bearing blog

bear – ing n 1 the manner in which one comports oneself; 2 the act, power, or time of bringing forth offspring or fruit; 3 a machine part in which another part turns [a journal ~]; 4 pl comprehension of one’s position, environment, or situation; 5 the act of moving while supporting the weight of something [the ~ of the cross].

Foundation.

I remember sitting down earlier this year to a clean sheet of graph paper with a mechanical pencil and a clear plastic drafting triangle. (The triangle, like my devotion to Staedtler-Mars plastic erasers, is left over from my Engineering Graphics class almost thirteen years ago.)

What I drew that day was one shape inside another congruent one, rectangles with a rectangle-shaped corner removed. Later I added interior walls, details, staircases, places for windows. But what I see today is that first pair of shapes, sketched in wooden planks and set in sand.

The crosshatching I added between the two lines will here be written in concrete.

That’s some pencil.

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The next morning, some mysterious bundles have appeared. What could they be?

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Ah, it’s material for constructing the forms.

Incidentally, doesn’t the angle of repose of that sand pile, cut off the way it is by the edge of the hole, look a little… ominous? Would you want to be standing in that man’s shoes, there in the center of the photograph? I assume he knows what he’s doing, but… that’s sand. And the edges of the hole collapsed in on themselves in several places before they started work yesterday.

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Up where it looks a bit safer: Sparks fly as a saw bites rebar.

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When Milo woke up this morning I asked him, "Do you want to see the men working outside?" He gaped at me and whispered urgently, "Men!"

I showed him this scene and he shouted appreciatively, "House!"

It is certainly becoming recognizable as one.

Nov 4, 2005

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Experts and amateurs unite!

Formidable lawblogger Ann Althouse is beating her head against a wall. She’s made it her mission to prevent people who don’t understand caselaw, or aren’t willing to explain caselaw, from hijacking the discussion of Judge Alito’s opinion in Chittister, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) case that’s getting so much attention.

As of now, she’s got a four-part post ( Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4.) patiently explaining what she says is "horrendously complicated" caselaw. (Admittedly, by the time she gets to Part 4, she’s starting to lose her patience.)

IANAL, but I sympathize. Law, like theology or engineering or medicine, requires long years of careful study to develop even a minimum of competency of thought, and longer years of experience and continued study to develop anything like expertise in one of the many infolded intricacies.

A true amateur — remember the root of the word? — can, I believe, cultivate a deep knowledge base and practice in critical thinking within any of those fields. Intense fascination with a subject, can fuel years of learning, as much outside the academy as inside it. Haven’t we all known hobbyists who really became experts, all on their own, out of pure love for a subject, be it Civil War history or aerodynamics or engine repair or North American songbirds?

Others become experts for practical reasons. A friend of mine was dissatisfied with the available curricula for teaching her homeschooled daughter to read. She delved into journals and textbooks early-reading research, and discovered that no existing program implements correctly the findings of the most carefully designed research in education, linguistics, and neurology. She’s now writing her own curriculum.

For still others, the subject finds them. A grim diagnosis, for example, is a strong motivator (for some patients — others are perfectly content to remain ignorant and trust their doctors) to become highly specialized experts, not in a field they chose, but in one that chose them.

So I have a great deal of respect for the true amateur, the lover of his subject. Having a degree in law, or science, or medicine, or whatever, is not a prerequisite for intelligent discourse even in a very detailed aspect of a field. The formal study helps, sure, but at bottom it takes interest and attention and intelligence and time and discipline, and maybe discourse with other knowledgeable people, all of which can be had (perhaps with greater difficulty) outside the academy. If anything the amateur-expert deserves more respect, because he or she gains expertise without the positional advantages of the full-time student or professor.

That being said, though, there are an awful lot of people who are neither amateurs nor experts who blow a great deal of hot air; who perpetuate tired myths through soundbites; and who believe that arguments are won by sounding like a smart person, or a smart-ass, instead of by the slower, more careful, less glamorous discipline of marshalling arguments and showing how one leads to the other, on and on to the inevitable conclusion.

And there are a lot of people who seem committed to a subject, but a few minutes’ questioning shows that they succumb to the wildest theories — the sort that leads some people to buy gadgets that promise to strip all the electrons out of their drinking water, thus increasing the bond angle of the H2O molecule, ending fatigue and burning cellulite; the sort that leads other people to claim that because they live in Ohio they do not have to pay federal income tax, and if the judge would only listen then he would see it that way too.

Part of this is magical thinking in action, but I can’t help but think that another part is from skipping over the grunt work of really understanding the basics of a subject, the sort of thing that many people get in Chemistry 101 through 103, and others get by, say, devouring Isaac Asimov’s nonfiction books, wishing they knew more, and turning to more-recent textbooks.

And of course, another part is a deep distrust of anyone who gains real expertise and is able to demolish them in a real debate. It’s so much easier to sneer than to engage.

Anyway. IANAL. But the frustration Ann is experiencing is near-universal and interdisciplinary.

Nov 4, 2005

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Appropriate… um… headgear for Adoration.

Jimmy Akin describes a curious encounter in the Adoration Chapel.

(Potentially helpful context for non-Catholic readers: The vigil mass for All Saints’ Day takes place on October 31st.)

Nov 3, 2005

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Two “fringe” issues.

Today I found two posts on two complex abortion-related issues that the public really has not come to terms with. In both cases, the comments — and the personal stories they tell — are crucial reading.

First, Cathy Young at The Y Files discusses "Abortion, fathers’ rights, and equality" using as a springboard the controversial subtopic of mandatory spousal notification. She and her commenters search for an analogy… is it like requiring an HIV-positive person to notify his partner? (After all, knowingly transmitting HIV to an unwitting partner is a felony, after the fact). Or is it like requiring a wife to consent before the husband has a vasectomy? (Most doctors will not perform one without her approval.)

Second, Rachael writes a post not so much on a controversial issue of legality as on a controversial issue of the wisdom of the idea, widely accepted even among many opponents of abortion on demand, that a rape victim who becomes pregnant is generally better off if she has an abortion. She presents compelling evidence that the abortion-after-rape is experienced by many victims as a second rape. Again, the comments are crucial reading, as victims who came to different conclusions respond to one another. (Hat tip to Annie at After Abortion.)

Regardless of your political stance on abortion in general or on these sub-questions: It’s a moral duty to keep in mind the human faces, human stories of all the people involved. both those who are faced with terrible choices and those who are denied choice. Anecdotes do not substitute for data. But hefting the weight of a few anecdotes before considering the mass of numbers (21.3 abortions per 1000 women per year; about 43 percent of all women have had at least one by age 45, according to the Alan Guttmacher Institute) helps one understand the human cost.

Nov 3, 2005

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Down to one for a week.

This week, I only have Milo. Oscar, age 5, went to visit his grandparents for a whole week. I am using the extra time to get the upcoming month’s homeschooling materials together, but also to spend some rare time connecting with Milo, on Milo’s terms.

We have done a few things we don’t normally do, like go out to lunch together and visit the local municipal zoo. But it’s not those things that have made the days so wonderful.

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I find that I’m overflowing with a kind of affection for this little guy that I’m not used to having. I am not sure why. Maybe it is a kind of flashback to the days when I only had one little boy, back when I thought that he was the most amazing little person in the entire world and I COULD. NOT. IMAGINE. ever loving another child as much as I loved that first little one.

Or maybe it is just that I have had the time to really look at him, really listen to him. A five-year-old occupies so much attention, and while I will always have enough love to go around, I can only spend so much attention and time. I feel like I’m on vacation, my heart is so light and… not irritable. Everything he does seems charming, even breaking a dozen eggs into the stewpot and half a dozen more on the floor. (really)

Or maybe it is a little bit like romance, like finally getting to spend a week together with just you and your beloved. The way (*cough* I’m told) that can rekindle long-forgotten charms and affections. Sure, you always love each other, but it has been so long since you noticed the way he smiles, or really listened to that one thing he always says that always warms your heart.

And Milo? Does he miss his brother? He talks about him, for sure. Mostly while he watches the big trucks trundling back and forth, building our new house. I think he is thinking: Too bad Oscar can’t see all this going on.

But I think he’s really enjoying having me all to himself. At bedtime we cuddle up and he brings me one book and has me read it to him six times, and you know what? I’m actually doing it. When will I get the chance again? Then I give him the book and say, "Now you read it to me, Milo," and he turns the pages and says a few words (accurately) for each scene.

He’s really so wonderful. Why don’t I notice, most of the time? I hope I can remember this happiness, this breathtakingly strong love for my second son, and carry it with me after the week is over.

Nov 3, 2005

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The big hole.

Remember how The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy begins?

…orange…

…excavator….

No, it’s not a bulldozer, but it is here to destroy the side yard. I am told that Vogons are not involved.

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Milo is very interested.

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In real life, the colors of the dirt are rich black topsoil and chocolate brown sand. The edge of the grass is tidy, straight.

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This is a toddler boy’s dream.

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The hole.

Nov 3, 2005

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Catholic Carnival: All Saints’/All Souls’ Day Edition

Before the throne of God and the Lamb the saints will sing a new song; their voices will resound throughout the earth, alleluia. — Evening Prayer I, Solemnity of All Saints

First, let’s turn to the topic that jumps first to mind whenever October 31st rolls around: That’s right, it’s Reformation Day!

What, you were thinking of something else? This is, as everyone knows, the anniversary of the day that Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five theses to the church door. Or… is it? Chris Burgwald of Veritas thinks it’s a jack-o-lantern of a story — that is, it has a few holes in it.

Mr. Burgwald wasn’t the only blogger musing about the start of the Reformation this week. Blogger Funky Dung at Ales Rarus suggests an appropriate hymn: The Church’s One Foundation. Thoughtfully, he provides us with a "forgotten" verse that seems to be missing from my hymnal. Does yours have it? Why not, do you think?

Joel at On the Other Foot, too, considers whether this makes October 31 the Devil’s Holiday, but he’s got good cause to be optimistic about it.

Moving on to other topics: November first, of course, is the Solemnity of All Saints, that celebration of the Church Triumphant. Do we think of the saints as our friends? We should — they’re more real than we are, Kevin Miller points out at Heart, Mind, and Strength blog.

Current events were on the mind of some. For example, Angry in the Great White North lets us know that Canadian government knowingly funds avowed anti-Christian groups. But others are in more of a mediative mood…

Rob, Crusader of Justice blogger, shares an intensely moving personal experience that took him by surprise at a recent retreat.

At my own bearing blog, I consider one way to ask, "Only say the word and I will be healed."

Kicking Over My Traces, a slimy mollusk who clearly aspires to be a hoofed mammal, presents a series of questions, a sort of self-examination: am I being mindful to God?

Penitens at A Penitent Blogger asks another question: What’s God’s plan, and do I really need to know?

Alicia at Fructus Ventris considers some words from the book of the prophet Malachi: she says that because of widespread infidelity and divorce and the rejection of bearing offspring, "we are offering the diseased and malformed to God, not the perfection and the first fruits."

And finally, two bloggers find inspiration in unlikely spots in popular culture:

Herb Ely posts on "Patsy Cline, Martha Stewart, and Phylacteries;"

while Our Word and Welcome To It unearths a TV Guide from the past to find a (relatively) ancient, unheeded warning.

Thanks to all who submitted posts!

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I shall not turn away. — Evening Prayer, Office for the Dead, All Souls

Nov 2, 2005

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Chicken and noodles.

Plain old comfort food, quite literally the way my mom used to make it.

Remove the skin from a couple of bone-in chicken breasts and simmer with water to cover, perhaps with a carrot, celery stalk, and halved onion thrown into the pot, until cooked through. Remove solids. Discard vegetables. Remove chicken meat from bones, chop coarsely, and set aside.

Add to cooking liquid: one or two thinly sliced carrots and one or two sliced celery stalks. Bring to a boil and simmer a couple of minutes. Add salt to taste and about half a package of wide egg noodles. There should be barely enough liquid to cover the noodles. Add water if it seems far too dry; but the idea is for the noodles to absorb most of the liquid. It’s not chicken noodle soup.

Cook on low, stirring frequently to prevent burning, until noodles and vegetables are cooked and most of the liquid is absorbed. Return meat to pot and heat through. Season to taste.

Nothing fancy, but it is nice, especially the next day after the noodles have released some of their starch and thickened the broth.

One thing I love about chicken soup: You can simmer poultry scraps and bones and vegetables for seventy-two hours and get a wonderfully rich, concentrated, brown chicken stock that’s fabulous in recipes. Or you can simmer some chicken parts for one hour, with a couple of carrots thrown in, and you still get some very tasty broth. I think that the one-hour broth tastes completely different from the seventy-two-hour broth, a lovely flavor on its own and a fine soup base. Not that it isn’t worth the trouble to let the stuff go for a few days — it’s just that you can start making something nice by dipping into it right away.

Oct 31, 2005

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“Only say the word and I will be healed.”

I liked this, from Disputations:

Last month, a priest spoke about what the faithful say just before receiving Holy Communion: "Only say the word and I will be healed."

The Eucharist is true food; It overcomes our weaknesses and makes us strong in the life of the Trinity, if we allow it. But how often do we really ask to be healed? Do we even expect anything from the Eucharist, beyond perhaps a good feeling and some bit of undetectable grace?

We can, if we like, come to Mass prepared to truly ask to be healed. Healed of a physical ailment, or an emotional wound, or a moral weakness. And what relic, what novena, what pilgrimage can add to the power made present at every Catholic altar in the world?

I think it’s St. Faustina (probably others too) who wrote about asking Jesus to heal her tongue at the moment His body was placed upon her tongue. That is, to heal it from its tendency to speak ill of others, to speak harshly to others, and generally from speaking too much at all.

When you consider how much sinning we do merely by speech, you realize how powerful this can be. It’s a good moment to ask Him to heal much of our impatience, our imprudence, our dishonesty, our cruelty, when we make of our mouths (briefly) a tabernacle for Him.

Oct 31, 2005

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How to forgive.

We all know that not only are we supposed to forgive, our salvation is practically dependent on it.

But it can be hard. How, how, how to forgive when anger bubbles to the surface every day?

Waiting in Joyful Hope has a suggestion, and it sounds like a good one.

The first process is to make the decision to forgive, remembering that forgiveness is a decision not a feeling.

Once we have made that decision, we must remember all the things that have caused this need for forgiveness.

Then we must list all the other points that have been blessings from this person we need to forgive.

The next point is the most crucial of all, when anger surfaces, we must not bring the list of hurts to mind, but only the list of blessings, and then the anger will subside.

This of course is an ongoing process and one that I need to work on every day. I know in time that I will be able to automatically go to the blessing list and forget the injustice list. All this of course with God’s grace and Mary’s intercession.

Maybe this appeals to me only because I am such a listmaker. Lists promise to solve so many problems. Don’t they? Nevertheless, this formula seems worthy of effort.

(H/t Disputations, who adds:

We are, of course, obliged to pray for our enemies, an obligation that would seem to extend to those who aren’t our enemies so much as people we flat don’t like.

It is, I find, a very liberating experience — animosity and anger being what we’re liberated from — to simply pray that God give them the graces they need to fulfill God’s will for them, without reminding God what His will for them is.

That is, to pray, "Fill his heart with Your love," without adding, "so that he’ll finally stop being such an idjit."

True.)

Oct 31, 2005

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Intelligent design AGAIN.

A good post summarizing the problems with so-called "intelligent design" theory. Neither new nor fangled, if you ask me.

If anti-religion evolutionists, and anti-evolution religionists, would just realize that the two ARE NOT MUTUALLY INCOMPATIBLE, a lot of this silliness could be avoided.

And by the way, specifically teaching in public schools that there is definitely no design behind the evolution of species (as in, e.g., the NEA "evolution platform" up to a few years ago) is a breach of the church-state wall that is precisely equivalent to teaching that there definitely is design behind the evolution of species.

Is there any harm in just steering clear of the whole idea of design, and letting students come to their own conclusions?

Oct 31, 2005

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Catholics on the Court.

David Bernstein points out that if Samuel Alito is confirmed to the Supreme Court, there will be a Catholic majority on the Court:

This is an extraordinary development. It was, let’s recall, only forty-five years ago that JFK’s Catholicism was a major issue in a presidential campaign. As Ken Kersch and Philip Hamburger have shown, anti-Catholic sentiment played a large role in the development of modern establishment clause jurisprudence (in part through the influence of that old KKKer, Hugo Black). The leading separationist group after WWII was known as Protestants [now, Americans] United for the Separation of Church and State.

We can rejoice that Catholics are now such an accepted part of the American scene that it will hardly raise any eyebrows that a fifth Catholic has been nominated to the Supreme Court (joining, of course, two Jews).

It is rather amazing, isn’t it? Bernstein goes on to speculate that the reason we’ve come so far so fast is that, well, we’ve assimilated, and we really aren’t all that different from the rest of America anymore. A mixed blessing.

Oct 31, 2005

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