During the airing of a Cash Cab episode several years ago, host Ben Bailey asked the question:  "What iconic hot cocoa brand was invented by an American of Sicilian descent?" or something close to that effect.  The answer, of course, was Swiss Miss.  For the other folks in the room's benefit, I chimed in with "And Uncle Chuck was that inventor".   "Uncle Chuck" was Charles Sanna, inventor extraordinaire, of Madison, Wisconsin.  Unfortunately, the world...

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St. Patrick, by virtue of his purported use of the shamrock to explain the Mystery of the Holy Trinity, has almost come to be synonymous with the Trinity.  Another legacy of the saint:  St. Patrick's Breastplate, an "Old Irish" lorica" which St. Patrick is credited with having composed.  Lorica is translated as shield or breastplate.      This long prayer has also been called the Deer's Cry.  The reason:  there is a collection of hymns...

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St. Patrick, by virtue of his purported use of the shamrock to explain the Mystery of the Holy Trinity, has almost come to be synonymous with the Trinity.  Another legacy of the saint:  St. Patrick's Breastplate, an "Old Irish" lorica" which St. Patrick is credited with having composed.  Lorica is translated as shield or breastplate.      This long prayer has also been called the Deer's Cry.  The reason:  there is a collection of hymns...

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Consider this post as both "movie review" and "op-ed". The recent release of two movies ("Risen" and "The Young Messiah") have prodded me to repost my blog from Eastertime last year.  That post appears follows my comments on the above-mentioned films.  Generally, I want to praise those recent efforts by those who have striven to bring the life of Christ to the screen with such mastery of film-making techniques and production.  It is very much...

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One of my favorite questions to ask when meeting new acquaintances - both personal and professional - is "How did you and your spouse meet"?  It's a question to which folks always have an answer and about which they like to share.  When both spouses are present, it's fun to see the similarities in what they remember and to compare "both sides of the story".  It's a conversation which can go on for hours. With...

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If you're still looking to get a message from Santa Claus for someone special this Christmas ... better be quick about it.  The North Pole is open for business now and throughout the Christmas shopping season.  Santa's helpers are busy at work. (And Santa is busy supervising!) At "The North Pole", you'll be able to arrange for special messages from Santa for loved ones, shop the most unlimited array of Christmas ornaments on the planet,...

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Tillamook Rock, affectionately (?!) known as "Terrible Tilly" is a deactivated lighthouse that sits 1.2 miles offshore from Tillamook Head off the Oregon coast. It covers an area less than an acre and is one inhospitable pile of basalt rock.  The lighthouse was commissioned in 1878 and finished in January 1881.  It took 500 days to finish; the workers labored under the most hazardous and perilous of conditions. It would be the most expensive lighthouse...

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Francis Gable was a Christian businessman and editor/writer for various magazines in the years before, during, and after the Great Depression.  He inspired, encouraged ... and even moralized.  For decades, he provided the glue by which ethical businessmen and those trying to make contributions to their sphere ... business or otherwise ... hung together.  His inspirational quotes can still be found scattered across the pages of today's business periodicals.  Which shows that there is still...

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First of all, Happy Halloween to one and all!   Unbeknownst to many, the holiday of Halloween has its roots in the Catholic Church.  All Hallow's Eve is considered the "Vigil" of two Catholic Feast Days which honor the "Dearly Departed."  Novemeber 1 is the Feast of All Saints and is the day set aside to commemorate the lives and legacies of the Saints (including the Patriachs of the Faith from the Old Testament), those...

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Have you ever really wondered to whom the "Mainstream Media" that is supposed to represent an American "Free Press" belongs and who controls what is read, seen, or heard via its distribution channels?  To begin to answer that question, I'm going to give you a quote from an industry insider ... from way back .... specifically all the way back to 1883.  The quote paints a picture of a sad and frightening reality, that reality...

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