DR KEVORKIAN'S WORK CONTINUES

From The Borowitz Report:

Paul Ryan Vows to Continue Kevorkian’s Work

Medicare to be Replaced with ‘Kevouchers’

Read the rest and more funnies at the link.

OLD COMPUTER, NEW COMPUTER

We are looking to buy a new desktop computer. The store where we had decided to buy the computer promised they would transfer my material from the old desktop to the new and clean the old computer for Grandpère to use. He doesn't do nearly as much on the computer as I do, and the old computer cleaned of my stuff should serve him well.

Well, it turns out that the store cannot do all that they promised, because the employees are only salesmen and not technicians. So we took our old computer back home and, by a miracle, I managed to get the plugs in the right place and get the old computer up and running again.

Now, I'm not sure I will purchase a computer from the store, and I will definitely need someone to do the transfer, because I do not want to lose what I have on my drive in an effort to do it myself. Please do not offer do-it-yourself advice to make the transfer, because I will not even try. Grandpère knows nothing about computers, so he's no help at all.

This post as a whine. Consider it not worth reading but simply as a diary post where I vented my frustration - top secret, for my eyes only.

UPDATE: The good news is that I believe I can set up the new computer on my own. I'll see about the rest.

SHORT STORY OF THE DAY

Wolves were closing in on a mother skunk and her family and there was no place for them to hide.

As the wolves came closer, the mother skunk said,
"We will form a circle, dear children, and let us spray."

I've already asked Doug to leave the stage.

FROM LESLEY TO JIM

Please read Lesley's post titled Moratorium Schmoratorium. The post is short, so I won't give you a quote, but the title should be enough to intrigue you.

And then, read Jim Naughton's post at the Daily Episcopalian on the process of choosing a bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington DC as compared with....

Last week, while the Church of England was dealing with embarrassing revelations about how badly the Archbishops of Canterbury and York had behaved while selecting the current Bishop of Southwark, I was observing the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D. C. as it prepared to choose the successor of Bishop John Bryson Chane, who retires in November.

The process that I witnessed was so different than the one described by the late Dean Colin Slee in his now-famous memo, that it seems almost unfair to draw comparisons. In filling the vacancy in Southwark, the English method of appointing bishops was clearly at its worst. Or so one hopes. A story of subterfuge leavened with a dash of Python-like absurdity, it featured a media leak meant to scuttle two candidacies, clumsy attempts to blame the leak on an innocent party, an investigation into the leak whose findings have been kept secret, and a delicious moment in which the Archbishop of York lobbied for votes while leading a group outing to the toilet. Little wonder that members of the Crown Nominating Committee were reduced to tears during the proceedings.

There's more.

The process in DC sounds similar to ours in the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, when Morris Thompson was elected bishop about a year ago.

FEAST OF THE ASCENSION

THEOPHANES the Cretan - The Ascension - 1546
Stavronikita Monastery, Mount Athos

Matthew 28:16-20

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

Collect for Ascension Day

Almighty God, whose blessed Son our Savior Jesus Christ ascended far above all heavens that he might fill all things: Mercifully give us faith to perceive that, according to his promise, he abides with his Church on earth, even to the end of the ages; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

The icon is exquisite. The colors are gorgeous; the figures are graceful and beautifully highlighted; the balance of the arrangement of Jesus, Mary, the Apostles, and the angels is wonderful. I don't know how to read icons, but I see inspiration and soul food in the image above.

About the artist:

Theophanis Strelitzas (Θεοφάνης Στρελίτζας), also known as Theophanes the Cretan (Θεοφάνης ο Κρης) or "of Crete" or "Theophanes Bathas", was a leading icon painter of the Cretan school in the first half of the sixteenth century, and in particular the most important figure in Greek wall-painting of the period.

Image from The Web Gallery of Art.

Biographical information from Wikipedia.

GREAT SEX QUOTES

What a cynic you are, Rod.

If you don't think these are great sex quotes, don't blame me. Blame Doug.

TWO GOOD NEWS STORIES

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Illinois’ new law allowing civil unions took effect Wednesday, and gay and lesbian couples began lining up hours before county clerk’s offices opened so they could be among the first to get a civil union license.

More than 75 couples were in line by the time the doors opened early at 7:30 a.m. at the Cook County Building in downtown Chicago, where the vital records office will stay open until 7 p.m. to accommodate couples. Officials said they expect to issue about 2,000 licenses the first day.

The first couple in line, Lakeesha Harris and Janean Watkins, look really happy.

Illinois now is among six states that allow same-sex couples benefits similar to those granted married couples.

Many couples in line to obtain a license Wednesday said they look forward to Illinois one day joining five other states and Washington, D.C., in allowing same-sex marriage, as well.

Same-sex marriage is on the way. Unfortunately, it may be a while before gay and lesbian couples throughout the country will be able to marry, but the movement is forward. And it seems that the federal government may eventually have to step in to end the confusion about how the rules apply in states with different laws.

From CBCNews:

Anglican parishes in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island now have permission to bless same-sex marriages, but they still can't perform the ceremony for gays and lesbians.

The decision was made over the weekend at the 143rd Synod of the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

A blessing can only be given to couples who are legally married. It's up to each priest and parish to decide whether to give it.

The Archbishop of Canterbury will not be pleased.

As I see it, the churches should confine themselves to blessing couples who are already married and cease being agents of the state by getting out of the marriage business altogether.

A LITTLE DITTY FROM EARTHA KITT[Y]

Lapin wanted to know if I could have played the song "Lovin' Spree" on the family Victrola back in my youth, and the answer is yes. In the 30s, 40s, and 50s, there were many such songs with double entendre lyrics that were acceptable within the family circle, at least within my family circle in what has been known as the "Wicked City" (New Orleans).

However, the early rock and roll records by African-American musicians were an entirely different matter. I would never have thought of buying the songs to play them in my home. The rock and roll songs with lyrics that included barely disguised sexual references, with the "double" mostly left out of double entendre, were fine for dancing in lounges, but not for listening at home. New Orleans may have been unique in that in the 1950s, we could go to the lounges at age 15 or 16 with no questions asked about our age. An equivalent in rural areas for dancing to the early rock and roll may have been roadside inns and juke joints.

Of course, good Roman Catholic convent school girl that I was, the lyrics were not what attracted me. I liked the rock and roll beat.

DROUGHT! I'VE BEEN TELLING YOU

From the Baton Rouge Advocate:

A statewide burn ban takes effect at 9 a.m. Wednesday, an order issued because of persistently dry weather that has caused severe to exceptional drought over 90 percent of Louisiana, state officials said.
....

The ban takes effect on the first day of the June 1-Nov. 30 hurricane season and after weeks of flooding fears from the swollen Mississippi River.

The paradoxical mix of climatic threats raises the possibility of simultaneous federal declarations for both flood and drought in some parishes now coping with Morganza Spillway inundations, state and federal officials said.

Land in these areas may be either in severe or extreme drought conditions or inundated, depending on what side of the levees it lies, the officials said.

I've never known a time when we have gone for months without rain in south Louisiana. About a month ago, we had two brief showers, which the dry ground soaked up immediately and which helped the situation not at all.

I believe in climate change.

LAMBETH PALACE'S NEWEST FACILITY