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Clever.

The One-Legged Golf Phenomenon

An inspiring story.

Freedom...from anger

A great collection of thoughts about the danger of anger in the spiritual life.

A cute video of some very well-trained dogs

Are big families bad for the environment?

Simcha Fischer has a great takedown of this issue. An excerpt:

Many large families also live with tight budgets. We happily trade a second income for another armful of babies. The quick and easy methods of saving the environment that make the news daily are hardly news to cash-strapped families: Turn down the heat, insulate, avoid anything disposable, buy in bulk, cook from scratch, breastfeed, don’t eat out, don’t waste this, don’t buy that. Turn out the light, close the door, unplug it, wash in cold water, make it do or do without. And if it does not get eaten for dinner, we serve it for lunch.

Read the rest here.

So Much Depends Upon the Airport Pickup

I enjoyed this thought-provoking post by Jane Friedman, and thought this quote that she included was great:

Go through your phone book, call people and ask them to drive you to the airport. The ones who will drive you are your true friends. The rest aren’t bad people; they’re just acquaintances.

- Jay Leno

The Little Lost Marion: Abortion's true costs

A fascinating review of The Little Lost Marion and Other Mercies, an out-of-print book by the author of the famous memoir A Severe Mercy, which discusses the story of his seeking out the daughter that his late wife gave up for adoption after becoming pregnant at age 14.

"Hey, That's My Jet!"

An interesting story in the Wall Street Journal about high-end repo men:

He has reclaimed everything from $18 million Gulfstream jets and Bell helicopters to 110-foot Broward yachts, $500,000 recreational vehicles and even a racehorse. Before the financial crisis, most of the luxury items he pulled in were valued between $30,000 and $50,000. Today, they are valued at $200,000 to $300,000—meaning defaults are hitting people at a much higher income level.

Read the rest here.

Father Barron on Lent

Some great insights:

Love poem generator

Amusing.

St. Patrick's breastplate

I've posted this before, but I thought that this beautiful recording of "St. Patrick's Breastplate" would be appropriate to repost today:

A St. Patrick's Day blessing

A pretty video.

A tree through the seasons

A neat picture of a tree at various times of year.

Dorm rooms, 100 years before IKEA

I thought this was fascinating: a picture of a student dorm room at Yale in 1889.

Heart transplant recipient sustained by faith in difficult twins pregnancy

The inspiring story of a mom of twin daughters who were born despite serious pressure from doctors to abort. (Via Be Not Afraid, the excellent online support ministry for parents with poor prenatal diagnosis.)

How they made the new OK Go video

Here's an interesting article about how this impressive video was made:


via Testosterhome

The truth about the Church and Galileo

The Political Housewyf has an informative, interesting post that details the complexities of the Galileo/Church dust-up, and shows that it was not as simple as a truth-seeker being oppressed by the entire hierarchy of the Catholic Church.

Making the pro-life case at Berkley

An inspiring story about a professor who goes to UC Berkley every year to make the case against abortion, which is very unpopular with the student body.

Hatemail from third graders

Children let the American Museum of Natural History know what they think about Pluto's removal from an exhibit about the solar system.

Remembering a World War II Death Trap — and a Miraculous Rescue

Amazing story.

Heresy Has Always Been An Option

Interesting points:

I've often heard Protestants who admire such figures [Augustin, Francis of Assisi, etc.] explain away their Catholic allegiances and beliefs with the excuse: "Well of course, all Christians were Catholic at that time; there weren't any other options." The only problem with this is that there were other options. There have always been groups outside of the Catholic Church that called themselves Christians.

Read the rest here.

31 Things You Can Do in 1 Minute (or Less)

Great list.

The mega-family blog roll

An interesting idea for a site: a collection of blogs by people with large (and sometimes VERY large) families.

"I was born..."

A great pro-life video:

Quote to ponder

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

-Howard Thurman

Great thoughts from books and blogs

Video Meliora has a great collection of quotes from everyone from famous scholars to bloggers. An example:

One of the things that surprised me when I first read the New Testament seriously was that it talked so much about a Dark Power in the universe—a mighty evil spirit who was held to be the Power behind death and disease, and sin. The difference [between Christianity and Dualism] is that Christianity thinks this Dark Power was created by God, and was good when he was created, and went wrong. Christianity agrees with Dualism that this universe is at war. But it does not think this is a war between independent powers. It thinks it is a civil war, a rebellion...Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage. - C.S. Lewis in "Mere Christianity

Read them all here.

"UNWANTED" A Story About Choice

Wow:


via Fallible Blogma

16 Social Media Insights for Catholics

Some great thoughts from Matthew Warner.

New gene test may help you pick your diet

Some interesting data about eating a diet that's right for your genetic makeup.

How contraception fuels the vocations crisis

Some excellent thoughts. An excerpt:

Now, because of artificial contraception, the whole underlying assumptions and expectations about marriage have shifted. Marriage is no longer a way to give all, but a way to have it all. Therefore, when a young person today considers a religious vocation, they are not choosing between different paths of self-sacrifice; they are choosing between a life that seems to have it all and a life that seems to have nothing.

Read the rest here.

Life on the Bus

Abigail has a great post about the unexpected graces that came after her family had to give up their car for financial reasons. Very inspiring!

Homeopathic ER

Amusing:


via DarwinCatholic

Some thoughts on humility

Good stuff from Elizabeth Foss.