Forums

(credit: @Elements)
Times for Reading!
     With Christmas come and gone, it's time to set ourselves down for the long haul until Easter. We still have many months to go, the entirety of Lent, and for many of us, feet of snow to shovel from our drives. However, it's not all gloom and doom for with a new year comes new hopes and resolutions! This month, we're going to be delving into the world of books!
     On a personal side-note, every year I try and read at least one book for every week of the year, and I strongly recommend this practice to everyone! Reading, and reading whatever helps your lives significantly. Not only are you shown into mythical worlds or imagination, or real-life studies of the past and present, but also instructs and teaches you in ways you could never imagine! Good, pure, and Catholic books bring you closer to God through the morality of the characters. Additionally, it enhances your writing skills - both for fun, and for school - by default. The better the books you read, the better your writing will become. It also helps with your speech. The more grammatically correct the literature, the more grammatically correct your speech will become!
     Now, before I ramble on further, your very own Times! This time, with books!
   
Welcome to CH!!
toilavua Sofia Hanson Welcome to the Harbour, from all of us!
CH News
~by @Theresa
Catholic Harbor News!
~ The Christmas Drawing contest voting is going on till the end of January. Please cast your votes here! https://www.catholicharbor.com/topic/34496-christmas-drawing-contest-voting/
~ The chess club has a contest for the month of January. You can check that out here. https://www.catholicharbor.com/topic/34324-january-2022-competition/
~ The 8th excerpt story contest is going on. You can check it out here. https://www.catholicharbor.com/topic/34070-excerpt-story-contest-no-8-sign-up/
~ And last but not least a big congrats to @Sherlock Holmes and @PinkDonut7 who both have been appointed Franciscan  house leaders!
~ The latest debates look stunning! Here are some of the most recently posted on debates: R: The Latin Mass should be promoted not abolished, and; Resolved: Rome was Built in a Day!
 
On the Seton Chess Club:
The Team Slow Chess Tournament is currently underway! Tie-breakers are on the table, guys! Best of luck to all players!
The January 2022 Competition is on puzzles! Complete the most puzzles to win a prize!
The January Competition is open! Complete the most puzzles to win a prize! The link here will give you all the information you need!
  House Columns
~by@Arthur
     Franciscan House
<> The Fransiscan House is a lot more active! The Full House Chat seems on fire!
     Theresian House
<> The January Photography Contest is up and running! "Land or seascapes" is the theme!
<> The Theresian Monthly Art Contest is all about pencils!
<> Entries for the Theresian Short Story Contest is now closed! Best of luck to all competitors!
<> The Theresian Monthly Art Contest: December is closed! Good luck to everyone!
     Dominican House
<> The most recent debates are: "Mermaids May Exist Somewhere" and "Aliens May Be Real"!
     Benedictine House
<> There seems an awful lot of talking about themselves in this club... over 44,000 posts worth of the stuff. To put into perspective, this is more than double the Fransiscan and Theresian Houses combined! 
 
CH Memes
~by @The Members of CH
~ catalogued by @Arthur and @Theresa







 
Fun Facts!
~by @Theresa
🇺🇸 🥳American States Edition🥳🇺🇸 
Alabama:While Mardi Gras is most associated with New Orleans, the Alabama city of Mobile is where the tradition originated in the US.
Alaska: Not only is Alaska the largest state in the country (more than twice as large as Texas), Wrangell–St Elias National Park & Preserve covers a larger area than nine US states.
Arizona: Don’t get too close (ouch!) or scratch initials in saguaro cactus; fines for cactus graffiti run up to $5,000.
Arkansas: Home to America's only operational diamond mine – Crater Diamonds State Park. 
 
California: California's Sequoia National Park is home to the world's biggest tree by volume, a sequoia named General Sherman. 
Colorado: The 13th step leading to the entrance of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver is exactly 1 mile above sea level. 
Connecticut: “Yankee Doodle,” the state song, is believed to have been penned in derision by the British about Connecticut volunteers in the French and Indian War. 
Florida: South Florida is the only place in the world where both crocodiles and alligators can be found in the wild. 
Georgia: Gainesville, Georgia, often considered the poultry capital of the world, passed a 1961 law making it illegal to eat fried chicken with a fork. 
Nevada: Averaging about 10 inches of rain a year, Nevada is the driest state in the US. 
New Hampshire: The first free public library was founded in Peterborough, New Hampshire in 1833.
An Article
~ by @Marielexik The theme of this issue is books, so I wanted to jump on the opportunity to talk about some of my favorite things in the world!
Honestly, guys, reading is so underrated. It always blows my mind when I think about how some people have created the most beautiful and interesting worlds using just their imaginations. How are some of these just fiction when they deserve so completely to be real? Just imagine how many worlds have yet to be written into existence. 
For me, reading has always been an escape. I tend to be dramatic, so when I become upset or when I crave adventure, opening a book will transport me to the places I wish to go. There’s another wonderful thing about books, that you essentially have your own portal into other worlds even when you’re just sitting on your bed. 
The characters are another incredible thing about literature. Some of the most famous people happen to be fictitious! I’ve found it to be quite depressing when I find a charming and relatable character because it takes me a little while to remember they aren’t real. Why oh why do all the perfect boys have to be make-believe? In all seriousness, though, isn’t it amazing to think about the fact that people who are not even real can be a person’s biggest role model? 
To shift a bit from the topic of reading, I believe I have a talent for writing. I also firmly believe I have a calling to travelling. These two go hand in hand because I can use my wanderlust to create a vivid adventure for any reader to enjoy. It makes me excited (and a bit discouraged) when I think about the countless stories swirling inside of me that could possibly become the next best-selling series! I’m almost certain there are other people on this website that can relate to this.
I also want to commemorate Isabella Auer (@Evenstar), a former Catholic Harbor member that I never had the privilege of meeting. She passed away two years ago after fighting brain cancer for quite some time, and she just recently has made an impact on my life. This young girl had a remarkable talent for writing and even published her own book, Daughter of Kings. After skimming over her blog entries, I have come to realize that many of my views on becoming an author were foolish or unrealistic. For those of you who have a similar dream of publishing a best-selling book, I encourage you to pray to this courageous little Angel for help. 
One final note: if you have not picked up a book in quite some time, I urge you to find one that sparks interest and give it a try! Who knows? Maybe that story will inspire you to become the next Tolkien or C.S. Lewis.
God bless you!
- Lexi.
 
Closing
~ from @Arthur
   We must, sadly, bring this issue to the end. Before we close, however, I'll make one brief point. Apart from Christ and my family, books have made the largest impact on my life. With this in mind, I urge everyone to pick up a book, no matter how big, or how technical, or how advanced, and read. Simple, pure books are the foundation of society. They build culture, or they tear it down. For those of you who are great readers, I commend you, and have to ask you a question. What's your favourite book (or three)? Comment below in the chat!
    Until February,
    In Christ,
   
 
     John-Paul