The Arrow's Path

The game I am going to review today is not necessarily a lost classic. It's a relatively recent manufactured boardgame. The original incarnation came out in 2020, entitled Dune: Imperium. It was riding the wave of the coming two-part big screen depiction of Frank Herbert's classic science fiction masterpiece novel, Dune. I suppose for full disclosure, I do have a minor theme bias on this game. I do love the original Dune novels. I discovered them in college. The first four are phenomenal. Frank Herbert for the last two, unfortunately, began cranking them out for the money. The last two are mediocre, and not nearly the philosophical masterpieces that the first four are. God Emperor of Dune is truly one of the great politically mind bending science fiction masterpieces of all time. Frank Herbert died before finishing the 7th novel, which was supposed to end the series.   As a side note, his son, along with Kevin J. Anderson, took up the Dune mantle, and wrote several prequel ...

As I previously wrote, I thought I would do a series on Lesser Known Religious Orders. There are some really interesting ones out there that most Catholics have never heard of that are doing really amazing work. I thought I would start with one closer to home, as they are sisters that serve in my daughter's Catholic school. They are the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George , also known as the Alton Sisters, as the mother house is in Alton, Illinois, which is not too far from the city of St. Louis, MO. In fact, as of this writing, one of the sisters in the wallpaper of their webpage's main page is the campus minister at my daughter's school currently.  They are, of course, a variety of Franciscans. Franciscans, of course, follow in the teachings and charism of St. Francis of Assisi. The charism of the Franciscans is a spiritual gift that emphasizes the virtues and vows of charity, humility, and a deep love for all creation. This is inspired by the teachings and l...

Most people, if they know anything about Catholicism, can generally identify, or at least have heard of, the major religious orders like Franciscans or Benedictines. They are probably familiar with Dominicans and possibly the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). Being a convert to Catholicism and a devotee of history, I have always found the concept of independent religious orders outside the normal framework of Dioceses and diocesan parishes to be interesting.  In Anglicanism from whence I came, there are a few religious orders, but they are largely a novelty. One of the insidious ways Henry VIII consolidated power from the Catholic Church during the English Reformation was the dissolution of the monasteries. IN fact, if you want a top notch history on that sad escapade, I recommend reading Eamon Duffy's The Stripping of the Altars : Traditional Religion in England . If there is one singular book I ever read that put me on the path to Rome from Anglicanism, it was that book. Ironically, it...

I ran across this little editorial on social media. The title of the article is "Catholics should identify neither as liberal nor conservative." I saw the article posted on a fairly conservative Catholic social media news group. That particular group, which I will not name here, has a fair share of self proclaimed liberal folks who chime in on the comments as well as the target conservative crowd who lean toward the "rad trad." I don't particularly care for the Facebook group in question, but it does have its utility. While I am something of a horse of a different color when it comes to American politics, I like to keep tabs on what various Catholic groups are talking and/or griping about.  While the article is not especially well written (it is a short editorial after all), I tend to agree with the sentiment of the title at least. The author kind of rambles a bit about Charlie Kirk and then the hysteria over the Pope's new appointment as the new Archbisho...

In a moment of boredom as I awaited being called up for jury duty polling, I was doom scrolling through social media. I came across this gem  in my feed from some British news source. At first, I could not decide if this was one of those weird click bait social media feed articles written by AI. I have my days where I think 3/4's+ of the stuff (particularly videos) on the social media now is completely AI generated garbage. I poked around the website itself and it seemed to be a quasi-legit online opinion editorial website. I am still skeptical, but it did have some thoughtful editorials if you dug around.  Regardless, the article itself is disturbing. It is not disturbing in the directly maudlin or intentionally dystopian kind of senses. The article was unintentionally dystopian. The author was simply reporting on a particular usage of an AI phenomenon that is on the rise: the chatbot. More specifically, and what caught my attention enough to read the entire article, was wha...

I was called this week to jury duty at the local county court. I got the summons from the Courthouse to appear the week before as a lovely New Year's Eve gift from the postman. I had known since last year that I was in the active potential jury pool for trials for the county for the coming months. I have been in potential jury pools before off and on, but thankfully never been called to appear since I was about 20 or 21. I remember I was in college and got summoned, but basically told the judge I was a college student and couldn't miss like 2 weeks of classes, so I at excused that time.  Luckily,the escapade ended up that the trial got cancelled because of a last minute plea bargain or something. So, basically, I spent the morning drinking coffee and waiting around only to be dismissed. During that time and the week prior that I had to ponder this event, it brought back a few memories. I was in Law School for a year right after college, and, frankly, hated every minute of it. I...

 

12th Night was usually an evening of frivolity that ended the 12 days of Christmas to a climax. This was traditionally when gifts were exchanged (or at least the biggest of the gifts). It ushered in the coming of the Magi on the Epiphany (January 6th.)   

 This is probably one of the most well known of these obscure Christmas carols I have been posting this Christmas tide. It is basically the story of Christ as the new Adam .  

 A lesser known hymn by an English barrister turned vicar from the late 1800s.   

 I'll let you read up on this carol and make your own conclusions. 

"All Poor Men and Humble" is a traditional Welsh carol that emphasizes themes of humility and acceptance, particularly in relation to the birth of Jesus.