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I'm not sure if many blog readers have noticed, but there is a link on the sidebar of this blog, and many other blogs throughout the blogosphere, that says 'Feed (RSS)', 'Syndicate this site (XML)' or something similar. What exactly does this mean?

RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication" - for allowing people to view, via a 'newsreader' updates of information (usually news or updated blog information, for our purposes). For more history and information concerning RSS, read XML.com's article, "What is RSS?"

So, what does this mean for you and I? This means you don't have to visit a blog or news website to find out if it has updated news or a new blog entry; you can simply open up your newsreader program (list of a few at end of this entry), and it will tell you if there are new blog entries! Some websites even give you some or all of the blog entry or news article, so you can see if you're interested in reading the whole entry by going to the site.

I invite all of you to read my latest CGC site Journal entry:

Mass is SOOOO Boring!

Note to my readers who might be offended by this title: read it - you won't be offended anymore.

I recently read an article in the Our Sunday Visitor (January 2, 2005 edition) concerning the media and it's strong anti-Catholic bias. Not to say I was completely taken aback by what the studies from the Parents Television Found... it was just surprising how anti-Catholic, and ultimately anti-God and religion the media is! To put it bluntly (as the article states), "Anti-Catholic bigotry is 'rampant' on network television."

"NBC was by far the worst network, leading the dishonor holl with a negative-to-positive ratio [derogative-to-respectful remarks] of 9.5 to 1. Fox was a distant runner-up at 2.4 to 1, followed by the WB, ABC, UPN and CBS."

"Specifically Catholic references fared worst o all. 'Catholicism is the bull's-eye of the the entertainment media... In the past, the fundamentalists were. It's a sign of the times."

It would seem the recent tsunami that has caused much death in South India and elsewhere (the death toll is still rising at an alarming rate) is one of the worst natural disasters of our millenium. Pictures from this event leave me shell-shocked, as I saw the water level rise, then diminish, leaving in it's wake thousands of dead bodies, and causing so much damage.

It is times like these when prayer is most needed. We must pray for the souls of all the dead and trust in Jesus' Divine Mercy to heal the souls and allow them into the Kingdom of God.

If you are interested in helping the disaster victims financially, there are a few ways that you may be able to do so:

This morning I woke up a little early (i.e. 5:30 a.m.) and attended 6 a.m. Mass at St. Ferdinand Parish in Florissant so I could drive my sister and her friend to the the airport. On the way there and back I whipped out my trusty 'ol iPod, plugged it into my car's stereo (via a cassette adaptor), and listened to the new Thérese Movie Soundtrack ($15.95 on the Thérese Gift Shop).

Well, since I drew a picture of the Holy Family, I decided to let anyone who wishes to see it. This picture is based on a picture I recently took of our family's nativity scene. It was done with #2 pencil on white printer paper. I will probably use the picture on my Christmas 'Thank You' cards.