What Happened To The Pink Elephants?

From the Telegraph:

A New Zealand man who claimed he was raped by a wombat and that the experience left him speaking with an Australian accent has been found guilty of wasting police time.

Arthur Cradock, 48, from the South Island town of Motueka, called police last month to tell them he was being raped by the marsupial at his home and needed urgent assistance.

Cradock, an orchard worker, later called back to reassure the police operator that he was all right.
....

Police prosecutor Sergeant Chris Stringer told the court that alcohol played a large role in Cradock’s life.

From Lapin labeled, "This week's silliest story!"

More Prayers, Please

Blogger Kate Morningstar said...

My Dad's in hospital as of yesterday. I thought it would be a very short stay, and he'd die in the next few days. But there's something they can do that will make him more comfortable and able to breathe, without fixing the problem. They're saying, after they've done it, they're planning to send him home early next week. It will still be soon.

Dad's illness is a logical consequence of what he's done in his life. I believe that in the next phase of his existence, whatever that is, he will be offered healing he wouldn't or couldn't take in this phase. And that at some point, he'll be able to move into that healing.

A big part of the problem is -- he is completely unwilling to accept the possibility that there is a Source of All Healing and Help, or a next phase of existence.

I made his favourite kind of cookies this morning, and I'm going now to deliver them to the hospital. We do what we can.

Kate, you did good with the cookies. Prayers for your dad that he finds healing, comfort, consolation, and the peace that passes understanding, and that he finds hope in the Source of all hope. Prayers for you and your family, too, that the love of God surround you all.

From The General(s) To The Particular

The two articles from the Associated Press appeared one beneath the other in my local newspaper, just as I post them here.

From the AP via MSNBC:

In the confidential confines of a Pentagon conference room known as "the Tank," President Bush moved one step closer to temporarily halting U.S. troop cuts in Iraq.

No decisions were announced at the closed-door session Wednesday, but officials said later that the heads of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps indicated they would go along with a halt.

The chiefs stressed, however, their concerns about the accumulating strains caused by an Iraq war that is now in its sixth year and that has forced the Army and Marine Corps in particular to keep troops in combat longer and on more frequent tours than officials believe can be sustained in the long term.
....

The chiefs' concern is that U.S. forces are being worn thin, compromising the Pentagon's ability to handle crises elsewhere in the world.

From the AP via USA Today:

FORT STEWART, Ga. — Army Staff Sgt. Robert Brown's third deployment Iraq was also his longest -- he was 39 when he left, and he turned 41 the day before he returned to Fort Stewart on Wednesday.

His wife, Taura Brown, and 4-year-old son Jacob had a cake waiting for him at home that said, "Happy Birthday and Welcome Home."

Brown was part of the first Army division tapped for a third combat tour in Iraq. He was among 500 soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Brigade returning Wednesday from a 15-month deployment to Iraq. The rest of the brigade of 4,000 troops will return in the next two weeks.

"The only thing I want to do is just go home and be around nobody but them," said Brown, of Chatham, La., as he pulled off his helmet and flashed a wide smile at his wife and child.
....

At least 75 soldiers from the 19,000-soldier division died during the latest deployment, the military said.

The division helped lead the charge to Baghdad in the 2003 invasion, and returned to Iraq in 2005.

During their third deployment, division soldiers had their tour stretched to 15 months -- compared with the typical 12 month rotation -- as the Pentagon boosted troop levels in Iraq to crack down on violence from insurgents.

"It seemed like forever," said Spc. Bradley Glasscock, 33, of Wilmington, Ind. "We were already three months into the deployment when they told us we'd get an extra three months. So it seemed like we stopped and started over again. We were just biting at the bit to get home."

I was going to comment, but res ipsa loquitor.

Prayer Request For Naomi

From Caminante:

As Kris Carr author of "Crazy, Sexy, Cancer" would say, Get your posse going.

So, you all, you are Naomi's prayer posse. She needs your prayers. Spread them far and wide. Put her on whatever prayer list you know. Just pray. Pray for her, her mother, father, four sisters and brother.

She wrote tonight on her website:

"So, not so great news. I’m going to finish radiation and try a chemo for two weeks. The chemo wont cure it but we’re hoping that it’ll slow or shrink it a little. It is Ewings and it is growing and being very aggressive. After radiation and chemo they will do an assessment but after that they said that there is nothing else they can do. After the assessment they will be labeling my case as terminal. My parents and I have talked about it and decided to try eveything out there to fight this beast. We’re going to research alternatives and holistic approaches. If anyone has suggestions or knows anything please let me know. I’m hoping things work out but now I really begin my fight."

I can't believe they told her that they would be calling her case 'terminal.' It's so harsh.

If you all know of anything that might help, write me in the comments and I will pass it along.

Our prayers can make a difference. I don't know for what to pray but God knows. Thanks.

Prayers for healing for Naomi and for comfort, consolation, and peace for her and for those who love her.

Blogging for Doorman-Priest

While Doorman-Priest is away at Vicar School this week, he gave the key to his blog to The Reverend Boy and to me, and asked us to post while he was gone. When I said yes, I had no idea how daunting the task would be when the time came to actually write a post. I struggled and discarded and finally posted at The World of Doorman-Priest. If you'd like, you can read my post there. RB's post will be later in the week.

The task was difficult, because I believe that DP is quite good at what he does, and I didn't want to disgrace him on his own blog. I wonder if he realized the risk involved in handing me the key. I've already been tempted to put up something naughty.

Signed,

Doorman-Priest's humble servant (aka Grandmère Mimi)

20th Century Martyrs - Westminster Abbey

Statues of 20th-century martyrs on the façade above the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey. Those commemorated are Maximilian Kolbe, Manche Masemola, Janani Luwum, Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia, Martin Luther King, Óscar Romero, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Esther John, Lucian Tapiedi, and Wang Zhiming.

Thanks to Lapinbizarre who sent me the links with this comment:

It is a wonderfully "catholic" assembly, isn't it?

Indeed, it is a "catholic" assembly. That's the best of Anglicanism, the catholic, embracing Anglicanism, contrasting with the narrow, exclusive Anglicanism that certain members of the leadership in the Anglican Communion are presently advocating.

Image from Wiki

UPDATE: Links to biographies of the martyrs can be found here. Scroll down to the section labeled "Commemorated".

Feast Day Of Oscar Romero (Missed)

Yesterday, I missed the feast day of Archbishop Oscar Romero. Mea maxima culpa!

Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez (August 15, 1917 – March 24, 1980), commonly known as Monseñor Romero, was a priest of the Roman Catholic Church in El Salvador. He later became prelate archbishop of San Salvador.

As an archbishop, he witnessed numerous violations of human rights and began a ministry speaking out on behalf of the poor and victims of the country's civil war. His brand of political activism was denounced by the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church and the government of El Salvador. In 1980, he was assassinated by gunshot while consecrating the Eucharist during mass. His death finally provoked international outcry for human rights reform in El Salvador.

What wise words in this prayer from Archbishop Romero:

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.

The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation
in realizing that. This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well. It may be incomplete,
but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference
between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
Amen.

"No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."
John 15:13

Archbishop Romero is under consideration for sainthood by the Roman Catholic Church, but the Episcopal Church has moved ahead and given him a feast day. Thanks be to God.

PRAYER

Almighty God, you called your servant Oscar Romero to be a voice for the voiceless poor, and to give his life as a seed of freedom and a sign of hope: Grant that, inspired by his sacrifice and the example of the martyrs of El Salvador, we may without fear or favor witness to your Word who abides, your Word who is Life, even Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be praise and glory now and for ever. Amen.

Picture and biographical quote from Wiki.

How Smart Is Your Right Foot?

This is not new, and I have already tried it, and it is true, but I needed a laugh. From my well-trained daughter, who knows when her mama needs a laugh:

I could not believe this!!! Just try it!

It is from an orthopedic surgeon [?]............ This will boggle your mind and you will keep you trying over and over again to see if you can outsmart your foot, but, you can't. It's preprogrammed in your brain!

1. Without anyone watching you (they will think you are GOOFY......) and while sitting where you are at your desk in front of your computer, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles.

2. Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your right hand. Your foot will change direction. I told you so!!!

And there's nothing you can do about it! You and I both know how stupid it is, but before the day is done you are going to try it again, if you've not already done so. Send it to your friends to frustrate them too!

My friends, here is my gift to you today. I am frustrated about a good many large issues, today. Here's a small frustration to take your mind off the big ones.

PS: The left foot is just as smart.

Coal And Wood 'More Damaging Than Thought'

From the The Guardian:

So what are you going to do about it? I know what I'll do. Since I don't burn coal or wood and can't help with that, I'll start thinking a lot less.

Automatic Confession

Thanks to Doug (who else?) for bringing this to my attention.