Beyond Words

I must confess that there is no way I can put into words how I felt when I read at 8pm last night that the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is not extinct. I know that most people could probably care less, but this is just so amazing. The last definite sighting of this bird was in the 1940s. It is so amazing to know that it has existed in the US, a 20+ inch bird, without anyone ever knowing, at least for sure. As someone who knew the previous plight of this bird it really does seem like a miracle. It is our second chance not to lose this most unique and endemic of woodpeckers. So who's up for tithing to the Nature Conservancy for the rest of their life? You'll get a nod of appreciation from me!!

Nothing Really

We've finally had a few days of below normal temperatures here which has significantly delayed phenological events of spring that were progressing rapidly during the first two weeks of the month. We even had a trace of snow. It will not be a snowless April! Yay?!

I visited Aldo Leopold's famous shack over the weekend. It is the setting for A Sand County Almanac. It's pretty much a prerequisite for anyone majoring in wildlife ecology and not particularly impressive.

The Brewers were rained out last night saving me the anticipated emotional stress and bottleup of anger that usually comes with playing the Cardinals. Ben Sheets is missing a start due to some kind of illness. It can't be good when your ace misses a start.

Unfortunately I didn't get to watch the investiture of Pope Benedict, but I did read somewhere that the postlude/recessional song was Toccata and Fugue in d minor, which in case you don't know, is that spooky sounding famous organ piece by Bach. For some reason I just think it's incredibly cool that they used it for and event like that.

Holy Spirit 1; Dissidents 0

Deo Gratias that the cardinals have chosen Joseph Ratzinger to lead the church. Although the fact that he only speaks ten languages is a step down from JPII's twelve, I still have confidence that his humility, intelligence, and pugnacious defense of moral truths will come in most handy through the coming millennia. He will certainly be a feast for the liberal media if nothing else.

80+ degrees here today and cherry trees blooming. I continue to find the June like weather that has persisted for the last 4(!) weeks most distressing.

All this as the Brewers drop their fifth straight in a sickening display of sloppiness, blown opportunities, and a little league bullpen. Maybe I'll wake up some day and the festering nightmare that is Milwaukee baseball will have smothered itself with the pillow of sub .500 seasons.

Swept away

The old monster that renders the Milwaukee Brewers baseball club unable to score runs has once again reared its ugly head. The Cardinals swept us in an embarrsing offensive effort which included, I think, two runs over 27 innings. The only redeeming thing is that we pitched pretty well. And I could care less that Tony Larussa won his 800th game!

We are averaging roughly 10 degrees above normal so far this April and it was very warm again today. It's pretty much early June weather and it just won't go away. An article just came out about a study that concluded that DDT is still threatening non-migratory songbirds in the US which is pretty depressing.

Saturday was a pretty good time. Some other wildlifers and I went to a nearby state forest to look for some herptiles. We found one blue-spotted salamander, wood, chorus, and spring peeper frogs, also common and Butler's gartersnake. We set some traps in the vernal pools so hopefully they caught some more salamanders today. We also had a necropsy person with us to entertain us with stories of rhino and giraffe dissetions and pick up promising roadkill along the way.

New arrivals in the area today include brown creeper, ruby-crowned kinglet, hermit thrush and lots of white-throated sparrows.

The conclave to elect the next pope begins tomorrow. I just hope the guy isn't full of bs about ecumenism and changing the church to meet the needs of the increasingly hedonistic and secular society. We definitely need an in your face, lay the smack down pope.

Sheets is locked up!!

Doug Melvin has finally finagled Ben Sheets into a four year deal worth 38 million as reported by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. I have little doubt that this was made possible by the generous contributions of one Mr. Mark Attanasio. I sincerely believe that Attanasio wants this team to win sooner than later and realizes that cash really helps. May Ben Sheets right arm continue to be "golden" as freshly brewed Miller Genuine Draft for the next four years!

So it continues to be ridiculously warm here and dry as well. Magnolia bushes are blooming and honeysuckles (invasive) and Boxelders near buildings are already starting to leaf out. At this rate there'll be fully developed leaves by the time the first neotropical migrants arrive here which would not be cool.

There was a good article in yesterday's NY Times (April 14) about the "JPII" generation of Catholics and their committment to orthodoxy. I'll try to add the link sometime.

Congratulations to all in Washington DC who have waited out the baseball drought for 34 years. I hope you win the NL East this year : )

The Conservation Congress

Last night I attended the Conservation Congress which is an annual event held in each of the state's counties to receive feedback about proposed rule changes to DNR policy. This year's big issue was the proposal to classify cats in Wisconsin as either protected or unprotected. People are obviously passionate about whether or not feral, free-roaming, cats should be hunted and trapped. Many of these same people are also painfully ignorant of the issue. This doesn't create a hunting season on cats, it simply allows a person to eliminate nuisance cats on his/her property, or, presumably public lands. Feral cats are not a natural part of Wisconsin's ecosystems, and as you might guess they significantly alter or ecosystems in a way that is generally considered negative. They may take 1os of millions of birds in a single year as well as many small mammals. Anyone who is concerned about the environment knows that invasive exotic species pose a tremdous threat and it is usually in our best interest to control them. That said, many people are apparently expecting those savage hunters to show up in their backyards and blast away the family cat. From a management perspective I just can't see the significant downside to allowing cats to be controlled by lethal means.

It is only in the low 40s here this afternoon and it has been raining steadily for much of the day. This could be our first below normal day temperature wise this month.

Ann Coulter has written an excellent article (as usual). Even if you don't have the same political ideology it is still a hilarious article. The website is www.anncoulter.com.

What can I say

I am finding myself very overwhelmed tonight. My day turned sour after the Brewers lost to the Cubs in 12 innings due to the ineffectual pitching of our washed up bullpen. Then I started trying to figure out my schedule for next semester and it is just not working! Enrolling for classes is such a frustrating task. Add to that the fact that it suddenly occured to me that I may have missed my appointment with my adviser. I just feel so embarrassed when I waste someone else's time due to pure neligence. Calculus is so frustrating. I bought an "Idiot's Guide to Calculus" book form a friend of a friend to make myself think that I'm at least trying to do well in that class. I probably should have taken Calc 211, but I thought I could handle anything. I know that it can be useful in the real world but I just can't seem to bring myself to succeed at it. I just don't have a mind for numbers in an often abstract context. I attended mass this evening and while it was a fine, normal mass I just can't help but feel that something is just missing. In my opinion there is just nothing transcendent about the post Vatican II mass (except, I suppose, the consecration). I wish that I could run the liturgy. There is just so much stagnation and 1-dimensionalness, not to mention egotism, greed, and judiciousness in everyday life that I just crave something that transcends all that when I go to church. There's not even a crucifix in the "sanctuary" of the modernist monstrocity of a church. The mass must return to at least a shell of it's former self to survive into the 22nd century. I feel that the most important thing is uniforminity in direction of priest and people. That's right, I think the mass would be much improved if only the priest would turn back around during the Eucharistic prayer. There is something beatifully symbolic and theologically rich in priest and people facing east, the direction of the rising Sun. The Sun of Justice who will return from the east on the last day. It is him for whom we "wait in joyful hope" all facing the same direction. I also hope that my generation will come to terms with the bountiful art and culture of the church. How many people under the age of 80 could chant the Gloria, Credo, or even the Paternoster today. Gregorian Chant is essentially the precursor of today's music in the west. How many people know of Michelangelo's frescoes and Bernini's baldaccino. Just look at St. Peter's Basilic. It is a tribute to the Almighty created by the toil of laborers and geniuses in the name of God. Humans can do so much, yet, today we allocate our skills almost strictly for the purpose of achieving something material. No longer to the greatest geniuses and craftsman in the world design and decorate our houses of God, that is left up to hopeless, agnostic visionaries who feel that just gathering as a community is enough to inspire us to comtemplate the Sacred Mysteries. Sorry people, but getting together with a bunch of people makes me think of dosing off in a lecture hall or drinking myself to a cheap high at a party. We need sacred art, and sacred buildings, and sacred music, and a sacred city, and a sacred ritual, that transcends the fads and popculture of today's world. Look at the Muslims and Jews and even the Hindus for that matter. They all have their sacred languages, yet Catholicism has to revert back to the vernacular because the masses are too stupid to understand anything else. Well I think Vatican II speaks for itself. Some good things came out of the counsel, like ecumenism, but overall the world is growing increasinly secular, seminaries and monasteries are empty, churches are primitive and ugly. And half of our so called shepherds are more interested in entertaining us and courting us by telling us whatever we want to hear than they are in handing down the true apostolic faith. Don't tell me I don't have to pay for my sins, don't tell me I don't have to go to confession, don't tell me my Lutheran friend can receive communion. Don't tell me that contraception is ok. And please don't ever tell me that the laity need more power. The church is not a democracy where we decide the rules. Pray that the Holy Ghost will guide the Catholic Church on its true path as it has for 2000 years, overcoming corruption and the shortcomings of man.

Thoughts on Pope John Paul II

As I indicated in my first post, one of the things that inspired me to create a blog was a desire to pontificate on the pope (pun intended). I consider myself a devout Catholic, and as such I was affected by the Holy Father's death; however, John Paul was much more than that for me. The only pope I've ever known, he was a role model and inspiration for me. As I learn more and more through the abundant news, I am more and more impressed with this individual. He had, by all estimation, a rough childhood but rose from that or perhaps because of it to prominence. He was a philosopher, intellectual, professor, administrator, athlete, poet, politician, mediator, author, and rebel among other things. In my opinion he was one of those ever so rare modern day Renaissance men. I sincerely hope that many people will look to him not only for guidance in matters of faith, but for guidance as to how an ordinary layperson should live their day to day life. I've long been convinced that most people today either have no worthy role model or idolize someone that has one specific skill, e.g. an athelte or musician. This may be fine for helping them set goals for that discipling, but as far as I'm converned it is useless for everyday life. We should all learn about at least a few of the great men and women that have gone before us--delve into their minds and personalities so that our own lives may be more useful and fulfilled.

Opening Day

Yesterday was the opening day of the Major League Baseball season for the Brewers. To make a long story short, they won! Sheets pitched seven innings and gave up two earned runs while Cirillo and Hardy, among others, pitched in on the offensive side. A splendid way to start the season. 161 games to go...

Phenology and such

Today, April 4, is ice out on Lake Mendota this year. The median date over the last 154 seasons is April 5. It always gives me comfort when these type of events are on or behind schedule. It helps dispel my imminent fear of the consequences of global warming. In somewhat related news, the millennium report on the state of ecosystems around the world was released. It can be accessed at millenniumassessment.org. I haven't looked at it carefully but I know the news is ominous.

Why I've created a blog

Several things have inspired me to create a blog including but not limited to the death of the Holy Father, the start of baseball season, and the beginning of spring weather. I've often felt that I should record my various thoughts and opinions in some sort of written form and why not take advantage of the burgeoning blogocracy? Many of the great thinkers of the past kept journals or at least personal correspondence including my role models, Jefferson and Adams. In addition many of my friends not only have blogs, but are adamant about the necessity of them. I've also discovered this year the vast repository of valuable information that can be found in blogs and their growing influence in American culture. For these and other, probably silly, reasons I have started a blog!