text:
The twitch upon the thread ... that can enslave to sin and damn
Fr. Eduard Perrone, "A Pastor's Descant" (Assumption Grotto News, June 24, 2018):
We often use the expression "hanging on by a thread" to indicate insecurity or uncertainty. I'd like to invoke it for another cause, namely, to indicate how a fragile link can become a mighty powerful means of constriction. I mean this in reference to the subtle means the devil employs to take control of someone's life and either enslave him in sin or else inhibit him from doing good or making spiritual progress. It merely takes such a "thread."
We often acknowledge the devil's activity and power in relation to evils that are widespread. Even though they be ever so common, mortal sins bring on the loss of grace and -- lfet unforgiven -- eternal damnation. The evil one and his accomplices can rightly be blamed a good deal for the commission of such sins. And then there are those great evils such as war, abortion, torture, sacrilege and the like which are more readily attributed to devils. My topic here has to do not with these notorious sins but rather with the minuscule, featherweight, insidious "threads" by which demons entangle and ensnare their victims. Although I claim no special discernment of demonic arts, I, as everybody else, have my own experiences with sin and my own tendencies to sin to reflect upon. It doesn't take much of a thought, attraction, word, or object to become not only an occasion of sin but a very powerful tool of enslavement to evil.
Threads. I recall the Canons of the Holy Cross telling me about people in a poor mission country that wanted to build a cathedral church for which there was insufficient money. The Masons of that place, hearing about the intention to build a church, offered the bishop to finance the entire cost of construction on one sole condition: they had to agree to affix to one of its walls a small Masonic emblem, barely noticeable. The offer, howsoever tempting, was wisely and firmly rejected by the Church. All the devil wanted, you see, was his small cut.
From long back in my priesthood I remember hearing about a wife whose husband was kept from converting to Catholicism because of a little fetish he carried about with him and which he cherished. The man, a rather affable sort and a Catholic-inclined man, never succeeded in making the jump. He died a non-Catholic, unable to part with his little "relic."
You may find these stories interesting but perhaps not relevant until you reflect a little on your own sins. How often it is that people fall into the same sins they so recently confessed because some tiny "thread" of an evil, so small as to be dismissed as a thing of little significance, wasn't severed. (An example of self-deception!) In such a case, the snare was set and one fell into it, predictably. The sinner is guilty not only for the sin committed but for refusing to acknowledge and cut that connecting evil strand, be it ever so fragile a cobweb -- the instrument employed by the evil one. Consider the possibilities: the use of a computer, or a cell phone; the company of a certain person or visiting a certain place; that one alcoholic drink which inevitably leads to too much; wearing immodest clothes which entice others to sin. Eating, exercising, reading, music listening ... the list of possibilities need not be long. There is a specific "thread" which is the deathline of this person linking him to hell. I invite the reader to consider whether there may be some such thing to which he is attached and can't seem to let go of. It is such a thing that is the subject of this writing.
It takes a great deal of self-honesty, that is, integrity, to admit these subtle affections to evil, to confess them, and to be resolutely firm to disallow them to ensnare thenceforth. What a shame it would be for you to lose your soul eternally because of a tiny little fiber that bound you to eternal damnation.
Fr. Perrone
P.S. Today is Saint John the Baptist's feast day. (He was certainly not one to flirt with evil.) Friday is the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, two great giants of the Church. Next Sunday is -- already -- July 1st!
Labels: Sin, Spirituality
Roberto De Mattei, "The Roots and Historical Consequences of Modernism"
Roberto De Mattei, "The Roots and Historical Consequences of Modernism," translated by Giuseppe Pellegrino (1P5, June 23, 2018). Pellegrino writes:
Roberto de Mattei's paper, presented today in Rome, is entitled "The roots and historical consequences of Modernism". It provides a detailed study of the origin of the present theological confusion in the Church in the ideas embraced at the time of the so-called "Modernist crisis" of the early 20th century. The teaching of Maurice Blondel that experience is the criteria of truth spread to influential theologians such as Alfred Loisy, George Tyrrell, and Ernesto Buonaiuti, who all affirmed in various ways that truth is not immutable, rather it evolves as man evolves. These writers in turn influenced Teilhard de Chardin, Henri de Lubac, and Karl Rahner, all of whom were extremely influential on the work and teaching of the Second Vatican Council. This "Neo-Modernism" subtly tried to influence the Church without revealing its agenda of dismantling the philosophical foundation of the immutable nature of Truth and the theological foundation of the unchanging character of Divine Revelation. Through a "revolution of language," one of the key principles of Marxism, those who seek to foment revolution in the Church have used words such as "renewal," "aggiornamento," and "accompaniment" to radically change the Church's praxis, falsely setting up a separation between doctrine and praxis. The writings and statements of contemporary churchmen such as Walter Kasper, Bruno Forte, and Jorge Bergoglio are imbued with this same thinking. Bergoglio is clearly a disciple of Blondel. The only effective way to combat the present culmination of the "Modernist crisis" is to embrace the immutable Tradition of the Church.
Labels: Modernism, People, State of the Church
Tridentine Masses coming this week to metro Detroit and eastern Michigan
Sun. 12:00: High Mass at St. Mary Star of the Sea, Jackson
Mon. 7:30 AM: Low Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit
Mon. 8:00 AM: Low Mass St. Joseph Oratory, Detroit
Mon. 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions by appointment) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]*
Tue. 7:00 AM Low Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit
Tue. 8:00 AM: Low Mass St. Joseph Oratory, Detroit
Tue. 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions by appointment) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]*
Tue. 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Holy Name of Mary, Canada
Wed. 7:30 AM: Low Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit
Wed. 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions by appointment) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]*
Wed. 12:00 Noon: Low Mass St. Joseph Oratory, Detroit followed by Perpetual Novena to St. Joseph
Thu. 7:30 AM: Low Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit
Thu. 8:00 AM: Low Mass St. Joseph Oratory, Detroit
Thu. 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions Thursdays: 7:00 - 7:30 PM during Benediction) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]*
Fri. 7:30 AM: Low Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit
Fri. 8:00 AM: Low Mass St. Joseph Oratory, Detroit
Fri. 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM during Holy Hour) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]*
Fri. 7:00 PM (First Fridays only): Tridentine Mass (usually Low Mass) at Assumption Grotto, Detroit
Fri. 7:00 PM (1st Fridays only): High Mass at Old St. Mary's, Greektown, Detroit
Fri. 7:00 PM: Tridentine Mass at St. Joseph, Sarnia, Ontario
Fri. 7:00 PM (after 6:00 PM Holy Hour, 1st Fridays only): High Mass at St. Joseph Oratory, Detroit
Sat. 7:30 AM: Low Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit
8:00 AM (1st Saturdays): Low Mass at St. Edward on the Lake, Lakeport
Sat. 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM) at St. Joseph's Church, Ray Township [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]*
Sat. 8:00 AM: Low Mass (Confessions 1/2 hour before Mass: call beforehand) at St. Ann's Church, Livonia [NB: See note at bottom of this post about SSPX sites.]*
Sat. 8:30 AM: Low Mass at Miles Christi, South Lyon, MI
Sat. 9:00 AM (1st Saturdays): High Mass at St. Anthony, Temperance
Sat. 9:00 AM: Low Mass and Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help at St. Joseph Oratory, Detroit
Sat. 6:00 PM: Tridentine Mass at SS. Cyril & Methodius Slovak Catholic Church, Sterling Heights
Sunday (July 1st)
Sun. 9:30 AM: Low Mass at Assumption Grotto, Detroit [Please note that all Tridentine Masses in July at Assumption Grotto will be Low Masses. The choir is on summer recess.]
Tridentine Community News - The Napa Institute; TLMs this coming week
Tridentine Community News by Alex Begin (June 24, 2018):
June 24, 2018 – Nativity of St. John the Baptist
The Napa Institute
Perhaps you've heard of various gatherings of über-wealthy individuals, in places such as Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Folks like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett meet up to discuss weighty issues of global concern. Did you know there's a Catholic equivalent to those elite retreats?
One of America's most interesting yet low-profile Catholic philanthropists is Southern California's Tim Busch. Tim owns a sizable law firm in Irvine, California, eight resort hotels, and believe it or not, co-owns the Busch's Family Market chain here in suburban Detroit, where he was born.
Inside his law firm's offices is the Queen of Life Chapel (http://www.queenoflifechapel.org/), which offers a well-attended daily Mass and is home to an Anglican Ordinariate parish on the weekends. Rare for a privately-owned chapel, Tim received permission to reserve the Blessed Sacrament there. Tim did the legal work for the sale of Robert Schuller's Crystal Cathedral to the Diocese of Orange, where it now serves as Christ Cathedral. Tim is the founder or co-founder of numerous grand-scale Catholic ventures, including JSerra High School in San Juan Capistrano. In a way one can think of him as California's version of Michigan's Tom Monaghan; in fact Tim cites Monaghan as a role model. In 2016 Tim made the largest donation ever to Washington, DC's Catholic University of America: $15 million.
One of Tim's most interesting ventures is The Napa Institute. The name doesn't give away much, and perhaps that's intentional. It happens to be the Catholic version of one of those aforementioned conferences of wealthy people. Every summer, some of the country's most financially blessed Catholics gather at one of Tim's hotels, the Meritage Resort and Spa, along with some of the biggest names in the global Church, for seminars, for social events such as a Cigar Bar evening, for golf, and yes, for the Tridentine Mass.
Various clerics ranging from Norbertine priests who serve Tim's Queen of Life Chapel up to Madison, Wisconsin Bishop Robert Morlino [pictured above, photo by the Traditional Latin Mass Society of San Francisco], and San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone offer the Extraordinary Form for those attending the conference, in the Our Lady of the Grapes Chapel or the grotto-like Estate Cave on the grounds of the Meritage Resort. Stop and think about that for a moment: High profile clerics offering the Traditional Mass for America's wealthiest Catholic elite.
This year attendees can hobnob with Cardinal Gerhard Müller, Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput, and Anglican Ordinariate Bishop Steven Lopes, among others.
The talks are more conservative than traditional in subject matter, and rather big-picture oriented, as seen above.
Not surprisingly for such an ambitious entrepreneur, Tim is expanding The Napa Institute: A European conference took place in Vienna in 2017, and a tour of historic churches in Chicago – with talks by traditional architectural experts Duncan Stroik and Denis McNamara – is planned for August.
How can one attend The Napa Institute? It's actually open to all, if you can afford it. Tickets are $2,500 per person. For more information visit: www.napa-insitute.org
Tue. 06/26 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Holy Name of Mary, Windsor (Ss. John & Paul, Martyrs)
Sat. 06/30 8:30 AM: Low Mass at Miles Christi (Commemoration of St. Paul, Apostle)
[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@detroitlatinmass.org. Previous columns are available at http://www.detroitlatinmass.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Albertus (Detroit), Academy of the Sacred Heart (Bloomfield Hills), and St. Alphonsus and Holy Name of Mary Churches (Windsor) bulletin inserts for June 24, 2018. Hat tip to Alex Begin, author of the column.]
Labels: Catholic practices, Latin Mass, Liturgy, News, People
Tridentine Community News - Corpus Christi Maiden Lane; Tridentine Mass at the Pantheon in Rome; Tridentine Masses This Coming Week (metro Detroit)
June 17, 2018 - Fourth Sunday After Pentecost
Corpus Christi Maiden Lane
The hymn Sweet Sacrament Divine is a staple in our repertoire, used often on Feast Days thematically related to the Blessed Sacrament. It was written by Fr. Francis Stanfield, who was pastor in the 1880s of London, England's Corpus Christi Parish. This small but ornate church is located on Maiden Lane in the Covent Garden theatre district. Msgr. Ronald Knox was a regular visitor, preaching for decades at their 40 Hours Devotions.
In recent times Corpus Christi Church has been an important site for Catholics devoted to the Traditional Mass. It is one of the few locations in the world where the Tridentine Mass has been offered consistently for decades. In the wake of the Agatha Christi Indult in 1971, the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales, whose office is also in Covent Garden, began to organize weekly Monday evening High Masses at Corpus Christi. Those Masses continue to this day.
Following a multi-year restoration project, in which the sanctuary was restored, a new Communion Rail installed, and gold leaf applied throughout, Westminster Archbishop Vincent Cardinal Nichols raised Corpus Christi Parish to the status of a Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament. On Sunday, June 3rd, His Eminence led a procession with the Blessed Sacrament from Corpus Christi through the streets of Covent Garden, yet another example of the exuberant display of Catholicism which one often sees in London. [Photos by John Aron from Corpus Christi Church's Facebook page]
A few days earlier, on Thursday, May 31, a Pontifical Mass in the Extraordinary Form was celebrated there for the Feast of Corpus Christi by Abbot Hugh Allan, O.Praem. [Photo at top of next column].
On a personal note, Corpus Christi was the locus of a particularly terrifying memory: this writer was invited to sing in the choir there several years ago. Expecting to sing psalm tone Propers, at the last minute the choir decided to sing the full Liber version instead, a moment of true panic for someone not accustomed to the challenge of singing those complicated notes on the fly.
An upgraded web site invites the faithful to make a pilgrimage to this place of devotion to the Real Presence, certainly a worthy stop among many other Catholic landmarks in London. See: https://corpuschristimaidenlane.org.uk.
Tridentine Mass at the Pantheon in Rome
One of the oldest buildings in Rome is the Pantheon. Dating to the second century A.D. and originally built as a temple to the Roman gods, since the seventh century it has functioned as a Catholic church. A main tourist stop, liturgically the Pantheon is known for the ceremony of rose petals dropped from the opening at the top of the dome each year on the Feast of Pentecost. From time to time the Pantheon hosts Masses in the Extraordinary Form. One such Mass was held in January of this year.
The complete set of photos may be seen at: https://tridentini.com/2018/01/29/mass-at-the-pantheon-photos/
Tue. 06/19 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Holy Name of Mary, Windsor (St. Juliana of Falconieri, Virgin)
Sat. 06/23 8:30 AM: Low Mass at Miles Christi (Vigil of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist)
Labels: Detroit, Latin Mass, Liturgy, News, Places
Pray for renewal of faith in Cuba
An influential acquaintance and friend recently made a second trip with her husband to Cuba. She writes:
The Cuban people are among the most resourceful, determined, resilient and passionate folk I've encountered. You would know that following the extended suppression of religious practice, spiritual apathy is widespread and pervasive. For a large portion of the younger generation, true religiosity is something associated with a by-gone age and tangible connection with Catholicism is essentially cultural. Crucifixes are worn, but prayers are not part of the mix.
I was surprised and delighted to learn that there is an effort to establish Traditional Latin Mass [TLM] in Matanzas, a city east of Havana. An oratory was devised and the TLM [has] begun to gain supporters. Currently, Una Voce Cuba is the project of a gentleman in Dallas, Albert Doskey, whose mother was Cuban. He lived with his mother's parents over some 9 years, no doubt developing a taste for cafécita as well as a sense of Cuba. I've shared some correspondence with him (and personally contributed to a GoFundMe campaign for UVC).
The Remnant posted about UVC, and I shared the information with local TLM followers.
Truth and beauty do persist, one thinks, and certainly both are joined in the usus antiquior.
So pray for Cuba and the people of Cuba -- both practicing and prospective practicing Catholics. They've been through a spiritual desert, and they need the solid resources offered by Sacred Tradition rather than the commercialized erzatz peddled by alternative religionists.
Labels: Evangelism, News
Tridentine Masses coming this week to metro Detroit and east Michigan
Tridentine Community News - Church Restoration: St. Stephen the Martyr, Columbus, Ohio; Making Catholic Schools Affordable: A Lesson from the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska; Sub Tuum Præsídium; Tridentine Masses This Coming Week
June 10, 2018 – Third Sunday After Pentecost
Church Restoration: St. Stephen the Martyr, Columbus, Ohio
In what is becoming a regular occurrence throughout North America, another church has undergone an upgrade from bland, modern design to a traditional arrangement with Communion Rail. Unlike most such examples, this is a modest, low-ceilinged church. One does not have to have an expansive building to undertake this sort of a restoration. [Before and after photos from the Liturgical Arts Journal blog and William Heyer Architect]
Making Catholic Schools Affordable: A Lesson from the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska
Not so long ago a significant number of parishes in the Archdiocese of Detroit and elsewhere had parochial schools. Most were elementary to middle schools, going up through Eighth Grade; a few parishes also offered high schools. The virtual disappearance of teaching nuns in recent decades meant that the cost of running such schools skyrocketed, since lay teachers earn significantly more pay. Many parishes started to subsidize their schools, often falling into debt as a result. With declining enrollment, many parochial schools were forced to close. Only a relative handful of parishes offer schools today.
Much has been written about the successes of the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska. Never lacking in vocations, it consistently has the #1 or #2 highest ratio of priests-to-laity of any diocese in America. All of its seminarians learn the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter has its own seminary in the diocese, along with the diocese's own St. Gregory the Great Seminary. Reverent Masses in the Ordinary Form are the norm. Only altar boys are permitted. There are no Permanent Deacons, however laymen are installed as Acolytes and Lectors. And their Catholic schools are healthy and well-attended.
One of the reasons their schools have attracted so many students is that tuition is kept very low, on the order of $1,000 or lower, depending on the school. A "Parish Scholarship" system funded by stewardship at the diocesan and parish level makes up for the shortfall in the actual cost of educating a student. This buy-in from the top down has resulted in the Diocese of Lincoln opening new Catholic elementary schools at the same time that many other dioceses are experiencing net closures of schools. Perhaps the others should look to Lincoln for an example.
Sub Tuum Præsídium
A brief, historic prayer to our Lady, enriched with a Partial Indulgence, is the Sub Tuum Præsídium:
Sub tuum præsídium confúgimus, sancta Dei Génetrix; nostras deprecatiónes ne despícias in necessitátibus, sed a perículis cunctis líbera nos semper, Virgo gloriósa et benedícta.
We fly to your patronage, O holy Mother of God; despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, O glorious and blessed Virgin.
Tue. 06/12 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Holy Name of Mary, Windsor (St. John of San Facundo, Confessor)
Labels: Architecture, Catholic education, Church architecture, Detroit, Latin Mass, Liturgy, Prayers
Manners in the presence of others and in the Real Presence: "Zeal for Your house ..."
Fr. Eduard Perrone, "A Pastor's Descant" (Assumption Grotto News, May 6, 2018):
Zeal for Your house consumes Me.
Walking along outdoors on one of those fine sunny days of the past week, discreetly saying my rosary the while, I caught sight of a young woman approaching me from the opposite direction. Quickly letting go of the beads concealed in my pocket, I readied myself to tip my cap (visor worn forward, mind you) in a gesture of respect I had often seen my father make to women in similar circumstances. To no avail. The young lady, perhaps fearing an untoward glance, kept her eyes firmly riveted to the ground.
Many courtesies once commonplace are now passé. The aforementioned baseball cap reminds me how youth are generally unmindful of what a breech of good manners it is for men to wear hats indoors, a fortiori at the table. Equally vanishing from the scene are young couples walking together on the sidewalk with the male on the outside, that is, on the street side, indicating chivalrous protection of his consort. The drinking of water, in full view of others, from plastic bottles flared high, with one's throat strained crane-like towards the heavens is perhaps beyond the capability of people in our time to consider as discourteous, however so mildly it may be so. Discourtesies so ubiquitous as now to be regarded as benign if not fully accepted may include the public picking of one's teeth, cutting or painting the nails, the yawn full agape. Needless to add are certain bodily noises -- amongst which I confine myself to belching and spitting -- which are best discharges in private chambers or, at best, in the seclusion of familial quarters.
My subject matter is the coarsening of good manners as representing a diminishing respect for others. (Manners, let it be said, can be overdone, even unto a fastidious prissiness, unbecoming for a man -- dare I invoke the outmoded phrase, for a gentleman?). As desirable as it is for rational beings to cultivate good habits respecting the presence of one's fellows, yet my primary motivation in writing on this rare, perhaps indignifying subject, is not in the hope of rekindling polite conduct towards one's "fellow man" (a contrived, feminist faux pas) but rather to bring attention to the indifference if not ill-treatment by Catholics in our time towards His Majesty in the tabernacles of our churches. Vanishing is the genuflection, that posture whichuniquely evidences both faith in the Real Presence and adoration of Christ's divinity. Even the less satisfactory curtsy or nod of the head towards the place of His reposition has become scarce. The general rule is to disregard God sacramentally in-residence and to carry on coram sacratissimum Sacramentum (in the presence of the most holy Sacrament) as if He were not there. Whether this is do to malice, to disbelief, or to the wide-embracing ignorance of right doctrine and practice by Catholics is hard to determine. But the resulting insult to a God who did not disdain to endure the crucifixion for the salvation of mankind cannot be denied.
Recently I visited a Catholic church where people were gathered to hear a concert -- a thing permitted under certain conditions, among which is the removal of the Blessed Sacrament and Its telltale sign, the sanctuary lamp. These prescribed measures were, to all appearances, not observed. As a result, not only was there the ordinary, moderate-tones chitchat of the audience before a performance but even the inducement to chaos by the evening's MC, as is now the prevailing custom in many a parish church, that everyone should turn to greet his neighboring pewsters on all sides. I was heartbroken as I thought of the Lord in His self-induced imprisonment to beckon a voluntary profession of faith in and respect for His divine Presence. While surely not all attendees of the musical event were Catholics, yet by no outward sign of theirs was witness given of their belief in the Divine Presence. Or, is that the point, namely, that faith in the Real Presence of Christ -- Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Holy Sacrament -- is absent? Have we come to this state?
Zeal for Your house consumes Me," our Lord lamented, when He ousted the money-changers from the Temple (Jn 2), abridging words of the psalm (68:9) which adds, "and the insults of those who insult You have fallen on Me." I too have some of Christ's "zeal," and I feel embarrassment and sorrow that my Lord is treated dismissively by His own. "Be silent before the Lord, all flesh, for He has roused Himself from His holy dwelling place" (Zech. 2:13) -- that admonition was made in reference to God's rather vague manner of presence in the Jerusalem Temple. Yet what have we in our churches but the very Incarnate Son of God under sacramental signs?
I insist that in our parish church the Lord not be abused by "outrage, sacrilege, and indifference" (to quote the familiar prayer). Avoid talking to your neighbor in church or, if the matter warrants it, in a whisper. The Lord has "zeal" for the sanctity of His house.
"Be still before the Lord!" (Ps. 36, Vulgate).
Labels: Catholic practices, Church and society, Signs of the times, Society
God's gift at Pentecost
Fr. Eduard Perrone, "A Pastor's Descant" (Assumption Grotto News, May 20, 2018):
Pentecost. You'd be right to think that with the prefix pent- this day has something to do with the number five. It actually concerns the fiftieth day, or the seventh week, from the beginning of the harvesting of grain in Old Testament times. An agricultural feast, it had other names as well: the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of the First Fruits. It was at this time, that is, seven weeks (fifty days) since Easter, that the Holy Spirit descended upon Our Lady, the Apostles, and the other disciples of Christ. As a Christian feast it ranks higher in significance than it did for Jews since the first Christians on this day were given "power from on hight," as our Lord promised them before ascending into heaven. The "power" received was of a supernatural kind which strengthened their souls to convert the nations and to face a world that would be unwelcoming of their message. To this end they were given the grace needed to withstand opposition, and they were consoled in advance for the time when imprisonment, torture, and death for the sake of Christ would be their lot. Immediate visible signs attended the Holy Spirit's arrival: a violent wind, fiery tongues, and the much-disputed tongues by which the disciples could speak of Christ in various languages of the peoples. As it is in many places of the New Testament, Saint Peter is the champion of the day, appearing fearless and speaking with extraordinary conviction to the Jews about the new faith in Christ.
The gift of the Holy Spirit for Christians who are already baptized is not the vocalization of unintelligible babbling but the Sacrament of Confirmation which perfects the graces conferred in baptism, much as in the order of nature adulthood completes childhood. The red vestments in use this day in the Roman rite are reminiscent of the flames ('tongues') of fire that alighted upon the heads of those present on Pentecost day, and for us it is also a reminder of the blood which must sometimes be shed as the sole convincing sign to unbelievers of the truth of Christ and which won for the sufferers the highest places in heaven.
Pentecost's flames were consuming. Fire has a purifying quality which, in the spiritual sense, burns away the corrosive residue of sin by its painful heat. Our Lord's disciples had not yet known the suffering of martyrdom but the experience of Pentecost gave them the fire which consumed the self love that inhibits a consummate witness to Christ. For us, the metaphorical fire of the Holy Ghost is the purifying, toughening, and inuring of the soul against the inevitable trials, temptations to sin, and hostility to Christian truth which at times must greet every sincere witness to the Lord.
If these themes seem forbidding and weighty, one may also draw attention to the joyfulness of Pentecost as the birthday of the Church. Like Adam in the beginning of the human story who was first formed in clay and later came to birth upon receiving the breath of God's Spirit, so was the Church first formed by Christ when He promised to build it upon St. Peter's rock but fully animated with Spirit on Pentecost. It is a birthday and the cause of great happiness. (We will give full vent to our joy in the Latin mass today with the exuberant music of Bach.)
In the liturgical calendar formerly universals observed in the Latin Church, and now once again in use for the traditional Latin liturgy, Pentecost was deemed a day too great for a single day of celebration. Eight days are set aside for it to be celebrated and contemplated. I already announced that Pope Francis has designated Pentecost Monday as a commemoration of the Holy Virgin Mary as Mother of the Church. Mother of Christ on Christmas, Mother of all Christians on Pentecost -- both instances of a spiritual maternity which depended on the fertility of the Holy Ghost. There is a mysterious collaboration of Mary and the Holy Spirit both in the Son of God made man and in the making of us as other sons of God, reborn by the Holy Spirit and of Mother Church.
Labels: Liturgical seasons, Scripture, Spirituality
The twitch upon the thread ... that can enslave to...
Roberto De Mattei, "The Roots and Historical Conse...
Tridentine Masses coming this week to metro Detroi...
Tridentine Community News - The Napa Institute; TL...
Tridentine Community News - Corpus Christi Maiden ...
Tridentine Community News - Church Restoration: St...
Manners in the presence of others and in the Real ...


What actions are you taking to deal with the pests invading your home. Be sure that this article is taken seriously while you read about what you're able to do. There are lots of unusual things you can take advantage of to rid your home of pests. Don't miss out! If you are searching for helpful advice, read on.
Carpenter ants typically will indicate that you have a larger predicament on hand. They eat primarily wet wood, and therefore you likely have leaks as well as rotten wood. Talk to a professional to get to the bottom of your problem.
To rid your home of racoons, try an oil of mustard product to keep them out long enough for you to track down their entrance. Drip some oil in the area it lives and look for the hole it got in through. Use mesh wire as a means to keep them out of your home in the future.
TIP! Try using borax. This is an extremely effective substance for controlling pests in your home.
If carpet beetles are intruding, you may have to throw away textiles they have bothered. If you are unable to, then you will need to vacuum the carpet thoroughly then apply an insecticide; these chemicals can be harmful to your health so make your choice wisely.
Try to block out mosquitoes from coming into your living area. Get rid of any area of standing water. It is possible for mosquitoes to breed in very tiny areas of water, including the water that is left over from leftover food.
Do you have a mice problem? Try using mint. Mint around your foundation of the house will help, and it's a perennial. It will keep mice from wanting to settle in there. If you've got mice, sprinkle some mint leaves near the affected areas. Usually, this keeps mice away. But, be sure the mint you use is fresh.
Fleas are often rampant in summer. Be sure to discuss flea control programs with your veterinarian to protect your pet from flea infestations. There are a variety of treatments which deal with many different illnesses, so find out what you can about your options.
TIP! Is a professional putting in stations for baiting mice? If so, then it is vital that you aware of where these stations are put in. You need to keep your pets from getting to those bait stations.
Try to learn everything possible about the pests that you are trying to kill. Know what it eats, its likes and dislikes, its life cycle, etc. Once you put all of this knowledge together, you can create a plan to remove it from your home.
If trees fall, dispose of them. Be sure to cut up the trunk and branches for use as firewood. Give it away or sell it if you don't have a use for it yourself. Do not forget to dispose of the stump, as well. Stumps are simply dead wood pieces, and they often attract termites.
Old-fashioned ideas still work well for ridding your home of houseflies. Use sticky strips and fly-swatters to do an admirable job. However, unlike sprays, they do not contaminate your environment with harmful chemicals. For safety reasons, you should only use sprays as directed.
Use some termiticide to kill termites. Termiticides come in two varieties: the kind that kills and the kind that repels. No matter which you use, you have to be thorough when putting it along your home's foundation. Don't be surprised if you use upwards of 100 gallons.
TIP! When ants come into your home, you are sure to find them in the kitchen. Sprinkle some ground cloves into spots where there are food.
Outdoor lights attract bugs. Try and avoid putting exterior lights near any entrances to your house. In addition, it is possible to decrease the odds that these pests will come in by using orange or yellow lights. This is because bugs aren't attracted to these colors as much as other ones.
If you're dealing with a bee problem, you'd best let the professionals handle it. It's hard to tell if you have African bees and it could be a life or death situation knowing the various species.
Fleas are known to be difficult to get rid of; however, there are several things that you can do to help remove the fleas and flea eggs from your home. First, you need to vacuum every day. Then spray your carpet with an appropriate spray. Always discard the vacuum bag after use.
You can get rid of the bugs and pests that are plaguing you. Consult a professional at your local Lowe's or other home improvement store. The staff can recommend a pesticide or other product that you can use to get rid of your pests.
TIP! Research the type of pests that may be in or around your house. Find out what these pests like and what they don't.
Find out how ants are getting in. You have to find their point of entry. When you locate it, there are many things you can do to be sure they are unable to come in anymore. These options include cayenne pepper, lemon, coffee grounds or cinnamon.
In order to protect your garden fruits and vegetables, cover them with old pantyhose. This is a good way to keep insects as well as rodents and other animals away from your food. That way, you get to enjoy it instead of them.
If you are having a real problem, think about replacing all of your small appliances. Ask people you know if they have an extra coffee pot or a toaster and throw yours out. Insects can invade nearly everywhere in a home, but they really like comfy places, like the insides of appliances.
Look around your house for standing water. Pests love standing water because it is a drinking source and also a breeding ground for certain insects. Check thoroughly regarding any leaky pipes, and make sure you clean house plant trays. Pests need water, so cutting off their supply will make your home less inviting.
Fill any mouse openings with steel wool. Rodents will eat steel wool and eventually die. Therefore, use wood putty that is mixed with a little steel wool in order to prevent rodents from coming in your home.
If bird waste is collecting on your roof, you need to figure out where the birds are roosting. For example, if the birds are roosting on the branch of a tree, cut part of the branch off. If birds are sitting on your window ledges, add spikes so that they will move.
A pesticide is a great way to control pests, but make sure it is safe to use. You need to find out if you can use the product in the heat, or rain or wind. Whenever you are working with pesticides you want to always keep your safety in mind.
TIP! If you are fighting mice or rats on your won, remember this: they eat anything. Little bits of meat, peanut butter, and any foods that have a strong smell will be good bait for traps.
Hopefully, you feel more informed about pest control. You aren't wrong, and the amount that you need to know might seem overwhelming at first. Don't live among the bugs. All you have to do is put the tips that you have read above to use in your home.


Third Thursday Cruize-Inz Committee: Corinna- Save A Lot is sponsoring Cruze-Inz at the Platinum Level. Fat Cat Comics, Healthbeat, and Marusich Dental are also sponsoring. Contact has been made with Rock Factory Radio. Music lineup includes: May- Ricky and The Blue Shadows; June- Outer Reef; September- Rich Wilson. Greg has designed signs for the street and is contacting companies to have them made. We're looking for food vendors. We will meet at 6:00 on May 14 before the next monthly meeting to do a clean-up of the parking lot. We are going to sell basket raffle tickets this year.
Carousel Day Committee: Julie- Endicott will be holding a Carousel Celebration from 10:00- 4:00 on the same day as our Carousel Day. Bands are all set. Scott Freeman Band, Barefoot Betty, Scott Freeman and Rich Wilson have all been booked. We have a new food vendor. Artisans for the art show are still being sought. The Trackless Train and a blacksmith have also committed to be part of the day. Visions and the JCPD Canine Unit will also be there. We will also be raffling baskets.
NY Main Street Design Review Committee:Marcia/Julie- Work continues to finalize the signs. We have a preliminary design and are also looking at way-finding signs and an alley gate by Reveille.
JCHS Post Prom donation request- A decision was made to not make a donation since we are currently trying to raise funds to meet our expenses.


text:
/ Movies
John Boyega Defends 'Bright' From Haters
By Jenna Anderson - December 28, 2017 07:37 pm EST
Netflix's Bright has created quite a stir over the past week, with critics and audience members both panning the film. But apparently, John Boyega is a fan of it.
The Star Wars and Pacific Rim Uprising star recently took to Twitter to express his excitement towards the film, calling it "amazing."
Lord! Just watched Bright! That was amazing !
— John Boyega (@JohnBoyega) December 27, 2017
This was met with a pretty varied reaction from Boyega's fan base, plenty of whom consider the film to be among the worst of this year. Boyega then sent out a second tweet, pointing out that people are allowed to have different opinions about pieces of media.
You know guys..... people like things you don't....like it's a really big planet. Incase you forgot...
But ironically, some fans took that tweet to be a reference to Star Wars: The Last Jedi's divisive reviews, as opposed to being about Bright. This prompted Boyega to clarify that yes, he was referencing David Ayer's "urban fantasy" film.
Dude I wasn't talking about Star Wars. I was talking about how much I enjoyed bright. Thanks though
In the week since its debut, Bright has been met with a pretty conflicting response, with negative reviews from critics being balanced out by positive comments from fans. Even Chance the Rapper recently spoke out against the film, and particularly its representation of race.
Nevertheless, the film was reportedly watched by over 11 million people in its first weekend, and a sequel has already been greenlit.
If you'd like to check out the film - and see which side of the debate you agree with - Bright is currently streaming on Netflix. If you've already seen the movie, be sure to rate it for yourself, below.
Jim Carrey Fans Celebrate Comedian's 59th Birthday
Morbius Star Jared Leto Wants to Revisit His Blade Runner 2049 Role
NBA Jam Documentary Announced
New Warner Bros. Logo Revealed
Spider-Man 3 Fans Are Buzzing About Mysterio Possibly Returning

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


You will be eligible to participate for purposes of elective deferrals when you have completed one (1) Year of Service and have attained age 21.
Your entry date will be the first day of the month coinciding with or the next following date your satisfy the eligibility requirements.
Safe Harbor Nonelective Employer Contribution of 3%. Annual discretionary profit sharing contribution.
You are always 100% vested in your elective deferrals including catch-up contributions, rollover contributions, and safe harbor contributions.
There is a 6 year graded profit sharing contribution vesting schedule.
You make take an in-service distribution from the plan if you have attained the age of 59 1/2, or you have incurred a financial hardship.
EStatements are available by going online to www.yourfutureisdaily.com and selecting to receive eStatements under the eStatements tab.
Qualified Plan Advisors charges 0.00% annually which is billed in four quarterly payments (i.e. 0.00%) for its managed account services.
These services include, but are not limited to, enrollment meetings, risk assessments, ongoing consultations and active money management.
This fee will be deducted from your account in January, April, July, and November not charged on Self Managed of TDF.
The Risk Tolerance Questionnaire helps to determine the best asset mix for your investment, based on your risk tolerance and determined by the answers given to the questions below. Please take time to answer the questions as best and honestly as you can. Be certain to select the answer that is best suited to you.
Your current situation and future income needs.
Your views of how an investment should perform over the long term.
Your attitude toward short-term volatility.
Below you will find how the financial industry would rate your risk tolerance, based on the following score provided, and the characteristics of a portfolio that would match up to the risk questionnaire you completed. These are clear definitions of the characteristics of each Risk Tolerance, allowing you to identify the one that you feel most accurately identifies you. Essentially, it is your opportunity to identify your Individual Investment Policy Statement, regardless of how the industry may classify you. We believe that asset allocation — the overall mix of asset types within your portfolio — is an important determinant in your portfolio's behavior.
RISK TOLERANCE: Investing involves an element of risk, whether that risk is loss of dollars invested or erosion of the value of your wealth due to inflation. In constructing your investment plan, we considered your willingness to tolerate investment risk by focusing on your investing time horizon, your comfort with short-term market variability and your willingness to tolerate long-term market instability.
Your corresponding allocation is primarily intended for capital preservation with a secondary objective for income. The asset mix has a higher allocation of fixed income and a slightly lower weighting in stocks.
Your corresponding allocation is conservative. A conservative asset mix is best-suited for investors who are reluctant to risk short-term losses or who will need to pay for financial goals in the near term, but who still seek modest capital appreciation.
Your corresponding allocation is balanced. A balanced asset mix strikes a middle-of-the road path between stocks and fixed-income investments. It's appropriate for investors who seek growth in his/her investments but still desire a cushion against excessive market fluctuations.
Your corresponding allocation is stock-heavy. It entails above-average risk. It is intended for investors who require healthy asset growth from his/her investments yet aren't troubled by significant fluctuations in market value.
Your corresponding allocation is aggressive. An aggressive asset mix is best-suited for investors who have a high tolerance for risk and a long time frame. Historically, such a portfolio is likely to encounter substantial short-term volatility, though it offers the best opportunity for above-market long-term gains.
Under this option, you will be responsible for the ongoing management of your investments: Your plan continues to make available a full suite of mutual funds through which you may manage your money. Due to improvements with the investments offered, and other new services that are being made available, under this option you will need to select your investments through the website.
RISK-BASED MANAGED PORTFOLIOS: These options invest based on the Risk Assessment you have completed. They use your specific timetable and goals as the measure of the allocation in which you should invest.
*IF YOU CHOSE OPTION A: DO IT MYSELF, YOU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR CHOOSING YOUR INVESTMENT ELECTIONS VIA THE WEBSITE.
*IF YOU ELECT TO DEFER 0%, FOR BOTH THE PRE TAX DEFERRAL AND THE ROTH DEFERRAL, YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO BEGIN DEFERRING UNTIL THE NEXT AVAILABLE ENROLLMENT DATE.
1. I understand that if I do not select an investment option, I will be placed into the QDIA as chosen by my Plan Sponsor.
2. My company may deduct the amount indicated in Section 1 of this E-Z Enroll form.
3. Qualified Plan Advisors (QPA) has made available and encouraged me to complete a Risk Assessment Questionnaire to help me determine my specific risk tolerance.
4. If I have chosen the "DO IT FOR ME" professionally managed risk portfolios, my money will be managed for a fee, which is fully disclosed in the Participant Investment Options Overview, which I have received.
5. I acknowledge it is my responsibility to contact _____ directly, via the website, should I want to make changes to my investment allocations on or after __/__/____.
6. No individual with QPA has assured me of any level of return, and I fully understand that investing comes with risks.
Federal law requires a married participant to name his or her spouse as primary beneficiary, unless the spouse consents in writing to another designation or additional beneficiaries, and a Notary Public witnesses this consent.
NOTE: IF YOU ARE MARRIED, your spouse is automatically your primary beneficiary, unless you designate another beneficiary and your spouse consents by signing below. If your plan provides that the death benefit be paid in the form of a joint and survivor annuity or a pre-retirement survivor annuity to your surviving spouse, then the designation of a primary beneficiary other than your spouse will be a waiver of this automatic annuity as well.
I am interested in an analysis of all of my investments held outside and inside of my retirement plan to ensure they are working together.
I would like an analysis of my life insurance to ensure my family is adequately protected at the most competitive price.
I would like my investments reviewed to ensure they are not causing me to pay unnecessary taxes.
I have concerns about how to care for myself, or a loved one, if there is a need for long term care.
I would like to discuss my children's or grandchildren's college education savings.
I have other financial concerns or issues that I would like to discuss.


text:
2018 Hitchens Prize Awarded to Masha Gessen
The Dennis & Victoria Ross Foundation, in partnership with The Atlantic, to present honor December 3 in New York City.
The Dennis & Victoria Ross Foundation, together with The Atlantic, is pleased to announce that the winner of the 2018 Hitchens Prize is Masha Gessen. The award recognizes Gessen's long and courageous career as a writer, reporter, teacher, lecturer, translator, and activist. Gessen will be honored with the award, which comes with a $50,000 prize, at a dinner in New York on December 3.
The Hitchens Prize, now in its fourth year, is awarded annually to an author or journalist who, in the spirit of the late Christopher Hitchens, demonstrates a commitment to free expression and to the pursuit of truth without regard to personal or professional consequence. Gessen's life and work meet that standard in every respect. The previous winners of the award are documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney (2015); Washington Post editor Marty Baron (2016); and Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter (2017).
In selecting Gessen for the prize, the judging committee noted that running through much of Gessen's work is an urgent warning against authoritarian impulses, including in democratic countries. Her life testifies to the power of the written and spoken word as a force for justice and human rights, and as a bulwark against those who would constrain them.
Gessen is currently a staff writer at The New Yorker and a visiting professor at Amherst College. Born in Moscow, she emigrated to the United States with her family when she was a teenager. She later worked in Russia as a journalist over a period of two decades, returning to the United States in 2013 when the Russian government's antigay actions, including threats to remove children from gay parents, took an even more aggressive turn.
Gessen is the author of The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin (2012); Words Will Break Cement: The Passion of Pussy Riot (2014); The Brothers: The Road to an American Tragedy (2015), about the perpetrators of the Boston Marathon bombing; and other books. She has written for many publications, notably The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, The New Republic, and Vanity Fair. Her most recent book, The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia, received the National Book Award for nonfiction in 2017.
Christopher Hitchens, who died in 2011, was a contributing editor at The Atlantic and a columnist for Vanity Fair. His books include Why Orwell Matters (2002), God Is Not Great (2007), and Hitch 22: A Memoir (2010).


Not sure if you made a typo, but the second URL says http://localhost:8082/flights instead of http://localhost:8081/flights. In the class materials, we use the default port 8081.
@Preetam Joshi Is this the same error what You Faced ?
First please check the port number in the application make sure it is deployed.


text:
M.A.P
Paul Wetherell
Photography/Motion
Paul Wetherell is a fashion and portrait photographer living in London. Working as often in studio as on location, Wetherell explores a natural choreography of his subjects in his photographs to create images of elegance and nuance. Often using available light, Wetherell's portrait photographs reveal their subjects, making observations that are unique and unexpected. Wetherell creates fashion and portrait editorial work for magazines including Arena Homme +, Luncheon, Revue Magazine, Rika, The Gentlewoman, American Vogue, British Vogue, and Vogue China. Recent advertising clients include Bally, Bergdorf Goodman, Dunhill, Dyson, Hermès, Loro Piana, Louis Vuitton, Yohji Yamamoto, and Zara.
M.A.P London
53-55 Scrutton Street
London EC2A 4PJ
info [+] mapltd.com
M.A.P New York
New York NY 10012 USA
info [+] mapincusa.com
M.A.P Sydney
Suite 2.04, 2-8 Elizabeth Street
N.S.W. 2021 Australia
Tel +61 (0)2 9358 5000
info [+] mapaust.com
All photographs appearing on the M.A.P Ltd web site are copyrighted and protected under international copyright laws. The images may not be reproduced in any form, stored, or manipulated without prior written	permission from M.A.P Ltd and the	copyright holder(s).
Copyright © 2020 M.A.P Ltd
I've read and accept the Terms and Privacy Policy.


Many pubs are at risk of going out of business due to "unacceptable" increases in insurance costs, warns the Vintners' Federation of Ireland.
While a survey of its members has found the majority to be in fine health — with most expecting economic growth to lead to an improvement in their business over the next three years — the VFI said rising insurance costs are the "biggest burden" for nearly 60% of publicans.
Sourcing and retaining staff is also a challenge as the economy, and employment continues to improve, it found.
"Over the past couple of years, insurance costs for our members have increased to unacceptable levels," said incoming VFI president Pádraic McGann.
Mr McGann called on the Government to help protect against the emergence of a 'two-tier' pub economy.
"While pubs in cities, large urban areas, and tourist hotspots are performing well, for some publicans, the challenges of running a business in a rural location are overwhelming. We call on the Government to implement proposals that will help rejuvenate rural areas as outlined in its planning framework document Ireland 2040," he said.
Meanwhile, cross-sector lobby group the Alliance for Insurance Reform has called for the Government to show more urgency after the latest update from its Cost of Insurance Working Group chronicled "a litany of missed opportunities and inaction".
Peter Boland of the alliance said: "The Cost of Insurance Working Group is the Government's flagship response to the insurance crisis affecting charities, voluntary groups, sports organisations, small businesses, and motorists nationally.


A statue of children outside the Roundhouse in Santa Fe.
The $6.2 billion budget bill the New Mexico Senate approved Thursday evening doesn't include funding for culturally-based suicide prevention programs focused on Native American youth.
While the Senate-passed budget includes $106,200 for the University of New Mexico's Native American suicide prevention work, it does not include the $300,000 sought by Rep. James Madalena, D-Jemez Pueblo, and others to fund three culturally-based Native American youth suicide prevention initiatives.
As we reported in January, the rate of suicide among Native American youth in the state is nearly four times the national suicide rate among all 15-24 year olds.
The budget now heads to the House for approval. The session ends at noon on Thursday.
The 2014 session of the New Mexico Legislature ended today with lawmakers once again failing to fund suicide prevention programs tailored to Native American youth.


text:
Category: Event Calendar
Sat, Feb 11, 2023 - Sun, Feb 12, 2023
On Saturday, February 11th and Sunday, February 12th, 2023, be on the lookout for unique, hand-blown glass hearts, courtesy of Barrio Glassworks when you are out and about, exploring and enjoying Carlsbad Village. They will be hidden at iconic locations in the Village, at historical locations, and, well, hidden in plain site. We want you to find them and we wish you the best of luck on your hunt!
Two Hundred glass hearts will be hidden over a period of two days at some of the most iconic and visited locations in downtown Carlsbad.
If you find a heart, you are done with the hunt, and it is all yours to keep! But be sure to register your heart, online, for a chance to win a pirvate glassblowing experience courtesy of Barrio Glassworks.


text:
The New York Times: "It may seem strange for a bookstore chain to be developing and selling artisanal soup bowls and organic cotton baby onesies. But … Indigo is experimenting with a new model, positioning itself as a 'cultural department store' where customers who wander in to browse through books often end up lingering as they impulsively shop for cashmere slippers and crystal facial rollers, or a knife set to go with a new Paleo cookbook." Book-industry analyst Peter Hildick-Smith, comments: "Cross-merchandising is Retail 101, and it's hard to do in a typical bookstore. Indigo found a way to create an extra aura around the book-buying experience, by creating a physical extension of what you're reading about."
"The atmosphere is unabashedly intimate, cozy and feminine — an aesthetic choice that also makes commercial sense, given that women account for some 60 percent of book buyers. A section called 'The Joy of the Table' stocks Indigo-brand ceramics, glassware and acacia wood serving platters with the cookbooks. The home décor section has pillows and throws, woven baskets, vases and scented candles. There's a subsection called 'In Her Words,' which features idea-driven books and memoirs by women. An area labeled 'A Room of Her Own' looks like a lush dressing room, with vegan leather purses, soft gray shawls, a velvet chair, scarves and journals alongside art, design and fashion books."
"The new approach has proved lucrative: In its 2017 fiscal year, the company's revenue exceeded $1 billion Canadian for the first time. In its 2018 fiscal year, Indigo reported a revenue increase of nearly $60 million Canadian over the previous year, making it the most profitable year in the chain's history."
Author Tim MannersPosted on May 2, 2019 Format AsideCategories Books, Brand Experience, Consumer Insights, Innovation, Retail, Shopping, StorytellingLeave a comment on Indigo: Bookselling as a Cultural Experience
The New York Times: "The first thing one notices about Books & Brews is that it's off the beaten path, tucked into an unassuming strip mall in a cluster of industrial-supply stores and a sprawling outpost of The Home Depot near 96th Street on the far north side of Indianapolis. The second thing you may notice upon entering the shop is how inviting it feels, with its bright, bookshelf-lined walls, clusters of sturdy wooden tables and racks of board games — and that's before you get to the back of the store with a craft-beer taproom, small stage and even more packed bookshelves."
Founder Jason Wuerfel comments: "The fundamental flaw of the bookstore is that it's designed to be quiet and not let people connect to each other. When you encourage people to walk around, and you have books and board games and music that breathes life into spaces, you naturally provide the framework for social engagement."
The books for sale all around the store are mostly used, taken by donation and sold for $3 each … Ten percent of used-book sales are given to Indy Reads, an area organization that promotes literacy … As for the brews, the company has its own line of craft beers, sporting playful names like Shogun Soba Ale and Charlie and the Chocolate Stout … The Books & Brews mother ship is not alone anymore. Wuerfel expanded and franchised the business over the past few years to eight other locations (so far) around central Indiana and now partners with Flat12 Bierwerks to produce his beer."
Author Tim MannersPosted on January 7, 2019 January 7, 2019 Format AsideCategories Books, Brand Experience, Brand Promises, Community, Food Service, Innovation, Retail, Shopping, StorytellingLeave a comment on Books & Brews: A Community on Tap
Store Check: Kitchen Arts and Letters
The New York Times: "Kitchen Arts and Letters doesn't present as one of the world's great bookshops. It has no library ladders or espresso bar, no smell of bookworm or brass polish, and nowhere to sit. It has only slightly more bookish allure than the nail salons and hardware stores that surround it on a commercial block of Manhattan's Upper East Side … What the small storefront does house is a very deep knowledge of a very narrow subject: books about food. And that knowledge is rewarded by the kind of loyalty that induces customers to drop thousands of dollars at a clip, mostly based on the recommendations of Nach Waxman, its founder, and Matt Sartwell, the managing partner."
"Rarely crowded, the store sees a constant stream of seasoned home cooks who know what they want … Curious culinary novices find their way in, and are tenderly guided through a series of diagnostic questions to a suitable starter book … those who have simple taste and want to cook for sustenance; those who already love to eat but never learned to cook; and those who are recipe-resistant but believe in mastering the kitchen through science."
"But most of the store's customers, though not present in the flesh, are the professional and aspiring chefs who routinely order whatever new volumes the owners are stocking, whether from Catalonia or the Carolinas. If they actually use the books, or even read them, is not pertinent; they act as a window into how the world's most influential chefs are thinking, dreaming and plating … By determining which cookbooks to pull from the torrent of global publishing and send into our kitchens, they might be the most quietly influential figures in American cuisine."
Author Tim MannersPosted on July 23, 2018 Format AsideCategories Books, Customer Service, Food & Beverage, Retail, ShoppingLeave a comment on Store Check: Kitchen Arts and Letters
Stout Sells Out: How Big Beer 'Goosed' Sales
The Wall Street Journal: "The popular image of the brewing industry is of a war between Craft and Big Beer. It's small, independently owned breweries facing off against multi-billion-dollar corporations hawking bland-tasting beer with outsize control over the global market. These terms are useful for drawing battle lines in the beer world, but as Josh Noel explains in 'Barrel-Aged Stout and Selling Out,' the reality is slightly more complicated … Mr. Noel's book recounts the rise of Chicago-based Goose Island Brewery, a vanguard name in craft brewing that was purchased in 2011 by Anheuser-Busch InBev, the biggest and baddest beer maker on the planet."
Goose Island was founded in 1988 by John Hall, a box-company executive with a taste for European beers … Big Beer could not afford to ignore upstarts like Goose. Anheuser responded to the craft-beer boom by developing its own artisanal styles and buying stakes in a number of small breweries. But the threat to Big Beer seemingly abated when craft's swift advance suddenly skidded to a halt … That downturn was one factor that led it to agree, in 2006, to the sale of a large minority stake—to a brewing company partially owned by Anheuser."
"Goose sales spiked 60% within a year. In 2004 Goose had produced 50,000 barrels of beer; in 2011 that number had tripled. But its success became its own obstacle: Goose couldn't brew enough beer to meet insatiable demand. So it 'sold out'—agreeing in March 2011 to a 100% sale to Anheuser for $38.8 million … There's a contradiction at play in the relationship between craft beer and big business. On the one hand, as Mr. Noel spells out, craft won the war by forcing the world's largest brewer to change. On the other, it lost by being commandeered by that very same company."
Author Tim MannersPosted on July 6, 2018 July 6, 2018 Format AsideCategories Books, Brand Experience, Brand Promises, Food & Beverage, Retail, StorytellingLeave a comment on Stout Sells Out: How Big Beer 'Goosed' Sales
Kicks: How Sneakers Sneaked Up
The Wall Street Journal: "How on earth have people who make freaking footwear apparently managed to reduce athletic powerhouses like USC and Louisville to the role of glorified money launderers? It all comes down to the outsize importance of sneakers in popular culture. In his expansive, thorough and entertaining book 'Kicks: The Great American Story of Sneakers,' author Nicholas Smith traces the history of this $20 billion industry, arguing that the power and allure of the shoe have shaped American business and fashion for decades."
"Their manufacturers have thus become economic forces larger than the sports they're supposedly there to support. In many ways, to hear Mr. Smith tell it, the shoes have been wearing us.'Kicks' serves as a comprehensive look at how much the sneaker became a signature indicator of cool, from Chuck Taylor and his Converse All-Stars to Clyde Frazier's Pumas to Run-DMC and their Adidas to, of course, Michael Jordan."
"Today, the author suggests, sneakers have essentially replaced music as the go-to investment for companies looking at getting into the youth market. They have become so popular that most manufacturers make limited-edition shoes that exist solely to become valuable and are almost never worn. The shoes aren't for wearing; they're simply for having."
Author Tim MannersPosted on June 22, 2018 Format AsideCategories Books, Brand Experience, Brand Promises, Fashion, Innovation, Retail, Shopping, Sports, StorytellingLeave a comment on Kicks: How Sneakers Sneaked Up
Short Edition: The Literary Vending Macine
The New York Times: "Short Edition, a French community publisher of short-form literature, has installed more than 30 story dispensers in the United States in the past year to deliver fiction at the push of a button at restaurants and universities, government offices and transportation hubs. Francis Ford Coppola, the film director and winemaker, liked the idea so much that he invested in the company and placed a dispenser at his Cafe Zoetrope in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco. Last month public libraries in four cities — Philadelphia; Akron, Ohio; Wichita, Kan.; and Columbia, S.C. — announced they would be installing them too. There is one on the campus at Penn State. A few can be found in downtown West Palm Beach, Fla. And Short Edition plans to announce more, including at Los Angeles International Airport."
"Here's how a dispenser works: It is shaped like a cylinder with three buttons on top indicating a "one minute," "three minute" or "five minute" story. (That's how long it takes to read.) When a button is pushed, a short story is printed, unfurled on a long strip of paper. The stories are free. They are retrieved from a computer catalog of more than 100,000 original submissions by writers whose work has been evaluated by Short Edition's judges, and transmitted over a mobile network. Offerings can be tailored to specific interests: children's fiction, romance, even holiday-themed tales."
"Short Edition, which is based in Grenoble and was founded by publishing executives, set up its first kiosk in 2016 and has 150 machines worldwide … The dispensers cost $9,200 plus an additional $190 per month for content and software. The only thing that needs to be replaced is paper. The printed stories have a double life, shared an average of 2.1 times." Kristan Leroy of Short Edition comments: "The idea is to make people happy. There is too much doom and gloom today."
Author Tim MannersPosted on April 17, 2018 Format AsideCategories Art, Books, Brand Experience, Consumer Insights, Entertainment, Retail, Storytelling, TechnologyLeave a comment on Short Edition: The Literary Vending Macine
Hershey Story: In Chocolate We Trust
The Wall Street Journal: "In the early 20th century, Milton Hershey transformed chocolate from a luxury good to a working-class staple. It made him a fortune, which he used to establish Hershey, Pa.—a model company town 100 miles west of Philadelphia and the self-proclaimed 'sweetest place on earth.' He also established an orphanage, the Milton Hershey School, to provide housing and education primarily for children from the area."
"Hershey and his wife supported the school through a trust, which they established in 1905. By 1918, when he donated his full stake in his chocolate company to the trust, the trust was valued at $60 million. Today it is worth more than $14 billion—ranking it among the largest nonprofit endowments in the nation, on a par with MIT's—and has maintained a profound commitment to its locale."
"Peter Kurie's 'In Chocolate We Trust: The Hershey Company Town Unwrapped' is a study of the town and of its residents' shifting attitudes toward its institutional trinity of trust, company and school … He demonstrates how a philanthropic institution can continue to reflect a founder's vision while shaping and being shaped by the community that grows up around it, one whose bonds can often be bittersweet."
Author Tim MannersPosted on March 26, 2018 Format AsideCategories Books, Brand Experience, Brand Promises, Community, Food & Beverage, Organization & Culture, StorytellingLeave a comment on Hershey Story: In Chocolate We Trust
Beijing Surprise: All Sages Bookstore
The New York Times: "All Sages Bookstore, a haven of precisely arranged shelves and display tables, thrives on the low-rent second floor of a nondescript building near Peking University … the store represents an independent political spirit in an authoritarian one-party state … A large image of Bertrand Russell, the British philosopher and freethinker, stands out among a galaxy of literary posters lining the wall of the entry staircase, a taste of what's to come."
"All Sages has the feel of a well-ordered, smaller version of the Strand Bookstore in Manhattan … The clientele seems to be as varied as the books. The store is strategically located, within walking distance of China's premier university campus, but people from all over the country drop by. On a recent weekend, a manager of a chemical company in the southern city of Shenzhen pushed a trolley full of books to the cashier for dispatch home by air courier. High-ranking military officers, party officials, rich society figures and celebrity entrepreneurs are all customers."
"The books in All Sages are all in Chinese. That makes the selection dependent not only on Mr. Liu's broad-ranging tastes, but on the Chinese publishing houses. They, in turn, are subject to the Communist Party censors who control what is published by Chinese authors and foreign writers translated into Chinese … Among the steady sellers at All Sages are books on American history and biographies of the early presidents … George Washington's Farewell Address, which outlines his argument for term limits — have always sold well."
Author Tim MannersPosted on March 22, 2018 Format AsideCategories Books, Brand Experience, Community, RetailLeave a comment on Beijing Surprise: All Sages Bookstore
Craeft & The Wisdom of Daily Life
The Atlantic: "In his new book Craeft, the archaeologist and BBC presenter Alexander Langlands offers a fascinating and surprisingly relevant dive into a subject that might seem niche to many—the origins of traditional crafts in medieval Europe … For Langlands, the Anglo-Saxon word 'craeft' is distinct from our modern word "craft" in spirit and in practice. 'Craeft' means having the wisdom of one's surroundings, understanding nature and the seasons, and knowing one's materials, as well as how objects and systems fall apart."
"Apart from its use as a marketing term for, say, microbrews, the word today doesn't usually connote a skilled trade. Unlike 'working,' 'crafting' is commonly understood as fun: It can be self-consciously silly, feathered, decoupaged, and brightly colored. It's fun for kids and meditative for grownups. In most cases, the product of a crafting session is less important than the relaxing process by which it was made … It provides the satisfaction of transforming a stack of materials into a tangible, recognizable finished object, often by way of a therapeutically repetitive process. Craft's magic trick is that it's play that's been designed to look like work."
"What Langlands is advocating for in his book is more widespread knowledge about the time when craft was integral to daily life. In the era he studies, activities like beekeeping weren't escapes from reality, but essential to it. He also smartly notes that neither 'craft' nor 'craeft' is a synonym for 'working with one's hands.' At its root, the word 'manufacture,' which is associated with mass production, means 'to make by hand' … Langlands calls for living and working with awareness of our environments, materials, and challenges in real time."
Author Tim MannersPosted on February 26, 2018 Format AsideCategories Books, Design, InnovationLeave a comment on Craeft & The Wisdom of Daily Life
Late & Great: Fred Bass
Quartz: "Fred Bass, co-owner of New York's massive used bookstore, fondly known as the Strand, died of heart failure Jan. 3 at 89. Bass transformed his father's modest store into the four-story bookshop immediately recognizable to New Yorkers and tourists today: The store on Broadway, with its red-and-white awning over $1-book carts lining the southern-facing exterior."
"There are two basic things a good bookstore can provide: The delightful maze of human-curated shelves, or the satisfaction of efficiently getting the book you're looking for. Amazon has done its part in taking away business from the bookstore chains that have excelled at the latter, like Borders and Barnes & Noble. The now Everything Store once sold nothing but books, and one way it's done so successfully is by offering deep discounts. The Strand, though nowhere near as ubiquitous as Amazon.com, has been able to tout dizzying volume at the same time it's maintained a beloved shopping experience."
"What Amazon has done well—sell its vast inventory to you for super cheap—Bass did first. And with tote bags. Nearly all the store's books are sold at a discount, ranging anywhere from a couple dollars off a new title to less than a $1 for a classic or a book that's run its course … Today clutching one of Strand's 100 or so bag designs is a proud display of reader identity."
Author Tim MannersPosted on January 4, 2018 Format AsideCategories Books, Brand Experience, Brand Promises, Customer Service, Obituaries, Prices, Retail, ShoppingLeave a comment on Late & Great: Fred Bass


text:
How Many People Play the Piano?
Credit: Rebecca Nelson/Moment/Getty Images
Sheet music arranged for Easy Piano in G Major - musicnotes.com
Browse Over 300,000 Arrangements. Shop, Print, & Play Instantly
rating for musicnotes.com
In the years from 1992 to 2012, the college-level study of piano skills increased astronomically, while youth studies began to fall. Undergraduates majoring in piano studies increased by 25 percent, while beginner students between the ages of 8 and 10 in America declined in lesson enrollment.
The sale of new pianos experienced a sharp decline in the years between 2005 and 2012. In 2005, about 35,000 new grand pianos were sold in the United States. As of 2012, that figure had dropped to about 12,000. It's fair to infer that interest in playing the piano has experienced a sharp decline, though the exact number of students is difficult to pin down.
What Is the Average Life Span Following a Liver Transplant Operation?
What Is a High School Degree Called?
How Long Does It Take to Learn the Piano?
How Wide Is an Upright Piano?
Play the Piano on the Computer
Learn to Play the Piano
Play the Piano Online
Famous People who Play the Piano
Teaching yourself to Play the Piano


Customer satisfaction is paramount in the services sector but unlike most other companies, the efficiency test of travel agencies goes beyond issue of tickets.
World Travel, based in Mt Roskill, Auckland, constantly strives to ensure that its customers receive quality service, with prompt attention to details.
Managing Director Paramjit (Sunny) Singh believes in enhancing customer value by offering the best possible deals.
"While we provide ticketing and other services to any part of the world, we specialise in serving passengers travelling to the Indian Sub-Continent and Asia. Our rates are competitive for domestic and international travel in business or economy class," he said.
As a multidimensional and bonded travel agent, World Travel provides a variety of services including individual and group bookings, business and leisure travel, holiday packages, hotel accommodation, car hire and tours.
"We also provide MoneyGram services to any part of the world and travellers can also be assured of proper travel insurance coverage. Our customers are aware that cost is not the only aspect of travel. They appreciate the fact that personalised service with all bookings confirmed makes their travel hassle free.
"On our part, we negotiate the best possible price and create the best possible travel package to suit the needs of each customer," Mr Singh said.
According to him, although recession has had its adverse effect on the market, it has also encouraged World Travel and its team to get closer to customers and offer them better deals and packages.
"We believe that this is the time to build better relationship with existing clients and look for new clients. We also utilise the available opportunities to attend educational courses and programmes to update our knowledge and skills," he said.


text:
A13 traffic: Man arrested after serious van and motorbike crash closed road
He remains in custody
Sophie Finnegan
The road remains closed
A man has been arrested after a serious crash between a van and a motorbike closed part of the A13.
Emergency services descended on the scene and the rider was taken to hospital where their condition is not thought to be life threatening or life changing.
The two-vehicle crash took place at the Sadlers Farm roundabout, one of the busiest in Essex, where the A13 meets the A130 in South Benfleet.
The road remains closed but police hope to reopen it within the next half an hour.
Motorcyclist on the A2 near Dartford Crossing dies in crash
A spokesperson for Essex Police said: "We have arrested a man on suspicion of driving under the influence following a collision in Benfleet this morning, Friday, May 17.
"The 41-year-old man from Canvey has been taken to custody for questioning.
"It follows reports of a collision between a van and a motorbike on the slip road from the A130 onto the London-bound A13 at around 6.20am.
"The rider has been taken to hospital for his injuries, which are not life threatening or life changing.
"We hope to have the road re-opened within the next 30 minutes."
You can follow our live blog on the A13 traffic here.
Essex Police
Dartford Crossing


text:
Q: How to handle response codes in RestTemplate without catching exceptions? [Spring Boot] I'm sending a response to another web service to create an user. If the user already exists it sends back the 409 response. I'm using RestTemplate like so:
    @PostMapping("/todos/{toDoNoteId}/users")
    public ResponseEntity <String> postUser(@RequestBody User user, @PathVariable int toDoNoteId, UriComponentsBuilder builder)throws HttpMessageNotReadableException, ParseException{

        RestTemplate restTemplate = new RestTemplate();
        final String uri = "http://friend:5000/users";

        try {
            ResponseEntity<String> result = restTemplate.postForEntity(uri, user, String.class);
            return result;
        }
        catch (HttpClientErrorException ex) {
            return ResponseEntity.status(ex.getRawStatusCode()).headers(ex.getResponseHeaders())
                    .body(ex.getResponseBodyAsString());

        }
    }

While catching an exception somewhat works (in the catch block i can access the status code and body), is there a way to access it without exceptions something similar like this:
    @PostMapping("/todos/{toDoNoteId}/users")
    public ResponseEntity <String> postUser(@RequestBody User user, @PathVariable int toDoNoteId, UriComponentsBuilder builder)throws HttpMessageNotReadableException, ParseException{

        RestTemplate restTemplate = new RestTemplate();
        final String uri = "http://friend:5000/users";

            ResponseEntity<String> result = restTemplate.postForEntity(uri, user, String.class);
            if(result.getStatusCode()=="409"){
            // do something
            }
            else{
            // do something else
            }
            return result;

   }

A: Have you been check the ExceptionHandler? When exception throws, ExceptionHandler handles it.
For example:
@ControllerAdvice()
public class CustomExceptionHandler {
   private static final Logger logger = LogManager.getLogger("CustomExceptionHandler");

   @ExceptionHandler(YourException.class)
   public ResponseEntity handleYourException(HttpServletRequest request, YourException ex) {
       return ResponseEntity.ok("");
   }

   @ExceptionHandler(Exception.class)
   public ResponseEntity handleException(HttpServletRequest request, Exception ex) {
       logExp("Exception", request, ex);
       //return new ResponseEntity<>();
       return null;
   }
}

A: You can create your own custom resttemplate and define exception handler. Here is a code snippet.
@Configuration
public class CustomRestTemplate extends RestTemplate {
    @Autowired
    private CustomErrorHandler customErrorHandler;

    @PostConstruct
    public void init() {
        this.setErrorHandler(customErrorHandler);
    }
}

@Component
public class CustomErrorHandler implements ResponseErrorHandler {
    @Override
    public boolean hasError(ClientHttpResponse response) throws IOException {
      if(response.getStatusCode() != "409"){
       return true;
      }else {
       return false;
      }
    }

   @Override
    public void handleError(ClientHttpResponse response) throws IOException {
      String responseBody = response.getBody();//Pls read from InputStream and create write into String

            JSONObject jsonObj = new JSONObject(result);
            JSONArray jsonArray = new JSONArray();

            jsonObj.put("status", response.getStatusCode());
            jsonObj.put("body", responseBody );
            jsonArray.put(jsonObj);

            responseString = jsonArray.get(0).toString();

      throw new MyException(responseString );

   }

}

class MyException throw RuntimeException {
   public MyException (String message) {
        super(message);
    }

}

So, your class will changed to
 @PostMapping("/todos/{toDoNoteId}/users")
    public ResponseEntity <String> postUser(@RequestBody User user, @PathVariable int toDoNoteId, UriComponentsBuilder builder)throws HttpMessageNotReadableException, ParseException{

        CustomRestTemplate restTemplate = new CustomRestTemplate ();
        final String uri = "http://friend:5000/users";

        ResponseEntity<String> result = restTemplate.postForEntity(uri, user, String.class);
        return result
    }

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange