iConfess

Let's try this again, shall we?


So, there's an interesting new iPhone app that's climbing the charts. I'll let the press release explain it:

South Bend, IN—Little iApps, LLC is pleased to announce the release of Confession: A Roman Catholic App, its very first application for iPhone™, iPad, and iPod touch®. Developed for those who frequent the sacrament and those who wish to return, this confession helper is priced at $1.99 and is available for download at the iTunes store. This announcement follows directly on the heels of Pope Benedict’s message for the 45th World Communications Day address in which he emphasized that new media, “if used wisely, can contribute to the satisfaction of the desire for meaning, truth and unity which remain the most profound aspirations of each human being.”

Designed to be used in the confessional, this app is the perfect aid for every penitent. With a personalized examination of conscience for each user, password protected profiles, and a step-by-step guide to the sacrament, this app invites Catholics to prayerfully prepare for and participate in the Rite of Penance. Individuals who have been away from the sacrament for some time will find Confession: A Roman Catholic App to be a useful and inviting tool.

That's right, an app to help you in the confessional! Just what this world needs! (Seriously, have you been paying attention to what's going on out there? Confession is just the thing for it.) I, personally, haven't picked it up yet. A) I already know how to make a good confession, thank you very much, and B) storing a "personalized examination of conscience" on a portable, easily-lost-or-stolen device makes me uncomfortable, password-protected or no.

But this app is interesting for two reasons. Firstly, it's the first iPhone, iPod, or iPad app to receive a nihil obstat and imprimatur. Secondly, it was written by one of my college buddies, Patrick, who I went to Austria with, and shared a house with my senior year.

He didn't write it by himself, mind. Anyways, the app has been doing very well in the app store, making its way into the top 25 paid apps in the "Lifestyles" section, almost surpassing the "Adult Sex Game HD" app in terms of popularity.

Interesting juxtaposition

So, if you're new to the sacrament, or a frequent-goer, perhaps you could check out my friend's app? I'll let him close out this post:

Pope Benedict’s general prayer intention for January 2011 was, “that young people may learn to use modern means of social communication for their personal growth and to better prepare themselves to serve society.” Little iApps developer and co-founder, Patrick Leinen, said, “Our desire is to invite Catholics to engage in their faith through digital technology. Taking to heart Pope Benedict XVI’s message from last years’ World Communications Address, our goal with this project is to offer a digital application that is truly ‘new media at the service of the Word.’ The app has already aided one man in returning to the sacrament after 20 years. We hope many more will take advantage of this new confession resource.”

Cosplay Twenty-Ten

A look at some of The Creative Murloc's costumes from the last year.


So the Murloc's cosplay year began in April, with Ye Olde Renaissance Faire. Not being pregnant this year, she wore the same (rented) costume that she wore two years previous. Let's compare her pre-and post-pregnancy:

She certainly fills out the dress a bit more. Not that I'm complaining, mind.

The bodice must be tighter the second time around.

As usual, she got her hair done.

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The Good Doctor

A day late, but oh well.

"To the Angelic Doctor, we owe the concordance of philosophy and religion, and the admonition never to cite revelation in the proof of a philosophical proposition. Centuries before, Origen had called God the author of two books: scripture and nature. Because of this, Aquinas held that if revelation seemed to conflict with nature, one or the other (or both) had not been properly understood." ~Michael Flynn, "The Age of Faith and Reason"

Since yesterday was the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, perhaps we can reflect on how the wisdom of the Dumb Ox has shaped the course of philosophy and how much our modern scientific age owes its metaphysical assumptions to him. Perhaps we should celebrate, as Mike Flynn suggests, by doing something logical.

Elsewhere around the interblogs, Mark Shea is celebrating by discussing whether or not Friday really was the feast of St. Thomas.

This Is Not a Baby

Why would the ultrasound technician use the incorrect terminology? One would think that trained medical professionals would know the difference.

His heart beats at a rapid 175 beats per minute but he is not alive.

We can see his arms, legs, fingers, toes, ribcage, nose, genitalia, and both hemispheres of his developing brain, yet he is merely a "blob of tissue" which can be removed like an appendix or the tonsils.

Indeed, we even know that he is a "he", but he isn't really.

His eye and hair color have already been determined. He has a unique set of genes, one that has never been seen before and will never be seen again in the history of the human race. Everything that makes him human is there. But he is only potentially human. Not "fully" human.

In time, as his muscles and organs form and grow, he will suck his thumb, yawn, cry, and blink his eyes. He will act just like a newborn baby outside of the womb, but he won't yet be a baby until he is born.

These are the facts that inform our society, our laws, and our beliefs.

“This is the paradox of America’s unborn. No life is so desperately sought after, so hungrily desired, so carefully nurtured. And yet no life is so legally unprotected, and so frequently destroyed.”

*RESPECT LIFE*

Shopping for a Delli Sandwich

If buying a sandwich were like shopping for a computer from Dell.
(Inspired by Shamus Young: "PC Hardware is 'Toast'".)

INT. "The Delli"

"Hi, how can I help you?"

"I'd like a ham sandwich on rye with swiss cheese."

"I'm sorry, we don't sell sandwiches like that."

"What, you don't sell ham sandwiches? Or on rye bread?"

"No, we have ham sandwiches and rye bread, but we don't sell them in that manner."

"You mean custom made to order?"

"No, we have custom-made sandwiches but—lemme just explain. We've determined that to serve our customers better, it's most efficient if we offer different lines of sandwiches, each tailored for a particular customer demographic's needs."

"Ok... tell me about your sandwich lines."

"Well, we have the Latitude line of sandwiches for our business user who need best-in-class sandwich reliability. Our Vostro line is popular with small business eaters who need a filling sandwich for not too much money. Our Inspiron sandwiches are great for home and home office eaters who need style and satisfaction from their lunches. And our Alienware line is best for power-eaters who want top-of-the-line sandwich performance."

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/Random

News in Briefs
News reported while wearing underwear.


Local Teen Arrested; Authorities Investigate Possible Sarah Palin Connection

Laguna Niguel, CA—A local teenager has been arrested for shoplifting from several stores in a Laguna Niguel shopping center. According to authorities, shopkeepers had suspected the 16-year-old male for some time, but after one store owner managed to catch the suspected thief on security camera, police were able to act to arrest the boy. According to the sheriff's office, they are also investigating a possible connection to former Alaska governor and Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. During the recent midterm elections, Ms. Palin spoke frequently of the need to "take back" the house and her "kleptomaniacal rhetoric" may have spurred the boy to becoming a thief.


Link of the Day/Week/Month

John C. Wright’s Patented One Session Lesson in the Mechanics of Fiction

Far and away, the best introduction to fiction writing I've read.


Boring (Short) Political Rant
I'm going to try to post fewer of these and get back to my roots of humor, satire, and cat/baby pictures. I realized that all of my readers, save one, already agree with me. Of those that agree, they're all smarter than me anyways, so nothing I say will be particularly insightful. And the one dissenter will be unpersuaded by anything I have to say.


On the Repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell


Were it not for the comment from Robert J. Wizard, a frequent and usually sensible commenter on John C. Wright's journal, that it's impossible for most men to go more than a year without masturbating, I would have a rather hard time understanding the opposition to DADT. I've always known that the sexual revolutionaries think chastity is unnecessary, or even perhaps evil. But what I hadn't clued into yet was that, at least subconsciously, they actually think it's impossible. So from this perspective, a policy like DADT, where gays are admitted to the military so long as they don't indulge their disordered desires, is akin to asking them not to breathe.

Once I realized this, I saw the mentality all over, from the opposition to abstinence-only education ("they're gonna do it anyways; might as well teach them to do it safely") to the hatred towards the Church's opposition to condoms in fighting AIDS (the Church sees the choice not to be promiscuous as safer than the choice to be promiscuous, but using condoms; the revolutionaries see the choice as using or not using condoms when being promiscuous).

But of course, this is neither here nor there. Just as the gay-rights advocates never ask what the purpose of marriage is when assuming it to be a right (to me, gay marriage seems kind of like a tampon for men), they also miss the point of the military. "The military's job," as Rush Limbaugh would say, "is to kill people and break things." The only real question is will allowing openly gay people to serve in the military help or hinder that job?

The "Death" of the Faith

When Pope Benedict XVI issued his apostolic letter Summorum Pontificum in 2007, there was criticism that the only people who would attend the Mass in the extraordinary form (in Latin, where the priest faces ad oriens, in the same direction as the people) were old people who grew up before the new "proper" Mass was instituted, and would only attend it out of some sense of nostalgia. Even in our own parish, some objected to the pastor that if the Mass was celebrated in a language people didn't understand, that attendance would drop off. It was certainly expected to drive away young people. Who would possibly want to attend Latin mass who hadn't grown up with it?

I smile to myself, thinking about this, as I walk around in the back of the church with Damien. Another father, I think his name's Michael, holds his two-year-old son, while one of his daughters—who looks about ten—takes up the collection with the other ushers. His wife sits in the row in front of Anne Marie, with their other son, and their other daughter sings in the choir.

Damien fidgets loose from my hold and runs about. He finds another boy around his age and the two of them laugh and squeal. Together, they find the cabinets where the missals are stored, and the other boy's dad and I take turns holding them closed. Over the course of the mass, at least three or four other parents of small children will pass through the back, either to calm a fussing baby, or take a child to the bathroom.

I look out over the congregation, who listen to Father Philip's highly-intellectual homily (he's talking about what we can learn from the fact that the vast majority of God's life here on earth was spent in ordinary family life; it's like he knows his audience). There's another family sitting behind us this week, the girls wearing veils. There's the young couple—no kids yet—that look younger than Rie and I. Probably mid-twenties. They're here every week. And, of course, the family that drives the big white full-size van with three bumperstickers; one for The Monkees, one that says "I ♥ the Old Latin Mass", and another that says "Proud Parents of 6 homeschoolers". From where I stand in the back, I can't see a single gray head. I think the average age of this group must be about 35.

The group that attends the 12:30 Mass in the extraordinary form fills me with such hope, and is a reminder that G.K Chesteron's words that he wrote in 1925 are just as relevant then as they are today: "we know how completely a society can lose its fundamental religion without abolishing its official religion; we know how men can all become agnostics long before they abolish bishops. And we know that also in this last ending, which really did look to us like the final ending, the incredible thing has happened again; the Faith has a better following among the young men than among the old."

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Flying Mounts Blamed for Massive Roof Damage Costs

Opponents of Flight Master's License cite one more reason to cancel the program.
By Fargo Flintlocke, Stormwind Correspondent

An increasingly common site over Stormwind's Trade District

A recent study by Elwynn University has put a price tag of at least ten million gold on the cost of roof repairs to homes and businesses in the greater Stormwind area, due to damage from flying mounts. The study is being called "the last straw" by opponents of King Varian Wrynn's controversial new flight master's license program, which allows experienced adventurers to use their flying mounts within the city of Stormwind, as well as  around the rest of the Eastern Kingdoms of Azeroth. Prior to King Wrynn's decree, use of flying mounts had been limited to the shattered world of Draenor and the frozen Northrend continent.

The study, conducted over the month since the program was instituted, was released yesterday. It surveyed several dozen local businesses and homeowners, and tracked the work orders of Stormwind's five largest construction contractors.

"We all suspected that there may have been negative repercussions from allowing flying mounts over the city," Professor Philius Fizzwink, the lead researcher of the study, commented. "But I don't think anyone on my team expected such a high monetary cost in just this one area."

The study revealed that most of the damage comes from mounts—particularly larger dragon and proto-drake mounts—landing or scraping their claws across roofs, knocking tiles and shingles loose. A further contributing factor was the increase of dragon and proto-drake guano. Unlike gryphon and hippogryph feces, dragon guano has been shown to be highly caustic, corrosive and—in the case of the volcanic stone drake popular with many adventurers—flammable.

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