David Ancell / Thursday, February 17, 2011 / Comments(0)
My employer has asked me to get licensed to practice pharmacy in Kentucky. The reason has to do with the way we do business and the way pharmacy is regulated in some states. I’ll spare you the excruciating details.
Pharmacists have two different tests that they must pass to become licensed. There is an exam called the NAPLEX, which is the test of general drug knowledge. As far as I know, it’s used by every state in the United States. Pharmacists also have to take an exam on pharmacy law. Most, though not all, states use an exam called the Multistate Jurisprudence Exam (MPJE).
The NAPLEX isn’t much of an issue. Normally, one can get by with taking it just one time. After that, one can just use a license by exam as the basis for getting a license in an additional state. However, the MPJE is another story. Since laws vary by state, one normally has to take it again for every state in which one desires a license.
I have taken and passed the MPJE for three different states, and today I just took the one for Kentucky (still awaiting the results). How I have passed it in the past is usually a mystery to me because I could swear that I failed it when I walked out of it. It’s just a weird test, and sometimes I have a sneakin’ suspicion that they grade it by rolling dice at the NABP office. We’ll see how this one goes.
Category: News on My Life, Pharmacy
David Ancell / Monday, January 31, 2011 / Comments(0)
Episode 5 is now posted.
I got an new iPad for Christmas thanks to my wife and parents. I have been having a lot of fun with it, and I thought I’d weigh in on the Android vs. iPhone (and also the Microsoft vs. Apple) debate. I’m a switcher to Macintosh myself and have been since 2006.
I’ve heard a lot about The Rite. I have not seen it and don’t know if I will, but it did give me inspiration for my little “side note” about demonic influence.
Category: Podcasts
David Ancell / Sunday, January 23, 2011 / Comments(0)
A number of years ago, my grandmother told me about how she loved the Latin when that was the language of the Mass. I must confess that I didn’t understand her. It seemed strange that she wouldn’t be perfectly happy with having the Mass in English. We gave her a CD of Gregorian Chant one year, and she loved it. She could tell that I wasn’t so enthusiastic.
Years later, I’ve been to the Extraordinary Form a few times and really enjoy it. The parish to which we belong has a schola that does chant about once a month, and it is beautiful. I only wish that I had discovered all of this while my grandmother was still alive.
Thanks to the National Catholic Register, I learned of the Chant Cafe site. It is well worth reading about the music of the Mass and how things have departed from the original intent of Vatican II. Until I read it, I did not know what an Introit was or that there was a setting for the antiphons for the Mass. Then, one day, the schola in my parish was singing it, and I realized that they had been doing this all along. Ah, yes, this is one more reason why I love the liturgies at Assumption. By the way, this is a small parish with not a lot of staff. So, lack of resources isn’t a very good excuse for not having a beautiful Mass.
Category: Liturgy
David Ancell / Sunday, December 19, 2010 / Comments(0)
The next episode of the podcast is available. Download it here.
After goofing off a bit, I go into the remarks of the Holy Father on condom use. By the way, the book, Light of the World, is an excellent book. I’ve been reading it off and on for the past few weeks. We often see the Holy Father in the news, but we don’t get to hear his own perspective on the events in a format like this.
See the book at Ignatius Press.
I really this that this has been an especially bad year for irresponsible media reporting on the Church and the Holy Father. It seems that they have been especially bad about distorting the words of Pope Benedict, and this isn’t the first time they’ve done it. I’ve given a couple of other examples of how his words have been misused.
Category: Podcasts
David Ancell / Thursday, November 11, 2010 / Comments(0)
The next episode of the podcast is available. Download it here.
In this episode, I elaborate a bit on the new name of the blog and podcast and the theme of both. Then, I talk about what I am reading. Here are the books . . .
The Temperament God Gave Your Spouse
Category: Podcasts
David Ancell / Sunday, November 07, 2010 / Comments(0)
Last week, I went to my first Eastern Rite Divine Liturgy. Specifically, it was the Ukrainian Rite, and the principal celebrant was their bishop. Most of the Mass, including the Scripture reading, was chanted. I thought the deacon’s voice sounded familiar. Then, I found out that the deacon and priest live in Raleigh. We had heard them before at the morning prayer of the Ignited by Truth conference.
The Liturgy felt quite a bit different from what I am used to, but I found the basic parts were still there. It begins with the signing of Psalm 51 (penitential). The Scriptures are read. The Creed and Sanctus are used. There are also a lot of repeating prayers. It was a beautiful liturgy that I hope to experience again. However, I really do need to find something to explain the various prayers and hymns.
Oh, and the Liturgy was in English. Their translation is, in many places, very similar to the new translation coming to our Roman Rite. It just seems funny to me that people complain about our upcoming translation when the Eastern Church already uses that same kind of language.
David Ancell / Sunday, October 31, 2010 / Comments(0)
Somehow, I don’t think this one will surprise many people who read my blog, but I received this article entitled Health Overhaul May Bring Free Birth Control from Prolifepharmacy.com on my Facebook. It came from NPR, but I was hoping that it was actually from The Onion. Like I said, I’m not surprised that this is on someone’s agenda. The most telling quote was from Dr. David Grimes at UNC:
Contraception rivals immunization in dollars saved for every dollar invested. Spacing out children allows for optimal pregnancies and optimal child rearing. Contraception is a prototype of preventive medicine.
This guy is an Ob/Gyn. Does he think pregnancy is an illness? We might, as a society, save money, but for what purpose. Fortunately, the USCCB has weighed in on this. Hopefully, our upcoming election will boot the promoters of this nonsense out of office.
Category: Catholic, Morality, Pharmacy, Response
David Ancell / Sunday, October 31, 2010 / Comments(0)
Yana and I registered at the aforementioned parish this morning. After this morning’s Mass, I’m even more excited about being there. I don’t know if this is a regular thing or not, but they had a beautiful chanted Mass. Some of the chant was English, but the Gloria, Sanctus, Mysterium Fidei, and Agnus Dei were all chanted in Latin. This is a great example of what we would get if Vatican II were actually implemented as is stated in Sacrosanctum Concilium. By the way, did I mention that, after everyone receives the Eucharist at every Mass, the parish sings Salve Regina.
We had a chance to introduce ourselves to the pastor. He told us how important it was for him that we stick with tradition and to do what Jesus Christ wants instead of doing our own thing. We are grateful for this. We have firsthand knowledge of what happens when a parish does its own thing, and it is a very, very ugly picture.
Category: Catholic, News on My Life
David Ancell / Saturday, October 30, 2010 / Comment(1)
Yana and I haven’t signed the dotted line on this one yet, but we have chosen our parish. We are planning to register at Church of the Assumption in Nashville. It is a beautiful German church that actually looks like a church, including gorgeous high altars. We may actually get to see one used since they have the Extraordinary Form of the Mass once a month.
This parish is quite orthodox. I especially appreciate the availability of Confession before each Sunday Mass. There are usually a lot of people going to Confession, but you can still get in. The liturgy there is excellent. I only wish they had weekday Mass because they are just right down the road from where I work.
Category: Catholic, News on My Life
David Ancell / Saturday, October 30, 2010 / Comments(0)
I have never really liked my names that I have given this blog, so I have now chosen a new one that reflects the underlying thoughts behind many of my posts. Rather than put it in a blog post, I decided to make my explanation a permanent page which you can access by clicking About This Blog.
I will probably be changing the WordPress theme at some point as well. The theme is what provides the look and feel of a blog. I’m not a big fan of the theme I have. It’s good enough, but it doesn’t have quite the look I’m going for. Please feel free to send suggestions.
Category: Catholic, Doctrine, News on My Life