Pray for Cardinals Pitcher Josh Hancock

Please keep Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock in your prayers this morning - he died in an early morning car accident on highway 40 near Grand. Josh was only 29 years old, and joined the Cardinals in their 2006 season, helping them to win that year's World Series victory. He will be missed.

Here's the MLB press release.

"It's About the Kids" - Concerning Sheyrl Crow Helping at the Hospital Benefit [UPDATED]

Time and time again since Archbishop Burke issued a press release yesterday concerning his opposition to the use of Sheryl Crow as a performer for the Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital, people (on KMOX, on the Internet, etc.) have argued against the Archbishop, saying, "It's about the kids... and who cares about what the performer's personal beliefs are, as long as the money raised goes towards helping the kids?"

I'm sorry, Bob Costas et all, but that argument doesn't fly. First of all, saying that, as long as the greater good is served (i.e. helping the kids), we shouldn't worry about the means used to acheive that good, is a utilitarian argument. The end does not justify the means; this is not only a teaching of the Catholic Church, but also a long-held philosophical stance opposed to the utilitarian philosophy present in much of American society.

Another problem with the arguments 'for the kids' is that the issue the Archbishop is addressing has nothing at all to do with whether or not we should raise funds for the Children's Hospital. Rather, the Archbishop is making the point that Catholic institutions have a moral responsibility to ensure they do not bring scandal upon the Church. If the Hospital, which is supposed to hold to the Catholic teaching of abortion as a moral evil, hires a publicly outspoken musician who supports abortion and embryonic stem cell research, this will cause many to think the Church is being hypocritical. This is why the Archbishop was forced to resign his position as the chairman of the fundraising board: he did not want to bring this potential scandal upon the Church.

Please, please, please watch and read the actual statement of the Archbishop [Archstl.org] and the Question/Answer section on the Archdiocese's website! If you're going on only what you hear on the radio or read in the Post-Dispatch, you are getting very tainted news.

[UPDATE: They're discussing this issue on KMOX right now, and it seems many speaking about the issue are ignoring the main issue just as much as Bob Costas and others have... and also please remember that I speak on this Blog not for the Church, but concerning my own opinion.]

Archbishop Burke Calls Out Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center on Selecting Crow for Benefit

Archbishop Raymond Burke today released a video and a press release concerning the selection of Sheryl Crow as the performer for an SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital benefit concert. Sheryl Crow has publicly spoken in favor of Amendment 2, a Constitutional amendment which was recently passed allowing human cloning and embryonic stem cell research, and has been actively pro-choice in the past.

The benfit concert's organizers chose a performer (Ms. Crow) whose statements are most definitely against Church teaching, making it difficult for the faithful to recognize the Catholic identity of the hospital.

In my opinion, the hospital should know better than to select performers who stand against some of the Church's teachings, as they are, in fact, a Catholic institution. I see many places these days that are neglecting their Catholic identities in the name of money and prestige; why do so many feel it necessary to do these things? As a Catholic institution, the hospital should be wary of potentially scandalous issues such as the use of a performer whose views are so publicly against basic teachings of the Church.

There is a video of the Archbishop's statements available here, and an article explaining the issue more fully here.

HDR Pictures of the St. Vincent De Paul Chapel in the Cardinal Rigali Center

A few days ago I had the privelage of visiting the youth office over at the Cardinal Rigali Center (a mere five minute drive from Kenrick-Glennon), and meeting with Ray, a friend who runs most of the technical aspects of the youth office (website, sound system, graphics, etc.). He let me use a new Nikon 55-200mm VR lens the office bought for their own Nikon D40 (I use the same camera...). And the Rigali Center has a beautiful chapel (the Rigali Center used to be 'Kenrick' Seminary a few decades ago), so I tested the lens in there.

The lens is great (especially since it reduces vibration... which is a problem with my somewhat shaky hands), but I like the pictures taken with it even more. Using HDR photography (where I take three pictures, one brighter and darker than the normal picture in-between), I made a few very beautiful images of the woodwork and artistry in the chapel. I hope to go back and spend a little more time taking pictures (and praying!) in that chapel.

The sanctuary and reardos of the chapel, with some stained glass behind:

Detail of some of the wood engraving in the rear of the Church (the Latin translates to 'shrine in honor of...' and on the other side of the entryway it has two saints—I forget who they are, though):

Sometime soon, when I have a few hours free, I will be taking some HDR pictures (like these) of the Seminary's Chapel of St. Joseph, which has it's own beauty (especially the stained glass windows!).

"Justices Uphold Ban on Abortion Procedure"

The Supreme court today upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act [NRLC.org] in a 5-4 ruling. The act will prevent abortionists from being able to partially deliver a baby, only to kill it before being fully born, usually by taking its brains out. You'd think this ban is a no-brainer, as removal of a humans' brains is such a barbaric form of killing, but many are spinning this news negatively.

"Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the only woman on the high court, said the majority's opinion 'cannot be understood as anything other than an effort to chip away a right declared again and again by this court, and with increasing comprehension of its centrality to women's lives'" (CNN.com).

This is a very big step up a long ladder to help millions to regain their right to life. Every mother has a 'right' to life, but should not have a 'right' to take away another's life, even if that other life is depending on her body for its survival. Continue your prayer that there may someday be a proper respect for life, promoted by our national government (as well as all other areas of our society!).

Welcome Strobist Readers!

I notice David over at the Strobist blog (for off-camera strobe lighting) has posted an entry referring to my Mini Macro Studio article. Take a look around, and let me know if you have any suggestions for improving anything ;-).

You may also be interested in reading my DIY article on building your own greenscreen backdrop and stand. And, if you have no idea what Strobist is, check it out, and also look at the awesome discussion forum for Strobist over on Flickr.

Happy Birthday, Holy Father!

While I don't think there will be many small children doing a 'ring-around-a-rosy' around Pope Benedict XVI, I hope he has a very happy and restful birthday. It is his 80th birthday today, and the Vatican is celebrating in style - everyone gets the day off, and the Vatican staff are all getting a little something extra in this week's paycheck.

Another New Article - Make a Free Light Stand Out of Your Old Tripod

I had a few minutes this weekend to post another article in the Photography section of my site, and it tells you how you can take one of your old tripods and retrofit it with a handy-dandy bolt so you can mount a flash or monolight strobe for taking pictures on it. It is a very easy thing to do, and costs less than a buck to get the required parts. Click here to read the article.

New Article - How to Build Your Own Mini Macro Studio for Less than $0.02

I posted a new article today, outlining how I made a quick Mini Macro studio (a 'soft light' softbox), and how you can do the same. It's very easy to do, takes less than two minutes, doesn't require you to get up out of your chair (if you're at a typical office desk), and will make your small object pictures oh-so-much better. For example, this is a shot of an iPod shuffle I just took yesterday:

Click here to find out how to make your own mini macro studio and take pictures like the one above.

The Triduum - Holy Thursday at the New Cathedral [UPDATED]

I've had a bit on my plate lately (Holy Week is about the busiest time of year for priests... and seminarians!), but I now have a few minutes to post some pictures and information about what happened on Holy Thursday. If you remember, I posted a blurb about Tenebrae last year (which contains a brief description of what Tenebrae is), but no pictures. [UPDATE: I wrote an article on the Tenebrae service, which can be found here.]

This year, with my new SLR, I was able to get some pictures from Tenebrae (click here to see them). Also, since seminarians had a four hour break between morning Chrism Mass and evening Dinner with the Archbishop, Mass of the Lord's Supper and Tenebrae, I took some pictures of the New Cathedral's interior, sometimes using a new technique I'm working on with HDR photography (remember the post a couple weeks ago of the Seminary in 'HDR'?).

Here's one of the HDR photos of the interior (including the baldaccino—the structure over the main altar—and the stained glass window behind the main altar):

I hope all of you have a blessed and happy rest of the Triduum and Easter! (And remember, today is the first day of the Divine Mercy novena!).

SLU for U - Flash Animations that Poke (Lighthearted) Fun at SLU

My brother, Joel, who went to Saint Louis University a few years ago, made two Flash animations about some of the humorous decisions and actions done by the University employees and administration. It's not meant to be an entirely negative presentation, but rather a lighthearted look at some of the crazy bureaucratic policies enforced during Joel's time at the University.

Here's a link to the animations (there's also a link from the front page of my site).

Springtime: Nature's Newness of Life

I don't see how people can look around them in springtime and not see the intrinsic value of life. A few days ago, while walking down the stairs to morning Mass, I noticed some twigs stacked together on top of one of the window's hinges outside the seminary building, and as the day went on, more and more twigs were put together, forming a nest.

A few days later (yesterday, in the afternoon, to be precise), an egg had found its way to the nest. There is now a mourning dove perched atop the egg (and she is very protective of that egg!), keeping it warm and guarding it from ouside intruders. She was scared when I approached to take a picture, but would not budge, because she knew (it was somehow intrinsic to her nature) that that egg was the beginning of a baby bird's life.

Obviously, birds do not have a human nature, and, as such, don't have all the rights a human would be given (also, of course, mourning doves are among the dumbest of birds, in my humble opinion, so that can't help at all ;-). But how can someone not see how nature itself places such a great value upon life? Someone may give the example, to counter mine, of a fish laying hundreds of eggs, many of which do not have the chance to develop into baby fish, or of some other animal who doesn't stay with her eggs, but leaves them 'to the elements.' But in all these cases, it is still true that it is a natural and intrinsic desire for animals to preserve life and their own species, especially at such an early stage.

Why is it we humans must always try going against what we know to be true?