tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18077975100778515252024-03-13T10:09:04.524-08:00Lox Populian Alaskan blog by a Catholic wife and motherTiffany Borgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03027802344101689023noreply@blogger.comBlogger189125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1807797510077851525.post-58462246970655141132017-01-27T09:32:00.001-09:002019-08-04T13:21:12.811-08:00Moving Along<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm now writing at <a href="http://www.parksandglenn.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">www.parksandglenn.com</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A few words about this blog: mostly navel-gazing essays which allowed me to clarify (internally) what I believe on various topics. It was fun to post them and meet new friends, in my town and beyond, through blog connections. I found that I initially wrote when agitated over news items or to answer fallacies faced in daily life -- I'm thankful to leave that behind.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Last night marked a 19 year reprieve from active addiction for me. God has granted me a freedom that I hope to make the most of on a daily basis ~ from self-destruction through booze & drugs, but also a freedom from behaviors that hurt other people. I am not proud of my more strident pieces here. The last companion I had in my drunkenness (not counting the spiritual demons which I renounce to this day) was Dylan Thomas. His words about people and institutions still surround me; I love his spirit. To wit: <i><b>"<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">Don't be too harsh to these poems until they're typed. I always think typescript lends some sort of certainty: at least, if the things are bad then, they appear to be bad with conviction." -DT</span></b></i></span>Tiffany Borgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03027802344101689023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1807797510077851525.post-85252589716099751562017-01-25T16:48:00.001-09:002017-01-27T10:06:23.842-09:00Me and My friend Seth<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Gangs of New York, </i>2002<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">M</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">y friend Seth is forty years old and has outlived at least half of the 9 lives allotted to even the feistiest cat. We now live a thousand miles apart, as we have for most of our adult lives. He has remained in our hometown, built a family and a life there around the seasons, while my husband and I came north fifteen winters ago. Our connection is sporadic but always warm and fraternal, like a big brother who has seen anything I'm about to show him but endures my antics anyway.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Seth's mother braided my hair and baked apple pies for all of our childhood. When his cat gave birth to kittens <i>in his bed</i> -- a handbuilt lofted bed perfect for forts and scary stories -- his stock rose exponentially in my five-year-old mind and has stayed there since. We played hide and go seek among the spruce trees and trailer parks of our densely forested, working-class Alaskan island. The snuggly rhythms of early memory gave way to some chaos in our respective homes, and we've also shared the messier milestones of adolescence and adulthood. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Our parents are probably more surprised to see us raising ten children between us and baptizing them into a faith neither of us were raised in, than they were to pick us up from the police station together off and on in the early 1990s. Seth taught me about weed, subversive music and the delicate balance of supply and demand. We played F*ck the Police at top volume and did our best imitations of the bravado presented on MTV. </span><span style="font-size: large;">His father was my only visitor when I was shipped to a nearby island for residential drug treatment. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I will note here Seth's physical presence: he is massive. Foreboding, even. An uncle of mine who employed him as a commercial fisherman remarked that Seth is the quintessential gentle giant. He was a wrestler in high school and has always kept his strength in check; never bullying and even using his imposing physicality to defend would-be victims from teasing or worse. There's one particular story about the school bus that brings me near tears each time I tell it -- and the irony seems to be that the boy being bullied was of correct breeding and political class but wispy and nerdy, while Seth was the scrappy hero. That boy from the bus went on to some really prestigious East Coast college I can never remember the name of and now works for a Fortune 500 in the art dept (last I knew), while Seth put down roots in the same neighborhood from which the school bus shuttled him to & fro. When I watch the (glorious) movie Overboard I still see Seth in the oldest son. Noble and quiet but certainly not without spine. Perhaps his power lies in the suggestion of violence without having to deploy it. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">I thought of Seth in a special way after reading <a href="http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/" target="_blank">this piece</a>. I emailed it to him, along with a half dozen other men and women, childhood friends all, with whom I often share banter about current events. We don't agree on every issue nor seek to convert each other -- we just like to stay in touch and rap about lifestyle and philosophy between diapers, work and errands. We're able to learn from one another without resentment or bitterness, pride or retribution. I see now that our unity may be a threat to those without agency in the present White House. Seth shared the piece on social media only to be accused of racism and effectively silenced. I would laugh if it weren't so sad and entirely missing (or proving) the point of the post.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">Today, taking stock as if I were a raven perched in the treetops, listening to the foment of human pettiness in the wake of President No Good Really Bad, reading scribes from all corners, ruffling my feathers -- I see that the erudite leftist minds neatly bunch us all together. We are White. We are to be aggregated and educated, or at least ignored. Our varied opinions and experiences do not matter, for we share the embarrassing ethnicity of being Anglo-Saxon. Our immigrant stories are irrelevant, for we must absorb fresh wisdom, prostrate ourselves to the latest arrival. We're descended from countries that lack the exotic pedigree to grab the audience of National Public Radio with tales of victimhood. </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: large;">Never mind that Seth's children aren't even white, or that my husband is only second generation American, with grandparents who came as illiterate teenagers hoping to earn enough money to return to Portugal and buy a horse. If that hints at a certain pride, it's simply pride in the achievements and perseverance of someone else. It would never occur to me to ascribe pride to my race. I don't need census bureau stats to validate my existence, and I have 2,000 years of cultural heroism in Christ and His Bride to "fall back on" for identity. My kids attend a school with just seventy students. Laotians, Alaskan Natives, African Americans, Hispanic children from pockets of Central and South America, Caucasians. No one notices. We have families with foster children, families of truckers, clerks, engineers, physicians, pilots, families built by adoption and those with transient children. Our stated goal is to make saints. We look to martyrs, soldiers and scholars with equal fervor. We are not divided and we are not afraid.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">As I said in the email scribbled to friends when I shared Dreher's post this morning, the weird alt-right thing gets no traction with me -- but the objective point being made by his commenter is quite illuminating. Foreboding? We'll see. I do know this: the guidance of a nuanced gentleman who takes no guff is an invaluable force for children. Come what may, both Seth's children and mine have that in their fathers. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">If the American Left insists on fragmentation along lines of race, the carnage is predictable and its genesis rests squarely on them. They play with fire. Although the USA is unique, and this experiment of unity is worthwhile, we are all still human beings. I grieve the idea that men like Seth (who I use here without permission and not as a mythic hero; he's just a dude I know) are being trashed. Again to repeat myself --- white men are allowed to be anything except victorious. I would submit that the creepy racism of America was exposed, burst like a boil on Satan's ass, not with the election of a black man to the Presidency, but of a white one. <a href="https://spectator.org/questions-questions-why-such-fear-and-loathing-of-trump/" target="_blank">Why is that?</a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aAWIZFqE6L4" width="560"></iframe>Tiffany Borgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03027802344101689023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1807797510077851525.post-38621708824274364002014-11-12T14:43:00.000-09:002014-11-12T14:43:01.028-09:00You can't spell "straight dope" without OP<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/2aJuwwFy_mM" width="560"></iframe><br />Tiffany Borgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03027802344101689023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1807797510077851525.post-31242093754992228182014-11-11T15:50:00.002-09:002014-11-11T15:56:07.254-09:00Unused Creativity Becomes ToxicSo, my friend Rikki set me up with this lady by a few piercing quotes and I've been hooked ever since. This is a long interview, and far-reaching, but even if you have just ten minutes or so I say she's worth a gander. Groudbreaking points --- and not just one chick blathering, but the result of extensive research. It makes me thankful for the music teachers, hippies and counselors who cross(ed) my path.
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/kAk4cwjvJ0A" width="560"></iframe>Tiffany Borgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03027802344101689023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1807797510077851525.post-78627498020788662412014-11-01T12:29:00.001-08:002014-11-01T12:29:18.064-08:00Free TherapyThe only thing I love more than the Gorgas are the Giudices.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/mnenN8xjsAU" width="560"></iframe><br />Tiffany Borgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03027802344101689023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1807797510077851525.post-82155405320566870182014-09-13T23:11:00.001-08:002014-09-14T14:54:04.367-08:00Will return November 1<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/CBwh1OXw6uI" width="420"></iframe><br />
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<em>The neighbor's Lhasa Apso comes over like clockwork most nights at 10:30 p.m. My husband always lets him in. </em><br />
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<em>Today our friend Jeff returned to the sacraments after forty years away. Confession. Holy Mass. He said it felt too easy. Isn't mercy, if we've hidden from it, often like that? I'm restored to grace, through none of my own power?</em><br />
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<em>The best working definition of the nature of evil I've heard goes something like, "Evil is the voice that tells you before you do something, that it's no big deal --- but the instant you do it, Evil tells you that same thing is unforgivable." I wonder if there's a parallel to virtue ~ does not Satan himself imply that certain pursuits are overwhelming, and then convict our efforts as falling short or being futile, in the flip of an instant? </em><br />
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<em>How does the New Age prompt go --- "What would you do if you knew you could not fail?"</em><br />
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<em>The good news is, all men have fallen short of the glory of God. <a href="http://www.drawnbylove.com/Scudder%20letters.htm" target="_blank">We're in good company!</a></em><br />
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<em>I'm tired. Gotta push Junior out the door to finish his rounds around the bluff. Stupid little dog. :)</em>Tiffany Borgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03027802344101689023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1807797510077851525.post-63093884424808775752014-09-10T05:00:00.000-08:002014-09-10T21:28:57.703-08:00Mother's Day of Healing with Fr. Michael Shields<div style="text-align: center;">
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Local readers: do not miss this day, if at all possible.<br />
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<strong>Mini-Retreat at St Michael Parish</strong><br />
<strong>Saturday, September 13</strong></div>
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<strong>9 a.m. - 2 p.m.</strong><br />
<strong>Lunch and childcare provided by AHG Troop AK1414</strong><br />
<strong>Palmer, Alaska</strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>9-10 a.m.</strong> Eucharistic Adoration and healing litanies, in the parish</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>10 a.m.</strong> coffee break, downstairs</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>10:15 - 11:15</strong> Talk by <a href="http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/features/2011/03/10/%E2%80%98prayer-is-absolutely-essential-%E2%80%93-or-you-die%E2%80%99/" target="_blank">Father Michael</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>11:15-11:25</strong> break</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>11:25 - 11:45</strong> Question & Answer with Father </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(written questions accepted anonymously during the morning, in-person questions welcome as well)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>11:45-1 p.m.</strong> <em>lunch and fellowship</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>1-2 p.m.</strong> Sacrament of Reconciliation, upstairs, for those who desire</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.icatholic.ie/wp-content/video/?ID=28961" width="560"></iframe><br />Tiffany Borgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03027802344101689023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1807797510077851525.post-23766672639091533832014-09-09T09:01:00.001-08:002014-09-09T17:11:09.700-08:00The Jehovah's Witnesses keep coming over<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>"The Catholic Church is an institution that I am bound to hold divine --- but for unbelievers proof of its divinity might be found in the fact that no merely human institution conducted with such knavish imbecility would have lasted a fortnight."</em> ~ Hillaire Belloc</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A few years ago I suffered a setback in my enchantment with all things Catholic. I finally saw the impenetrable bureaucracy for what it was. A priest friend sat up late, listened and studied --- he said this was good, that getting pissed and not leaving was vital to developing a mature faith.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In the matter of Timothy Cardinal Dolan and every other source of <a href="http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/features/2014/06/06/bishop-athanasius-schneider-we-are-in-the-fourth-great-crisis-of-the-church/" target="_blank">ecclesial agitation</a>, I'm marshaling hope that it's part of being sanctified. Living in an age of penance. Being thankful for every upright soul I can learn from. My duty is to serve Our Lord by loving my family. Life can be really simple. I have no reason to be ungrateful. And a grateful heart cannot be disturbed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">The cat is gagging super loudly in a corner of the kitchen and my 'free <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ5aYoSr3Hg" target="_blank">hour</a>' during math and Sesame Street is coming to an end.</span>Tiffany Borgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03027802344101689023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1807797510077851525.post-78474124837246010342014-09-05T14:29:00.005-08:002014-09-05T14:32:11.483-08:00bite-sized excellence<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://catholicmom.com/2014/09/01/staying-sane-with-dry-erase-status-lines/" target="_blank">{{over here}}</a></div>
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"I live in a school-warehouse-junkyard" décor ~ hah.</div>
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I do love Fall! bring it. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kandinsky -- a nice girl's answer to the occasional yearning for L-S-D.<br />
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Tiffany Borgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03027802344101689023noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1807797510077851525.post-57207119805726506992014-09-05T13:08:00.000-08:002014-09-05T23:08:51.121-08:00She makes me want better hair, among other things...And I find it telling that my husband isn't impressed by these. Her loyalty, her verve, the elegance in private (by all accounts); in public, her dismissal of pretension and pride, refusing to be tempted by false humility --- I told him it's because he's just like her in those regards. When we learned of her recent death, we stood in the kitchen out of earshot from the kids and whispered our favorite jokes of hers from the '90s. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZcyy6a7pTE" target="_blank">Here's an '80s treasure.</a> <em><a href="http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2014/09/05/rip-joan-rivers-no-one-will-ever-call-michelle-obama-tanny-again" target="_blank">(**update, Breitbart link)</a></em><br />
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Reading this gave context to her anger, which I sometimes found off-putting. I always loved her voice, literally and figuratively. Whatever else it might be, this is the kind of writer I aspire to be -- voice ringing so clearly. Can't you just hear her?<br />
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<strong><em>Joan Rivers: Why Johnny Carson Never Ever Spoke to Me Again <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/joan-rivers-why-johnny-carson-398088" target="_blank">-- taken from The Hollywood Reporter</a></span></em></strong><br />
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When I started out, a pretty girl did not go into comedy. If you saw a pretty girl walk into a nightclub, she was automatically a singer. Comedy was all white, older men. It was <strong>Jack Benny, Fred Allen, Bob Hope, Shelley Berman, Red Skelton</strong> ... even <strong>Amos and Andy</strong> were white men, which is hilarious if you think about it.<br />
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<strong>Phyllis Diller</strong> was happening right before me. But even Phyllis was a caricature, and I didn’t want to be a caricature. I was a college graduate; I wanted to get married.<br />
I didn’t even want to be a comedian. Nobody wanted to be a comedian. Nowadays, everyone wants to be a comedian. You look at a <strong>Whitney Cummings,</strong> who is so beautiful -- she wanted to be a comedian! I wanted to be an actress. I was an office temp when one secretary said to me: “You’re very funny. You should go do stand-up, be a comedian. They make $6 a night some places.” And I said, “That’s more than I’m making as an office temp” -- I made eight, but I had to also pay for my Correcto-Type because I was a lousy speller -- so I thought, “Oh, I could do that and have days free to make the rounds.” And that’s why I became a comedian.<br />
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I had no idea what I was doing. The white men were doing “mother-in-law” and “my wife’s so fat …” jokes. It was all interchangeable. <strong>Bob Hope</strong> would walk into a town and say, “The traffic lights in this town are so slow that ...” and it could be any town. When I went onstage, that just didn’t feel right. So I just said, “Let me talk about my life.” It was at the moment when <strong>Woody Allen</strong> was saying, “Let me talk about my life,” and <strong>George Carlin</strong> was saying, “Maybe I'll talk about my life.” So I came in at the right moment.<br />
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My group was Woody and George and <strong>Richard Pryor </strong>and <strong>Bill Cosby</strong>. <strong>Rodney Dangerfield</strong>.<strong> Dick Cavett</strong>.<strong> </strong>All the ones who were coming up at the same time. But I never was one of the guys. I was never asked to go hang out; I never thought about it until later. They would all go to the Stage Delicatessen afterward and talk. I never got to go uptown and have a sandwich with them. So, even though I was with them, I wasn’t with them.<br />
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Everybody broke through ahead of me. I was the last one in the group to break through, or to be allowed to break through. Looking back, I think it was because I was a woman. Because in those days, they would come down to the Village and look at you for <strong>Johnny Carson.</strong> I was the very last one of the group they put on the Carson show.<br />
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I was brought up seven times to the Carson show -- interviewed and auditioned seven times by seven different people, and they rejected me, each time, over a period of three years. Then Bill Cosby was filling in, and the comedian that night bombed. Bill said to the booking producer, <strong>Shelly Schultz:</strong> “Joan Rivers couldn’t be any worse than this guy. Why don’t you use her?” And that’s when they put me on the show. But they didn’t bring me on as a stand-up comic. They brought me on as a funny girl writer. I’m the only stand-up that never did a stand-up routine on the Carson show.<br />
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Carson, give him credit, said on air in 1965, “You’re gonna be a star.” Right smack on the air.<br />
I adored Johnny. In the ’70s, I did opening monologues, I was hosting. The turning point was when I left the show. Everybody left the show to go to do their own shows. Bill Cosby<strong>. David Brenner</strong>. George Carlin. Everybody. I stuck around for 18 years. And they finally offered me my own late-night show.<br />
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The first person I called was Johnny, and he hung up on me -- and never, ever spoke to me again. And then denied that I called him. I couldn’t figure it out. I would see him in a restaurant and go over and say hello. He wouldn’t talk to me.<br />
I kept saying, “I don’t understand, why is he mad?” He was not angry at anybody else. I think he really felt because I was a woman that I just was his. That I wouldn’t leave him. I know this sounds very warped. But I don’t understand otherwise what was going on. For years, I thought that maybe he liked me better than the others. But I think it was a question of, “I found you, and you’re my property.” He didn’t like that as a woman, I went up against him.<br />
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And I was put up against him. In the press, he said, “She didn’t call me, and she was so terrible.” When you’ve told the truth and you read a lie, there’s nothing you can do about it. To this day, I’m very angry about that. Don’t f---in’ lie. You’re making, what, $300 million a year? What are you talking about? And I was going on Fox. Fox didn’t even have call letters at that point. Fox wasn’t Fox. Fox was six stupid little stations.<br />
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Looking back, and I never like to say it, the Carson breakup hurt me a lot, without realizing it. Even now, with our reality show<em> Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best?</em> or <em>Fashion Police,</em> when I say, “No, this is wrong,” people say: “See? She is a bitch. She is a c---.” If I were a man, they’d say: “So brilliant. He’s tough, but he’s right.” Nobody ever says to me, “You’re right.”<br />
I have a friend. She was a producer at NBC and so brilliant. And they fired her because she was very abrasive. <strong>Lorne Michaels</strong> has a reputation of being a tough nut. But they all say, “That Lorne, he’s mean, but he’s brilliant.”<br />
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This woman, they said, “Oh, she’s too nasty.” But she pulled in the numbers.<br />
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It’s very tough in the business. My act consists of my gown that I carry and two spotlights and a microphone. I’ll do my sound check, and sometimes they’re not happy when I say, “The sound isn’t right,” or “Can we try other lights?” Because they’re men at the board. And lighting is very key for a woman, especially. I’ve been in the business almost 50 years -- I know my f---ing lighting. And there is always pushback from the lighting people. They just don’t want to hear it from a woman. They just don’t want to give you that cookie.<br />
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I don’t want to hear that male comics want someone to match wits with. No, they don’t. They want someone to sit there and gaze at them adoringly. That’s still what they want. The upside is, they don’t get to wear the pretty clothes. They don’t get to have the pretty dressing room. Women comedians get the private bathroom first.<br />
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During women’s lib, which was at its height in the ’70s, you had to say: “F--- the men. I could do better.” I think women did themselves a disservice because they wouldn’t talk about reality. Nobody wanted to say, “I had a lousy date” or “He left me.” But if that’s your life, that’s what they wanna hear. If you look around, very few women comics came out of the ’70s. It really started again in the ’90s, when they realized, it’s all right to say you wanna get married. It’s all right to say I wanna be pretty. That’s also part of your life. Thank God. Because now you know, we’ve got Whitney. I love Whitney. I think what she does is so smart. <strong>Sarah Silverman,</strong> oh my God. You just look at them and go: Good girls.<br />
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I love stand-up -- the connection with an audience is awesome. I just played Royal Albert Hall, which is 4,500 people, probably not a lot for some. But for me, it was amazing. The energy! From the beginning, and to this day, I would never tell a lie onstage. So now I walk out, I go, “I’m so happy to see you,” and I really truly am so happy to see them. The one thing I brought to this business is speaking the absolute truth. Say only what you really feel about the subject. And that’s too bad if they don’t like it. That’s what comedy is. It’s you telling the truth as you see it.<br />
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I think it was Cosby who also said to me, “If only 2 percent of the world thinks you’re funny, you’ll still fill stadiums for the rest of your life.”<br />
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My advice to women comedians is: First of all, don’t worry about the money. Love the process. You don’t know when it’s gonna happen. <strong>Louis C.K.</strong> started hitting in his 40s; he’d been doing it for 20 years. And don’t settle. I don’t want to ever hear, “It’s good enough.” Then it’s not good enough. Don’t ever underestimate your audience. They can tell when it isn’t true. Also: Ignore your competition. A Mafia guy in Vegas gave me this advice: “Run your own race, put on your blinders.” Don’t worry about how others are doing. Something better will come.<br />
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Ignore aging: Comedy is the one place it doesn’t matter. It matters in singing because the voice goes. It matters certainly in acting because you’re no longer the sexpot. But in comedy, if you can tell a joke, they will gather around your deathbed. If you’re funny, you’re funny. Isn’t that wonderful?<br />
If there is a secret to being a comedian, it’s just loving what you do. It is my drug of choice. I don’t need real drugs. I don’t need liquor. It’s the joy that I get performing. That is my rush. I get it nowhere else.<br />
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What pleasure you feel when you’ve kept people happy for an hour and a half. They’ve forgotten their troubles. It’s great. There’s nothing like it in the world. When everybody’s laughing, it’s a party. And then you get a check at the end. That’s very nice.<br />
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<a href="http://www.npr.org/2014/09/05/345945166/with-age-joan-rivers-learned-to-say-anything-it-has-freed-me-totally" target="_blank">May God rest Joan's unrepeatable soul.</a></div>
Tiffany Borgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03027802344101689023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1807797510077851525.post-80165517223582291962014-09-02T16:29:00.002-08:002014-09-02T16:33:03.079-08:00for Amber, our own Auntie Leila --- who brings domesticity everywhere she goes<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/aug/31/lauren-laverne-learning-to-love-cooking" target="_blank">"... to be fair, some cocktails contain fruit."</a><br />
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and Alaska in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/01/us/alaska-turns-to-locally-grown-food-thanks-to-state-incentives.html?_r=0" target="_blank">news!</a><br />
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Tonight we're joining the viewers of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/01/us/alaska-turns-to-locally-grown-food-thanks-to-state-incentives.html?_r=0" target="_blank">Yukon Men</a> and having friends over for pizza. <br />
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This morning eighty pounds of school supplies arrived with the mailman, Ray, who kept apologizing that his bum knee meant he couldn't lug the boxes up our steps. The 1982 song 'Gloria' was blasting from his USPS jeep. I still want to write a book about the history of mail delivery in our great state, but if there's one barometer of my mania, it's the planning! of all the projects! Fall is the perfect time to settle in to the real (sometimes stifling) challenge of home's own rhythms.<br />
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<br />Tiffany Borgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03027802344101689023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1807797510077851525.post-5642885252157761622014-08-31T11:01:00.001-08:002014-08-31T14:49:18.599-08:00the mouthy and the merciful<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs. Obama and her daughters</td></tr>
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By some mystery, <a href="http://news.msn.com/in-depth/us-trained-alaskans-as-secret-stay-behind-agents" target="_blank">my browser homepage</a> was changed to MSNBC recently, so rather than learn how to fix it I've been indulging in their glossy spin. It's fun to read news from an entirely different source than I would normally.<br />
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<a href="http://finerfem.wordpress.com/2014/08/30/zeal-light-and-peace-quadrupani/" target="_blank">This blog post</a> came through my email today, and it's gorgeous and convicting as usual. Pope Francis recently used the term 'a bitter zeal' in a homily, which apparently belongs to the ancient St. James. God save me from having a pretentious faith, because aside from the obvious blindness and harm to my own soul, that's no way to attract anyone to the Gospel. My dad always told me essentially this when I got flustered about interpersonal stuff --- it takes all different kinds of people to make the world go 'round. My father-in-law once said something similar to a friend of ours who was a new recruit for the APD (he himself being a veteran of LAPD), "Just put your head down and do your part". I had never heard that phrasing and was puzzled ~ didn't he mean hold your head high and go be a big bad cop? All good advice from men who have weathered four or five decades of getting stuff done in groups of fallible humans.<br />
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Speaking of the police, I met a guy last night who has been camped out in his car at the local grocery store. He ran out of meth a few days ago. He said he just hunkered down in a damp sleeping bag and kept passing out whenever he tried to read the Bible. Nearing desperation, he chased down a pair of cops who had previously tried to wake him up in the Carrs parking lot. He ran after them on foot, claiming he had drugs and that they had forgotten to search him. The officers were incredulous, but one took him under his wing, helped him toss his pipe, drove him to a late-night 12-step meeting, and has even employed him with odd jobs for the past few days. No paperwork was filed or charges pressed. I hope he keeps coming back. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4dKmTePW2E" target="_blank">Father Martin</a> gives a rousing ode to the prayers of a scared addict --- "Don't ever discount the prayers you said when you were drunk. A hurting heart is closest to God than any other. Those were the best prayers you ever prayed." That policeman has done something grand, humane, and risky. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8j-f5b6j4k" target="_blank">Soli deo Gloria.</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9O_5Izr1-8s/VANruBGgceI/AAAAAAAAMdw/uSLzJx3qOno/s1600/amish2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9O_5Izr1-8s/VANruBGgceI/AAAAAAAAMdw/uSLzJx3qOno/s1600/amish2.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hoda & the lil' Giff taking breathalyzers</td></tr>
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I <a href="http://www.houseunseen.com/2014/08/house-fixing-house-selling-school.html" target="_blank">can't even believe Dwija is considering moving</a>. I wonder if the people who buy her house will be weirded out that there's an entire blog dedicated to their house? Funny quirk of living in the Internet age, you never quite know when you step on documented ground. Real estate sales involve those tiresome disclosure forms, about lead paint, crimes or malfunctions on the property. Sellers even have to disclose paranormal activity like suspected hauntings. I imagine those concerns will soon grow to include potential privacy violations or previous media exposure.<br />
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And I don't care much for the First Lady's chosen dress at her chef's wedding, PS! (although I liked how she and her girls were coordinated.) <br />
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Reading MSNBC reminds me of one winter when Anthony and I found ourselves in the habit of watching the Today Show every morning as we stared slack-jawed over coffee mugs at the frigid yard outside. The show's cacophony was warm, sedating and a little hedonistic ("...<em>is Kathi Lee drinking Tanqueray at 6 a.m.?</em> well, this is fun.") My husband sighed, "it's the dead of February and I feel like I'm trapped in a dentist's office, with old issues of People magazine come to life. Part of me is humiliated, and <strong>part of</strong> <strong>me never wants this to end."</strong> :)<br />
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But, look ~ <a href="http://news.msn.com/us/amish-to-build-garage-for-pair-who-returned-girls" target="_blank">here!</a> Life can be simple, even when pierced by great evil.<br />
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Tiffany Borgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03027802344101689023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1807797510077851525.post-66402361607911757932014-08-29T12:15:00.002-08:002014-08-29T12:15:46.223-08:00Capitalism, for the win<a href="http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-sat-exam-american-values-chinese-students-20140829-story.html" target="_blank">The last line is golden.</a> <br />
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Tiffany Borgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03027802344101689023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1807797510077851525.post-31428320622994286052014-08-29T07:37:00.001-08:002014-08-29T11:49:55.236-08:00two links ~ no, three!<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/26/health/obamacare-transgender-surgery/index.html?hpt=he_c2" target="_blank">Obamacare credited with complete feeling after sex change operation (ahem -- gender re-assignment)</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/the-city-gates.cfm?id=864" target="_blank">The rising, dangerous influence of transgender ideology</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.stevegershom.com/2014/08/dancing-with-myself-a-dialogue-on-gender-sexuality-part-ii/" target="_blank">fleshing out any conversation on sexuality, with the fearlessness of Simcha's Brother</a>Tiffany Borgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03027802344101689023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1807797510077851525.post-10048913578439549452014-08-23T09:57:00.001-08:002014-08-23T12:06:36.223-08:00making peace with progress<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iyq1ycf5LWQ/U_jVHyjI9-I/AAAAAAAAMXU/e4qECTj7JGI/s1600/denali.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iyq1ycf5LWQ/U_jVHyjI9-I/AAAAAAAAMXU/e4qECTj7JGI/s1600/denali.jpg" height="200" width="198" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Denali from Talkeetna</td></tr>
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1) <a href="http://www.adn.com/article/20140822/teachers-enthusiasm-added-glitter-transition-summer-freedom-classroom-learning" target="_blank">Our local newspaper has gone away</a>, and I guess I still need to make a visit to their vault to get our four youngest 'Stork Report' clippings. When Vivian was born I remember being told that the newspaper office maintains a few copies of each day's newspaper indefinitely, and one can request them in person at the ADN office. Now that they've moved online, everything feels transient and like those newspapers could vanish. Like they take 'their duty to me' less seriously. Which I know is silly. It's been ten years and I'm probably never going there. But how dare they!<br />
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2) I signed up for a deductive reasoning class online with Duke University (I'm not a total curmudgeon about the internet, see?) and am excited to see what it's like.<br />
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3) We've crossed the threshold into Too Many Kids to attend the Alaska State Fair cheaply, even with our tricks (totally different bag of tricks than we used at the Ventura County Fair, way back when) --- so it looks like an undercover mission with our three oldest is in order. I hope to see photos. Just husband Anthony with Viva, Margaret & Veronica. --- no babies and no mom --- <em>paaaaaaaarty.</em><br />
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4) Do you think it's impractical to invite Snoop Doggy Dogg to our 20-year high school class reunion this summer? I really want to.<br />
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5) <a href="http://www.alaskapublic.org/2014/06/29/i-am-the-town-obituary-writer/" target="_blank">One more link.</a> <a href="http://catholicdefense.blogspot.com/2014/08/9-ways-to-restore-all-things-in-christ.html" target="_blank">Okay, two.</a><br />
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6) I might soon write a sex post and try to keep it as elegant and approachable as<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sinners-Guide-Natural-Family-Planning/dp/1612787878/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408819926&sr=8-1&keywords=sinner%27s+guide+to+nfp" target="_blank"> Simcha's lovely new book</a>. Stay tuned for all that, DAD. hahaha. Um. I would never do that.<br />
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7) That wraps up my first attempt at 7 whoodly what whats, or however Jennifer calls it. <a href="http://www.conversiondiary.com/2014/08/7-quick-takes-about-vintage-dresses-hiphop-wedding.html" target="_blank">She regularly slays it over here.</a>Tiffany Borgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03027802344101689023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1807797510077851525.post-89354222475511134882014-08-19T20:38:00.000-08:002014-08-19T21:04:46.352-08:00I swear to you that I saw Woody Harrelson in a maroon 1987 Subaru GL wagon...<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ray troll (looks like Ketchikan?)</td></tr>
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at the corner of Crusey and the Parks Highway today. And my bra is filled with sand. Our summer is complete.<br />
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Tiffany Borgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03027802344101689023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1807797510077851525.post-61401503480868790222014-08-18T22:22:00.002-08:002014-08-18T22:22:18.883-08:00from the church bulletin<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: ArialMT;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: ArialMT;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: ArialMT;"><div align="LEFT">
Older people are a special presence of God</div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: ArialMT;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: ArialMT;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: ArialMT;">among us. This is so, </span></span></span><span style="font-family: ArialMT;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT;">not only because old age</span></span></div>
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brings wisdom (it does not always do so), but</div>
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because the twilight of life is a time of extreme</div>
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refinement. The spirit becomes humble. There are</div>
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fewer idols. False illusions and false promises crumble and</div>
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this enables older people to become more perceptive. Old age</div>
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can be a very dark hour, but for this very reason, it can also be</div>
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the eve that ushers in life's Eternal Dawn.</span><br /></span><br />Tiffany Borgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03027802344101689023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1807797510077851525.post-81554021048382627602014-08-18T15:59:00.002-08:002014-08-18T15:59:15.630-08:00oh, Internet.Heather says Love is the Way:<br />
<a href="http://www.mamaknowshoneychild.com/2014/08/learning-that-love-is-the-way/">http://www.mamaknowshoneychild.com/2014/08/learning-that-love-is-the-way/</a><br />
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<em>more about this soon --- but it's a winner! Damn, I don't miss Facebook. I have made more face-to-face amends for stuff I've typed than any other area of my life. Growing isn't easy. But I'm so totally not giving up my preppy handbag. :)</em>Tiffany Borgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03027802344101689023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1807797510077851525.post-21501319881277492942014-08-16T05:30:00.000-08:002014-08-16T05:30:00.616-08:00thank you, Allison Grace<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z1GgMTfHImY/U-8ae1wP2GI/AAAAAAAALoo/3R5YyNv9n4k/s1600/vivaldi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-z1GgMTfHImY/U-8ae1wP2GI/AAAAAAAALoo/3R5YyNv9n4k/s1600/vivaldi.jpg" height="400" width="316" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vivaldi says get to work, kids.</td></tr>
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and each of the friends who tread with joy along this path. Teresa, Tana, Joy, Michele, Anne and your 45 (!) children, plus all the happy faces we continue to meet through your acquaintance.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://wildflowersandmarbles.com/2014/08/06/two-simple-ways-to-prepare-the-soil-for-a-classical-education/" target="_blank">wildflowers and marbles ~ she says it like you would, and *with lists*</a><br />
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<em>for everyone who's drawn to this, not just homeschoolers</em> : )Tiffany Borgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03027802344101689023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1807797510077851525.post-72067371059689279702014-08-15T14:47:00.001-08:002014-08-15T19:54:27.663-08:00desperation is better than despair<em>(There's not really a point to this blog post. Mostly a brain dump, and I hope the Ben Stein piece will reach more eyes. As a writer, there's supposed to be a one-or two sentence takeaway possible afterwards, right? this doesn't meet that criteria, but I'm very sad and wanted to share.)</em><br />
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I've just heard the news about Robin Williams' grappling with the beginnings of Parkinson's. It's a comfort to know he was sober, according to his wife, and it makes sense that physical sobriety is in fact unbearable without a <a href="http://spectator.org/articles/60232/robin-williams-rip" target="_blank">program of recovery</a>. To an addict, the toxic (for us) substances are the solution, not the problem. Strictly speaking, "the problem" begins when the drugs run out or stop working. Also, other people seem to have a <em>problem</em> with our ... antics.<br />
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Among the attitudes I encountered while asking friends and family the <a href="http://loxpopuli.blogspot.com/2014/08/an-ordeal.html" target="_blank">Weed Question</a>, there was an almost un-nameable strain of, "Stoned losers are always going to be stoned losers, so who cares." This stung ~ as a former stoned loser and an escapee from addiction, I couldn't reconcile my own experience with such extreme dismissal of the human journey. In my mid-teenage years, after writing off notions of family and faith as naive, but before meeting judges and hospitals, I was given the benefit of men like <a href="http://loxpopuli.blogspot.com/2013/03/to-capture-humility-or-how-pope-francis.html" target="_blank">Mr. Eddy</a> --- who somehow intimated that I was made for better stuff than even the best dope around. Notably for those who love him, Mr. Eddy is in his third decade of living with Parkinson's Disease. I think of Robin Williams, with John Belushi hours before his fatal overdose in 1982, and the decades of public joy and productivity which followed -- all created by an addict saved from the trash heap.<br />
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As to the Parkinson's Disease, facing certain physical decline is often touted as a reason for "assisted suicide" and abortion. We hear fallacies about being 'productive' as the measure of a life. I think of John Paul the Great and his witness of a holy death. I want to blame the culture of death for its utilitarian treatment of people, but blame belongs other places, too: misapplication of psychoactive drugs, highbrow culture, Hollywood, lowbrow culture, selfie culture, Major Depression, the Sexual Revolution (see<em> utilitarian treatment of people</em>), and predictably, the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2722538/Robin-Williams-checked-Minnesota-rehab-center-focus-continued-commitment-sobriety-tragic-death.html" target="_blank">whispering plunder</a> of the Devil himself. Lower power indeed. Like Bob Dylan says, You Gotta Serve Somebody.<br />
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Last year, Simcha wrote a memorable piece about beating a <a href="http://www.ncregister.com/blog/simcha-fisher/hobby-horses" target="_blank">cause to the point of becoming deaf and dumb, and I risk doing that if I pretend to know the details of this tragedy.</a> And as my husband shrugged, "Do you know how many people offed themselves yesterday? Nobody cares about them. Even this claim of caring is selfish. <a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/entertainment/celebrities_gossip/20140813_WENN_Howard_Stern_regrets_tense_Robin_Williams_interview.html" target="_blank">He was a thing</a>." (this is how my husband talks, but he's not endorsing --- just describing. He is the best describer I know.) <br />
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Before despair comes desperation. When desperation is shared, it recedes. By the same <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/08/13/robin-williamss-daughter-zelda-driven-off-twitter-by-vicious-trolls/" target="_blank">selfie culture</a> which pierced his blameless daughter, Robin Williams' <a href="http://radaronline.com/exclusives/2014/08/robin-williams-battling-demons-aa-meeting-san-francisco/" target="_blank">privacy was finally so desecrated</a> that his options for spiritual salvage seemed to close in on him.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XiBvnGr1XBo/U-0s6KCL_cI/AAAAAAAALoQ/TsgVW8WuhtU/s1600/feetofjesus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XiBvnGr1XBo/U-0s6KCL_cI/AAAAAAAALoQ/TsgVW8WuhtU/s1600/feetofjesus.jpg" height="187" width="320" /></a>With a few kids who have a flair for dramatic, we've begun conversations about the ultimate isolation of the performing arts. They can be fulfilling, noble and ordered to the good, sure --- but the risk of becoming a 'thing' to surrounding caretakers, pawing fans, or well-intentioned managers seems ever-present. No matter our affection or connection with an artist, it's not my Christmas morning that will be empty without Robin Williams. <a href="http://www.catholicpulse.com/cp/en/columnists/lopez/081614.html" target="_blank">He was someone's Daddy.</a><br />
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NB --- I have to link it again --- <a href="http://spectator.org/articles/60232/robin-williams-rip" target="_blank">every word of Ben Stein's take rings true, from where I sit.</a> I wasn't a big fan of Robin Williams' raw comedy because of the hints of sex-tinged stuff that put me off, even as a kid/before I could name or recognize the "blue" as blue. My preferences aside, his talent was so grand and generous, his range so vast, that his loss feels like a hunk of the earth dropped away. I guess it has. Addiction has only three ends, unless arrested ~ jails, institutions and death. May God help me to be less selfish. To reach for Him through sharing my needs with others, and doing my best to meet theirs. Tiffany Borgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03027802344101689023noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1807797510077851525.post-20368037463838368462014-08-12T17:09:00.002-08:002014-08-12T17:12:38.881-08:00A Mother Lifts Her Son, Slowly, from Heroin Overdose<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/11/us/a-mother-lifts-her-son-slowly-from-heroins-abyss.html?_r=0" target="_blank">Please meet Alex and pray for their needs tonight.</a>Tiffany Borgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03027802344101689023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1807797510077851525.post-79999424833585909272014-08-12T11:41:00.001-08:002014-08-12T17:01:13.817-08:00Any Mother Worth Her Salthas at some point made the following discoveries (I'm in list-making mode!):<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>No Time for Politics, Charles Dana Gibson</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">10 </span>an abandoned egg or diaper, rotting away in her motorcar.<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">9</span> Most existential worries are helped by raucous play and a pot of coffee. <br />
<a href="http://%22you%20can%20always%20add%20more%20water%20to%20the%20beans.%22/" target="_blank">Laughing with friends is a great clarifier.</a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">8</span> <a href="http://www.crisismagazine.com/2014/worshipping-devil-default" target="_blank">Real men</a> are necessary, mysterious and easy to please. Ditto little boys.<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">7</span> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bunmi-laditan/im-done-making-my-kids-childhood-magical_b_5062838.html" target="_blank"> This!</a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">6</span> Speech impediments are (extremely) cute and (mostly) temporary.<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">5</span> <a href="http://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2011/03/something-greater-than-yourself" target="_blank">We don't need to recreate the wheel.</a> (or is it re-invent? I am so bad at the idioms.)<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">4</span> The Divine will be protected in our midst as it first was in human form ~ by a Mother.<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">3</span> Serenity comes at a price, but is always a bargain. <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">'be joyful because it is humanly possible" -Wendell Berry</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">2</span> There remain five steps to laundry: sort, wash, dry, fold, put away. <br />
And stuck on the fourth step, I remain.<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1</span> The seasons of life are fleeting, even when they don't eat their oatmeal.<br />
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Tiffany Borgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03027802344101689023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1807797510077851525.post-7830815204813331982014-08-11T20:45:00.002-08:002014-08-12T10:10:48.806-08:00Is the Church a Clubhouse or a Lighthouse? by Msgr. Charles Pope<span style="font-size: x-small;">(copied <a href="http://blog.adw.org/" target="_blank">from his blog here</a>)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">OK, so the title asks two focal questions plainly enough. Let’s begin with the first, “Is the Church a clubhouse or a lighthouse?”</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>Many, it would seem, want the Church just to be a friendly place where people can gather.</strong> Many of these same people get angry when the Church shines the light of truth on something. They declare that the Church should just be open and inviting. They object when She is challenging and points to the demands of the Gospel.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>But the Church has to be more than a clubhouse otherwise She is no different from a bowling league or the Moose Lodge.</strong> She is most certainly meant to be a lighthouse, a warning of danger giving light to those in darkness. But in doing so, She is also risking that some who are accustomed to the darkness will complain of the Light of Christ She reflects.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>Here then is a focal question: clubhouse or lighthouse?</strong> Of course there does not need to be a radical dichotomy here. There are surely social aspects of the Church wherein She builds community. But mission needs to be first and it is our mission to be light that actually builds community since we are focused on one goal, not merely individual interests.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 19px;"><strong>Another and even more provocative image is in the video</strong> from </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIUaa1P5fTY" style="line-height: 19px;" target="_blank">Ignitermedia.com</a>,<span style="line-height: 19px;"> which asks if the Church is a c</span>ruise ship<span style="line-height: 19px;"> or a battleship.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>Many, it would seem, surely think of the Church as more of a cruise ship: </strong>one that exists for my pleasure and entertainment. “Peel me a grape!” seems to be the attitude that some bring to Church. The video does a good job of pointing out how many think of the Church as a cruise ship by listing the questions many ask of a luxury cruise liner.</div>
<ol style="text-align: justify;">
<li>Do I like the music they play in the ballroom?</li>
<li>Do I like the captain and his crew?</li>
<li>Is the service good?</li>
<li>Am I well fed?</li>
<li>Are my needs met promptly?</li>
<li>Is the cruise pleasant?</li>
<li>Am I comfortable?</li>
<li>Will I cruise with them again?</li>
</ol>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>It is true that our parishes ought to work very hard to make sure the faithful are effectively served</strong> and helped to find God. Good sermons, excellent and obedient liturgy (including good music), a beautiful Church, and dedicated clergy and lay staff are all important. God deserves the very best and so do His people.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>However,</strong> it also follows that the world does not exist merely to please me. No parish we attend will ever be exactly the way we want it. No priest preaches perfectly every Sunday. The choir does not always sing my favorites.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<strong>Some people stay away from Mass calling it “boring,” or saying they aren’t being fed. But in the end, it’s not about you!</strong> We go to Mass to worship God because God is worthy, because God deserves our praise, and because He has commanded us to be there. God has something important to say to us whether we want to hear it or not. He directs us to eat his flesh and drink his blood whether we like it or not. We must eat or we will die. Holy Mass is about God and what He is saying and doing.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The video goes on to suggest a better image for the Church—a battleship. I was less impressed with the questions given in the video comparing the Church and a battleship, so I’ve added my some of my own as well.</div>
<ol style="text-align: justify;">
<li>Is the ship on a clear and noble mission?</li>
<li>Is the ship able to endure storms at sea?</li>
<li>Does the captain submit to a higher authority?</li>
<li>Are the tactics and moves of the enemy well understood by bridge crew?</li>
<li>Does the bridge crew have proper training and experience?</li>
<li>Are the general crew members equipped to succeed?</li>
<li> Is the general crew well trained in the available weaponry?</li>
<li>Does the general crew cooperate with the captain?</li>
<li>Are they taught to be disciplined and vigilant?</li>
<li>Are they rooted in (naval) tradition yet well aware of current circumstances?</li>
<li>Are they at their posts?</li>
<li>Do they take the battle seriously?</li>
<li>Does the ship have adequate first aid and medical help?</li>
<li>Is the crew properly fed?</li>
</ol>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Some dislike any military imagery in reference to the faith. But <em>pugna spiritalis </em>(spiritual battle) is a simple fact. We are besieged by the world, the flesh, and the devil. We are called to engage in the battle and, by God’s grace, to persevere through to victory. Our weapons are the Word of God, the Teachings of the Church, the Sacraments, and prayer. We cannot win on our own; we must work together under the authority of the Church, which is Herself under God’s care and authority. We are rooted in the wisdom of tradition and, guided by the Pope and Bishops, we are to apply that wisdom and our training to these current times. Peter’s Barque has endured many storms yet has never sunk. She is a sure, steady ship on a clear and noble mission.</div>
Tiffany Borgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03027802344101689023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1807797510077851525.post-6597886620813947712014-08-11T20:41:00.002-08:002014-08-11T20:41:12.045-08:00Do Whatever He Tells You: rinse & repeat, mea culpa, happy summer, grateful heart, contented mind<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/r3H5f7oePQE" width="420"></iframe><br />
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I just can't stop watching this ~ and on all other matters I must withhold comment. <br />
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<strong>"I have no reason to be ungrateful"</strong> ~ Chelsa P at the 9:30<br />
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<3 <3 <3 (is that hip? no? I'm pressed for time.)<br />
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Tiffany Borgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03027802344101689023noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1807797510077851525.post-91932443279662893492014-08-10T12:08:00.002-08:002014-08-10T12:08:50.540-08:00this guy ~ Jesus<a href="http://www.heroicpriesthood.com/" target="_blank">"...Our happiness is not contingent upon anything here on this Earth"</a><br />
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Tiffany Borgeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03027802344101689023noreply@blogger.com0