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|26 posts found
Novice Member
Joined: 3/16/12
We all know there is no perfect MMO that everyone would enjoy, look at the crop we have now X amount love this one and X amount hates that one.
What I want to hear is ideas of elements that would make a great MMO in your opinion, they can be from other games or off the top of your head.
1) True battle of good and evil with the ability of switching sides (1 time only) I know EQ2 did this.
I like this because I may want to play as a dark elf, but why do I have to be evil to do so? Or perhaps as you build your character you are given a series of questions and scenarios, how you answer would determine what side you belong.
Also I will throw into this part that I want interesting races, yes put in the typical elf human dwarf etc. But I loved how Shadowbane added some very non standard races to play. I want choices and alot of customization not just at creation, your character SHOULD stand out at every part of the game.
2) The world changes around you sometimes for the worst. (I know it would take a team to keep this going)
I'm not just talking about major events but also small occurences. Seasons that actually change, dynamic weather, large scale dynamic events. What if in a game the weather changes and there in the coding is the small possibility that a hurricane might form. That hurricane then goes over X spot on the map and wipes out a bridge, thus a quest is formed, help rebuild the bridge.
The quest from this could have multiple paths such as crafters gain knowledge to help in their trade from doing crafting on the bridge. Non-crafters might be gathering materials or chopping trees for wood or even protecting workers, but are rewarded with an increase to their stats.
3) I Remeber this from Daggerfall
I would love to see things such as if you are fighting werewolves or vampires that there is a chance from the creatures special attack to be infected. Then you would have X amount of time to find a cure (timer based, but not just in-game time) If you follow the branching path of the quest you find a cure. If not you are now cursed and perhaps even now made to goto the evil side.
4) True exploration
I want there to be hidden out of the way areas that people stumble upon (Yes eventually everyone would learn these) perhaps a small cemetary in an abandoned town, finding it could be triggered or skill based (think putting points in search) You find that while searching a mausoleum you come across an old stair leading under into an elaborate cave system. Quest is then triggered such as crazy mage has made his home here and is creating zombies that have been inhabiting the area.
I want a true crafting component, with discovery of rare components or rare items. A system where you will create the hilt of a sword, the pommel and the blade. I want there to be choices on how that weapon looks, a system where there are 25+ different blades. I would like to see an enchanter who you take your self made sword to and ask (hopefully it's a friend who will do it for you) to enchant it. Enchantments would add not only stats to the weapon but also particle effects, but even further into it there will be discovery. Your friend the enchanter decides to experiment on the blade, knowing using an ice core and a fire core makes a cold flame weapon, but subs the ice core with mystic water. He has now discovered liquid fire, the particle effect is a coll lava dripping looking sword. Also I want rare recipes perhaps hidden in that tomb you disturbed, now you may be the only person on your server to have this...you are popular until the next big cool recipe is discovered.
6) not being locked into set roles
If you want to be a mage you study magic, want to be a warrior pick up a sword and put on that armor. I don't like having to pick a class and then play it until X level to learn I don't really like it. If I want to be a battle mage, then I can study those skills.
Maybe not perfect but please add your own ideas.
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If Asherons Call and GW2 was to have hot nasty sex I would think its love child would be the ultimate game.
Novice Member
Joined: 1/31/11
Give me the Classless system and Combat of Asheron's Call, Plus the RvR of Dark Age of Camelot, Set in the world of Everquest 1 with the graphics of Guild Wars 2 and you will have my lifetime sub.
Elite Member
Joined: 9/27/11
World > Quest Progression
A very big and naturally formed word.
A world back story, not a player back story (that's my job(
Either an open skill based system or the ability to change classes and tradeskills freezing others when you switch.
An equal variety of group and solo content. Areas in the world would have strictly group content like EQ did.
Overworld bosses.
Level normalization between players for grouping/raiding.
Deep crafting system and tools for player sales outside a market system (like a bazaar).
Player built structures
Tools for socialization. Interfaces for mini games, dancing, music, etc.
I'm sure I can think of more but that's a good start :).
Hard Core Member
Joined: 12/10/08
with associated changes to the world e.g. copy rifts but make them seasonal i.e. fire rifts opening in a desert zone in the summer, life type rifts in wooded zones in the spring etc, and / or have seasonal mobs, npcs, quests etc, and on something like a game year == 12 week cycle.
similarly do more with day / night cycles, shorter but darker night cycles with different mobs and maybe npcs / quests too.
Advanced Member
Joined: 4/06/10
I refuse to post as no developer will be able to see, invision, comprehend or even begin to imagine what my words mean and will just make another shitty mmo.
To get right what i want would require complete obedience and undevided attention. And yes it would be a sandbox and yes it would be incredibly complex. Something along the lines of eve online mixed with medevil western europe. But with no levels or charecter statsmeaning every one is the same. No classes!! just equipment to decide your role on the battlefield... And when i say eve online i actually am refering to the 0.0 aspects and everything envolvef. Where player alliances can run and build and own their own cities and forge their own armies. Infact!! Their wouldnt be guilds but instead players would forge armies. Progressiin would be based on an honour system which is used as currency to purchase skill books to enable your chaecters to use mefial items like armiur and weapons. Combat would be like mount and blade where individual player skill is key. Thats just a very very very basicand rough explanation of why i wont post!!! Devs will almost certainly ruin it, there is nothing even remotely like it on earth.
Spotlight Poster
Joined: 9/04/11
**-A open world pvp hard core server with full player loot.
-Full city invasions , players are always red, destructible buildings and terrain.
-The ability to build cities, guild halls,houses and siege weapons.
**-A solid use of the webcam.
-Use webcam for face mapping our faces on our toons
-Use webcam for pip video chat.
-Use webcam for voice chat, when I click on your toon it opens up a video chat window so we can talk instead of typing.
**Open world pvp incentives
-Optional instanced battle grounds offer 1 point for a kill while a open world kill offers 20 points.
-Achievments for open world pvp
-The ability to build houses , cities , towns ect ect .
-Vote in a mayor
-Have taxes
-Offer skills bonus in player run cities.
-Region celebrations
-A town gathering area for celebrations offering a nice buff for those that sit and socialize.
**Player bounty system
-The ability to place bounties on other players.
-If a player griefs too much they can be arrested and sent to jail for 5 minutes.
** Custom armor dyes , full transmog customization
** Guilds can declare war on other guilds placing a marker on opponent for easy id.
**Huge arenas with seating
-Ability to gamble virtual currency on fights
-Ability to sit in arena and watch fights
-Arena tournaments , teams and 8 player brackets that players can place bets on.
-Paparatzi achievment given to the high end teams , have a virtual pap follow around the arena champions snapping photos making them a big deal.
"Don't tell me what to do! , you're not my mod"
Saying invented by me.
Advanced Member
Joined: 3/19/08
1) Gameplay/Skill Structure, and housing of Ultima Online.
2) UI design and modability of WoW.
3) Persistant PvP of DAoC.
That would be the perfect MMO for me.
Novice Member
Joined: 6/16/10
Real Animal lovers are ONLY the vegetarians
all items BoP
change faction (limiting 1 time per month)
change class (need to start over from lvl 1 to work)
Joined: 5/21/08
To me the perfect game, or near perfect at least, could be achieved quite easily.
Take the world building / sandbox elements of a game such as Xsyon or Wurm
Combine it with Darkfall's combat, pvp, looting, etc
Add some good, original lore and PvE content (unique types of quests, dungeons, etc) and some quest designing features for the players (kind of like Ryzom and CoH)
Add in an experienced dev team who can give the game proper coding / bug fixing and some nicer graphics without completely killing performance, and a user friendly UI.
Elite Member
Joined: 10/29/07
I would make a historical game. No magic, elves or similar stuff. To be honest are humans way scarier than any "real" monsters and a MMO with no magic really would make things rather interesting.
First of all you had to put more work into melee, when you take away magic you have to put more focus in the stuff there really is. I would have a melee system with 10 attacks. 3 Basic attacks and 7 dynamic attacks that would differ depending on what you did last, your stance, your opponents stance and similar things. And yes, those would be real attacks you actually make with a sword. I could write a lot more but lets keep it short.
Then no healers means you have to manage your health better. Parrying and dodging actually needs to work well.
I would also put most of your health into the armor and whenever it got pierced you would get some negative temporary buff.
I fear that making bows and crossbows handaimed would be a balance problem so I think I would stay clear of that.
Add a high focus on crafting (including the option to customize the skin of everything you make), player owned store and farms, guild owned towns, thiefs hideouts and castles. Guild run tournaments, guild conflicts, War between kingdoms and more. Of course on a "nice" server large wars would be rare between player run nations and guilds would have to accept a challenge.
I would also use a rather complicated trade systems between player run kingdoms (or guild alliances) where they could own mines, fields and so on. Smaller guild would be able to build watchtowers, small villages and similar while larger could build cities.
I think the PvE side would be mainly handled by dynamic events, some place bound like in GW2, other more like P&P random encounter at random times. And while some indiana jones styled graves with traps is historically so-so I would still add a bunch of them. :)
I try to imagine WoW wheres only 1 Inn ,Loch Modans Inn.
*player limit 100 ,doorkeeper wont let in if its full and theres queue.
*when you go inside then only Inn chat is active.
*beer can run out.
*if you get too smashed you will get kicked out or can fight against doorkeeper.
giving meaning to things.
Without meaning these things doesnt exist.
Novice Member
Joined: 2/03/10
Crafting -I would like to see an in depth crafting system in a game. I liked Vanguards system but would take it further. I don't believe the best gear in a game should come from raiding. Loot drops would be substitued for compent drops (somewhat like what SWG had but better) that a crafter would use to make an item. I would like to see some form of success and failure return to crafting. Different levels of success would be nice too.
Player housing - Open world housing would be great in a game. It wouldn't have to be as open as UO. Something like housisng available in player built cities would work. The game could combine open world housing and instanced "apartments" to cities. This would add value to the open world houses.
An evolving world - This is my biggest want in a game. Recent releases are leading towards this but none have got it right yet. I like the dynamic nature of newer games but they are limited in that nothing overly consequential happens. Eventually things are reset to the static beginning or a static end. I would love to see a system with over-world dungeon system where the dungeon forces grow and aren't always in the same spot. Ex. Orcs or undead begin to take over an area and grow stronger if they aren't dealt with eventually leading to the destruction of cities etc.
Skills - A game that uses a skill based system instead of level based system would be great. I would want experience in the game for an achievement type system but the main skills of a character would be dependent on the skills he or she has gained. A modified UO skill system with an EQ/EQ2 type AA system.
Hard Core Member
Joined: 12/17/10
My basics for a perfect MMORPG are a cummulation of several good ideas coming from MMORPGs or classic Pen&Paper RPGs.
1. Instant freeform character creation. You simply choose from a variety of skills and distribute skillpoints to them. You can create up to three characters on an account.
2. No characterprogression and levels. Your character doesn't advance by levelling up. You don't gain additional skills or skillpoints. Only you - the players - get better at playing the game.
3. No premade factions. Players are free to create, join and switch groups/clans/guilds/alliances.
4. Heritage and permadeath.
4.1. Characters are no superheros and get older. Every character will die because of their age at some point. The maximum age of a character can be influenced with medical treatments.
4.2. Money is allways stored in your global bank-account. All characters on an account are linked to each other, carry the same surname and access the same global bank-account.
5. Continents, travelling and transporting.
5.1. PvE-continents are the place to play it safe. You can do some questing, exploration and run dungeons. PvP in these areas is restricted to arenas. Ressources found are limited to low and medium quality.
5.2. PvP-continents are the place where players fight for territories and ressources. Players can built guarded headquarters and factories, which are prone to be destroyed or conquered by others. Ressources found are of the highest quality.
5.3. Items and ressources cannot be sent to other areas by mail. They need to be transported by players. Only money is stored on a global account.
5.4. Travelling on continents is done by foot or groundbased vehicles. Traveling between continents is done by boat. There's no flying vehicles.
6. Crafting, ressources and items.
6.1. All items needs to be crafted and prone to be destroyed. Items loose durability over time when used and will break at some point.
6.2. Blueprints for crafting are found in dungeons and explorations. Combining blueprints leads to modified items, with different stats. The higher quality ressources used, the better the results.
6.3. Ressources need to be harvested or excavated. Harvestable ressources need to be planted and looked after. The places for excavated ressources are not static. Once a node of excavated ressources is depleted it'll spawn somewhere else.
6.4. Items and ressources have weight and volume. The amount that can be carried around is limited by both.
Novice Member
Joined: 8/30/08
GW2 - I for w/e reason like it the most
UO - Skill system. It allowed for the most customizable "classes" so that you really could play the way you wanted to.
GW2 - For me a system with a skill system from UO that allows you to choose different skills based on your skill level with different weapons and such would be killer.
UO - I like the idea of having a wide variety of pets and having them be unique. In UO mobs spawned with a bit of randomness in there stats within set min and max possibilities. This meant your Dragon wasn't the same as mine. Then on top of that you had to bond them and train them before they were effective in combat. Also things like pack animals, mounts that could fight beside you, and fluff pets that really didn't do anything but go with a theme for your character were a neat addition. I had a necro that tamed and trained spiders, they weren't exactly a huge aid but running around with a pack of spiders in tow was simply awsome.
GW2 - I like the DE's, Dungeons, and World Bosses but I'd remove hearts.
FFXI - In place of hearts add events from FFXI like Garrison, Campaign, and Besieged. These were basically defend against waves of assualting mobs trying to take over a keep, city, or outpost. While akin to DE's these were slightly larger in scale and the Armies attacking varied. Think of a World Boss leading an army of mobs assaulting Lions Arch trying to conquer it. You kill the world boss the siege ended. Refine it and make it have an actual impact on the world.
UO - I'd like to see massive open world dungeons. Something a guild could do together. Have it scale like most things do in UO to the number of players inside.
UO - Again going with UO. I liked the harvesting and refinement of materials and I liked the logic in the gathering process. You skinned animals for their hides/fur. You sheered sheep for their wool. You mined in caves or near or on rocky terrain not just a select few nods in a zone. I also liked the randomness in stats. You got an item, the stats were randomly determined when it was generated. I like the idea of random stats allowing players to create at least somewhat unique things. Give them set paramiters and increase for a High Success and decrease for a low success making it so people can have a chance of making exceptional and sub par items. Better your skill the less likely of a sub par item and the better chance of an exceptional item.
MO - I like the idea of combining different blades and hilts and such to make unique weapons. MO failed to pull it off well, if done right it could make for an interesting and more expressive crafting system.
GW2 - I like the way they've done the upgrades, they have an impact but are limited enough they can't be OP.
Social items/Town clothes
UO - In UO you could wear a large variety of town clothes. I mean there were a town of pieces of just fluff clothing. Everything from formal wear to peasant style of clothing. Expand on that and the dye system I loved. Combined the Dye system from GW2 and UO and I'll be a happy camper. I also wouldn't mind a bit more customization ala CO or APB.
UO - I liked UO's housing. It was an actual existing thing in the world. Everyone could walk by and see it. It was an expression of who you were and what you've done. Trophies from beasts you killed, treasure troves, furniture that could be used ti sit in, board games that could be played. It was a social thing and even practical things could be put in there. Crafting equipment like forges, Fountains for blessing bandages, etc. It was an actual thing, it wasn't an instanced off little "Yeah you have it... but it doesn't really matter" kind of things.
GW2 - I like sPvP, but I think the WvW could be improved.
Instead of WvW I'd like to see something akin to UO's Feluca with elements of Shadow Bane done on a mega server like EvE. Mesh the 3 and I think you'd have something I'd enjoy more.
GW1 - GvG is a must.
Loot and Itemization
UO - Logical loot, this is a must for me in a perfect game. Random stats on items and equipment found is another feature I enjoy.
I could go on, but I'm going to take a break for now. I may add more later. But thats a good start for me.
Advanced Member
Joined: 6/22/05
I could go a couple of different ways. Take SWTOR with there great story lines and production, add SWG elements like Jump to Lightspeed space game and refine it, add SWG harvesting and crafting, put in a diplomacy style of sphere like they have in Vanguard, Love to see an AOC or tera combat system and bada bing a Super theme park mmo,
Bring back shadow bane and just fix the horrible Lag and hitching and crashes, add some harvesting and crafting elements like in SWG or even FE and wha laaa. for those of you not familair with Shadow bane it was a sandbox with very few quests,it had full Pvp and grouping was a must and easy to do since you had to do it to survive
Novice Member
Joined: 10/06/11
A ffa, open game with
Vanguard's world
Mount and Blade's combat
MO's graphics
DF's AI
EVE's dynamic security system and market
SWG's crafting and housing
UO's skill system
Novice Member
Joined: 8/22/10
EQ Classic was more or less perfect. The idea that there were game mechanics still to be added to RPGs in 1999 is pretty silly. WoW's hotbar system probably wouldn't work there, since it doesn't affect the deeper meaning of the game deep down. The two are different games and I'm not sure there's anything you can add to EQ Classic that would have improved it. It was basically just a virtual world slapped out with limited preconceptions for a multiplayer online audience. And it worked, because that is the way ideal government works too (minimal rules and interference, letting the people take care of themselves).
Novice Member
Joined: 7/08/07
- Developers who dont equate sandbox with pvp full loot (I dont want forced pvp. Period.)
- A balance between themepark and sandbox
- A big world feeling to it
- Bioengineer crafting like pre NGE CU SWG
- Excellent UI
- Great guild utilities
- Excellent addon compatability
- Dungeon finder tool like WoW (instant group content - LFG spam is NOT being social)
Novice Member
Joined: 6/23/09
A game with a harsh death penalty but at the same time nothing bad happens when you die so players aren't upset.
A game with a skill tree so you could design the character you want but at the same time an entirely rigid class base system.
A game with no trinity, but a game with the trinity so people would feel comfortable.
A world that is wide open, free roaming, no instances while have a linear progression with many instances and guidance so no one gets lost.
No handholding, while making sure players know where every NPC and location is and what they should do.
FFA PvP while forcing no one to PvP.
No leveling, while have there be years worth of leveling, while allowing people to get to end game in a week.
Of course satirical in the fact that the reason so many people hate so many MMOs is that unlike other genres it is a wide base that wants truly opposite things making any "perfect" game 100% impossible.


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A chronological look at the key dates marking the path since Ohio State suspended five of its players for the first five games of the 2011 season due to NCAA violations concerning the selling of memorabilia and awards for improper benefits.
Dec. 23, 2010: Ohio State suspends Terrelle Pryor, Dan Herron, DeVier Posey, Mike Adams and Solomon Thomas for the first five games of the 2011 season after they were found guilty of NCAA violations for selling memorabilia and awards for improper benefits, including tattoos. The university, however, allows the five players to participate in the 2011 Sugar Bowl.
Jan. 4, 2011: Ohio State defeats Arkansas, 31-26, in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The Buckeyes get major contributions from the suspended players. Pryor leads the Buckeyes with 221 passing yards, 115 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Herron adds 87 rushing yards and a touchdown. Posey catches a touchdown pass, and Thomas comes up with the game-clinching interception. The win gives coach Jim Tressel his fifth BCS win and the Buckeyes' first bowl victory against an SEC school.
March 8: A Yahoo! Sports story alleges Tressel knew of his players selling the items more than eight months before school officials said they were made aware of the transactions. Tressel learned of the situation when former OSU walk-on and local attorney Christopher Cicero emailed him. Ohio State suspends Tressel for the first two games of the 2011 season and fines him $250,000. In a press conference, Tressel said he kept the information to himself to protect the confidentiality of a federal investigation and the safety of the players involved. Asked whether or not Tressel might be fired, Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee said, "I'm just hoping that the coach doesn't dismiss me."
March 17: The NCAA upholds the five-game suspensions for the five Ohio State players. Tressel asks Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith to increase his suspension from two to five games to match the players' punishment. Smith accepts Tressel's request.
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- Don't be surprised if Ohio State Buckeyes football program draws harsher NCAA ... Plain Dealer (blog): Friday Jul 8
- Ohio State AD admits asking for Tressel's resignation (Yahoo! Sports) Yahoo Sports: Friday Jul 8
- NCAA questions loom even after Ohio State vacates 2010 wins USA Today: Friday Jul 8
- Ohio State vacates 2010 football season, including 37-7 win over Michigan mlive.com: Friday Jul 8
- What Buckeyes are offering might not nearly be enough: Terry Pluto cleveland.com: Friday Jul 8
March 25: The Columbus Dispatch reports Tressel forwarded the emails he received concerning the players to Ted Sarniak, a businessman from Jeannette, Pa., and a mentor to Pryor.
April 12: Ohio State receives a notice of allegations from the NCAA, mostly concerning Tressel's actions. The notice, however, does not include, "lack of institutional control."
May 7: The Columbus Dispatch reports that Ohio State's director of compliance is reviewing at least 50 car sales to Buckeyes athletes and relatives to see if they met NCAA rules.
May 26: Former Ohio State wide receiver Ray Small tells The Lantern, Ohio State's school newspaper, he sold his Big Ten championship rings and other memorabilia while playing for the Buckeyes from 2006-10. Small also said he received deals on cars. Tressel suspended Small multiple times, including his senior year before the 2010 Rose Bowl.
May 30: Tressel resigns as Ohio State football coach. Assistant coach Luke Fickell is named the interim coach for the 2011-12 season. Later that night, a story in Sports Illustrated alleges more widespread improper benefits involving players at Ohio State under Tressel.
June 7: Pryor announces his intention to skip his senior season at Ohio State in favor of the NFL supplemental draft. Pryor holds a press conference with agent Drew Rosenhaus in Miami, Fla., on June 14. Pryor says: "Coach Jim Tressel, I love you just like a father. You taught me a lot, and I apologize for putting you in a situation of taking you out of a job, a place that you love to be."
July 8: Ohio State responds to the NCAA allegations. The Buckeyes vacate all 12 wins from the 2010-11 season, including the Sugar Bowl win against Arkansas. Ohio State self-imposes a two-year probation on its football program, but no scholarship losses or bowl ban. Ohio State is scheduled to meet in front of the NCAA infractions committee Aug. 12.
MORE COVERAGE: Two-faced Ohio State sends mixed message | Vacating wins, titles | Look back at 2010 season | Buckeye alum Bobby Carpenter reacts

subset: commoncrawl


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As a major land-grant university, Texas A&M has both an extraordinary opportunity and a special responsibility to create and maintain a campus climate that affirms diversity of thought, background, ethnicity, and perspective. Applying the Texas A&M core value of mutual respect is the key ingredient to developing and sustaining a university community in which diversity is valued. As we work together to harness the power of diversity, we provide students, faculty, and staff with a university experience that is rich in perspectives with opportunities to learn from each other and succeed in a diverse world.
Diversity at A&M
Diversity Programs
- Affirmative Action Program (PDF)
- Diversity Training Institute
- Encouraging Respect, Acceptance & Support through Education (ERASE)
- Funding Opportunities
- Jordan Institute for International Awareness
- Student Organizations
- Aggies 2 Aggies (A2A)
Diversity Resources
- All Faiths Chapel
- Department of Multicultural Services
- Disability Services
- Diversity Training Institute
- GLBT Resource Center
- International Presence
- Multicultural Calendar
- Office of the Vice President and Provost for Diversity
- President's Council on Climate and Diversity
- Student Government Association Diversity Team
- Women's Resource Center


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My iPhone friends are always concerned about my wireless well being when they see me pull out my BlackBerry. Hell, even folks I've known for mere minutes comment about the lack of smarts on my smartphone.
"It will change your life," they say about the iPhone. While I'm not sure about that I am sure that the iPhone is plenty faster than my little BlackBerry which until a year ago didn't have a working spacebar SoIWasTypingLikeThisToAllMyFriendsForAGoodTwoMonths.
I have my reasons for not switching over to the iPhone beyond not wanting to give into to the arrogant taunts of all you iPhone users. In fact, I have 3 reasons. Three reasons that many of you will find ridiculous but here they are:
- Red Indicator Light: I've noticed that the iPhone doesn't have that tiny flashing light to indicate that you've got an unread message, text, e-mail, etc. I know a little message pops up on your super, vibrant screen when you first get a message but I'm pretty sure that pop-up goes away after a few seconds in which case the only way you'll know you have a message after that is by actively checking for yourself. Not the case with my BlackBerry. Say I've left my phone on my desk for the last hour. My little red light will tell me there's something new waiting for me without having to look for myself. Sounds simple which makes me wonder why the hell there isn't one on the iPhone.
- Full Keyboard: I've never lost a typing race to an iPhone user. Ever. Not to mention my messages are coherent 100% of the time (the exception of course is when I've been drinking) while my iPhone friends are busy correcting their auto-correct. Touchscreens are great and all but it honestly pains me to walk into the Verizon store and see the the slow extinction of the full keyboard. I've never met someone with a touch keyboard who says they love it. The folks who have made the switch all say the same thing: "You get used to it." Guess what? I don't want to get used to it. I'm over the cool factor of the touchscreen. I need fast, simple, easy and there's nothing fast simple and easy about typing with one finger. Don't believe me? Check out all the people in coffee shops with external keyboards hooked up to their iPads. In fact, the touchscreen keyboard is among the reasons I'm hesitant on the new Samsung Galaxy–that and its sheer size.
- BBM: I'll be honest. This is my weakest argument for holding onto my BlackBerry. Nonetheless, the BlackBerry Messenger has been good to me. I know when my messages are delivered and read, and I don't incur any fees regardless of the number of BBMs I send about my 24-hour hangover. Apparently there's a similar App on the iPhone but I still have a number of BBM friends I'm not ready to abandon. I should note that my list of BBM buddies has been getting smaller as they make the switch to the Droid or iPhone but I'm hanging on for my people who love their red indicator light as much as I do.
Eventually I'll likely end up giving up my BlackBerry because as my friend and former Forbes colleague Tyler McKee would always remind me, "Research In Motion is a dying company." Tyler has an iPhone.


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I have a medium/ olive skintone with yellow undertones. My lips are slightly darker.
On me, this colour was a pretty sheer coral/pink. Out of the colours I bought from the MAC All about orange collection (Tart and Trendy, Sushi Kiss, Flamingo and Tangerine dream). This was one of my favourites. This is a perfect girlie every day colour. Highly reccommend it!
Razzledazzler Lipstick is a soft coral-peach with a nice sheen. It has a lustre finish, and while it's permanent in Asia, it's not here–though it came out as a limited edition shade in Raquel Welch ('07). The color coverage is semi-opaque, which is actually a lot of cover given the finish. Burberry Devon Sunset is very similar, though it's a touch brighter. MAC So Vain is comparable, though a little warmer. MAC Flamingo is sheerer and pinker. MAC Ever Hip is pinker. (8, 9, 8.5, 7, 4, 4; B-)


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Marco, himself a well-built stud, sure likes the rock-hard dick of super stud Marc pounding deep in his hole. I get the impression he hopes the filming of the video will never end, so that Marc will be forced to continue to ride his muscled butt. Marc seems not to think this was too bad an idea.


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Published on Friday, November 14 2014 13:43
In the big business world of the live music industry, little ol' Planet Bluegrass, here in Lyons has been nominated for one of the most prestigious awards given by the live music industry. The 41st Annual Telluride Bluegrass
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Published on Friday, November 14 2014 11:25
Editor's Note: Lyons resident and CU professor Nick Schneider has been involved over the last decade with a team of scientists who sent an atmospheric probe, called MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) to the red planet to try and ascertain what became of the water on Mars. Maven was launched in mid-November of 2013,
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Published on Thursday, November 06 2014 09:42
Notice is hereby given that a proposed budget has been submitted to the Town of Lyons Board of Trustees for the ensuing year of 2015. A
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Published on Thursday, November 06 2014 11:55
By Joseph Lekarczyk
About thirty-five to forty residents showed up at Town Hall Monday night for the Board of Trustees (BOT) public hearing on whether to enact a new ordinance, put forth by a citizens' group, to ban retail marijuana sales within the Town of Lyons, or by not enacting the proposed ordinance, to let it go to a vote in a special election. Of the fifteen people who spoke (Clerk Deb Anthony also read the names of
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Published on Friday, October 31 2014 07:45
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It's budget time for the Town of Lyons, and various groups, commissions, and departments (Golden Gang, Lyons Arts & Humanities Commission, Redstone Museum, Economic Development Commission, Public Works Department, etc.) presented their requests for
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Wikipedia isn't usually credible, but those handy-dandy sources linked at the bottom tend to be, especially on academic subjects like this. You're operating off assumptions that have been debunked by modern psychology.
Wikipedia isn't usually credible, but those handy-dandy sources linked at the bottom tend to be, especially on academic subjects like this. You're operating off assumptions that have been debunked by modern psychology.
Definition of Proof from dictionary.com
1. evidence sufficient to establish a thing as true, or to produce belief in its truth.
Also for something to be true it must be able to be demonstrated as fact repeatedly with the same results
If you're going to get involved in a discussion on science and scientific definitions you need to learn what those words mean. 'Theory' being used as a synonym for 'Hypothesis' is something people who aren't aware of what 'Theory' really means, and that use is almost entirely vernacular and has no standing in the scientific community.
edit: For a good example of laughable science that was later disproven, but at its time was accepted as theory, look into the effect of humours in psychology or the 'studies' that showed being black (again, a matter of minor genetic differences resulting in notable differences in the end result, just like that study from South Korea) meant innately-inferior physical and mental faculties; if you tried to posit this theory to a gathering of minds today you'd be laughed out of the room.
edit edit: Also, there are current studies and hypotheses involving objective reality versus subjective reality, another reason that theory is the closest you will ever get to "This is undeniably fact" in science. Science is far less cut-and-dry than high school biology/chemistry would have people believe.
Last edited by Thage; 2012-12-08 at 03:50 PM.
Which science has done to show you are wrong, even though science doesn't claim to have proof.1. evidence sufficient to establish a thing as true, or to produce belief in its truth.
Also for something to be true it must be able to be demonstrated as fact repeatedly with the same results
Dunno where this went to Science lol but anyway is this same sex marriage like in a Church or like legal partners?
Because I think the argument against legal partners obviously has no weight but I think a Religious institution should be free to decide whether it wants to allow marriage between the same gender in their religious buildings.
I mean, if you don't like it, don't be part of their religion - use a different church or recognise that clearly their religion is wrong.
I think forcing the religion to change is bad, I think it's nice to know where I can find the ignorant people in the world and I like that they label themselves so that I can avoid them.
Legal partners, Sackman. Most gay marriage activists are fully willing to allow religions to retain their autonomy to decide if they want to support same-sex marriages; which is as it should be. Separation of Church and State is, as Thomas Jefferson observed in a letter to a friend, key to preserving freedom of religion for all religions and for all people in the US. That goes the other way, though--no religious doctrine should be made law over that of other religions, which is the cornerstone of the argument against equal marriage rights in the US.
I don't understand why these threads always turn into debates on whether homosexuality is "natural" or not. Frankly, that's 1) a totally separate discussion, and 2) IMO, completely irrelevant to the legality of same-sex marriages. Because even if sexuality were something we could toggle like a light switch, I would still say that there's nothing wrong with same-sex marriages.
And honestly I wouldn't stop there, either. Adults should be able to engage in a variety of relationships (some of which might not always be sexual) and have them be recognized under the law. And I say this as a gay man myself.
I'd highly recommend this lecture to anyone who's interested in the topic:
Honestly only a Bi-sexual can make that choice naturally. As a Bi/Pan-sexual I have some pretty wild dreams sometimes. I was married in a Hetero-Sexual relationship. It failed because I had difficulties dealing with my self at 23 years old. Also it's hard to just pick one, I like guys and Girls. I find manly women sexy, and feminine guys super hot. But I also know in my core I am wired this way, I know some people are wired very different.
Actually depends on how the word the ruling, also they have 2 issues that they took on in regards to this. One is DORMA, the other is federal recognition status. Basically they now have the ability to choose for the whole US at once. 9 people will determine the fate of same sex marriage in America. 5 are conservatives, 4 are liberals, one of the conservatives has voted liberal in the past. So in reality it all boils down to one man.
---------- Post added 2012-12-08 at 08:32 AM ----------
Don't thy deny the absolute of almighty Sience for thy shall be cast into complete oblivion after thou brain stopped functioning!
Sience is no more then a way for humans to explain the universe. Scientists do it via proof and reasoning religion does it by belief.
---------- Post added 2012-12-08 at 05:35 PM ----------
Joke aside , weird people are often more interesting then normal people. Btw normal people don't exist, we al have weird things going on in our brain.
0/2 = 0 , ∞/2 = ∞
2/0 = error , 2/∞ = error
0*2 = 0 , ∞*2 = ∞


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Graduate Academic Catalog 2012-2013
Students who are absent because of participation in approved university activities such as field trips and athletic events will be permitted to make up the work missed during their absences. The student is responsible for reporting such absences to the instructor and for arranging with the instructor for make-up work. This policy is not to be construed as blanket permission to miss classes and any excessive absence may result in failure of the class.
Catalog Links


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Scott Vincent Sica has been extradited to North Carolina after having been charged with the 1996 murder of Jonesville Police Officer Sgt. Gregory Keith Martin.
According Yadkin County Sheriff Ricky Oliver, Sica was transferred by the Department of Corrections from the Lee County Correctional Facility in Florida Friday at approximately 2 a.m. He was transferred to the custody of the Yadkin County Sheriff's Office and arrived at approximately 2:30 p.m.
According to Sheriff Oliver, Sica was arrested and processed by Yadkin County Sheriff's deputies and received his first appearance hearing at the Yadkin County Jail.
Sheriff Oliver said that the next court date has been tentatively set for Oct. 31.


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A 10- to 15-minute interview is all it takes for a parent to bring home a free disk that contains complete information that can be handed to emergency services or even downloaded to other child protection organizations such as Amber Alert.
The information is subsequently protected so that parents will have sole control over the disk, as GACHIP does not retain the information. After handing the parent the finished disk, all recorded data is permanently erased. And by law of the Privacy Act, no person is allowed to watch any of the data being entered, outside of the information taker, and children are never touched by volunteers.
Ed Burns, the voice for the Jones County chapter of the Masons, has himself and team interviewed and handed out 1,800 disks in just two years.
Recently he has visited Turner Woods Elementary, First Baptist of Gray and Jones County Pre-K, but he says the information doesn't just have to be about young kids. Parents with older mentally handicapped children can also have a disk created for free, as well as aging parents who suffer disabilities such as Alzheimer's, can have their children provide information to the GACHIP program and get all the necessary product that goes with it.
For the full story, pick up a copy of this week's newspaper or subscribe to our e-Edition at http://ee.jcnews.com.


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The Parallel Catholic Church
Eric Bugyis November 16, 2012 - 5:29pm
Over at The Dish, Andrew Sullivan praises a new HBO documentary, "Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God," by Alex Gibney ("Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room") on the perpetration and cover-up of sex abuse in the Catholic Church that traces the corruption all the way to the Pope. None of this, I think, will be news to many of us who have been following this horrifying story for more than a decade, but Sullivan offers an interesting comment on how the loss of moral credibility among the hierarchy has created two parallel churches:
One feature of this last election was the complete failure of the Vatican hierarchs to dictate the vote to the flock. American Catholics voted for Obama over Romney. The docile fools in dresses - from Dolan to Chaput - were ignored as they now routinely are, and should be. They actually think they still have moral authority. But moral authority has to be earned with each generation, and the corruption in the Vatican is so deep and so rotten and so incapable of self-reflection it has effectively created two Catholic churches in America: those few in the pews who still listen to the bishops and those who exist almost in a parallel church, focused on their own parish, their own priest, and their own faith, which remains, for many of us, undimmed.
I have also found the idea of inhabiting a parallel Catholic Church to be one way of sustaining my own faith through the dark time of scandal, pastoral malfeasance, and political cynicism that continues to undermine the hierarchical Church. The wonderful community at my local parish and the excellent priests that serve us have kept me coming back every week in spite of the continual heartbreak that comes from seeing certain bishops and their friends take the public stage with a militant defensiveness, a hunger for power, and a litigiousness that seems to be the very antithesis of the Gospel's message of self-sacrifice, humility, and love. Now more than ever, I find that spending Sunday mornings in prayer with my spouse and our friends at the Church of Loretto is essential to sustaining a spiritual life away from the daily silliness that has become the public witness of institutional Catholicism.This is why I find Luke's post about a young man being denied confirmation at his Minnesota parish so depressing. Some conservative Catholics may applaud this move as an important catechetical moment on the way to preserving doctrinal discipline and the deeper edification of a smaller, purer Church. From the pew where I sit, however, it is a cold-hearted, pharisaical action that privileges the letter over the Spirit, which will only result in stamping out any meaningful future for this Church that so many of us love in spite of feeling unloved by it. Why a priest or bishop would deny the sacraments to an enthusiastic and independently-minded young person -- who has an obvious interest in practicing the virtues of love and justice (that he, no doubt, learned in the Church) in the public sphere -- and the family that raised him is beyond baffling to me. It is mean, plain and simple. Do we really have so many 17 year-olds seeking confirmation these days that we can afford to alienate those who desire the sacrament in good faith?As Sullivan points out, this case in Minnesota is made even worse by the fact that it looks like political retribution:
In Minnesota, where a third of the population is Catholic, the hierarchy insisted that the state amend its constitution to keep gay couples out of civil society and civil marriage. The hierarchy failed - as miserably as they failed in their trumped up "war on religion" nonsense. The Amendment didn't pass. [...] And so in Minnesota, a 17-year-old Catholic, Lennon Cihack, who goes to mass weekly, and who was diligently preparing for his confirmation, posted on his Facebook page a picture of himself and a poster opposing the Amendment. His mother is then called into the rectory by the local priest and told that the confirmation cannot occur. Then she is told that the entire family is now barred from communion.
Is it Sunday yet? I need to go to Mass.
Commenting Guidelines
Helen--I believe the gentlemen mentioned by Chaput were all previous winners of the award, so it's only natural that he would mention them specifically. I'm sure he has other heroes too, and probably many in common with you.
This may be merely semantics, but I don't think the locution "denied confirmation" is conducive to fruitful exchange. The pastor determined that the young man was not yet ready for confirmation--that he did not have a sufficient understanding of the teachings of the Church. Would you say an 7-year old was denied confirmation if a pastor determined he was not ready yet?Reasonable people may disagree with the pastor's approach, and whether it was sufficiently "pastoral", but let's call it what it is, so we can debate it on the merits.
Mark Proska:I was aware that the gentlemen were previous winners. At least, Arcbishop Chaput did not refer to them as saints.
John Page:Pickle fork! A good and apt image considering the fact that the Church is in a bit of a pickle today.
The "parallel church" Andrew Sullivan describes is very familiar to me. From my perch in my pew (usually in the balcony), the advent of a more democratic, more inclusive, less reactionary, more possessed of a vibrant humanity, couldn't come fast enough.The necessary reform and predicate has been before us for a long, long time: And inexorable evolution toward a Peoples Church has already begun. Like first century Christians we are struggling for a new enlightenment: LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE!My sainted sixth-grade teacher, Sister Mary Adelaide, often forewarned us after our daily reading from the Lives of the Saints: "Christianity is not for sissies."Got to go ... Sunday Mass starts in an hour!
Just got back from Mass across the street from Eric's community: Same creed, same liturgy, priests in union wih the bishop and he, in turn, with all other bishops. One difference: we sang the ND Alma Mater at the end (after all, it is a Marian hymn) wich hapens on football weekends to make the alumni happy. Unity in diversity which is what catholcism is al about. Enough of that flabby "parallel church" talk.
I can only imagine the singing was most lusty today, after yesterday's events. I imagine the Crimson Tide is going to come rolling in but first, Southern Cal...
Claire's nightmare (7:51am) points to one fact that makes our era unique and calls for far better understanding in thinking about "the Church" as fractionated as described above and as it may evolve. How will "the Church", with whichever meaning you give the words, function in the real world recognizable today? Theses equivalents are hanging on cathedral-door equivalents in Austria and Ireland today. They can be read and further disseminated from URLs immediately available to you and worldwide. If language is an obstacle, Google will translate (poorly). The Austrian Pastors' site offers 10 languages at a click. It took 3 days this spring for the Pope to denounce the Austrian Pastors' call, Cdl. Schonborn to echo the Pope, and the Pastors' leader to reject the criticisms. A flip side of Claire's nightmare is that traffic to and from the CDF and internal and external correspondents may be accessible to a suitably adept and motivated network expert, inspired by the precedent of the Pope's pedestrian butler. Would the CDF survive a Net dump? We could hear and see 250 US Church leaders assembled last week to address pastorally the economy (too hard) and Sunday Homilies (limited importance since most Catholics seldom go where Sunday Homilies are spoken - see CARA). Reaction to the crime and punishment of Bishop Finn, sitting among them, was widely reported on (none). Complexities of increased modern transparency call for refined awareness by the USCCB if they hope to lead with effectiveness. Recent authoritative pronouncements from some bishops on the risk of eternal damnation from voting evilly, which might preferably be forgotten, can be promptly retrieved verbatim for comparison if the bishops were to bring up eternal damnation again in the course of teaching and sanctifying. Chair of the USCCB Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People, Bishop Conlon of Joliet, famously reappointed a known hazardous priest to ministry with direct access to children at home. He reversed himself a week later after intense public outcry from Faithful and media. As with Boonesville, Minn (Pop. 2300), local matters relatively trivial on a grand scale don't stay local. Proportionality of attention is hard to find and impossible to impose. Merits aside, whoever hopes to lead parallel churches into the future must be able to function in an interactive environment never seen before.
Ann, Thomas Reese drew on Pew's "A Portrait of American Catholics on the Eve of Pope Benedict's Visit to the U.S." (March 27, 2008). Reese noted that almost half of ex-Catholics became Protestant and almost half of ex-Catholics became unaffiliated. He wrote that he was "leaving that discussion [about "those who become unaffiliated"] to another time." This would suggest at least the possibility, it seems, that perhaps more liberals than conservatives are leaving the Church of Rome. We just don't know, I suppose.The Pew report is at http://www.pewforum.org/Christian/Catholic/A-Portrait-of-American-Cathol... your observations about semantics, Richard McBrien commented several years ago about "Redefining the Center" in Catholicism. To access:+ Go to http://richardmcbrien.com+ Click "Essays in Theology"+ Click "I want to search the archives"+ Enter "Redefining the Center" (w/o quote marks)He's also shared some thoughts about *fundamentalism* at his website.
Helen 11/17/2012 - 9:10 amDavid Smith:One of the most unpleasant characteristics of the human animal is its hunger for intense and enduring hate.Really? Is that your opinion or do you have results from a study that proves your statement?
"Unpleasant"is a judgement word Helen. It can be used only to express opinion.
Who excommunicated the young man's family ... the bishop? Why? Cannot a canon lawyer for the defense appeal this up the line? Has it come to this that parents can be excommunicated for actions of their children? How can that be, even with the teapublican eccleiastical superstructure that we are blessed with?
David Smith:You never cease to amaze me. that was a very good spin. :-)
"One difference: we sang the ND Alma Mater at the end (after all, it is a Marian hymn) which happens on football weekends to make the alumni happy."The alumni must be very happy this weekend, with ND # 1 in the football rankings for the first time in a long time. I have two siblings who graduated from ND and a nephew there now in the law school (he was also an undergrad at ND), and they're ecstatic, driving the non-ND members of the family nuts. ND...a parallel universe. ;)
"Vatican City State is governed as an absolute monarchy. The Head of State is the Pope who holds full legislative, executive and judicial powers."http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/State_and_Government/StateDepartments/inde... Pope governs autocratically. Bishops govern autocratically, accountable to no one else except the Pope. Pastors function in effectively the same way. How in the world can the faithful expect that they will behave differently with this governance structure in place? Peter Steinfels said in his book A People Adrift that "The Catholic Church can succeed as an institution while failing as a church. But it cannot succeed as a church while failing as an institution." The world (aka God's creation) has come to understand and validate ideas such as democracy, transparency, accountability, evolved standards of justice, intellectual freedom, etc. etc. etc., none of which are compatible with autocracy. Until the faithful decide to use their education, voice and pocketbooks to do something about governance, the Church will inevitably continue to fail as an institution. I don't think, for the majority of the faithful, that nickel has dropped. But one day it will, and the sooner the better.
Essentially, I agree with Lawrence Cunningham.I'm not completely sure what is meant by "parallel Catholic church", as it may be used in different ways by different commenters. I take the meaning of that phrase to be, "two Catholic churches, one in communion with the pope and bishops, and the other not." I don't know of any Catholic *communities* like the latter (and I suppose that statement is tautological, as being in communion with the bishops is one of the creedal marks of Catholic faith). Well, I do know of some such communities, but they are far-right communities - SSPX and the like.Certainly, in the Chicago area, there are some Catholic communities with a substantial number of progressives, and some of those blocs are vocal and influential. But those communities still maintain communion: their clergy are in communion with their bishops, they administer sacraments in communion with the church, etc. I sometimes think we're more in communion than we realize.Even the constant criticism of bishops that goes on at dotCom (and it can be wearying) may presuppose that bishops are worth a respectful listen.
Joseph J.--Thanks for the addresses. Having computer problems, can't check them out.
Jim P. ---My biggest problems with the bishops are 1) they remain silent when they should speak out, and 2) they don't listen to the Faithful.
I consider myself a faithful Catholic to the bishops. But I was never more shocked when I heard a local parish priest all but say emphatically "vote for Romney" or you are not in communion with the church on respect life issues. My husband and I were taken aback, and I thought "this is not going over well with the parish." Fortunately this is not my home parish, however I thought the issues are so much larger and complex than this man is making them. Today I ran into the deacon of that parish and asked him how things were going at the church. He said the priest was alienating the parish. He keeps wanting to set up a meeting with the priest, but the priest says he's too busy. I'm glad I'm not the only one thinking this man was off base. Even the deacon thinks so. So the idea of parallel churches is not so far fetched when thinking of the issues and the need for communication from the Catholic Church.
I took the term "parallel Catholic Church" to be a take-off on the expression "parallel universe" meaning that people inhabit a thought world so different from each other that they really don't understand how the other could think that way. I'd just like to add one point that hasn't been raised yet: The first casualty of all the recent conflicts such as the one concerning the young man in Minnesota is, guess what? Discipline. Because we can't agree on right and wrong, we end up arguing that discipline itself is the problem. Frankly, I don't think that's fair.If the young man were part of a Neo-Nazi group and was held back from confirmation because he espoused violence and racism on Facebook, would we have the same problem with it? I don't think so. Let's be clear about what the issue is. The disagreement is over whether gay marriage is good or at least morally neutral, or evil and morally wrong. This is really not a conflict about confirmation polity.
If the young man were part of a Neo-Nazi group and was held back from confirmation because he espoused violence and racism on Facebook, would we have the same problem with it? I dont think so.Actually, I think I still would, although maybe I would be a lonely voice. After unexcommunicating the SSPX bishops, Pope Benedict said that, had he known Williamson's negationist statements, he would not have done it. I thought then that that didn't make sense because those statements (however false and ugly) were not linked to the excommunication. So in the present case it really is the unchecked arbitrariness of the sacramental punishment that bothers me. It reminds me of Mark 10:42.
Mike McG asks: Im also wondering how centrist Catholics might find each other to create an identity between the overpowering narratives of the hierarchical and parallel churches. Anybody out there? Others have expressed similar sentiments in this thread.There is in fact a Catholic organization whose overarching goals are the respectful consideration of opposing viewpoints and the search for common ground among those viewpoints. Founded in 1996 by the late Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, the Catholic Common Ground Initiative seeks to lessen polarities and divisions that weaken the communion of the Church. Father Imbelli and Prof. Kaveny are past advisory committee members of the CCGI, and Fr. Komonchak delivered the CCGIs annual Philip J. Murnion Lecture in 2003. While perhaps not as well-known within the Church after the untimely loss of its founder, the CCGI remains focused on bridging the gaps between Catholics on both prongs of the pickle fork, to borrow a metaphor from this thread. IMO, the CCGI should be revered for its goals and mission.Spend some time clicking around CCGIs website, and then make a gift to help keep this worthwhile organization going:http://www.catholiccommonground.org/content/about-catholic-common-ground...
Thomas Blackburn:I only should speak of the countruies I know well, the US and Italy. In Itay there is a spectrum of Catholic opinion that you could loosely define "left to right" but it is by far not as polarized as here. On the left you do not find anybody who passionately hates (or at least despises) the bishops as you can find among the commenters on NCR or (slightly less frequently) Commonweal. Moreover, nobody seems to let their political preferences shape their moral and cultural opinion as much as US Catholics ON BOTH SIDES do, in my honest, non-snarky assessment.
Thanks to Lisa, Larry, John Prior, Michael Barberi and others for their helpful comments, concerns, and corrections regarding the "parallel church" concept. I think that Lisa's concerns are well stated, and I hope that my continued participation in this blog among other things is evidence that I am not at all interested in using the "parallel church" as a cloister in which to seal myself off from engagement with the public conversation of the Church. I also agree with Larry that some of this can become a bit "flabby," but I did want to open a thread to discuss why Andrew Sullivan's use of the term resonates, especially when confronted with some of the silliness that has been served up from Church leaders during the recently and mercifully ended election cycle.I should say that it did not explicitly occur to me, when I posted this, that the parallel churches were liberal and conservative, certainly not in political terms. Rather, the divide seems to be between local communities, which I am happy to say feel themselves to be in union with each other more often than not (especially those that root for Notre Dame football!), and the hierarchical administrative and disciplinary structure of the Church, which often seems quite removed from the everyday life of those of us in the pews. This is to say that I feel more fully in communion with the most "conservative" person across the street than I do with most representatives of the institutional Church.So the "parallel church" worry is more of a base/superstructure disconnect than a different sides of the street divide. I should also say that I don't think that this disconnect is good, nor do I think Sullivan thinks that it is. I do think that it describes what is happening to Catholicism in America, though, and for many of the reasons mentioned in this thread, I think that it is something that we and the hierarchy should be interested in fixing. The last thing lay people should do is quietly retreat into marginal communities (or simply leave), just as the last thing the bishops should do is write off those communities as heterodox and therefore not really "Catholic" anyway.
Carlo - Just a "honest, non-snarky" question: Is it that Italians failing to connect their moral and cultural opinion to their religious and spiritual lives underlying why they are so apathetic and alienated from their Catholicism?
Carlo Lancellotti Perhaps, we in the U.S. expect more of our bishops.
"I should say that it did not explicitly occur to me, when I posted this, that the parallel churches were liberal and conservative, certainly not in political terms. Rather, the divide seems to be between local communities, which I am happy to say feel themselves to be in union with each other more often than not (especially those that root for Notre Dame football!), and the hierarchical administrative and disciplinary structure of the Church, which often seems quite removed from the everyday life of those of us in the pews. This is to say that I feel more fully in communion with the most conservative person across the street than I do with most representatives of the institutional Church."Hi, Eric, this is a helpful clarification. I believe that social research has supported this observation of the local / universal divide within the church for a number of years now. The priests, deacons and parish staff - not necessarily in that order - are the glue that connects the two worlds. They are supposed to take laws, rules and policies written on paper or computer screens in a chancery or in Rome, and humanize them for real people and concrete situations. Arguably, the laws, rules and policies themselves haven't changed. But the people in the parishes have changed significantly. The local ministry professionals need to recognize this and recalibrate their ministry approach accordingly. Personally, I believe that parish staffs need to focus much more on evangalization, initiation and formation than was the case during the 20th century. It can't be taken for granted that the faith is being passed from one generation to the next. That's the context in which I see this Minnesota confirmation incident: as one of evangelization, initiation and formation. It may be that this priest has upheld a church rule as it is written on paper or a computer screen (although I have serious doubts about this). But has he succeeded in evangelizing, initiating and forming this young man in the faith?
Jim P. --But what if it's the bishops, priests and deacons who need to change what they teach? I'm thinking about contraception, of course. Don't you admit that the clergy has been wrong in the past? And if so, that shows that it is possible for the clergy to be wrong. So how do you, a member of the clergy, find out when you're wrong -- that you have not been very well formed? We know that it is a principle in the Church that for a teaching to be authentic it must be received by the laity. But the contraception teaching over at least the last 100 years has been steadily losing ground to the point that now only about a quarter of the laity think the teaching is right. Given this diminishment of belief in spite of a great deal of preaching and teaching against it, shouldn't you wonder whether it's the clergy who have been ill-formed, not the laity? And if so, who needs evangelization?
Hi, Ann, sorry, I did not see this until today - I've been away for a few days.Yes, I'm wrong on occasion. But deacons and priests are different than bishops in this regard - priests and deacons don't possess teaching authority in the way that bishops do. I do have a responsibility to be formed in the truth and to pass it along to those whom I serve. But this process is a good deal more than simply parroting some document from a pope. I have to present teachings to specific people who live in a specific culture and have specific issues and problems.I'm not so sure about your principle that acceptance by the laity is a litmus test for teaching authenticity. Earlier this year, Cardinal George wrote this, in the context of the contraception mandate: " What isnt always understood is that the Bishops of the Church make no attempt to speak for all Catholics; they never have. The Bishops speak for the Catholic and apostolic faith, and those who hold that faith gather around them. Others disperse. That dynamic is clear in history and became clear also in the official visit to Rome that the Bishops of our region made this week."http://www.archchicago.org/cardinalsnetwork/archive.aspx?id=76Here is my view on the matter: the bishops possess teaching authority. The process of defining and refining a teaching may be lengthy (as in, it could take years or centuries of refinement), and a teaching may take different forms in different times and places. The church used to teach that taking any interest on a loan is sinful; now, it teaches that excessive interest on a loan is sinful. What is the core, the nugget, of that teaching? Whatever it is, it's more subtle than, "Thou shalt not collect interest on a loan".
About the Author
Eric Bugyis teaches Religious Studies in the Division of Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs at the University of Washington Tacoma.


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I found myself a few days later in the small
After talking to others, I found out that she does one of the most difficult jobs of all. The one that any arts organization activist loathes to do — find the money.
But she loves the aspect of promotion, meeting sponsors, fundraising events, and going after the mysterious world of "grant" subsidies. Not at all shy, Lisa likes to form alliances with the larger community supporters such as Silver Sands,
The overall executive director is a chap by the name of Brook Stetler.
He is also a director-actor and his efforts are a labor of love as I watched his company players and backstage team work their magic in the Baskervilles play.
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From visiting our local schools to performing small musicals, the members carry on the "live" theater tradtion. If one looks at the overall team, they all have theatrical backgrounds and some are in college. But even locals can be found on the stage as my friend Bruce Collier is often found expounding his theatrical lines.
Unlike most small troupes that fold up after a season of activities, the
"We are a team, like a chain, each link keeps the other part together," said Lisa.
As for me, I love the live performance. I was lucky enough to be a part of the stage singers at the Memphis Opera. I will never forget those marvelous days, and as I watched these young members act their hearts out, I wanted to be back on the stage under lights.
If you are interested in the performing arts or supportive of the theatre, call Lisa at 850-231-0733. You'll love her witty personality.
Fair winds to ye matey.
Chick Huettel is a long-time Walton County resident, writer and artist. He is a member of a number of local organizations including the


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Unseen is an international photography fair that provides new photography the platform it deserves. It is a meeting place for young photographic talent and known photographers exhibiting new work, for galleries that focus on new developments and a global audience interested in the contemporary world of photography. More than 50 galleries from around the world will participate in this first edition of Unseen.
Unseen will take place from September 19 to 23 in Amsterdam's Westergasfabriek, a former gasworks site dating back to 1885. Surrounded by a spacious park, the 19th-century buildings house numerous creative spaces, restaurants, bars and a cinema.
Unseen not only inspires the seasoned collector but also nurtures the passion of an entirely new audience. We encourage potential collectors to take their first steps in the collection of contemporary photography. Online courses and a new television series, co-produced with the Dutch broadcasting company AVRO, are part of this special programme to assist 'first-time buyers.'
Unseen is a fair with a festival flair. In addition to the fair, the wide range of activities will create a festival-like atmosphere. Highlights of the accompanying programme of events, tours, film screenings and exhibitions include Offprint, a fair for independent photography book publishers, and the launch of Foam Magazine's yearly Talent issue, to be exhibited in the surrounding Westerpark. The cinema Het Ketelhuis will show a special Unseen programme. All this will be topped with lively evening events and parties.
Photo © Arjen Veldt