ramble through the bronx
yes, this here is ramble through the bronx, the continuing musings of a graduate student* who should be writing her dissertation, but honestly, living in new york city there's really so much else to do...* and her commenting friends. And guest blogger.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
As you can see, not much activitySaturday, March 03, 2007
I'm more or less retiring this blog. For personal stuff, I invite you to stop by LiveJournal (email me for my user id there)(note: most of my posts there are friendslocked, so you will need a LiveJournal account to view them).
Love to you all, and thanks for reading over the last few years!
EDITED for discretion, July 5 2007.
jane 6:00 PM [+]
In the midst of Lent, still happy to be an Agnostic CatholicTuesday, February 27, 2007
Picking up on my friend Ryan's post on Christian atheism, I found the following 'Blogthings' quiz interesting. To the question, "You are most interested in...", I could have happily answered either 'Philosophy' or 'Serving God's purpose' -- probably to a large extent because I see these as pretty intertwined for me. (To the question "You think God...", I answered "is unknowable," but that's just good philosophy of religion, and good Aquinas)
When I answered "Philosophy", the result was:
You are Agnostic
You're not sure if God exists, and you don't care.
For you, there's no true way to figure out the divine.
You rather focus on what you can control - your own life.
And you tend to resent when others "sell" religion to you.
Which isn't true, for me, because I do care quite passionately that God exists.
So, then, when I switched just that one answer over (saying that I want to serve God), the result is this:
You are a Believer
You believe in God and your chosen religion.
Whether you're Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or Hindu..
Your convictions are strong and unwavering.
You think your religion is the one true way, for everyone.
Which is, again, not quite right at all. Yes, I believe in God, and given that I'm going to be baptized this Easter, I'm committed to becoming Catholic specifically. I can reflectively affirm the Creed. But I don't know if I would say my convictions are strong and unwavering -- rather, my prayer is "Lord, I believe; Help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24). (See Ryan's post, linked above, for more on doubt, or this spirited discussion on LiveJournal about the importance and nature of doubt.
Further, while I do think that my religion is true, I would qualify the statement that it's the one true way for everyone. The Second Vatican Council acknowledged that there are a lot of obstacles between some people and the church -- and includes the bad & hurtful & unthinking behaviour of some believers as among those obstacles. The Church recognizes that there can be non-believers who are, in their commitment to the good and to truth, very close to God.
And that's Catholicism! I'm pretty sure a Hindu would be even farther from being characterized by that blurb.
Anyway. Just some thoughts. To sum up -- I'm not surprised that with my answers I wavered between 'agnostic' and 'believer' -- but the descriptions are lame.
jane 12:11 PM [+]
Go Irish Studies!Thursday, February 22, 2007
News about Fordham's Irish Studies Department; can I say that I feel very cool that it was I who introduced Ryan and Eoin at an Irish bar? (They had heard of each other but had not yet met.) I feel cool. (Nice photo of Eoin, too).
jane 9:47 AM [+]
Thanks Jane!Tuesday, February 20, 2007
I would like to thank Jane for some fantastic company on Monday and Wednesday. And a tour of all the restrooms in the bookstores on the east side. ALL of them. :-)
And just in case you get lost, I found a map.
meg 10:16 AM [+]
I'm not going to tell you what this isSunday, February 18, 2007
...but if you haven't heard about NFCTD yet, go check it out. And resist the urge to look it up on google until you've played with it a little.
Beautiful.
jane 12:49 AM [+]
So, ignore the fact that I look awfulSaturday, February 17, 2007
But in case you wanted to see how my banjo was coming along, here it is. (My lovely new laptop has a built in webcam. Awesome.)
jane 9:47 PM [+]
The Joy of YouTube... Glenn would love it.
By the way, a HUGE reward to anyone who manages to find me a copy of "The Idea of North."
Glenn Gould playing Bach's Concerto in D minor. A very old recording indeed.
Also, for extra Gouldiana... from "The Art of Piano"
jane 8:10 PM [+]
Ryan... why? That's how a girl loses her reputation!
I had a lovely lunch with my friend Ryan on Valentine's Day. Here is his mention of our lunch on his blog. All I can say is, even though I am coming up on a year now, my celibacy is entirely unintentional. Come on.
And it was a grilled cheese and bacon. Where did standards go?
jane 11:13 AM [+]
BFF!
Awww....
jane 10:06 AM [+]
