I need a haircut.

Crap! I meant to make an appointment - too late now - I'm off to confession.
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BTW - I may start painting celebrity mug shots.

How we know that Pope Benedict and Monsignor Ganswein do not read blogs.

In his letter regarding the Bishop Williamson affair, The Holy Father mentioned the following;

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"I have been told that consulting the information available on the Internet would have made it possible to perceive the problem early on. I have learned the lesson that in the future in the Holy See we will have to pay greater attention to that source of news." - Source

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Unfortunately, the Holy See probably will have to monitor the Internet more closely. However, I find it consoling to know they are busy with more important matters and do not have all day to waste surfing the net and blogging. (I hope they have a better vetting process than Obama when it comes to appointing someone to oversee it. I'd stay clear of the overly ambitious.)

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Photo: For Kat.

Empty Holy Water Fonts...

And church ladies.

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My local parish has adoration all day on Wednesdays. It is one of Minneapolis' best kept secrets. Few people attend, aside from a handful retired folks, I would guess in their 80's. They each sign up for a specific hour - sometimes coming in by two's. It is very quiet, without distraction; rather than a small chapel, we are in the main church.

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Last spring, the woman who schedules the adorers and finds substitutes for absentees, had to undergo surgery. She asked if I could fill in for her. I was delighted to do so, although I had reservations about reposing the Blessed Sacrament at the end of the day. (The pastor is unavailable at that time of the afternoon.) At the closing of adoration, we recite the hymns and prayers for benediction from our places in the pews; after which, I repose the Sacrament and return the candles and monstrance to their place in the sacristy. For me it is rather difficult to perform this function; though it is permitted, I am not comfortable doing it.

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Although I wasn't aware of it initially on Wednesday, the lady for whom I was filling in is now well enough to resume her responsibility. In fact, she was present for the last two hours of adoration. At one point, she came over to my pew and said a few words about the absence of Holy Water; I mentioned that I noticed a large container of it in the sacristy. "Oh, are you going to fill the fonts then?"

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I laughed. "Not at all. I couldn't do anything like that unless Father asked."

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She chuckled and returned to her pew, without mentioning her desire to close adoration. As we (there were 3 of us) concluded the hymn, I entered the sanctuary to repose the Blessed Sacrament, unaware she was following me; upon leaving the tabernacle, I discovered her standing at the foot of the altar.

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I'm not sure if she was annoyed with me, or if she was embarrassed or what, but I got the distinct impression she wanted to be responsible for 'benediction' from now on. After everything was locked up, I walked with her to her car, and I said, "I hope you will be able to take care of things now, I'm ready to step aside if you don't mind."

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Smiling she said, "Well, maybe we can switch off now and then - we'll talk."

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I rarely, if ever, get involved in parish activities.

Socializing with rabbits...

Feeling snubbed?

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Last evening after nightfall, I went out to feed the rabbits. I greeted Mrs. Rabitowitz, who was in the far back hedge which separates St. Joseph's wood from the garden. She appeared to be keeping watch as is usual, and therefore while thus occupied, she rarely speaks. In the beginning I always felt a bit snubbed, although I later came to understand she actually reciprocated my greeting with a slight nod of recognition. Feeling snubbed is nothing but a deception invented by self love for humans, whereas rabbits never experience it at all.

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To my surprise, as I leaned over to place the supper on the rabbit's little table, I noted a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye. I spontaneously glanced back towards the garage door, just a foot or two behind me, realizing one of Mrs. R's bunnies had just scampered past me. He sat rather gingerly upon the threshold, and peered in, looking all about. I watched quietly for a moment, yet fearing he might enter and get locked in, I greeted him softly, "Why hello! I don't believe we've met." Hearing my voice he quickly ran back into the south hedge a few feet behind me, where he remained while I set the table.

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Finishing, I stood there, much like his mum would, staring at the trellis; wild rabbits do that you know - they often do not look towards their children when they are close by, nor while speaking to them while away from the nest. As a protective measure, they usually position themselves some distance from the bunnies, pretending to look in another direction from where the children are grazing, thus attempting to divert potential hunters and predators. (And that is why Mrs. R keeps watch so far away and doesn't speak.)

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Trying to reassure the little fellow, I said, "So you must be Mrs. R's son? You've grown up so fast." Silence.

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"Oh my goodness, you're a shy little fellow, aren't you yet? For many years your mum was like that as well. But you'll soon learn you have nothing to fear from me - I just keep an eye out for all of you, nothing else." More silence.

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It occurred to me that it would be best if I continued to speak so that he grows accustomed to my voice; "You don't need to respond at all - I know you're there. I suppose I better let you eat your supper though. Please say hello to your dad; I hope he's still doing okay." True to form, bunny rabbit remained silent - he was well taught. A man ought never to waste his emotions feeling snubbed by them, remembering that when it comes to rabbits, it takes a very long time to win their trust - and it is ever so easy to lose it.

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Stepping back to enter the house, I turned to look at him, whispering, "Night-night Schmui! You are such a good boy." As if on cue, he suddenly ran away, down the hedge row, taking cover in the thicket.

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Image source.

Expensive Decadence: Haute Couture Trash Art

Alexander McQueen

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Le costume parisiens it is not. It is simply burlesque. A misogynist's trick. At best, a Lindner-esque performance-art parody on the fashion industry. Women in Ronald McDonald lips, eyes wide shut, with way too much money. More photos here.

Home for Purim

Purim ends tonight - or last night - depends on the website. Mrs. Rabitowitz forgot to remind me.

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Photo: Christopher Guest's "For Your Consideration"

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H/T to Kat - I know! I was surprised too.

Pope Benedict XVI

My God, how I love the Pope, this one in particular.
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Dear brothers, in the days in which I bethought myself to write this letter, it so happened that I had to explain and comment on a section from Gal 5,13-15 in the seminary in Rome. I was surprised how directly the sections spoke of the present in that hour : “Do not take freedom as an excuse for the flesh, but serve one another in love. The whole law is summarized in the one word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. If you bite and rip each other apart, then take care that you do not kill each other.” I was always inclined to see this sentence as one of those rhetorical hyperbole that occasionally appear in St Paul. In some ways it may well be. But unfortunately that “biting and ripping” is also present in the Church today as an expression of a badly understood notion of freedom. - Unofficial translation of the Letter of His Holiness to Bishops Regarding the Lifting of Excommunication on the SSPX Bishops. - Source

Come, let us contrive a plot... Jeremiah 18

Meddling on the web.

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Some people watch other people on the web. They keep a sharp eye, often to discredit or catch another in error. Yes, I get most of my material that way. However, I really do not set out to dig up dirt - I just happen across stuff that certain people freely acknowledge on their sites, stuff which strikes me funny or a bit odd sometimes. Others must have noticed as well, since they will comment on it. Although the more discerning, if they were to discuss such revelations at all, would do so privately. When it doesn't concern serious matter, I'll often discuss it publicly; not maliciously, but to explore the inconsistencies of human nature - at least that is what I tell myself. I've always been fascinated by such behavior, growing up as I did in a terribly dysfunctional household of lies and pretensions, so I sometimes cannot resist pointing out similar deceptions. I suppose it is my way of saying, "No one is going to fool me again." I also find it amusing, but I have to be very careful... For one thing - not everyone gets my humor. Secondly, I have a tendency to lapse and relapse and re-relapse into inappropriate humor and sarcasm... which is unfortunate. I'm trying to do better.

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After all is said and done however, one must acknowledge that the web has given us all the ability to live our lives publicly now - many of us reveal our most intimate thoughts and aspirations online; we imprudently parade our sins and faults before others, often dressed in sincere, albeit indiscreet pious sentiments of repentance; on some level, many of us have become virtual exhibitionists. Sometimes we can be caught off-guard, diverted from real life by gazing Narcissus-like at the image we present through our posts. Then we can spend even more time looking for responses, checking the hit counter, lurking on other sites. This is social connectivity at its worst. (Naturally, there is very good, helpful stuff out there, not all bloggers do that stuff... or do you?)

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Nevertheless, it is to be expected others will form opinions of us based upon what they read or view on our sites. One should not be surprised therefore if one is misunderstood, or when one receives criticism, inappropriate comments, or, God forbid, becomes the subject of gossip. We put ourselves out there.

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"Help us ever to withdraw from hurtful things and guide us toward those which are wholesome." Hurtful things: the Latin text calls them something closer to toxic, or noxious, meaning poisonous! It is hard sometimes for us to pull away from the very things that threaten to poison us. - Fr. Mark

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Do yourself a favor this Lent and read Vultus Christi. It is extremely rare to find a blog of such spiritual depth and authentic Catholic mysticism online. Each post is a rich, spiritual treasure.

Anti-Catholic? Voice of the Faithful?

It appears that at least one of their members is certainly not working to build up the Body of Christ.

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From Catholic News Agency:

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Catholics around the country are upset over a new bill in the Connecticut Senate that, in the words of the Archbishop of Hartford, "forces a radical reorganization of the legal, financial, and administrative structure of our parishes." The bill, which bears resemblance to Voice of the Faithful’s Strategic Plan, is being supported by Dr. Paul Lakeland, who believes that in this case it’s appropriate to use state legislation to force the Church’s hand.

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Dr. Paul Lakeland, Fairfield University Chair of Catholic Studies, Voice of the Faithful member, former Jesuit Priest, and author of several books including “The Liberation of the Laity: In Search of an Accountable Church,” recently discussed his support for Connecticut’s controversial Bill No. 1098 with CNA. Dr. Lakeland is also scheduled to testify before the Connecticut General Assembly on behalf of the bill.

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The premise of the bill is remarkably similar to the 2009-2010 Voice of the Faithful Strategic Plan. “The VOTF,” as Dr. Lakeland explains, “grew up in response to the sex abuse scandals here. One of the things that became rapidly apparent, among both liberals and conservatives, was the sense that the bishops hadn’t done a very good job of handling this.”

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Explaining his connection to the bill Dr. Lakeland said, “I’m connected to [the bill] to this degree: I’ve been working pretty closely with Tom Gallagher, who’s a Greenwich businessman, who has been behind the push to get the state government to do something about this. Even though, I don’t think, even he was involved in putting the legislation together.”

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Upon further investigation, Tom Gallagher seems to be more than just a Greenwich businessman, and to have more than just a passive role in lobbying legislators for the change. In a Voice of the Faithful article titled, “The Money Trail: Financial Management and Mismanagement in the Diocese of Bridgeport,” Joseph O’Callaghan quotes ‘Attorney’ Tom Gallagher multiple times.

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Dr. Lakeland also acknowledged his own membership with Voice of the Faithful, by saying “It’s funny, I work with them, but being a member is a very vague thing. I suppose most people would consider me a member, I don’t pay any dues…I think most people would consider me a member, yes.” - Read on.

Stockpiling food and resources.

"Git the gun, dolly!"

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I'm not despising any one's prophecy here, but some of the latter day prophets seem to be creating a lot of drama lately. I live across the street from a Seventh Day Adventist church, which happens to be offering their annual Unlocking Revelation series, which deals with the end times = our times. Some of the church membership think the Pope is the Anti-Christ, and the Catholic Church is the whore of Babylon. No biggie - I call the cops and have them ticketed when they park in my driveway.

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This past weekend however, the highly regarded Evangelical minister, David Wilkerson came out with a soul shaking warning:

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AN EARTH-SHATTERING CALAMITY IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. IT IS GOING TO BE SO FRIGHTENING, WE ARE ALL GOING TO TREMBLE - EVEN THE GODLIEST AMONG US. - Source

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Wilkerson recommends keeping on hand 30 days worth of food and supplies, which is never a bad idea anyway, just as an emergency precaution in the event of a natural disaster, or a terrorist attack. It isn't a dumb idea. In fact, the Word he received revealed what appeared to be a terrorist attack - if I understand him correctly - perhaps followed by widespread civil unrest, hence the recommendation to stockpile supplies.

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I know - I'm not convinced by Medjugorje, and yet I publish this from a non-Catholic. Of course I'm skeptical, but it isn't as if Wilkerson is alone in warning people. Even the vice-president warned of a terrorist attack possibly occurring shortly after the inauguration. And God knows this country has many enemies who would love to nuke us.

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Not long ago, I heard of a physician in St. Paul; he and his family are very devout Catholics, and supposedly they have a years worth of food and supplies on hand, I understand they have a gun as well. I could never go that far.

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Besides, the old rule for Third Order of St. Francis forbids carrying a sword.

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Adrienne has a provocative post dealing with the prospect of Manufactured Crisis - follow the links in the body of the text.

This used to happen to me all of the time...

Tanning bed bursts into flames; man escapes. - Story here.

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I used to be hot!

Here is an interesting tidbit...

A theory on priests with same sex attraction. (Just a theory!)

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"[Homosexual] individuals in the priesthood have a significant affective immaturity with excessive anger and jealousy toward males who are not homosexual, insecurity that leads them to avoid close friendships with such males and an inordinate need for attention.

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Most of these men had painful adolescent experiences of significant loneliness and sadness, felt insecure in their masculinity, and had a poor body image. Well-designed research studies have demonstrated a much higher prevalence of psychiatric illness in those who identify themselves as homosexual.

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Frequently, they may have difficulty working in a collegial and comfortable way with heterosexual males.

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In our clinical experience those with deep-seated homosexual tendencies lack an understanding of the origins of their conflicts and of the possibility of healing." - Source

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Come now, let us set things right, says the Lord. - Isaiah 1: 16-20

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In any case, one might take from this a renewed understanding of how important the cell of self knowledge is to the spiritual life - at every stage, and how the soul should continually return to it, trusting in the healing mercy of God. This, it seems to me, is not just good advice for priests and seminarians, but for anyone who is serious about ongoing conversion in the spiritual life.

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Humility.

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Scripture tells us "God plucks up the roots of the proud, to plant the humble in their place". On some level, one may apply that passage to oneself, understanding that God also assists us in rooting out vice in our life; first, by breaking down our "stem to the ground" - in other words, destroying our false self, our pride; and then he "digs the roots from the earth" - the root sin, the predominant fault, as well as the origin of the conflicts that led the soul to seek consolation and compensation through our particular (disorder) attachment to sin. (Meditation from Sirach 13-16)

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Many writers claim there is no need to search for the origins or reasons why one is addicted to whatever disorder one happens to be afflicted with. I disagree with that since I believe such knowledge is necessary to humility and healing. I have a friend who is preparing to enter a seminary. He tells me he no longer identifies himself as homosexual or gay. In the interview I cite concerning ordination, the Dr. points out; "Those with mild homosexual tendencies do not identify themselves as homosexuals. Such men are motivated to understand and to overcome their emotional conflicts. They regularly seek psychotherapy and spiritual direction."

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Different strokes.

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I realize not all people are motivated in the same way, and not all people may have that degree of faith, if you will; indeed, many reject these theories outright. To be sure, it is not my call as to who is right or who is wrong for seminary or religious life. That is up to bishops, rectors of seminaries, vocation directors, spiritual directors, and confessors to discern. I just happen to believe self-knowledge is a good thing to have.

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"Tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than one ought to think, but to think soberly, each according to the measure of faith that God has appointed." - Romans 12: 3

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Please take note: This post is not written about any one person, nor with anyone in mind - I was simply reflecting upon an article I found on Cathlete - otherwise known as the Catholic Drudge - which corresponded to something my friend who is entering seminary told me.

40 Martyrs of Sebastea

In 320 A.D., Emperor Licinius commanded all the Christians in the East to renounce their faith. Amongst those who refused were 40 soldiers, who were stripped naked, herded onto a lake in the middle of winter, and left there to freeze to death. Heated baths and lighted tents lined the shore in an attempt to lure the men to apostasy. One soldier gave in, yet another on shore, edified by the heroism of the others, removed his clothing and joined the martyrs. Most of the men died during the night, those who survived were killed the following day. Their martyrdom took place in what is today modern Turkey. Their feast day is March 10.
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The image shown above is from the Soviet Gulag, painted by Nikolai Getman. Source

"What a cute little zygote!"

"Oh, thank you, but it is a blastocyst right now, searching for a cozy place to implant." She said, blushing.

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I'm getting an education today in human reproduction and bio-ethics - I know nothing about birthing babies - nothing. Ignorance is no excuse however, and besides, I now have to know if I am expected to explain pro-life positions to non-Catholic friends who challenge me; asking me what the big deal is over embryonic stem cell research. People want to know why it is immoral. Thanks to Jessica, one of my readers, I found National Catholic Bioethics Center and Fr. Tad Pacholczyk's column.

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"Human embryos are already beings that are human (not zebra or plant), and are, in fact, the newest and most recent additions to the human family. They are integral beings structured for matu ­ ration along their proper time line. Any destructive action against them as they move along the continuum of their development disrupts the entire future time line of that person. In other words, the embryo exists a whole, living member of the human species, and when destroyed, that particular individual has perished. Every human embryo, thus, is unique and sacrosanct, and should not be cannibalized for stem cell extraction.

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What a human embryo actually is, even at its earliest and most undeveloped stage, already makes it the only kind of entity capable of receiving the gift of an immortal soul from the hand of God. No other animal or plant embryo can receive this gift; indeed, no other entity in the universe can receive this gift. Hence, the early human embryo is never merely biological tissue, like a group of liver cells in a petri dish; at a minimum, such an embryo, with all its internal structure and directionality, represents the privileged sanctuary of one meant to develop as a human person.

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Some scientists and philosophers will attempt to argue that if an early embryo might not yet have received its immortal soul from God, it must be OK to destroy that embryo for research since he or she would not yet be a person. But it would actually be the reverse; that is to say, it would be more immoral to destroy an embryo that had not yet received an immortal soul than to destroy an ensouled embryo. Why? Because the immortal soul is the principle by which that person could come to an eternal destiny with God in heaven, so the one who destroyed the embryo, in this scenario, would preclude that young human from ever receiving an immortal soul (or becoming a person) and making his or her way to God. This would be the gravest of evils, as the stem cell researcher would forcibly derail the entire eternal design of God over that unique and unrepeatable person, via an action that would be, in some sense, worse than murder. The human person, then, even in his or her most incipient form as an embryonic human being, must always be safeguarded in an absolute and unconditional way, and speculation about the timing of personhood cannot alter this fundamental truth." - Do Embryos Have Souls

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Nevertheless, people do not care. As my friend told me, "Yes, but all of those embryos will eventually be discarded and destroyed anyway, so why not use them for the good of others. Think of Michael J. Fox..."

We interrupt this blog-break to announce: Federal funding for embryonic stem cell research is on!

Why the fuss?

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Today a friend asked me with genuine sincerity, "I do not understand why it is so wrong to take stem cells from embryos, embryos which will be destroyed anyway. Isn't it better to use them to save lives and cure disease? In either case, they will eventually be destroyed."

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I understood his confusion, and answered as best I could, "We have been socially conditioned into rejecting the idea that a human embryo is actually a person. I'm not a bio-ethicist nor a theologian, and therefore I'm unable to explain it in depth, but the destruction of a human embryo is the destruction of a human person. It is killing."

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"Yes, but the embryos will probably be destroyed anyway, so isn't it better to use the stem cells for the good of the living?"

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Again, he wasn't seeking to challenge me, or to argue the matter, my friend simply did not understand why the Church was so opposed. I realized that most lay people, as well as those who are physically disabled by illness, yet hoping for a cure through this research, see it the same way: "What's the difference? If the embryos are there, why not put them to good use." I tried to explain as best I could that I understand that thought process, and compared it to the experimentation by the Nazis. I said, "The prisoners in the camps were going to die anyway, so the Nazi doctors thought, 'why not experiment upon them and harvest what we can first.'"

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"Well that was different," he answered respectfully disagreeing. "This isn't the same thing."

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Human sacrifice back in vogue.

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"I think it is," I said politely. "The marketing of such an evil is more slick and sophisticated today; it is presented as a sanitized, clinical study for the benefit of mankind. (Potentially generating huge profits for the health-care industry.) As a society we already kill children through abortion and in post-abortion born-alive situations. Popular culture ignores it however, and calls it choice. Even if one is against abortion, one does not always accept the reality that an embryo is a human person. Therefore, exploiting human embryos, indeed sacrificing human lives, which do not even look like babies, doesn't seem so evil."

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Nevertheless, I could not persuade him. My friend, along with countless other Americans simply do not believe a human embryo is a person. We discussed the matter for a few more minutes. He, asking if other religions were opposed to it, or was it just the Catholic Church, and so on. Sadly, many people think it is simply a faith issue, and that the Catholic Church is just one religion among countless others, making up rules to control mankind. Such are the effects of relativism - Catholicism is just another ideology. I guess if Buddhism taught that it is okay to do it, then my friend would say, "So there, it isn't immoral." Once again we see how fallen human nature searches for approval, to the point of altering natural law, in order to affirm evil as good.

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Nevertheless, I could not convince my friend, and he changed the subject. He likes the British actor, Tilda Swinton quite a lot.

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Comments are back on BTW.

Signs

"Deeply immoral." - Source

President Obama's decision to lift restrictions on federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research, scheduled to be announced Monday, is expected to provide a major boost to one of the most promising but controversial fields of biomedical research in generations. - Source

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Monday, March 9, 2009. A day of fasting and prayer.

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H/T to Cathy of Alexandra

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Where are they now?

The New Erkel.

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H/T to Boniface: He introduced the photo over at his blog Unam Sanctam.

Have you seen my tool bag?

Lent can be pretty tough, Sisyphus.

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So maybe take the Sunday break.

Reflections

I decided.

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I love song titles for my posts. (BTW, Beyonce's sister was not nominated for a Grammy this year.) Anaways - a math teacher in Jr. High pronounced it that way - he also said things like, "It may and it mayn't." He had to be like 90 at the time - but he was really quite funny - I got his humor, and so he liked to make me laugh.. He once bought an island off Florida in a real-estate scam - he had no idea he was being scammed of course, it turned out to be little more than a sand dune.

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My thoughts are all over the place this morning - I was up until 2AM, watching The Painted Veil. I liked the film very much. It was sad. There was a chink however. A line about a monastery of French nuns who ran an orphanage. The main character, Walter told his wife that the nuns were not quite as virtuous as she imagined. He told her they went into the village and paid mothers for their children, to bring them to their orphanage and make little Catholics of them.

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That line wrecked an otherwise very good film for me. That line will stick in many viewers head when accusations against the Church arise - as they do with increased frequency these days. It is an absolutely ridiculous accusation. One must understand that even in those days, the pagans in China did not esteem girl babies. They wanted, needed, males to support them in their old age. I'm not a historian but I do remember the nuns in school telling us this. Baby girls would sometimes be abandoned or killed. The nuns would have been rescuing the infants. Little things like that...

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Pius XII

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Hitler's Pope, The Deputy... Everyone knows (or should know) about the character assasination plot which has developed throughout revisionist history since the late 1950's. The lie is that Pope Pius XII did nothing to help the Jews in WWII. Some people even believe it. Not true of course. In fact, these lies are as heinous as the lies Bishop Williamson of the SSPX embraced - the No Holocaust conspiracy. Now that is a conspiracy! Lies repeated often enough, along with one or two erroneous little twists of the facts, manipulate and deceive entire groups of people, many of whom should otherwise know better. The purpose of the attacks against the pope is to discredit the Church of course. No Church = no rules, no Commandments, no sin, and all of that. Imagine.

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Say what they want, more and more evidence is being assembled to prove otherwise; that Pius XII was indeed the Angelic Shepherd of the People of God, including our elder brothers in the Faith, the Jews. Fr. Gumpel, the postulator for the cause of the Holy Father's canonization found more evidence last week:

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Father Peter Gumpel, the promoter of Pope Pius XII’s cause of beatification, revealed this week that he has uncovered new proof of the Pope’s efforts to protect Jews from the Nazis. The evidence consists of a note from the archives of a Roman monastery that includes a direct order from the Holy Father to give shelter to persecuted Jews.

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Father Gumpel said the note from the archives of the Augustinian Nuns of the Roman Monastery reads: “The Holy Father wishes to save his children, the Jews as well, and orders that the Monasteries provide hospitality to these persecuted people.”

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Father Gumpel said there are many who claim they would believe “in the work of Pius XII in support of the Jews if only we had a written document.’ Well, two written documents exist: one was sent to Bishop Nicolini of Assisi, who showed it to his collaborator, Father Brugnazzi; both were recognized afterwards by the Yad Vashem as ‘righteous among the nations’.”

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“Here in Rome,” he said, “we now have this document from the archives of the Augustinian Cloistered Nuns” as “a subsequent confirmation that could be useful against those who persistently denigrate Pius XII and attack the Catholic Church.” - Source

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Let's hope and pray that Pope Pius XII will soon be beatified.

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I decided what?

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I decided that when I post about Catholic stuff I will make a generous effort to only post things that "build up the body of Christ". My confessor suggested it.

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Of course this means I'm just going to have to sell the farm - or is that buy/bought the farm? Gosh! There was so much material there. Oh how we laughed together, shook our heads in that "oh you kid" kind of fashion. But now, no more fun "where's Father" (as in Waldo) mysteries. No more guessing, who is coming to dinner. The fashion and cooking specials must come to an end now. As well as the birding, the star gazing... it's all over. It's quite sad really. Yet I never meant any harm - I simply have a warped sense of humor, with a fine appreciation for the eccentric.

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I suppose I'll have to be nice to Belinda now too. Who said life is fair?

Sunday

I've been photographing everything. This is a wooden Zen shrine containing a gilded pewter statue of the Infant Jesus.

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[I'm also cataloging things.]