Hurricane Donations

The blogosphere and mainstream media have been all abuzz with news of the hurricane in Louisiana and Mississippi. Der Tommissar over at Donegal Express has gotten himself involved in a "donation showdown". I would like to throw my own hat into the ring of soliciting donations but for a very worthy cause where you can skip the red tape and "administrative fees" of the "nonprofit" organisations.

Here is a forwarded message I recieved this morning:

Hi all,

I spoke with Father Morel of Our Lady of Sorrows (SSPX) in Baton Rouge this morning. Father's rectory at Our Lady of Grace Church in Kenner (a suburb of New Orleans) is underwater -- he saw it on television. He's sure they've lost all their vestments, altar furnishings, etc. He would be happy with any donations to help him and his people there. If you would like to donate to traditional Catholic hurricane victims, here's a great place to start.

His address is:

Father Jean Morel
Our Lady of Sorrows Chapel
3475 N. Sherwood Forest Blvd.
Baton Rouge, LA 70814

If you were thinking of donating some money for hurricane victims, I daresay this would the a most excellent route to go.

Posted on the Feast of St. Giles, Abbot, a.D. MMV

The Best March

On another less grim note ... I'd like to share my opinions on music once again. The C.B.C. employees' being locked out at the moment, I have been experiencing a glorious time of classical music unblemished by leftist commentary as I listen to the radio while in my office. Peripherally, I should note that the South African station Classic FM from Braamfontein was an excellent listening alternative when the C.B.C. employees were working.

But I digress; the topic of this post is "the best march", by which I mean "a musical composition that is usually in duple or quadruple time with a strongly accentuated beat and that is designed or suitable to accompany marching." (cf. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary) C.B.C. played the march that I call the best this afternoon, prompting me to write this peice. The tune: John Williams' Imperial March which first appeared in Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.

This powerful track is filled with strength and energy and somehow embodies in musical form all that makes the Galactic Empire of the Star Wars movies attractive, praiseworthy, fearsome, and intriguing all at the same time. Thinking of massive Star Destroyers moving through space to the grand symphonic movements of this song never ceases to get my heart rate up. Of course, I am sure that my attraction to the Empire is due in part to my monarchism, and perhaps more to my evil traditionalist tendencies.

In any event, I take this song, and others like it, to be proof that classical music is not "boring" as the purveyors of trash pop-culture would have us believe. Much of it is, in fact, inspiring -- something that no rock noise could ever aspire to. Let us then choose inspiration over banality for aesthetic reasons as well as the moral ones.

Another note on the C.B.C. strike: I encourage our Canadian readers to contact C.B.C. and tell them that you prefer this "new" programming they have with only music and hourly news, without the commentary.

Posted on the Feast of St. Giles, Abbot, a.D. MMV