Thatcher's Death Sends Sales of "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead" Into Top 10

The story is here:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/04/11/thatcher-s-death-sends-sales-of-ding-dong-the-witch-is-dead-into-top-10.html

Oscar-winning politician Glenda Jackson speaks her mind:

 

A Quote for the Day

“People are not looking for Christians who are perfect but those who are honest.”

 

Shane Claiborne, founder of the Simple Way (quoted in the Washington Post)

A Quote for the Day

 "As soon as his name was announced our house became a loony bin, with everyone calling us and chaos all around."

 

 

 

Photo: John Allen interviews Maria Elena Bergoglio, the pope's sister.

http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/popes-sister-francis-plenty-tough-enough-lead

Open Letter to the Supreme Court

A Quote for the Day

“Our time on this earth is limited; I know that better than most.  Life comes down to who you love and who loves you back — government has no place in the middle.”

Sen. Mark Kirk (R) of Illinois, arguing that “same-sex couples should have the right to civil marriage."  Kirk returned to work in January after spending a year recovering from a stroke.  He is the second Republican senator to support same-sex marriage.

Love the Sinner / Hate the Sin?

Letters from Prison

When the young boys at the juvenile detention facility in LA heard of Pope Francis’ wish to celebrate the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper at Rome’s Casal del Marmo prison with the young inmates there, many of them expressed their desire to participate from afar and in close solidarity to what the Pope was going to do in another juvenile hall.

To do this they have written letters to Pope Francis, thanking him for his gesture of love and service, praying for him – as he has asked all of us to do, describing the sadness of their lives in detention, and asking for prayers to help them endure the darkness and hopelessness of their situations…


Dear Pope Francis,
Thank you for washing the feet of youth like us in Italy.
We also are young and made mistakes.
Society has given up on us, thank you
that you have not given up on us.


Dear Pope Francis,
I think you are a humble man.
When you read this letter you will have washed the feet of other kids like.
I am writing this letter because you give me hope.
I know one day with people like you us kids
won't be given sentences that will keep us in prison
for the rest of our lives.
I pray for you. Dont forget us.


Dear Pope Francis,
I don't know if you have ever been to where I live.
I have grown up in a jungle of gangs and drugs and violence.
I have seen people killed. I have been hurt.
We have been victims of violence.
It is hard to be young and surrounded by darkness.
Pray for me that one day I will be free
and be able to help other youth like you do.


Dear Pope Francis,
Tonight we pray for all victims of violence.
The families of people we have hurt need healing.
Our families need healing.
We are all in pain.
Let us feel Jesus' healing tonight.


Dear Pope Francis,
I know the same youth feet that you wash
are like me.
Drugs have been part of me life for so long.
We all struggle to be sober.
But you inspire me and I promise to be sober
and help others with the cruel addiction of crystal meth.


Dear Pope Francis,
My many friends are in two different maximum security
prisons in one of our states 33 state prisons.Calif. I am writing to tell you that I feel bad
that more youth of color are in prison in our state
than any other place in the world. I am inviting you to come
here next year to wash our feet, many of who have been sentences to die in prison.
God bless you.


Dear Pope Francis,
I read that the harshest sentence that a youth
can receive in Italy is 20 years. I wish this was true here.
I hope I hear back from you. I have been catholic and glad I am catholic
because I have a pope like you.
I will pray for you every day because we need examples of God like you are
in this violent world.


Dear Pope Francis,
I am glad you picked the name Francis. When I was little I read about St.Francis. He is a cool saint. He was a man of peace and simplicity. I am praying to you that you pray that we have peace in our gang filled neighborhoods.


Dear Pope Francis,
When Jesus washed the feet of his friends he gave an example of humility. I have been raised to believe that it is only with respect in hurting your enemy that you are a man. Tonight you and Jesus show me something in this washing of the feet something very different. I hope we kids learn from this.


Dear Pope Francis,
I have never been to Rome. I do not know if it is near Los Angeles
because all my youth I have only known my neighborhood. I hope one
day I will be given a second chance and receive a blessing from you
and maybe even have my feet washed on Holy Thursday.


Dear Pope Francis,
I know you have a good family. I am writing this letter to you because I know
that my family is suffering because of me. I know have done some bad things but I am not a bad kid and when last year in our big state we not a new law called SB9 this made me family happy because this is a beautiful message that we kids deserve a second chance.


Dear Pope Francis,
From reading I know that us kids are capable of making decisions like older people do. I have seen pictures of brains of kids and adults. I am asking you as Pope to help us and
help other people understand we can change and want to change.

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/03/28/letters_from_prison/en1-677778

Happy Easter

XPICTOC ANECTH

 

CHRIST IS RISEN!

 

 

"Why do you seek the Living One

among the dead?

He is not here.  He has been raised up."

He Descended into Hell

“Out of our midst he plucked the shade
of our first parent, of Abel his son, of Noah,
and of Moses, obedient in giving laws,
the patriarch Abraham, and David the king,
Israel with his father and his sons,
and with Rachel, for whom he served so long,
as well as many others, and he made them blessed.
And, I would have you know, before these
no human souls were saved.”

Virgil to Dante, Inferno IV, 55-63 (Hollander translation)
Art: Duccio di Buoninsegna

Good Friday

“I’m a Christian not because of the resurrection … and not because I think Christianity contains more truth than other religions … and not simply because it was the religion in which I was raised (this has been a high barrier). I am a Christian because of that moment on the cross when Jesus, drinking the very dregs of human bitterness, cries out, 'My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?' … The point is that he felt human destitution to its absolute degree; the point is that God is with us, not beyond us, in suffering.”

 

Christian Wiman

The Magic Word

A Quote for the Day

 

"Here I would add one more thing: caring, protecting, demands goodness, it calls for a certain tenderness.  In the Gospels, Saint Joseph appears as a strong and courageous man, a working man, yet in his heart we see great tenderness, which is not the virtue of the weak but rather a sign of strength of spirit and a capacity for concern, for compassion, for genuine openness to others, for love.  We must not be afraid of goodness, of tenderness!" 

 

Franciscus Papa, at his inaugural mass today, the feast of Saint Joseph

 

A Quote for the Day

"Catholicism does not propose any specific economic or political systems, but it must always criticize whatever systems insult human dignity."

Michael Sean Winters, in "Pope with a Purpose," a brief, excellent reflection on Pope Franciscus

Franciscus Off to a Good Start

 

I haven't yet seen anyone tease out the theology in the new pope's words to the crowd at St. Peter's.  Francis referred to himself five times as "bishop" and to Benedict XVI as "bishop emeritus."  He never said "pope," "supreme pontiff," "universal shepherd," or "vicar of Christ."  As bishop of Rome he addressed the people of Rome, and his mention of the cardinal vicar's assistance in "the evangelization of this most beautiful city" underscored the local perspective.

 

His new mission won't be static and predetermined but a journey, and a shared one: "And now, we take up this journey: Bishop and People."  The "we" is not the papal "we"; it's we the People of God.

 

Francis then alluded to the wider (universal) aspect of the mission: "This journey of the Church of Rome which presides in charity over all the Churches."  He was echoing what may be the earliest attribution of a special charism to the Church of Rome: it "presides in love," according to St. Ignatius of Antioch, writing in the early second century.

 

Instead of authority or orthodoxy, Francis went on to evoke "fraternity," "love," "trust among us," and above all, "pray[ing] for one another."

In Memoriam: Van Cliburn

In 1958, at the height of the Cold War, the 23-year old Texan Van Cliburn won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.  The Russians loved him, Nikita Khrushchev gave him a bear hug, and New Yorkers honored him with a ticker-tape parade.  His signature pieces:






http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/28/arts/music/van-cliburn-pianist-dies-at-78.html?hp 

How to Become a Pope

Father James Martin, S.J., wants your vote:

http://americamagazine.org/content/all-things/why-i-should-be-pope-or-habemus-me

Ash Wednesday

The conclusion of Pope Benedict XVI's final mass in Saint Peter's Basilica.

 

What's in a Name?

Quick Laugh

The Casa Real Library

One of the first things I looked for when I got here was the library.  I found two tall bookshelves and a couple of shopping bags on the floor.  Most of the books (you'll think I'm exaggerating) were what people in the publishing trade refer to as "bodice-rippers."  On the front cover is Mr. Totally Handsome Hunk, barechested; swooning in his arms is a Scarlett O'Hara wannabe.  The word "passion" is generously sprinkled over the front and back covers.

 

These books were in mint condition, which meant nobody was reading them.  Clearly, someone well-meaning but misguided had donated a few boxes of them.

 

There were other books worth reading, by popular authors, but a lot of stuff would interest no one.  And NONE of the books were in LARGE PRINT.  As for a copy of the Bible, not a one.

 

So I've created a library wish list for anyone who'd like to contribute.  And you're welcome to send along suitable books lying about your home, since not everyone here needs large print.

"My kingdom for a horse!"

Bones Under Parking Lot Belonged to Richard III

LEICESTER, England — In one of Britain’s most dramatic modern archaeological finds, researchers here announced on Monday that skeletal remains found under a parking lot in this English Midlands city were those of King Richard III, for centuries the most widely reviled of English monarchs, paving the way for a possible reassessment of his brief but violent reign.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/05/world/europe/richard-the-third-bones.html?hp

Generations

I became a great-granduncle for the first time a few months ago.  My great-grandniece, Scarlett, is a lively and happy baby.

 

 

 

And I just got the first photo I've ever seen of my great-grandmother Theresa Brown Ward.

 

 

Theresa gave birth to Lucy, who gave birth to Eleanor, who gave birth to William, who begot JoAnn, who gave birth to Caitlin (Kate), who gave birth to Scarlett.

 

 

The Quintessential New Yorker

Edward I. Koch, the master showman of City Hall, who parlayed shrewd political instincts and plenty of chutzpah into three tumultuous terms as New York’s mayor with all the tenacity, zest and combativeness that personified his city of golden dreams, died Friday. He was 88.       

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/02/nyregion/edward-i-koch-ex-mayor-of-new-york-dies.html?hp

"Healthy"

"You're healthy," my not-a-doctor doctor told me the other day.  (He's a P.A., or physician's assistant, and he looks like Anderson Cooper.)  He was referring to my overall condition: I'm not undernourished, anemic, and weak, as I was when I got here, thanks to three unstoppable nosebleeds (which came out of nowhere) within two weeks.  The P.A. was ignoring the nastier problems that keep me here for the long term, but it was still good to hear him say I'm healthy.

The chief nasty is emphysema, which ties me to my oxygen tank and prevents any form of exertion. I  walk slowly, avoid heavy lifting, etc., etc.  So routine housekeeping is beyond me, and that's why I'm staying here at Casa Real.  (The term "nursing home" is now politically incorrect: Casa Real is a "healthcare facility," sans hyphen.)

My heart plays a nasty trick on me now and then -- palpitation -- which creates a good deal of drama.  An ambulance arrives; five handsome firemen or EMTs arrive and inject me with adenosine; my heart stops dead in its tracks for about 30 seconds while my chest feels as if an elephant herd is stampeding across it; and before I can fathom how anything could be so horrific, the elephants fly away and my heart resets to normal.  Then off we go to the hospital (just across the road) for about five hours, for EKG, chest X ray, and blood work.  Finally I return home.

I write all this because a number of people have asked about my medical condition.  For my part, I'm more content than I've been in years.

Pictures

We've finally got Internet access in every room.  It's very slow (1.5 MB/sec) but the plan is to raise it to about 10 MB.

Here's me outdoors in the the courtyard in better weather, along with my new BFF, the oxygen canister.

 The courtyard at Casa Real is quite pretty.

 Vicki is my partner in crime.

 

My roommate, Augustine (rhymes with now-goose-TEEN), is a Native American from San Juan Pueblo.  His brother was vising today and they were speaking Tewa!

I've decided to remain here, since there's no way I can live independently.