2 websites sure to make you laugh

With all of the heavy dealings of the modern age, here are two websites guaranteed to make you laugh, or cry, or both.

www.peopleofwalmart.com

www.thisiswhyyourefat.com

Cheers?

beers by HTLN: part 4

I realized that I failed to post the beer list from our wedding. Since we were using the caterer I worked for throughout college, they allowed us to bring in our own beers, wines, and Ale 8... Witness the greatest beer selection in wedding history.

Stag – Milwaukee, WI – “Golden Quality since 1851” – Popular favorite of hunters and four wheelers alike.

Pabst Blue Ribbon – Milwaukee, WI – Claims to be the nation’s largest American owned brewer (after AB’s sale to the Belgian InBev…) Classic yellowy flavor.

Robert the Bruce Scottish Style Ale – Three Floyds Brewery in Munster, Indiana - 6.5% ABV, 35 IBUs – Marked by well rounded malt flavor and caramel undertones – a typical Scottish Ale.

Bigfoot Barley wine Ale – Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico, California - 9.6% ABV, 90 IBUs – Taste might be best described as complex, with a robust malt flavor complimented by an intense earthy hop flavor.

Maximus IPA – Lagunitas Brewery in Petaluma, California – 7.5% ABV, 75 IBUs. – A fine India Pale Ale marked by heavy hop taste. Maximus is golden in color with strong citrus undertones, mainly grapefruit and orange peel. The perfect example of an IPA.

Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale – Alltech Brewing Company in Lexington, Kentucky – 7.9% ABV, low to moderate IBUs – This fine ale is aged for up to 6 weeks in used bourbon barrels from some of Kentucky’s finest distilleries. Other than the strong bourbon flavor, it also has subtle notes of vanilla and oak.

American Amber Ale – Rogue Brewery in Newport, Oregon – 5.6% ABV, 53 IBUs – Generous hops with bold malty accents, the American Ale has a subtle coffee aroma and a full bodied, well balanced taste.

Anchor Porter – Anchor Brewery in San Francisco, California – 5.6% ABV, 40 IBU – Dark roasted malts yield a black Porter, not quite as heavy as a stout but with more complex flavors like chocolate. This is our favorite Porter.

The future of HTNL

Lately I've been pondering the future of this blog.

Initially, I started writing as a volunteer blog with CAP, then as a winemaker/vagabond blog. Throughout the entirety of this experiment I've tried to defend and show the glorious beauty of a devout Catholic life.

I'm wondering if I should continue writing it as I have many other things pulling me away. I'm wondering if this project is relevant or beneficial for anyone. I will take your comments into consideration.

Holler back.

Cheers.

Put it on the Board... yes.

“The State which would provide everything, absorbing everything into itself, would ultimately become a mere bureaucracy incapable of guaranteeing the very thing which the suffering person — every person — needs: namely, loving personal concern. We do not need a State which regulates and controls everything, but a State which, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, generously acknowledges and supports initiatives arising from the different social forces and combines spontaneity with closeness to those in need . . . . In the end, the claim that just social structures would make works of charity superfluous masks a materialist conception of man: the mistaken notion that man can live ‘by bread alone’ (Mt 4:4; cf. Dt 8:3) — a conviction that demeans man and ultimately disregards all that is specifically human”

Pope Benedict XVI, “Deus Caritas Est,” No. 28

An observation from this morning's Mass

This morning, the kids in Mass seemed particularly unruly. Maybe it's a full moon, who knows. I try to think of this as an exercise in focus and concentration. There is a passage from C.S. Lewis' "Screwtape Letters" that speaks to this point, how the devil can achieve a victory by distracting you during Mass, especially during the most important parts of Mass; the Consecration and reverent reception of the Eucharist.

Well, one particular youngster was literally bouncing around two pews in front of us and his mother seemed to be ... a bit lax in keeping him from crawling under the pew, making noise, etc. But, whatever, it wasn't a big deal and as adults we should be able to ignore this. Actually, if you have to concentrate more, it should in theory draw you deeper into the Mass.

Anyway, the one point during the Mass when the mother really snapped the kid into shape and 'made' him concentrate was during the Our Father. She forced him to stand up straight and hold hands (incorrectly extending the hands they weren't holding to mimic the priest). Now every part of the Mass is significant and important. But there are far more important moments than the Our Father to snap one's children into line and really listen and be attentive ... such as the Consecration for example. And then, to emphasize a liturgically distracting practice such as holding hands and raising your hands like you're participating in a sappy, fluffy praise and worship "song"? Seems odd to me.

But, we always make a point to pray for parents in Mass and to make sure that we really do not care if their children cry from time to time or if they have to reel their kids in who are acting up. It's certainly nothing to be embarrassed about. And it's more important that they are actually there. I'm just pointing out that its a bit odd to emphasize the importance of an incorrect Liturgical practice, that is, if you were to pick one point during Mass to emphasize.

Any stories of hand holding or hand waving we can laugh at?

My name is Juan Pablo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die

In the wild world of NASCAR, the "chase" has begun. This means, over the course of the next 10 races, 12 drivers will compete for the coveted Sprint cup. It is the most exciting time in motor sports. This year is a bit different because Juan Pablo Montoya is trying to become the first foreign born driver to win the Sprint cup.

But hey, I figure that if we have a foreign born president, why not a foreign born NASCAR champion?

Life and Death in America

I've noticed, as of late, that when someone dies in our country, the standard method of procedure is to immediately beatify them in a secular way. The best examples I can think of are Michael Jackson and Ted Kennedy. Far from desecrating the memory of the dead, our culture seems to be systematically highlighting the supposed wonderful and influential lives these people lived. Only the thing is, in many ways, they led deplorable lives. The secular media makes them seem like saints but they are not, seemingly far from it. I mean Kennedy was responsible for the death of a woman for gosh sakes and Jackson's exploits were equally as despicable.

I wonder why our culture insists of making saints out of the dead, simply because of the fact that they are deceased? My guess is that this is largely due to the fact that our culture, as a whole, has no idea how to deal with death. The media fears death because they are incapable of making a decision on the matter. If there is no heaven and no hell, as John Lennon tells us, then what does it matter what kind of life the person lived? In reality though, this theory is so far fetched that no one can really believe it, especially not when the chips are down. So they frantically try to make a secular saint out of Ted Kennedy, trying to convince themselves that, "hey, he was a pretty good guy." Which is incredibly false. Because, just maybe, there really is something after death and maybe, if we say it enough or convincingly enough, this guy could be a really good guy. I suppose that in a morally relativistic society, where the predominant culture preaches that there is no right and wrong, every one is a "pretty good guy."

In reality Christ makes saints out of sinners. But, in a culture proud of rejecting Christianity, the secular media seems to have taken the task of sanctification upon itself.

Your thoughts?