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ROBERT E DUNN

tac

8/31/2022

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Thomas Aquinas College
​California and New England Class of 2022
American and International Students 115
Senior Thesis Titles
 
I picked one from each of the liberal arts.
 
Music “Intrinsic Motion: The Cause of the Powerful Effect of Music on Us” Anna Therese Cecilia Santine [fraternal twin of Robert]

Visual Arts “In Defense of Film, the Imitative Art of Our Times” Robert John Santine


Mathematics “Pushing Euclid to His Limits: A Search for the Principles of Equating Curved and Rectilinear Areas” Marianna Lourdes Rodriguez

Science “On the Definition of Space-Time According to the Special Theory of Relativity” Timothy Aristotle Wassell

Political Science “A Classical Education Is Necessary for the Protection of the Primary Rights and Duties of the American Citizen” Hope Elizabeth Mary Ascough

Literature “Holy Wisdom Is Not Clear and Thin Like Water, but Thick and Dark Like Blood”: The Necessity of Poetry for Understanding Man’s Relation to the Divine As Illustrated by Lewis in Till We Have Faces” Olivia Joan Perry

Philosophy “The Friendship Between Male and Female Differs Accidentally Rather Than Essentially from the Friendship of Male and Male” Isaac James Filipi
​
Theology “My Ticket to Heaven: An Essay on the Nature of Suffering as Leading Us to Redemption” Kevin John Heffernan

There are no departments or schools or teachers but tutors who guide. After studying all these subjects, students receive a Bachelor of Liberal Arts.
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The Moonstone

8/31/2022

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This is a 1953 radio adaptation of the 1868 detective novel. Now that you know the ending, I recommend another of his novels, The Woman in White.
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rococo art

8/29/2022

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​Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806), late Rococo artist, died in Paris … almost completely forgotten. "The Rococo style spread with French artists and engraved publications. It was readily received in the Catholic parts of Germany, Bohemia, and Austria, where it merged with the lively German Baroque traditions." 2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection.
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tarantella

8/27/2022

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Belloc’s poem contains two figures of speech.

Assonance is the repetition of sounds in multiple words. Assonance describes repeated vowel sounds in the middle of words with different consonant end sounds.

Consonance is the repetition of the same consonant sounds, i.e., what happens at the end of the word along with assonance. There is another figure of speech, onomatopoeia, a word formed to mimic the sound.

What is a tarantella? Rapid, whirling dance from southern Italy.
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ghosts by alexander

8/26/2022

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​Alexander (8) gave me permission to post his answer to a writing prompt. The prompt was as follows: Imagine scientists have confirmed that ghosts do exist. What reason might they give for why people hang around after they die?

He dictated, and I went home and tweaked the response a bit. I brought it back to him, and he approved the edit. Here is the answer …
 
Scientists say that people hang around after death because their spirit is partly physical and that the physical part is trapped inside every cell of the body. Two scientists uncovered this brutal fact. Alexander, the head scientist, and Bob, his lovely assistant, found a ghost in the lab, but Alexander recognized immediately that the ghost was Bob’s doing. He had created the ghost to look like himself.

By entertaining the difficult task, Alexander managed to place the ghost flat on its back on a long, cold table and take an x-ray of it.

What Alexander knew and confirmed upon examination was that stored energy  must have been added to the ghost or else the ghost might not have been formed. Ghosts hang around after death so that there will be more humans in the future, or there will not be any humans at all, because the ghost must return to the human dimension, or there will not be any babies at all.

He discovered that after the ghost stays in the ghostly dimension too long, it will return to the human dimension. Otherwise, well, you know the result: no more humans.

How can a human get into the ghostly dimension? If one develops a spaceship to break into the space-time continuum, and the spaceship accomplishes this most difficult and sublime task, the fabric of the universe is broken, and the butterfly effect takes place.

The interdimensional plane between humans and ghosts is set far apart.

If there are any complications on this journey between the dimensions, part of the ghost might not be there.

For, after all, ghosts are partly made out of the dead person but require stored energy, but what if there is not enough energy?

At the last session and today he explained the Butterfly Effect:

https://science.howstuffworks.com/math-concepts/butterfly-effect.htm

To accompany the answer, he drew three pictures of the ghost. Never mind the name of the long-nosed ghost. All in all, this exercise took him about 15 minutes!

Picture
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1800s

8/26/2022

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Picture
The 1898 photo shows three generations of women born in the 1800s.

Left to right
Great-great grandmother 
Louise Howe b. 1840
Grandmother Louise Perkins b. 1890 (Tombstone)
​G
reat grandmother Gertrude Perkins b. 1869

My great grandfather, a mining engineer, built the stamp mill at the Jamison Mine in Johnsville, CA, where the photo was taken.

Grandma Louise and her twin delivered the gold bars to the shipper. The bars were covered with a blanket and placed in a horse and buggy. Their father rationalized that robbers would not suspect girls of 12 had gold in their buggy. 
The gold was then shipped to Wells Fargo in San Francisco.

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product of odd numbers

8/25/2022

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An odd number can be defined as 2k + 1. What, what? Replace k with any integer, and the result is an odd number. Try 1, then 2, then 3, etcetera. He used FOIL, which is first outer inner last. Need help with math symbols?
​https://www.mathsisfun.com/sets/symbols.html
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Canadian humor

8/25/2022

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Three contractors are bidding to fix a broken fence at Parliament Hill.

One is from Montreal, another is from Toronto, and the third is from Vancouver.

All three go with a Parliament official to examine the fence.

The Vancouver contractor takes out a tape measure and does some measuring, then works some figures with a pencil. “Well,” he says, “I figure the job will run about $9,000. That’s $4,000 for materials, $4,000 for my crew, and $1,000 profit for me.”

The Toronto contractor also does some measuring and figuring, then says, “I can do this job for $7,000. That’s $3,000 for materials, $3,000 for my crew, and $1,000 profit for me.”

The Montreal contractor doesn’t measure or figure, but leans over to the Parliament official and whispers, “$27,000.” The official, incredulous, says: “You didn’t even measure like the other guys. How did you come up with such a high figure?”

The Montreal contractor whispers back: “$10,000 for me, $10,000 for you, and we hire the guy from Toronto to fix the fence.”

“Done!” replies the government official.

And that is how the Government Stimulus plan works.

Three boxes keep us free:
- The soap box,
- The ballot box, and
- The jury box.
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Sitwell, poet

8/24/2022

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Picture
​













​




1918 portrait of Sitwell by Roger Fry

British curator, art historian, painter, university teacher, drawer, art critic
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portrait_of_Edith_Sitwell.jpg
​
​Dame Edith Louisa Sitwell (1877-1964) was unusual in appearance, standing six feet tall. She dressed in an eccentric manner with gowns of brocade or velvet, gold turbans, and many rings. That and her verse provoked critics. One was F. R. Leavis. She described Leavis as a “a tiresome, whining, pettyfogging little pipsqueak”.


​In August 1955 she became a Catholic and asked Evelyn Waugh (1903-1966) to be her godfather.

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the model millionaire

8/23/2022

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A guinea or sovereign is about $1 in today’s money. A looking glass is a mirror. Tip for writers: have in mind what you are going to say at the end as you begin.
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American Indian

8/23/2022

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Revisionists have it all wrong, but not the U.S. military!
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presentation

8/22/2022

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The fourth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary is ​Jesus’s presentation at the temple and Simeon receiving Him.
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irrational number

8/22/2022

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Can you get a rational number by adding irrational decimals?
 
Answered by Quora contributor, Manjunath Subramanya Iyer, Math teacher
 
Yes.

Two irrational numbers are
2 + √3
5 - √3
​
The square root of three is an irrational number. Adding a number like two or subtracting from five changes nothing. See note below.
 
Their sum
 
(2 + √3) + (5 - √3) = 7
 
Seven is rational. How do we know that? 49/7 = 7
 
Note:
From mathisfun.com – An irrational number is a real number that cannot be made by dividing two integers. Definition of an integer: it has no fractional part. “Irrational” means “no ratio” [Latin comes in handy.], so it isn’t a rational number. Its decimal also goes on forever without repeating. Example: π is an irrational number, as it cannot be made by dividing two integers. Same for √3.
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five chinese brothers

8/21/2022

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quidnunc

8/19/2022

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“What a quidnunc she is!” – gossip. Quidnunc is a compression of a Latin question, “Quid nunc?”, meaning “What now?” Curious to hear the latest gossip, an inquisitive person might ask, “What now?” Men and women, it has been shown, gossip equally. Hmm. If you’ve been following my blog, notice how “qu” in Latin became “wh” in English, as in what, when, why. If you say the sounds aloud, they sound similar. Jacob was amused by the Latin word, quotquot, pronounced like “squat” and meaning “however many”. Squat is an awfully funny word, too.
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one summer night

8/19/2022

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“without cavil” – cavil, noun or verb, deriving from the Latin verb cavillari, meaning “to jest” or “to raise silly objections”, deriving from the Latin noun cavilla, meaning “raillery”

He raised no silly objections.
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The oblong box

8/19/2022

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​A capsule, from the Latin capsula, meaning small box, is a three-dimensional geometric shape consisting of a cylinder with hemispherical ends. A capsule is used to contain pressurized gases.
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fire

8/18/2022

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Picture
A blue California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) helicopter sucked up water from the pond next to my house to extinguish two fires, about one mile apart and in opposite directions, possible arson against PG&E poles, fires extinguished. Water is drawn up into a tank in the fuselage. The helicopter sent a skunk in my shrubbery scurrying. Time 11:15 am. Temp 91 degrees.
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Latin Lesson

8/18/2022

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Here the teacher speaks classical Latin, and the connection to English words is so pronounced that the beginner, you, can guess without a big Latin vocabulary.
Picture
Credit: imperium-romana.org
Placing the verb at the end makes Latin potent.
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joan of arc

8/17/2022

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The YouTube poster responded to my comment. He said, “Merci le puy du fou pour avoir ramener cette medaile en france cest son pays.” Translated – “Thank you le puy du fou for bringing this medal back to France, its country.”

Le Puy du Fou is a tourist attraction in France. Jacob (23) chose Joan of Arc (19), France’s greatest saint, as his Confirmation name.
​
I recommend the film, The Trial of Joan of Arc (1962). The dialogue is the transcript of her trial in 1431. She outsmarted all the learned men.
The medal is a ring, a silver-gilt hoop featuring the inscriptions “IHS” and “MAR” as abbreviations for Jesus and Mary and is said to have been a First Communion gift to Joan from her parents.
https://www.france24.com/en/20160304-joan-arc-ring-france-england-puy-du-fou
That is Macron speaking.
Picture
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bennett

8/17/2022

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I use William J. Bennett’s The Book of Virtues. It contains poetry and stories, mainly raw classics and translations, suitable for K-12, with sections titled: Self-Discipline; Compassion; Responsibility; Friendship; Work; Courage; Perseverance; Honesty; Loyalty; and Faith. One student is homeschooled, and his parents are able to take their California school funds into the charter school that monitors his homeschooling and the markers set for him by the school, his parents, and himself!
​

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english to latin

8/16/2022

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On May 29, 1453, it was Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire that ended the Byzantine Empire. The Ottomans breached Constantinople’s ancient land wall after besieging the city for 55 days. The anthem begins at Pulchras.
 
Firmly I pledge                                    Firme nunc me spondeo
my loyalty to thee                                Fidelis tibi maneo
Land of my Forefathers                     Bella priorum cara patria
forever brimming with glory            Nunc et semper florens gloria
A land of beauty                              Pulchras terrae patriae                     
home of the courageous                     Fortes terrae pro homines
Our Eternal Rome                               Romae noster aeternae
the might of enemy ships                  Vis cavire domum navium
Threatens us in vain                           Frustra ipsa impetur
it is a hopeless quest                           Sunt sine spe
Turn away from deceit                       Domus dulces portula
and sweet delusions                            Fraudi ob sat
For the trumpets of War                    Tubae militares vox
will call our Legions soon                  Legionus procat mox
And across the fatherland                 Et in tota patria
a victory song will ring                       Cantus nicoliae resonat
And across the fatherland                 Et in tota patria
our song will resonate                        Cantus nostrae resonat
A time of joy and pride                      Tempus est in gaudium
for Eternal Rome.                               Superbia Roma aeterna.
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heresy defined

8/16/2022

1 Comment

 
https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum20.htm

First Vatican Council
Session 3: April 24, 1870
Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith
Chapter 2 on Revelation
Excerpted quotes:

  1. The complete books of the old and the new Testament with all their parts, as they are listed in the decree of the said council and as they are found in the old Latin Vulgate edition, are to be received as sacred and canonical.
  2. These books the church holds to be sacred and canonical
    • not because she subsequently approved them by her authority after they had been composed by unaided human skill,
    • nor simply because they contain revelation without error,
    • but because,
      • being written under the inspiration of the holy Spirit,
      • they have God as their author,
      • and were as such committed to the church.
  3. Now since the decree on the interpretation of holy scripture, profitably made by the council of Trent, with the intention of constraining rash speculation, has been wrongly interpreted by some, we renew that decree and declare its meaning to be as follows: that
    • in matters of faith and morals,
    • belonging as they do to the establishing of christian doctrine,
    • that meaning of holy scripture must be held to be the true one,
    • which holy mother church held and holds,
      • since it is her right to judge of the true meaning and interpretation of holy scripture.
  4. In consequence, it is not permissible for anyone to interpret holy scripture in a sense contrary to this, or indeed against the unanimous consent of the fathers.
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mob rule

8/15/2022

2 Comments

 
Henry Essex Edgeworth (1745-1807), Edgeworthstown, County Longford, Ireland, son of Robert Edgeworth, Church of Ireland. His father converted and emigrated to Toulouse, France, where the boy was brought up by the Jesuits. After his father's death, he went to Paris for study and devoted himself to the Irish and English Catholics. On the scaffold, he said, “Sire, in this new outrage I see only the last trait of resemblance between your Majesty and the God who will be your reward.”
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heresy response

8/15/2022

2 Comments

 
The Commonitorium or Commonitory is a 5th-century Catholic treatise written under the pseudonym “Peregrinus” and attributed to Vincent of Lérins. It is known for Vincent’s famous maxim: "Moreover, in the Catholic Church itself, all possible care must be taken, that we hold that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all.” Vincent wrote the Commonitory c. 434 and died c. 445. This is the best treatise I have ever read. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3506.htm​

Chapter Titles
[I skipped some chapters because they contain accepted doctrine.]
2. A General Rule for distinguishing the Truth of the Catholic Faith from the Falsehood of Heretical Pravity.
3. What is to be done if one or more dissent from the rest.
4. The evil resulting from the bringing in of Novel Doctrine shown in the instances of the Donatists and Arians.
5. The Example set us by the Martyrs, whom no force could hinder from defending the Faith of their Predecessors.
6. The example of Pope Stephen in resisting the Iteration of Baptism.
7. How Heretics craftily cite obscure passages in ancient writers in support of their own novelties.
8. Exposition of St. Paul’s Words, Gal. i. 8.
9. His warning to the Galatians a warning to all.
10. Why Eminent Men are permitted by God to become Authors of Novelties in the Church.
20. The Notes of a true Catholic.
23. On Development in Religious Knowledge.
25. Heretics appeal to Scripture that they may more easily succeed in deceiving.
26. Heretics, in quoting Scripture, follow the example of the Devil.
27. What Rule is to be observed in the Interpretation of Scripture.
28. In what Way, on collating the consentient opinions of the Ancient Masters, the Novelties of Heretics may be detected and condemned.
31. The Constancy of the Ephesine Fathers in driving away Novelty and maintaining Antiquity.
32. The zeal of Celestine and Sixtus, bishops of Rome, in opposing Novelty.
33. The Children of the Catholic Church ought to adhere to the Faith of their Fathers and die for it.


Source. Translated by C.A. Heurtley. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 11. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1894.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight.
<http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3506.htm>.
 
He also speaks of “cancelled” priests.
Chapter 4. [11.]
“... wives were violated, widows ravished, virgins profaned, monasteries demolished, clergymen ejected, the inferior clergy scourged, priests driven into exile, jails, prisons, mines, filled with saints, of whom the greater part, forbidden to enter into cities, thrust forth from their homes to wander in deserts and caves, among rocks and the haunts of wild beasts, exposed to nakedness, hunger, thirst, were worn out and consumed. Of all of which was there any other cause than that, while human superstitions are being brought in to supplant heavenly doctrine, while well-established antiquity is being subverted by wicked novelty, while the institutions of former ages are being set at naught, while the decrees of our fathers are being rescinded, while the determinations of our ancestors are being torn in pieces, the lust of profane and novel curiosity refuses to restrict itself within the most chaste limits of hallowed and uncorrupt antiquity?”
Chapter 5. [12.]

“But it may be, we invent these charges out of hatred to novelty and zeal for antiquity. Whoever is disposed to listen to such an insinuation, let him at least believe the blessed Ambrose, who, deploring the acerbity of the time, says, in the second book of his work addressed to the Emperor Gratian: Enough now, O God Almighty! Have we expiated with our own ruin, with our own blood, the slaughter of Confessors, the banishment of priests, and the wickedness of such extreme impiety. It is clear, beyond question, that they who have violated the faith cannot remain in safety.”

Vincent quoted Pope Stephen’s epistle sent to Africa: “Let there be no innovation — nothing but what has been handed down.”

This is a commentary on Jesuit F, F for failed pope.
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