40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 24: St. Colman's Cathedral, Cobh, Co. Cork, Ireland

We wound up in Cobh on a Sunday morning on our way back to Killarney from Cork, and while we first intended just to nose around town, we wound up actually attending Mass here, given the timing. The wife was leery of doing so as she was wearing jeans, but enough of the locals were also in jeans, so she sucked it up this one time.

The cathedral itself is pretty impressive, and as the website linked above notes it sits in an ideal position, both to see and be seen. We went to Cobh originally to see some of the Titanic-related stuff and because it's generally recommended as a tourist stop. But you can't really miss the cathedral, and we figured it was worth the hike.

This was probably my favorite of all the churches we saw, as I like the architectural style and the interior wasn't too over the top.

Oddly, the Wikipedia article on St. Colman is better than the ones available on Catholic Online or the Catholic Encyclopedia. Or maybe it's not that odd, given the relative amounts of traffic for each site.

I feel like I should do something wacky in honor of February 29. But I have no idea what. A small brainstorming session last night didn't help, as the good ideas seemed to center on doing something with what hair I have left, either coloring or shaving off. Needless to say, I did neither.

Any suggestions for Leap Day wackiness would be appreciated, if only so I can get a jump on 2012.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 23: St. Brigid's Cathedral, Kildare, Co. Kildare, Ireland

Just before our wedding we became godparents to my niece Bridget, so it made some sense that as we drove to Dublin we'd stop here and get her something. Turns out that would have been hard to do in the church itself, as it was closed. We did poke around the grounds a little, but wound up buying our Brigid-related material (two St. Brigid crosses, one for her and one for my aunt) across the street at the tourist information office. There's a metaphor for something here, but I can't quite grasp it.

It was on this drive that we also saw a bar called Tipsy McStagger's, which was apparently in Ennis. Always appreciate a Simpsons reference, especially that far from home.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 22: The Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity, Waterford, Co. Waterford, Ireland

We made a stop here while going from the waterfront to the city center, and while it's a fairly impressive building it's a little too busy inside for my taste. The Waterford crystal chandeliers are a nice touch, though.

We did take a look at St. Patrick's Church as well, though it seems that several of the former priests are either entombed in the walls or buried under the alleyway that leads to the church. So if that sort of thing creeps you out, you should probably give it a pass.

Book Log 2008 #7: Last Bus to Woodstock by Colin Dexter

When we were in England last summer, I managed to land a boxed set of all 13 Inspector Morse books for $14. How could I pass that up?

This is the first of the series, and in reading it I came to a conclusion I should have made earlier: Morse is the British detective version of Dr. Greg House. Both favor their last names, both rely heavily on their subordinates (though Morse ventures less often into actual abuse), both have a taste for controlled substances (though to be fair, alcohol is very lightly controlled), both have more success with the ladies than you might expect, and both are wrong more than once before finally solving a case. Now if only Morse played the guitar, or House liked crossword puzzles...

Anyway, the mystery in the book is a good one, though I'm not sure enough is presented in the book for the reader to come to the solution before Morse does. I suppose that underscores his powers of detection. I probably enjoyed seeing the start of the Morse-Lewis relationship more, based on already knowing how that goes.

If you've not read the books, you should. The movies aren't so bad, either, but they can deviate from the books fairly widely, so be forewarned.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 21: Church of St. Ann Shandon, Cork, Co. Cork, Ireland

On our day in Cork we did not actually visit this church, but saw it as part of our bus tour as its steeple is one of the city's major landmarks. Two sides are clad in red sandstone, the other two in white limestone; red and white are prominently used by the city and its athletic teams (which is something we could identify with, being BU alums and all). The tower is topped with a weather vane featuring an 11 foot gilded salmon. Coming from the home of the Sacred Cod, I could identify with that, too.

The clock on the steeple has the nickname of the Four-Faced Liar, as winds off the river and the varying thickness of numerals on each face will cause each clock face to be a little off from the other three. I can attest that when we were there, the two clock faces that we could see told different times. Though the story could cover for a habitually drunk clock keeper. Not that would ever happen in Ireland. No siree.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 20: St. Mary's Church, Killarney, Co. Kerry, Ireland

Mary, the saint so nice Killarney used her name for churches twice (though this one is C of I). This one is right downtown and is of normal parish size. I know we looked in on this one during our trip, though I think we were killing time before the Ring of Kerry tour we took. I'd need to go back to the pictures, but I think this is one of the gaudier churches we saw in Ireland, and I think it creeped the wife out a bit, though I could be making that up.

I don't think it hit me at the time, but going back and getting the links for the two St. Mary's made me realize that for all the stuff in Kerry and around Killarney, there's not a great deal to see in the town itself. Still, it's a good base to work from, especially if you prefer guided tours to going on your own.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 19: St. Mary's Cathedral, Killarney, Co. Kerry, Ireland

Another theme week for you as we spend a week with churches in Ireland. It's a little surprising how many churches we saw on our honeymoon, but then again you can't swing a dead monsignor without hitting a church in Ireland.

I can't say I remember a great deal about St. Mary's - I'm pretty sure we didn't go in - but I do have a picture of its spire, which had a ladder running up the length of it. Not sure if it was permanent or there for some sort of repair work (or perhaps for penitential purposes). Thought it was funny, regardless.

Book Log 2008 #6: Team Yankee by Harold Coyle

Coyle's first novel, inspired by General Sir John Hackett's The Third World War, focuses on a small part of that book's war by showing the namesake team, an armored unit, fighting in various parts of Germany.

The book actually starts before the war, showing how the team trains and prepares. We also meet the main character's family, which has a subplot for a while but is forgotten as soon as the family is out of harm's way (which is too bad, as it's the sort of story line that's generally ignored in books like this).

Once the fighting starts, the story shows some of the usual themes of how the team is able to use its training to succeed where, on paper, they'd seem unlilkely to do so. We also get to see how some of the individuals develop and change, both in their military role and personally, though I don't think enough is done here to give real insight.

The book has the usual eye for detail, not surprising given that Coyle was an Army officer at the time he wrote the book. It was also turned into a graphic novel scripted by David Drake, who, as a combat vet himself, apparently noted areas in the story where Coyle, who had not seen combat, didn't quite get the detail right. I'll have to take his word for it, not being a combat vet myself.

There's also a Team Yankee game (board and computer), so clearly this book made a mark back in 1987. Not sure how I didn't pick it up then. In any case, it's a strong but typical example of military fiction, weaker when dealing with people and better when in the fight.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 18: Westminster Abbey, Westminster, London, UK

It's hard not to think of Westminster in terms of history, from its role as Britain's coronation church to the array of individuals buried within its walls. But it is an actual church as well, though I can't quite imagine going their for service every week. It seems like overkill, like using Fenway to play wiffle ball.

The one time I've been there was nothing service-related going on, but we did walk around the grounds and got to see some of the young choristers in its choir school at lunch. It was pretty much what you'd expect from a cafeteria full of elementary school-aged kids.

And if there's not enough history here for you, the houses of Parliament are located across the street. Or if you want something more modern, the London Eye is a reasonable walk away on the other side of the river. This trio of sites was pretty much one of our days in London.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 17: St. Mary and St. Gregory, Frithelstock, Devon, UK

I tend to agree with W. G. Hoskins, who notes on the linked page that St. Mary and St. Gregory is unexciting. Still, it's very atmospheric, especially when examined at twilight. I have some pictures of it, which of course I don't have anywhere that I can link to right now. That fits in with my general lack of a write-up about the trip to England last summer, not to mention my laziness in putting up links to the travel-related material.

In any case, should you find yourself in this part of England, stop by and take a look after a nice dinner at the Clinton Arms, though based on group feedback you'd be better off avoiding the clam appetizer (too small). I'd highly recommend the "Dover smokey," a fish and smoked cheese dish which is much better than it may sound.

With the variety of employers letting people out early today, we again stand resolute in the face of winter weather and remain open. The reason, according to our HR office:


"This is due to the fact that the majority of our students live on campus and require service and support from all areas."

Questionable writing style aside, this is at least more logical (and more honest) than the previous response to wintry weather. Still, an afternoon off would have been nice.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 16: Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland

We visited here during our honeymoon, and in retrospect it's kind of funny to think that during our brief period in Dublin, the two churches we actually looked at were Protestant (though perhaps not surprising, given the long presence of Britain's official representatives in Dublin). Christ Church is one of two Anglican (or Church of Ireland) cathedrals in Dublin, which is an odd set up and one that has apparently led to some friction.

Christ Church is also still recognized by the Catholic church as the official seat of the archbishop of Dublin. He's been making do with another church for some time.

Three notable tourist points about the cathedral:

1. It's the resting place of Strongbow, a leading figure in the Norman invasion of Ireland and namesake of a tasty hard cider.

2. There's a 13th century crypt below the church that's open for touring. Nothing really gruesome, but some interesting historical items are on display down there.

3. By the choir there is a mummified cat and mouse on display. Apparently they were found in an organ pipe in the 1860s, mummified by the dry and airy conditions within. They are posed as if in chase, which suggests a somewhat disturbing episode of Itchy & Scratchy.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 15: Daytona Beach Drive In Christian Church, Daytona Beach Shores FL

I've never been to a service here, but have driven past it a couple of times when on vacation, as we used to stay at a place right up A1A from here. I assume the concession stand offers a range of sacramental treats.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 14: Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church, Lowell MA

This church will be familiar to some of you, given that a few readers have attended a wedding and/or a christening there involving the same couple. It's been interesting seeing the church grow as an outsider, as it's grown quite a bit (and added more mosaic work) since my first visit. It's also an interesting experience as a Catholic to go to an Orthodox service given how much is similar between the two. Of course, there's a fair bit more Greek used at the Trans than we use week to week.

Most of my visits to the Trans have centered around their Greek festival, where you can get all the usual Greek foods and some new ones, such as loukoumades, which I now crave having gone and looked up a link.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 13: St. John's Church, Beverly Farms MA

This is the first non-Catholic church I remember going to for a service, as my sister Cathy and I tagged along with a neighboring family. Still not sure why we went, I assume it was some sort of curiosity about people going to a church that wasn't ours. I don't remember much of it, other than that there was feet washing.

After that, I didn't go back for a good 25 years, until we went to the funeral for a family friend. The church itself would fit in pretty much anywhere in England, which isn't surprising for Episcopalians. Lots of dark wood and timber beams. The pastor at the time was a woman, who doesn't appear to be there any more (and may have just been there for the funeral, not sure), which is too bad, as she was quite good. I suppose I should be happy that we get to have female altar servers now.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 12: First Parish Church, Manchester MA

We're going ecumenical this week, starting with the local Congregational (or United Church of Christ, depending how you look at it) church in my home town. This is the typical New England white wooden church on the village green, the church at the center of town. Its clock is the one everyone looks at to get the time, and its bells not only rang the hour, but two or three times a day they played a song. The tree outside the church was for years the town Christmas tree (now the "Friendship Tree"), and it was the location of the baccalaureate service the night before the high school graduation (which started the year after I graduated).

For the central place the church has in the town, I've only been in it a few times, pretty much only for funerals. This was my mom's church, but she didn't go that much herself. When she did go to church she generally went with us, though she often went to midnight Mass for Christmas on her own, before going to work (she did overnights at a nursing home). She was much closer to our priest than the First Parish pastor, to the point where our priest performed her funeral service. And yet for all that she never converted, which always kind of blew my mind a bit. But thinking about it now, it probably says something about what she learned at this church, the importance of faith over the details that we tent to put into it. Or, as Bart Simpson said, "It's all Christianity, people! The little stupid differences are nothing next to the big stupid similarities!"

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 11: Glavin Family Chapel, Wellesley MA

If it weren't for the sculpture pictured on this page, you'd probably have a hard time telling that this building is a chapel. It's basically a large rectangular solid set on its short end, making it look more like the First Assimilated Church of the Borg than anything else.

This is sort of the point, though, given the range of spiritual organizations that use the chapel. I mostly used it during the week if I couldn't get off campus on a day of obligation, as the lunchtime service usually drew as many employees as students. The priest served a few schools in the area, and was a nice guy, with a slight undertone of crazy grandfather in him. He had a particular habit of blessing too many hosts, which usually saw him have to eat a good 20 to 30 wafers after the service ended.

And for its box-like structure, it really is a nice space. The ceiling is done like the hull of a ship, which helps with the acoustics and breaks up all the straight lines. There's also a small garden and patio outside, which was mostly used during my time for social functions. A few of you might remember that this was the location of the opening and closing meetings for NAQT sectionals in 2003. BU hosted, but used our campus due to some function on their campus that weekend. You think with quizbowlers being in a chapel we'd have taken the opportunity to use some holy water or incense to fight the funk. An opportunity lost.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 10: St. Joseph Parish, Needham MA

We end our tour of Metro West churches in Needham, with the church that we liked the most during our time at Babson. It was unfortunate that we came across it so late. It had a feel very similar to our current church, which I suppose isn't surprising as both are the largest Catholic churches in their respective towns, both have schools, and both are headed up by younger priests. Plenty of parking at both, too.

Unlike our church, it was built after World War II, and is one of the few "modern" churches that isn't ugly. And it was air conditioned, which the current church definitely is not.

A new wrinkle to BU home games tonight: a variety of "fun" facts on the scoreboard, most of which were not that fun. Examples and improvements:

1. First fact: BU and Maine have played to overtime in 17 of their last 97 meetings. Care to guess how many times BU and Maine have played overall?

Better fact: BU is 1-0-8 in overtime against Maine since their last OT loss to the Black Bears in the 1994-95 season.

2. Second fact: 24 players on this year's team have at least one assist. Considering the team as a whole had 171 assists, it shouldn't be surprising that so many people have at least one.

Better fact: BU has 13 players in double digits in points.

3. Third fact: BU went into tonight with a 6-0-1 run against Maine, including a sweep last weekend. Only problem is that last weekend BU played Lowell. We're pretty sure they meant last year's weekend sweep up at Alfond.

Better fact: this one, only less poorly written.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 9: St. James the Great, Wellesley MA

This was the church we probably went to the most in Wellesley, but we never did feel like it was a permanent thing. It was just odd feeling all around, from its location right on Route 9 to the generally low attendance to a soloist who, for all the dodgy church music we've heard, may be the worst one we've encountered.

And yet, when the diocese decided to shut them down, they started a vigil that continues today. As this article notes, they're also pursuing a legal case related to the sale of the property in both the US Supreme Court and an ecclesiastical court at the Vatican. That's a lot of fight for a church that, to me, felt like it wasn't going to make it. Safe to say I may have misjudged them.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 8: St. Paul Parish, Wellesley MA

Staying in Swellesley, St. Paul was the closest church for us from Babson, which is funny as we didn't start going here first. In that old post that I linked to yesterday, I noted the problem that the place was high-churchy but then did hippie things like singing the Lord's Prayer. In retrosepct that wasn't the biggest problem.

The priest there at the time was pretty comfortable speaking out on issues from the pulpit, and he was especially motivated when the same sex marriage thing first happened. It's understandable, given his role, but we started to cross the line when he had parish families come up and talk about how their heterosexual union would be threatened, etc. We didn't need to be prostelytized in our own church (though, based on what I just said, he'd probably disagree).

In any case, it wasn't too long after this happened the first time that we moved on for good. In the priest's case, he's now at the diocese headquarters, working in the vocations office. It's probably a good fit.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 7: St. John the Evangelist, Wellesley MA

There's not much more I can say about this place that I didn't mention back when I first mentioned it. I can't say the intervening years have done much to make me thing we made a mistake by not giving it more of a chance.

One thing worth mentioning is that it was out of this parish that Voice of the Faithful, a lay group that aims to put more accountability and transparency in the administration of the church, was founded. I'm not sure how I feel about them. In theory I support their goals, but the few interactions I've had involving the group have had a condescending tone to them. That may be different now that they're a much bigger group, but it's hard to overcome that sort of initial impression.

While I generally watch dog shows to irritate the wife, I will admit to some irritation with this result. Probably a good thing I'd forgotten it was on and didn't see it live.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 6: St. Agnes, Walker MN

I've never been here (heck, I've never been to Minnesota), but if you poke around a little you'll figure out a connection.

So for the first time since 1995, I will not be spending the second Monday in February watching the BU men's team play for the Beanpot. They managed to lose their opening round game against BC last week (4-3 in OT), and I can't say I have much interest in watching them skate for third place in front of a few dozen fellow fans. I suppose I can't whine too much given the streak of final appearances. It's also hardly a surprising result for this year's team, which is underperforming at an above-average rate.

The flip-side of this is the women's team, who got back to .500 over the weekend with a sweep of Vermont, a nice way to end a week that started by avenging last year's Beanpot final loss to BC. The women knocked off BC in the first round of this year's Beanpot, and all they need to do now to win their second Beanpot is knock off Harvard. Who are the top-ranked team in the country at 22-1. I say if they pull this off they should get to play in Agganis the rest of the season. The men's team is 3-6-1 there this year, so it seems like an obvious move.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 5: Le Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal, Montreal PQ

This was a stop during my lone visit to Montreal, and it was a nice diversion in a city whose best-known building is the woeful Olympic Stadium. The two things I really remember from the visit was the modernly-appointed chapel that was bigger than any church I'd been to up to that time, and a tour guide's comment that equated Celine Dion's wedding with a major affair of state. It was funny at the time, but in retrospect is surprisingly apt.

Interestingly, the website has links for English-langauge content, but they don't seem to work. Which is just how the Quebecois like it, you'd have to think.

Book Log 2008 #5: Eat This! by Ian Jackman

This guide to the best of American food is voluminous and has suggestions for every palate. That being said, I do have a few quibbles with the book:

1. There's a definite NYC bias to a lot of it. I will acknowledge that it's a food mecca, but for a book about food in the US, there are times when the book is wedded to the five boroughs pretty strongly (most notably the pizza chapter).

2. Based on what he wrote about here, I'm curious as to how deeply he delved into regional fare. For Massachusetts, he mentioned two local places to me - the Clam Box in Ipswich and Woodman's in Essex - but mentioned the first when talking to a guy in a New York restaurant about his favorite lobster roll, the other when a woman was talking about how her favorite restaurant in Marin County flies in clams from Woodman's.

He also bring up some local food lingo, such as "grinder" for a hot sub and "tonic" for soda. I don't think I've heard either term used regularly in years. Grinder appears on some older signs in sub shops, while I don't recall anyone younger than my mom using tonic on a regular basis.

3. The chapter on why there's not a chapter about kid's food is pretentious. That may not be the word I want, actually, but it's an odd five page interlude where the author talks about how kids can and should eat regular food rather than the usual array of fried, processed nuggeted crap. Not that I disagree with that, but it doesn't really fit the book. Besides, many chapters mention his kids, who are eating at the same places, and usually from the same menu, as their dad.

4. Jackman mentions at some point that his favorite beer is Rolling Rock. That makes me highly suspect of his palate.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 4: St. Vincent de Paul, Bucksport ME

We've gone here the last two or three Christmases, as it's less crowded than the church in Belfast and slighly easier to find. Each year they've had a different priest, and this year the one who did our Mass also did services in two other towns, neither of which were particularly close to Bucksport.

I'll give the parish credit for trying to incorporate a lot of music into things, but they may want to reconsider the quality versus quantity dynamic. There's also one singer whose attempts at an operatic delivery are pretty dreadful. Not that I could do any better, but I'd like to think I'd be able to take a step back and realize things might be better if the organist went solo.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 3: St. Anthony's Chapel, Gloucester MA

St. Anthony's is a seasonal chapel, one which I didn't even know existed until friends of ours got married there a couple of years ago. As you might imagine, a seasonal chapel doesn't have much by way of environmental controls, so when you're in a wedding in July, it's good to have the occasional sea breeze that comes from the chapel being very close to the ocean.

The chapel is part of a family of churches that have become one parish in the wake of the various church closings around here over the last few years. There are familial ties to a couple of the other churches in this parish. St. Ann's is where my paternal grandparents were married; I'll leave the other one for another day.

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 2: The Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Boston MA

This is, I think, the closest Catholic church to my office. I'd always meant to go take a look at it, but didn't do so until it came up as a location for geocaching (the spires make a good surveying benchmark, apparently). So I wound up taking the short walk on a sunny fall afternoon.

It was well worth it, both for the building and the view of the city from Mission Hill. On the day I went up I also caught part of choir practice, which was a nice bonus.

It's Lent again, and I'm taking another pass at giving up nail biting. We'll see how it goes.

It's also time for me to come up with some sort of thematic series of posts. Not sure if this will be less of a mixed bag than the previous ones, but at least it'll be different. Presenting:

40 Days, 40 Churches

Day 1: St. Mary Star of the Sea, Beverly MA

An easy choice to start, this is our current church. We've been lucky to find a place we like so quickly, given how long it took us to find one when we were living at Babson. It also helped that it was within walking distance of our apartment (and now our house).

The history of the church is pretty interesting, given that most of the priests have been of Irish descent while the parishoners tended to be of Italian or French-Canadian background (there are Italian and Franco-American social clubs within walking distance of the house as well). Most of these folks came to Beverly to work at United Shoe, which was still a going concern when I was a kid. Getting back to the ethnic divide, there's still a preponderance of Italian and French names among older parishoners, and the priest in charge is still of Irish descent. The other priest, however, is from Ghana. As you might imagine, that's a first for us.

The church has had some recent renovation, thanks to the sale of some local property. Now the interior looks fantastic and we're in less danger of having a beam fall on us during Mass, which is win-win.

Wound up going red instead of blue yesterday, thanks to George Washington. It was his head I saw, rather than whatever state-specific scene was on the back of the quarter (the Maryland state house, I think), making my ballot choice final.

My previous plan was to vote for the candidate with the greatest amount of support outside of our polling place, but I'm assuming the weather (freezing rain, with up to an inch of sleet on the ground) kept people home. So much for Ron Paul's dedicated masses.

One thing I noticed as we were leaving the polling area is that there was a ballot available for the Working Families Party that had no one listed on it. An opportunity missed.

As if there were any chance that I'd vote for Romney tomorrow, I read today that former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum is campaigning with him. Based on past experience, I think that any idea that Santorum favors is a good one to reject.

Still, not sure if we're going red or blue tomorrow. May wind up flipping a coin.

Game - well, clearly that didn't work out the way I'd hoped. That being said, I'm more disappointed about the lack of perfection than actually losing the game. Just another oddity in this most peculiar of NFL seasons for the Pats.

I'm also not thrilled with Eli Manning getting the MVP award. I understand why he got it, but I'd have much rather seen it go to the Giants' D-line, or at least a representative thereof (Justin Tuck, with his 5 solo tackles and 2 sacks, seems like the right choice). They made the difference in the game, as without their relentless pressure Brady would have had more (or any, really) time to do what he does best.

Ads - also an oddity this year is that I'm not stupefied by the selection of the top ad by the AdWatch people at USA Today. Some minor quibbles, but nothing egregious. No classics, though.

Book - you've likely heard (or will hear) that there is (soon to be was) a book available for pre-order on Amazon.com about the Pats' perfect season. While this will be seen as evidence of hubris, I would like to remind one and all that the Boston Globe, who was to put this book out, is owned by the New York Times Company. Conspiracy!

Book Log 2008 #4: One Red Paperclip by Kyle MacDonald

You've probably heard of the guy who used the power of the Internet to trade up from a red paperclip to a house. I had, but knew almost none of the details, which is what drew me to pick this up when it popped up at the library. I'll admit to having pretty low expectations, based on a quick flip through which made it look like a lot of the book was made up of emails.

Turned out I was wrong, as the emails make up a very small part of the story, which is told in an able and humorous fashion by the guy who actually made the trades. The one thing that didn't work for me was the mock-inspirational sayings between each chapter. One per break would have been plenty.

It's a quick read, and worth perusing if for nothing else than to learn about Corbin Bernsen's snow globe collection.