Stephen King

Stephen King

3 Degrees

Third Degree: Stephen King
What tribute series of Halloween posts would be complete without my old neighbor, Stephen King.  I used to live in beautiful Bangor, Maine on the same street as Mr. King.  I never met the man, but his presence is felt all over the town.  He has shared his wealth with the city and made it a better place to be.  My hat is off to Stephen and Tabitha King for their kind hearts and great spirits.  (The ironwork on the gate is very cool too)

Second Degree: The Franciscan Friars at the Bakehouse

Note the funky hours

Brother Kenneth is ready for business.  Upstairs is the chapel.

Nobody lives in Bangor for more than a year without a visit to The Friar's Bakehouse at 21 Central Street, Downtown Bangor, ME.  They sometimes go on mission work, so call before you go.  207-947-3770.  I am SURE that Stephen, Tabitha, and all their kids, neighbors, friends, etc. know this place and have eaten there.  Not going to the Friars' Bakehouse in Bangor would be like not going to Zabar's in New York.  It just ain't done!

For a review of the bakehouse and how the cookies can convert click here.
Read an excellent blog post a la news story about the Bakehouse here.
For a wicked good Sausage Stew recipe click here.

First Degree: Blessed Clemens August Graf von Galen:

The brothers made their way to Rome and met Benedict XVI at the beatification of August Cardinal Grav von Galen.  To find out why this man is a Catholic superhero click here. 

Karol Wojtyla (JP2) was familiar with Cardinal von Galen's writings and possibly a copy of his famous sermon against euthenasia.  No doubt, this helped bouy him up as he fought against the tide of Nazis in Poland.

Do you want your life to combine prayer and copius amounts of cinnamon?

Pining for a simple life in Maine?

Is brown your color? 

God may be calling you to be a Fanciscan Friar or Sister. 

  Check out the Fansicans in Bangor, Maine.  

Vincent Price

Ghoul, Gourmet, and Great
The Smoking Killed Him
DON'T SMOKE

2 Degrees

Vincent was the voice on the introduction of "Thriller" for Michael Jackson.  Jackson was 1 degree from John Paul.  To read that connection, from the Kevin Bacon post, click here.  
Here's a little gem narrated by Vincent Price.  It's a short by Tim Burton.  Enjoy!

The Rent is Too Damn High!

3 Degrees

Too damn many!

Degree: Jimmy McMillan

I LOVE THIS GUY!  He's running for governor of New York.

Second Degree: Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Cuomo is also running for governor.  He was in the debate with Jimmy McMillan.  Both Andrew and his dad, Mario Cuomo knew Bill Clinton

"Mario, the rent is too damn high!"

Andrew is perplexed.  He knows the rent is too damned
high, but he doesn't know what to do about it.

First Degree: President Bill Clinton
Click here for Bill Clinton talking about Pope John Paul II's legacy.

"I understand that your rents are too high."

Lizzie Borden

5 Degrees

Fifth Degree: Lizzie Borden is famous for being accused of hatcheting members of her family and leaving their bloody bodies in the parlor and bed.  While she was acquitted of the charges in 1893, speculation still rages about her guilt. This post is not to continue the trial that was held in Taunton in 2009 or put forth any new evidence.  Visit the Fall River Historical Society or the Lizzie Borden B&B to figure that out for yourself.  Our mission here is to connect this New England spinster to John Paul II.

George Robinson

Fourth Degree: George Robinson
Lizzie hired a dream team of lawyers to defend her, among them former Governor George Dexter Robinson.  More trial info here.

Third Degree: James Blaine

James Blaine

George Robinson was from Massachusetts, the first state with public education.  He was dedicated to excellence in public education and served schools well as US Representative and later as Governor. To read about his Governorship click here.  In 1875, when Robinson was still in the Massachusetts State House, US Speaker of the House, James Blaine proposed his amendment to the constitution.  This "Blaine Amendment" would prohibit Federal dollars from funding religious schools.  When Robinson became a US Representative in 1877, Blaine had resigned from the House and become a Senator.  Blaine continued to try to get his amendment passed.  Robinson fought for funding of text books, federal funding of student tuition, and equal funding for rich, poor, black, and white students.  Senator Blaine and Representative Robinson served in the U.S. Congress several years concurrently.

Second Degree: Jeb Bush

Bush I, Bush II, Jeb Bush

Although the Blaine Amendment did not make it into the US Constitution, many states, including Florida, liked it and 36 adopted Blaine amendments of their own.   Below is an excerpt from and article from the Pew Forum on Religion, full story here.   When Jeb Bush was Governor of Florida, he fought to overturn that state's Blaine amendments.  


The following is an excerpt from an article about the Blaine Amendments in Florida and Jeb Bush's reaction to them.

George H. W. Bush and Pope JP 2

In June 2008, a church-state watchdog organization and several other groups filed a lawsuit in Florida seeking to remove from the state's November ballot two proposed amendments to the Florida Constitution. The proposed amendments, if passed, would eliminate legal obstacles that currently prevent Florida from funding religious schools. One of the proposed amendments would permit parents to usestate-funded vouchers to send their children to private schools in Florida, including religious schools. The other amendment would repeal a Florida state constitutional provision that prohibits public funding of religious organizations. More than two-thirds of the states have similar constitutional provisions restricting state aid to religious organizations; these state constitutional provisions are collectively known as the Blaine Amendments.  To read an interview with Governor Jeb Bush on the subject, click here.  




First Degree: President George H.W. Bush

Barak Obama

3 Degrees

Obama and Talabani

No, I'm not going through Benedict for this one.  I think we can all agree that would be too easy.  For this journey to John Paul, we're taking a trip to Iraq!  

Third Degree: President Barak Obama met with the Second Degree: Jalal Talabani, the Kurdish president of Iraq.  This photo was taken April 7, 2009.  The Kurds were a persecuted minority in Iraq under the Saddam Hussein regime.  So to were the Iraqi Christians.  THERE HAVE BEEN CHRISTIANS IN IRAQ FOR 2000 YEARS!  The majority of Christians have been forced from Iraq by the oppression of both Hussein's rule and the current Shiites.  To read more about the persecution of the Assyrian and Chaldean Churches, click here.  It is unclear to me that the Kurds are persecuting the Christians, but there is definitely a crisis for Christendom in Iraq.  

Fun Linguistic Fact:  Don't confuse "Talabani" with "Taliban".  The "Taliban" is a group of Wahhabi Muslims in Afghanistan, their name comes from the Pashto word for "students."  Jalal "Talabani" is a Kurdish man, he speaks Kurdish, not Pashto.  I do not know what his name means in Kurdish, but it is unfortunate that it sounds so similar to "Taliban."  

Mar Delly was named a Cardinal by Pope Benedict in 2007.
Here, the Chaldean Patriarch meets John Paul II

First Degree: Emmanuel Mar Dinkha IV , Patriarch of the Assyrian Church met with Jalal Talabani.  Mar Dinkha and Mar Delly, Patriarch of the Chaldean Church, continue to work tirelessly with Muslim leaders  to bring peace to their people and all the people of Iraq.  

When you view the pictures in the video below, look deeply into the faces.  These are the characteristics of Iraqi people.  They are beautiful features.  The beards can be off-putting to Western eyes, but look past that to the humanity.  When you see Iraqi faces on the news, look past the clothing and the beards and see the same faces.  

To read more about Assyrians click here or here.

To read about Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly of the Chaledean Church click here. 

To read about Mar Delly and Mar Dinkha meeting in Chicago, click here. 

To read about Chaldean Culture click here. 

Currently, the Vatican is hosting a Synod of bishops from the Middle East.  Can you spot anyone mentioned above?

The Chilean Miners

2 Degrees

The Holy Father prayed for these men.  He was one of billions who did.  We all waited with rapt attention as a few families got what billions have prayed for.  To have family members returned from death.  May God bless them all.

Roberto Benigni

1 Degree

I love this man.  He's a treasure.  If you haven't seen "Life is Beautiful," you must.  See it in the afternoon, it will be too upsetting before bed.   You will cry like a baby!  Here are Roberto's musings on Graham Norton, the trailer for the movie he wrote, directed, and starred in, and a favorite scene from it.