Who is More Miserable: a biological father or a religious father?

Refreshments and Candy

While some people were attending Christie Pub, Christie Hall's semester show featuring local acts, I and about 50 others were in the UP bookstore watching Fr. Charlie Gordon,  Theology professor and Brian Doyle, editor of the Portland magazine and parent of three including twin boys that once threw up on him (AT THE SAME TIME!)

Over the following hour, the audience was treated to a mix of lighthearted banter, sparring and deep discussion shifting toward larger ideas. One of these topics was the question of loneliness and how either can handle the moments of loneliness when they occur. 

Fr. Charlie believed he can be lonely due to his priestly lifestyle, the relatively small number of people who  require "Fr. Charlie's services" and his nature as an academic to not be as engaged emotionally as others.  However priests should be able to come to grips with loneliness. Fr. Gordon, paraphrasing a Joeseph Brodsky quote about bordem made during a commencement address, encouraged the audience to embrace the loneliness and go into it for loneliness/bordem (the actual subject of the quote) to embrace the knowledge and wisdom inherent in the situation to help create a solution to your problem. By embracing the situation and going deeper, one is better able to grow spiritually and bridge the gap of actual loneliness and perceived loneliness.

Brian Doyle had felt misunderstood but he himself had not felt lonely as a father, though he understood other fathers could feel lonely at times. Doyle believed he encountered the "jostling of expectations versus ambitions" rather than feeling lonely.

After they finished, I encountered a different pair of  Father and a father discussing this same issue, this time asked by a woman named Mary.

 Josh Noem, the father, and LXG coordinator has encountered lonely moments without his young children and wife in the house.  He says he has had trouble determining what to do because his young ones, around the ages of 8, are still at that stage where they want to play with daddy.  

Fr. Frank Murphy followed a similar course to Fr. Charlie by learning to embrace the loneliness inherent in being a priest but he can overcome that feeling by acting within his environment, regardless of the acts being small or substantial.

One downside of seeing Bryan Doyle is how he will tell certain stories again and again even if the story fits the context.  The stories can still be useful, funny or poignant  but sometimes they feel like the punchline to a joke you have already heard several times before.

Fr. Charlie discussed how to be addressed by those outside Catholicism and Christianity and the fun of being among the "motley crew" of the Order of the Holy Cross; while Doyle mentioned the disrespect and insults typically slung by children about their parents speaking and their attire.

In the end, the debate was considered a draw by Jamie Powell, director of the Garaventa Center and MC for the event. However, next year could see topics including Fr. Charlie getting tattoos, whether hermeneutics really means anything or even a discussion on surfing, so those people who cannot wait to get their fix of non-serious debate turning serious can start speculating who will come out the "winner" for the next debate.

Who do you think has it harder, priests or male parents?

KDUP: a hidden oddball community on campus, or why you should stick to one type of camera while filming

If this is the first post you have read from this blog, please read some of the other posts below or via the archives to help you understand my approach to this topic.  WARNING: some are longer posts or appear to be; blame my love for the narrow look.

Continuing the examination of clubs I am involved with, (LXG), is KDUP, the campus's radio station.

I have been involved since my freshman year to provide an outlet for my fascination with radio. I have had different formats (music, talk/current events, radio drama) and currently serve as Web Technician, attempting to maintain the website and the programming schedule.

Outside of office hours, I have two shows on KDUP.

I start my weekends with my show "Up to Something" Fridays from 4-5 pm, in which I try to report and understand what happened over the last week while also providing a P-Safe Report and Dinner update fr anyone who ever happens to be listening at the end of the show.

I end my weekends on "Animorphs: the Radio Drama, UNCENSORED", Sundays 10pm-Midnight, in which I and two others read the "Animorphs" book series about five young teens who have the ability to morph into animals defending the Earth from a parasitic race called the "Yeerks."

From its start as a house for St. Mary's Lounge's cook before the days of the Commons, to the brink of a technological upgrade, I thought it was time to present the station through the DJs themselves.

Enjoy!

Mr. Corrado and Mr. and Ms. Shipstad: a Tale of the Tape

Despite plenty of events occurred this week including the Minute to Win It Pilots After Dark event, the Fields Hall Spring Spectacular, The Upright Citizens Brigade Traveling team visit Mago Hunt Recital Hall, the Pilot Dance Team Spring Showcase, Fish’s Dodgeball tournament, and the Battle of the Bands in the Anchor, I am paying off the teases made last week about Mr. Corrado.

Mr. Corrado over the last few years has followed Mr. and Ms. Shipstad and usually has been viewed as the tamer version of the dorm-based competition until this year.  The final round of Mr. and Ms. Shipstad for the last several years was called "How Bad Do You Want It?"

Predictably within a college environment, some contestants were creative by crafting Astor Roth's College into an ode of the building, getting a tattoo of the Shipstad logo (an S overlaid over an anchor), or swallowing a goldfish.

Despite efforts from the coordinators to tone down the segment, contestants have branded themselves with an "S" for Shipstad, lick salt and hot sauce off their RA and tried to drink a gallon of milk while being pelted by cherry tomatoes.

In an effort to rebrand the event, the Shipstad Hall council, in conjunction with Staff and the office of Residence Life, dropped the round and replaced it with a series of Minute to Win It-style challenges in which contestants have to complete a given task within the allotted time, all in minute increments.

How similar are these two events that rely on the stereotypical export of residence halls, people willing to make a fool of themselves? Here's a hopefully objective comparison of the events.

Year of Origin:
Mr. Corrado- 2004

Mr. & Ms. Shipstad-1999

Number of contestants (2011): 
Mr. Corrado- 6
Mr. & Ms. Shipstad- 6 (3 male, 3 female)

Rounds:
Mr. Corrado- "Cribs" Video, Talent, Underwear, Question and Answer (Q&A), Tug of War

Mr. & Ms. Shipstad- Evening Wear, Talent, Q&A, Minute to Win It (formerly How Bad Do You Want It?)

Sample of Talents:
Mr. Corrado- Singing “A Whole New World”, singing and playing a montage of songs, dancing to a country song, solving a Rubik’s cube
Mr. & Ms. Shipstad- Singing an opera song, sing and dancing to “Singin’ in the Rain" with an umbrella, "Accents from around the World," an informal Q& A with a Scotsman, Tiffany from the South, and Svetlana from the Motherland.

Question Asked of a Contestant:
Mr. Corrado-If you were a zombie, which contestant would you bite first?
Mr. & Ms. Shipstad- If you were Hall Director for a week, what would you do?

Perspective of previous winners on this year’s event:

Mr. Corrado 2010, Ben - "I was amazed so many people chose singing as their talent. I was also pleased at how well the guys pulled off the opening routine.”

Mr. Shipstad 2010, Kyle- “It’s hard to compare to last year because this year did not have How Bad Do You Want It, but it was good. Some of the talents were interesting.”

Ms. Shipstad 2010, Lara- “Fun, entertaining, and showed that How Bad Do You Want It is not necessary for Mr. and Ms. Shipstad to be successful.”

Co-host view on the event:

Mr. Corrado- “Well organized by the Hall Council. Closing the doors brought a sense of anticipation to the event.”

Mr. & Ms. Shipstad:-“This was a great two-hour period where the building was able to come together.”

Qualifications:
Mr. Corrado-Male resident of Corrado, raise $50 for the Holy Cross Charity
Mr. & Ms. Shipstad-Resident of Shipstad

Prize for winner:
Mr. Corrado-Trojan helmet and plunger

Mr and Ms. Shipstad "Crowns"

Mr. & Ms. Shipstad- (Mr.) Hat  (Ms.) tiara, earrings and ring 

Perceived Core Audience:
Mr. Corrado-Corrado residents and female inhabitants of the West Quad
Mr. & Ms. Shipstad-Shipstad residents, East Side Quad inhabitants

Mr. Corrado 2011 Crowd awaits fun

Crowd size:
Mr. Corrado-close to 300 people
Mr. & Ms. Shipstad-close to 150 people

Location Held:

Mr. Corrado-Buckley Center Auditorium

Mr. & Ms. Shipstad- Shipstad First Floor Lounge

2011 Mr. and Ms. Shipstad Crowd awaits a retooled event

Overall, both events pleased their audiences with the exception of those who might have had high expectations, thought the talents were lackluster, or technical miscues compromised parts of the events.  No event can satisfy everyone, but these events allowed their respective dorms to allow a small section of the UP community to become a part of the dorm community, at least for two hours.

Have you been fortunate to ever attend either event?  If so, what did you think?