The back to school season is as good a time of the year as any to re-evaluate your handwriting. A recent op-ed in the New York Times challenged writers to stop mumbling on the page and drop the loopy cursive letters of the Palmer method or Zaner-Bloser style we were taught at small school desks with chunky pencils.
The new preferred style is Italic, in which letters do not always have to be joined. It's a matter of comfort and personal choice. The success of handwriting is its legibility. Oh, and closing the gaps on the tops of your letters, that's the part we read.
Click here for the NYT piece and a chance to try Italic.
For extra credit, take a free Italic handwriting lesson online here from studioarts.net.
This Sunday, a reunion group for the St. Michael's Conference, Southwest was held at the Church of the Holy Apostles in Fort Worth. There was a great turnout of teens for confession, fellowship, dinner, Solemn Evensong, a faculty talk, and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament to close the evening. Here are some pictures.
"When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, 'Alas, my master! What shall we do?' He said, 'Do not be afraid,B)"> for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.' Then Elisha prayed and said, 'O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.' So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha" (2 Kings 15-17).
"And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, 'Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth' "(Revelation 5:6-10).
Have a listen to the conference hymn:
O everlasting God, who hast ordained and constituted the services of Angels and men in a wonderful order: Mercifully grant that, as thy holy Angels always do thee service in heaven, so, by thy appointment, they may succour and defend us on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Father Jones gave great address on angels. According to It's a Wonderful Life, "Every time a bell rings, an angels gets his wings." That may be what the teacher says, but is it what the Bible says?
O saving Victim opening wide
the gate of heaven to us below;
Our foes press on from every side,
thine aide supply, thy strength bestow.
All praise and thanks to thee ascend
for evermore, blest One in Three;
O grant us life that shall not end
in our true native land with thee. Amen.
Therefore we, before him bending,
this great Sacrament revere;
types and shadows have their ending,
for the newer rite is here;
faith, our outward sense befriending,
makes our inward vision clear.
Glory let us give and blessing
to the Father and the Son,
honor, thanks, and praise addressing,
while eternal ages run;
ever too his love confessing
who from both with both is One. Amen.
Thou gavest them bread from heaven;
Containing within itself all sweetness.
O God, who in a wonderful Sacrament hast left us a memorial of thy passion: Grant us, we beseech thee, so to venerate the sacred mysteries of thy Body and Blood, that we may ever perceive within ourselves the fruit of thy redemption; who livest and reignest, world without end. Amen.
Blessed be God.
Blessed be his holy Name.
Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true Man.
Blessed be the Name of Jesus.
Blessed be his most Sacred Heart.
Blessed be his most Precious Blood.
Blessed be Jesus in the most holy Sacrament of the Altar.
The Oiler band, after a rough Friday night that included the Midland High football team running onto the field during the show, took the field at Novi Saturday - and earned a first-competition score nine points higher than last year's first time out.
The cerebral "Pachelbel's Journey" impressed the judges enough to award a 63.45.
Katherine and Robert await the judge's word after the show at Novi. The verdict: First place, , best music, best marching, best overall effect.
The mayor of Novi, right, prepares to hand the plaque to the Oiler command team as the host Novi command team salutes them.
But the Oiler band can't rest on its laurels. There was another competition Saturday, and in Flight III, Ferndale scored an incredible 73.05 - in September! Farmington Harrison checked in at 67.55, Redford Thurston at 66.8, and Trenton at 66.25. After the weekend, the Oilers are in fifth place statewide in Flight III. And we have yet to hear from defending champion Stevensville Lakeshore, runnerup Grand Rapids Northview, or last year's other finalists, Byron Center or Linden. The two other 2008 Flight III finalists, Marysville and Allegan, are in Flight IV this year. Thurston is on the schedule for a head-to-head competition Saturday at the Michigan Invitational Tournament in Flint, while Flight III bands Fruitport, South Lyon and Hazel Park take their shows to Livonia Franklin. Either the judges are getting soft - which isn't likely - or there are going to be some intense, tight, stunning competitions on the way to Ford Field for the finals.
The young Oiler band's ambitious show hits the road today at the Novi Fanfare. It's still early in the season - Novi is a place to work out the rough spots, see what the judges think, and start making adjustments. The Friday night halftime show was a little rough, but they'll get there.
The art of cutting paper into outlines of shapes and figures is a traditional practice in portraiture. In the 18th century, it was a proper amusement for both men and women to recreate a person's likeness by tracing or freehand, then cutting it out from a thin black paper. Sometimes an entire scene of figures would be trimmed out and mounted on paper with a background drawn to create an interior or landscape around them.
Today you can use your likeness as more than a traditional decoration and as something practical, too. Here are some suggestions from a few of my favorite blogs to fit a silhouette into your home collection.
A personalized bulletin board in the shape of a silhouette would be a striking addition to a front entrance hall or a spot above your desk. Click here for the instructions from Country Living.
Homemade cards are a greatly appreciated gesture and such fun to receive. Embellish them with a silhouette cut from a charming patterned paper for a handsome looking card. Click here for instructions from a new book via Design Sponge.
Portraits of family or friends look terrific in profile and resting on the sofa. This is a clever idea for a decorative pillow that's easy to make. Click here for the instructions from Mrs. Blandings, a blog I recommend visiting, anyway.
This story is about a man who once upon a time was selling Hot-dogs by the roadside.
He was illiterate, so he never read newspapers.
He was hard of hearing, so he never listened to the radio.
His eyes were weak, so he never watched television.
But enthusiastically, he sold lots of hot-dogs.
He was smart enough to offer some attractive schemes to increase his sales.
His sales and profit went up.
He ordered more a more raw material and buns and sold more.
He recruited more supporting staff to serve more customers.
He started offering home deliveries.
Eventually he got himself a bigger and better stove.
As his business was growing, the Son, who had recently graduated from college, joined his Father.
Then something strange happened.
The Son asked, "Dad, aren't you aware of the great recession that is coming our way?"
The Father replied, "No, but tell me about it."
The Son said, "The international situation is terrible. The domestic situation is even worse. We should be prepared for the coming bad times."
The Man thought that since his Son had been to college, read the papers, listened to the radio and watched TV. He ought to know and his advice should not be taken lightly.
So, the next day onwards, the Father cut down the his raw material order and buns, took down the colorful signboard, removed all the special schemes he was offering to the customers and was no longer as enthusiastic.
He reduced his staff strength by giving layoffs.
Very soon, fewer and fewer people bothered to stop at his Hot-dog stand.
And his sales started coming down rapidly and so did the profit.
The Father said to his Son, "Son, you were right". "We are in the middle of a recession and crisis. I am glad you warned me ahead of time."
Moral of the Story: It's all in Your MIND! And, We actually FUEL this recession much more than We think.
Mardi Gras in September? Of course. Even though it's on Friday. It's a downtown Mt. Pleasant promotion - and it keeps getting bigger every year. I don't think I've ever seen as many people downtown as I did Friday night, and the parade - well, it would do justice to a lot of much larger communities. I was impressed not just with the size of the crowd, but the diversity of the people downtown. And it was so, so cool to see the everyone - Katherine and Robert with the Oiler Marching Band (you see them in the video) - and Kissy Missy handing out Applefest fliers for the the Zonta Club. (She didn't make the video - not her fault nor mine.) Not a bad celebration for our little town. Not bad at all.
Victor Hugo's Banister from Maison de Victor Hugo6, Place des Vosges, 4th Arrondissement, Paris
Sir John Soane's House, Pitshanger Manor, Walpole Park, Mattlock Lane, London
A shrine is a place preserved for history. A shrine may be where someone important and worth remembering once lived. A shrine is usually preserved to remember a place in time - a long time ago.
I recently came across a book of beautiful photography of everyday objects. The handsome and utilitarian objects are things like architectural details, teapots, clocks, and writing sets. The objects were selected because they were touched by great men.
These objects were touched by great women, too.
Photos from Dr. Johnson's Doorknob and Other Significant Parts of Great Men's Houses by Liz Workman, published by Rizzoli, 2007.
From a sermon of Andrew of Crete (740) on the Holy Cross:
"Had there been no cross, Christ could not have been crucified. Had there been no cross, life itself could not have been nailed to the tree. And if life had not been nailed to it, there would be no streams of immortality pouring from Christ's side, blood and water for the world's cleansing. The bond of our sin would not have been canceled, we should not have obtained our freedom, we should not have enjoyed the fruit of the tree of life and the gates of paradise would not stand open. Had there been no cross, death would not have been trodden underfoot, nor hell despoiled.
Therefore, the cross is something wonderfully great and honorable. It is great because through the cross the many noble acts of Christ found their consummation--very many indeed, for both his miracles and his sufferings were fully rewarded with victory. The cross is honorable because it is both the sign of God's suffering and the trophy of his victory. It stands for his suffering because on it he freely suffered unto death. But it is also his trophy because it was the means by which the devil was wounded and death conquered; the barred gates of hell were smashed, and the cross became the one common salvation of the whole world."
This past Tuesday, I visited one of our new churches in the diocese for the first time, Saint Barnabas in Keller/North Fort Worth. I was a visiting celebrant and preacher for two Sundays a few years ago when they were still meeting at the local elementary school. Their current location opened about a year ago, and their founding pastor is Father Louis Tobola. The large parish hall doubles as a worship space until they build a new church in the next phase of their construction. It is a nice set-up, as you can see below. The shrine of Our Lady and the Stations of the Cross are very nice. I was attending a meeting of the Catholic Clerical Union. Father Stephen Jones (above) from Holy Comforter in Cleburne gave a great talk on the life and work of Pope Paul VI.
This is a Small story which describes the Modern Way to Greet her Husband in the Heaven.
A Woman who died found herself standing outside the Pearly Gates, being greeted by St. Peter.
She asked him, "Oh, is this place what I really think it is? It's so beautiful. Did I really make it to heaven?"
To which St. Peter replied, "Yes, my dear, these are the Gates to Heaven. But, You must do one more thing before you can enter."
The Woman was very excited, and asked St. Peter,what she must to do to pass through the gates?
"Spell a word," St. Peter replied.
"What word?" she asked.
"Any word," answered St. Peter. "It's your choice." The woman promptly replied, "Then the word I will spell is ('L-O-V-E') LOVE.
St. Peter congratulated her on her good fortune to have made it to Heaven, and asked her if she would mind taking his place at the gates for a few minutes while he went to the Room.
"I'd be honored," she said, "but what should I do if someone comes while you are gone?"
St. Peter reassured her, and instructed the woman to simply have any newcomers to the Pearly Gates to spell a word as she had done.
So the woman is left sitting in St. Peter's chair and watching the beautiful angels soaring around her when a man approaches the gates. She realizes it is her Husband.
"What happened?" she cried, "Why are you here?"
Her husband stared at her for a moment, then said, "I was so drunk when I left your funeral, I was in an accident. And now I am here? Did I really make it to Heaven?"
To which the Woman replied, "Not yet. You must spell a word first."
1. Chewing on gum while cutting onions can help a person from stop producing tears. Try it next time you chop onions.
2. Until babies are six months old, they can breathe and swallow at the same time. Indeed convenient!
3. Offered a new pen to write with, 97% of all people will write their own name.
4. Male mosquitoes are vegetarians. Only females bite.
5. The average person's field of vision encompasses a 200-degree wide angle.
6. To find out if a watermelon is ripe, knock it, and if it sounds hollow then it is ripe.
7. Canadians can send letters with personalized postage stamps showing their own photos on each stamp.
8. Babies' eyes do not produce tears until the baby is approximately six to eight weeks old.
9. It snowed in the Sahara Desert in February of 1979.
10. Plants watered with warm water grow larger and more quickly than plants watered with cold water.
11. Wearing headphones for just an hour will increase the bacteria in your ear by 700 times.
12. Grapes explode when you put them in the microwave.
13. Those stars and colours you see when you rub your eyes are called phosphenes.
14. Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.
15. Everyone's tongue print is different, like fingerprints.
16. Contrary to popular belief, a swallowed chewing gum doesn't stay in the gut. It will pass through the system and be excreted.
17. At 40 Centigrade a person loses about 14.4 calories per hour by breathing.
18. There is a hotel in Sweden built entirely out of ice; it is rebuilt every year.
19. Cats, camels and giraffes are the only animals in the world that walk right foot, right foot, left foot, left foot, rather than right foot, left foot .
20. Onions help reduce cholesterol if eaten after a fatty meal.
21. The sound you hear when you crack your knuckles is actually the sound of nitrogen gas bubbles bursting.
