Monthly Archives: November 2007

The Obligatory Kangaroo Post

Posted on by
2

frangelo-joey-02.jpg

A visit to Australia would not complete without a Kangaroo adventure. This deadly specimen I captured in the wild with my bare hands after having been ambushed in my sleep. Here I am frightening the beast into submission by imitating its fanged snarl.

Actually, a kind lady by the name of Sue Eldrige has a home in the bush about twenty minutes outside of the town of Toodyay near crown land. She feeds the wild Kangaroos daily, and from time to time rescues or is given a joey (young Kangaroo) that has lost its mother.

This one is still living in her house with her. Here the Roo is in a cloth pouch, if you notice. There are two videos here, one of the Roo in the pouch and one outside the pouch. It was funny, the little guy wanted out to walk around a bit, but shortly after it got out it wanted back in. Sue lowered the pouch down with one hand, and it jumped in head first and then spun around and popped its head out. Without a mother, anything to substitute for the marsupial pouch works just fine.

img_0597.jpg

This is a Pink and Grey Galah, which I guess is a kind of parrot. You ornithologists can set me straight, if need be. Sue feeds the Kangaroos grain everyday out of several old tires scattered behind her house. The Galahs and other wild birds are “opportunists,” she says. Sue calls the Galahs “bush clowns.” This one was pretty comical, popping its head up and down to eat and keep a look out at the same time. Very pretty birds, but they make an awful racket.

Well, folks, that’s my stay in Australia. I hop on a plain for L.A. this evening. I will be leaving sunny and warm Perth for sunny and warm California. Eat your heart out New Englanders, I am missing a good chunk of the chill.

Kings in Disguise

Posted on by
4

167-seven-out-14-men.jpg

With all the work I am doing with the friars here in Australia, and with the men’s retreat I gave over the weekend, I have not been able to do much blogging, but I thought I would begin again with some reflections that I made during the retreat. The theme was “The Return of the Church Militant,” which of course is a play on Tolkien’s The Return of the King.

Fourteen men attended the retreat over the weekend. Unfortunately, we Yanks were not aware that there were national elections across Australia on Saturday, for which voting is mandatory by law, so the men had to work around their voting obligation to attend the retreat. All in all, it was very successful.

During the retreat, I mentioned something Chesterton had once written about, namely, that all of us are “kings in disguise.” The idea is that all of us have a kingly destiny through Baptism; however, we are fallen from that dignity and are fighting to recover it. I would seem that Tolkien may have been influenced by this notion in his development of Aragorn’s character. On Saturday night I gave a little talk on Tolkien and developed the following ideas. We then sat down and watched the extended version of Peter Jackson’s The Return of the King.

Strider’s Secret

In The Lord of the Rings, Middle Earth finds itself in a time of great need. The shadow of Mordor lengthens. The elves are leaving Middle Earth for the Western Shores, and men have become weak and leaderless. Aragorn is one of the Dúnedain, a man of the West from the Northern Kingdom and the lost heir to the throne of Gondor. Few know his true identity, though. He is a ragged and grim wanderer, more a vagabond than a king, as far as the eye could discern. Continue reading →

Brian Brown to Knights of Lepanto in Rhode Island

Posted on by
2

brian_brown_copy.jpgActually, its a mass email from him at the National Organization for Marriage. Okay, Knights of Lepanto in Rhode Island, fall in and protect marriage.

Gill Money Flows into Special Election in Rhode Island:
Pro-Family Candidate Faces Off Against Well-Funded Same-Sex Marriage Activist

Rhode Island faces a critical special election to fill an open assembly seat on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, November 27th. Pro-family Republican Jonathan Wheeler will face off against same-sex marriage activist, Democrat Frank Ferri. The 22nd District includes Conimicut, Warwick Neck, and Oakland Beach. Less than 2000 people are expected to vote.

Frank Ferri has raised a substantial chunk of his donations from out-of-state donors and same-sex marriage special interest groups, including the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund. He received a direct contribution of $1000.00 from gay Colorado multi-millionaire Tim Gill.

Ferri failed to gain the endorsement of the Democratic Party in the primary election, but he managed to win based on low turnout. He brought in a great number of people from outside the district to canvass door-to-door, phone, mail, etc. in support of his candidacy.

He is supported by a number of a number of pro-same sex marriage groups, most prominently, Marriage Equality Rhode Island (MERI, which he chairs). After Ferri won the primary MERI’s own website trumpeted:

Frank Ferri, an openly gay man and the Chair of MERI, won today’s special Democratic primary in Warwick’s House District 22 (Conimicut, Warwick Neck, Oakland Beach). He secured 57% of the vote in a three-way primary, in a district that many thought was too conservative to elect someone like Frank. It’s an amazing first step in electing Rhode Island’s first openly gay, married legislator, and a huge milestone for the equal marriage movement in Rhode Island.

If you have friends or family in Rhode Island, especially in the 22nd Assembly District, forward this message on to them and encourage them to make sure to get out and vote on November 27th.

Contact Brian to find out more.

Brian S. Brown
Executive Director
National Organization for Marriage
bbrown@nationformarriage.org

Night Watch Chronicles III

Posted on by
8

weathertop.jpg

When I read Marc’s description of the Encampment Night Watch, I couldn’t help but think of the encounter of the hobbits and Strider on Weathertop in The Fellowship of the Ring. I am not sure whether there is more a comparison or contrast to be found. You decide.

Having experienced the encampment Night Watch, it is easy to understand how a “watchfire” is a mixed blessing for those who are near it. The light of the fire illuminates a large area around the fire itself, but the brightness of that near light makes it more difficult, not easier, to see into the darker distance. What is more, the watchmen’s long and deep shadows, cast by the fire, create large areas of vulnerability. In fact, Father Ignatius successfully “captured” the Night Watchmen by sneaking up on them right in their own shadows!

The situation seems to be different in The Lord of the Rings. When on Weathertop the danger of the approaching Black Riders was first perceived, Strider had the hobbits surround the fire and face outwards. With the approach of the Nazgûl, not much else was to be done. Fortunately for Strider and the Hobbits, they had two advantages over our Night Watchmen. First, they were able to sense the presence of the Riders by the sheer terror and dread that the nearness of the wraiths caused. Frodo felt a “cold dread [creep] over his heart,” before anyone of them had yet definitely spotted one of the enemy. Secondly, what they were looking for could not be illuminated by the light, but was perceived by its absence of any reflected light. The hobbits “saw” the approaching wraiths as black shapes in the form of men. “So black were they that they seemed like black holes in the deep shade behind them.” Continue reading →