Tuesday, December 31, 2024

Writing Goals for 2025



I entered 2024 with some writing goals:

I plan to complete Santa's Diary - adding entries to fill the entire year. That's the major project.

I plan to submit The Grumpy Shepherd to another publisher, and if rejected to search for another one. I will be sending a query letter to Our Sunday Visitor to start.

I will continue to write haiku, senryu, and clerihews, and to submit them for publication. I had 10 published in 2023; it would be nice to have at least as many in 2024. 

So, how did I do? Not well. 

Really badly, actually.

I did some work on Santa's Diary, but fell way short. There are many days with nothing on them, and some story lines not finished.

I did nothing with The Grumpy Shepherd

I did get more than 10 poems published, so success there!

Goals for this coming year:

More work on Santa's Diary. I'd like to finish it this year.

I need to get off my duff with The Grumpy Shepherd.

I have an idea for next year's Christmas Story. I've started research for it and I WILL get it written.

I will continue to submit poems. I don't know if I will make it to 10 published, though, as I seem to have fallen out of favor at Gilbert

I will complete the transformation of my Civil War Christmas story into a play.

I will do more blog entries. 2024 was my worst year since 2016! And I will try to be more spiritual in my writing. 

Pax et bonum

Monday, December 30, 2024

Spiritual Resolutions


I've already set my reading goals in general for next year. They included some spiritual and spiritual-related ones.

More spiritual reading, 13-15 works, including at least 2 encyclicals, and Apologia Pro Vita Sua by                 John Henry Newman plus a biography/study of Newman
Reading the Bible daily
Read a biography of St. Francis

I fell short on the Bible reading last year. I failed to read it daily. I must make it daily. 

I need to read more spiritual fiction and poetry.

My prayer life also needs work. 

I've gotten away from reading Night Prayers for the Liturgy of the Hours. I pray Morning Prayers almost every day - but I sometimes will miss it. I need to say both daily.

I do say "The Twelve Year Prayers of St. Bridget on the Passion of Jesus" every day, but I often say them in a distracted way, or leave them until bedtime when I'm tired. I need to pay more attention to them, and to do them during the day when I'm awake.

I say the Rosary almost every day, but there are days when I miss it. I need to make it a daily prayer.

I need to do more writing of religious poetry, and to write more about faith in my blog.

Pax et bonum

In the Woods ...


The last novel I read this year was Tana French's mystery/police procedural In the Woods. I had stumbled across the book as I was searching, in light of my heritage, for some Irish or Scottish mysteries to read. French's book was a best seller, she won some awards for it, and it was available, so I gave it a read.

The book has a male narrator, one of the detectives, and two main crimes tied together through the narrator and some of the characters. And the earlier crime is linked to yet another crime.

To be honest, while the book is well-written, I was disappointed.

Some of the plot elements and characterizations didn't seem plausible, especially in connection with the narrator. Amnesia, seriously?

The more recent crime is solved, but in a less than satisfactory way. And of the earlier crimes one is solved, but nothing comes of it, and the main one of the earlier crimes is never solved. 

But the worst part for me was the narrator. When I read a story I want to like and care about a character, particularly the main character. I simply did not like the narrator. 

I don't feel inspired to read any more of her books. 

Pax et bonum

Sunday, December 29, 2024

Reading Tally for 2024 and Goals for 2025


With two days to go it's unlikely I'll finish reading any more works. I began the year with some goals:

60-70 works, 15,000 pages    MET THIS GOAL
More spiritual reading, 13-15 works, including at least 2 encyclicals  WITH SOME OF THE NOVELS AND PLAYS, MADE THIS GOAL, AND ALSO MET THE ENCYCLICAL GOAL
Reading the Bible daily, including finishing all the OT books I have not yet read DID FINISH THE OT, BUT FELL SHORT ON THE DAILY READING 
Read at least five Dorothy Sayers Wimsey mysteries  READ SIX OF THEM
Read a couple of Agatha Christie mysteries READ TWO OF THEM
Read at least one Dickens novel that I haven't read before THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP
Read at least one Chesterton novel that I haven't read before READ TWO, THE FLYING INN and  THE BALL AND THE CROSS
Read all of Emily Dickinson's poetry READ THEM ALL
Read another Michael D. O'Brien novel BY THE RIVERS OF BABYLON
Read Winter's Child by Margaret Coel READ IT

Except for falling short on reading the Bible daily, success! 

The Tally: 

72 Works - Page Count - 15,009 pages 


Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth) by Pope St. John Paul II

Rerum Novarum by Pope Leo XIII

Casti Connubii by Pope Pius XI

Cross-Examined: Catholic Responses to the World’s Questions by Fr. Carter Griffin

The Rocking Chair Prophet by Matthew Kelly

Jesuit at Large: Essays and Reviews by Paul V. Mankowski, S.J.

Heroes of the Catholic Reformation: Saints Who Renewed the Church by Joseph Pearce

Heretics by G. K. Chesterton

Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales

St. Francis of Assisi: Passion, Poverty and the Man Who Transformed The Catholic Church

by Bret Thoman, OFS

A Concise Guide to Catholic Social Teaching by Fr. Kevin McKenna - 

Lead Thou Me On! Selected Sermons of St. John Henry Cardinal Newman, Volume 1: Themes 

                               from the Old Testament


By the Rivers of Babylon by Michael D. O’Brien

The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens

Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift

Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry

The Violent Bear It Away by Flannery O’Connor  

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter

The Flying Inn by G.K. Chesterton

The Ball and the Cross by G. K. Chesterton

The Golden Key and Other Fairy Tales by George MacDonald  

The Path to Rome by Hilaire Belloc

Looking for the King by David C. Downing

The Dry Wood by Carykk Houselander

Come Rack! Come Rope! by Fr. Robert Hugh Benson

One Poor Scruple by Josephine Wood


Signs and Wonders by Philip Gulley

Seaside Journeys of Faith by Jay Diedreck

A Cowboy in Shepherd’s Crossing by Ruth Logan Herne

Shepherd of the Highlands by Lily A. Bear

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells

The Time Machine by H. G. Wells

The Island of Dr. Moreau by H. G. Wells 

The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes


Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers

Strong Poison by Dorothy Sayers

Busman’s Honeymoon by Dorothy Sayers  

The Five Red Herrings by Dorothy Sayers

Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy Sayers

The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers

The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie  

The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

Winter’s Child by Margaret Coel

The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett

The Sleeping Witness by Fiorella De Maria

In the Woods by Tana French


The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw

Lysistrata  by Aristophanes

The Frogs by Aristophanes

The Children’s Crusade by Frances Chesterton

Sir Cleges by Frances Chesterton -

Piers Plowman’s Pilgrimage by Frances Chesterton

Abraham and Isaac by Anonymous

The Second Shepherd’s Play by Anonymous


Coldwater: An Eclectic History of the Hamlet by Donald G. Ionnone and John M. Robortella

Universal Studios Monsters: A Legacy of Horror by Michael Mallory


Even Santa Cries Sometimes by Bruce McGuy

Twas the Evening of Christmas by Glenys Nellist


Sparks from Rainbows by Julia A. Blodgett

Words with Wings: 

     A Treasury of African-American Poetry and Art selected by Belinda Rochelle  

The Dream Keeper and Other Poems by Langston Hughes

Voices by Lucille Clifton

The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, Edited by Thomas H. Johnson

Hauling the Tide: Haiku Society of America Members’ Anthology

T. S. Eliot: Collected Poems, 1909-1962

Prayerfully by Helen Steiner Rice


So what are my goals for 2025?


60-70 works, 15,000 pages, though not as strict about the page count

More spiritual reading, 13-15 works, including at least 2 encyclicals, and Apologia Pro Vita Sua by John Henry Newman plus a biography/study of Newman 
Reading the Bible daily
Read the two Dorothy Sayers Wimsey mysteries I haven't read yet (The Unpleasantness at the
          Bellona Club, and Have His Carcase )
Read at least 10 mysteries (in addition to the Sayers books)
Read Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
Read The Poet and the Lunatics by G. K. Chesterton 
Read another Michael D. O'Brien novel
Reread The Lord of the Rings 
Read Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset
Read a biography of St. Francis

Although I'm not listing specific titles, I am in the process of finally reading some of the books I've accumulated over the years. Classics, science fiction and fantasy, mysteries, religious, and so on. Plus there are books I read 40 or 50 years ago that I am rereading. So these works will be among the books I will try to read this year. I also want to mix in some poetry collections. I haven't read a  lot of Longfellow, for example. He's on my radar!  

Pax et bonum

Friday, December 27, 2024

Almost ....


Almost time for New Year's resolutions and reading/writing goals. Almost ready to report on this year's efforts.

Pax et bonum

Friday, December 20, 2024

Leather Research for Christmas Story


Sheepskins
From ancient times to modern days it has often been customary for pastoral people to make for themselves coats out of the skins of the sheep with wool still adhering to the skins. The Epistle to the Hebrews tells of the persecuted heroes of faith, saying of some of them that they "wandered about in sheepskins" (Heb. 11:37). The skin of sheep was at times tanned and then used as leather, but the skin of the goats was superior to that of sheep for this purpose.


Use of goats' hair and goats' skin
The hair of the goat was considered to be of great value to the Hebrew people. When the materials were brought for the construction of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, only the finest and the costliest that could be obtained were accepted; and goats' hair was included in the list of materials the children of Israel offered unto the Lord. See (Exod. 35:23). Tabernacle curtains were made of goats' hair (Exod. 26:7). The tents of the Bedouin Arabs are made of goats' hair, just as were similar dwellings in Old and New Testament times. Goats' skins have been used widely in Bible lands for leather, and are considered to be better for this purpose than the skin of sheep. This leather is used in making the Oriental "bottle" for carrying or storing water or other liquids.




LEATHER.

—Biblical Data:

Skins of animals were employed for clothing as soon as man felt the need of covering his body to protect himself against cold and rain. With the advance of civilization such clothing was everywhere replaced by products of the loom. The same was the case among the Hebrews. The "coat of skins" was regarded by them as having been the first kind of clothing, given to man by God Himself (Gen. iii. 21); and the mantle of skins was still worn in the time of the Patriarchs (Gen. xxv. 25). In historic times the use of the mantle of skins is mentioned only in the case of the prophets Elijah and Elisha, who, in intentional contrast to the people of their day, wore the ancient, simple garb (I Kings xix. 13; II Kings i. 8; ii. 8, 13 et seq.); indeed, the hairy mantle came in time to be the distinguishing feature of a prophet's garb (Zech. xiii. 4; Matt. iii. 4, vii. 15).

After the Hebrews had acquired the art of tanning, which must have been at an early date, leather came to be used for a number of other purposes. Among articles of clothing it was employed chiefly for sandals. Leathern girdles are also mentioned (II Kings i. 8 et al.). The warrior had a leathern Helmet to protect his head, and his Shield also was usually of leather. For utensils in daily use leather is principally employed among nomads, as it was among the ancient Israelites, since receptacles of leather are not liable to be broken and are easily carried about. The original form of a table, as the word  indicates, was a piece of leather, which was spread upon the ground. Pails and all other vessels for holding liquids were made of leather. The leather bucket for drawing water out of a well and the leather flask—consisting of a single skin removed from the animal's carcass as intact as possible—for holding wine or for transporting water have remained in common use in the Orient down to the present day. Skins of goats and sheep were generally used for these various purposes; more seldom, those of oxen. Concerning tanning, although it was probably familiar to the Hebrews from the oldest times, nothing is said in the Old Testament. Not once is a tanner mentioned.

—In the Talmud:

The Talmud speaks of many articles made of skins (); and, as tanning was practised in Talmudic times, it is possible that such articles, or at least some of them, were of leather. The strap ("reẓu'ah")is mentioned as serving various purposes. Asses were hobbled with straps; and cows were led by means of straps tied to the horns (Shab. 54b). Women used to tie their hair with leathern straps (ib. 57a); and by similar means shoes and sandals were fastened to the feet (Neg. xi. 11), and the tefillin to the head and arm (Men. 35b). Flagellation ("malḳut") was performed by means of three straps—one of calfskin and two of ass'skin (Mak. 22b); straps are frequently mentioned as instruments of punishment, especially of children (Yer. Giá¹­. i. 43d, et passim). It would appear that straps were used to tie up certain objects, as the untying of the strap is often used to designate relaxation (Yer. Bik. i. 64a, et passim). It is very probable that sandals generally were made of thick hide; for wooden sandals are indicated as such (Yeb. 101aet passim). Besides shoes, the Talmud speaks of leather hose ("anpilia"), and of a kind of glove and foot-wear of skin for a cripple who was compelledto use his hands in order to move from place to place (ib. 102b).

The Mishnah, Kelim xxvi. 5, enumerates the following articles made of leather: a covering for the mule or ass; aprons worn by muleteers and by surgeons to protect their clothes; a cradle-cover; a child's breast-piece to protect it from the scratching of a cat; aprons by which wool-carders and flaxspinners protected themselves from the waste of the wool or the tow of the flax; the pad placed by the porter under his load; and skins used for various purposes by individuals not engaged in any business or trade ("'orot ba'al ha-bayit"). In mishnah 8 of the same chapter, tanners' skins are spoken of; but certainly untanned skins are meant, similar to those referred to in Shab. 49a as having been spread by the tanner for people to sit upon.



Pax et bonum

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Clerihews for Christmas


This year's poems sent with Christmas cards.

Clerihews for Christmas

 A Selection of Clerihews about  Biblical and Holy Individuals

 By Lee Strong, OFS


At Nicaea, St. Nicholas
slapped a naughty Arius.
Since then he's found a list does fine
to help keep those who stray in line.

St. Thomas More
wandered into a Denver marijuana store
where he was chagrined by the cornucopia
of products labeled "Utopia."

When he was young St. Polycarp
religiously practiced the harp.
When a musical career proved a non-starter
he instead became a martyr.

Too sick to attend, St. Clare
miraculously saw the service as if there.
Because of that vision
she's now the patron saint of television.

That holy doorman Solanus Casey
was someone whom people flocked to see.
Folks say that his only sin
was the way he played the violin.

In his early life Thomas Merton
was often uncertain.
He ended his consternation
through contemplation.

Lot's wife
ended her life
when she came to a halt
and proved her salt.

After that day in Moriah, young Isaac
developed many a nervous tic,
and was tempted to run for his life
whenever Abraham picked up a knife.

Ezekiel
was full of prophetic zeal.
He was only wrong when it came to bets
on the Jets and the Mets.

St. Francis of Assisi,
joyfully grateful for the Nativity,
created at Greccio a stable display
that’s imitated world-wide to this day.

St. Rose
was plagued by earthly beaus.
To discourage their thoughts of marriage
she used pepper to spice up her visage.

St. Thomas Aquinas
was noted for his reticence and shyness.
But crack open a bottle
and he’d expound at length on Aristotle.

Irascible St. Jerome
was justly noted for his biblical tome,
but he was upset that no one would look
at his vegetarian cookbook.

Methuselah
was one long-lived fella.
It wasn't because longevity was bred in his bones,
he was just determined to pay off all his college loans.

St. Dominic
considered using a sword or a stick,
but found that rosary beads
worked quite well for his demon-battling needs.

The replacement Apostle Matthias
was chosen by lot, not by bias.
Alas, except for his selection.
he's eluded all other historical detection.

We can probably assume Saint Blaise
is in Heaven these days.
Martyrdom likely led him to eternal glory
and not just some fish story.

The prophet Amos
became justly famous
not for his cookie baking skill,
but for proclaiming God's will.

St. Paul,
by modern standards wasn’t tall,
but he did go from guarding the coats
to being one of the Church’s GOATs.

St. Robert Southwell
sat musing for a spell,
then sadly said, “It does seem a shame
Americans don’t properly pronounce my name.”


Pax et bonum

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Thursday, December 12, 2024

Santa Book Update


I did some more work on my Santa book. I'm now up to nearly 45,000 words.

Still, a long way to go. There are several threads I need to finish. 

It was one of my writing goals for this year, and I'm obviously not going to meet it. I'll just have to keep plugging away. 

Pax et bonum

Prayer of Peacemakers


The Prayer of Peacemakers

 

Reflect

In a world of violence, hatred, and division, Jesus implores us to work for peace. As we hope against all odds, believing that Divine love will one day have the victory, may we pray the prayer of peacemakers.

 

Pray

God of love,
bring your peace
to this earth,
to every country
that is war-ravaged,
to every family torn apart,
and to every community
plagued by injustice.

Make me a peacemaker
in my own spheres.
Show me how
to not give way to despair,
but to repair the breach
that is mine to restore
as I follow th

e Prince of Peace.
Amen.

 

Act

What is one relationship that God is calling you to make peace in? Take one small step to do so today.

 

Written by Shannon K. Evans.


Pax et bonum

Harpa Dei · Mantle Song (Our Lady of Guadalupe)


Tuesday, December 10, 2024

More 2025 Reading Thoughts


I've added some ideas to my proposed 2025 reading list

The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, and Have His Carcase - by Dorothy Sayers

A Dickens novel (Little Dorrit or Our Mutual Friend)

Lord of the Rings (reread)

Kristin Lavransdatter 

Apologia  Pro Vita Sua (reread)

Bio/Study of Newman

The Poet and the Lunatics (Chesterton)

A Michael O'Brien novel

A biography of St. Francis

Some Mystery novels

Some Encyclicals


Pax et bonum

Where was FAN?


https://www.nyscatholic.org/posts/catholic-conference-urges-no-vote-prop-1-fall

https://www.ncregister.com/news/as-attacks-on-pro-life-organizations-continue-pro-lifers-call-biden-administration-s-response-tepid

https://www.ncregister.com/news/legal-experts-call-out-biden-doj-s-aggressive-targeting-of-pro-life-demonstrators-following-at-home-raids

https://www.ncregister.com/cna/investigation-into-fbi-federal-agencies-targeting-of-christians-and-pro-lifers-to-begin-next-week

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/jul/16/biden-administration-labels-pro-life-groups-as-ter/

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251901/would-new-hhs-rule-force-doctors-perform-transgender-surgeries-abortions

https://www.ncregister.com/cna/bishops-speak-on-abortion-ballot-measures-in-days-leading-up-to-election

https://www.newsweek.com/campaign-intimidate-churches-pro-life-groups-getting-worse-opinion-1802384


Pax et bonum

Wednesday, December 4, 2024

That Santa Book


After neglecting it for too long I did some work today on the Santa book. 

Obviously I have fallen way short of my goal for the year. I'll have to do some adjusting and work on it next year. 

I've also thought about that horror novel. Maybe it can be saved. 

And I have an idea for a Biblical story.

But Santa first!   

Pax et bonum

Alexander Pope Clerihew with Image



Pax et bonum

Tuesday, December 3, 2024

Ego?


I admit that I have an ego. Why else would I try to boost my numbers on this blog, or post my poems where  people can read them or submit them to magazines and anthologies.

Ego.

Or in need of affirmation?

How 90's of me!

So when I consider a podcast is it because I really have something to say, or is it just a need for attention?

I do have speaking abilities, and I do have insights.

I am a writer, I should be using my abilities to advance the Kingdom. Of course, laughter is good for the soul!

This back and forth has led me to abandon various writing and performance projects. Is that me using my insecurities to avoid, or is it really me realizing the projects were not worthy?

Sigh. 

Pax et bonum

e e cummings with clerihew






Pax et bonum

King Clerihew with picture






Pax et bonum

Melville Clerihew with Illustration





Pax et bonum

Monday, December 2, 2024