Friday, May 16, 2003

June Carter Cash Dead







Goes to show you never can tell. Who would have thought she would have died before Johnny?

Thursday, May 15, 2003

The Color of Money







Most countries have colored money, now we do too!

Wednesday, May 14, 2003

Russian Monks will Read Your Prayers Before Miraculous Image of the Virgin...



For a Price




From the The Scotsman - International:



MONKS at one of Russia’s most famous religious retreats, the Holy Lake Monastery of Our Lady of Iberia, have struck on a new scheme to raise cash - selling prayers on line.



Visitors to the monastery’s website (www.iveron.ru) can now complete a prayer form and send it to the monks, who pledge to read it aloud in front of the "miracle-working" Iberia icon of the Holy Virgin.



A single mention in prayers costs 25 roubles (50p), while an "eternal" mention costs 1,000 roubles (£20).



Payment can be made by post, bank transfer or using an internet payment scheme. The prayer service has provoked a torrent of criticism from believers, who have recorded their protests in the monastery’s on-line visitors’ book.

Tuesday, May 13, 2003

Seminarians Abducted in Uganda



From Catholic News.com:



The Ugandan army is seeking a group of rebels who abducted more than 40 trainee Catholic priests over the weekend.



Army spokesman Major Bantariza told the BBC that at least 100 soldiers had been sent to rescue the boys.



An eight-year-old boy was shot dead during the attack, which happened early on Sunday morning at the Lacor junior seminary in Gulu district, about 400km north of Uganda.



The Lord's Republican Army (LRA) rebellion has lasted 16 years, during which time thousands of children have been abducted and conscripted to fight alongside the rebels.



The director of Lacor seminary, Mathew Odong, said he fears those abducted may be forced to become LRA fighters.
Ad Limina Visits for Non-Catholic Christian Leaders?



From Catholic News.Com--Former Anglican head suggests all religious leaders report to Pope:



Dr George Carey, who retired as Archbishop of Canterbury last year, has recommended that leaders of other religious communities make regular ad limina visits to the Pope, as Catholic bishops do.



Dr Carey made his proposal on Saturday, the last day of the seminar on John Paul II: 25 Years of Pontificate, the Church at the Service of Man, organized by the Lateran University.



"I am convinced of the value of the 'ad limina' visits which the Pope has with his colleagues of the episcopate from all over the world," held every five years, he said.



Dr Carey wondered if "Pope John Paul II might consider having an informal consultation, every now and then, with the leaders of the Churches of other communions".

Monday, May 12, 2003

Modern Art



I've written about modern art on this blog before with some insight into "art imititating life." Below is a link to a UK Times piece on why it is okay not to like modern art--this reminds me of a joke that I heard on the radio the other day:



An older woman was looking at a piece of modern art in a gallery rather confused, seeing the gallery owner nearby she pointed at it and said "What is it?"



Rather condescendingly he pointed out, "It is supposed to be a mother and child."



She responded, "Then why isn't it?"



Why it's OK not to like modern art

By Julian Spalding at Times Online:




I HAVE NEVER met anyone who told me they loved modern art. No one ever came up to me, their eyes glowing with pleasure, telling me I just must see, say, the new wall drawings by Sol Lewitt in the 1970s, or the smashed-plate paintings by Julian Schnabel in the 1980s, or the life-size, glazed porcelain figures by Jeff Koons in the 1990s.



I have, however, met plenty of people who have told me that I ought to like modern art. There is some place for “ought” in life, but none at all in art; art is a gift, not a duty. The people who told me that it was my job as a curator to like modern art invariably had a vested interest in so doing: either they earned their living making, teaching, criticising or curating modern art, or they came from the worlds of the media and marketing, who genuinely admire anything that can attract so much attention.

Saturday, May 10, 2003

Florida



Tallahassee Democrat | 05/09/2003 | Man who can't swim saves woman in pond



Tracy Olson cannot swim. But when he saw an elderly woman lose control and drive her car into a small pond behind his home, he knew he had to do something.



So Olson, a self-employed plumber, grabbed a hammer and dog-paddled his way to the sinking Ford Crown Victoria. He made his way to the car, broke one window with the hammer and managed to pull Ann Adamski, 86, to safety.



"He couldn't swim, but he jumped in," said Pasco County Sheriff's Sgt. Raymond Stanley. "He did what he had to do. He saved her life."




A good story about a hero, but brings home how in Florida old people drive into ponds and sometimes even into other people.