my favorite Stephens

3. Stephen Colbert
2. St. Stephen, the first martyr (December 26 feastday)

1. my Dad
Happy naming day, Dad.

merry christmas

Botticelli, "Mystical Nativity" c. 1500-1501

"It is only the Child lying in the manger who possesses the true secret of life. For this reason, he asks us to welcome him, to make room for him within us, in our hearts, in our homes, in our cities, and in our societies... Let us endeavor to be among those who welcome him. Before him one cannot remain indifferent. We too, dear friends, must continuously take sides. What will our response be? With what attitude will we welcome him? The simplicity of the shepherds and the seeking of the Magi who scrutinized the signs of God by means of the star come to our help. The docility of Mary and the wise prudence of Joseph serve as an example to us...

"The love that Jesus, born in Bethlehem, brought into the world binds to himself in a lasting relationship of friendship and brotherhood all who welcome him. Saint John of the Cross says 'in giving us all, that is, his Son, in him God has now said all. Fix your eyes on him alone... and you will find in addition more than you ask and desire.'"

-- Pope Benedict XVI

"It is not enough to say that Jesus is the name we give to the Truth. Jesus is the man who is the incarnation of the Truth... We do not seek solutions to problems in life derived from religious sentiments, spiritual approaches, or philosophical convictions... In each circumstance of life, whatever it is, we seek not an answer but a Presence, the human presence that is the way to the 'Answer,' to the Truth. We do not come together as a Church to find intellectual answers to our questions about the meaning and purpose of life. This is to reduce the Church to an ideology... The Church is not 'our way' of finding answers to our religious quest for the Truth; it is the method through which the Truth becomes humanly present to us... We come together as a Church to learn how to recognize the fact of this Presence, and to witness to it any circumstance of life, especially when there are no answers. Jesus Christ is the way to the Answer. In him, way and answer coincide."

-- Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete

happy music christmas

Stereogum has posted a link to .zip files of Pitchfork's top 100 tracks of 2007. Woo!

detritus

This looks awesome. Say hello to Persepolis:



I want to go read the graphic novels this is based on. Speaking of which, Time has released their top 10 graphic novels for 2007.

It was a long and arduous day at the office (late starts are always like that), so I needed to veg out once I got home. Like, checking out my fantasy football team, which has managed to finish 2nd in my league, having the advantage of being chosen by a computer, and not by me. That pretty much tells you everything you need to know about fantasy sports. Sweet Lady Autopick grabbed me Tony Romo, although that's offset by also picking Johnsons, Larry and Rudi.

I've been tempted to play Football Manager 2008, but I've held off, waiting for the weekend. I've just downloaded the demo, so it only lets me play a season up to January, which, all things considering, is probably healthier for me.

Fr. Edward and the Tiggers

From the sublime to the absurd. First, some words from Ed.

"Human portraits of God’s Fatherhood" 12/4/07

Dear Friends in Christ,

Considering that one's personal relation with fatherhood in turn greatly influences how one perceives God and his fatherhood, we understand the exigency for positive models of it in our society. We may hear about fathers who become so engrossed in pursuing a career or some other goal that they end up seriously neglecting their children. But fatherhood ought to be an imitation of the one fatherhood of God who created and lovingly watches over us. Above all, its purpose is to communicate the love that God has for all His earthly children.

I recently watched "The Pursuit of Happyness" (2006), a film based on a true story which beautifully portrays the essence of authentic fatherhood. It is reminiscent of Roberto Benigni's character in "La Vita è Bella", of a father who's willing to make any sacrifice in the hope of a better life for his son. The storyline is set in San Francisco in 1981 during the economic recession in the U.S. and Chris Gardner is an optimistic and intelligent African American salesman struggling to support his wife and young son, Christopher. Chris reveals not having known his own father until he was 28 years old and vows not to let history repeat itself with Christopher. So when the financial strain becomes unbearable and his wife decides to leave him, he insists on retaining custody of Christopher. Chris is vindicated in this clash when Christopher reveals that he is happy and confirms the desire to remain with his father. With a diminishing source of income, they are eventually evicted from their home to living in homeless shelters and at one point, even reduced to passing the night in the bathroom of the subway station. In the face of this difficult life, Chris has the desperate inspiration to try for a long shot, non-paying stockbroker internship at Dean Witter, where only one of the twenty candidates will ultimately end up with an opportunity for a lucrative full time position. Even in the midst of competing for this internship, Chris refuses to compromise the personal vow he has made to his son, choosing to leave work early in order to pick him up from the daycare lest Christopher be left alone. Chris demonstrates a heroic capacity to give that which is most important to Christopher: a father's presence and an unfailing love and attention. There were several dialogues and scenes which I found moving; evoking the love the Heavenly Father has for each one of us. In one of them, Chris asks his son, "You gotta trust me, alright? Cause I'm getting a better job." "I trust you." In another, Chris extends his arm to give blood at the hospital to provide for his son conjuring up the kenosis (self-emptying) of Jesus bleeding and giving his life on the Cross. Lastly, while tucking his child into bed at the shelter and completely exhausted after a long day, he receives a goodnight kiss and the words, "You're a good papa". It is all the affirmation he needs and that which makes all the sacrifices worthwhile and meaningful. Chris initially applied for the stockbroker internship because all the people on Wall Street had smiles on their faces and looked so happy, and he desired as much for himself and his son. In the end, after acquiring the coveted position, he rushes to passionately embrace his son, capturing the essence of what he knew all along. That it's not so much what you have but who you're with that really matters.

Above and beyond the example of Chris in this film, we are reminded that Our Heavenly Father lovingly keeps custody and provides for His children at every moment. That Our Father proves His willingness to sacrifice at all costs for His children, through the ultimate demonstration of life-giving love of the Cross. That Our Father too entreats every one of us, "You gotta trust me, alright?" when the uncertainties of life tempt us to doubt His providence and judgment. "See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are (1 Jn 3:1)."

May we at all times learn to appreciate and love a Father so great!

In Jesus and Mary,
Edward

***
Now to the absurd. Namely, the rest of the AL Central doing the best they can to dust the Sox, the latest example being the Tiggers trading assorted shiny goods for Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera, who, even more than the Santana! is the crown jewel of available MLB talent this offseason.

A stupendous claim, you say. Gat, you must be out of your mind. That is totally bogus, as my students would say. Not so. Why?

• He's driven in 100+ runs the last 4 years, and hit over .320 the last 3. More telling indicators say that he's over 150 in OPS+ (which is MVP caliber) and has an OPS over .940. The only guy of recent vintage that had better age 21-24 seasons was Albert Pujols.
  
• He's going into his age 25(!) season, which means he's still cheap and the Tiggers can lock up his most productive years under contract for less than market price.
  
• He's had all this production with a mostly average Florida lineup protecting him and a cavernous stadium to hit in, so Tiger Stadium's much maligned hitter suppression won't affect him much. Also, he'll be surrounded by the likes of Sheffield, Ordonez, Guillen, et al., and playing for a winner.
  
• His fatness (as referenced in a previous post) is becoming less of a problem, as he's motivated by being on a winner and having fellow Venezuelan compatriots Ordonez and Guillen kicking his lardy butt. "I'll want to be in the best shape of my life" says he.
  

The downside is that he sucks on defense and he doesn't help the lopsided righthandedness of their lineup, and he may not want to stick around after his arbitration years, but he's still the real deal.

I humbly submit to the greatness of the Santana!, but he's going to cost a boatload of treasure, and he still is a pitcher desiring a long term contract, and pitchers are always a risky signing because of their significant odds of injury. He's definitely not a Kevin Brown, but signing any pitcher long term, no matter how great he is, is not as "safe" a bet as signing a position player who plays everyday. Also, unlike Santana!, there is no pressure to sign Cabrera to a long-term contract immediately, since he's still in his arbitration years. Cabrera gives the Tiggers a chance to compete now AND set up for the future.

Oh, AND... they got Dontrelle Willis, who is overmatched as an ace, but a perfectly serviceable #4 starter behind Verlander, Bonderman, and Rogers in the tougher AL, pitching in a friendly ballpark and an excellent defense behind him.

Fricking unbelievable.

What does this tell me about the Sox?

• Even if they had signed Torii Hunter (who signed a ridiculous contract with the Angels, but he can be a difference maker for them), they still would be 4th in terms of talent in this division. Also, signing Aaron Rowand is still not going to help.
• Seeing the demand and availability of pitchers like Santana!, Erik Bedard, and Dan Haren helps me realize that maybe the demand for Jon Garland wasn't ever that high, and that it'll be even lower for fodder like Jose Contreras. We were lucky to get the OC.
• The Sox don't have the prospects or the talent to trade for a big name. They dangled some combination of Fields, Gonzalez, and Broadway for Cabrera, but that wasn't going to be close to the 2 major league ready players and 4 plus prospects that Detroit could offer. There simply isn't enough to talent/value to trade, which is probably why Kenny has been trying to stick with what he had as long as he could, which usually ends up being a death sentence for repeating success. Teams with continued success always add something new and always have young talent coming to the forefront. Just for the record, the Sox have holes in LF, CF, 2b, a balky Joe Crede, and the bullpen (don't comfort me with the ludicrous Scott Linebrink signing. 4 years for $19mm for a reliever? Are we the fricking Mets now?)
  
• Heck, after the Royals signed Jose Guillen and ran in the bidding for Japanese import Kosuke Fukudome, the Sox might have the least amount of talent in the toughest division in baseball. That means last place, friends. With the Cubs at least making the playoffs last year, all of a sudden, 2005 seems really far away. I'm going to get a box of tissues, some ice cream, and watch my 2005 championship DVDs now.