Blog Archives - ROBERT E DUNN

Stephen

7/31/2022

Meaning
Stephen c. 5 – c. 33-36, age 28-32
Greek: Στέφανος Stéphanos (Latin alphabet)
Hebrew: סטפנוס הקדוש, Stephanos HaQadosh (Latin alphabet)
The name means “wreath, crown” and by extension “reward, honor, renown, fame”, often given as a title rather than as a name.

Martyrdom
According to Acts, he was a deacon in the early Church at Jerusalem and angered members of various synagogues. Accused of blasphemy at his trial, he made a speech denouncing the Jewish authorities sitting in judgment of him and was then stoned to death. Before his conversion, St. Paul, a Roman citizen and Pharisee, participated in Stephen’s martyrdom. We commemorate him this coming Wednesday.

Miracles
From the desk of Father Joshua Curtis, FSSP, St. Stephen the First Martyr, Sacramento, CA – “The discovery of the relics of St. Stephen was one of the most magnificent chapters in the history of the early Church. St. Augustine, who heard of and witnessed many miracles in the presence of these relics, was not able even to record all of them: ‘What am I to do? I am so pressed by the promise of finishing this work that I cannot record all the miracles I know.’”

Ca bar exam

7/31/2022

I quote a good friend who took the most recent California Bar Exam.

“I was in good company with my classmate. We went together both days to the Santa Clara Convention Center. We saw a few other classmates there. The only thing that was easier was the process. I already know to get in line, look for my assigned seat, sit down, and shut up. If anything, it was entertaining to look at the other bar candidates. A few were dressed as if they were going to yoga class; a few were dressed as if they were going to a party. One bold individual wore his hotel robe to the exam! Clearly someone did not give a damn. So good for him. The rest of the examinees were dressed as if they were going to Walmart. I dressed in business casual. May as well look presentable, at least.”

ray devlin (mature)

7/31/2022

I am going to write about something that will earn me condemnation. I am speaking of one man and one man only. I am strong enough to withstand anything that comes my way, hate mail, phone calls, etcetera.

Father Ray Devlin, SJ, the man who baptized me, is on an accusation list. He is deceased. I will reproduce the accusation, almost word for word.

The victim accused Devlin of rubbing his arm, leg, and buttocks while attending a track clinic. The 14-year-old boy awoke to find Devlin fondling him. According to the victim, Devlin talked about killing himself and beat himself with a belt. Then he urged the boy not to tell anyone or it could hurt the priest, school, and church. According to the boy’s father, Devlin said the action was sensual, not sexual.

This event was denied and never proved. It was the only accusation ever leveled at Devlin.

Even if it were true, what this boy and his parents did was an utter betrayal of Devlin.
As a teenager, if this had happened to me, I would not have said anything to anyone. I had my own faculties then, and I still possess them. Faculties are defined as an inherent mental or physical power. I can deal with any situation. I would have excused Devlin if he had done that to me.

Catholics who do not understand this are unbelievably immature and need to be chastised. Loyalty is at stake, and loyalty is the highest of virtues for me. I would have protected Devlin no matter what. Semper fidelis.

The man is in heaven for bringing me into the Church.

If it is my last act on earth, I will defend Ray Devlin.

limericks

7/31/2022

Limerick – humorous, frequently bawdy, verse of three long and two short lines rhyming aabba

There was a girl named Anheuser,
Who thought none of the boys could surprise her,
So, Pabst took a chance,
Put Schlitz in her pants,
And now she’s pale Budweiser.

My father told that one at the dinner table. My mother stared at him and said, “Don’t talk like that, Joe.” Dad and I looked at each other and laughed. I was around 15.

Here is one for the sensitive ladies.

A mouse in her room woke Miss Dowd,
Who was frightened and screamed very loud,
Then a happy thought hit her,
To scare off the critter,
She sat up in bed and meowed.

One more from Dad...

There was a girl from St. Paul,
Who wore a paper dress to the ball,
The dress caught fire,
Burned the entire,
Front page, back page, and all.

lento

7/31/2022

Ottis Shirk, poet. According to the Muncie Evening Press, until his retirement in 1953, he was employed in the Ball State University maintenance department where he earned the title "campus poet". A Lento consists of two quatrains with a fixed rhyme scheme of abcb, defe. The second and forth lines of each stanza must rhyme.

Our Watermelon Patch

We used to have secluded,
Every summer on the farm,
A spot we kept protected
From the pilferer, who might harm
Or vandalize this valued plot,
No fence with gate to latch,
’Twas just a family secret -
Our watermelon patch.

I remember as a youngster
How I watched the melons grow
As the vines spread out like carpet
Covering every hill and row.
How the mammoth, green-striped melons
Seemed to nestle in the vines;
Each branch so closely matted
With another intertwines.

When it came the time for ripening,
I wondered how Dad knew;
He'd thump each melon briskly;
Then he'd thump his shoe.
He said, "It's just like music,
When they tune with tuning pipe;
If they sound alike, harmonical,
The melon then is ripe."

I still am fond of melons,
But the pleasure's no more mine,
To thump those tempting beauties
And pull them from the vine.
To me it seems I've never
Found any that would match
The sweetness of the melons
From our watermelon patch.

Latin big #s

7/31/2022

Romans had many ways of describing big numbers. For example, the inscription on the left describes how the Romans acquired 2,100,000 sestertii after the battle of Mylae. Each curly symbol at the bottom of the inscription from 260 BC represents 100,000.

A mathematician on Quora, Mark Pinsker BSc. In Mathematics, University of Bristol, 1983, answered a question about how Romans counted.

Awhile or A While

7/30/2022

Awhile: adverb, modifies a verb, as in, “We stayed awhile in the park.” It answers the question, “How long did we stay?” and immediately follows the verb.

A while: noun phrase, as in, “It’s been a while since we visited the park.” It refers to a time. It’s easy to know which one to use by replacing the phrase with, “It’s been a week since we visited the park.”

Saint gallen

7/30/2022

More revelations. Read this! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Gallen_Group
All “private clubs” in the Catholic Church shall be exposed to the light of day.

New anarchy

7/29/2022

I saw the term, “New Anarchy”, in a quiz and was stumped. Wikipedia defines contemporary anarchy this way: “Anarchists are generally committed against coercive authority in all forms, namely ‘all centralized and hierarchical forms of government (e.g., monarchy, representative democracy, state socialism, etc.), economic class systems (e.g., capitalism, Bolshevism, feudalism, slavery, etc.), autocratic religions (e.g., fundamentalist Islam, Roman Catholicism, etc.), patriarchy, heterosexism, white supremacy, and imperialism.’”

arithmetic/geometric/exponential

7/28/2022

There are many types of patterns in math. Patterns are sequences of numbers. Often, questions arise on national tests about increases and decreases and show sequences. Here are three types: arithmetic sequence involving adding or subtracting, geometric sequence involving multiplying or dividing, and one more.

I list the type, examples, and solution.

Arithmetic
1, 3, 5, 7, 9...
Add 2 each time.

99, 90, 81, 72...
Subtract 9 each time.

Geometric
1, 2, 4, 8, 16...
Multiply the previous number by 2.

1000, 100, 10, 1...
Divide the previous number by 10.

Exponential
2, 4, 16, 256...
Square the previous number.

1, 4, 9, 16, 25...
Square of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

These types of problems appear in a variety of questions on national tests, often about population growth.

geometric mean

7/28/2022

If the arithmetic mean of two numbers is 25, and the geometric mean is seven, what are the values of the two numbers? *

The arithmetic mean is the average of two numbers.

(x + y) ÷ 2 = 25

Solve

Multiply both sides by 2

x + y = 50

To calculate the geometric mean of two numbers, multiply the numbers together and take the square root.

√xy = 7

Solve

Square both sides

xy = 49

Answer: the numbers are 1 and 49.

Check: 1 + 49 = 50

*I had the assistance of Quora contributor Elaine Dawe, BMath, Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Waterloo 1985.

wolves

7/28/2022

oderint dum metuant

7/28/2022

The art of governance is learned by studying the history of war.
Oderint dum metuant. Let them hate, so long as they fear.

Marcus Aurelius, AD121-180, emperor, Roman Stoic philosopher, the last of the Five Good Emperors and the last of the Pax Romana, an age of relative peace and stability for the Roman Empire lasting from 27BC to AD180.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger, 4BC-AD65, Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and satirist, raised in Rome, where he was trained in rhetoric and philosophy and was influenced by Plato.

Epictetus, AD50-135, Greek Stoic philosopher, born into slavery, lived in Rome until his banishment, his teachings written down and published by his pupil Arrian in Discourses and Enchiridion.

Marseillaise

7/28/2022

Who has ever heard the alternative Marseillaise? It was counter to the revolutionary one and was used by the Catholic and Royal Army. The revolutionaries are "Blues" because of the choice of colors within the Estates General.

cardinal gregory

7/27/2022

There are about 95 parishes in DC. The closest FSSP is in Baltimore, 40 miles away, but we have people traversing three times that distance. The traditional orders are

FSSP Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter
ICKSP Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest
SSPX Society of Saint Pius X (2009 - Decree of Excommunication of the SSPX withdrawn)

The next video will put into perspective the size of the Church.

In February 2022, the Vatican released statistics showing that in 2020 the number of Catholics in the world increased by 16 million to 1.36 billion.

arithmetic mean

7/27/2022

A set of nine numbers has a mean of 10. A tenth number was added to this set, and the mean increased to 12. What was the number that was added to the set?

The arithmetic mean of a set is the sum of all the values divided by the total number of values. The arithmetic mean is usually called the average.

A set of nine numbers that has a mean of 10 must total 90
90/9 = 10

A set of 10 numbers that has a mean of 12 must total 120
120/10 = 12

Thus, the difference between the set of 10 numbers and the set of nine numbers is
120 – 90 = 30

Answer: the number that was added to the set was 30.

chi-rho

7/26/2022

The Chi-Rho symbol was used by the Roman Emperor Constantine I (reigned AD306-337) as part of a military standard (vexillum). By the year 350, the Chi-Rho began to be used on Catholic sarcophagi and frescoes.

The usurper Magnentius appears to have been the first to use the Chi-Rho monogram flanked by Alpha and Omega, on the reverse of some coins minted in 353.

A tessellated mosaic paver with the Chi-Rho monogram dating from the 300s was uncovered at Hinton St. Mary, a village in Dorset, England.

Hinton St Mary Mosaic, central panel of a Roman mosaic found at Hinton St. Mary, a village in Dorset, England, on Sept. 12, 1963, by the local blacksmith, Walter John White. It is a large, almost complete Roman mosaic, presently in the British Museum. “On stylistic grounds it has been dated to the 4th century and is attributed to the mosaic workshop of Durnovaria (modern Dorchester).” Photographed by Udimu. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hinton_St_Mary.jpg

heliacal

7/26/2022

Heliacal [hə-LIH-ə-kəl] means relating to or near the Sun. This word is based on both the Latin “hēliacus,” and the Greek “ἡλιακός,” both meaning “sun”. -credit wordgenius.com

Π2

7/26/2022

What is pi times pi?

Answered by Alexander Farrugia, Quora contributor.

The persons who define π as the area of a circle of unit radius may like the following definition of π squared:

It is the surface area of the horn torus whose tubing is of unit diameter — in other words, the surface area of the following shape, assuming the two circles of its vertical cross section have unit diameter:

“allegedly”
I thought you might like to see this pretty gif.
Image captured from Wolfgang W. Daeumler @
https://www.horntorus.com/image4index.html#dyn

plato crito

7/26/2022

Socrates was born in Athens and lived 470BC-399.

Accused of impiety and corrupting the youth of Athens, he was sentenced to death. Choosing not to flee, he spent his final days in the company of his friends before drinking the executioner’s cup of poisonous hemlock.

In this dialogue, written by Plato, Crito visits his friend, Socrates. Crito tries to persuade Socrates to escape. Socrates refuses to break the law by escaping and suffers death for it. This is not a suicide.

This is a discourse by Plato on civil obedience and disobedience.

Socrates tutored Plato, and Plato tutored Aristotle.

Phthia is a reference is to Homer’s Iliad and Achilles’s home. Who is the lady?

totalitarianism

7/25/2022

Myanmar just executed four democracy activists.

There is a video on my website by Father James Mawdsley, “Men and Women” (see the More tab).

He was arrested in Myanmar several times, so I wanted to give some background on him. I picked Wikipedia because this source is nonsectarian.

“Mawdsley took up teaching English at a Burmese refugee camp and became further involved when government forces burnt down the school. He was arrested three times for his involvement and deported three times. The second arrest was in May 1998, for handing out stickers and playing songs for the pro-democracy movement. On arrest, he was tortured for fifteen hours and sentenced to five years imprisonment, which was suspended after 98 days.

“He was rearrested a third time in September 1999, for illegal entry and sedition, and was sentenced to seventeen years in jail. His imprisonment was held to be arbitrary by the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in 2000. This time, he spent 415 days in solitary confinement, before his release in October 2000, after pressure was exerted by the United Kingdom Foreign Office on the authorities in Myanmar.”

Mawdsley became a priest after his imprisonment in Myanmar.

science & catholics

7/25/2022

I keep bumping into people with an anachronistic notion of the relationship between science and Catholics. Father Funes gave an address at NASA in 2015.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Gabriel_Funes

absalom

7/25/2022

After reading my post titled, “The Poor”, Josef Ketzer, illustrious Austrian tutor, directed my attention to Absalom, third son of King David.

According to the Wikipedia entry on Absalom, “His charming manners, personal beauty, insinuating ways, love of pomp, and royal pretensions captivated the hearts of the people from the beginning. He lived in great style, drove in a magnificent chariot, and had fifty men run before him.” My, my, my.

However, as happens with the proud, some fighting broke out.

I excerpted the gory, best bits.

“When Absalom fled from David’s army, his head was caught in the boughs of an oak tree, as the mule he was riding ran beneath it. He was discovered there still alive by one of David’s men … Joab, the king’s commander … accustomed to avenging himself, took this opportunity to even the score with Absalom … Joab injured Absalom with three darts through the heart, and Absalom was subsequently killed by ten of Joab’s armor-bearers.”

David lamented over Absalom’s death.

Lots of poetry, fiction, and music about Ab. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absalom

Is it better to be reasonably poor?

colusa ca

7/25/2022

I met a walnut farmer at Mass yesterday. His name is Ralph Keeley IV, and his farm is in Colusa, CA, which is 70 miles from St. Stephen the First Martyr in Sacramento, CA. His mom is Susan L. Keeley, a professional life coach, rhgcoaching.com.

Antonio comes from Lafayette, 70 miles. Previously, I mentioned Jacob from Oroville, 70 miles, and Carl from Red Bluff, 140 miles. Other distant locations are Lodi, Valley Springs, Grass Valley, and Shingle Springs.

The Latin Mass brings people together from all over.

mine end

7/23/2022