Archive for the ‘Podcasts’ Category

The (Duh) Da Vinci Hoax!

Tuesday, March 15th, 2005

This Podcast is a re-broadcast of a speech given by Carl Olson, who is a leading Catholic expert in de-bunking the Da Vinci Code. Carl is a good friend and graciously has allowed us to post this podcast of his speech.

I felt the need to post this podcast because I had three separate run ins with the “Da Vinci Code” novel today. Please know that this book is absolute trash. Please do not buy it, or read it. Instead listen to this podcast and you will have almost all the knowledge you will need to realize what crap the “Da Vinci Code” is, and that it is not worth the paper on which it is written. For any other knowledge on this subject that you might feel you need to be one of the cool kids at school, or one of the smart guys around the water cooler at work, or just to be a well informed Catholic Christian, visit Carls web site at www.Carl-Olson.com. Or to purchase his most excellent book “The Da Vinci Hoax” visit www.DaVinciHoax.com or www.ignatius.com

Here is some of what has been said about Carl and his book “The Da Vinci Hoax”.

An August 2, 2004 review of The Da Vinci Hoax in The Washington Times states: “The Da Vinci Hoax by Carl E. Olson . . . and Sandra Miesel, a trained medievalist and veteran Catholic journalist, is the latest and perhaps the most thorough (amply sourced and footnoted) and engrossing of the many anti-Brown books that have emerged as sales of The Da Vinci Code itself have soared. . . . Mr. Olson and Mrs. Miesel write gracefully, wear their erudition lightly, and have produced a work that is far more readable, intelligent and valuable than the novel it debunks.”

“The title of this book by Carl Olson and Sandra Miesel says it all. The authors of The Da Vinci Hoax deserve our gratitude for exposing in considerable detail and with a sure touch the fabrications of Dan Brown’s book. Theirs is the definitive debunking.” — Cardinal Francis George Archbishop of Chicago

“Finally! Someone has taken the trouble to counter the absurdities of The Da Vinci Code, and to confront all the anti-Christian and anti-Catholic rhetoric that book has inspired. In writing their own well-informed and well-argued text, Olson and Miesel have done a real service, not just to Christians, but to anyone weary of contemporary fads and foolishness. And unlike the original Code, The Da Vinci Hoax is a delight to read.” — Philip Jenkins Distinguished Professor of History and Religious Studies, Pennsylvania State University

“As one who has written mainly on the first 325 years of Christianity and The Da Vinci Code, it is a pleasure to recommend a book that covers additional questions so well. The Da Vinci Hoax is loaded with detail and corroborates many observations I also made. It is a responsible response to the misguided claims of the novel.” — Darrell L. Bock, Ph.D., Author, Breaking the Da Vinci Code

“Olson and Miesel have done a superb and meticulous job of dissecting the fraud which is The Da Vinci Code. Not only Christians, but all fair –minded people owe them a debt of gratitude.” — James Hitchcock Professor of History, St. Louis University

“Olson, [former] editor of Envoy magazine and a Catholic author with an evangelical background, and Miesel, a journalist with master’s degrees in biochemistry and medieval history, provide a wealth of richly detailed historical and theological information in their extensive volume. Chapters are arranged topically and thoroughly cover the subject under discussion, whether it’s Gnosticism or the Knights Templar or Leonardo’s art. More than the other titles, this book looks at the cultural and religious factors that have combined to contribute to the success of DVC.” — Marcia Ford, FaithfulReader.com

Terri Schindler-Schiavo and Prolife Catholicism

Monday, March 14th, 2005

This Podcast deals with the case of Terri Schindler-Schiavo and the two cultures we are being asked to chose between. These are: The Culture of Death which has been brought to us by the contraceptive movement and mentality, and the Culture of Life being offered to us through the Roman Catholic Church and her teachings on Life.

Don’t kid yourself we are all are standing in the razor thin gap between these two cultures. We must do everything we can do legally, peacefully and as sons and daughters of God to save this woman’s life. Please get everyone you know to go to her web site at www.terrisfight.org and find out what they can do to help the Culture of Life prevail. Do it because you love God’s only begotten Son who died that you would be able to have life. Do it because it is the right thing to do. Or, do it because you could be in Terri’s situation someday with no one to speak for you.
Whatever reason prompts you to get involved, get involved.

This case is a landmark case and if we don’t do all we can to bring about the Culture of Life, we will need to answer for it on Judgment day. The opposite of Love is not Hate, it is Apathy. Jesus said in The Revelation of St. John. How I wish you were either hot or cold, but because you are luke warm I will vomit you out of my mouth. This is a situation we need to take sides over. Where do you stand on this issue? Go to www.terrisfight.org and at least get the facts to make your decision. Do not just listen to the secular media, Radio and Tv stations want a good story and then they are on to the next thing. This case deserves your attention, even if it is just long enough to get the facts about Terri’s case. Don’t say this is for someone else to handle. Do what you can. No matter how small you think your personal contribution of Time, Talent, or Treasure is, it may make the difference of life or death for Terri.

You might be tempted to think you can offer very little, well to you who are Catholic I say look to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. What do we offer God in Mass. A dollar and fifty cents worth of bread maybe, and a dollar and fifty cents worth of wine, maybe? What can and does God do with that near worthless offering? He gives it back to us as the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, of His only begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ! Don’t say your offering is too small, just give it to God and watch what will happen! Let your voice be heard. Tell the world that you are watching and not sleeping on your watch. Save this woman’s life! God bless you all.
Michael A. Barone

Obedience… and Why!

Thursday, March 10th, 2005

This Podcast is about being obedient to the teachings of the Catholic Church. I have found in my short time on this planet that people who do not love the Church and teach as she teaches are dangerous folks. But we often are most disobedient when we do not understand why something is being asked of us. It is very important to remember that God created you and He gave you all the desires of your heart when He gave you His Son Jesus! We just need to find that out for ourselves sometimes before we can buy into the whole surrendering to God thing. I mention Christopher West’s tape series called “Naked Without Shame” too. If you do not have this series I would highly recommend getting it and a copy of the Holy Father’s book “Theology of the Body” Following the Church teachings on Humane Vitae and the Pope’s “Theology of the Body” would go along way toward fixing most of the problems of the world. That may seem hard to believe at first but trust me, it’s true!
Michael A. Barone

Rollerchairball Podcast

Monday, March 7th, 2005

This is the Rollerchairball podcast that will help explain the RCB video below.
Listen to the podcast first and see if you would be interested in starting a league of your own.

For all you Catholic Youth Ministers out there who are struggling to get teens and young adults to come to your parish YM programs. RCB (as it is also known) is a great way to bring in a crowd.

If you are not a Catholic youth minister you can substitute the Eucharistic Adoration portion with an hour of Praise and Worship, or just a good old prayer hour. Remember the eligibility requirement is only 15 minutes but you want to be there for the full hour to help and to answer questions too.

Afterward you will want to referee the RCB matches and even play yourself. It will kick your YM group into high gear, I promise!

Michael A. Barone
Commissioner of Rollerchairball
North Central American League

Kathy

Thursday, March 3rd, 2005

Kathy
This is my 3rd attempt at a podcast. I’m still working out the bugs on how to get stuff out to you through RSS etc.

This podcast is the behind the scenes story of the song “Kathy” by “Oswald And The Herringbones”, (or OATH). Basically I needed to have some audio materials to work with so this seemed like the best way to sharpen my skills in audio editing (for the pod casts to come) while not violating anyone else’s copyrighted materials. Having written, or co-written the tunes I’m working with definitely has its advantages!

I spoke with Neal Havener of OATH just a few days back by email and since he and I own the copyrights to our music…I’m in the clear! Props to the rest of the band as well who were and are always brothers of different mothers! Steve Sims on Drums, Andy “Ydna” Harrison on guitar, Tom Boyer on everything except the Giant Metal Jahoozi (that was me I think). Norman Hicks and Brad Haley were also in the band at different times as well as Neal and Myself. Anyway if you are pod casting yourself, do make sure you are careful about using other’s materials without permission. Clear your copyrighted materials before you use them!

On to “Kathy”, I have a little explanation about the writing of the song in the podcast so I won’t go over that again, but know that the actual “Kathy” who I wrote the song for, was a very nice person. Despite my goofing around in the song’s monolog, she and I were never dating or together for that matter other than what I describe in the podcast. The speaking parts of the song were added later during concerts when we needed to keep people entertained and so they stuck when we went to the recording studio with the song.

I hope you enjoy it.

If you are looking for more specifically Catholic (youth ministry) related materials, I hope to have more of those up soon. I just need to practice the pod casting format a few more times. So keep checking back here until you see them here.

Beware the Dogs

Monday, February 28th, 2005

Beware The Dogs is a self indulgent trip down a musical memory lane for me. It has nothing to do with Catholic issues and is pretty much a chance for me to check out my second podcast to make sure we are up and working. The podcast follows the four different reditions of a song I wrote (when I was 18 years old) as it was recorded over a 10 year period by my MTV Basement Tape award winning band “Oswald And The Herringbones” Check out Vitaminic.com and search Herringbones for 19 more songs we wrote in the big 80’s. It is interesting if you have never heard a song go from its most basic tracks to a multitrack recording. The first two versions are pretty weak but by the last one hopefully it is worth the wait (I’m sure it will be if you are a Cleveland Browns Fan or a DAWG POUNDER!). Special thanks go to all the different band members over the years, Steve Sims, Tom Boyer, Neal Havener, Norm Hicks, Brad Haley, and Andy “Ydna” Harrison. I hope you like the podcast it is really just a fun one for me. The bottom line is that we (The Herringbones) loved the 1988 Cleveland Browns Football team and the song at the very end is dedicated to them. There is nothing overly Catholic about the podcast this time unless you agree with us that The Cleveland Browns are probably God’s most favorite team in the NFL. Here is why…He only chastizes those he loves… and it has been… well close to the required 40 years since we have visited the promised land of the Superbowl!

Michael A. Barone

“How Sweet It Is!!” 1st Podcast

Monday, February 28th, 2005

How Sweet It Is!!
This hopefully is my first podcast. It is a walk down by my lake and a treatment about podcasting as a medium for Catholic Evangelization. Please try to find it and let me know what you think.
M.Barone