PETA: Aquarium Shouldn't Serve Fish

I wonder if People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) received phone and email complaints from the "intelligent" fish at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach? I love these quotes (their main arguments):
--"Serving fish at an aquarium is like serving poodle burgers at a dog show."
--"They don't sell elephant burgers at the zoo, and they shouldn't be selling fish at aquariums."

Read the full story here.

Respect Life Message-7/3/05

In his first book (in Italian) published since his election as Pope, Benedict XVI rejects the suggestion that the Church has given up its fight for the right to life of the unborn, instead emphasizing that “There is no such thing as ‘small murders.’”

By allowing state-sanctioned execution of the unborn, “you become blind to the right of life of another, the youngest and weakest who doesn't have a voice,” he wrote. “Accepting that the rights of the weakest can be violated, means that you accept also that the right of force prevails over the force of rights.”

[My submission for the upcoming weekly bulletin of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, Hermosa Beach, California]

June 2005 Poker Winnings

As per the updated resolution that I made on my April 23rd post, I have withdrawn my goal of $200 from my poker winnings this month. I have also taken out an extra $300 for June. YTD=+$1,600. I am going to increase my goal to $300 per month. That's only about $10 a day. My next withdrawal of $300 is due on July 31st. I haven't moved up in limits yet because I have been killing the $0.50/$1 limit game at over 7BB($7 in this case) per hour with bonuses included. I usually play three of these tables at one time. In July, I'll occasionally play the $1/$2 game and perhaps stick my toe into the $2/$4 limit game. Please continue to keep me accountable.

Love God and Love Your Neighbor

From today's Father Dennis homily:

"...We should involve our children in conversations with other adults and be interested in our children’s friendships by getting to know their friends. Let them know that an unhealthy relationship is one that excludes other people. Yet, I believe this applies to our parish families as well. We cannot become so comfortable with this building or these people that we lose track of the larger church. Rather than being afraid of strangers, we need to reach out to them in love because, on the cross, Christ reached out to us in love and promised to take us with him into everlasting life. Part of taking up our crosses means extending our relationships outside of what is comfortable in order to show love to a stranger."

Season Three of 24 - 4 AM

I just watched the 4am-5am episode of the third season of 24. This is by far the best episode of any of the four seasons that I have watched. If anyone has ever seen this one, please back me up on this.

I am continuously amazed that the writers of the series are able to put so much suspense into each episode. The thing that I love seeing within the show, are all of the choices that the characters have to make. Will they make the right choice? Or, will they pay the consequences for making the wrong choice? Yes, there are always consequences. This is rare to see in today's society and culture.

Best. Television. Series. Ever.

Isn't This Creepy

(from LifeSiteNews.com) - Terri’s Gravestone used by Husband Michael as Lasting Memorial to His Determination to Kill Her

Michael Schiavo has carried his war with Terri’s parents right up to her grave. He has placed a grave marker that says Terri “departed this earth February 25th, 1990” and was “at peace, March 31, 2005.”

Not content with his victory over Terri and her family in having succeeded in having her dehydrated to death, Michael has used her bronze grave marker as an occasion to get in one last parting shot at her parents. The marker ends with the words, “I kept my promise.” Schiavo’s case against allowing his wife to live was based upon his assertion that she had told him once in an off-hand comment that she would not want to be kept alive if she became severely disabled.

Schiavo ordered that Terri’s remains be cremated two days after her death and her ashes have been interred at Sylvan Abbey Memorial Park in Clearwater Florida, instead of in Pennsylvania as he originally announced. Terri’s family was not notified until after the interment on Monday when they received a fax. A court order had required that the Schindlers be informed of the time and place of burial.

Terri’s brother, Bobby Schindler, released the following statement in response to the inscription on Terri's burial site marker, “This clearly illustrates the spiteful lengths to which Michael Schiavo will go in order to purposely hurt those that loved Terri unconditionally – her family. It seems to me that the only intention of this inscription was to be hurtful, and had absolutely nothing to do with Terri, but only to cause my parents additional pain over the loss of their child. Maybe even more tragic, is that in doing so, Michael Schiavo shows nothing but a lack of respect for Terri.”

Photograph taken from here.
Also see, The Passion of Theresa Marie Schiavo.

Derrek Lee Triple Crown Watch

Batting Average: .390 - 1st in MLB
Home Runs: 20 - 1st(tied) in MLB
Runs Batted In: 60 - 1st(tied) in NL

My First Royal Flush

I just had my very first royal flush ever. It was not that exciting, though. It was on a .50/$1 limit hold 'em table at Ultimate Bet. I was dealt 10h, 10c. I was first to bet in late position. I raised. Button called, BB called. Flop came Ah, 6h, Qh. I bet, call, call. Turn was Jh. Bet, call, call. River was Kh. Bet, fold, call. I didn't get any action because of the flush on the board. I won $9.30. Netted about $6. No fanfare. No bonus. Nothing. Hooray!?!

Cracking The Da Vinci Code

I have not read The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. After reading the very well written and sourced article on Karl Keating's Catholic Answers website, I will probably not read it and am saddened by its popularity.

Here is an excerpt from the article:
The problem is that many of the ideas that the book promotes are anything but fact, and they go directly to the heart of the Catholic faith. For example, the book promotes these ideas:

-Jesus is not God; he was only a man.
-Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene.
-She is to be worshiped as a goddess.
-Jesus got her pregnant, and the two had a daughter.
-That daughter gave rise to a prominent family line that is still present in Europe today.
-The Bible was put together by a pagan Roman emperor.
-Jesus was viewed as a man and not as God until the fourth century, when he was deified by the emperor Constantine.
-The Gospels have been edited to support the claims of later Christians.
-In the original Gospels, Mary Magdalene rather than Peter was directed to establish the Church.
-There is a secret society known as the Priory of Sion that still worships Mary Magdalene as a goddess and is trying to keep the truth alive.
-The Catholic Church is aware of all this and has been fighting for centuries to keep it suppressed. It often has committed murder to do so.
-The Catholic Church is willing to and often has assassinated the descendents of Christ to keep his bloodline from growing.

Catholics should be concerned about the book because it not only misrepresents their Church as a murderous institution but also implies that the Christian faith itself is utterly false.

How can I respond to the charge that The Da Vinci Code is "just fiction"?
[T]he book takes great pains to create the appearance of factuality, including placing the infamous "fact" page at the beginning of the novel. Brown has stressed the ostensible accuracy of the book on his web site and in interviews. This is not a case where an author and a publisher have produced an ordinary novel. They have gone to great lengths to mislead people into thinking that the novel has a historical basis. They deserve especially sharp criticism for this, and when criticism is made they cannot hypocritically hide behind the "It's just fiction" allegation after having made such extensive efforts to convince the reader that it is not "just fiction."

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all of the fathers out there. Here is a poem written by my six-year old son Alex for me:

Dad's the one who's so much fun
I think that you are number one
I've always had so much fun with you
you are more handsome than my shoe!

Today is the Day

Today is the day that Lisa takes her last two final exams for school. She will finally be out of the 'prison' that she has been in the last 12 weeks. Everyone around here is very excited. Good luck, Sweetie!

Thanks for all of your prayers.

Rehnquist's Dissent to Roe v Wade

(excerpt from Father Frank Pavone's column at Priests For Life) - The 1973 Supreme Court abortion decision Roe vs. Wade was decided by a 7-2 margin, legalizing abortion throughout pregnancy. One of the two dissenters from that decision was the current Chief Justice, William Rehnquist.

In his dissent, Justice Rehnquist mentions several times that the Court is engaging in the kind of analysis and judgment that should be left to legislatures. To be able to discern the difference is a critical skill for anyone on our Federal courts to have. If the people are to have self-governance, then the legislative process should be allowed to function through the legislatures, and not be short-circuited by Court decisions that create policy without the input of the people and their elected representatives.

Justice Rehnquist’s dissent raises a question about current confirmation hearings for Federal judges and eventually for Supreme Court Justices. Nominees who oppose Roe vs. Wade are routinely criticized bitterly for that position. But if the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court for the past 19 years has been a dissenter from Roe, why can't a new federal judge also be? It is a respectable position, not only for moral and religious reasons, but for legal and Constitutional ones as well.

The full text of the Roe vs. Wade decision, including Justice Rehnquist’s dissent, can be found here.

Congratulations Yellow Belts

Alex and Marisa passed their test and received their new belts and a certificate from Master Kwon in front of the class today. Great job! Keep it up. Miss Eva (one of their teachers) is shedding a tear. Or not.

Season Three of 24

I started watching season three of 24. I am only 8 hours into the season and I have to say that it is the best by far. More action. More twists. I don't know if my heart can handle the next 16 hours. I am still regretting the fact that I watched season four already. I really wish I had waited until after I watched the first three seasons.

My new favorite character in the show is Michelle Dessler played by Reiko Aylesworth. My prediction is that this actress will be a big star soon.

My least favorite character is still Kim Bauer played by Elisha Cuthbert. I don't understand all of the hype around Elisha. And the character that she plays is just plain annoying. Oh well, this is my only minor complaint of the whole series.

Derrek Lee Triple Crown Watch

Batting Average: .386 - 1st in MLB
Home Runs: 18 - 1st in NL
Runs Batted In: 56 - 1st(tied) in MLB

June Poker Bonuses

I've changed my poker playing style a little this month. Instead of focusing on single-table no limit texas hold 'em tournaments, I have been playing mostly .50c/$1 and $1/$2 limit ring games. This is so that I can focus on clearing bonus requirements on new poker sites. So far I have made $170 in bonuses (free money). This is in addition to about $200 in winnings. There is a lot of free money that the many different poker sites offer. I will be spending the rest of the month trying to clear another couple hundred dollars in bonuses that I have pending. I came across this website, Poker Source Online, where you can get a lot of additional free stuff plus the individual site bonuses just for signing up for online poker.

Nick Cannon Pro-Life Music Video

(excerpt from LifeSiteNews.Com) - Nick Cannon, an accomplished actor (starred in Drumline), comedian, songwriter and producer with a host of credentials to his name at the age of twenty-four, including his own television show, has released his debut solo album.

The feature song entitled "Can I Live", on the album by the same name, is being praised by advocates of the culture of life for its powerfully pro-life statement.

The video, skillfully directed by Cannon himself, beautifully dramatizes the torment and the uncertainty as Cannon's own mother arrives at a "Women's Health Clinic" (abortuary) in the late seventies with the obvious intention of ending the life of her child. Cannon himself appears in the video clad in white, symbolically portraying the person of the as-yet unborn child, and giving voice to his own implicit right and desire to live.

Throughout the video he tries to connect with his unheeding mother and to plead his own case, at one point crying out to her "300 Dollars that's the price of living what? / Mommy I don't like this clinic / hopefully you'll make the right decision / and don't go though with the Knife Decision."

In the second to last scene Cannon's mother rises from the operating table as her unborn son's silent arguments penetrate and she runs from the clinic into the sunshine.

Cannon has received a slew of support from his fans on the message board of his official fan club website, with many confessing that they wept the first time they viewed the video. One woman recounted how his video confirmed her in her last minute decision not to have an abortion.

See the "Can I Live" video here

Mud Run Result

Lisa finished her 10K Mud Run in 1:18:39. This is very good considering the fact that she did not train at all for this event because of her studies. She came in 45th place out of 179 women in her age bracket. You can see how happy (and dirty) she is immediately after crossing the finish line and trying to get through the infamous mud pit:

Yellow Belt?

Alex and Marisa had their first ever test to see if they could be promoted to yellow belt from white. I think that they did very well. They needed to demonstrate many techniques that included: stances, blocks, punches, kicks, and falls. It was a very good experience. I would have been extremely nervous and would have probably fainted and failed because of all of the pressure. Below they are demonstating 'kick block number one' and 'middle front kick'. You can see the table in front of them where the intimidating presence of three black belt instructors, including Master Kwon, are watching them very closely. Results are pending.

The Next Big Task

Alex just started reading the fourth Harry Potter book: The Goblet of Fire. This book is almost twice as long as any of the previous books, at a whopping 734 pages! I've never even seen a book this long before, let alone read one. Stop showing me up, Alex, you are embarrassing me.

Mud Run Break

Lisa is going to take a break from her studies on Saturday by running in the Camp Pendleton Mud Run. The Mud Run is a challenging 10K run with hills, tire obstacles, low sand crawl, river crossings, two 5-foot walls with mud on both sides, tunnel crawl, slippery hill climb, and the final 30-foot mud pit. She looked forward to this race all year long. While she has been using every spare minute to study recently, she absolutely would not give this up. I think that it will be a good release of stress for her. Her time last year was 1:17:03.

Cubs Confidence: Am I Wrong?

It is still much too early, but I like the position that the Cubs are in. They are in second place in the Central Division behind St. Louis. And they are in strong contention for the wildcard. This is all happening with Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, and Nomar Garciaparra on the disabled list. Watch out when they all come back. They also do not have a strong closer, yet.

I didn't think that we would be in this position after the trade of Sammy Sosa for Jeromy Burnitz. But actually Burnitz is posting better stats right now. Also, Derrek Lee is having an MVP-type season. Remember that he was traded for Hee Seop Choi. Gotta give Cubs' management a lot of credit.

Burnitz - .261BA 8HR 57RBI
Sosa ---- .236BA 5HR 37RBI

Lee ----- .385BA 17HR 80RBI
Choi ---- .245BA 6 HR 20RBI

Second Season of 24

I just finished watching the second season of 24. This season was just as good as the first. The only thing that I got annoyed with was the sub plot adventures of Jack's daughter Kim. Just too much in my opinion.

The season ending 'surprise' and a few other incidents were ruined on my part because I watched the fourth season already (out of order). Try not to make the same mistake.

I'm all ready for the third season, after I go through the bonus features of the season two DVD set.

Alex is Out of Control

On May 27th, I wrote about how Alex had a reading milestone by tackling the first Harry Potter book. I have to keep remembering that he is still six years old.

Since then, he has read the second book in the series, The Chamber of Secrets. He just finished the third book, The Prisoner of Azkaban. I have been testing him to make sure that he is comprehending these books. He tells me all about these things that happen that are not in the movies (I have only watched the films). We did not allow him to see the movies because we thought they would be too scary for him. But since he has read the books we thought that it would be all right. He just watched the first two films and he actually said that the books were better.

Alex is a reading machine. He can't wait to read all of the books. The sixth book in the series comes out on July 16th. He wants to finish the fourth and fifth book before then. Yikes! Good luck, Alex.

Mercy Greater Than Sacrifice

I shared with my weekly faith sharing group that I have been struggling with my own sacrifice to others. I don't think that I am sacrificing enough. Yes, some people will say that I am making a sacrifice because I am the stay-at-home Dad. Or, because of my support for my wife while she is working hard on her doctorate degree. I personally don't really feel that these are sacrifices. It is just something that I do. Is a sacrifice only a sacrifice when you know that it is a sacrifice?

I believe that I received an answer at Mass today. The Gospel reading today has Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners. The Pharisees question this action. Jesus says to them, "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."

The message that I received is that I shouldn't focus on my own sacrifices right now, I should focus on having mercy for others. Yes, at times I do tend to look down upon people who do not agree with me on certain issues. I need to be able to sit down with my own 'tax collectors' and be able to admit that I am a sinner too.


Also, see Father Dennis' homily.

Assisted Suicide Bill AB 654 is DEAD

California Assembly Bill authors Patty Berg and Lloyd Levine could not gather enough votes to pass AB 654 so it didn't even come to a floor vote. The Bill titled: California Compassionate Choices Act, would have legalized doctor assisted suicide in California. Berg and Levine now seek legislative sleight of hand to resuscitate and transform AB 654 into a Senate bill, temporarily bypassing the Assembly vote as they attempt to lure more Assembly Member support.

Thanks to all those who worked so diligently to stop this latest attempt to sell death as medical treatment in California. Thanks to those who took the time to sign the postcards regarding the opposition AB 654. There were 31,000 postcard signatures sent from Los Angeles County alone.

Here is my original April 25, 2005 post Fight Assisted Suicide Bill in California on the ways to defeat it.

Movie Review: Madagascar

We had our little field trip to the movies yesterday. We had two free passes to the movie Madagascar, which really helped out. I still spent $17 for one extra child ticket, one popcorn, and one drink. There were only about 20 people watching the movie. About half of them were under the age of five. There was one family of four in front of us that had my attention at times. They had a newborn in a stroller and another kid about three years old. A few times during the movie, the newborn would start to cry, so the Dad would wheel the stroller out of the room. When that happened, the three year old would start to cry and say, "Where's Daddy going?" Then after a while, the Mom would have to take him out. This happened more than one time. There was also the inevitable potty break. I kept thinking while all this was going on, how much they must have spent to 'see' the movie, including concession. I wasn't upset at them, I was actually upset that it costs so much to go out to see a movie. This family probably spent over $35 to not see the film. It would be nice if the theaters were a little more family friendly. I have heard of some theaters that have a 'crying room', like in some churches, so that one could go in there and still watch the movie. I think that this a winner of an idea.

Oh, the movie was OK.

Donn's rating: 6 of 10 stars

Law Banning Late-Term Abortions Overturned

(from LifeSiteNews.com) – A Mississippi state judge has thrown out a law that banned late, second-term abortions by abortuaries.

U.S. District Judge Tom S. Lee – misinterpreting the constitution in typical judicial fashion – ruled the law barring women from procuring second-term abortions from private abortion clinics unconstitutional. The law created in 2004, set to come into effect July 1, 2005, required all second-term abortions – those performed after 13 weeks – be performed at hospitals or ambulatory surgical centers.

The ruling allows the single operating abortuary in the state – the misnamed Women’s Health Organization in Jackson – to continue committing the second term abortions – those committed up to and including 16 weeks of pregnancy.

Pro-Life Mississippi President Terri Herring said, “If we're going to claim to have safe, legal abortion, the least we can do is make it safe. Unless these clinics stop at first trimester, they're not safe. And they're never safe for unborn children.”

A Homeschooling Perk

One of the perks of homeschooling is to be able to do things while most kids are in traditional school. I go to stores during the day when it is not too crowded. We can go to kid places like Chuck E. Cheese, amusement parks, museums, the library, and others during school hours and have the run of the place. Tomorrow we are planning on seeing the movie Madagascar at 11:30am. It should be fun. Movie review to follow.