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Travel Log: Keeping it weird in Portland

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Today I’m in Oregon for Oktoberfest and it reminded me that I never wrote about my trip here last month. After a week on retreat at Mount Angel, I spent the weekend in Portland:

Portland

I got to visit the famous Powells, a three-story bookstore covering an entire city block. I was so proud of myself, I managed to leave without buying anything – quite an achievement!

Powells

I spent most of Saturday morning visiting the extensive Saturday market down by the waterfront.

I also took an “Underground” walking tour of the city where I heard about some of the rather quirky history of Oregon’s most well-known city.

During our tour we went past one Portland’s iconic locations, Voodoo Donuts. The lines outside were crazy, with people waiting over an hour just to get a donut! During the tour we heard the story of how the business began. It turns out that a club owner created donuts which he said were hang-over cures. He could say this because the sugar frosting was replaced with crushed-up aspirins and the jam filling with pepto-bismol! The government discovered what he was doing and freaked out because he was putting drugs in the food he was selling. Rather than letting it sink his business, he then used the media storm as free advertising. He switched to making the kind of delicious sugar-filled treats they sell today and people flocked to buy them!

Walking

Finally, while in Portland I went to Mass at the Grotto on the outskirts to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption. I returned the following day to spend some quiet time in the grotto grounds:

Grotto

Thumbnails in Facebook

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As you know, I write my blog entries a while before they actually get posted. Since writing this entry I have found better ways of achieving the desired effect using WordPress Plug-ins. However, I decided to post it anyway since I think it’s still quite a neat exercise in tricking computers to do what you want… 🙂

Today is purely a technical blog for my fellow bloggers.

I’ve had a problem that has been bugging me for some time.  If I post a link to a blog entry on Facebook which contains no images, then no thumbnail image is displayed:

I’ve noticed that when I don’t have a thumbnail image, the web traffic generated by people visiting my blog from Facebook seriously declines.

This is particularly problematic for my “Friday Frivolity” posts. Since these entries are usually just a few lines of text and a YouTube video, they have no thumbnails when shared on Facebook.

Tonight, I found a fairly simple solution to this problem…

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A Sunnydale Funeral

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Back in 2017 I was an avid listener to Buffering the Vampire Slayer, a podcast where the hosts would discuss each episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in turn. As a teenager I had rather enjoyed the campy movie starring Kirsty Swanson and, although I was suspicious at first, I soon came to really enjoy the TV series starring Sarah Michelle Gueller.

Buffering Mail…

I listened to the first few episodes of the Buffering the Vampire Slayer while I was walking the Camino, and I even sent them an email which they read out on the show. I eventually wrote to them again, this time after listening to Episode 3.08…

In that episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, there is a funeral. In their commentary episode, the podcast hosts where shocked to hear the word “Hades” mentioned in the reading at the graveside. They were shocked because the context was clearly Christian, yet the hosts associated the word with the occult. They wondered out loud what Christian denomination this might be.

To the library!

I sent them an email pointing out that the text comes from the first chapter of the Book of Wisdom, also known as The Wisdom of Solomon:  

“…because God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living.
For he created all things that they might exist,
and the generative forces of the world are wholesome,
and there is no destructive poison in them;
and the dominion of Hades is not on earth.
For righteousness is immortal”  

Wisdom of Solomon 1:13–15

I went on and explained that the word “Hades” was simply the Greek name used to describe the realm of the dead. In Hebrew, the word is “Sheol” which is translated in English as either “the grave” or “the dead”.

The fact that this reading comes from the Book of Wisdom gives us a big clue as to the Christian denomination of the person conducting the burial. The Wisdom of Solomon belongs to a collection of books known as the Deuterocanon which was removed from the Bible at the Reformation in the 16th Century. It therefore most likely isn’t a Protestant funeral (Lutheran, Baptist etc.). That pretty much leaves either Catholic or Eastern Orthodox and, given the appearance of the priest, I’d say he it’s a pretty safe bet to assume he was Catholic.

Here’s the clip of the hosts reading out my email on their mailbag episode:

I’m baaaaaaack…

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So it’s 2015, which means my sabbatical is over and I’m back blogging! The posts over the next few days are going to be pretty light as I’m working on a few special blogging projects:

1. I am completing a series of posts concerning abortion, which I’m posting to coincide with the March For Life later this month.

2. Next, I have a series of guest posts on the subject of sex for the Goretti Group that I’m just finishing off which will be published in a few weeks.

3. Finally, I’m recording a video series on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians. You’ll be hearing more about all these projects over the next couple of weeks…

The break was good, but it’s good to be back. Happy New Year everyone 🙂

2015

What Planned Parenthood does and does not do

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A few days ago I posted a link on my Facebook wall to one of the videos concerning the recent Planned Parenthood scandal. In a response, one of my friends wrote “…in low income and rural areas planned parenthood is the only clinic available to women for women’s health”. My friend Rachel asked what kind of services they provide, but never received a reply.

Well, undeterred, Rachel did some digging and yesterday she posted a link on my wall to something posted by Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood employee. I wanted to reproduce it here in its entirety:

AbbyJohnson

This is for people who say Planned Parenthood provides so many services for women. Here are the facts. Planned Parenthood should NEVER be your “go to” for healthcare.

Planned Parenthood does NOT provide:

-Mammograms
-Prenatal Care
-Breast Biopsies
-Breast Cancer Diagnostic Care
-Primary Health Care
-Diabetes Treatment
-Treatment for Elevated Cholesterol
-Treatment for Elevated Blood Pressure
-Holistic Medicine
-Obstetrical Care
-Pediatric Care
-Care for HIV Positive Individuals
-Infertility Treatments
-Natural Family Planning Instruction
-Care for Uterine Fibroids
-Treatment for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
-Adoption Placement
-Prostate Exams
-Uterine Laser Ablation
-Cervical Laser Ablation
-Miscarriage Management
-Bladder Disorders and Urinary Problems
-Prolapsed Pelvic Floor Concerns
-Laparoscopic Procedures
-Hysterectomy
-Treatment of Endometriosis
-Polyp Removal
-Endometrial Ablation
-BRCA Testing
-Bone Density Testing
-Treatment of Pelvic Pain
-Treatment of Vulvar Pain
-Molar Pregnancy Follow Up

Planned Parenthood DOES provide:

-First and Second Trimester Abortions
-Limited STD testing and treatment
-Pap Smears for Women in Child Bearing Years
-Limited Contraceptive Methods

Just wanted to put some of the myths to rest.

What should I say?

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The other day a friend of mine sent me a text message saying her coworker was mourning. It was the anniversary of her husband’s death in Afghanistan. Her coworker was asking the question: “Why would God let this happen?”. My friend asked “What should I say?”. Here’s the text message I wrote in reply:

I would say something like “I could talk about some of the different reasons why bad things happen to good people (fallen world, free will, sinful man, God’s plan etc.), but the truth is I don’t know… None of us fully comprehends why terrible things like this happen.

What I do know is that God is the expert at drawing good out of bad, bringing healing out of pain. When Jesus hung on the cross it looked to the world like defeat, but out of the cross came victory over death so Jesus endured it for love of the world.

Your husband, no doubt,  joined the military because he thought that it was the right thing to do, to protect the country and people he loved. Jesus did the same.

I can’t explain specifically WHY your husband died, but I CAN say that, if Jesus’ death shows us anything, it’s that suffering is not meaningless and that great acts of love and sacrifice can change the world”

When we encounter someone who is suffering, there is always the temptation to talk about big theological concepts of God’s will, His sovereignty and the fallen nature of humanity. However, in my experience, when people are suffering, this kind of talk is neither helpful nor comforting. We can only point them to the Cross. Apart from the Cross, suffering has no meaning or purpose.

Even then, words are often ineffective. Actions speak much louder. When someone is suffering and I don’t know what to say, there’s a temptation to just avoid that person since I can’t “do” anything. We must fight that temptation! Sometimes all I really need to do is just show up. Be there for my friend. Listen to her. Cry with her. Pray with her. If that person is English, make a cup of tea 🙂

The presence of a friend during a time of suffering speaks much more loudly of the love of God than any words ever could. Love them like Jesus.


Mark Hall, Casting Crowns

Saints or Suckers?

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When I was at University, I read a book by Jean Vanier in which he said that whenever a homeless person asked him for money, he would reach into his pocket and hand over the first coin he found, whether big or small.

Likewise, in an interview with Fulton Sheen’s niece, she said that her uncle would give money to the poor whenever it was asked of him. When she asked him if he might be being lied to by those asking for help, he simply responded “I can’t take the chance”.

Beggar

A little while ago I did a post about tithing where I spoke about the general responsibility Christians have towards the poor. However, this begs the question: what is the best way in which to help the poor?

For example, most social workers I’ve known have always said that you should never give money to beggars. Following this advice, some of my friends no longer hand over cash, but instead make sure that their car, purse or bag is always stocked with snacks, so that they have something to give when asked for help.

I recently read an article in Crisis Magazine which looks at this issue. I’d be interested to see what you think about it. What you think is the best way to help the poor?

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