Christian Groups Slam New Kidman Children’s Movie

Two reasons for this post:

1.  To cover the ongoing effort to discourage Catholics from supporting “The Golden Compass”.

2.  To beat Wolftracker to this photo of Nicole Kidman.

Christian Groups Slam New Kidman Children’s Movie

Two reasons for this post:

1.  To cover the ongoing effort to discourage Catholics from supporting “The Golden Compass”.

2.  To beat Wolftracker to this photo of Nicole Kidman.

Traditional Latin Mass Returns to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico City

From the Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest website, comes this write-up of their recent pilgrimage to Guadalupe:

Images

On Thursday, November 29th , an awed group of pilgrims from the United States, joined by a contingent of Mexicans from different parts of their country, assisted at an event of deep significance. On that day, at 8:00 am, a High Mass in the Classical Latin form was offered at the High Altar of the impressive 17th-century Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico City. Msgr. R. Michael Schmitz, Vicar General of the Institute of Christ the King, celebrated the votive High Mass to Christ the King, assisted by members of the group from America, who had come on a pilgrimage led by the Institute of Christ the King to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Music for the High Mass was supplied by the organist of the cathedral, who aptly accompanied the liturgy from the massive Spanish-style organ, even while this was his first experience of the Mass of Ages. The event was facilitated by members of Una Voce Mexico and the graciousness of the dean of the cathedral, Father Ruben Avila, and Father Francisco Bezerra, its major sacristan.

Barely two weeks before, the cathedral had been invaded by anti-Catholic socialists who overturned pews and terrorized the faithful and clergy. The cathedral was subsequently closed, pending security measures by the government. It had been re-opened only a few days before the High Mass on November 29th. In a land hallowed by the blood of those who, under the rallying cry of “Viva Cristo Rey,” had died to uphold the Kingship of Christ, it did not go unnoticed that it was in honor of Christ the King that the Traditional Latin Mass returned to this venerable precinct after forty years, through the Institute of Christ the King.

Traditional Latin Mass Returns to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico City

From the Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest website, comes this write-up of their recent pilgrimage to Guadalupe:

Images

On Thursday, November 29th , an awed group of pilgrims from the United States, joined by a contingent of Mexicans from different parts of their country, assisted at an event of deep significance. On that day, at 8:00 am, a High Mass in the Classical Latin form was offered at the High Altar of the impressive 17th-century Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico City. Msgr. R. Michael Schmitz, Vicar General of the Institute of Christ the King, celebrated the votive High Mass to Christ the King, assisted by members of the group from America, who had come on a pilgrimage led by the Institute of Christ the King to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Music for the High Mass was supplied by the organist of the cathedral, who aptly accompanied the liturgy from the massive Spanish-style organ, even while this was his first experience of the Mass of Ages. The event was facilitated by members of Una Voce Mexico and the graciousness of the dean of the cathedral, Father Ruben Avila, and Father Francisco Bezerra, its major sacristan.

Barely two weeks before, the cathedral had been invaded by anti-Catholic socialists who overturned pews and terrorized the faithful and clergy. The cathedral was subsequently closed, pending security measures by the government. It had been re-opened only a few days before the High Mass on November 29th. In a land hallowed by the blood of those who, under the rallying cry of “Viva Cristo Rey,” had died to uphold the Kingship of Christ, it did not go unnoticed that it was in honor of Christ the King that the Traditional Latin Mass returned to this venerable precinct after forty years, through the Institute of Christ the King.

Driving Ms. Elsie (and the other one, too)

As I write this, it is 9:35am on December 3, and our local sub-lebrity “Catholic” “Womenpriests” have an appointment at the Chancery at 10am. Just in case they aren’t planning to show up, it might be good for someone to check on them and give them a ride if they need one.

So, I am asking any chauffeurs who might be reading this to do a good deed. Thanks!

Driving Ms. Elsie (and the other one, too)

As I write this, it is 9:35am on December 3, and our local sub-lebrity “Catholic” “Womenpriests” have an appointment at the Chancery at 10am. Just in case they aren’t planning to show up, it might be good for someone to check on them and give them a ride if they need one.

So, I am asking any chauffeurs who might be reading this to do a good deed. Thanks!

Chavez Loses President-for-Life Vote; Catholic Church Leads Opposition

This is not a political blog, but when the Church stands up to Communism, it is always good news. From the AP story via STLToday:

Chavez loses constitutional vote

By FRANK BAJAK Associated Press Writer

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Humbled by his first electoral defeat ever, President Hugo Chavez said Monday he may have been too ambitious in asking voters to let him stand indefinitely for re-election and endorse a huge leap to a socialist state.

“I understand and accept that the proposal I made was quite profound and intense,” he said after voters narrowly rejected the sweeping constitutional reforms by 51 percent to 49 percent.
Opposition activists were ecstatic as the results were announced shortly after midnight – with 88 percent of the vote counted, the trend was declared irreversible by elections council chief Tibisay Lucena.

Some shed tears. Others began chanting: “And now he’s going away!”

Without the overhaul, Chavez will be barred from running again in 2012.

Foes of the reform effort – including Roman Catholic leaders, media freedom groups, human rights groups and prominent business leaders – said it would have granted Chavez unchecked power and imperiled basic rights.

Chavez told reporters at the presidential palace that the outcome of Sunday’s balloting had taught him that “Venezuelan democracy is maturing.” His respect for the verdict, he asserted, proves he is a true democratic leader.

“From this moment on, let’s be calm,” he proposed, asking for no more street violence like the clashes that marred pre-vote protests. “There is no dictatorship here.”

The White House took note of Chavez’s setback.

“We congratulate the people of Venezuela on their election and their continued desire to live in freedom and democracy,” National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

[…]

Chavez Loses President-for-Life Vote; Catholic Church Leads Opposition

This is not a political blog, but when the Church stands up to Communism, it is always good news. From the AP story via STLToday:

Chavez loses constitutional vote

By FRANK BAJAK Associated Press Writer

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Humbled by his first electoral defeat ever, President Hugo Chavez said Monday he may have been too ambitious in asking voters to let him stand indefinitely for re-election and endorse a huge leap to a socialist state.

“I understand and accept that the proposal I made was quite profound and intense,” he said after voters narrowly rejected the sweeping constitutional reforms by 51 percent to 49 percent.
Opposition activists were ecstatic as the results were announced shortly after midnight – with 88 percent of the vote counted, the trend was declared irreversible by elections council chief Tibisay Lucena.

Some shed tears. Others began chanting: “And now he’s going away!”

Without the overhaul, Chavez will be barred from running again in 2012.

Foes of the reform effort – including Roman Catholic leaders, media freedom groups, human rights groups and prominent business leaders – said it would have granted Chavez unchecked power and imperiled basic rights.

Chavez told reporters at the presidential palace that the outcome of Sunday’s balloting had taught him that “Venezuelan democracy is maturing.” His respect for the verdict, he asserted, proves he is a true democratic leader.

“From this moment on, let’s be calm,” he proposed, asking for no more street violence like the clashes that marred pre-vote protests. “There is no dictatorship here.”

The White House took note of Chavez’s setback.

“We congratulate the people of Venezuela on their election and their continued desire to live in freedom and democracy,” National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

[…]

Young Chimp Beats College Students

Don’t know why I am posting this, but the headline does catch your eye. The picture at left, from the Yahoo story, doesn’t include the caption, so if you are confused as to whether that is a chimp or a college student, check the link.

By MALCOLM RITTER, AP Science Writer

Never mind that TV show that asks if you’re smarter than a fifth-grader. Is your memory better than a young chimp’s?

Maybe not.

Japanese researchers pitted young chimps against human adults in two tests of short-term memory, and overall, the chimps won.

That challenges the belief of many people, including many scientists, that “humans are superior to chimpanzees in all cognitive functions,” said researcher Tetsuro Matsuzawa of Kyoto University.

“No one can imagine that chimpanzees — young chimpanzees at the age of 5 — have a better performance in a memory task than humans,” he said in a statement.

Matsuzawa, a pioneer in studying the mental abilities of chimps, said even he was surprised. He and colleague Sana Inoue report the results in Tuesday’s issue of the journal Current Biology.
One memory test included three 5-year-old chimps who’d been taught the order of Arabic numerals 1 through 9, and a dozen human volunteers.

They saw nine numbers displayed on a computer screen. When they touched the first number, the other eight turned into white squares. The test was to touch all these squares in the order of the numbers that used to be there.

Results showed that the chimps, while no more accurate than the people, could do this faster.
One chimp, Ayumu, did the best. Researchers included him and nine college students in a second test.

This time, five numbers flashed on the screen only briefly before they were replaced by white squares. The challenge, again, was to touch these squares in the proper sequence.

When the numbers were displayed for about seven-tenths of a second, Ayumu and the college students were both able to do this correctly about 80 percent of the time.

But when the numbers were displayed for just four-tenths or two-tenths of a second, the chimp was the champ. The briefer of those times is too short to allow a look around the screen, and in those tests Ayumu still scored about 80 percent, while humans plunged to 40 percent.

That indicates Ayumu was better at taking in the whole pattern of numbers at a glance, the researchers wrote.

“It’s amazing what this chimpanzee is able to do,” said Elizabeth Lonsdorf, director of the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. The center studies the mental abilities of apes, but Lonsdorf didn’t participate in the new study.
She admired Ayumu’s performance when the numbers flashed only briefly on the screen.
“I just watched the video of that and I can tell you right now, there’s no way I can do it,” she said. “It’s unbelievable. I can’t even get the first two (squares).”

What’s going on here? Even with six months of training, three students failed to catch up to the three young chimps, Matsuzawa said in an e-mail.

He thinks two factors gave his chimps the edge. For one thing, he believes human ancestors gave up much of this skill over evolutionary time to make room in the brain for gaining language abilities.

The other factor is the youth of Ayumu and his peers. The memory for images that’s needed for the tests resembles a skill found in children, but which dissipates with age. In fact, the young chimps performed better than older chimps in the new study. (Ayuma’s mom did even worse than the college students).

So the next logical step, Lonsdorf said, is to fix up Ayumu with some real competition on these tests: little kids.

Young Chimp Beats College Students

Don’t know why I am posting this, but the headline does catch your eye. The picture at left, from the Yahoo story, doesn’t include the caption, so if you are confused as to whether that is a chimp or a college student, check the link.

By MALCOLM RITTER, AP Science Writer

Never mind that TV show that asks if you’re smarter than a fifth-grader. Is your memory better than a young chimp’s?

Maybe not.

Japanese researchers pitted young chimps against human adults in two tests of short-term memory, and overall, the chimps won.

That challenges the belief of many people, including many scientists, that “humans are superior to chimpanzees in all cognitive functions,” said researcher Tetsuro Matsuzawa of Kyoto University.

“No one can imagine that chimpanzees — young chimpanzees at the age of 5 — have a better performance in a memory task than humans,” he said in a statement.

Matsuzawa, a pioneer in studying the mental abilities of chimps, said even he was surprised. He and colleague Sana Inoue report the results in Tuesday’s issue of the journal Current Biology.
One memory test included three 5-year-old chimps who’d been taught the order of Arabic numerals 1 through 9, and a dozen human volunteers.

They saw nine numbers displayed on a computer screen. When they touched the first number, the other eight turned into white squares. The test was to touch all these squares in the order of the numbers that used to be there.

Results showed that the chimps, while no more accurate than the people, could do this faster.
One chimp, Ayumu, did the best. Researchers included him and nine college students in a second test.

This time, five numbers flashed on the screen only briefly before they were replaced by white squares. The challenge, again, was to touch these squares in the proper sequence.

When the numbers were displayed for about seven-tenths of a second, Ayumu and the college students were both able to do this correctly about 80 percent of the time.

But when the numbers were displayed for just four-tenths or two-tenths of a second, the chimp was the champ. The briefer of those times is too short to allow a look around the screen, and in those tests Ayumu still scored about 80 percent, while humans plunged to 40 percent.

That indicates Ayumu was better at taking in the whole pattern of numbers at a glance, the researchers wrote.

“It’s amazing what this chimpanzee is able to do,” said Elizabeth Lonsdorf, director of the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. The center studies the mental abilities of apes, but Lonsdorf didn’t participate in the new study.
She admired Ayumu’s performance when the numbers flashed only briefly on the screen.
“I just watched the video of that and I can tell you right now, there’s no way I can do it,” she said. “It’s unbelievable. I can’t even get the first two (squares).”

What’s going on here? Even with six months of training, three students failed to catch up to the three young chimps, Matsuzawa said in an e-mail.

He thinks two factors gave his chimps the edge. For one thing, he believes human ancestors gave up much of this skill over evolutionary time to make room in the brain for gaining language abilities.

The other factor is the youth of Ayumu and his peers. The memory for images that’s needed for the tests resembles a skill found in children, but which dissipates with age. In fact, the young chimps performed better than older chimps in the new study. (Ayuma’s mom did even worse than the college students).

So the next logical step, Lonsdorf said, is to fix up Ayumu with some real competition on these tests: little kids.