Catholic Media Promotion Day

It's Catholic Media Promotion Day! Many people have already posted their lists. I decided to post mine in the form of a story. The links will be embedded within.

When I first started exploring the world of church music, I had frequented a message board on which (mostly) Catholic musicians posted. I managed to make a few friends on that board, and I've happily met in person at least five people from those boards. (You know who you are. :) ) From that message board, I started listening to Brian Michael Page and his Christus Vincit podcast, where he injects humour and fun whilst discussing liturgical music and whatever else came to his mind. From there, I started listening to the iPadre, Fr. Jay Finelli. I also noticed Disciples with Microphones, and this brought me to Cuying Podcast, which was produced by Fr. Stephen Cuyos, MSC. At the time, Fr. Stephen was a graduate student in Rome, and it was fascinating to listen to his experiences with ex-pat Filipinos living in Italy. It was amazing to me just how similar the Italian-Filipino experiences were to mine, having been raised by Filipinos who immigrated to the United States.

At the time, I was quite fascinated with the Harry Potter series, and it was around the time when Deathly Hallows was released. I remembered feeling so very disappointed with the way the book ended and wanting more. I discovered Harry Potter-related podcasts, but there was one that really stood out in my mind: The Secrets of Harry Potter, which was a SQPN-produced podcast. That eventually led me to notice other SQPN-produced podcasts like the Daily Breakfast (which eventually became The Break), Catholic in a Small Town, and Catholic Under the Hood. And the rest, as they say, is history. :)

With that out of the way, here is the assignment. I guess you can sort of think of this as a meme since people from all over the world are doing it.

On March 15, 2011, everyone with a blog, podcast, or Facebook page should list their favorite 3 blogs, 3 podcasts, 3 other media, 3 random Catholic things online, and their own projects.

Then, post the link to your list on the Catholic Media Promotion Day Facebook page on March 15th.

Additionally, to help get the word out, press are asked to write articles and press releases for this day.

Lastly, on March 15th, go to iTunes and leave at least 3 positive written reviews for various Catholic podcasts and 3 positive written reviews for Catholic mobile applications.

So here are my lists. (More, you ask? Oi, I'm just now starting to answer this meme! ;) )

Three Favourite Blogs
I'll admit that I haven't really been frequenting the blogs as often as I have in the past. I had participated in the Catholic Carnivals, which was a great way to showcase Catholic blogs. (If you click on the Catholic Carnival tag, you will see all my related blogposts on that topic.) Here are three blogs I still visit from time to time.

1. A Catholic Mom Climbing the Pillars
2. Scelata: Save the Liturgy, Save the World!
3. The Art of David Myers

David hasn't updated his blog recently, but he's on Facebook all the time, and has uploaded pictures of his art over there. So here's a fourth: Optima Musica Dei Donum.

Three Favourite Podcasts
This one is harder for me. I have a long list of Catholic podcasts I love to listen to. I've mentioned some of them above, so I'll not list them again. Not surprisingly, two of the three of my absolute favourite Catholic podcasts are from the SQPN network.

1. Catholic Weekend with Captain Jeff
2. Health & Holiness with Fr. Roderick Vonhögen
3. The 15th Station

Three Other Media
Since I have an iPhone, I'll mention three Catholic apps.

1. iBreviary
2. The New Mass
3. Catholic Calendar

Three Random Catholic Things Online

1. Marian Antiphons
2. Saints.SQPN.com
3. Fr. Leo Patalinghug's Grace Before Meals movement

My Own Project
I just say "project" because the content on my blog is not necessarily limited to Catholic (with a capital C) content, especially since I am an organist/choir director for a small Episcopal parish near Duke University.

My project is affiliated with SQPN and is one of "The Secrets" podcasts. Yes, the podcast that brought me to the amazing wealth of Catholic podcasts and the SQPN community is now one on which I serve as a panel member: The Secrets of Harry Potter. It's an honour and a privilege to be on this panel with such people as Fr. Roderick, Jim Beeghley, Maria Johnson, Bob McWilliams, and Ariadna Quijano. We're still doing podcasts; we just haven't been a prolific as we've been in the past. So stay subscribed, and we'll continue to come up with thought-provoking content for you. :)

I still have yet to leave the positive reviews for three Catholic podcasts and three Catholic apps at the iTunes Store, but I will do that soon.

Wow. I didn't realise I had a lot to say. But there you have it. Have you done your part to promote Catholic Media? If not, fill in this meme. You'll be glad you did.