Keywords by David Yonke

That's the title of the new U2 CD, coming out on Tuesday... 3 days and counting. I can hardly wait.
Read more about it and check out the first single, "Get On Your Boots," here.
Tour schedule will be announced March 9.

The world needs a little jolt of U2 to put some life into this messed up year. The timing of U2'S NLOTH couldn't be better.
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Sylvania, Ohio
Feb. 28, 2009

This is a true story... I think I'll apply tomorrow! -- David

British university boasts first Beatles degree

LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) — A university in Liverpool has launched a Master of Arts degree in The Beatles, the city’s most famous sons, and called the qualification the first of its kind.

Liverpool Hope University says on its website that the course entitled "The Beatles, Popular Music and Society" consists of four 12-week taught modules and a dissertation.

"There have been over 8,000 books about The Beatles but there has never been serious academic study and that is what we are going to address," said Mike Brocken, senior lecturer in popular music at Hope.

"Forty years on from their break-up, now is the right time and Liverpool is the right place to study The Beatles.

"This MA is expected to attract a great deal of attention, not just locally but nationally and we have already had enquiries from abroad, particularly the United States." The university said it was the first postgraduate taught course on The Beatles in the United Kingdom, and possibly the world.

The Fab Four were born and raised in Liverpool and went on to become arguably the most successful pop band of all time.

I watched U2 perform on Late Night with David Letterman last night -- the first of five nightly appearances this week. They played one song off the new album.
I wasn't impressed.
Darn.
I don't know what the song was about. Bono was spouting words super fast, something about 9:05 on June 16 and then I lost touch. The music was narrow in range with a monotonous beat. I just wasn't feeling it. Edge seemed to be robotic.
Of course, Bono had the crowd on its feet, clapping along. But with his charm he can rile up any crowd, especially in a small theater like the Ed Sullivan where Letterman tapes.
Sometimes I have to listen to a song or an album numerous times before I "get it." I hope it's that way with this one. I have great respect for U2 and am feeling terribly disappointed by the first song I heard them play from "No Line on the Horizon."
Hopefully tonight will be better.

"We don't know for sure who discovered water, but we're pretty sure it wasn't the fish." -- Father John Colbein

(I.e., sometimes you are so close to a situation, so totally immersed in it, that you cannot see the bigger picture.)

I saw a sign the other day -- a bright, LED digital billboard -- outside a local business that had a wavy stars-and-stripes background and the words: "We live in the greatest country in the world!"
Nice idea, pump a little positivity into the people in this time of economic downturn.
It was ironic, however, that the sign was outside a Kia dealer, selling relatively cheap Korean cars.
One of the key victims of the American economy's state of woe is the auto industry. Foreign cars are part of the problem.
People are not buying American-made autos at the moment, for a number of reasons. That''s put the auto makers in crisis mode. So many of our jobs are related to the auto industry, especially in Toledo, just 50 miles south on I-75 from Detroit. We have a Jeep/Chrysler plant and numerous suppliers to the Big Three.

So the people who are selling Kias are trying to give us a little "attaboy" pat on the back.
We're the best country in the world! Yay team! Buy more Kias!

It used to be almost beyond dispute that we live in the best country in the world.
Today, America is not what it used to be. It's no secret, it's all over the news.
The question is: Will our stature and lifestyle return to the top?
The Bible talks about nations rising and falling. History shows that countries do not stay on top forever.
Americans have grown accustomed to being the world leader in many ways, but there are no guarantees or entitlements it will continue.
I love America and I pray for God's blessings to continue. I truly believe it's in the Lord's hands. If we as a nation keep that in mind, maybe we'll get back to our glory days once again.

(Note: this is not the billboard I'm writing about -- just an illustration)

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Sylvania, Ohio
March 4, 2009

I've been awaiting the release of U2's album for months and it finally hit the shelves on Tuesday (you'd think Interscope would send us an advance copy but nooooo).
The band's last album came out five years ago... And while they were out of sight they were out of mind for many of today's college students -- a huge market for pop and rock music.
I found this out tonight when I gave my journalism class at Bowling Green State University a quiz. For an extra credit point I asked them for the name of U2's new disc.
Only one of 16 students got it right.
When I asked them if U2 was still relevant or did they consider them to be old fogies, they politely said they weren't into their music. One girl said that her mom really likes them.
This is, of course, a very unscientific and unofficial survey.
But it probably is representational.
We tend to get a skewed view of reality, thinking that a band we like will defy generational boundaries and appeal to music fans of all ages.
Precious few actually manage to do that, like the Beatles and Stones and Doors and the Dead.
I thought U2 was in that category but I suppose not.
The guys in U2 are all in their late 40s now. They had a great run and will continue uto sell millions of albums and play stadium shows. But the vast majority of their fans got on the U2 bandwagon 20 years ago with "The Joshua Tree". Some joined in with "Achtung Baby" in 1992. Not too many got on board because of 2004's "How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb."
Don't get me wrong, I still love the band... but I'm already a longtime fan. It appears they are not winning a lot of new converts.
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March 4, 2009
Sylvania, Ohio

Most

just kidding, folks!

I heard this amazing story on Garrison Keillor's excellent radio show, "The Writer's Alamanc," broadcast on Feb. 17. There's a happy ending, however, since she found her niche in fiction:

It's the birthday of the Queen of Crime, novelist Ruth Rendell, born in London, England (1930). Her career as a writer did not start out on a promising note — she was fired from her first job as a journalist after she wrote a story about a Tennis League dinner without actually attending it, which was obvious since she failed to mention in the story that the keynote speaker had died in the middle of the speech.

But she went on to become a best-selling author of more than 50 books, many of them under the pseudonym Barbara Vine. Her novels include A Judgment in Stone (1977), King Solomon's Carpet (1991), and her most recent, Portobello (2008). Every morning she writes for four hours, and then she eats the exact same lunch: bread, cheese, salad, and fruit.

We've been studying relationships in church on Sundays and in our home "life groups," focusing on Ephesians 6.
The first three verses of that chapter are:

"Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother -- which is the first commandment with a promise -- that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."

Our life group met last night and we discussed these verses and what they mean by honoring one's parents.
Yesterday happened to be my late father's birthday. He would have been 89. Ferdinand Yonke was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1920. He married my mother, Lillian, in 1946 and they moved to Long Island in 1956 and then to Florida to escape the cold winters in 1971. My mom passed away in 1987 and my dad in 2003.

No matter what hand life deals you, you only have one mother and one father.
Your parents shape your world and your destiny in many ways, for good or bad.

My father was a unique man and I am so glad we got to know each other on a man-to-man basis after I got out of college. He was brilliant and stubborn and loved words, especially crossword puzzles and Scrabble.
Ferdy grew up during the Depression but never talked about how tough it was. My uncles would tell me some harrowing tales but in my dad's eyes it wasn't so bad. He was being honest with me, biut I think he had selective memory.
He was a guy who enjoyed nlife to the fullest. He had one major character flaw and that was a fondness for alcohol. I always felt it held him back from greatness but he never worried about what might have been. He never expressed any concern about the things he did not do, but was more interested in what he did. I believe he was sincere. And his life was filled with many great moments and memories.
So yesterday, on my father's birthday, after hearing sermons and reading Scriptures and taking part in discussions about honoring one's parents, I felt it was only fitting that I take a minute and express my gratitude and appreciation for my folks.

These two sacrificed so much for their six children. They also passed along the Central European work ethic of their bloodlines and the joie de vivre that seems a personality trait of so many in the Yonke clan.
My mother was a very intelligent woman and a hard worker who was devoted to her flock of kids. She was a gifted singer and dancer, and along with my dad passed along a love for language, playing a mean game of Scrabble. She also loved to read and was good with words. It's because of their love of language that I have always been writing.

I miss them both dearly but their memories and influences are part of me and I think about them almost every day. Their memories continue to enrich my life and those of my wife and children.
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Sylvania, Ohio
March 9, 2009

We were at our friends' house Sunday night for our church "life group," or home cell group, when the tornado sirens went off. About the same time one of our group's members got a call warning us about the threat.
The radar had detected a tornado to the west and the storm was approaching at 60 mph. We put the television on and at first there was just an emergency text message about a tornado being spotted in Defiance County. It was actually less helpful than having the local TV weather persons give us information because the text message, which superseded the local channels, had little helpful information except that a tornado had been sighted.
After a few minutes the news channels came on and we could see the storm on radar. The weather outside was looking weird, the sky a bit yellowish. But I didn't feel the pressure drop that I've felt before when tornados were in the area. It's palpable.
Still, after looking at the sky and the TV, it looked as if the storm was headed directly our way. We all went into the basement. Fortunately, it was a huge and comfortable basement with a TV.
By our calculations, the TV radar was about 5 minutes behind the actual storm. That's a long lag when it comes to emergencies. By the time we were in the basement, I think the narrow storm front had already passed by just west of us.
We waited about 20 minutes or so and then resumed our Bible study.
It turned out to be a minor storm with minimal damage -- a barn had its roof ripped off about 30 miles west of us.
But tornados are scary things. You can't take the warnings lightly. They pack so much power and punch and appear and disappear out of nowhere. Unlike hurricanes that can be tracked for days, twisters pop up with little warning and can cause all kinds of havoc.
I once was at a softball game for my daughter, probably 16 years ago, when the tornado sirens went off. We loaded up our minivan with kids and headed for our house, less than two miles away.
As we were stopped at a light, I saw a small twister spinning in the air over the treetops. It was a fearsome sight, even though this was a relatively small tornado. All I could do as I watched it pass was to pray. It ended up tearing the roof off a house about a mile away and knocking down some trees and limbs, but overall nothing too severe. That was the only time I ever saw a tornado in person -- and I hope I never see one again.
Living with the threat of tornados is part of living in the midwest. Just like shoveling snow and bundling up for cold weather.
You have to take the good with the bad.
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Sylvania, Ohio
March 10, 2009

(Parental Advsory Warning: Explicit Lyrics)

"No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. You win the war by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country!"

General George Patton, May 31, 1944

This is shaping up to be an interesting and busy day for me. I'm going to CedarCreek Church, our local nondenominational Christian megachurch, to hear Denny Schaffer talk about his conversion.
Denny was the reigning shock jock in Toledo, loved to stir up trouble, then moved to Atlanta and ran into all kinds of difficulties at work and at home. He's a much humbler guy now and I've heard him talk about how leaning on Jesus helped him get through the tough times.
Then it's off to my own church for Sunday morning service at 11.
At 3 p.m., I'm going to see a one-woman play about Corrie ten Boom at a local Jewish synagogue.
Corrie ten Boom is one of my life's heroes, an ordinary woman who did extraordinary things. She lived in Haarlem, Holland, and helped hide Jews from the Nazis during World War II. For her efforts to save lives of innocent people, the Nazis sent her to Ravensbruck concentration camp. Her father, sister, brother and cousin all died at the hands of the Nazis. Corrie survived miraculously.
Now a woman from New Mexico has taken Ten Boom's writings and lectures and written a one-woman play in which she portrays 80-year-old Corrie talking about her life. I'm really looking forward to this drama just because Ten Boom was such an amazing woman.
Her book, "The Hiding Place," has been a continuing inspiration to me for decades.
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When I heard about the play, I told the organizers I would be glad to write about it. I got an email last night saying they had hoped an article would bring in an extra 50 people. They said they got 300 rsvp's because of my story.
It makes me feel good when an article I write can have that kind of effect.
Here's a link to the article.
You could also check out the actress' web site (with video) here and the Corrie ten Boom website here.
* * *
After the play, we have our church's "L.I.F.E. Groups" tonight, the fifth night of a seven-week series. It's been a great experience and I can see why churches that have home cell groups often thrive. It really builds a sense of community and meets your needs for fellowship and spiritual learning in a profound way.
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I'm on vacation this week but will mostly be spending time getting things ready for Cara and Dustin's wedding on Saturday. I still will be teaching at Bowling Green State University.
I'm hoping to have a little time to work on my novel and also to play my favorite PlayStation 3 game, FIFA 09.
I'm on a roll, scoring an average of two goals a game... It's the most amazing and fun video game I've every played. I admit I'm hooked.
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Sylvania, Ohio
March 15, 2009

I wrote a review of the new U2 album, "No Line on the Horizon." This disc has been an unusual experience for me thus far. I started out disliking it but felt I needed to give it a few more listens. As I kept listening to it, I started disliking it less. I started to appreciate a song or two. After a dozen spins, I absolutely loved it.
I called my brother John, who turned me on to U2 many years ago, and asked him what he thought. He had the same experience. At first he thought "it sucked!" to quote John. Now he thinks it's the band's best album.
I think it's because we have such high expectations for a group like U2 and also because they did not fit their mold on this one but took a different tack. It's a more compressed sound, more introspective, and full of keyboards and beats and all sorts of stuff.
The two best songs, imo, are "Unknown Caller" and "Stand Up Comedy."
Here's a copy of my review.
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Sylvania, Ohio
March 15, 2009

"There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done.'"

Gerald Robinson is still behind bars. Here's the department of corrections' online link to his status.

He remains a priest in the Toledo Catholic Diocese, although Bishop Leonard Blair has suspended him from ministry. Many people think he is no longer a Catholic priest, but that only happens if/when the Vatican laicizes, or defrocks him.
He'll turn 71 years old next month, and Perrysburg attorney John Donahue is doing all he can to get Robinson out from behind bars.
We are waiting to see if the prosecutor's office succeeds in its request for Judge Gene Zmuda to issue a gag order in the case, a most unusual motion since there is no jury trial scheduled.
I'm assuming Zmuda will decide on that motion any day now.
People often ask me about another local religious order priest accused of serious crimes, Chet Warren, and say they find it hard to believe Warren has never spent a day behind bars. But that's the case. Warren walks around the city a free man, although banned from entering the chapel of Blessed Sacrament Church in Toledo, the result of a legal request filed against him by the Toledo diocese.
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Sylvania, Ohio
March 25, 2009

Did you see this news item below? Unfortunately, it's true, not one of those "urban legend" emails you get that someone makes up and then sends out into cyberspace and gets circulated on the net for years (always check Snopes.com if you smell something fishy).
This is an interesting development, showing how closed-minded some religious leaders can be. I agree with them that the media are powerful and have great responsibility, and it is also true that the western media sometimes cross over the lines and go too far. But these Saudi clerics' proposal is ominous and examplifies "religion" gone awry. -- David

Saudi clerics want women banned from TV, media

Tue Mar 24, 2:11 pm ET

RIYADH (AFP) – Hardline Saudi clerics have called on the government to ban women from appearing on television and to prohibit their images in print media, which they called a sign of growing "deviant thought."

In a letter to new Information Minister Abdul Aziz al-Khoja that appeared on websites this week, the 35 Islamic clerics also condemned the increase of music and dancing on television, as well as images of women in popular newspapers and magazines that they labelled "obscene."

"Our faith in you is great to carry out media reform, for we have seen how perversity is rooted in the ministry of information and culture, on television, radio, in the press, literary clubs, and book fairs," the letter said.

It cited an alleged plan to "westernise" Saudi women by "reducing their rights to a question of removing veils, wearing makeup and mixing with men."

It added that the ministry had permitted the import of "obscene newspapers and magazines that are filled with deviant thought and pictures of beautiful women on its covers and inside."

"There should be no Saudi woman on television, in any case," they said.

"There is no doubt that this is religiously impermissible."

The clerics, including justice officials and academics from a conservative Islamic university, cited several cabinet-endorsed orders and policies from years past which they said supported their argument.

They appeared to be challenging a growing push for liberalisation of tough restrictions on women, including near-mandatory use of black, full-face veils, which are rooted in its ultra-conservative Wahhabi version of Islam.

Both Saudi television and print media increasingly feature women, while Arabic-language magazines showing women in Western garb and makeup are also widely sold in the country.

The letter came in the wake of an information ministry-sponsored book fair in Riyadh in early March at which religious conservatives complained that men and women were allowed to mix freely, and that some books on sale violated Islamic principles.

The book fair was marred by the muttawam, or Islamic morality police, harassing a woman author promoting her book and trying to prevent men from obtaining her autograph.
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Sylvania, Ohio
March 25, 2009

My daughter, Cara, got married on Saturday. It was an amazing experience to "give away" your daughter to be married. There were so many emotions swirling through my mind and heart.
I'm thrilled for Cara and her husband, Dustin, and I truly am excited about their new life together. But it's not an easy transition to make for the Father and Mother of the Bride, going from having this wonderful young lady around the house to suddenly being "empty nesters."
Life goes on, however, the river keeps flowing, and I am enjoying the moment and adjusting.
Here are a few photos from the Big Day....

The Detroit Tigers seemed jinxed last year, finishing in the basement of their division. Now they will be opening their home season on Good Friday, which is drawing the ire of some church leaders... Might not be a good sign as they try to bounce back from a rough 2008. -- David

Good Friday game sours Catholics

Start time of Tigers home opener coincides with services at some Downtown churches.

By Francis X. Donnelly
The Detroit News

Christians aren’t fighting lions anymore. Now they’re fighting the Tigers.

Several downtown churches are angry at the baseball team for hosting Opening Day on Good Friday.

The April 10 collision pits one of the sweetest days in sports against one of the most solemn days in religion.

” Nobody is saying baseball isn’t big but Good Friday is really big,” said the Rev. Ed Vilkauskas, 62, pastor of Old St. Mary Church in Greektown. ” It’s 2,000 years old.”

Even more galling is the time of the game, 1 p.m.

In the last hours of his life, Jesus hung from a cross on Good Friday from noon to 3 p.m., and many devout Christians attend church services at that time.

Quiet contemplation is what’s sought. The drunken debauchery of Opening Day is not.

” It’s like Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday rolled into one,” said Michael Ochab, 47, a Hamtramck Catholic who will skip Opening Day for the first time in 20 years. ” I couldn’t believe they had it that day.”

The Tigers had hoped to hold the game April 6 but that would have been a logistical nightmare because the Final Four will be held that day at neighboring Ford Field.

I went to a lecture by Father James Bacik of Toledo this week on the search for God in the university (here's a link to the article I wrote about it).
Father Bacik said something funny during the lecture that didn't fit into the article. He went to see Karl Rahner give a lecture in Chicago in the early 1980s. Rahner, a German, spoke in his native tongue and then waited for the translator to finish the English translation. While the translator was speaking, Rahner took out his rosary, started praying, and promptly fell asleep -- right in front of thousands of people who had come to hear his talk.
Must have been jet lag, Father Bacik said with a smile.
The more I read of Rahner's writings, and hear others talk about his work, the more I appreciate this brilliant man, often called the most influential Catholic theologian of the 20th century.
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Toledo, Ohio
March 28, 2009

I get asked that question quote often. I don't always know what to say. There are a lot of things percolating but nothing notable has bubbled to the surface recently.
There are still ongoing discussions regarding a movie, and a national network news program is considering a segment on the Father Robinson case.
A nationally known Catholic columnist is interested in writing something referenced in the book, about the abortion files.
None of these items are nailed down and so I don't think it is appropriate to say anything more at this time ... but stay tuned.
* * *
On a lesser scale, I've had several people make some very positive comments to me this week.
One Toledoan told me he sent a copy of "Sin, Shame & Secrets" to his 83-year-old father in Florida, whom he described as a voracious reader, and that his father called it the best book he has ever read.
Another person stopped by the office the other day with three copies of the book for me to sign. He described himself as a devout Catholic and said he was extremely grateful to know what is going on at the HQ.
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Toledo, Ohio
March 29, 2009

Did you know that one of the hottest new genres in Christian publishing is Amish fiction?
That's what I've been told by a publicist for Beverly Lewis, author of The Secret and the Seasons of Grace series. She's doing a book tour through Ohio with literally dozens of book signings scheduled.

In November and December, 2008, 6 of the top 20 books on the Christian Bookseller Association's best-seller list were "Amish fiction," according to Bethany House Publishers.
I know the Amish are intriguing to Americans in general and that Harrison Ford starred in an Amish movie called Witness, but I had no idea that Amish fiction was such a hot commodity.
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March 29, 2009
Toledo, Ohio

Pope Benedict XVI can't seem to avoid controversy no matter what he does. It's just a reflection of our times. Some scholars are calling this the "post-Christian" era.
The Vatican's Holy Land ambassador, Archbishop Antonio Franco, announced that Benedict will not visit the museum section of Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial, during his March 10 trip to Jerusalem.
Even though he will lay a wreath at the the Hall of Remembrance, people are criticizing him for not entering the museum.
The reason he is skipping the museum is because of the way it portrays Pope Pius XII, stating in a photo caption that the Vatican refused to protest the Holocaust as it was unfolding and Pius abstained from signing an Allied declaration condenming genocide of the Jews.
Benedict and other Vatican officials have defended Pius as saying that he protested the Nazis when possible and that he did work to stop the Holocaust through secret channels.

As John Allen points out in the National Catholic Reporter, Benedict is following the same itinerary as Pope John Paul II on his historic visit to Jerusalem in 2000.

One thing about the Holocaust that is often overlooked in America is that U.S. news media had reported atrocities against the Jews in Europe in the 1930s, yet Americans did not get involved for years.
I've seen the newspaper accounts in the New York Times, New York Herald-Tribune, and Washington Post displayed in Holocaust museums in Washington and in Farmington Hills, Mich. There was no doubt that the horrors of the Holocaust were being reported. Why the public did not pay attention, I can't say. But they were informed. I think part of the reason is that Americans were in an era of isolationism following World War I and did not want to get involved in other countries' struggles in general.
In addition, Americans have often turned a blind eye toward atrocities including the genocides in Rwanda and Cambodia in recent history.

If Pope Pius XII did not act quickly and forcefully against the Holocaust, it is a shame. But he was not alone in his failure to speak up. It is all too common for countries and individuals, and as Irish statesman Edmund Burke said so famously:

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

The inimitable folk troubadour and cultural sage Bob Dylan is releasing a new album, "Together Through Life," April 28, and is offering a free download of one song -- today only -- called "Beyond Here Lies Nothing."
Here is a link. Hope you get a chance to download it.

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Toledo, Ohio
March 31, 2009

The Lucas County prosecutor's office has filed a motion seeking more time to respond to Father Robinson's amended petition for post-conviction relief. This is no surprise, since Robinson's attorney, John Donahue, made dozens if not hundreds of charges in his filing that consisted of more than 500 pages of documents.
The prosecutor's office is responding to each and every claim that the Toledo diocesan priest did not receive a fair trial in 2006 when he was convicted of murdering Sister Margaret Ann Pahl.
Father Robinson turns 71 on April 14.
It is a sad reminder to me that Sister Margaret Ann Pahl was 71 years old on the day she was murdered, April 5, 1980 -- Holy Saturday -- one day before her 72nd birthday.
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I will be on the radio this Thursday morning, April 2, at 8:20 a.m. Tune in to YES-FM, 89.3 in the Toledo area. Also live streaming online at yeshome.com
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"We trust in God, but rely on ourselves"

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Toledo, Ohio
March 31, 2009