THE NEED FOR GENIUS

MONDAY, MAY 29, 2023 

CHRISTIANITY / MYSTICISM / SIMONE WEIL

From the book "Waiting for God" by Simone Weil:

"Today it is not nearly enough merely to be a saint, but we must have the saintliness demanded by the prsent moment, a new saintliness, itself also without precedent.

"A new type of sancitity is indeed a fresh spring, an invention.  If all is kep in propoertion and if the order of each thing is preserved, it is almost equivalent to a new revelation of the universe and of human destiny.  It is the exposure of a large portion of truth and beauty hitherto concealed under a thick layer of dust.  More genius is needed than was needed by Archimedes to invent mechanics and physics.  A new saint-liness is a still more marvelous invention.  

"Only a kind of perversity can oblige God's friends to deprive themselves of having genius, since to receive it in superabundance they only need to ask their Father for it in Christ's name.  

"Such a petition of legitimate, today at any rate, because it is necessary.  I think that under this or any equivalent form it is the first thing we have to ask for now; we have to ask for it daily, hourly, as a famished child constantly asks for bread.  The world needs saints who have genius, just as a plague-stricken town needs doctors.  Where there is a need there is also an obligation."


pg 51, Weil, Simone. Waiting for God. HarperPerennial, 2009


MY FAVORITE TORTILLA CHIPS

THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2023 

FOOD / SNACKS / CHIPS

My favorite tortilla chips are "Mi Nina" made by New England Tortilla, Inc. of Brockton, Massachusetts.   The grind their own corn, which REALLY makes a difference.  These chips aren't cheap, normally going for $6 to $7 a bag in the stores where I've seen them, but well worth their asking price.   The best part: the ingredients.   

The "Pico De Gallo" flavor was a real surprise, probably the best tasting snack chip I've ever had, no kidding.  


The ingredient list from the regular chips:

If you can find them, buy them!   They are really good.   


REAL TRAINS DOING REAL WORK

THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2023 

TRAINS / OPERATIONS

Some AWESOME train videos!   Trains don't exist just to block traffic, they actually serve a useful function.   

First, how coal gets from a train car into a ship!  It's really interesting to watch.

1. NS loading the Algoma Innovator at the Sandusky Coal Dock


Second, watching the train operations in the steel mills of northeastern Indiana, including the famous "bottle cars" that transport super hot liquid steel from the blast furnace to the rolling mills.  

2. Steel Mill Trains inside Indiana Harbor and Gary Works



Bishop Robert Barron | Hillsdale College 2023 Commencement Address

THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2023 

CHRISTIANITY / BISHOPS / BISHOP ROBERT BARRON

Here is a Catholic so popular, he's invited to a deeply BAPTIST college to give its commencement address!   And what a message it is, the need for Christians, even if they are the tiniest of minorities.

This is a MUST WATCH VIDEO!  

(I liked it so much, I've now posted it twice to this blog!)

REV. CALVIN ROBINSON

THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2023 

CHRISTIANITY / MINISTERS / CALVIN ROBINSON

Strange but true: in all of protestant Christianity, there is one man who is widely loved, and amazingly, he's out of the Anglican Church of England!   He's so well spoken even Catholics love him.   

The man is Calvin Robinson, who has an iron-core traditionalist view of Christianity that is a breath of fresh air in this post-modernist hell hole of a world that we are living in.  

This is a long two-hour interview, try to watch as much as you can.