The Delicate Balance

The Delicate Balance

Life makes an excellent case for both pessimism and optimism. There’s birth and death, success and failure. The stock market may be up, but joblessness is too high. The world is progressing; progress is leaving tradition behind. Someone is offered a new beginning just...
“Evolution vs. Genesis” and Other Fossils

“Evolution vs. Genesis” and Other Fossils

Evolution “versus” Genesis?  Faith “versus” reason?  Science “versus” religion? Go ahead and argue about it.  For us Catholics, it’s kind of like arguing about chocolate “versus” peanut butter.  Silly, right?  It would have Mr. Reese rolling over in his grave. ...
What Coaches Teach Us

What Coaches Teach Us

Back in my undergraduate days, when every other self-respecting college basketball fan in the country had already filled out a bracket in preparation for the first day of March Madness, a group of friends and I would just sit back and watch for a while.  One of us...
Holy Rivalries!

Holy Rivalries!

Maradona vs Pelé. Tango vs Samba. Iguazu vs Iguaçu. When it comes to rivalries, the greatest in the western hemisphere, if not the world, might very well be between Argentina and Brazil. So when it was announced that the new pope was an Argentine, organizers for this...
Bacon: A Lenten Lesson

Bacon: A Lenten Lesson

Don’t worry french fry fasters, alcohol abstainers, and chocolate curbers — Lent is almost over. But even at this stage in the game, I’m tempted to say: “Oh, the Hell with it. It’s only one more week. Just one sip. Just one candy bar. Isn’t a little splurge better...
#tbt — Thriller!

#tbt — Thriller!

You now have permission to have a dance party in your office, home, or classroom. On March 25, 1983, Michael Jackson unveiled ridiculously awesome dance moves in front of a packed Pasadena Civic Auditorium. From his pop and lock to the debut of the famous moonwalk,...
Martin on Martin: Reviewing an eRetreat

Martin on Martin: Reviewing an eRetreat

Jim Martin continues to successfully make Ignatian Spirituality and, in truth, all of Catholicism readily accessible to any and all who seek.  His latest installation in his remarkable “ministry through media”, is an e-book that’s also an e-retreat....
Supercomputing for the Greater Good

Supercomputing for the Greater Good

As a confessed nerd, I’ve often daydreamed of how unfathomably awesome it would be to own a supercomputer, though it’s admittedly unlikely on the salary associated with a vow of poverty. I’ve researched various possible scenarios in which supercomputing might further...