Busy week

I had a pretty busy week, or at least a pretty busy end of the week. As you can see from the above picture my sister and nieces came down and I got to have a nice dinner at McCormick & Schmick's which was pretty good. Apparently, they have a deal now that if you sign up for their frequent diners club ($25) you get a $20 gift card immediately and then another $25 in the mail or something along the line... I like the food, but I pretty much only go their once or twice a year. The crab cake trio was excellent, but there isn't too much on the plate.
I also got to realize that I do not follow Jesus in one way, I am not a carpenter. I helped Fr. Sean put up some new cabinets and dressers from Ikea for the new sacristy and it took me much longer than anticipated to finish. Actually I am not quite done, I have got more work to do today after Mass. I like doing work like that (I actually volunteered to do it) and it was a pretty good workout.
I also got a chance to finish setting up my friend's wireless network and transferring data from one PC to another. I guess the fact that I am not in the computer world is starting to finally slip in... it took me much longer to do things then I thought it would and I had a horrible time getting Internet explorer off the ground running, since the new PC only had Netscape on it. I guess the most important thing is that I finally got it to work. I would also like to use this opportunity to remind people to set up a secure wireless network... when helping out my friend he showed me that he really didn't need it since he could access his neigbor's unsecured wireless network and surf the internet that way.

Last night I went to see the Somerset Patriots, a minor league team in Bridgewater, NJ. So, first off thank you to the person that donated the tickets to the Vocations office! I was surprised when I got to the game with my folks that the teams were already playing! I thought I was going senile, but then we found out via the loud speaker that because the game the night before got rained out, today was a double header starting at 5:05. So I got to see a game and a half of baseball, which was nice (although by the end of the fifth in the second game I was ready to call it a night). It was the first time I ever had a Pizzacono which is basically like a cone of pizza. It wasn't too bad (except it was cold), pretty interesting idea basically I just wanted to try it to say I had one. It was also fireworks night so we were treated to an impressive display of pyrotechnics after the game. If you get a chance to go to a game I highly recommend it, much better family type atmosphere.

Speaking of baseball, I read this article on why we should root for the underdog yankees and enjoyed it. I actaully do root for the Yankees when they are not playing the Mets, I mean after all both teams are from New York, so as long as it doesn't affect my team, why not cheer for the city? Go Yanks, Go Mets!

On a sad note, I lost another icon of my childhood WABC-watching days... Joel Siegel passed away. I never really paid too much attention to movie critics sincer I usually only liked the movies they hated and hated the movies they liked, but he had a good personality and was usually pretty funny about his reviews and he always seemed to be smiling. We will miss you Joel! In honor of Mr. Siegel I bring you this blast from my past, for your Moment of Zen... enter the badness.

Sts. Peter and Paul pray for us

ok, ok, I know it was yesterday, but I was very busy... Anyway, I have always loved this feast day, not only because it celebrates two of the greatest apostles, but because of the different paths they took to become apostles. Especially, today when we tend to focus on everything that is wrong with "the other", the fact that these two men are celebrated together despite their different approaches is powerful. I think that it is telling that the Church makes us celebrate these two men together. Catholics have usually been associated with Peter through the power of the keys while Protestants usually look to Paul and his fervant evangelization, but the Church reminds us all that we are followers of Christ and there is something missing when we deny the Christian name to others because their focus is not identical to ours. I also take solace in the fact that the people that Christ chose were not perfect, Peter would be extremely successful at times and then would fail, Paul started out persecuting Christians but then became one of its greatest advocates. Through the intercession of Saints Peter and Paul may we become more aware of Christian Unity.

There are some things I know and some things I don't

(or should I say "I don't know butchie instead")like, what is the point of either of my two new favorite shows that are currently on television (Flight of the Conchordes and John from Cincinnati)? What I do know... I like them. I have to rescind my prior posting which said that I cannot recommend the Flight of the Conchords... I MUST recommend it... Mel is so awkward and makes you almost squirm in your seat, but you cannot but help laugh at how Jermaine and Bret try to get out of the situations... coming out of their home in episode one they ran into her (she's their #1, well only, fan) and to get out of the conversation they said they needed to go, when she inquired where they said "home"... "we just came out for some fresh air". Last night's episode had a great song about Inner City Pressure, and a debate on which was better for the band, a tape player or Bret.

As for John from Cincinnati, well the story is progressing, so that's a plus... and someone finally figured out the John isn't too normal (thanks Kai!)... actually I think this would be a great show for all psychologists or those aspiring to be psychologists since I think everyone in the show has some kind of complex or at least the producers of the show. If you missed the show, HBO is going to be showing all of the first three episodes on Thursday night I think... good time to get into it!

Random thoughts

Finally got into some of my summer reading, I am currently reading Jesus of Nazareth. I am about 2 chapters in (I read slow), but it has been excellent thus far. I really liked the foreward where The Holy Father talks about the historical critical method and definitely recommend it as a good read.


The Mets are finally playing well, after a sweep of the A's I am feeling good about their chances against the Cardinals. Perhaps I should make a new bet with my friend jon.


One of the top ESPN bloggers (in my humble opinion), Bruce Feldman, listed his top 10 football movies of all time... while I agree with many, I just like the idea of lists and seeing how they can upset others, so here is my list. Unlike him, I include all types of football movies:

1. Brian's Song - totally agree with his comments, I think they tried to make a remake of this too sometime in the early 2000's, but I don't remember seeing it anywhere.
2. Rudy - call me a girl I guess Bruce, but this is one of my favorites... I also think it is because of the whole vocation scene - escaping into the cloth. Also has a great line about life from the priest... "son, there are two things I have learned in all my years: There is a God, and I'm not him."
3. Remember the Titans - how can this not be on his list? I mean Denzel is in it :)
4. The Waterboy - true underdog movie that has Rush's Tom Sawyer playing at the Burboun Bowl. Still use the line: "You playin the foosball bobby?"
5. Lucas - a love story sure, but what person didn't really cry when Lucas got clobbard, also has a young Charlie Sheen and Jeremy Piven and of course Winona Ryder (and anything with Winona is good :))
6. Jerry Maguire - you had me at hello... great points by Bruce on this one.
7. Everybody's All-American - the struggles of family life and professional athletes - good overall flick.
8. Necessary Roughness - ok, I guess I am showing my age, but this movie reminds me so much of Rutgers football for the longest time that I cannot help but love it. Plus, Kathy Ireland and Sinbad, can you get any more 80's than that?
9. North Dallas Forty - not my favorite, but should be in anyone's top 10.
10. The Longest Yard - the original not the crappy remake.

Honorable mentions (not mentioned by Bruce): Little Giants, Wildcats, Pandemonium in Piscataway.
Movies I have not seen so they could not be rated: Invincible, We are Marshall

Well, that is all for now... of course I cannot leave you without your moment of zen... believe it or not, I did not create this website!

New York State of Mind

Not quite sure, but the other day I was thinking that I had a lot of pictures of New York, and got the song New York State of Mind by Billy Joel, stuck in my head... so this is what you get...



I know it's not perfect, but figured it wasn't too bad... hope you enjoy it.

Speaking of pointless things, I watched Flight of the Conchordes the other day and although there were a couple of brilliant lines, I just don't think I can recommend the show although it does seem to be right up my ally. I do want to share this little piece of brilliance with you:

I warned you. Of course I found it to be hilarious... yet you will be dumber if you watch it. Basically this is kind of what the show is about, stuff happens, it is painfully uncomfortable to watch and then they go into some random singing which tends to be hilarious. Anyway, I am sure I will keep you informed.

Yesterday was Joey (one of the pastor's dogs) birthday so I gave him a Frosty Paw to commemorate the big day. The dogs go nuts for these things, and I guess I am just out of the loop since I had no idea they made frozen food for dogs... SO BE CAREFUL when you go to your grocer's freezer! I hope to have a pic or two of the pups sometime soon... I am just too lazy right now. Speaking of lazy, I think I am going to see what I can find behind my eyelids... As always, God bless and take care and I will write again soon. Pax et bonum.

It's Clobbering Time!

I went to see The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer this afternoon. Basically it is what I expected, nothing more, nothing less. The movie was decent and enjoyable although I think I liked the original better. From playing the Marvel:Ultimate Alliance video game I knew some of the background and was really interested in seeing how they portrayed Galactus. I thought that the storyline was pretty good, and I am sure that seeing Jessica Alba in a wedding dress broke the heart of one of my friends Matt (sorry buddy). In any case, if you enjoyed the first, you probably will enjoy this one, but don't expect anything spectacular.

Speaking of movies, you can see that I added some links to some things that I created and put on youtube. The top one was something I created to commemorate some of my memories over the past few years. The second is all the way on the bottom and I originally created it as part of the end of the year celebration at the seminary two years ago... it has since been eliminated, but I still really like it. Hope you do to! I hope to some more entertainment in the near future, until then, please enjoy your Moment of Zen which although I really am not a fan of American Idol or the countless runoffs, I think it is definitely worth a watch. Pax et bonum.

Great article on Golf and life

I was surfing around this morning, checking the news, fantasy baseball, the usual... when I came across this article from Morgan Freeman on turning 70. In it he talks about the joys of golf and how it has really had an impact on his life. I have always been a big Morgan Freeman fan ever since the days of him playing Count Dracula on The Electric Company... Anyway, he talks about golf as a lesson of life since he never knew anyone who said they mastered golf or life and encourages us all to continue to swing and try to get better. I thought it was worth a few minutes to read and hope to see you all again on the golf course. and just remember a bad day of golf is always better than a good day of work :).

That's Entertainment...

So, I was kind of bummed out that the Sopranos are over, and with 24 not being on for another 6 months, I was worried that it would take me a long time to find a new show to get hooked on in between baseball games. I really don't watch all that much TV, and today's shows don't really do much for me. One other show that I really loved that got taken off the air by TNT was Saved, it was a very interesting show about paramedics which delved into a variety of intriguing storylines, especially how it ended (which I won't spoil here) I hope they eventually release it to DVD so I can enjoy the show again, even if it only lasted a year and I never find out what happened, I think it will be a keeper.

Anywho, I think I have found a new show... John from Cincinnati... terrible name (although there is a redeeming quality in the fact that the guy's name is not John and he is not from Cincinnati)... I am still trying to figure out what the heck this show is about, but in any case it keeps my interest and definitely makes me laugh at times. The story pretty much follows the Yost family, Mitch, the grandfather was a great surfer, the best some say, until he hurt his knee, his son, Butchie was also a great surfer but got involved in drugs and now is high most of the time, and his son (Mitch's grandson), Shaun has the family talent although the family from almost all sides is not prepared to let him use it because of their past problems. Along comes John, a guy that apparently comes out of nowhere to tell us that "The End is near", "There are some things I know and there are some things I don't" and "I got my eye on you"... and he basically repeats everything that is said to him... very weird but entertaining (especially in the bathroom). We are not quite sure who this John is, but he continuously asks Butchie "What do you want?". On top of this interesting fellow we have Mitch who thinks he has cancer and has begun to levitate for some reason unbeknownst to us, Ed O'Neill's character (Bill Jacks) who worked for the police department for 16 years and continuously calls them to try to figure out what is going on (and he just stole the water fountain handle from the police station to try to get John's fingerprints run) The story also involves someone (Barry) who Butchie knew when he was younger who has since won mega millions but also has "episodes" which allow him to see things... this was the source of one of the greatest scenes ever in episode one when he was in a room with no furniture, a bottle of wine and a teddy bear and he asks "Do you surf teddy?", makes a couple gestures to make his teddy surf and then flips him over and says "You wiped out"... you can watch it at johnmonad.com and typing in "Teddy" in the search... like I said weird but entertaining... check it out if you get a chance, same time as the Sopranos.

A few weeks ago I also went to go see Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End which a lot of people didn't care for, but I thought was alright. I felt there were times that it got a little too "Johnny Depp-like" i.e. strange, especially when they went to the World's End but it was still entertaining. I think what I liked most about it was that everyone was playing there own angle and so it could have ended in so many different ways... I thought it was nice though. If you haven't seen it yet though, there is a little something after the credits so be sure you stay until the lights are totally on.

This weekend I drove up to see my parents and grandparents for the big father's day/birthday weekend, I was trying to make it a surprise, but I guess I am getting too predictable in my old age, since my parents figured out what I was going to be doing. For Father's Day, I came across this article which reminded me so much of both my father and I... well probably more me... anyway it is pretty good. I also went to Bill's 30th Birthday party down in Brick and got a chance to play some horseshoes and see the newlyweds. I am also very excited to hear that my sister and nieces are heading down here next weekend! During the summer it is a great time to catch up with people but my calendar is quickly filling up, so if you haven't done so, please call or email so we can get together. The summer just flies by... but hopefully I will get some time with everyone!

Oh and more good news: hot off the presses, there are three men from the Diocese of Metuchen that will be entering into formation this year and one of the men will be heading down to St. Mary's!!! It will be nice to have another Jersey brother down in the seminary, so please keep all of our seminarians in your prayers.

I think I have completed the new look of the website, there are new links along the side, including where to find Eucharistic Adoration in Jersey and a link t ovote for this as the Best blog about stuff, so please signup and vote :). I am also toying with the idea of getting rid of the Moment of Zen (sight of the day at the bottom of each posting) and replacing it with a permanent link along the side which would change every so often... I don't know yet though.

Well, I am sure that I have written enough for today. So the only thing left is your moment of Zen... ever need excuses to get off the line? well, here you go!

Come on down....

was said for the last time by Bob Barker on The Price is Right yesterday. One of the staples of my "staying home from school days" tv shows, Bob Barker has been with us for 35 years on the game show that brought us some of our favorite games: Cliff Hangers, The Grocery Game, and of course PLINKO!. It was funny that I mentioned that this was a memory of the show that I had from staying home from school as I was just surfing for information on the Price is right, I came across this article from the Home News which says the same thing... yet more eloquently... I especially like the Pavlovian response. This was a great game show that reached all age groups, and as I get perhaps a bit too sentimental, I think it is what is missing in today's all sex and violence and "reality TV" that really isn't that real. Anyway, Bob will always have a special place in my heart... especially when he beat up Adam Sandler. There is only one way to end this post, and if you watched the Price is Right, you should know what is coming... Help control the pet population; have your pets spayed or neutered.

Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

The Sacred Heart has always had a wonderful place in my own heart since it was in that parish in Clifton in which I really started to become involved in youth ministry which seems like almost eons ago... but this year the solemnity seems a little more important. As some of you know, my friend and brother seminarian Edmund was the recepient of a new heart this past May
(on a first friday!). I figured that some of you not within the diocese would appreciate this wonderful piece that was written in the Catholic Spirit. It has been the source of strength for many people and has been able to touch so many that I see on a regular basis since I am in the same parish that Ed served in last summer. I hope that you can enjoy it as well. I thank God for the many blessings that he has bestowed on my friend and on this solemnity ask you all to continue to pray that he may return to studies in the fall and thank God for the prayers that he has already answered.

The artwork on the top of this page is done by my friend David Myers... I have a holy card that he did with this image a few years ago which still is in my breviary and it is one of my favorite cards that I have. He also did a fabulous rendition of St. Michael the Archangel which is his latest addition to his blog, which is also linked on the right hand side of the page. He does some awesome work which I have quite a few pieces of down in the seminary and highly encourage anyone who wants either religious work or personal work to check out his site.

I pray that all who read this are enflamed with the love that was displayed to us on the road to Calvary... you remain in my thoughts and prayers always and I look forward to writing to you all again soon.

What to do...

Mr. Hudak after the last episode of the Sopranos.

so, the Sopranos have come and gone, and I think I am the only person in the world to like how it ended... I mean no one was going to be happy anyway, but first of all it ended with "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey, one of my all time favorite songs, so it is automatically a good show... other than that I think it was an interesting take, first of all to keep everyone guessing, then to have everyone call the cable operators to complain followed by throwing a shoe at the TV when they realized it was over. I think it is a story about how Tony was to live, everything looking over his shoulder, never being sure who each person was and where they stand... interesting take on life. So, now that it is all over, I guess I should tell you what else is going on in my life, huh?

Life is good... I have been meaning to upload some recent shots from all over the place, so now is as good as time as any... As you can see I went to John and Beth's wedding about a week ago... The food was great, the ride was enjoyable (even during rush hour :)), and I even got to dance a bit, which was nice, since I don't remember the last time I danced. It was a great time but also a busy weekend. I was all over the state of NJ... up to Bayonne for the wedding and rehearsal dinner, then had our ordination (Metuchen) to the Priesthood on Saturday morning followed by a trip to my friend Mike's first Mass as a Deacon, then Sunday was in the parish and then swinging over to St. Bernard's for Fr. Joe and Fr. Tim's 20th and 15th anniversary Mass and then concluded with Fr. Bede Kim's first Mass as a priest at Sacred Heart in New Brunswick. Needless to say I was beat after that weekend and it has taken me this long to recover! The picture to the left was one of the few pictures from Trenton's priesthood ordination that came out pretty well... Fr. Bud is about to lay hands on Fr. Alberto Tamayo... it was such a great blessing to see friends from our neighboring diocese get ordained and to get to spend a little bit of time with each of them. Here are some articles about three of my friends who were ordained for Trenton: Fr. Alberto Tamayo, Fr. Joselito Noche, and last but certainly not least, Fr. Erin Brown. Enjoy!

This week is birthday week for me... Dad's was yesterday, Mom's on the 16th and Billy's big one is coming up in two days!!! I remember when I turned 30... it seems like it was just yesterday... oh wait it pretty much was! Anyway, 30 feels no different to me than 28 or 29... actually I really don't remember my age most of the time, guess forgetfulness comes with old age!

Well, I have lots more to say, but also need to get some work done, the pictures should be posted on Webshots sometime shortly... sorry about being a slacker recently.

And now, the moment you have all been waiting for your moment of zen what does your phone number spell, what about your friends??? hours of fun to be had... well at least a few minutes. God bless you always and write to you soon!

What are you tawkin about?

Well, it is finally here (well, almost), the last episode of The Sopranos is upon us... and I am both excited to see how it ends and sad to know that this will be the last episode we see. Anywho, I am a happy ending kind of guy, so my prediction is that Tony winds up ok in the end. Phil definitely needs to get taken out, no question about that... perhaps by someone we don't expect... Little Carmine??? AJ is a wild card, I can see him either taking himself out, getting upset with Tony and fighting back (taking out one's father would be a pretty interesting twist) or finally taking a little charge and joining the family business, again, being a happy ending kind of guy, I have to go with the latter... someone close to Tony still needs to get clipped and I am kind of hoping that Janice, now flipping out after the loss of Bobby wants to take something into her own hands and whacked. That is probably just wishful thinking, but at least I will not have to hear her whiny voice anymore after tonight. Some people think Ade is going to come back, but I think we have more of a shot of the Russian from the pine barrens episode... actually I'd love to see a little help from Furio, but I think that would be too much story line to get into at the last episode. So... where does that lead us? who knows... but for what it is worth... I say Tony survives, but the Feds will arrest him finally, Phil gets taken out by Little Carmine, AJ will kill someone, Silvio will survive and take over the family while Tony is in jail and Paulie will still be Paulie (much to my happiness)... oh and almost everyone will complain that it could have been better with one little tweak here or there. But, we all shall see tomorrow night... enjoy yous guys!