The View Up Here

Ah, the month has already started to get away from me! God has sent amazing opportunities and experiences in these last two weeks: 1. Seeing Old Blind Dogs in concert . A long-standing Scottish traditional (with a twist) band that comes to Rochester as part of their N. American tours, this band was last here in 2019. When they're in town, they come to Lovin' Cup at RIT (my alma mater). The show was intense and engaging; absolutely spellbinding. So much talent, passion and always with humor. I went with a group of old friends of mine, and together we were a rowdy crowd. Good vibes. You can stream OBD's latest album here . 2. Having a 30 minute lesson with my fiddle hero Jonny Hardie of OBD . After the concert, I asked him a couple of questions, including whether he ever does workshops. To my great surprise and amazement, he offered to give me a lesson before the next night's concert. I drove home that night in the clouds, but the next day at school my stomach was all bu...

Hopefully not the last, but pretty darn close, I'd imagine. This last weekend of summer has been very summery. Yesterday after T'ai Chi class (I got to teach, again!), I decided to go kayaking. But I wanted to take out a hard shell kayak rather than my inflatable because I figured water levels would be lower this time of year, and I didn't want to run afoul of my skeg (fin on the underside of the boat to help it track straight). I rented a big ole orange kayak from Bay Creek Paddling Center and headed first down Irondequoit Creek. The water was very calm, and yes, it was low, as the lady warned me when I registered my rental. I got to see schools of little fish, a turtle diving, and several common song birds. I did have to do some maneuvering to escape the people who chatter and talk while kayaking (as in, kay- YAK- ing); otherwise, a very peaceful little turn around the creek. I then headed out to the southern end of Irondequoit Bay that empties into the creek. It was her...

Readers, I am so thrilled to share this! Last weekend I was honored to work as a script supervisor for a truly remarkable short film called "Babbo," shot on location in the Southern Tier of NY.   Written and directed by veteran actor Jeff Austin , the story takes places in the 1970s and involves an old Italian "babbo" ("dad") who was once a champion bowler but who now needs a cane to get around. He bowls at the local alley, but he can't hit them like he used to. His loving son tries to cheer him up with some bowling alley shenanigans, but it only makes things worse. He grumps at his wife (in Italian) and buys a sports car to feel better about himself, but the real medicine comes when he thwarts the theft of his son's TV using...wait for it...his bowling ball. Resolution, reconciliation, and restoration follow. This was Jeff's passion project, seven years in the making, and was produced by his long-time friend Linda Miller . A sweet script, funn...

Finally, I have selected a name for my kayak (if anyone is following this tremendously hot topic): Jayu . This is the Korean (Hangul) word for FREEDOM.  It is pronounced "CHA-yu" and written in Hangul as   자유.  When I am able to write this on my little boat, I'll post a pic!

Earlier this week I posted about why I preferred the Traditional Latin Mass to the Novus Ordo Mass . I shared that post with a friend who observed that I never said anything about the use of Latin! Duh! But before I get into that, I do want to clarify one thing. The Novus Ordo (NO) Mass as it was initially conceived and communicated, was NOT, by and large, what many of us endured or became accustomed to in the 70s and 80s. One could say in modern parlance that the "roll out" of the new mass was not accomplished in a clear and orderly fashion, and there were undoubtedly those who took advantage of the vagueness and lack of clarity in the process. As a result, incredible abuses entered into the new mass that actually had nothing to do with its design or the intention of the Church. This is why, when I attend a properly reverent NO Mass, I am more at peace than the typical version of the Mass that is prevalent today. I still prefer the older rite for all the reasons listed in my...

(Longer read here, folks.) Recently a friend of mine suggested that I write something about why I prefer the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM - or as another friend quipped, "the Totally Latin Mass") over the Novus Ordo (NO) Mass, since the reasons I'd presented made sense to her and were not grounded in problematic ideological stances (see how I danced around that one?). At first I thought it would be a useless thing to do, as there has been so much already written. However, after a couple of days, I was led to reconsider.  So here I present the whys and wherefores of my liturgical preferences to anyone who cares. The main reason I prefer the TLM over the NO is easily summed up in four words:  I can pray better.  Please let me explain: 1. Silence.      I am not forced to speak out loud or sing banal intonations at various points, or to twist around waving at people to show them that I do not hate them before going to Communion. In all seriousness, when I'm forc...

I'm trying determine the name of my little boat . What ends up happening is that anything that is uttered by anyone becomes a candidate for a name. My friends have gotten in on this, and while it is great fun, it hasn't been terribly productive.  Thus far the rejected suggestions and ideas (in no particular order): Pain Killer Englebert (as in...Humperdink) Rebel Scum Rubber Ducky Spirit of '22 Bob's Your Uncle  Maid of the Moist Persnickety Anger Management Huo Yuanjia (Chinese folk hero and freedom fighter) Freedom Fighter (But why would you want to fight freedom? This is analogous to...) Near Miss (If it's a near miss, that means you hit it.) Can you see how this is getting me nowhere? I mean, it's amusing, but I still need to name my boat. And no, I won't call it "Boaty McBoatface."  If you have a suggestion (serious or otherwise), please leave it in the comments. God bless.