Thursday, April 3, 2008

Austria, blasphemy, Catholicism, gay, orgy, Schoenborn, Vienna

Those are the tags from Rod Dreher's latest bit of Catholic news reporting. Mr. Dreher is known in some circles to be a "religion writer", although I think his official title is Senior Content Provider.

Anyway, in the thread someone called who knew wisely comments: "Those who can't do, do shock value, those who should be shocked don't want to appear prudish." Another commenter, Alicia, ironically states the following:

Good post about "those who can't do, do shock value." I like that. My way of putting it is the artist is stuck in the anal phase - he has the desire to cover everything with his own excrement, and actually thinks other people will be just as fascinated by his excrement as he.

Hey! I like that, too. Well.... I'm sure Alicia's intention is to describe the homosexual artist responsible for the stupid weirdness in the cathedral, but I think her word "artist" can be replaced with "journalist" and the wisdom will still apply. As the old joke says, "If the Foo shits, wear it."

But you know here's some silver lining. I just realized that Rod's Catholicism tag can be used to summarize what he's been reporting on vis-a-vis the Catholic Church. Read those headlines — pretty fair and balanced, huh?

In other Catholic news, Pope Benedict is visiting America for the first time. But that's a whole 2 weeks away.

Update: I did just notice that Rod had put up a post about Pope Benedict's visit, but he didn't tag it with his usual "Catholicism" tag. So to be fair, OK, but is it a little fishy that he doesn't use the tag on the good and neutral news on which he uses the Pope Benedict tag, but reserves it for bad news? After all, he does acknowledge that the Pope indeed is Catholic, using the tired cliché.

7 comments:

  1. LOL!!!

    UNbelievable.

    Pauli, I haven't updated you on the most recent goings on in Rod's jurisdiction, The Incredible Shrinking OCA. Suffice it to say that it would curl your hair. The soap opera just keeps getting more and more lurid. It makes our Scandal look like the proverbial Sunday School picnic.

    But Rod, of course, is mum about that. I increasingly suspect that he is mum about that because somebody in OCA-Land is blackmailing him. I know that sounds nuts, but how else to explain it?

    Of course, you are absolutely correct that Rod will be ratcheting up the Catholic-Bashing in preparation for Pope B16's visit. The moral stature of our leader contrasted with the invisible irrelevance of the OCA's leadership...well, Mr. Trend-Chaser can't stand *that,* now, can he? Expect a huge uptick in Bashes...

    Diane

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  2. recently ray dreher gizoogled some random document from the 19c. Vatican. i took the liberty of doing some gizoogling on my own...it sets the tone about right

    A Crunchy Con Manifesto

    By Rod Drug Deala

    1. We is conservatizzles who stand outside tha conservative mainstream; therefizzle we can see th'n thizzay poser more clearly.

    2 like this and like that and like this and uh. Modern conservizzle has become too focused on money, powa, n tha accumizzles of shiznit, n insufficiently concerned wit tha content of our individual n social gangsta.

    3. Big business deserves as miznuch skepticism as big government.

    4. Culture is more important thizzay politics n economics.

    5. A conservizzle thizzat does not practice restraint, humilizzles n good stewardship�especially of tha natural world�is not fundamentally conservative.

    6. Small, Local, Old, n Particizzle is almost always brotha than Bizzle Global, N-to-tha-izzew, n Abstract.

    7. Beauty is more important tizzy efficiency.

    8 . Ya fuck with us, we gots to fuck you up. The relentlizzles of media-drizzle pop culture deadens our senses ta authentic truth, beauty, n wisdom.

    9 from tha streets of tha L-B-C. We share Russell Kirk�s conviction tizzle �the institution most essential ta conserve is tha family.�

    10 n' shit. Politics n economics won�t save us; if our culture is ta be saved at all, it wizzill be by faithfully trippin' by tha Permanent Th'n, straight trippin' these ancient moral truths in tha choices we makes in our everyday lives motha fucka.

    --Rod Dreha is a writa n editor at tha Dallas Mobbin' News . A native of south Louisiana, he has worked at National Review , tha New York Pizzay , n tha Washington Times .Crunchy Cons is his F-to-tha-izzirst book. You may e-mail him at rdreha@dallasnews.com.

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  3. Kathlizzle, that be mo choice, gangsta.

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  4. LOL. now i get to gizoogle ray dreher's "bucket list":

    Yo bucket list
    My Beliefnet colleague Dan Gilgoff asked today wizzy I would put on mah "bucket list" -- tizzle is, th'n I wizzant ta do before I kick tha bucket dogg. It's fun ta thizzink `bout. I'll put mine here, n ask you ta put yos. The only rules? No mizzy than 10 items, n they all hizzle ta be th'n you mizzay realistically do. My bucket list, which is all food, culture n travel n shit:

    1. Write a novel.

    2. Learn how ta be a good amateur cook.

    3 cuz its a G thang. Live in France fo` a year, or long enough ta learn French fluently, whicheva takes playa.

    4. Go back ta Jerusizzle n tha Hizzle Land -- this time, wit mah family along.

    5. Makes a pilgrimage ta Mount Athos .

    6 . Subscribe nigga, get yo issue.. Spend an entire summa on vacation somewhizzle preferably in a cottage by tha beach, wit nuttin' ta do but read novels I've always meant ta read, or complete. Fizzirst up . Im a bad boy wit a lotta hos: "izzle Brotha Karamizzles which I swearI'll git through this time.

    7. See Diana Kriznall live in concert. Wit really good seats.

    8. Get a brotha degree in history.

    9. Live in Italy fo` a summa n fall, n learn how ta cook Italian, n driznink lots of Italian wizzy.

    10 in tha dogg pound. Christmas in tha Bavarian Alps, like tha shawty snizzay globe village mah cracka had wizzle I was a shawty boy mah nizzle.

    I would have put "learn ta play tha piano" on tha list, but I know at this point, that's not realistically going ta happen. I also would have put mak'n tha long blingin' pilgrimage ta Santiago de Compostela on tha list, but by tha time I'd hizzle tha freedom ta do thizzay I'd probably be too old like a tru playa'.

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  5. (gasp) i can't breathe (gasp) rolling on the flizzle, laughing my izzle off

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  6. Compare his posts to his silence on what those wackos did during Easter mass at Holy Name Cathedral. Quite revealing.

    http://www.scrappycons.com/2008/04/priorities.html

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