Quality of Life

Hello:

Yesterday, I got into quite a ramble about this week's BLOGExplosion billboard renter, Crystal Clear. [See Crystal Clear and Dark Glass] Crystal writes on socially relevant and current topics like right to life (specifically Terri Schiavo) and illegal immigration, in general she seems to have a strong conservative stance. I didn't get much further than setting up Crystal's position and highlighting some of Liguori Publications' related products before I realized that I needed to break this into several posts. Today, I would like to touch on some of the right to life / pro-life issues. My post won't be anywhere near exhaustive (at least no more exhausting than my readers usually find my writing) but I'm hoping it form a point for discussion. SO PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS, I really want to hear what my readers have to say. Also, please remember that I am not Catholic and my opinions / beliefs are my own. They may or may not coincide with the views of Liguori on any given topic and at any given time. Liguori is a Catholic publishing house and remains true to the teachings of the Catholic Church and the Redemptorist Charism.

In regard to Terri Schiavo, I feel for her, I feel for her family, but I think it is a blessing that she has passed on. When I think of Terri, I can't help but think of the millions throughout the world who will perish from easily remedied medical conditions.

What if Terri had been a single African American mother of 4? What if she had lived in East St. Louis and worked 3 mininum wage jobs that didn't provide benefits? What if she had died from an infection that the free clinic missed? Would we even know her name? Would her children find nurturing environments in the foster care system?

How many people, how many families, how many communities; would have benefited from the medical, political and financial resources which were brought to bear on the case of Terri Schiavo? In the most optimistic of outcomes, what would Terri's quality of life have been? Is it a tradeoff she would have been willing to make?

My training and background is in Economics, which I have always thought of as more philosophy than science. It can be thought of as the study of the allocation of limited resources when there are infinite wants. When one life can be preserved poorly with the resources that could preserve 100 well it becomes a classic Economic issue. While the world was focused on the ethics of one poor soul and a feeding tube, did anyone see the counter balancing outcome that may have just as surely killed several nameless others?

Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

Pursuing Pablo

Hello:

I've been remiss in mentioning that I took out a BLOGExplosion Billboard at Sophia (Greek for Wisdom). Sophia is one of several BLOGs guided by the intellectual hand of Pablo P. Thought provoking at the very least and always worth reading.

Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

Crystal Clear and Dark Glass

Hello:

Today I would like to introduce a new BLOGExplosion Billboard tenant that I hope will generate some discussion on both of our sites. Please welcome Crystal Clear. When Crystal bid on my BLOG, I accepted her application without waiting for any additional offers. Crystal writes about strong positions on topics such as right to life (ex. Terri Schiavo) and illegal immigration. Liguori Publications has some titles out on both topics that I can draw on to present the official Catholic stance. For variety we may even touch on some of my personal viewpoints which (*gasp*) don't agree with Cyrstal OR Liguori on all counts. So PLEASE FEEL FREE TO LEAVE COMMENTS, all that I ask is that you keep your remarks civil.

Liguori just released a new Catholic Health Care Ethics Series which was developed in conjunction with DIALearning and faculty at the St. Louis University's Center for Health Care Ethics. There are five programs currently available. Each one is made up of several CD's and DVD's with facilitation guides available for download from the web. At $149.95 per program, they are outside the means of the typical individual but make a great resource for schools, parishes or other groups that are concerned about these issues. The series is currently made up of: Program 1 Persistent Vegetative State To Live…or Let Die , which specifically examines the Terri Schiavo case; Program 2 A National Emergency Patient Safety; Program 3 Dying Well Assisted Suicide & End-of-Life Care?; Program 4 Stem Cell Research Frontier of Hope & Concern and Program 5 Born Too Soon Neonatal Care in the 21st Century.

In regard to the immigration issues, Liguori publishes Catholic Tradition and Immigration: Toward a Communion of Cultures and Peoples which is also available in Spanish under our Libros Liguori imprint as La Tradición Católica e Inmigración Hacia la comunión entre culturas y pueblas. Especially relevent this Lent and Easter season is the bilingual The Way of the Cross of the Migrant Jesus: El Vía Crucis de Jesús Migrante by Gioacchino Campese, CS.















Gesh - I'm 4 paragraphs and 5 images into this post and I'm not anywhere near a point. To restate and then wrap up, here's what we have.

1. Welcome my tenant Crystal Clear.

2. She writes about some controversial topics that I think can spur some interesting interaction on both our sites.

3. Liguori Publications produces material on at least two of the topics Crystal covers.

4. PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS, both here and at Crystal Clear. We'd love to hear your thoughts.

5. I will try to follow this post with some that are more concise.



Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

Late Newspaper

Hello:

My newspaper (The ST. Louis Post Dispatch) has been late for the last 2 days. My paper is a fundamental part of my day and I am developing IPS (Irritiable Paper Syndrome) an as yet medically unrecognized but serious condition which afflicts tens of people each day throughout the world. When I call, a voice automated response system patiently explains that "technically your route doesn't finish until 7 AM. If you still don't have your paper at that time, please call back." Then it hangs up on me. Grrrrrrrrrr.

Add to that that I have been in a passive aggressive stand off with my Mother for the last few weeks (it's complicated but stems from the funeral) and I'm a tad bit cranky.

Maybe it's a plot from Liguori Publications? Without my paper, I've been working for the last hour. Hmmmmmm, maybe I'll go steal my boss's.

Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

Liguori Vacation Bible School Program

Hello:

I'm not quite back in the swing of things since the funeral. Various configurations of family dysfunction and tension keep parading about like it's Mardi Gras. Despite my best efforts to ignore it all, it's a distraction. Fortunately, that's as far into that mess as I intend to delve today. Instead, I'm going to chat about this year's Liguori Publications Vacation Bible School Program. Despite having just gotten back from the Winter Olympics, "I need a vacation" keeps floating through my head and the whole company is buzzing about our VBS program. It's a natural for today's topic.

Apparently the idea of a Catholic Vacation Bible School is relatively new. Maybe because the Church had the infrastructure of the parochial school system? That might make sense. Interest seems to grow as that infrastructure weakens and disappears.

I was raised as a Southern Baptist in a rural area of Southern Illinois. Vacation Bible School always seemed like such a big event and I was so eager to go. I'm not sure if it was a lack of product or a lack of funds, but my church never had a commercially produced VBS 'program' that they followed. What they did have were hundreds of Mrs. Gent's homemade cookies. Mrs. Gent (I just realized I have no idea what her first name was) was the Pastor's wife whose life's work was to fatten up any child she could get her hands on. Hmmm, I'm sitting here remembering what a wonderful person she was. She was always making baked goods, key chains, and little porcelin figures that she would give away with accompanying hugs.

Sorry for the digression, but I hadn't thought about her in a very long time. ANYWAY; today's Vacation Bible Schools have gone big time and publishers spend big bucks to develop and produce them. They usually have cool themes like an Amazon adventure, or the Wild West. This year's theme for us is SonTreasure Island (I'll have to check if it teaches kids how to talk like a pirate).

Protestant publisher's have been honing these products for a long time and the concept is still pretty new to Catholics, so we partner with another company called Gospel Light. They develop each year's theme and the majority of the program materials. They sell it with the same name and theme into their own markets. Then we take what they produce and change some of the content as well as add our own pieces to produce a truly Catholic version. Some of the differences can be very subtle and are beyond me. We work closely with Church authorities (including Bishops) and don't release the program until we have secured an Imprimatur. I like to think of the Imprimatur as the GoodHouseKeeping Seal of approval but what it really means is that the material has been thoroughly reviewed by a Bishop and found to be consistent with Church teachings.

[Listen to sample music clips: Clip3, Clip5, Clip8]

Depending on the year's theme, we can get pretty silly with the anciliary products. These little "Fish Squirt" water pistols have almost gotten me fired. I just can't help myself...... I was going to put an inflatable palm tree in my office, but that would lead to drinking, drink umbrellas and hammocks. I figured I was close enough to being fired as it was and let that temptation slide by.


Through the end of April, we're offering Free Ground Shipping in the US (the $2.50 handling charge does apply) on all Vacation Bible School products that are ordered from our web site. We normally do a lot of VBS sales on the web anyway (I think people like to look at all the little toys and trinkets) but with this special sales have been really brisk.

I'd be really interested to hear from anyone (of any faith) who organizes or works with the Vacation Bible School program for their own church. Especially if you've used our product. What do you like? What do you not like? Could we do something new, better or differently that would help you have a better experience? Let me know! Liguori Publications loves to hear from customers and we try our best to make our customer's lives better. Your comments will be read and appreciated.

Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

Today at Liguori

Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

Looking for Feedback on Liguori Free Shipping Offer

Hello:

This will be brief and completely related to Liguori Publications. I just had a conversation (disagreement) with a lady in our Order Processing group and I'm hoping to get some feedback from my Dark Glass readers. We just started a web special that gives Free US Ground Shipping on any order of $20 or more (good through the end of the month).

The disagreement revolves around customers who placed orders prior to the sale. The lady calls and asks me what the cutoff should be for modifying orders? "Modify?", I ask. "You know for the people who placed orders before the sale but call in for the offer." I'll keep the "he said, she said" short and just say that I made an ultimatum. You either get the sale offer or you don't. You don't go the department store and ask for the sale they're having tomorrow. I don't think we should adjust orders that have all ready been placed.

To me - the nature of a sale is that the pricing or offer is special. In this case, we started the offer because we noticed a lot of abandoned shopping carts with totals less than $20. At that price point shipping is prohibitively expensive. Someone can end up paying $8.00 to get a $1.00 pamphlet. With this special; customers can stock up on small things like prayer cards, pamphlets, and devotional items without spending more on shipping than they do for the product. It's also a great time to buy gift items like cookbooks or travel books, but it is the small items I really have in mind. The offer is timely too. Anyone who orders by March 31st, should have no problem receiving their package by Good Friday. It's a good chance for someone to order our Lent and Easter titles at a good value.

Liguori Publications is a not-for-profit charged with furthering the Gospel of Jesus Christ and supporting the work of the Redemptorist Fathers and the Catholic Church in general. Because of that, a lot of people (both inside and outside of the company) think we should give our product away. That would do a lot to promote our mission - for the short period of time until we were forced to close our doors and send away our employees.

So anyway - I am genuinely interested in feedback from my readers. Am I being too strict? Are some customers too pushy? How do you feel these situations should be handled?

Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

Small World Followup

Hello:

I recently mentioned Joyce Smith in The World Keeps Getting Smaller. Joyce sent a 'Thank You' note to the employees of Liguori Publications for our participation in the Letters to Santa project. The project was an enjoyable way for us to help the children of the Cheyenne River Reservation have a better Christmas. In addition to the card, Joyce sent several photos of the kids and volunteers. I know that Santa isn't a topic normally discussed during the sorrowful season of Lent, but I had to share.


Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

Strange Place

Hello:

This post will be more personal than the topics I usually write about. I'm in a weird space and feel the need to write about it. My Grandmother passed away yesterday morning and I'm not certain how I feel about it. More to the point, I feel guilty that I don't feel much at all. Obviously, we weren't close.

My parents went through a rather tumultuous (a word I think should be used more often) divorce when I was about nine. It hadn't been a good marriage. It wasn't a good divorce. It was for the best.

I remember my Father's Mother as being distant and cold. During her rare visits she would sit and read plays or do crosswords while chainsmoking. As far as I can recall, she dealt with everyone equally, which is to say not at all.

I do have one warm memory of her. My parents owned a small lake in the country. She (I called her Peg) loved to fish. I remember getting an actual hug when I caught a large bass. It's the only one I can think of.

I last spoke to her five years ago when my Father was visiting. She called my house. When I answered, she asked for my Father. I handed him the phone.

I last saw her when I was sixteen. I am now thirty four.

My Father asked me to attend the service next Thursday (services will be held in Florida first, then she will be buried in Illinois). I said that I will go.

What will I think during the 4 hour drive? Will I feel anything at all for the person or will she become merely a symbol of frustration, resentment and rejection?

Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

The World Keeps Getting Smaller

Hello:

I know it's been a few days since I posted. Working on the new house has soaked up most of the time I would normally spend working on my BLOG. The sad thing is that I have so many things that I want to share about my trip to the Olympics. Today, I'll continue on the theme of how small our world really is. You may remember that last December, Liguori Publications participated in a Letters to Santa project for the Lakota children of the Cheyenne River Reservation. In a bit of cosmic irony, three things happened while I was in Europe that were directly related to these children in South Dakota.

1. My second night in Italy, I was waiting to have dinner at Conca y Toro in Savigliano with some new friends. The waiting area was getting pretty crowded and I backed into a picture frame on the wall. I couldn't read most of it, but it appeared to be of a Lakota Indian Chief who was a Wounded Knee survivor. My camera had a bad memory chip in it and this was the best (only) picture that survived.

2. Several days later, I was having dinner in a Mexican restaurant in Zurich (picture Mexican food made with marinara sauce and swiss cheese, can't say that I'm in a hurry to have it again). My cell phone rang (I was surprised, I got better reception there than I do here). It was Joyce Smith, the Letters to Santa coordinator in St. Louis. She was calling to confirm the address for Liguori before she mailed us a thank you card.

3. I got this great comment from Euphoria while I was still away.

Hi I would just like to say that I have been on several occassions one of the volunteers who in the past has unloaded the van from St Louis when it arrived on the Rez, I am a UK female who volunteers at The Main (as it's known locally) over Christmas......it's wonderful experience and great fun.....please keep those presents coming....especially books and clothes, blanketts....and more than ever BABY clothes!

Many thanks

Please take a moment to visit her BLOG, also named Euphoria. It's well worth the visit.

Further proof that the world continues to shrink.

Be kind to your neighbor,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

Where does the time go?

Hello:

Sad to think about, but it's all ready time to say goodbye to last week's BLOGExplosion renter - Beautiful Life. It's not too late to stop by Antony's BLOG and I still recommend it. Wow, it's great to have such quality renters.

The last time around we had SEVEN bidders. Which, while very flattering, makes choosing difficult and takes awhile to write reviews for. This time, I upped the price to 40 credits (I usually charge 30) and I'm making my choice from among 3 quality bids. I mean that by the way - tough choices. Three quality sites, each with an artistic flair. Two of which have bid before. Hmmmmmmm.

This week's candidates are:

Full Metal Photographer: Let's see. Owned by Kelly, a male Law Student who is not only a great (and I mean that) photographer but has enough breadth of interests (Heavy metal to Paradise Lost) that he's probably an interesting person. Oh sure, some people may not care for the photo of the Gummy Bear Crucifixation - but I've always been a firm believer that art should challenge, provoke or inspire. That shot does all three (my own opinion, you may not agree).


My Waisted Life: A stylish little BLOG written by Madbull, the Belgian bartender. Madbull bid on my site back in December. The writing is edgy, the feel is trendy. It makes me want to pull up a stool and order the signature cocktail. WARNING: The writing is edgy, which means adult themes and language are used / discussed.


Winsome Gunning Art. Interesting, beautiful and thought provoking. This site features original art work as well as poems and more traditional BLOG posts. Winsome bid last week, and I've been happily purusing her site ever since.


As always, tough choices. I think that's a good problem to have. This is probably a good time to remind everyone that though this BLOG deals mostly with Catholic themes and my work at Liguori Publications; THIS IS MY PERSONAL BLOG and DOES NOT REFLECT THE VIEWS OR OPINIONS OF LIGUORI PUBLICATIONS.

Anyway, who to pick? Well Madbull has bid before and the longest time ago. I'm sitting at home drinking a Tequila Sunrise and wondering if he can help me reconstruct this fantastic cocktail I had in Torino at the AB + club. Yea - you guessed it. Please welcome my newest tenant - My Waisted Life.


Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass

These are the people in your neighborhood

Hello:

This should be a short post today ("Sure it will", you think). I was just thinking again about how small the world has become. When I travel, I use my business cards as an easy way to let people that I meet know how to stay in touch with me. Very seldom does anyone recognize the Liguori Publications name. When I was in Torino (trying to figure out what bus would take me to the Olympic Opening Ceremony), I met Sue and Sandra. Two lovely ladies, who knew how to get the stadium (FYI - take the X4 from Porto Nuovo). We all hit it off pretty quickly and were exchanging contact information before we split up to go to our seats. Sue, immediately said "You work for Liguori!" when I handed her my card. "You've heard of us?" Turns out that she and her sister have been long time subscribers to Liguorian magazine and frequently give out gift subscriptions. It was a very pleasant experience for me.

She doesn't know it yet, but I'm going to send her one of our Travel books, Catholic Shrines of Western Europe: A Pilgrim's Travel Guide by Kevin J. Wright. Speaking of things Sue doesn't know, I didn't ask her permission to post this picture. I'll have to email her right away.

Peace,

P. Del Ricci - Dark Glass