STORY OF THE DAY - SIMPLE LIFE

I was going to live simply & give away all
my money to the poor, she said, until I
figured out then I'd be poor, so the
simple thing was just to keep it. I like it
when things make sense like that, she
added.

From StoryPeople

ARSON CAUSE OF FIRE AT LESBIAN COUPLE'S HOME

The Daily Times:

Carol Ann Stutte and her partner, Laura Stutte, are afraid to return alone to what is left of their Vonore home in Monroe County (Tennessee).

After being victims of an arson and having the word “queers” spray painted on their garage, the lesbian couple is fearful for their safety.

“We would love to stay (in the area),” Carol Stutte said Friday. “But we will never, never rebuild (on that property) again. I take someone with me constantly — one or two people to make sure I'm OK while I'm up there.”

Detective Travis Jones, with the Monroe County Sheriff's Department, said authorities aren't releasing many details about the fire — which happened Sept. 4 at about 10 p.m.

“It is an arson and we are continuing the investigation,” he said Friday. “There are people of interest in the case,” and authorities, including the state Bomb and Arson Squad, are still conducting interviews.

Well, for the time being, bigotry seems to have won the day in driving the Stuttes from their home, but perhaps the ugliness of the incident will serve to open some eyes in the community. I hope that the authorities pursue the case vigorously and bring the arsonist or arsonists to justice.

H/T to Jim Burroway at Box Turtle Bulletin.

GALILEO WAS WRONG AFTER ALL

From Slashdot:

"'Galileo Was Wrong' is an inaugural conference to discuss the 'detailed and comprehensive treatment of the scientific evidence supporting Geocentrism, the academic belief that the Earth is immobile in the center of the universe.'

Ann V. sent me the link to the website sponsoring the conference with the subject, "you gotta be kidding me". The conference is real, but what to say about the folks who believe "the Earth is immobile in the center of the universe"? For every cockamamie idea that arises, the gullible are out there to latch on to it.

A few, not all, of the subjects to be discussed:

Geocentrism: They Know It, But They're Hiding It
Scientific Experiments Showing Earth Motionless In Space
The Biblical Firmament: Outer Space Is Not Empty (Who says it is?)
The Fathers and Exigesis of Scripture on Geocentrism
Carbon 14 & Radiometric Dating Show Young Earth

Ya gotta be kidding me.

Slashdot adds:

Unfortunately, there is still a significant minority of Western people who believe that the Earth is the center of the universe: 18% of Americans, 16% of Germans, and 19% of Britons."

I hope there is live blogging from the conference..

Me, too.

PRAYER FOR SABBATH REST

Since I did not use the prayer on Labor Day, when Ann Fontaine sent me the link, I thought I'd post it on the Sabbath - today or tomorrow.

From In Praise of Sophia.

"CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL, PEOPLE"

Nicked from MotherAmelia at My Mother Is a Father, who says:

Watch this Nissan commercial. It was aired at the New Orleans Saints' football game and it really nails the global warming issue. Besides, polar bears are beautiful creatures to watch. Makes me want to consider a Leaf as my next car.

Me, too. It's a great commercial. Good for Nissan.

IN REMEMBRANCE - SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 - PART 2

For remembrances from those closer to the scene:

Tobias Haller's poem at In a Godward Direction

Doug's post at Counterlight's Peculiars

Fran's three-part account of the day at There Will Be Bread:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

UPDATE: And Elizabeth Kaeton's post at Telling Secrets.

IN REMEMBRANCE - SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

I have not forgotten. Once again, I find that I have no words, only thoughts and emotions which I cannot express. I offer these words from The Book of Common Prayer:

I am Resurrection and I am Life, says the Lord.
Whoever has faith in me shall have life,
even though he die.
And everyone who has life,
and has committed himself to me in faith,
shall not die for ever.

As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives
and that at the last he will stand upon the earth.
After my awaking, he will raise me up;
and in my body I shall see God.
I myself shall see, and my eyes behold him
who is my friend and not a stranger.

For none of us has life in himself,
and none becomes his own master when he dies.
For if we have life, we are alive in the Lord,
and if we die, we die in the Lord.
So, then, whether we live or die,
we are the Lord's possession.

Happy from now on
are those who die in the Lord!
So it is, says the Spirit,
for they rest from their labors.

(Book of Common Prayer - p. 491)

Below is the interior of St. Paul's Chapel near the World Trade Center, which I still consider the miracle church. However did the chapel come out relatively unscathed from the destruction all around it? When Grandpère and I were in New York a year or so after September 11, 2001, we attended a brief noonday service at St. Paul's. I was quite moved just to be inside the building which seemed even more hallowed because of its service as a place of rest and refreshment for those who worked at the site of the destruction. On an earlier visit, while the workers were still using the chapel, my sister and I cried as we walked around the perimeter of the fence when the memorials still covered every surface.



This post is mostly recycled from last year, and the year before that, and the year before that. I remember and note the day with deep sadness, but I have few words.

Images from Wiki here and here.

HOW TWINS ARE MADE...

So this is how they do it...
One of life's great mysteries solved.

 

(Only twenty years ago, no one would have understood this joke!)

Awwww... Thanks to Doug.

PLEASE PRAY FOR JCF'S FRIEND CATHY

JCF said...

I think of my friend Cathy, fighting her Stage 4 Cancer, w/ anemia-inducing (and of course, hair-losing) chemo.
....

[I know I don't have to ask y'all, but please keep praying for Cathy (currently awaiting the results of an MRI, to see if there are any brain mets).

I'll see her in early October (long enough after this month's chemo, but before next month's), if she's up to it.

She's the strongest person I know.]

O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers: Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to your servant Cathy the help of your power, that her sickness may be turned into health, and our sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

ITALIAN PROVERB OF THE DAY

"A tavola non si invecchia" - You don't age while seated for a meal.

Rather wonderful, isn't it? Thanks to Lapin.