Another of the stars of the hit CBS comedy “Two and a Half Men” has imploded, metaphorically speaking, but this time I’m betting the damage to the actor’s career is beyond repair. Recall that in March 2011, Charlie Sheen’s erratic behavior on the set and off finally resulted in his being canned by the producers […]
A particular “hot-button” issue facing contemporary American culture concerns homosexuality and the Catholic Church. The general position of the Catholic Church on homosexuality is fairly well-known: homosexual acts are a sin and the inclination to these acts is intrinsically disordered. Despite the above formulation, many people do not understand why the Church has taken the […]
There are literally millions of blogs floating around in cyberspace, all competing for followers, likes, maybe even ad space. Why do we blog? Why do I blog? Why do we bother? I started blogging on New Year’s Eve, 2011, but not at 8kidsandabusiness. I set up a business website on the advice of my business […]
Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles, California has seen its share of memorable moments over its 51-year history, including 8 World Series, a Beatles concert and a Papal Mass. On November 18th, the ballpark at Chavez Ravine will add to that legacy, when it plays host to GotoBat4LIFE, an inter-faith, youth celebration aimed at “strengthening young […]
Every so often the Holy See will update its web site to reflect new documents or to make available old documents to the public. Sometimes, the updates are so subtle and not made to fanfare that the public can mistake an update as seemingly small and insignificant. Today is not one of those days. The […]
One of my favorite films in recent months was the wonderful movie October Baby. Today, I’m happy to share my recent interview with Theresa Preston in celebration of the release of October Baby: A Novel. Enjoy! Q: Theresa, thank you so much for your time. Would you kindly begin by introducing yourself and your family to […]
This week Joel Osteen’s message, “Trust God’s Timing,” was focused on the attitude that we display while we are waiting for God to answer a prayer. Joel used the examples of someone praying for healing, praying to find a spouse, praying for the return of a wayward child, or praying for promotion at work. Joel said […]
When we learned about a TV show this fall that offers an incredibly vicious portrayal of nuns and employees at a Catholic home for the criminally insane, I decided to write a full-page ad for placement in The Hollywood Reporter; the first episode is Oct. 17. The FX show, “American Horror Story: Asylum,” was the subject of my […]
I got the rare chance the other night to watch the Food Network show, Chopped. I have seen the show maybe two or three times. It’s an interesting premise. Professional chefs challenge each other to create something delectable and wildly authentic using the most ridiculous combination of ingredients, in a constrained, high pressure feat of culinary […]
Joel Osteen’s Sunday message this week, “It’s Only a Test”, was about how facing up to trials or “tests” can improve one’s character. He led off by quoting the first half of I Peter 4:12 : “Beloved, do not be amazed and bewildered by the fiery ordeal which is taking place to test your quality…” (Amplified Bible). The historical context of this exhortation by our first Pope was the […]
In Must Not See TV news, last night NBC debuted its latest attempt at humor: The New Normal, a 30 minute sitcom about a young, single mother who agrees to become a gay couple’s surrogate mother. In the trailer for The New Normal, there is a scene in which the gay couple is speaking to someone […]
John F. Kennedy’s 1960 campaign speech about his Catholicism made news again this year when former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said reading the speech made him want to “throw up.” Santorum took umbrage with Kennedy’s remarks because they, in his estimation, claimed a complete separation of personal faith from governance. While the “throw up” […]
The title of Joel Osteen’s broadcast message this week was “Deal With It!” Joel wanted his audience to understand that there were things in life that we were just going to have to deal with and that would entail suffering. I was very interested to see Joel mention suffering in his broadcast, because suffering is […]
For awhile my teens were fans of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? They loved the fact that the contestant was earning money for charity, the increasing difficulty of the questions, and the drama of the contest. But I didn’t like the questions which had little educational content. So aside from Jeopardy, which they find […]
A new study just out from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, shows that girls as young as six are being conditioned by secular media to view themselves as sex objects. Yes, you read that right sex objects. At a time when they should be learning to read and exploring their artistic creativity, they are instead taking […]
Today, Catholic radio operates in over 200 markets in the U.S. in addition to the Internet and Sirius Radio. But fifteen years ago, the Catholic airwaves were much quieter until a revolution of sorts began in Ann Arbor, MI. The city, home to the University of Michigan, is identified as a seedbed of learning. When […]
The Catholic Press Association’s June convention handed out lots of awards, but none was for covering the story of Catholic priests falsely accused. This is Part II of a post I wrote [on my blog] at this time last year entitled “The High Cost of Father Marcial Maciel and Why I Resent Paying It.” To […]
Gore Vidal has died. Almost unknown to young adults, years ago he was considered the clever old man of belles lettres — a shocking rake with a bracing wit. The wit, though, distilled through the decades, comes down to us more as vinegar than aged claret, more snark than savvy. Mores the pity. We’d love […]
“So basically you are a ‘vanity press,’” was the question posed to me that really sounded more like a statement of fact—and an unattractive one at that. “Well, we offer a variety of publishing services and some of those services are that authors do, indeed, pay to have their books published with us,” were the […]
Some studies show that, on average, men say about 6,000 words a day, and women close to 9,000 (it may come as no surprise to many of you that the tally is higher for us ladies). Too many? Too few? Just about right? Every spring (this year it was Sunday May 20th) we mark World […]
Clearly, what our nation needs is more “separation of church and state.” If those obnoxious, right-wing Bible thumpers would simply quit bellowing about the need for revival – a return to the deeply held Judeo-Christian principles embraced by our Founding Fathers – America would be a much better place. Secular-humanism – that’s the ticket! We […]
“Smart move.” That’s how many loyal Catholics reacted to the announcement that the Vatican had hired a veteran American newsman as a consultant to grapple with its communication problems. In many respects, the reaction was correct. As an experienced professional with Fox News and Time, and a serious Catholic, Greg Burke is an excellent choice […]
This week the Sundance Channel premiered Push Girls, a new reality series about four women in wheelchairs. All of them have spinal cord injuries at various levels. Like me, three of them were paralyzed from car accidents, one from a ruptured blood clot in her spinal cord. After watching the first episode, I can’t say […]
Those who are up-to-date on the television series MadMen have an interesting episode to chew on as they await the season finale, but in the limited discussions I’ve followed since it aired, I have yet to see any reference to what I found the most profound point: the reverence due to the human body. […]
