AFTERNOON AT THE MOVIES

 

My grandson and I headed off to the movie theater this afternoon to see "How To Train Your Dragon". In my habitual fashion, I was running late, so by the time we bought our tickets and made the stop at the concession stand, the movie had already started, but only by a few minutes. Sigh.... When we handed in our tickets, the ticket-taker said they were for the next showing of the movie, about two hours later!!! He said, "The movie has already started." I asked if we could go in anyway, and he said yes. Yay!

Of course, my grandson ran far up the stairs to a seat higher than I wanted to go, but I gamely followed. We crawled over the folks in the row and settled down. After a few minutes, GS says, "I left my candy on the counter! I'm going to get it." He jumped up, passed me, and knocked my bag of popcorn on the floor. I said, (in the middle of a movie for kids!) "Gotdammit, you spilled my popcorn!" Lord, forgive me. Children forgive me. On GS went crossing in front of the people in our row again, but not spilling their popcorn.

He came back with his candy, and we settled down to watch the movie. Suddenly we begin to see double, and I realized that 3D had kicked in, and we didn't have 3D glasses! Honestly, I thought about watching the movie in double vision, because we'd already made such a fuss, but GS wanted the 3D effect, which is quite understandable. I told him to go wherever to get us our glasses, and he crawled over me and the others in the row again and made a successful run for the 3D glasses. I guarded my half bag of popcorn which I had rescued from the floor, so he didn't knock it down again. We settled again to watch the rest of the movie with our 3D glasses without causing further disturbance. When I reached into my pocket to get a napkin, there was GS's bag of candy. I picked it up off the counter and forgot all about it, because the server distracted me by trying to sell me a new item, a cinnamon pretzel for $5.50, which I declined.

The movie was charming, enjoyable for both children and adults, with enough in the way of chases on the ground and in the air, close calls, fire-breathing, etc. for GS, and a literate and lovely message for all ages.

When the movie was over, I picked up our trash, except for the sea of popcorn at my feet, turned in the extra bag of candy at the concession stand, (I am honest to a fault!) and we were on our way home.

So. Should I give up taking grandchildren to the movies? We seem to have more than our share of adventures. We, no doubt, annoyed a few folks, but we didn't hurt anyone. I suppose we'll try again.

IS TEC ON A WAYWARD PATH?

Check in at Openly Episcopal in Albany to read the post titled, Former Bishop Savages TEC, on the opinion column in the Richmond Times-Dispatch by retired Suffragan Bishop David Bena of Albany, who departed from the Episcopal Church.

The painful irony is that TEC's decision to reject the authority of God's Word has been gravely injurious, and has itself caused the very division that TEC's leaders claimed they sought to avoid. Once someone rejects Scripture, then they reject Jesus Christ and Christianity as a whole. It's as simple as that. We could not follow a national body that rejected the very Word of God.

Strong words indeed from Bishop Bena, who continues to speak to groups and preside over Eucharists at the Spiritual Life Center of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany.

IRVIN MAYFIELD'S "BOOK ONE" WINS GRAMMY

"The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra won for the Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album the debut CD Book One at the 52nd Grammy Awards. The album was composed and arranged by Irvin Mayfield, Artistic Director and founder of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra - and good friend to our diocese [the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana]. Book One explores post-Katrina stagnation, the ongoing financial crisis, and falling in love.

Mayfield and Ronald Markham CEO and president of the 20-piece orchestra accepted the award and thanked the City of New Orleans, members of the orchestra and past jazz greats Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Jelly Roll Morton and Danny Barker. 'This Grammy award demonstrates that jazz is alive and resides in New Orleans,' said Mayfield, adding that 'the musicians in the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra took original compositions and created timeless music.'

Book One was recorded live at Christ Church Cathedral in November 2008 for the Cathedral's annual 'All the Saints' concert. The concert was originally commissioned after Hurricane Katrina and was hailed as the cultural reopening of New Orleans. Each year the performance includes elements of the original along with new music composed by Mayfield. Congratulations to everyone involved!"

Text from Churchwork, the official publication of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana.

If you like big band jazz, go to Amazon to listen to snippets of the tracks. If you like what you hear, you may want to buy the album. I already have the album and recommend it highly. It's good, quite good.

"ORDAINED WHILE GAY...THE NEW DRIVING WHILE BLACK"

Please read John Chilton's piece at The Lead titled An occasion for gay bashing and scapegoating:

Ordained while gay -- it's the new driving while black.

In a revealing campaign, Anglican Mainstream seeks to persuade you that sex with children reveals whether you are gay. And it's using the Catholic sex abuse story to make its claims. (And also is an apologist for that church's handling of sexual abuse.) Anglican Mainstream claims the problem is not with the church, but with homosexuals in the priesthood. According to its website, the "Primatial Adviser" of Anglican Mainstream is The Most Rev Drexel Gomez, former Archbishop of the West Indies who chaired the committee that drafted the Anglican Covenant. (My emphasis)

John lists articles in Anglican Mainstream which attempt to demonstrate that sex with children shows whether a person is gay. The list is long.

The Draft Committee for the Anglican Covenant tilted in an anti-gay, anti-North American direction from its inception.

ANOTHER LITTLE BREES IS ON THE WAY

Brittany, Drew, and Baylen Brees after the Superbowl

From NOLA.com:

Brees revealed that he and his wife, Brittany, are expecting their second child in October -- a little brother or sister for 15-month-old son Baylen, who became immortalized as a Saints mascot during the Super Bowl postgame celebration.

"We're very excited, " said Brees, adding that fatherhood has been an "awesome" experience.

STORY OF THE DAY - PIG CAT

Your cat seems very healthy, I said to
her. That is not a cat, she said. That is a
pig in cat's clothing.


From StoryPeople.

THE LAWS OF ULTIMATE REALITY - PART 1

Law of Mechanical Repair - After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch and you'll have to pee.

Law of Gravity - Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

Law of Probability - The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act.

Law of Random Numbers - If you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal and someone always answers.

Law of the Alibi - If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the very next morning you will have a flat tire.

Variation Law - If you change traffic lanes, the one you were in will always move faster than the one you are in now (works every time).

Law of the Bath - When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone rings.

Law of Close Encounters - The probability of meeting someone you know increases dramatically when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.

Law of the Result - When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will.

Thanks to Doug.

A HISTORIC DAY!

Arkansas Hillbilly posted two good news items at Hillbilly Musings. Thanks be to God, indeed.

RANDOM IMAGES

EMS RESCUE DOG

 

Breathe, damn you, breathe!

From Doug.



(Illustration: a bumper sticker spotted by a reader in Juneau.)



H/T to Andrew Sullivan.

 

Thanks to Lapin.

ANOTHER INSIDER OPINION

About a week ago, I added Andrew Sullivan's The Daily Dish to my Google Reader. New posts appear on his blog with amazing speed. I haven't counted the average number of posts in a single day, but I'm sure it's quite high. His blog is exhausting but worth reading. I wonder - does Andrew even take bathroom breaks?

His post today titled Our Screwed Up Priests is spot on. I know that a good many of you disagree that celibacy and child abuse are related, but I stand by my opinion that there is a connection. By no means am I saying that mandatory celibacy is the sole cause of the abuse of children in the Roman Catholic Church - just that enforced celibacy is in the equation.

Sullivan quotes from an interview on NPR with "Dr. Leslie Lothstein [who] has treated more than 300 Catholic priests" at one of the psychiatric centers to which priests were sent for treatment.

One of the biggest challenges in treating priests, Lothstein says, is that they don't have the same kind of sexual experiences -- or history of talking about such experiences -- that an ordinary adult may have. "Many of the priests tend to be psychosexually immature," he says. "They've never taken a course in healthy sexuality."

He says some of them have gone into minor seminary at age 14 and developed "a sense of self without having appropriate lines of dating, meeting other people, experimenting with touch, kissing, ordinary sexuality."

Back in the day, some boys entered seminary at age 13, when they finished elementary school, however I gather that now one must be 18, at the youngest, to be considered as a candidate for seminary.

Sullivan says:

If celibacy is a mature choice, it can be a wonderful act of self-giving. But when mandatory for all, it prevents many healthy men from entering the priesthood, offers a cover for those terrified of their own sexuality and thereby creates a priesthood dominated by the emotionally immature.

Exactly.