000-07:00

Seriously, it doesn't get any better than this. I'm wondering if they went to the same part of Greece I did.

Transformers! More than meets the eye!

2012-05-08T11:33:00.000-07:00

How awesome is this? Beats my entire childhood toy collection put together.

On the Traditional Church

2012-04-28T21:46:00.001-07:00

An interesting perspective from an FSSP priest on Vatican II and the modern world, and what has happened, and the future.

Should we clank the thurible?

2012-04-17T10:06:00.000-07:00

Here's my answer from a question that Fr Z. poses:

I believe clinking is a good idea but it has to be done right. For one it helped me when I was a little one and couldn’t actually see much of what was going on.

What I mean by doing it right.. I grew up (in the late 70′s early 80′s) with the Ordinary form of the mass spoken in Latin (church has since changed direction after the retirement of the then Pastor). So it was a church that didn’t mess around. You knew every altar boy meant business: every shoe black and polished, every step purposefully planted, every hand gesture carefully orchestrated, hair neatly combed. Watching those guys you knew there was a church militant. So when they used the thurible, they did it with purpose. Three clanks for the Father, followed by three clanks for the Son, followed by three clanks for the Holy Spirit. It was done quickly, it was done with the least bit of effort. Which to my dismay when I finally got to be thurifer, I found that this was harder than I had imagined which is probably why I never hear it done that way to this day.

Speaking of thuribles, here's one way to clank them around:

Divine Mercy Sunday

2012-04-15T11:58:00.000-07:00

Best rendition of the Chaplet I've heard so far. The artist, the late Timothy Chong, has a pretty compelling.

June 27, 1999. Liturgical musician called to the Lord

Timothy Chong's return to God is a great loss to the Liturgical Musical Committee of the archdiocese, remarked Fr. Nicholas ho, director of the Archdiocesan Liturgical Commission.

Diana Koh, his former youth leader, remembers him as a fun-loving teenager unfazed by nothing.

Timothy, 39, passed away on June 16 after a short brave struggle with cancer.

A professional musician whose main interest is contemporary liturgical music, he helped form the Liturgical Music Committee in 1992, with Fr. Nicholas Ho and Jesuit Father Tom O'Neill as advisors. The first work of the group was a choir survey to get to know the needs of the different choirs in the archdiocese. This was followed by liturgical workshops and training for choir members.

In 1983, while in their early 20s, he and three other friends formed the Hosanna! Music Ministry.

As a leader in the Youth Apostolate Commission, he co-organised the first archdiocesan youth rally at To a Payoh Stadium, which was filled to capacity.

Timothy used to run Studio 3 Productions, a recording house where he proceed Redemptorist Father Patrick Massang's Church By the River and Christmas By the River cassettes.

He is survived by his wife Joan, and five children.

I believe To a Payoh Stadium is in Singapore.

You can order his CD's here.

Abba's Little Girl

Take me out to the ballgame..

2012-04-15T11:19:00.000-07:00

Top MLB photos.

New Testament audio dramatization

2012-04-10T23:57:00.000-07:00

With Vatican Imprimatur and available with iPhone.

The Truth & Life Dramatized audio Bible New Testament is endorsed with an Imprimatur from the Vatican and includes a foreword by Pope Benedict XVI. Voiced by award winning internationally-renowed actors including: Neal McDonough, Kristen Bell, Sean Astin, Michael York, Blaire Underwood, Malcolm McDowell, Stacy Keach, Brian Cox, Julia Ormond, John Rhys-Davies and many more. The Truth & Life audio New Testament is a first of its kind dramatized audio Bible from the RSV-CE

From Chicago to Hollywood to New York and beyond... over 70 actors, 20 audio engineers in 10 studios over 3 continents contributed to the creation of this unique audio New Testament. More than 100 media development experts and 10,000 production hours were needed to complete this ambitious project. The complete audio New Testament is 22 hours in length.

The entire Gospel of Mark is available for free!

FREE: The entire Gospel of Mark (99 minutes) featuring Blair Underwood as Mark - plus the TRUTH & LIFE APP Player! At anytime you can purchase portions or the complete New Testament audio

It's worth at least getting the free Gospel of Mark. I do not listen to a whole lot of audio books, but this seems a little more than that aside from the background effects. You also have the text available and highlights of the current passage being read. You can buy books separately for $1.99 or the entire New Testament altogether for $19.99. It's also available for Android, PC, Kindle, and Nook.

More at their website.

This is not the droid you are looking for

2012-04-10T21:47:00.000-07:00

This years Star Wars themed Easter eggs by Celle and myself.

If you want to feel good about life, watch the video

2012-04-10T19:41:00.000-07:00

This 9 year old boy is teh awesome! Love how his arcade security feature uses symmetric encryption with a calculator square-root key.

Go donate to his scholarship fund here. Do it! Do it now!

He is risen! Hallelujah!

2012-04-08T15:37:00.000-07:00

Here I am reading the first reading this Easter morning, Acts 10:34,37-43.

Watch "the Passion" with Theological commentary

2012-04-07T04:18:00.000-07:00

Apologist Gerry Matatics prominently narrates along with Father William J. Fulco, Father John Bartunek and of course Mel Gibson. This is on the definitive edition.

I am pleasantly surprised with my discovery. I was curious what the commentary would be like. And it is great and worth listening through. Oddly enough, Gerry Matatics does not seem to mention this on his website, nor does it seem to be mentioned anywhere else (not even on my copy of the Blu-Ray).

Gerry Matatics is introduced as Gerald Matatics by Mel Gibson as someone who has some interesting observations to impart.

I have e-mailed Mr. Matatics for more information about this endeavor, but have not received any reply.

Unless you are or were a debate junkie, you probably have no clue who Gerry Matatics is. Gerry Matatics is a brilliant apologist that has fallen away from the Catholic Church into sedevacantism or what he would more closely refer to sede-impedatism. He basically believes an impostor sits in Rome's Cathedral thus preventing a true Pope from being installed. Mel Gibson was brought up a sedevcantist and appears to be a sedeprivationist. Which is he basically believes that the recent Popes have been heretical and so are lacking as Pope. No matters of heresy are brought up during the commentary so are safe to listen to.

Gerry Matatics started his career with Scott Hahn. In fact in Scott Hahn's conversion story, Matatics is the anti-Catholic friend Scott consulted tough issues of Catholicism with that converted before Scott Hahn did. He graduated from the same Protestant seminary with Scott Hahn. He himself has a great conversion story. He has worked at Catholic Answers. And he has a slew of some very winning debates.

I featured him prominently in this silly video I made in 2008:

It is hard to imagine how such a bright and shining star, that has spoken so eloquently for the Church, falls on the wrong side of the tracks. The best I can think of is:

"I will perish the wisdom of the wise, and I will reject the discernment of the prudent. Where are the wise? Where are the scribes? Where are the truth-seekers of this age? Has not God made the wisdom of this world into foolishness? For the world did not know God through wisdom, and so, in the wisdom of God, it pleased God to accomplish the salvation of believers, through the foolishness of our preaching. For the Jews ask for signs, and the Greeks seek wisdom. But we are preaching Christ crucified..." 1 Cor 1:19-23

Pray for him and others like him that have relied too heavily on their own intellect to find God. The problem I find common among really good debaters, is that many have a hard time not debating every and any thing. It's the hammer that they see everything as a nail through, and it can lead them down strange Protestant ways.

Passover Coke

2012-04-06T17:02:00.000-07:00

Really, there is such a thing. But not this year. The passover version has a yellow cap:

It seems all the difference is corn syrup versus sugar. So, in a real bind, you might still be able to go to Costco and get the glass bottled version that has sugar. Or try a Mexican taco truck that may sometimes also serve a glass bottle sugar variety imported from Mexico.

Corpus Hypercubus, the ranting of a software engineer

2012-04-06T10:45:00.003-07:00

For Good Friday, I've been admiring Dali's rendition of the Crucifixion. I think it's pretty amazing. Part of the appeal personally is because I constantly deal with math and computers on a daily basis. In a sea of logic, my minds eye is always on the lookout for breaks in the pattern. Patterns like this image, and behold here, we've found God in the pattern of squares and cubes Crucified before us, providing for us a fountain of inspiration.

Ever since college, my computer science professors have been telling me that in this field of study, you have to learn to let your mind relax. The redundancy will overwhelm you. As a student I found time and again how true that is, that I have to look towards something else to overcome difficulties, even if I have to force myself just to put the algorithm down for a day. One of my favorite meditations was sitting out in the shade of a tree and watching other students ebb in and out of the parking lot for hours.

Now that I work in this field professionally, I still find myself constantly looking for inspiration in a sea of redundancy in order to get over that hump and on to the next level. Oddly enough, one of my favorite distractions is a Rubik's cube. It's hard to describe that process other than finding God at the end of a prayer. To many, I make what I do look easy. But for myself, it's a daily torment knowing that one day I may not be able to overcome that hurdle or get to that next level. I do not know where that inspiration comes from, other than to say it comes from God.

At all times I must be willing to put my mind at ease and accept what He gives me. The only part I get to control in the matter is the ability to be at ease and the ability to accept Him. I must be at ease in order for there to be freedom. Without the freedom there is no true acceptance. And God must be freely accepted.

Have a blessed Good Friday everyone.

Nothing inspires rage more than the cage of Child Protective Services

2012-04-05T22:54:00.001-07:00

So begins the amazing essay of Laura Rena Murray as she takes you through the harrowing twists and turns of a child trying to gain her emancipation. She does not tell us how she got here, but she recounts a portion of the struggles she dealt with once she was on her own, and some of what she has learned. Here is a little of the end of her article:

Without information, I would never have known how to dream. Sharing information and resources opens up choices. With choices, you can alter the course of your life. If I do nothing else, I want to at least give the choice to someone else. I am living proof that information is power; information is choice. As we continue to address the rights of children in the future, perhaps we can add emancipation to the public dialogue.

Freedom brought courage and fear into my life, two sides of the same coin. You cannot have one without the other. Both are vital for thriving. I had no idea how much that one call would change the course of my life. I hope this knowledge gives someone else the strength to pick up the phone.

It's amazing how much abnormal strength some people are built with. When I read stories like this, would I be so able in their shoes? I'd like to say yes, but I am not so sure. Some people are dealt a harsh life. I thank God I am not one of them.

h/t Eva Tushnet

Hyenas also change their diet for Lent in Ethiopia

2012-04-05T13:42:00.000-07:00

Many Christians give up certain foods for Lent, however ecologists have discovered these changes in human diet have a dramatic impact on the diet of wild animals. In Ethiopia, members of the Orthodox Tewahedo Church stop eating meat and dairy products during a 55-day fast before Easter. As a result, spotted hyenas too change their eating habits -- from scavenging waste from butchers and households to hunting...

We'll never be that ignorant again

2012-04-04T21:42:00.000-07:00

Looking through MRC's report on Secular Snobs, regarding the media's long standing bias against religion, I ran into videos like this one:

I have come to believe less and less people can feign ignorance because of the Internet. So much information now is free and accurate. The people who want to know will find it and share and because the Truth always wins out, it will become predominant.

The lies of course will remain. We live in a fallen world after all. They'll get more deceptive and more bold and more sophisticated.

But in this new age, the Truth shall shine more brightly, and become like a beacon: easier to find for those who seek it out.

My God! It's full of stars!!

2012-04-04T17:37:00.000-07:00

11,000x17,000 pixel 250mb image of only 0.004% of the sky containing 200,000 galaxies.

And the best part you can download it. That is some Bad Astronomy! enjoy!

Santorum might drop out rather than lose home state primary in Pennsylvania

2012-04-04T16:12:00.001-07:00

What would it mean if he did drop out?

As I see it, he has nothing to gain to continue going on if he is going to lose his own home State. That may put him in ranks with the likes of Al Gore (who lost his own home State in the Presidential election of 2002). Santorum has no other job skill other than "politician" to retire with. At some point he'll have to realize that he is squandering off points with the Republican establishment at large.

So he can either keep the chips that he's collected and play them out for another political arena.

Or he can risk starving his family and squander what he has in a losing fight and risk losing his political career altogether.

(I'm actually not sure he may not have lost it already. Can you imagine Santorum lobbying for bipartisan support for clients, after all those pointed gaffs, and being broiled by the mainstream media? Very polar figures are just poison pills to the political process.)

In any case, if does drop out, so much for the black-sheep candidate rhetoric he's been espousing (which was stolen from Newt). If it comes to that, I hope people will begin to realize what I have been saying all along. Santorum is just another cog in the Republican machine. And he was never a good conservative candidate to begin with.

More from The Hill.

See also:
* Santorum's complaints show why he might not be ready for Obama
* Newt tearing it up on Meet the Press
* Newt defends Christianity and the Bible
* Santorum illegally crosses border and steals resources
* Santorum's Pro-Choice stand
* Outrageous: Santorum is asking Dems to vote for him in the GOP primary
* Santorum said a funny thing at the final South Carolina debate about Newt
* Why Newt Gingrich gets my Catholic vote
* A couple more reasons to think twice about Santorum
* Santorum is proud of his Planned Parenthood funding of contraception record
* List of reasons to think twice about Santorum..
* Santorum & Newt's CPAC speeches

A look at Google's Project Glass the augmented reality of the future

2012-04-04T13:02:00.000-07:00

Augmented reality has been a long time coming for a lot of kids, including me. Ever since in the early 1980s when Louie Nichols on Robotech (the Second Generation) developed his augmented reality frames in order to target bioroids better, I've always wanted something similar.

The ability to receive and transmit good information without the aid of typing is appealing on a number of levels, if only just to get one-up on the bad guy quicker. More info at New York Times.

The road vehicle that also flies

2012-04-03T23:35:00.000-07:00

may soon become a reality. I'm actually kind of excited about this. I've always wanted one since I was a kid. It's nice to know that some childhood dreams do come true!

It uses Carver's Dynamic Vehicle Control and gyrocopter in one.

Steer it like a car, and bank it like a motorcycle. Then when you are tired of that sort of fun, transform it, and take it into the air.

* 2 person capacity
* 28 mpg (road)
* 750 mile range (road)
* 112 mph max speed (road)
* 9.5 gph (air)
* 220-315 mile range (air)
* 97 knots/112 mph (air)

Current expected cost is at about €200,000. Yeesh!

More at the Pal-V website.

The two minute explanation of Holy Week

2012-04-03T00:27:00.001-07:00

h/t Aggie Catholics

The Catholic interpretation of Scripture

2012-04-02T23:51:00.001-07:00

Augustine’s De Doctrina represents a synthesis of patristic thinking on the interpretation of Scripture, and it continued to be used as a handbook for exegesis throughout the medieval period. In the following discussion of the Catholic interpretation of Scripture, we follow St. Augustine’s basic framework, fleshed out with more recent teachings of the Church and developments within biblical studies.

Head on over at The Sacred Page where this looks to be the start of a very informative series.

The meaning of Passover

2012-04-02T23:40:00.001-07:00

from Cardinal Timothy Dolan:

You've Got Cardinal Timothy Dolan

Movie Review: The Hunger Games

2012-03-27T22:53:00.001-07:00

The Hunger Games is an interesting film worth watching. I’ve not read the book so my experience is solely from viewing the film. Set out in some distant future, the Hunger Games takes place in what I would have imagined the setting for George Orwell’s, 1984. The background here is war had torn the world, as we know it, into 12 separate districts. By the time we get to the setting of the film, the war had ended for some time but in order to ensure a lasting peace, each district is to sacrifice two children, a male and a female between the ages of 12 and 18, in tribute where they will meet certain death in a popularly broadcasted event called, “The Hunger Games.”

The Hunger Games draws upon the old pagan rituals of death and entertainment a la the Roman Colosseum gladiatorial games and others like the Mesoamerican ballgame. There’s a dichotomy of the games among the general population. The games play a role in subduing certain sectors of the population, while providing a great source of entertainment with other population sectors.

What first struck me was how well the film portrays a definite unease about the people we see who live out in the districts. There is a sense that things are not as good as it could be, and this tension is highlighted throughout the film. The Capitol is a source of repression. It is a ruling class that has everything at the expense of those less fortunate people living in the district. This plays a vital role in the story of the film. In fact, after the death of one of the child combatants, Rue, her district, District 13, riots in what reminded me of an Occupy Oakland protest.

Another thing that struck me was how socially different the ruling class is to the population. The movie does a great job portraying such a social and economic differences that exist in the Capitol. Places like North Korea and the dichotomy between the Capitol of Pyongyang versus the provinces comes to mind. In a way this is what I'd imagine New York looks like to a simple potato farmer from Iowa.

I had expected an action film in the vein of Transformers or G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, mostly because of the way the film was billed. I was pleasantly surprised it was not so. The film takes a slower pace, careful and purposeful with a story to tell. It picks its actions carefully and is never overdone. My only complaint is the cinematography. My eyes are not those of a 14 year old hyped up on caffeine so watching the camera bounce around in 5 second segments made me slightly nauseous.

Jennifer Lawrence was splendidly cast. I was very impressed with her performance in Winter's Bone and understand from her role there why she was such a great fit for this film.

Sacrafice of the Mass

2012-03-27T22:02:00.000-07:00

Picture taken Easter season 2011 at Saint Albert the Great in Palo Alto, CA.

Liturgy-of-the-Eucharist,-2011-O5H3882