Pinoy Reader Billboard

Hello:

It's been a crazy, crazy day at Liguori Publications but I wanted to put up a quick post about my latest BLOGExplosion Billboard rental. My latest ad went up at Pinoy Reader which is written by the lovely Ria of Davao City in the Philippines. Her format is straightforward enough - thorough but succinct book reviews. The most recent is a timely review of "The Magician's Nephew" by C.S. Lewis, which is timely because the motion picture release of the Chronicles of Narnia is coming up.

Hopefully, I'll get off my duff and write that novel soon. Maybe one day my book will be reviewed on Ria's BLOG. In the meantime, I'll have to see if I can sweet talk her into writing a welcome post (*hint**hint*).

Well, I have to go. I mentioned yesterday that I had big plans for my BLOG this week and that's true. Throughout the week, we'll be talking about Pope John Paul II and Brother Secundo Pia Columbanus D'Silva one of whom now has his own BLOG.

Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

Fairytale Dreams

Hello:

I won the bid for a BLOGExplosion billboard rental at Fairytale Dreams today. Not only is it a great looking site with a neat name, BUT it is also interesting to read. Fairytale Dreams is written by Luin who identifies herself as a "non-traditional Catholic", avid reader of obscure books and writer of things that go bump in the night (the compressor on my fridge kicks when it shuts off, I wonder if there if that counts?). She was kind enough to write a very nice welcome post for Dark Glass and she gets bonus points for spelling Liguori Publications correctly.

Please take a moment to visit Fairytale Dreams, leave a comment and let Luin know that Philip sent you. While you are there, be certain to read the post about her Brother who is "living on a mountain in Honduras helping a small village to thrive." We all work for different things and have different visions for what we want to do when we retire or win the lottery. Mine is to go South of the border and teach job skills. I'm going to stop that train of thought right there - it is easily it's own post.


Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

PS - I did buy a trainer for my bike. Now I can spend money (I mean extend my season) on cycling all year long!

Welcome Renter!

Hello:

I hope that everyone had a great holiday and were able to spend time with the people that matter in their lives. Like most of the world (or the US anyway), I haven't posted in the last few days. I would really rather put off posting today but I have some BLOG 'business' that has built up and want to address today. It's important to write about this today, because I have some really great stuff planned for the next few days. I'm hoping that this week my plan for Liguori Publications' use of BLOGs will really begin to take shape. As soon as this post is done though, I'm out the door to going shopping for a cycling trainer. I picked up WAY too much weight in the past week.

First, I must sadly bid farewell to BLOGExplosion billboard renter The Anti - Sean Hannity Blog. I feel a little bad that for 30 BE Credits, he only received 12 unique clicks (22 total). This isstill better than a lot of sites I've seen (some of which charge more than 100 credits) but I just feel you should get at least 1 unique click for every credit spent. The holiday had an impact I'm sure - but I did lower this week's rental to 25 credits.

Now that we've said good bye, it is time to say hello. This week's candidates are:

• Scooter McGavin's 9th Green - This is what I would describe as a true to it's roots BLOG, no particular agenda - just whatever the author cares to discuss. The self description is interesting "Your one-stop place for music, TV, sports, politics and anything else I deem worthy. So make sure you come back everyday or you'll pay, listen to what I say."
• Don's Thoughts II - We've actually discussed Don before. Not only have I rented from him, but HE HAS LEFT COMMENTS HERE AT DARK GLASS!

It was a tough call this week, but I picked Don's Thoughts II. The prior relationship with Don and the fact THAT HE LEFT COMMENTS counted for a huge number of points. Hopefully Scooter will still be interested in bidding next week.

Well I need to go buy that trainer, but is that leftover turkey I hear calling my name from the kitchen?

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

Gary Graf Hits a Home Run at Liguori

Hello:

This is actually a continuation of an earlier post called Ron Rolheiser and Gary Graf, two Liguori Authors - this post can stand alone, but it would be nice if you started at the other. The basic theme of the first post was to discuss two Liguori authors who have done very well. I discussed Fr. Ron Rolheiser at such great length, that I thought it would be unfair to discuss Gary Graf as well and decided to give him his own post.

Gary Graf is the author of And God Said, Play Ball! Amusing and Thought-Provoking Parallels Between the Bible and Baseball a title that I have mentioned in two previous posts (post 1, post 2). "Play Ball" has been a bit of a sleeper hit. This is Gary's first title with Liguori Publications (I think it might be his first title) and has proven itself as a popular gift book. A real rarity that sells well for Father's Day. We did an initial print run of 5,000 copies back in the Spring with an attractive hardback cover and a price point of $19.95. We don't do a lot of hardbacks here and $19.95 is an expensive price for us. Particularily with a new author this was rare. Well, I'm happy to say that we have less than 200 in stock and expect to sell out before Christmas. We have a reprint on order (which I think will be a paperback) and we expect it to continue selling strongly well into next year. Be sure to check out the sample chapter.

Well I think that I will wrap up by saying that I am thankful for the many things that keep Liguori Publications humming along. Great employees, fantastic employees and the best customers. Please enjoy your holiday!

Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

[01/04/06 - We have sold out of the hardback version of And God Said, Play Ball! Amusing and Thought-Provoking Parallels Between the Bible and Baseball by Gary Graf. We have replaced it with a paperback version. I wish we had this problem more often. Feel free to read a sample chapter P. Del Ricci ]

Ron Rolheiser and Gary Graf two Liguori Authors

Hello:

I sometimes discuss (or at least allude to) the difficulties of the publishing industry in general and religious publishing more specifically (see Difficult Decisions for Liguorian Magazine). Today, I am thrilled to discuss Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI and Gary Graf; two authors who represent bright spots here at Liguori Publications.

Fr Ron is a member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate and the President of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio. The Oblates are the same order which maintain the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Illinois and that I spoke briefly about in an earlier post. He is considered to be an author of international authority who is beginning to cross over into secular markets. He writes a weekly column that is carried by more than 50 newspapers throughout the world and has authored several best selling books. He is truly a world class author.

Liguori has just begun working with Fr. Ron to publish additional material. I would love to show you a link to the Advent Daybreaks product he wrote for us this year, but I can't - we have all ready sold out the entire print run of 128,000! Daybreaks are small $1.00 products sold in bulk but still, this is huge for us. I guess in the scheme of things, these are the types of problems to have. Fr. Ron has just begun a podcast of daily reflections pulled from his Advent Daybreaks that even I find interesting to listen to. You can see the 2006 Lent and Easter Daybreaks by Fr. John F. Kavanaugh, SJ. He is also a world class author, but we'll talk about him another time.

We expect to be working closely with Fr. Ron in the future, but for the moment we are only carrying En Busca De Espiritualidad: Lineamientos para una Espiritualidad Cristiana del Siglo XXI which was printed by another publisher called Lumen. Obviously an author of this caliber who can write in Spanish is a natural tie-in for our Libros Liguori line.

Wow - this post really got away from me (big surprise). In order to do justice to Gary Graf and his book And God Said, Play Ball! Amusing and Thought-Provoking Parallels Between the Bible and Baseball, I'm going to give him a separate post.

Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass


[01/04/06 - We have sold out of the hardback version of And God Said, Play Ball! Amusing and Thought-Provoking Parallels Between the Bible and Baseball by Gary Graf. We have replaced it with a paperback version. I wish we had this problem more often. Feel free to read a sample chapter P. Del Ricci ]

Somber Topic - Funerals

Hello:

The world is full of things that I don't understand and quite frankly I'm ok with that. I'm the type guy who is naturally inquisitive and wants to understand everything - but has been far enough along the journey of life to accept that he won't. Ocasionally I encounter something though, that seems like it should have an obvious explanation. One of the many things I tend to hyperfocus about are my company's web sales (considering that I am responsible for all our electronic efforts including web sales - this is not a bad thing). I love to watch orders flicker by (when there isn't enough volume the flicker becomes a glub) and try to discern patterns from what people are buying (or not buying). The pattern I've picked up on this weekend is a little disturbing - funerals.

All of our funeral titles are flying off the shelves. Is the entire Catholic faith planning some lemming like rite in the next few weeks? Will I come in to work at Liguori Publications and the only sound will the echo of my footsteps as I walk to my office? I really don't mean to sound flip about this, it just seems so strange. Here I am preparing to talk about holiday gift suggestions and instead I am writing about funerals. It is true that death rates peak near the holidays, but I would expect that type of response to be parishes buying in bulk. The majority of the sales I have seen have been single copies to individuals. Usually, I would call a couple of customers and see what was going on - but that doesn't seem appropriate in this case.

I fervently hope that none of my readers have a need for this material, but I am going to feature two of our better titles on the subject. Your Guide to a Catholic Funeral which is a 'pastoral' publication and doesn't credit an author as well as A Catholic Funeral by Patricia Rice. I haven't read either of these titles, I can only tell you that they are selling well. I'm going to show one more that I gave to my Grandfather after we lost my Grandmother. My Grandfather isn't Catholic, but he said that it gave him some comfort - Coping When Your Spouse Dies by Medard Laz.

I'm sure some people will consider this post to be in poor taste - it really isn't intended that way. If anyone has any insight into this, please leave a comment. Hopefully the rest of my posts this season will involve happier topics, like the basketballs and other sports equipment I bought for the children of the Cheyenne River Reservation.

Peace,

P. del Ricci - Dark Glass

Welcome to my Second Renter

Hello:

Well the time has come to say goodbye to T3 over at A Nuerotic Closet Bitch. She was a model tenant and one of her fans was even kind enough to leave a comment (*hint* *hint*). I'm proud to say that for her 15 BLOGExplosion credits, T3 received 17 visits (15 unique) from this site as well as 3 posts with permanent links to her site which will continue to help her search engine rankings. I've seen what other sites have to offer and Dark Glass is an advertising steal!

Based on the results of my first renter, I decided to up the fee a bit. Many sites charge 200, 300 or even 500 credits and deliever worse results (I'm not making that up) so I felt more than comfortable charging 30 credits (it isn't real money, but it does represent time and effort). At the price of 15 BE credits I had 4 bidders, at 30 credits only 2 (hmm, do you see a pattern?). So anywho, the candidates this week are:

• EccentricMan
• The Anti - Sean Hannity Blog

I gave my decision a lot of thought (you can read about my renter guidelines) and ultimately decided on The Anti - Sean Hannity Blog. This is obviously a political BLOG and I prefer not to get into the realm of the political here at Dark Glass, BUT I appreciate people who are passionate about their beliefs and work to change the world. The BLOG's owner had also bid last week with a different BLOG so he also got points for persistence. EccentricMan is not a bad BLOG in anyway, ironically his new renter is T3 of A Nuerotic Closet Bitch, but ultimately I didn't pick him. Maybe next week.

So please visit this week's sponsor regardless of your political views. If you support his beliefs be sure and leave a comment to tell him that you came from Dark Glass. If you don't support his beliefs, be sure and leave a comment to tell him that you came from Dark Glass. Regardless of what you believe, please be civil.

Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

Letters to Santa from the children of the Cheyenne River Reservation

Hello:

In the post Billboard Shopping Madness I made reference to a "Letters to Santa" project that I was hoping Liguori Publications would get behind. As I expected, the project was immediately approved and this coming Monday we will begin collecting Christmas gifts for the children of the Cheyenne River Reservation. I thought my BLOG readers would like to see the email we are sending out to our employees Monday.

The tie-in to The ABC's of Christmas by Francine M. O'Connor and Illustrated by Bartholomew seems straight forward enough. I'll just add that it is a very attractive hardcover book that makes a great gift.

Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

**************************************************************************************
Dear Liguori:

The past year has been a time of need for many people. Whether it is supporting our soldiers in foreign lands, donating our time and our money to help those suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, or collecting goods to aid the victims of the hurricanes - the employees of Liguori Publications have consistently shown the strength of their compassion. In spite of all those calls to action, there have been a few inquiries about ways we could help underprivileged families this Christmas season. Just as people began asking that question the St. Louis Post Dispatch ran an article about the Cheyenne River Youth Project and their annual Letters to Santa effort.

Participating in Letters to Santa is a great way for us to share the joy and spirit of Christmas with children who would otherwise have very little. Please take a few minutes during your lunch or break to stop by the Mission Sponsorship table or the table outside the Copy Area. We'll have actual letters to Santa written by boys and girls like Nakai Charging Eagle who would love some CD's but needs new shoes and Pheobe White Magpie who wants a Barbie doll but would also love to have a pillow and a warm blanket. When you find a letter you want to shop for, just take it out of the stack and mark that letter off on the log sheet. It is important to mark it on the log sheet, because the Youth Project will need to find homes for any letters we do not adopt.

All gifts need to dropped off at Liguori by Friday, December 2nd to allow time for shipping.

Each year the St. Louis area helps the Cheyenne River Youth Project to make Christmas a little brighter for more than 400 children. We are hoping that Liguori can help to make a few Christmas dreams come true for 30 kids. As you read the letters you'll see requests for big things and little things. Buy whatever you feel comfortable with but try to buy at least one item the child asked for. The children may really need socks and underwear but Christmas will be much more special if there is a toy sitting along side them. Think of your own Christmas memories and you'll know what to do!

Keep reading below to learn a little more about the Cheyenne River Youth Project and the children they help. These children will be forever grateful that you shared the warmth of your family's Christmas with theirs.

- The Employee Activity Committee

She Blinded me with Science

Hello:

I just won the bid on a BLOGExplosion billboard (yes, another one - the others are expiring off). This one has the potential to start some interesting conversational threads, which is something that I had really hoped that there would be more of (*clears throat* *LEAVE a COMMENT*). Anyway, my most recent billboard rental is Modern Science, written and moderated by ZandPerl a professor in New England who is a self described atheist. If you have paid close attention while reading Dark Glass, you might remember a constructive comment she left in the past.

ZandPerl was kind enough to leave a nicely worded introduction to Dark Glass....

This week's blog is Through a Dark Glass by Philip Del
Ricci. Mr. Del Ricci writes about religious topics, mostly inspired
by and about various documents for Catholics and people interested in
Catholocism, I suspect because he works for a company that publishes them. His
posts are about the role of Christianity in the life of someone who is already
religious and are not at all antagonistic to atheists such as myself - not that
that would stop me from linking to someone. :) So surf on over to Dark Glass
(preferably through the link/screenshot on the left) and say "hi"! Be a nice
visitor and always follow the Boy Scout rule: leave the place cleaner than when
you got there. (I.e., no flame wars unless he asks politely.)

I don't believe that I have brought it up before but I do hold degrees in Engineering and Economics (with a minor in Math). I'm comfortable in the realms of science and believe that religion is not incompatible with the educated and modern man. Having said that - I don't automatically believe something as a matter of faith either.

Please take a moment to read Modern Science - it's a nicely written BLOG which is not so densely academic as to prevent a casual reading but still manages to stimulate the mind. Please let ZandPerl know that you dropped by and that you came from Dark Glass [if you are reading this because you dropped in from Modern Science, please say hello]. Regardless of your opinions, please be civil.

I would have loved to have wrapped this up with a reference to a Liguori Publications title, but I can't think of a good fit. I'll update this post if I think of something later. (I just finished checking, nothing really appropriate right now. We will have a title in the Spring discussing the Church and evolution. I don't mean to spoil it for anyone, but the Catholic Church sees no conflict with evolution.)

Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

The title of this post is of course a reference to the 1983 Thomas Dolby classic "She Blinded Me With Science".

Charles de Foucauld beatified

Hello:

I'd like to draw attention to an excellent post my buddy SimpleBrother wrote yesterday at Saintly Sinner. His post,Holy Eccentric, is a compelling piece that was inspired by the recent beatification of Charles de Foucauld. Foucauld was a French priest who was martyred in 1916 while living the life of a simple hermit in Algeria. Dave (Simple Brother) does a beautiful job of doing more than just featuring a Liguori Publications title. He actually reflects on readings from 15 Days of Prayer With Charles de Foucauld by Michel Lafon and discusses how those thoughts resonate within his own life.

I actually find myself a little envious of Dave's ability to write in this style. By sharing himself in this fashion, he makes the spirituality of Foucauld personal and accessible. This is a perfect example of the type of writing I envision in Liguori BLOGs to create Faith Based Community.

I'm tempted now to continue this post by discussing My Fascination with Saints and referencing two additional titles, but sometimes less is more.


Peace,
P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

[added 11/22/05] I found this amusing article with a reference to Sisters from the order of The Little Sisters of Jesus. The amusing thing is that they do their work through "Circus Ministry". The Little Brothers of Jesus and the Little Sisters of Jesus weren't exactly founded by Charles de Foucauld, but his death was the inspiration for their formation.

Wise Words Billboard

Hello:

I have to confess that I bought another BLOGExplosion billboard. I wonder if I have a problem? The first step always seems to be admitting it. Actually, this time was a deliberate purchase. Since the rentals only last a week, renting a new one (or two) every couple of days should ensure continous coverage.

Today's acquisition is Wise Words written by Stephen in the exotic (to someone living in St. Louis) locale of Malaysia. I actually tried to rent this site last week but lost out. This week IT IS MINE. I really like this site because it reminds me of my office walls. Whenever I encounter a particularily meaningful quote - I type it up and post it in my office. Stephen wrote a very nice introduction to my site and took the time to understand what I am trying to accomplish.

As posted on Wise Words:

With coarse rice to eat, with water to drink, and my bended arm for a pillow...I
still have joy in the midst of these things.Riches and honors acquired by
unrighteousness are to me as a floating cloud....Confucius, Chinese philosopher
(551 BC - 479 BC)

I don't think I need to explain the connection to this title from Liguori Publications and the topic of this post. Wit and Wisdom of the Saints: A Year of Saintly Humor by Victoria Hébert and Judy Bauer. I am going to steal the description again because this title has a little more humorous slant than what I've seen on Wise Words, but I still find a lot of bite-sized wisdom in this title.

We all like to spend time with people who make us laugh. Those who always have a
good word, a smile, and a happy perspective naturally draw us into their
friendship. But what about the holy men and women we have been taught to revere
for their closeness to God? Did they laugh and joke?

Wit and Wisdom of the Saints introduces us to our blessed heroes in a new way. A collection of witticisms from a full spectrum of saints, we are presented with sayings from the early martyrs to contemporary saints. From Bernard of Clairvaux to
Bernadette of Lourdes, from John Bosco to Blessed Pope John XXIII - this book
paints a warm and very human portrait of holy people who were also very happy.
A joyful presentation of the humorous side of sanctity, Wit and Wisdom of
the Saints reminds the reader that God wants His saints to be happy. Get ready
for a litany of laughter.

Peace,
P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

Billboard Shopping Madness

Hello:

This past weekend, I got a little carried away with buying billboard space on BLOGExplosion. I've built up quite a war chest of credits and I started spending them like crazy. I was pushed on by the fact that I usually lose these bids and have to try for several before I find any takers. More than likely I just get turned down because someone else is a better fit or was just the first bidder. It might even be the semi-religious nature of this site but surely it isn't an unvoiced commentary on the quality of material here on Dark Glass..... Anyway, I ended up winning not 1 but 4 bids! That will teach me. As a small reward for the BLOGs that are willing to rent to me, I'll list them here.

• In Susan's Words - Susan gets extra mention because she joined the Liguori Focus Group AND left a comment. Way to go Susan! Please visit her site, she is very generous with sharing her thoughts, emotions and life experiences. Many of her posts focus on her divorce and life as a single mom. (She also cycles).
• Don's Thoughts II - Don is a great host and left a very nice welcome post for me when I rented from him. I can't imagine where he found the time - he's working on his dissertation, runs his BLOG and finds time to read. He also has an interest in Native American spiritual beliefs. Which is a nice segue into... I hope to post tomorrow about a charity that I just discovered that fulfills "Santa" letters for children on the Great Sioux Reservation.
• Your Last Meal - This is a decidedly unusual BLOG which chronicals the last known meals of a variety of famous and notorious people. What can I say? P. Del Ricci likes to eat - which reminds me that I should go stir that big pot of chili in the kitchen.
• It Doesn't Have 2 Rain all the Time - Difficult for me to summarize, but the author seems to have a great deal of social consciousness.

Feel free to check them out and if you leave them a comment - tell them that you came from Dark Glass. More importantly, if you leave them a comment - LEAVE ME A COMMENT. I know people are reading the site, I can see the stats. Speaking of stats here are a few for this site.

• We (I?) get more than 600 visits a week.
• Less than half of that comes from BLOGExplosion.
• The average visit is just over 1 minute. Considering that most referrals from BLOGExplosion stay exactly 30 seconds, a 1 minute is pretty good.
• I get very few visitors from search engines but many that come in that way are searching for cookbooks.
• I'm proud to say that A Nuerotic Closet Bitch (my first billboard renter) has all ready gotten more clicks from this site than I have ever gotten from renting another site. THANK YOU for supporting her.

Tomorrow I intend to discuss the Cheyenne River Youth Project - hopefully I can avoid meetings long enough to write it. Of course, I have several thoughts about how this effort relates to Liguori Publications. I'll keep you posted. I would write more but fortunately for you, I think my chilli is ready.

Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

Liguori BLOGs to create Faith Based Community

Hello:

I am currently in the midst of 3 different posts, but I switched to this one because I thought I could get it up in a hurry (hah). One of the reasons I have been too busy to post my own material lately is that I have been busy wooing others to help expand the family of Liguori Publications BLOGS. Though I have fun writing Dark Glass and I think that it does accomplish its purpose, I am convinced that the charism of the Redemptorists can only be expressed through the addition of writers who live it every day. I think it will be particularily interesting to see the unique and personal perspectives that will become apparent as new BLOGs are brought on-line.

I have grand plans for this BLOG strategy and envision contributing writers from all slices of life. In the not too distant future, we should have at least one Spanish language writer, a couple of semi-retired priests, an author and a few members of the laity contributing this scheme. My hope is to create a Faith Based Community where anyone of any faith or ideal can question, learn and interact.

As in most things, to build large - you must start small. We began with the Liguori Press Release BLOG, which may be the dryest BLOG on the entire web. Then we added Dark Glass. Dark Glass lacks theological perspective, but demonstrates how a BLOG can interact with the outside world. Next came Saintly Sinner that comes closest to being an extension of the Redemptorist's work. TBS Bookviews was our last addition, but again is pretty dry and doesn't make for very engaging reading.

The next phase of the project is almost here. Some time after Thanksgiving, I expect to bring a warm and personal BLOG on-line that will be written by the same lady who administers the TBS Bookviews site. [Name withheld] has worked with the Redemptorists in varying capacities for more than a decade and is close to our editorial process here. She has a rich family life and adorable grandchildren. She will be able to relate to readers in a way that I cannot.

In early January we should open the doors on a unique mystical experience as Br. Secundo Pia Colobanus D'Silva is lured from hiding in his Oconomowoc retreat center to share himself with the wider world. Trust me, this one will be a trip that absolutely anyone is sure to enjoy and learn from. [11-22-05 For once, we are ahead of schedule. Please take a look at Mystic Alchemy]

I'm working on others and hope to have some more announcements soon. I really think the quality of the upcoming writers will be top notch and worth reading. Today I'm going to close by featuring A Presence that Disturbs: A Call to Radical Discipleship by Anthony J. Gittins, C.Ss.P. I don't usually copy the description text for a book but I thought this dovetailed nicely with today's topic and resonants with the themes that have been emerging from our focus group.

This powerful, moving and "disturbing" book looks at the contemporary issues
that block the attainment of a revitalized Church--a Church united rather than
fragmented, a Church tuned to justice for all rather than to provincial myopia.
A Presence That Disturbs will engage the general reader and the specialist alike
with a fresh perspective on what it means to follow Christ.

Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

Welcome to my first renter

Hello:

I mentioned yesterday that I had decided to host a BlogExplosion billboard here on Dark Glass. I also mentioned that I might pick a controversial renter if I thought it would spur conversation here. The way this works is that other people respond to an ad on BlogExplosion and ask to rent your space for a preset 'price' of BE credits. You can accept or deny whoever you want, but they have to approach you. I was a little nervous about who might come knocking. So now let's see who the nominees were. In order of application:

1. A Nuerotic Closet Bitch
2. The Anti - Bill O'Reilly Blog
3. Fading the Surface Noise
4. Truth on Iraq

Please keep in mind that just because someone rents from me, it DOES NOT mean that I or Liguori Publications endorse their view point. In fact, they might have been selected for contrast. So without any further daudling - the winner is............ A Nuerotic Closet Bitch.

It's nice to help a fellow nuerotic, but I just don't think she is a bitch at all. Written by "3rd Times a Charm" this is a really cute BLOG giving insight into the life of a 41 yr old Mother of 3. Most of her posts deal with her adventures in family, her loving children and charming husband. I encourage everyone to visit. And please be sure to tell her that Dark Glass sent you.

Well, I have to run. I'm hosting a Kung Fu Hustle party tomorrow night, my house is a wreck and I haven't gone to the gym yet.

Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

This space for rent

Hello:

You've heard me talk about my renting "Billboards" (Divine Perspective, Mormon Meanders, and ChristWeb ) from BlogExplosion before. Well I just finished plugging in the code to host a Billboard here on Dark Glass. You'll see the spot in the upper left, just below my profile. Right now, it just says "Rent My Blog". Hopefully when you look at it, it will be displaying the banner of some happy tenant. Renters won't have to be Catholic or even religious in nature. I might pick someone controversial if I think it will lead to some interesting conversation here. We'll just have to see where it goes. What do you know? No featured Liguori Publications product today!

Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

Liguorian: A Report Card on the Church

Hello:

I usually start these posts with something of a more personal nature. I actually began writing that kind of post about 4:15 AM this morning, but then the newspaper arrived.... If I finish that post, the last comment will make sense - or at least have context. ANYWAY - Today I'd like to share an article from the current issue of Liguorian magazine. A Report Card on the Church: Forty Years After Vatican II by Richard R. Gaillardetz, Ph.D. is a strong article that addresses a variety of current issues from the efficacy of the Church to implement "Vatican II" reforms to the failure of the Church to respond to sexual abuse scandals. I think this article offers something of interest to anyone who is interested in the modern Church, whether they are Catholic or not. By now, everyone should be tired of hearing that I am a non-Catholic working at a leading Catholic publisher (Liguori Publications), but I like to point it out when material has a greater appeal.

Not to keep harping on this article, but it does a nice job helping me to further understand "what is a Catholic?". In "Role of Community in Catholic Life" and "More on What Defines Catholic Community" I discuss some of these issues and my motivations for better understanding.

If you like the featured article, you may also be interested in some of our titles by Dr. Richard R. Gaillardetz (a few of which are available in Spanish). In particular Becoming Word for One Another: A Spirituality for Lectors and the Lay Ministry in the Catholic Church: Visioning Church Ministry Through the Wisdom of the Past 'collection' that includes everything but a ball cap.

I hope that you'll check out the article, I really do think it is well written and has broad appeal. I would REALLY appreciate it if you would leave a comment with your thoughts after reading it. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to provide a post with a little broader interest and that isn't such a blatant tie-in to my company. I (almost) feel gulity using this article and author in this stand-alone fashion, because it (unlike this) is good material.

Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

ChristWeb Billboard

Hello:

I'm a little shy on anything to write about today, but I did want to point out that I have a new BlogExplosion "Billboard" running over at ChristWeb. ChristWeb is written by Stephen. At first glance the site seems to consist mostly of news articles with accompanying commentary, a little poking around reveals a much more complex site. You can easily find a large list of sites he enjoys (such as Another Man's Meat which I visit regularily), drag race photos (wheels not heels) and his current reading list. There aren't any titles from Liguori Publications on that list (yet) but I'll do what I can to change that. In the mean time, I'll just be glad that Stephen has been kind enough to rent me space on his BLOG. If you're dropping in from ChristWeb, please leave a comment and let me know.

I am aware that Halloween is over, and I'll try to change the image attached to my profile later today. A grinning jack-o-lantern looks a little funny next to some of the comments I leave.


Peace,
P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

Profile picture?

 
 

Maybe I have LAZY not ADHD?

Wouldn't you know it? I have a few minutes to post and BLOGGER is down for maintenance. The nerve! Especially when you think of how efficiently I use my every waking moment. I took Thursday and Friday off this week and got very little done. I did a little, but only a little. I should have been writing, I should have been cleaning and putting away Halloween decorations. I should NOT have been playing round after round of Gazillionaire or watching TV programming that bored me (as much as I love Law and Order, how many times should I watch the same episodes?).


I did manage to escort this year's army of pumpkins to the dumpster (to the appropriate lawn waste dumpster, unlike certain neighbors), to oil the patio furniture and to go jogging; but I'd didn't set the world on fire. Thursday night I went to a happy hour at the Contemporary Art Museum of St Louis and had an awesome time. Thought provoking art, $1
drinks, a DJ and a cross section of interesting people. Despite my constant whining that I should do more, I have a pretty fulfilling life.


Last night we rented Kingdom of Heaven. AWESOME, I highly recommend it. This reasonably historically accurate movie about the crusades made the Lord of the Rings seem pedestrian (ok - maybe not, but close). The first time I ever saw a movie that mentioned the Knights Templar and didn't start questing for the Holy Grail (ala The DaVinci Code).


The Templars are frequently associated with crazies and conspiracy theorists, so I'll use that into a quick segue regarding my trip to the gym this morning. I go to a gym in St Louis Chase Park Plaza at the Central West End. It's a very colorful and eclectic area next to Forest Park, home of the 1904 World's Fair. Anyway, I'm crossing the street from where I parked to get to the gym when I notice someone cross the street further down from the other direction. He was nicely dressed, about 35, respectable looking. The moment I saw him every alarm went off inside my head. "CRAZY PERSON, CRAZY PERSON, He's going to talk to you - RUN!" {I have a lot of experience with this - for some reason crazy people LOVE ME}. I turned as casually as possible heading parallel to the gym but putting more distance between me and the man I was sure was crazy. In less than a minute, he closed a gap of 30 feet and started talking to me. "Are you going to the gym? I go to that gym. I went there this morning and hit my head." Maybe the reason that crazy people like me is that I hate to be rude to them. I just kept nodding and making "Oh really?" remarks and wishing that the traffic would clear so that I could cross the street. I started crossing sooner than was safe, but I wasn't convinced that it was safe to stay where I was. Crazy Person (CP) was right in my space yelling into my year. "I was doing gymnastics in the gym and I guess I had too much tomato juice this morning cause I hit my head." He said spinning in huge circles like a dervish and pacing me across the street. "When I was in the Marines they said that pain was just weakness escaping the body. I eschew that line of reasoning now." Yes - the type of crazies that approach me say things like "I eschew that line of reasoning now." FINALLY, I was near the gym door. Still trying to be polite, I was moving at top speed. As I bolted through the door he said something that sounded like, "If you see that Asian guy Mark - tell him Evan said Hello". I really should think about getting my psycho magnet removed.


You might find it interesting to read about Baton Bob, another Central West End character.


Well, I feel like I've written a lot about very little, but hopefully it is more interesting than my constantly going on about Liguori Publications (you didn't think you'd get away without any reference did you?). I wonder how long it will be before (if it hasn't happened all ready) that I'm described as a local character giving an area flavor?


Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

Liguori Limmerick

Hello:

I thought I would share a funny incident from the web marketing seminar I went to last week. There were four of us there from Liguori Publications. Coincidentally, we sat at a table with two people from The Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows and across the room were two people from a business in my home town in rural Illinois about 100 miles away. The world is a small place. Anyway, the seminar managed to hold our attention for most of the two days but one segment seemed to drag on forever. While keeping boredom at bay, Dan started writing haikus which he enthusiasticly shared over lunch. I made the remark that I would need to be true to my heritage and would write a limmerick (my mix contains a lot of Irish). I was just joking when I said it, but my group kept ribbing me and eventually I wrote this.

There were four folks from Liguori,

who are the point of this story.

They turned on their teacher,

who looked like a preacher.

The rest of the story was gory.

I know "don't give up my day job".

Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

Catholics, Fundamentalists and Islam Oh My

Hello:

Well my Halloween party (last Saturday) appears to have been a success. I didn't get home until 4 AM (it isn't unusual for me to be getting up at 4 so that was VERY late for me). All but a handful of guests wore costumes and most everybody took a turn at the scare-e-okee. Once again I seem to have made the drinks A.) Too strong and B.) Too plentiful, I ended up driving a friend home. I think I am going to hold off on posting pictures from this year's party so that I'll have something to post next year. I will go ahead and post a few from last year.

During the party, there were several people dressed as Catholic clergy (which led to the phrase "The Monk is Drunk and needs you to drive him home"). Surprisingly, this led to a number of serious conversations that usually started with the sexual abuse scandals and then branched out to the Church in general. I off-handedly mentioned the BlogExplosion billboard I am running over at Mormon Meanders and the conversation turned to contrasting the Catholic faith and a variety of others. PLEASE NOTE - this was a very fun party and these conversations were not typical. Anyway, when I got in Monday morning - I pulled out my trusty Liguori Publications catalog and found a number of titles that deal with Catholicism and other religions. We carry five titles (ok I'm counting one in English and in Spanish) dealing with Catholicism and Fundamentalists and two dealing with Catholicism and Islam. I haven't come close to reading all of these, but present them as an FYI. We have titles that discuss a variety of other faiths and philosophies, but I will save them for another time.

I believe that there has been a real deterioration in the quality of the posts I have been submitting to this BLOG (which considering what I thought of them when I started is saying something). As a result, I am planning on cutting way back on my update frequency. Most of them will still feature links to Liguori products and issues, I am trying to benefit my company afterall, but it is important to me that the posts be at least moderately interesting to a few people. There are plenty of sites out there that are just commercials or billboards and that itsn't what I want this to be. I'm taking tomorrow and Friday off. I hope to work on some writing projects but we'll see where the weekend takes me.

Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

Prayers for our Armed Forces

Hello:

I've been extremely strapped for time today, I'm still trying to write a short post about my Halloween party last Saturday. I always hate mentioning when I've been working on a post for more than a day because it always seems to disappoint (me if no one else). Anyway, our sales group here at Liguori Publications has been working with my department (Publishing Technology) and sent out an email promoting our Prayers for our Armed Forces pamphlet (compiled by our own Paul Pennick and Joseph Nonnenkamp). I thought it was a goodlooking piece and any content I can steal, I mean syndicate, is a post I don't have to write. Catholic or not and regardless of political idealogy, I am certain that we all hope and pray for the safety of our troops.

Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass


***********************************************************************************
Dear Liguori Customer,

Liguori Publications is pleased to present Prayers for Our Armed Forces. This collection of heartfelt Catholic prayers - both traditional and contemporary - has been prepared especially for those serving in the military. The convenient weight and size (4 1/8 x 5 7/8) of this 64-page spiritual companion make it easy for military personnel to carry it everywhere they go - especially at times when they may be placed in harm’s way.

Family and friends of those serving our country will also cherish using this comforting collection of prayers as they remember their loved ones in daily prayer.

Prayers for Our Armed Forces is only $1.95, and discounts for quantity purchases are available. Call a Liguori sales representative at 1-800-325-9521 for information on special pricing. You may also purchase individual copies on our website, Liguori Publications.





Harry A. Grile, C.Ss.R.
President/Publisher