Ziggy Stardust + SRV = An Awesome Near Miss (Music for Mondays)

I've always liked David Bowie, even when I couldn't stand to look at him at times. The Ziggy Stardust look was interesting, no? But man, Space Oddity is great, and so is Suffragette City, We Could Be Heroes, Jean Genie and lots, lots more. Bowie was looking for a new sound in the early 1980's and he stumbled upon a blues guitarist who caught his ear at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1982. Stevie, needing to eat, signed on with Bowie and cut the album, though later he opted out of touring to promote it.

I Hate It When This Happens! (Friday Funnies)

Cut it OUT! Sheeeeeeeeeeesh! Now I have to install a cloaking device. Do you have any idea how much that will cost?! I'm going to take that out of your allowance Boy Wonder.

Pray For Anu Garg? You Betcha!

Remember me and my pal Anu Garg? We went around the block a few times. Well unlike all the other times I've posted about him and his A.Word.A.Day website, this time my hat is off to him. Maybe caught wind of today's readings.

Hey Gen-X: Be Rebels...Slow Down...Have Kids...Stick it to the Man

It's the Catholic thing to do. Or you can keep doing what you've been doing, as the survey below reports, and continue on the treadmill to oblivion.

Study Finds Gen-X Overlooked in the Workplace

Catholic Blogger Goes Missing In Action...

And there are several reasons why:

Reason #10. It's September 24th, which means it's only 5 weeks until Halloween! Time for my youngest to get outfitted for the event. Let me present Jango Fett, the father of Boba Fett. Bounty hunting: it's the growth family business of the future. Henchmen lackies of the world...UNITE!

For Thoughts On Fame by Hilaire Belloc

On Fame, from This And That and the Other

Fame is that repute among men which gives us pleasure. It needs much repetition, but also that repetition honorable. Of all things desired Fame least fulfills the desire for it; for if Fame is to be very great a man must be dead before it is more than a shoot; he therefore has not the enjoyment of it (as it would seem).

To Help Make A Movie, Part Deux!

Ian Higgins writes,

Hi Frank,

I just wanted to personally thank you and all your readers who have so kindly donated and shown their support for our movie “All That Remains”. It has been overwhelming to witness such support in such a short space of time.

To Forgive, But Never Forget

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain, and when he was set down, his disciples came unto him. And opening his mouth, he taught them, saying:

Labor Day 2011 (Music for Mondays)

In the United States, the first Monday of September is a federal holiday celebrating the contributions and dignity of workers. Nothing gets done without them! But on this day we stretch the weekend out a little longer, wrap up our summers, and have one last barbecue. And here, since its a Monday, I get to throw together some songs celebrating us working stiffs too!

Grosse Point Blank Sound Track (Music For Mondays)

John Cusack is Martin Blank 

My wife has a theory: the sound track makes the movie. I'm not saying I agree with her 100% on this, but her point is well taken. Some folks know how to adapt music to films, but most don't. This is the first in a series of posts where I can firmly say, "They got the music right on this one!"

I Hear Guitars...And Lot's of Reverence.

The English version of the World Youth Day theme song...sing along!

For Letters to Sons Like These by St. Stephen, King of Hungary

"My boy, at present you have the fun and I do the work; but your labors are on the way."

Now, that sounds like something I would say. Today is the Feast of St. Stephen of Hungary, who wrote the words you see above. What follows are a few excerpts from letters he wrote to his son Emeric (who also was canonized on the same day in 1083). St. Stephen is known as the first Christian king of Hungary, and his life is celebrated there with due pomp and pageantry yearly on August 20th.

Songs I've Never Heard (Music for Mondays)

Happy Monday! How much music have I never heard? A number that is very large, and pretty close to being represented by this symbol:  ∞ . So I'm probably in the same boat as you are, right? So I did a little exploring, looking for songs that I haven't heard but that I just might like. That is a number considerably smaller than infinity.

Because God Became Human To Save Us All

The title of this post says it all. Why bother becoming a Christian unless you believe this? "God became human to save us all." And if you do believe it, why not practice the ancient faith of the earliest Christians? The one that, despite criticisms attempting to prove the opposite, has developed since Christ ascended to heaven, and yet has not done so at the expense of Biblical truth.

Food for Thought (Music for Mondays)

In the wee early hours today, a post built around thoughts of a "ghetto Church" was launched. Those thoughts of Karl Rahner, SJ, prompted me to build this little selection of tracks. I call it "food for thought." Your mileage may vary.

Check Out This Balloon Ride (Because Catholics Can Dig Science)

My wife knows my interests. She sent me this little clip this morning and I just had to share it with you. Suppose you were given the opportunity to help test the atmosphere for radiation drifting our way from the melted down nuclear reactor in Fukushima, Japan. Suppose you mounted some cameras on that balloon. What would you see?

Because The Earth and It's Fullness Includes...

Heavy Metal?! That's right. And it all belongs to the LORD. For you see, a very talented reader writes,

A Gifted Guitarist You Might Have Missed (Music for Mondays)

Goes by the name of Prince. Oh you've heard of him, you just forgot how good a guitarist he is. This guy is a genius. Don't believe me? That's ok. Do you think he is still a pretender prancing around in frilly outfits? Let me tell you, and this is just my humble opinion, Michael Jackson is the pretender next to this guy. Have a look at these four selections for the proof.

The 27 Club (Music for Mondays)

Photo credit: Syzmanski 

This past weekend, the news out of the UK was that singer, songwriter Amy Winehouse died. I'm not sure what the autopsy will show, but the press says her death was possibly from a drug overdose.

Spring and Fall: To a young child (A Few Words for Wednesday)

A poem by Gerard Manly Hopkins, SJ on understanding death and loss, as explained to a child in a wood.