A Deo et Rege

I know it’s been awhile since I’ve blogged regularly. I’ve been quite busy, but that’s no excuse. So, here are a few random tidbits and links….

Keep on Truckin

I have been playing an awesome game lately. It’s called 18 Wheels of Steel: Pedal to the Metal and is not only fun but addicting. Basically you take the role of a trucker, starting off as an employee and after making enough money hauling loads you can become owner/operator and then move up to company president. It’s a realistic looking game that takes you to real cities all across the country. Here are some screenshots. This game rocks, good buddy.

12 Days of Christmas

Yes, it’s not just a song, but the time from Christmas until the traditional day of Epiphany. The days from Christmas until the Solemnity of the Mother of God (Jan. 1) are called the octave of Christmas. The season from Christmas until the baptism of our Lord (the Sunday after the epiphany) is called Christmastide. For more information visit our page on Christmastide and my reflections on the season.

Midnight Mass

As always it was absolutely beautiful. They had great music, the incense, and the solemn joy associated with such an occasion. I wish some so-called progressive (so-called because most of the bad music is actually regressive: to the 60s and 70s) Catholics would stop trying to be trendy and stick to the fundamentals of liturgy and music. The beauty of midnight mass can be all year. To be fair, this is not a criticism of the parish I attend or the parish where I celebrated midnight mass.

Trivia

I’ve mentioned NTN trivia before and how much I love it. I am full of useless facts (for example, did you know the J and D in J.D. Salinger stand for Jerome David?) and this is where I can shine. I also enjoy wings and beer so I can get my fill of three great things. The trivia setup for those who don’t know is this: it’s played on TVs with electronic boxes and a person competes within the bar/restaurant and also plays against thousands of people across over a thousand locations across the USA and Canada. Last night I was ranked 10th in the nation, which isn’t bad considering in most cases I play against 10,000 people. It was a game based on 2005 news and I read it everyday. I take the handle BUGLER after the Byrds song of the same name.

Other people

When in doubt, build off the works of others…so…here goes…

Enbrethiliel gives a defense of devotion to Mary

Carmel posts on Christmas

El has put up some Christmas photos

David speaks about the 12 Days

Pontificator posts links to St. Ephrem on the Incarnation

Antonia (new to the blogroll) discusses Catholicism and the Bible: part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4

Jessica, a revert and also new to the blogroll, discusses a quote from St. Faustina

That’s all for now…Merry Christmastide!

I took the photo at a local park with a slight platinum tone…