Wednesday, September 28, 2011

An amazing story of messages in a bottle

Treat yourself to watching this wonderful video (via New Advent):

Over the last two decades, Harold Hackett has sent out over 4,800 messages in a bottle from Prince Edward Island, Canada's smallest province along the Atlantic coastline. 
Every message asks for the finder to send a response back to Hackett, and since 1996 he has received over 3,100 responses from all over the world.

Monday, September 26, 2011

How people reacted to overhearing a couple discussing the option of abortion

Wow, an amazing video that makes me proud to be a Texan! (Contrary to popular sterotypes, it's also interesting to note that the most pushy person was the pro-choice school nurse toward the end of the video.)

Sunday, September 25, 2011

5 Vintage Versions of Modern Social Media from Centuries Ago

Very interesting! An example:

Long before there was Facebook, there was the Republic of Letters — a vast and intricate network of intellectuals, linking the finest "philosophes" of the Enlightenment across national borders and language barriers. This self-defined community of writers, scholars, philosophers and other thinkers included greats like Voltaire, Leibniz, Rousseau, Linnaeus, Franklin, Newton, Diderot and many others we’ve come to see as linchpins of cultural history. Mapping the Republic of Letters is a fascinating project by a team of students and professors at Stanford, visualizing the famous intellectual correspondence of the Enlightenment, how they traveled, and how the network evolved over time.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The daredevils of Niagara Falls

Some fascinating stories of people who have gone over Niagara Falls in barrels. For example:
The infamous Bobby Leach plunged over the Falls in a steel barrel. Bobby broke both kneecaps and his jaw during his daring event. Years later while touring in New Zealand, Bobby slipped on an orange peel and died from complications due to gangrene!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Boatlift from Manhattan

Inspiring and touching:



From SmartPlanet: "In nine hours, boats streaming in from all over the Northeast evacuated 500,000 people trapped on Manhattan Island by the complete shutdown of all trains and bridges in the wake of the fall of the twin towers. (Compare that with history’s second-biggest evacuation, of 339,000 soldiers and civilians from Dunkirk, in WWII, which took nine days.)"

Monday, September 12, 2011

Blessings in the midst of suffering

A moving, inspiring post written by a mother whose young son has a serious seizure disorder.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

"What Being a Cradle Catholic Means To Me"

A thoughtful piece about what it means to be a "cradle" Catholic. An excerpt:
I really wish that someone would pen the companion piece to Abby’ Johnson’s Unplanned. As much as I appreciate her book (and I do!) I would love to hear the other side of the coin: the perspective of those who prayed outside of her abortion clinic for years without fail, who witnessed thousands of women procuring abortions for every one child saved: that is the story I also need to read about. A 'cradle' Catholic needs to hear instances of perseverance, just as much as someone questioning or ‘on the fence’ about faith needs to read about someone's conversion. This is because ‘cradles’ also need help persevering in hope. A chronicle or snapshot of what persistent witness looks like is the kind of story that would really help me.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

"9 out of 10 of what we call new ideas are simply old mistakes"

Excellent points from JC Sanders. It begins:
I believe that every college freshman should, upon arriving at the orientation of his campus, hear the following sentence: “Nine out of ten of what we call new ideas are simply old mistakes.” Actually, it would not be a bad idea to post this short sentence over the door to every office in the philosophy department–to say nothing of theology or religious studies–as it would help to avoid much mischief.

A touching post by the friend of a 9/11 hero

A lovely tribute.