an interview ...

President of Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) comments on the Vatican inquiry and oversight experience:
http://globalsistersreport.org/blog/q/trends/lcwr-leader-end-vatican-mandate-result-growth-understanding-25531
I didn't read it. Despite not having done much of anything today, I am tired. My mind is tired. But I post the link here for those who may be interested.

Odd that I would stumble upon it because I haven't followed any Catholic news in the past several years; I don't even read the parish bulletin. It started with someone wondering aloud what is the Pope's stance on transgender. So I said I would check the internet to see what I could find. And in my wanderings, I came across the above article. So there you have it.

Catechism in e-book format

Catechism of the Catholic Church in e-book format:
http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catechism/catechism-of-the-catholic-church/epub/index.cfm

fun on the internet

draw your own stick man ... you'll be surprised
http://www.drawastickman.com/

via http://www.bookofjoe.com/

free desktop wallpapers

I am enjoying some very nice FREE desktop wallpapers from Vista Wallpapers. In particular, I like the Nicobu and the VladStudio collections.

best online Catechism of the Catholic Church

The best online Catechism of the Catholic Church is Hosted by Saint Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Mississippi. It is searchable, includes the index, and also has mobile device formats. May you enjoy!

gifting

Check out Monastery Greetings.  Per their website:

Monastery Greetings is the only catalog-based website that combines hundreds of religious and spiritual gifts from Abbeys, Convents, Monasteries, and Hermitages. Sales of their products directly support them.

Gifting for any day for any one, so even if they're not an option for Christmas, keep them in mind for any occasion.

Here are just a few others. This is not an endorsement. I have not tried any of these products and in fact, have not even browsed their websites.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters bakery and gift shop
Holy Spirit Monastery Gifts
Abbey Gift Shop
Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis gift shop (in New Orleans)
Nuns gift shop (Mother Angelica's order)
Mystic Monk Coffee
MonksBread.com
Poor Clares bread and soup (pick up at their place in Canton, OH)

website of the day

Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project and The Price of Stones and the story behind it in the book The Price of Stones: Building a School for My Village

"... Mirroring the work of Greg Mortenson (Three Cups of Tea, 2009), Kaguri gradually expands his goals, adding not only classrooms but also water and nutrition programs, community gardens, teachers’ workshops, and eventually a second school in a neighboring village. His story is an uplifting testament to the belief that one motivated individual can accomplish much, even when others have given up before even trying." --Deborah Donovan

I know we have our own share of problems here in the U.S.A., but at least teach our children about how other people have to struggle for basic necessities.  Tell them about children whose parents have died and now have no one to care for them, have no shelter, no food, no healthcare and no access to education.  It doesn't happen in just Africa, but in many parts of the world.  Here in the U.S.A., we have our own population of the homeless, but our homeless have a better chance of finding access to food, shelter (temporary) and education.

This book is a story of one person's actions to remedy the situation in his own "neck of the woods."

tired of ordering out?

Check out Mountain House products.  Good for campers and as emergency foods, they only require some water and heat (I think). There is a great variety of meals offered. Reviewer comments on some of them are mostly positive. Looks like a good product.

shoe trend

I'm not a jogger.  And for my fellow non-joggers, you might not be aware that there is a trend towards barefoot running and a corresponding product line of minimalist shoes.  It's not "new" ... it's been around for a few years.  Here is an example of such products: http://www.barefootfootwear.com/

photo: one of the Vibram FiveFingers models

another hurricane product for windows

The Hurricane Wedge
Easy installation. Approximately $15 per pair (i.e. per window).  No guarantees, no testing indicated.  Looks wimpy but looks like it could work.

need cushion?

Check out Supracor. Cushion support via a multitude of honeycomb-shaped cells. Seems fantastic. Definitely pricey.  Ideally for medical applications, such as for those who must spend large amounts of time sitting (i.e. wheelchair-bound).  Photo here is of a pillow from their "Lifestyles" collection, but they have a variety of seat cushions in their medical series. If you know someone who needs a really good cushion, Supracor might be worth a test drive.

perfect french fries

The story of how the recipe cam to be:
http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/05/the-burger-lab-how-to-make-perfect-mcdonalds-style-french-fries.html

The recipe itself.
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/05/perfect-french-fries-recipe.html

I came across this when trying to figure out what I can do with the french fries I do have.  I don't usually eat them, but apparently they rung me up for fries when I ordered my hamburger last night.  So now I'm trying to figure out how to make eating them more enjoyable, so that I don't just throw them away.

new vocations website

I'm a little behind the times on this one, but here it is:  the new vocations website launched by the USCCB
http://www.foryourvocation.org/

you can make your own rosary

Instructions here on how to make your own rosary out of #36 nylon twine.

Little Portion Hermitage

Last year, there was a fire at Little Portion Hermitage, the community founded by John Michael Talbot.  They are rebuilding.  If you are able, please help them by giving a donation.  Thanks.

great presentation

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday. It's an American thing. I've been out of town. We've just collected the critters from boarding today ... I'd estimate their boarding in total is about as much as our hotel cost.

Anyhow, here is something far more entertainining and far more educational than my thoughts. I'd say it's approved for all audiences, regardless of your background, age, or interests. Please check it out. Video is 76 minutes including introduction at the beginning and questions and answers at the the end; Brother Guy will keep your interest.

Astronomy, God, and the Search for Elegance (video) presented by Brother Guy Consolmagno, SJ at the Lunar and Planetary Institute. Brother Guy is a curator of meteorites at the Vatican Observatory.

digital camera review links

The following sites are not hard to find. They'll show up on a search for digital camera reviews. These are just the main ones I'd look up instead of wading through all the links that are available.

Jeff's picks at Digital Camera Resource Page My favorite page for doing a quick look. Nice large photos, picks are arranged by price and there is a brief commentary for each pick.
Dave's Picks at Imaging Resource Here the picks are arranged by function if you need it that way. If you scroll down, there are picks arranged by price. It's a longer list to browse and the pictures of the cameras are much smaller. If Jeff's picks were too few, maybe Dave's list will do the trick for you.
Ken Rockwell My favorite page if I don't need a lot of options. He gives a "This is the best camera, hands down" opinion. He does have some other picks but if you're tired of thinking about it, take the "one best camera" advice and run with it.

Steve's Digicams and Digital Photography Review (links below) have a list of favorites as well. If I see a camera show up as a favorite on all of these sites, then I figure it must be good. These lists are good place to start. I really don't want to read through the entire plethora of digital cameras on the market, so I start with these shorter lists. From there, I can check out in-depth reviews of whatever camera I want to zoom in on.

My favorite sites for an in-depth review:
Steve's Digicams This is my first love as far as camera review sites goes. The format has changed recently. I'll have to get used to it.
Digital Photography Review Steve can't review them all. So between Steve and this site, I should be able to find most any model.

Then if I want to see what the "general word on the street" is on a camera, I'd browse a larger set of websites. For example, I think the micro four-thirds format is promising. I would scan several articles on that instead of heading straight for the in-depth review.

Each of the above sites have other features as well. They're worth checking out. Have fun.

Sunday Mass broadcast

Broadcast of the Sunday Mass
Heart of the Nation

They seem to offer a free missal. I like giving the missal to "new" Catholics. The ones my parish used to use was seasonal so it wasn't very thick and is discarded after the particular "season." It'd be the discarded ones that I give out. It had the order of the mass, the prayers and responses. It has the gloria, the profession of faith (the creed), the different Eucharistic Prayers and the four different responses to "Let us proclaim the mystery of faith", and the responses to a Bishop's concluding blessing.

It even has the Lord's Prayer, otherwise known as the "Our Father..."

It's just a great resource for learning the prayers and responses of the Mass.

useful things

looks like useful things shown at BookofJoe
stickies for your clothes hangers
zipper pull replacement
caps for your potato chip bags and the like
portable humidifier
nose inserts to help reduce snoring

CatholicTV.com

CatholicTV.com: Catholic video on the internet. I haven't watched any so I can't tell you anything about it. Have fun.