Say Yes to Radi-Aid! (Africa for Norway)

This funny video of Africans uniting We Are the World-style to spread warmth by donating radiators to Norway has been making the rounds lately around the Catholic Blogosphere (HT: Brandon):

The "Africa for Norway" group does have a serious message about common Western perceptions of Africa, as well as suggestions for current aid to Africa based on real needs rather than "good" intentions. Be sure to check out their page.

Magic Duel Video Preview: Was There Ever Any Doubt?

USA Today just released a preview clip of next week's MLP: FiM episode "Magic Duel," featuring the return of Trixie the Great and Powerful Braggart (HT: Equestria Daily):

Oh, there's also a new image:

                                                             UPDATE

Screenshots from the MLP Wikia:

That black cloak reminds of Luna...

Trixie with a new amulet that makes her 20% more evil

Trixie's new red beam of doom...

It seems Trixie has yet to learn her lesson...

"You and I have unfinished business."

                                                            UPDATE 2

A new clip from the HUB (HT: EqD):

                                                            UPDATE 3

A new clip from Entertainment Weekly:

More on Trixie to come....

Christian Themes in My Little Pony?

While Googling, I chanced upon the blog of Taylor Ramage, a young Christian writer who reviews anime/fantasy books and shows. She also appears to be a "pegasister," that is, a female fan of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic cartoon. Taylor's done a series of posts on Christianity and My Little Pony that look interesting:


My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic–Surprisingly Fantastic


Christianity and MLP: Celestia and Luna (On the similarities and differences between the stories of the fall of Luna and the fall of Lucifer)

Christianity and MLP: Pinkie Pie and Christian Stereotypes 

Christianity and MLP: Cutie Marks and Calling

Buy Some Apples! (Spoilers!)

The "One Bad Apple" episode is coming up this Saturday. But I'm a bit more enthusiastic about "Magic Duel" and the return of Trixie. I might just do a post on Trixie and the vice of boasting, which would give me a nice excuse to post more video and pictures of the "Great and Powerful" one.

Anyway, here's a preview video for "One Bad Apple" from the HUB and a promo sticker from GetGlue (HT: Equestria Daily):

          

Babs Seed, cousin of Apple Bloom, bully

                                                           UPDATE

A new song clip from Entertainment Weekly (HT: EqD) :

On Gratitude

Since Thanksgiving is coming up tomorrow, I thought I'd share Bill Vallicella's meditation on the topic of gratitude, especially on whether atheists can be grateful for the existence of the world despite disbelieving in God.

Gratitude, of course, is one of the virtues of justice by which we give what is due (worship) to God as Creator of the world, for "in him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). We also we give thanks, to a lesser extent, to our parents, friends, and others who have helped us.

Rarity Wouldn't be Pleased With This...

I am so frustrated I could just scream:

My enthusiasm for the free-to-play MLP: FiM game waned quickly, after finding out the ridiculous costs (in either time or money) that I'd invest in order to unlock all the ponies and complete the story mode. I simply deleted the game from my iPod and moved on...

Be sure to check out this CNET article for more info on Gameloft's greed.

Another Sign of the Impending Zombie Apocalypse...

Hostess, maker of Twinkies, is going out of business due to a failure to reach an agreement on pay and benefit cuts with the employee union.

The Zombieland movie is looking more and more prophetic with its prediction of a Twinkie-less future:

Get ready for the walking dead, my friends, and be sure to study carefully the rules for survival...

Too Many Pinkie Pie Previews!

I'm not sure I'll ever get around to reviewing the Season 3 "Crystal Empire" premiere... Meanwhile, the spoiler videos for new episodes of MLP: FiM keep on coming. "Too Many Pinkie Pies" airs tomorrow on the HUB and you can get a glimpse from the HUB here (HT: Equestria Daily):



And from Entertainment Weekly here (HT: DerpyHoovesNews):




I'm pretty amped up, enough to post random Pinkie Pie clips:

Before I go, I should mention the Hot Topic "Hot Minute" commercials, featuring Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash:

Twilight: Breaking Wind

This is probably the only post I'll do that mentions the word "Twilight" and doesn't refer to Twilight Sparkle, the egghead unicorn from MLP: FiM:

Twilight wants her 8 bits back...

Anyway, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part Two, the finale of the movie series, is releasing tomorrow. I won't watch/review the film. Instead, I think I'll link to Lucy Knisley's superb comic-strip summary of the entire plot of the Twilight books. (HT: Brandon)

Fine, I'm guilty! I watched the first three Twilight movies...

...But I certainly didn't enjoy the sparkly vampires, muppet running and angst-ridden romance...

Feast Day of St. Albert the Great

It is by the path of love, which is charity, that God draws near to man, and man to God. But where charity is not found, God cannot dwell. If, then, we possess charity, we possess God, for "God is Charity" (1 Jn 4:8)

Today is the feast day of St. Albert the Great, Doctor Universalis (the Universal Doctor), scientist, and teacher of St. Thomas Aquinas.

We call this man a dumb ox, but his bellowing in doctrine will one day resound throughout the world. -- St. Albert

- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy page

- Some posts on St. Albertus Magnus from the Catholic blogosphere:

- "St. Albert the Professer," Dominicana

- "The Greatest of Germans," Crisis Magazine

- "The Parting Words of St. Albert Revealed," The Ironic Catholic

Que Est Veritas?

What is truth? said jesting Pilate, and would not stay for an answer. -- Francis Bacon, Of Truth

Michael Flynn and James Chastek, however, decide to stick around and tackle the nature of truth and its relation to "fact."

On a side note, I highly recommend, along with Mr. Flynn, Historical Consciousness by the Catholic historian John Lukacs.

One Does Not Simply Trot into Maredor

For Tolkien fans and Bronies, the geekiness is strong with this fanmade video:

RPG Catholic Update II

I'm trying to pick a patron saint for my confirmation next month (Dec. 2). There are many good choices (St. Augustine, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Joan of Arc, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Edith Stein, St. Anselm...). The catechist suggested that one way to choose a patron saint is to see if your birthday falls on the same day as a feast day. Well, there isn't a feast day (in the new liturgical calendar) on my birthday (Jan. 30), so I guess I need to go with the saint with the closest feast day: St. Thomas Aquinas (Jan. 28).

MLP: FiM Season 3 Spoilerific Post

I'm thinking of posting a mini-review of the Crystal Empire Season 3 premiere eventually, but for now, enjoy even more Season 3 spoilers (HT: Equestria Daily).

A commercial showing a few upcoming Season 3 episodes:

A commercial for next week's episode "Too Many Pinkie Pies", plus a few screenshots:

One, two, three, four, five Pinkies? That's like five, five, five times the fun!

My Reaction

Pinkie's looking a little G3ish these days. As if we needed more G3 reminders:

A few screenshots from the Season 3 Preview commercial


From the "Magic Duel" episode in which Trixie the Magnificent returns:

Trixie has taken over management of "Trixieville."

Little Applejack and Rarity

UPDATE

Trixie Lulamoon: now with new accessories!

I missed these images of Trixie with an amulet that might play some role in the plot of "Magic Duel." The Brony rumors I've heard online suggest King Sombra is working behind the scenes with Lulamoon.

From "The Wonderbolt Academy":

I guess this means Rainbow Dash finally gets her chance to join the Wonderbolts...

RD with unknown similar-looking pegasus

From "Magic Duel" (confirmed):

What's this? Horses in a show about talking horses?

Twilight shows off her magic skills...

                            

Images of Rarity's Carousel Boutique and AJ's farm from an unknown episode. Things don't look good:

From an unknown CMC episode (HT: Equestria Daily):

The Deluge of MLP: FiM Season 3 Preview Clips Continues!

At this rate, Hasbro will spoil the entire My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Season 3 premiere on the HUB before it even airs. OK, maybe not, but at the very least, they have upped the anticipation for this Saturday:

- I should mention that the Gameloft MLP: FiM game is out now on ITunes for Apple iOS devices (Ipad, Ipod Touch, Iphone), with an Android version coming soon. I've played the game a bit and it's exactly as I expected: farmville with ponies! It's free-to-play, which means there's that micro-transaction business to worry about, but the game seems amusing enough to at least give it a try.

Disclaimer: The fun may vary, especially if you're a lunar princess, in which case, the fun doubles!

UPDATE

The Android version is available now.

Feast Day of All Saints of the Order of the Preachers (Dominicans)

St. Dominic, St. Thomas, St. Albert, St. Catherine of Siena...

Ora pro nobis!

A New MLP: FiM Season 3 Clip from Wired.com!

Some Post-Election Thoughts

Well, for faithful Catholics, the election news isn't good.  President Obama retained his office despite a blatant pro-choice party platform, even capturing the "Catholic vote" 50-48. "Same-sex marriage" is now legal in four states. The threat of the HHS mandate still looms. At least Massachusetts voters struck down the physician assisted suicide bill. In short, tough days are ahead for the Church...

Ah, if only my preferred presidential candidate had won. Despite questionable past actions like trying to bring about eternal darkness, Princess Luna at least doesn't support intrinsic evils like abortion and violate religious liberty with stuff like the HHS mandate. The fun certainly would be double what it is now...

A Link to the Past: MLP Edition (Fighting is Magic! Derpy toys! Fanfics! Mashups! Season 3!)

Here's some cool MLP-related links worth a look:

- There's an officially licensed MLP: FiM video game by Gameloft coming soon. Meanwhile, the fan-made fighting game MLP: Fighting is Magic, a ponified Street Fighter/Marvel vs. Capcom, looks promising:

- The Rainbow Dash and Derpy Hooves vynil toys are back in stock at Hot Topic. Get yours today!

[UPDATE]: It seems the Derpy toy sold out again. Oops, my bad:

- There are many good MLP fanfics out there on Fanfiction.net or Fimfiction.net, such as Fallout: Equestria. Then there are the weird ones, like Cupcakes, which I will not link to here. My friend and sci-fi writer D.G.D Davidson has quite a few: Princess Trinity, Assassinate Princess Celestia! (featured on Equestria Daily), Chronomistress (Derpy!), Catching the Wind (MacDash), and Mistress of the Night (Luna!).

- I've made some MLP-related mashup videos and posters, mostly bringing together MLP and The Dollars Trilogy. It's classic Clint Eastwood spaghetti western action... only with ponies!

Adapted from For a Few Dollars More

THE BITS TRILOGY

For a Hoovful of Bits

For a Few Bits More

                                                    The Good, The Bad and the Mule

- Just a reminder, the MLP: FiM Season 3 premiere is this Saturday, November 10 on the HUB! (7am PT/10am ET)                                             

St. Thomas on Friendship with Horses

St. Thomas and Rainbow Dash: Pony Friends Forever!

According to the Philosopher (Ethic. viii, 2,3) not every love has the character of friendship, but that love which is together with benevolence, when, to wit, we love someone so as to wish good to him. If, however, we do not wish good to what we love, but wish its good for ourselves, (thus we are said to love wine, or a horse, or the like), it is love not of friendship, but of a kind of concupiscence. For it would be absurd to speak of having friendship for wine or for a horse. -- Summa Theologiae, 2.2.23


I think Aquinas is right here that one cannot be friends with horses, since the usual equines we find lack the rationality humans have.  As creatures of reason, we can will the good of one another, as we can know what is good for us through the intellect. If others reciprocate this good will, what we have is friendship, mutual love. Nevertheless, one can indeed have affection for a horse, as one loves other faithful animal companions, like dogs.

However, St. Thomas never knew about the anthropomorphic ponies of Equestria from the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic show, for whom friendship, that is, willing the good of another, is sort of a big deal...

At the ACPA Conference

I was able to make it to the first day of the American Catholic Philosophical Association annual meeting in Marina Del Rey, CA. Alfredo and his friend Alex Yousif were there and I tagged along with them the rest of the day.

Alfredo the "Analytic Scholastic," Eric the "RPG Catholic," and Alex

We started the proceedings by listening to Kevin Timpe on "Responsible Agency and God" and Daniel Speak on "Open Theism." Dr. Timpe asked me to wear a unicorn shirt to the lecture and so I whipped out my MLP Vynil Scratch "DJ-Pon 3" tee.

After the first session, we went to the next lecture by Dr. Chris Tollefsen on "Double Effect Reasoning and Two Hard Cases." Gyula Klima was scheduled to present a paper, but couldn't make it from New York due to flooding from Hurricane Sandy. I was a bit disappointed at not seeing Klima, but to my surprise, Edward Feser (whose books and blog posts I've recommend countless times) walked into the room. After the talk ended, I was able to meet Dr. Feser and discuss a few Thomistic matters I've been thinking about lately.

Big fanboy grin...

Alfredo, Ed Feser, and Alex

Next up, I joined Alfredo, Alex, Dr. Tollefsen and other professors for dinner at a local French restaurant. We finished the night by going to a reception in the topmost penthouse room of the Marriot Hotel, where I met Germain Grisez and Christopher Kaczor.

Overall, I'd say it was a fun day.

All Saints Day

                                                      


                                                      Litany of the Saints



Lord, have mercy on us.
CHRIST, have mercy on us.
LORD, have mercy on us.
CHRIST, hear us.
CHRIST, graciously hear us.

GOD, THE FATHER OF HEAVEN, have mercy on us.
GOD THE SON, REDEEMER OF THE WORLD, have mercy on us.
GOD THE HOLY GHOST, have mercy on us.
HOLY TRINITY, ONE GOD, have mercy on us.
HOLY MARY, pray for us.
HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, pray for us.
HOLY VIRGIN OF VIRGINS, pray for us.
ST. MICHAEL, pray for us.
ST. GABRIEL, pray for us.
ST. RAPHAEL, pray for us.
ALL YE HOLY ANGELS AND ARCHANGELS, pray for us.
ALL YE HOLY ORDERS OF BLESSED SPIRITS, pray for us.
ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, pray for us. ST. JOSEPH, pray for us.
ALL YE HOLY PATRIARCHS AND PROPHETS, pray for us.

ST. PETER, pray for us.
ST. PAUL, pray for us.
ST. ANDREW, pray for us.
ST. JAMES, pray for us.
ST. JOHN, pray for us.
ST. THOMAS, pray for us.
ST. JAMES, pray for us.
ST. PHILIP, pray for us.
ST. BARTHOLOMEW, pray for us.
ST. MATTHEW, pray for us.
ST. SIMON, pray for us.
ST. THADDEUS, pray for us.
ST. BARNABAS, pray for us.
ST. LUKE, pray for us.
ST. MARK, pray for us.
ALL YE HOLY APOSTLES AND EVANGELIST, pray for us.
ALL YE HOLY DISCIPLES OF OUR LORD, pray for us.
ALL YE HOLY INNOCENTS, pray for us.

ST. STEPHEN, pray for us.
ST. LAWRENCE, pray for us.
ST. VINCENT, pray for us.
SS. FABIAN AND SEBASTIAN, pray for us.
SS. JOHN AND PAUL, pray for us.
SS. COSMOS AND DAMIAN, pray for us.
SS. GERVASE AND PROTASE, pray for us.
ALL YE HOLY MARTYRS, pray for us.

ST. SYLVESTER, pray for us.
ST. GREGORY, pray for us.
ST. AMBROSE, pray for us.
ST. AUGUSTINE, pray for us.
ST. JEROME, pray for us.
ST. MARTIN, pray for us.
ST. NICHOLAS, pray for us.
ALL YE HOLY BISHOPS AND CONFESSORS, pray for us.
ALL YE HOLY DOCTORS, pray for us.

ST. ANTHONY, pray for us.
ST. BENEDICT, pray for us.
ST. BERNARD, pray for us.
ST. DOMINIC, pray for us.
ST. FRANCIS, pray for us.
ALL YE HOLY PRIEST AND LEVITES, pray for us.
ALL YE HOLY MONKS AND HERMITS, pray for us.

ST. MARY MAGDALEN, pray for us.
ST. AGATHA, pray for us.
ST. LUCY, pray for us.
ST. AGNES, pray for us.
ST. CECILIA, pray for us.
ST. CATHERINE, pray for us.
ST. ANASTASIA, pray for us.
ALL YE HOLY VIRGINS AND WIDOWS, pray for us.
ALL YE MEN AND WOMEN, SAINTS OF GOD, make intercession for us.

BE MERCIFUL, spare us, O Lord!
BE MERCIFUL, graciously hear us, O Lord!
FROM ALL EVIL, O Lord, deliver us.
FROM ALL SIN, O Lord, deliver us.
FROM THY WRATH, O Lord, deliver us.
FROM A SUDDEN AND UNPROVIDED DEATH, O Lord, deliver us.
FROM THE DECEITS OF THE DEVIL, O Lord, deliver us.
FROM ANGER, HATRED, AND ALL ILL WILL, O Lord, deliver us.
FROM THE SPIRIT OF FORNICATION, O Lord, deliver us.
FROM LIGHTNING AND TEMPEST, O Lord, deliver us.
FROM THE SCOURGE OF EARTHQUAKE, O Lord, deliver us.
FROM PESTILENCE, FAMINE, AND WAR, O Lord, deliver us.
FROM EVERLASTING DEATH, O Lord, deliver us.

THROUGH THE MYSTERY OF THY HOLY INCARNATION, O Lord, Deliver us.
THROUGH THY COMING, O Lord, deliver us.
THROUGH THY NATIVITY, O Lord, deliver us.
THROUGH THY BAPTISM AND HOLY FASTING, O Lord, deliver us.
THROUGH THY CROSS AND PASSION, O Lord, deliver us.
THROUGH THY DEATH AND BURIAL, O Lord, deliver us.
THROUGH THY HOLY RESURRECTION, O Lord, deliver us.
THROUGH THINE ADMIRABLE ASCENSION, O Lord, deliver us.
THROUGH THE COMING OF THE HOLY GHOST, THE PARACLETE, O Lord, deliver us.
IN THE DAY OF JUDGMENT, We Sinners beseech Thee, hear us.
THAT THOU WOULDST SPARE US, We beseech Thee, hear us.
THAT THOU WOULDST PARDON US, We beseech Thee, hear us.
THAT THOU WOULDST VOUCHSAFE TO BRING US TO TRUE PENANCE, We Beseech Thee hear us.
THAT THOU WOULDST VOUCHSAFE TO GOVERN AND PRESERVE THY HOLY CHURCH.... We beseech Thee, hear us.
THAT THOU WOULDST VOUCHSAFE TO PRESERVE OUR APOSTOLIC PRELATE AND ALL ECCLESIASTICAL ORDERS IN HOLY RELIGION. We beseech Thee, hear us.
THAT THOU WOULDST VOUCHSAFE TO HUMBLE THE ENEMIES OF THY HOLY CHURCH, We beseech Thee, hear us.
THAT THOU WOULDST VOUCH SAFE TO GIVE PEACE AND TRUE CONCORD TO CHRISTIAN KINGS AND PRINCES, We beseech Thee, hear us.
THAT THOU WOULDST VOUCHSAFE TO GRANT PEACE AND UNITY TO ALL CHRISTIAN PEOPLE, We beseech Thee, hear us.
THAT THOU WOULDST VOUCHSAFE TO BRING BACK TO THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH ALL THOSE WHO HAVE STRAYED AWAY, AND LEAD TO THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL ALL UNBELIEVERS, We beseech Thee, hear us.
THAT THOU WOULDST VOUCHSAFE TO CONFIRM AND PRESERVE US THY HOLY SERVICE, We beseech Thee, hear us.
THAT THOU WOULDST LIFT UP OUR MINDS TO HEAVENLY DESIRES, We beseech Thee, hear us.
THAT THOU WOULDST RENDER ETERNAL BLESSINGS TO ALL OUR BENEFACTORS, We beseech Thee, hear us.
THAT THOU WOULDST DELIVER OUR SOULS AND HOSE OF OUR BRETHREN, RELATIVE, AND BENEFACTORS FROM ETERNAL DAMNATION, We beseech Thee, hear us.
THAT THOU WOULDST VOUCHSAFE TO GIVE AND PRESERVE THE FRUITS OF THE EARTH, We beseech Thee, hear us.
THAT THOU WOULDST VOUCHSAFE TO GIVE ETERNAL REST TO ALL THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED, We beseech Thee, hear us.
THAT THOU WOULDST VOUCHSAFE GRACIOUSLY TO HEAR US, We beseech Thee, hear us.
SON OF GOD, We beseech Thee, hear us.

LAMB OF GOD, WHO TAKEST AWAY THE SINS OF THE WORLD, Spare us, O Lord.
LAMB OF GOD, WHO TAKEST AWAY THE SINS OF THE WORLD, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
LAMB OF GOD, WHO TAKEST AWAY THE SINS OF THE WORLD, Have mercy on us.

CHRIST, HEAR US.......
CHRIST, GRACIOUSLY HEAR US.......
LORD, HAVE MERCY ON US.......
CHRIST, HAVE MERCY ON US.......
LORD, HAVE MERCY ON US.......