Scientists have studied the movement on five pairs of twins in utero and determined that by the 14th week of gestation, the fetuses aim movements at each other. Science magazine reports on the research: By the 14 th week of gestation, the fetuses began reaching toward their partners, and just 4 weeks later, they spent … Read more
Over at OpenCulture, I stumbled across this amazing video, described as “Video mapping during the 600 year anniversary of the astrological tower clock situated at the Old Town Square in the center of Prague.” Not quite sure what all that means, but check it out: [video:http://vimeo.com/15749093 400×710] The post describes such “light shows” as being … Read more
The diocese of Green Bay is reporting some interesting results from its recent run of the “Catholics Come Home” series of ads: This month, the diocese released survey findings that show Mass attendance increased an average of 7.4 percent after the commercials began to air. In addition, more than 95 percent of parish leaders and … Read more
A group called “Before It’s News” recently provided a heavily hyperlinked article with the unwieldy title, “Is America in Decline? 24 Statistics About the United States Economy That Are Almost Too Embarrassing to Admit.” Here’s a sample from the middle: #6 One prominent economist now says that the Chinese economy will be three times larger than the … Read more
(This one’s for Zoe!) The New York Times has a story today about Wal-Mart’s new push to source more of its produce from local (read: in-state) farmers: The program is intended to put more locally grown food in Wal-Mart stores in the United States, invest in training and infrastructure for small and medium-sized farmers particularly … Read more
Does Catholic Charities facilitate same-sex adoptions? Of course not, you might say. Well, one head of Catholic Charities has been asked to find out. Arne Nelson, CEO of Catholic Charities in Orlando, sent out the following question to the diocesan heads of all Catholic Charities in the US. Let’s hope the answer is a resounding … Read more
In the current issue of the Catholic Herald, Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento writes that most modern couples accept contraception as the “default” position in marriage, only giving up the practice when it’s ‘time to have kids.’ This isn’t merely a drag on our population’s replacement rate, but has itself confused the definition of marriage. … Read more
While wandering aimlessly through the fantastical Interweb landscape earlier this morning, I happened across The National Post’s (CA) Arthur Kaptainis and his account of last Saturday’s “Casual Concert” from the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. The opening lines, in particular, caught my attention – which is exactly what a writer would want, I suppose: Few composers are defined … Read more
Christopher Hitchens surveys the political landscape and wonders what sane person would choose to run for office today: I could introduce you to dozens of enthusiastic and intelligent people, highly aware of “the issues” and very well-informed on all questions from human rights to world trade to counterinsurgency, to none of whom it would occur … Read more
Remember the man your man could smell like? Me, too. But if you prefer more of a dank and musty odor to Old Spice, you may enjoy this new video making it’s way around the internet: [video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB4P_VMNGYQ 635×355]
The rescue of the 33 miners in Chile, trapped below ground for 68 days, continues today (as of right now, ten miners have reached the surface), and the stories of each one are incredibly moving. Here, the video of the first miner, Florencio Avalos, reaching the surface and greeting his wife and son: [video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JAyr0NPvqo 635×355] … Read more
Many Catholics were justly upset when the University of Notre Dame awarded an honorary doctorate to President Barack Obama last year. But there are some good things happening at the school as well, and they should be recognized and encouraged. Most recently, the Notre Dame Fund created the Notre Dame Evangelium Vitae Medal, established “to … Read more
Watching the trailer for the recent documentary Waiting for Superman, about our floundering public school system, is enough to make a school-choice activist out of anyone: [video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKTfaro96dg 635×355] Ross Douthat, writing in the New York Times, says the movie is right to highlight the benefits of school choice, but that choice alone won’t fix the … Read more
Columbus Day has been an official holiday in the United States since 1937, except in three states — Nevada, South Dakota, and Hawaii. The day was never much on my own radar screen since the second Monday of October was always Thanksgiving in my home country. Christopher Columbus has been vilified as well as defended … Read more
With less than a month to go before the mid-term elections, and with Catholic Democrats who voted for Obamacare in trouble, the Catholic Health Association is determined to do all it can to help remove the stigma. As everyone should know by now, Sr. Carol Keehan, CHA president, has been in the foreground of those … Read more
After following the Flash-driven interactive linked below, I feel like I actually understand why we have so much unemployment right now, even though we’re in recovery mode. The interactive can’t be imported, but you should follow this link and watch it yourself. I am so much better educated as a result of this series of … Read more
Heather King, whose memoir Redeemed Matthew Lickona reviewed for IC here, has a new blog at “Shirt of Flame” that’s well worth your time. Last Friday, she reflected on Simone Weil, the French philosopher whom King (affectionately) calls a “Catholic-in-spirit nutcase,” and the motivations behind Weil’s refusal to be baptized in the Church — in … Read more
You’ve probably seen stories about the collapse of the honey bee colonies in the United States over the past few years. Somewhere between 20 and 40 per cent have disappeared and scientists have been frantically trying to discover why since thriving bee colonies are vital to agriculture. Experts theorized about causes… pesticides, perhaps? But according … Read more
Here’s Part 4 of Catholics in Action, telling the lives of people who followed the Church’s social doctrine in their daily lives. This 1952 serial comes from Catholic University’s online archive of Treasure Chest of Fun & Fact. An amazing man! Glory to God!!
This just in from Tulsa: A former director of a Tulsa abortion clinic pleaded guilty Thursday to providing false information about a bomb at the facility. Linda Meek, 63, former executive director of Reproductive Services of Tulsa, said she called in a false bomb threat in August. … Meek, who is no longer employed at … Read more