Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Brilliant, Talented, and On Medication

Be warned: I'm writing this post in a hurry, dashing off a few thoughts I had. If it looks like it was slapped together over lunch break - you're very perceptive.

Taking a shower today, my mind wandered - nothing unusual there. I've got ADHD-inattentive, diagnosed recently, which goes a long way towards explaining the long excursions my attention takes. Sort of like walking a large, skittish puppy. Except this puppy is inside my head, and a metaphor for wandering attention, and "wandering" in this case has little to do with Yeats' "The Song of Wandering Aengus" and apple blossoms.

Anyway, I remembered a sitcom I'd seen recently, definitions for nerd, Ouija boards (that's for another post), and God's decision to make humanity male and female.

I've discussed being male, female, and sensible, before. Mostly in terms of what sort of clothing's appropriate. Bottom line, about that:
  • Women dressing like men and vice versa is a no-no
  • Customs have changed a bit since Abraham's day
  • Minnesota isn't the Middle East
    (September 26, 2009)
I'm part of the male half of humanity. My wife's part of the female half. And that's yet another topic. (August 7, 2010)

I know I had a topic for this post. It was here a minute ago.

Ah! There it is!

Like I said, I'm a man. It's in my genes. I also have lush, wavy hair and hard nails. Or, rather, had: male-pattern baldness took over in my teens, and my hairline's now on a relentless march down the back of my head.

I'm also brilliant and talented. No bragging: that's what the standardized tests show. Besides, my brain is equipment I was issued: same as my eye color and blood type. My contribution to the mix was deciding to do something with what I was given.

Wandering again.

Or, not so much.

Take nerds, for example. The stereotype sitcom nerd is a little under average height; scrawny; and has an odd, high, nasal voice. I've seen actors do a good job of playing characters like that.

Not all nerds are created equal, though. I've got some 'nerd' in me - but I also wanted to interface with other people. Which is quite a trick, since I'm inclined to use words like "interface" when others would say "communicate." Or, more often, "talk."

Add a 'natural' habit of vocal inflection that has me sounding a bit like a stereotype interior decorator - and that's yet another topic. The point is that, early in my teens, I decided to work on how I talk. Vocabulary and syntax, as well as infleciton.

Ever notice how, in the upper Midwest anyway, folks often say "a nordinary guy," instead of "an ordinary guy?" Yet again another topic.

But, nerdy interests and 'artistic' vocal inclinations aside: I'm a man. If I'd been born a woman, I'd be somebody else: not me. Probably someone like my oldest daughter, who's a commercial artist and finished another job before sliding off the Interstate yesterday. And that's definitely another topic.

She's okay, by the way.

What, If Anything, is This Post About?

People are individuals. We're not supposed to all be alike. Cultures aren't all alike, either.

Some religious groups seem to assume that liking the sort of music they don't like, not wearing the sort of clothing they prefer, and not abhorring the same things they abhor: offends God. Because, apparently, they feel that God is one of them.

The Catholic Church doesn't operate like that. We've got some rules and principles that have applied to everybody for the last two millennia, and won't change. On the other hand, we're literally "Universal." And we're expected to all bring something from our own cultures and individual gifts. (August 26, 2010)

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Marian Apparition: Champion, Wisconsin

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What's That Doing in a Nice Catholic Blog?

From time to time, a service that I use will display links to - odd - services and retailers.

I block a few of the more obvious dubious advertisers.

For example: psychic anything, numerology, mediums, and related practices are on the no-no list for Catholics. It has to do with the Church's stand on divination. I try to block those ads.

Sometime regrettable advertisements get through, anyway.

Bottom line? What that service displays reflects the local culture's norms, - not Catholic teaching.