Tag, I’m It!

Michelle did the blog book meme a piece back, and now Revolution of Love has tagged me for the book meme that’s going around the blogosphere, so here goes:

1) Total number of books I own –

A quick estimate of that based on shelf counting, etc., puts the number at about 4,000.


2) The last book I bought –

According to "My Account" at Amazon.Com, that would be

INTO THE TWILIGHT, ENDLESSLY GROUSING by humorist Patrick McManus

3) The last book I read was –

Read all the way through? Well, I just finished (listening to) one today so I s’ppose that would be

THE MAKING OF MODERN ECONOMICS: THE LIVES AND IDEAS OF THE GREAT THINKERS by Mark Skousen

4) Five books that mean a lot to me –

The five books (or sets) that mean the most to me would be the Bible, the Catechism, the Summa Theologiae, the collected decrees of the ecumenical councils, and the collected encyclicals of the popes, but those wouldn’t be very interesting for me to use to answer this question since they are all standard works directly related to my profession.

Therefore, let me offer five that are special to me for other reasons. Each one of the following affected my life in an important way:

  1. THE NEW TESTAMENT DOCUMENTS: ARE THEY RELIABLE? by F. F. Bruce. I read this book when I was a new follower of Christ who had imbibed an awful lot of secularism in high school and college. This book, by an important New Testament scholar, helped me start taking the historical value of the Gospels and the other New Testament documents seriously.
  2. MIRACLES by C. S. Lewis. This one further helped me get over the secular worldview by offering a powerful exploration of the concept of miracles and how they can fit with natural law and science.
  3. SCALING THE SECULAR CITY by J. P. Moreland. This one was a morale boost to me as a developing apologist because it provided an exemplar of Christian apologetics done with the kind of rigorously-argued approach that I craved. As an analytic philosophy student, I thrived on rigorous argumentation, but so few works out there tried to bring this level of work to the defense of the faith. This one did. It’s a modern classic and represents a kind of apologeics that still does not exist in Catholic circles. (Though I don’t like all of Moreland’s treatment of the kalaam argument for creation.)
  4. EARLY CHRISTIAN DOCTRINES by J. N. D. Kelly. Though Kelly is not a Catholic, reading his survey of doctrine in the early Church helped show me just how Catholic the early Church Fathers were.
  5. DR. ATKINS NEW DIET REVOLUTION by Dr. Robert Akins. This is the book that saved me from getting diabetes. I was insulin resistant with rising blood sugar levels when my doctor recommended this book to me. After going on the this diet, I dropped a hundred pounds without hunger. Even before the weight came off, I felt better and had more energy than I had in years. This book opened my eyes to how completely BACKWARDS normal dieting advice is (and thus why all previous diets I had tried had failed so dismally).

5) I tag – (5 bloggers)

Okay, here is a design flaw in this meme. There is no way, given how far it’s spread, that I’m going to go to who knows how many other blogs and search through their archives to see if they’ve already done the meme. Neither am I going to fire off tags to other bloggers irrespective of whether they may have done this meme.

Therefore, I hereby tag all the bloggers reading this who haven’t already been infected by the meme.

Low-Carb Hash Browns!!!

Spaghettisquash1When I was a boy we raised a lot of our own vegetables, and squash was a regular part of our diet–when it was in season.

But not spaghetti squash (left).

I don’t know that I ever remember hearing of spaghetti squash before I joined the low-carb diet movement, lost a hundred pounds, and started hearing about the use of spaghetti squash as a substitute for . . . well, spaghetti.

I’d see it in the stores, but as a Helpless Bachelor, the thought of cooking anything that involves more than one step is intimidating to me. (Actually, I’m quite a good cook and used to work as a chef in a Chinese restaurant, but that’s cooking for others; cooking for myself is a different matter.)

In general, if I can’t microwave it or–at the most–boil it, I know that I won’t end up making it, so I don’t even bother buying it.

Judge of my delight when I was in the store Friday night and found spaghetti squash with a convenient how-to-microwave-spaghetti-squash label! I bought one and decided to make it my Adventuresome Food Project For The Weekend.

Spaghettisquash2I found the experience thoroughly delightful, though I did not find spaghetti squash a good substitute for spaghetti. It would work for that purpose in the absence of low-carb pasta, but there’s already plenty of low-carb pasta on the market that makes a better approximation of normal spaghetti.

What I found, though, was that spaghetti squash makes a wonderful low-carb substitute for something else that I’d been missing: hash-browns)!

I love hash browns (with ketchup and cheese and hot sauce–Mmmmmmmmm!) but, being made of potatoes, they are Strictly Verboten on my diet. No hash browns for me.

Until now.

The texture of spaghetti squash is remarkably like potato shreds (see up and right), and the taste and smell are as well. Topped with the pizza sauce I bought (I like pizza sauce on spaghetti better than spaghetti sauce), it really brought back memories of when I worked in a (non-Chinese) restaurant and would make those great beketchuped hash browns that I used to be able to eat. Good stuff!

I was so enthusiastic that I decided to do a blog entry on it, so here’s how y’all can make your own low-carb hash browns. It’s simple enough that even I, a Helpless Bachelor (when not cooking for others), can do it:

  1. Get a spaghetti squash.
  2. Stick it so that you pierce its outer rind (a Long Pointy Knife will do this job well, though I used a kitchen implement that looks like an Evil Tuning Fork that came with a long pointy knife set I bought a while back). This will let pressure escape from the squash so it doesn’t ‘splode when you nuke it.
  3. Nuke it. (On high. Five minutes per pound. Typically about 15 minutes.)
  4. Make sure that the outer rind has become soft. If not, nuke it some more.
  5. Let it cool down a bit so you don’t burn your fingers (this part is important!).
  6. Use a Long Pointy Knife to cut it in two (short or non-pointy knives are totally unsuited for this). The sticker on the spaghetti squash I got didn’t say which way to cut it, but I cut mine down its equator (not end-to-end), which turned out to be the right way to do it.
  7. In the middle is a hollow area that has orangey goop and seeds in it. Scoop that out and throw it away.
  8. Use a fork to scoop out the hash brown-like filaments that cling to the inside of the rind and put them on a plate (this is very easy to do since the filaments are practically falling out of there, at least after they’ve been softened up by nuking).
  9. Since they are already hot and soft and potatoey, top them with your favorite hash brown toppings, and you’re good to go. (Alternately, brown them in a pan so that they’re a little crisp, if that’s the way you like hash browns.)

Now that’s good eatin’!

About 5-6 grams of net carbs per cup. A three pound spaghetti squash probably has about six servings in it.

Now, I’m sure if you put olive oil or butter or garlic or similar spaghettifying things onto spaghetti squash it would make it taste more spaghetti-like, but there’s already good low-carb pasta and spaghetti-squash already tastes like a kind of potato, so it’s perfectly suited for hash browns.

Yee-Haw!

Pardon My Dutch?

I have no idea whatsoever how to cuss in Dutch, but apparently Dutch people do.

And it doesn’t sit well with some of them.

Yes, despite the extreme moral turpitude into which the Netherlands as a whole has descended, there are still folks over there who are swimming against the Eurotide.

Take, for example, the folks of the village Staphorst.

EXCERPTS:

The name of the Lord may no longer be taken in vain in the Dutch village of Staphorst.

Staphorst, in the so-called Dutch "bible belt" of eastern towns where religion holds sway, approved a ban on swearing by 13-4 council votes

Now, you may be wondering how such a village is even allowed to pass a law like that. Shouldn’t the central Dutch government–if not the central Eurogovernment–have made profaning the name of God a constitutional right?

Indeed it has, and so there are "enforcement issues" with the Staphorst law. Still, it’s nice to know that there are some over yonder who still rage against the dying of the light.

GET THE STORY.

Crime and NO Punishment

In stark contrast to Michelle’s recent post (regarding a guy who was sent up the river for 30+ years for the crime of nicking a television set) FOX News tells the story of a New Jersey guy who beat his girlfriend to death with a hammer and dumped her in the river, only to walk away a free man. He was tried for the murder, but it seems that nobody told the jury that a conviction on a lesser charge of manslaughter would result in no punishment at all, due to a screwed-up statute of limitations law. You would think that the judge or the prosecutor might have said something (!?).

Of course, this kind of thing can damage a person’s reputation. It could make it hard to get work, or find a wife. It could dog a person to his or her grave. Such a thing might even happen to the murderer in this case, Marc Ferarra. That’s MARC FERRARA. Are you listening, New Jersey? M-A-R-C  F-E-R-A-R-R-A. This is not a nice person. You might not want to, say, loan him a book. He is likely a spine-cracker.

GET THE STORY.

Nannies For Soggy Bottom, U.S.A.

No doubt the success of the television show Supernanny has inspired other nannies to tell tales about their employers’ foibles. Exhibit A: The director of a Maryland-based nanny agency that provides childcare to The Rich And Powerful in Washington, D.C.:

"In Barbara Kline’s new nonfiction book, White House Nannies, her account of finding nannies for Washington’s rich and pretentious, the parents are as deliciously horrible as you would want them to be. "They call her Bethesda agency and start off by describing how important and busy they are. ‘By the way, Barbara, I run an empire,’ says one. Or they have their chief of staff call: ‘I represent a very prominent family.’ Eventually, after listing all their titles and every advanced degree, they toss in a phrase or two describing their children: ‘eight-year-old brilliant twins, a four-year-old gymnast, and a brand-new baby girl who can already sing on key.’

[…]

"[I]f a dispute arises months after Kline has placed the nanny in the home, the clients are back on the phone demanding someone else: ‘You know, Barbara, if I’m not happy with a watch from Cartier, they take it back and give me a new one.’

"Yes, says Kline, who started White House Nannies 21 years ago, someone actually said this to her.

"She won’t say exactly who."

GET THE STORY.

Moral of the story: Even the temporally omnipotent must watch what they say to their servants. After all, the servants may one day decide to write a book.

(Nod to HMS Blog for the link.)

To Tell The Truth In Fiction

I’ve been reading romance novels for over twenty years now — yes, I started too young — and although I now read more contemporaries, my nostalgic favorites are the historicals I started with. So, the topic of historical accuracy in fiction is of deep interest to me:

"Historical authors Celeste Bradley and Nicole Byrd will be presenting their workshop ‘It’s my party and I’ll lie if I want to’ — a debate on the necessity (or not!) of historical accuracy in the romance novel. As one who watches from the sidelines, I won’t be presenting my opinion on the subject here. However, I am deeply interested in learning about your views on the matter.

"How do you feel about historical accuracy in the novels you read?"

GET THE STORY.

My rule of thumb is that if the reader can spot the error, the entire effect of the fictional "world" the author is trying to create evaporates. This can occur even when the error is minor, but is appalling when the error is so huge that it shows a lack of care by the author in performing requisite research. An example of both:

  • When I read Regency historicals — a hot "trend" in the romance novel world right now — I cringe every time a married lady has "Mrs." tacked on to her first name and married surname. The people of the British Regency era were sticklers for manners, indeed the fictional genre owes its start to Jane Austen’s comedies of manners set during the British Regency (ca. 1811-1820), and a woman of that time would never be called Mrs. Anne Smith. In historical usage, "Mrs." is attached to the husband’s full name — in other words, Mrs. Anne Smith should be titled Mrs. John Smith. This is a small error, but an annoying one for a reader who catches it.
  • The most appalling error I ever came across was in a medieval romance that abused the seal of the sacrament of confession not once, but twice in the same novel. Two separate plot points depended upon two different priests violating the sacramental seal. The first time I gritted my teeth and plowed on with the novel because the violation was part of the "back story" (information from before the book opens that must be mentioned for the overall development of a character but doesn’t necessarily affect the present action all that much); the second time, the plot resolution depended on another priest — a bishop, if I remember correctly — violating the sacramental seal. At that point, I was so outraged that the book metaphorically thudded against my wall. That it didn’t do so in actuality was solely because I like my walls more than I did the book.

Frankly, I think if an author is going to take the trouble to write a book, the story should be as historically accurate as her research can make it. If dramatic license must be taken, note should be made of the deliberate inaccuracies in an afterword. To include dramatic license, but to attempt to leave the reader ignorant of it — i.e., "It’s my party and I’ll lie if I want to" — only makes the author look ignorant, at best, or careless, at worst, to a knowledgeable reader.

Crime And Punishment

Don’t tell Junior Allen of Georgia that the American courts are soft on criminals. He was recently released from prison after serving nearly three decades. The crime he atoned for? Stealing a $140 television.

"In 1970, Junior Allen went to prison for stealing a $140 TV set from 87-year-old Lessie Johnson in Johnston County [North Carolina].

"Johnson’s family said he roughed her up on his way out. However, nothing about an assault came up at trial nor was Allen ever charged with one.

"Allen is on his way to his home state of Georgia, where he plans to work for his sister. Authorities in that state will monitor his parole."

GET THE STORY.

Riddle me this: What has this man been doing in prison all these years when his cell could have been occupied by some of the dangerous convicts we are told walk free every year because there is not enough prison space to house them?

The Morals Of Viagra

A reader writes:

Has the Church given a moral teaching on Viagra and other similar drugs? It seems to raise sex beyond it’s sacredness.

The Magisterium has not said anything specific about viagra or similar drugs to my knowledge, but its attitude toward such drugs would be positive provided certain conditions are met.

Overcoming physical evils is the purpose of all medicines, and the Church regards this as praiseworthy provided moral goods or comparable physical goods are not thwarted.

Viagra and similar drugs are meant to overcome the physical evil of impotence, and so the Church’s general regard for medicines–and its general cautions about them–will apply.

If the drugs perform their intended function of helping to alleviate male impotence (a humiliating reality that I’m given to understand the great majority of men suffer at one time or another), then all things being equal they would be praiseworthy.

They would not be praiseworthy if all things are not equal. F’rinstance:

  • If the drug causes the guy’s blood pressure to skyrocket, putting him at risk of a stroke.
  • If it causes his heart to beat wildly, putting him at risk of cardiac arrest or other heart-related ailment.
  • If it causes other alarming and/or embarrassing side effects that aren’t compensated for by what it does for his conjugal life (e.g., the rare, uncontrollable four-hour period of tumescence that you hear about in commercials for some drugs–though not Viagra specifically).
  • If it causes the guy to be so inflamed with passion that he can’t keep his mind on his wife and he is driven crazy by every woman he sees.
  • If it is used not to correct for impotence but for purposes of leading a wanton and irresponsible sex life (possibly extra-marital, possibly contraceptive).

(NOTE: This list is not exhaustive but illustrative.)

If the latter kinds of conditions apply then use of such drugs would not be praiseworthy, but then if any drug had comparable side effects its use would not be praiseworthy.

If such drugs are used, however, to correct for impotence and side-effects of the above-mentioned kind are not present for a particular individual then its use is morally non-problematic and the drug may play a useful role in building the union of the two spouses.

Now, just for the sake of completeness (and heading off questions folks might want to ask as follow-ups), let’s kick it down a notch.

What if we aren’t talking about pharmaceuticals but something weaker. What if we’re only talking about what in human society have commonly passed as aphrodisiacs?

I don’t know if there are any genuinely effective aphrodisiacs. My suspicion is that most of them that have been suggested in human history have simply be snake oil and have no effect beyond that of a placebo (not that the placebo effect is entirely to be discounted). I know that there are some nutritional supplements for which claims are made in this regard, though I don’t know if any are actually effective.

But suppose some are?

Again, it seems to me that the moral status of using such substances will depend on the way in which they are used:

  • If they are used to overcome impotence or frigidity then their moral status will be evaluated in the same way as the drugs dealt with above.
  • If they are used to enhance the experience of conjugal union then they would seem not in principle different than other things that enhance the experience (perfume, etc., etc.).
  • If they are used, though, so as to engage in marital (or non-marital!) relations more wantonly and irresponsibly then their use will be sinful.

So it seems to me that all of these things–from Viagra-like drugs to more traditional aphrodisiacs–may potentially play a role in reinforcing and assisting the conjugal relationship that exists between husband and wife, but they may also be abused and used in imprudent and even sinful ways.

This Week's Show (June 2, 2005)

LISTEN TO THE SHOW.

DOWNLOAD THE SHOW.

HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Why isn’t Eastern Orthodoxy termed a heresy since they reject a truth of the faith (i.e., the authority of the pope)?
  • Caller heard that the Eucharist is valid but illicit if celebrated with leavened bread. What does this mean?
  • Young caller is interested in becoming Catholic. What should she do?
  • Why does 2 Peter 2:4 say that angels were changed in "Tarsus"? What is "Tarsus"?
  • What does Jeremiah 17:1 mean?
  • Why were Jewish people forbidden to eat pork? Do Jews still refrain from pork?
  • What is the Church’s position on yoga and tai chi?
  • Why are Protestant and Catholic versions of the Lord’s Prayer different?
  • Should we be standing or kneeling during the Lord’s Prayer?
  • In Revelation 6:9 it refers to martyrs under the altar in heaven asking when their blood will be avenged? If they’re in heaven, why are they acting in this unmerciful manner? Won’t they have their love perfected?
  • Where in the Bible do we find the story of Lucifer and the fallen angels? Where does our common understanding of this story come from?
  • How to argue against polytheism for a Buddhist?
  • What is the Church’s position on angels in terms of reverence and adoration?
  • What was baptism for the dead?