new media

another train wreck at Catholic Weekend, and a review

Check out this week’s Catholic Weekend with the usual crew of friends, minus Steve, who was out galavanting at football homecomings. You’d think he was a bandgeek or something.

So many things to talk about in this week’s show, and one of them is for my nieces and nephews — a fun animated film that had me laughing, and I’m an old curmudgeon.

Most of today’s movie-going audience is primed for the blockbuster Pixar films, but there’s a place for simple story lines and cute animated characters. A good story engages children’s imaginations, and this movie, Under Wraps, will do it. That’s why it’s my Pick of the Week.

And just in time for Halloween, too, if you’re looking for something to stick with the scary theme, but not so scary that the little ones can’t watch.

wrapsUnder Wraps tells the story of a not-too-typical family of archeologists who happen to be struggling with some very typical family drama: a teen-aged daughter too connected to her cell phone to interact with the family, and an adventurous younger son who wants very much to fit in and prove that he can contribute to the family, but falters a little because of his clumsiness.

Add an unlikely villain, an accidental Mummy’s Curse — complete with hilarious Mummy King, and some zombie parents who keep losing body parts, and you’ve got about an hour’s worth of family entertainment.

Pass the popcorn.

Check out other family-friendly fare at Arc Entertainment.

MPAA RATING PG
DIRECTOR Gordon Crum
CAST Brooke Shields, Drake Bell, Matthew Lillard
STUDIO 2014 Arc Entertainment

Catholic Weekend is ready!

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Check out this week’s show with special guest Daniel Smrokowski from Special Chronicles Podcast. Daniel shares about a lot of things, but you’ll want to hear his perspective on how his disability has been a gift.

Welcome Mission Conference 2013

Welcome to my humble little blog. I hope you’ll learn quite a bit about how to use social media, maybe dare a little to post on Facebook or Google+  or Twitter if you are beginners, or really push yourselves if you make the leap into blogging.

Whatever you choose, remember one very important thing: be yourself.

If you like gardening, then write about gardening.

If you like music, share what moves you.

I you like books, review your favorites.

You see, we’re all unique and have things to share with others, but we share one great thing in common: we love the Lord. Write about that, too. Not as an apologist, unless you are one, but rather, as a faithful Catholic, living your life and doing the things you do.

Give it a try, share it with your family and friends, and join the online conversation.

What would you write about?

The Post-CNMC Hangover

So you went to the Catholic New Media Conference in Boston. Had a good time?

I know you did. You made new friends, moved virtual friends into the Real Life column. You traveled, some of you, really far to get there, and then turned around two days later and traveled back home.

In between, you had tweet ups, and early calls, and rushing from one exciting session to the next. It was information overload!

We got pumped up for Christ! That’s what it’s about, of course. To arm us with tools for  evangelization, on the internet, yes, but really, in our lives. We leave the CNMC like any retreat: refreshed and on fire.

We look like this:

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And the truth is, we do leave renewed and ready to engage in the new evangelization.

But first, we have to get past this:

We’ve just started calling it the CNMC Hangover.

I think we should give a warning about this, but a little tiny part of me laughs and says: suck it up cupcake. It’ll pass quickly.

I promise.

Catholic New Media Conference 2013 Recap: Boston, redux!

CNMC logo

I always love the days that follow the CNMC, the Catholic New Media Celebration turned Conference now in its 7th event in six years!

Seven Six years! [edited: evidently I can’t count]

Impossible, and yet, here it is, or was. In other words, it’s over. Or a different way of looking at it, it’s beginning. You see, the CNMC has never been an end in itself but a springboard…to ideas…collaborations…relationships!

These first days home, as we unpack our bags are also an opportunity to unpack our feelings and thoughts about our experience. Social media is filled with reminiscences and jokes, lots of pictures, and banter with new friends.

I had an opportunity to present on blogging and engagement, and over the next few days will be posting my own response. But I thought it would be appropriate to provide a space to share those blog posts with the nice peeps who attended my session and said they’d stop by here.  So! Welcome! I invite you to share your blogs in the comments, and I’ll update the main entry. Maybe we’ll be able to gather a nice little collection 🙂

the Catholic Weekend trainwreck returns

The whole gang is here…Capt Jeff returns to the helm, and brings along Steve Nelson, formerly of Papua New Guinea. We also have the resident diva, Lisa Hendey, who shares about her upcoming adventure to Rwanda. I have to say, I am looking forward to seeing her updates on this exciting trip which will coincide with the CNMC in Boston!). Maybe we’ll be able to have her join us via Facetime. Ha.

Angela, Billy, and I play nice too. It seems like we always have something to talk about, especially since Lisa wrote a letter to Pope Francis and asked him a question. Don’t you love Lisa?

What would you ask the Pope?

 

Catholic Weekend 187 with Pat Gohn

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William Newton and I welcome Pat Gohn to this episode of Catholic Weekend, direct from a cozy porch down a country lane.

We catch up with Pat, and launch into discussions about Pope Francis’ encyclical, Lumen Fidei, and his recent comments about a theology of women.

Check out the show notes, listen to the podcast, or watch on the Catholic Weekend page.

Oh Boy! I’m Interviewed by Lisa Hendey!

Some weeks ago I got a delightful email request from Lisa Hendey to interview me for the Catholic Podcaster series she has at CatholicMom.com. I have a tough act to follow, with two of the sweetest people I’ve had the pleasure to meet leading this series, from Catholic Vitamins: Deacon Tom Fox and his charming wife, Dee. Go check them out — you’ll discover we share a favorite podcast 🙂

Anyway, life happens, you know, and I totally forgot about this interview until this afternoon, when my phone exploded with a series of Tweets. I use push notifications sparingly, but now the cat is out of the bag. The whole world (or the three people who read this blog) now know I get Lisa’s tweets on my phone. Oops.

So I get this hilarious message:

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I’m like, wut? The last thing I wrote for Lisa was a couple of weeks ago, Glad for Glads, and I sure haven’t done anything exciting since then — classes started! So of course, I immediately go see, because, well, she said I was a star.

Here’s the interview.

She used the goofiest picture she could find, too, with me in a tarnished halo. At least she didn’t use this one:

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