HILDEGARD - "A FEATHER ON THE BREATH OF GOD"

On this day (The Feast of St. Agnes) two years ago, my beloved cat Hildegard departed this world. She truly was a "feather on the breath of God" and I still miss her terribly. Call me a sentimental old man, but know that my life is not the same without her. At some primal, yea theological, level I'm confident she waits for me in the heavenly realms. Good girl!

--Bruce+ (aka Canon Itchy)

Bruce, I won't call you a sentimental old man. I'll call you a man who belonged to the beautiful Hildegard who loved him very much, and a man who loved Hildegard back with all his heart. My sympathy to you on this day. I know, too, that Hildegard waits for you.

WHAT CAUSES ARTHRITIS????

A drunk man, who smelled like beer, sat down on a subway next to a priest. The man's tie was stained, his face was plastered with red lipstick, and a half-empty bottle of gin was sticking out of his torn coat pocket. He opened his newspaper and began reading. After a few minutes the man turned to the priest and asked, 'Say Father, what causes arthritis?'

The priest replies, 'My Son, it's caused by loose living, being with cheap, wicked women, too much alcohol, contempt for your fellow man, sleeping around with prostitutes and lack of a bath.'

The drunk muttered in response, 'Well, I'll be!!!!' Then he returned to his paper.

The priest, thinking about what he had said, nudged the man and apologized. 'I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to come on so strong. How long have you had arthritis?'

The drunk answered, 'I don't have it, Father. I was just reading here that the Pope does.'

MORAL: Make sure you understand the question before offering the answer.

Don't blame me. Blame Lisa. Yes, that Lisa.

NOVEMBER 2011

On November 11, at 11:11 and 11 seconds AM and/or PM, it will be:

11/11/11 11:11.11

---------------------------------------------

This year we will experience 4 unusual dates.-1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11, 11/11/11.

Now go figure this out.... take the last 2 digits of the year you were born plus the age you will be this year & it Will EQUAL .... 111.


Cool,huh?

From Doug.

"BLACK SWAN" - A WILD EMOTIONAL RIDE

A couple of nights ago, Grandpère and I went to see "Black Swan". GP pushed me to go, which surprised me, because I didn't think he'd care to see a ballet movie. The ratings were positive, for the most part, and I was happy to go.

What a wild emotional ride the movie turned out to be. We were both swept up in the experience and stayed with it until the end. "Black Swan" has been described as a psychosexual thriller, and that's about right. I'll try my best not to give away too much of the story, as I write about the movie. Wonder of wonders, Grandpère, who has never been to a ballet, now says that he would like to see a ballet. For him, the film was a conversion experience.

Across the board, the principal actors gave fine performances. Natalie Portman, as Nina Sayers, an aspiring ballerina, was amazing. I read that she did 90% of the dancing in the movie. She and Mila Kunis, who played Lily, Nina's rival/friend (in an impressive performance!), both spent several months practicing and getting into shape to play their roles as dancers.

The artistic director of the ballet company to which both Nina and Lily belong, Thomas Leroy (Victor Cassel), plucks Nina from the corps de ballet to dance, according to tradition, the dual starring roles of Odette/Odile, the good white swan and the evil black swan. Leroy is confidant of Nina's ability to dance the part of Odette, but he harbors doubts that Nina has what it takes to dance the evil Odile. Lily is chosen as the understudy.

Barbara Hershey (Erica Sayers) as the creepy, smothering, former ballet-dancer stage mother of Nina was outstanding, as were Winona Ryder (Beth Macintyre), in a cameo role as the aging ballerina, edged out of the limelight, and Vincent Cassel (Thomas Leroy) as the artistic director.

Benjamin Millepied plays David, Nina's dance partner in "Swan Lake". The real-life Natalie Portman is now engaged to Millepied. and the two are expecting a baby.

The cinematography, which was shot in cinema verité style, is terrific, as is the score for the film, with Tchaikovsky's wonderful music for the ballet woven in. All the excellence is pulled together by the director Darren Aronofsky from a screenplay by Mark Heyman and Andres Heinz.

Make no mistake, the movie put us through an emotional wringer and won't be soon forgotten. The film is many-layered, and I know I missed out on a good many details in certain scenes. After GP and I left, and we questioned each other, "What really happened there and there?" We answered some, but not all of the questions that we posed one to the other, and, about certain scenes, we concluded that there may be no one answer.

I highly recommend the movie, although I expect it won't be everyone's cup of tea. But keep in mind that GP and I have fairly different tastes in movies, and we'd both like to see the film again.

THE LOW ANTHEM - "CHARLIE DARWIN"

Thanks to AmyJ for the push to do what I was already thinking about doing. I've posted the video before, but I like the song, and I like the stop-action video.

BLOGGER'S BLOCK?

Is there such a thing? I don't know, but I'm having a hard time writing and posting lately, even posts that are mostly quotes and a link. It doesn't help that I've been heavily involved in the maintenance of me with various visits to doctors, tests, etc., really boring stuff, but stuff that's got to be done. I'm past the family physician, the blood work, the eye specialist, and the audiologist, with only the dentist and the mammogram left to pursue. Imagine how I look forward to the white-knuckle time in the dentist's chair and having my breasts squeezed by a heartless machine. I haven't had the courage to even make the appointments yet, but I will, and soon.

Tomorrow, Grandpère and I are off, bright and early, to New Orleans for sweet William's Grandparents' Day at his school with a mass scheduled at nine o'clock in the morning. Groan...not for spending the morning with William, but for the early hour. Why not an afternoon mass and visit?

Yesterday, on the way to New Orleans for my appointment with the ophthalmologist, I listened to a gorgeous CD of arias sung by the late Swedish tenor, Jussi Björling, titled "The Ultimate Collection", which was a gift to me from Cathy, my friend, fellow-traveler, and fellow survivor of MadChauffeur's driving. On the way home, I listened to The Low Anthem's "Oh My God Charlie Brown Darwin", different music, but satisfying, too. (Added: Can you believe my mistake?)

Since I was stuck in 5 mpr traffic due to road work for miles on the way to NO, I was grateful for the presence of Jussi's lovely voice. I was also 30 minutes late for my appointment, but everyone in the office was quite nice about my tardiness.

Catharsis! The post was good for me. Was it good for you? Nevermind. Don't answer the question. I probably should have written and saved what's here permanently to draft form and never let it see the light of day, but here it is, for all the world to see. Perhaps, I'm now unblocked. We shall see.

STORY OF THE DAY - GOOD JUMPER

I'm a good jumper, he said, but I'm not
so good at landing. Maybe you should
stay closer to the ground then, I said &
he shook his head & said the ground
was the whole problem in the first
place.

From StoryPeople.

UPDATE ON AILEEN

From Sally Boyd

Begin forwarded message:

From her husband, Mike, at 10 p.m., 1/18/11:

One step forward. One step back. Incredibly, Aileen's kidneys suddenly started working 2 days after kidney doc said they were probably done! So much so, that the doc took her off of dialysis today!! However, they had to reopen the incision as the internal bleeding caused some of the infection to move around the incision. She is in much pain and is on a pain medicine drip. Major infection concern, again. Please continue prayers.

Sally Boyd is the priest who ministers to Aileen and Mike.

May God the Father bless you, God the Son heal you, God the Holy Spirit give you strength. May God the holy and undivided Trinity guard your body, save your soul, and bring you safely to his heavenly country; where he lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

O God, give to Mike and all who watch and wait with Aileen strength and courage during this difficult time. Surround them with your presence in the power of your Holy Spirit that they may trust in your everlasting love.

From Ann.

Please pray for Judy.

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

Prayer request from Muthah+

R. I. P. CAROLYN WAGNER - GAY RIGHTS PIONEER

From the Arkansas Times:

Carolyn Wagner, the feisty Fayetteville mother whose struggle to stop gay and lesbian bullying in schools resulted in a landmark legal agreement, has died in Tulsa after a long struggle with cancer, liver failure and hepatitis she acquired through a blood transfusion.

Wagner filed a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights of the United States Department of Education in 1997, saying that her son William had endured years of homophobic harassment and bullying while a student in the Fayetteville School District, resulting in a broken nose and other injuries. Wagner and her son claimed school officials and teachers turned a blind eye to the abuse. In 1998, the OCR reached an agreement with Fayetteville School District which forced both OCR and the school district to recognize the harassment of gays and lesbians as falling under Title IX, which prohibits sexual harassment and discrimination. It was the first case in which Title IX was deemed to cover gay and lesbian bullying.

Wagner's victory in her struggle to protect her son is considered a milestone in the gay and lesbian community — so much so that it has been immortalized in song.

Thanks to Dave Adkins (Arkansas Hillbilly) for the link. Dave has a new blog called Hillbilly Cooking.

WHAT HAPPENED IN MY BIRTH YEAR?

I've Received E-Mails About The Year Of My Birth before...
This One Is Completely Different!

Give It A Try And Click The Link Below.

Very Interesting!!! Just enter the year of your birth in the box and watch history unfold!


What Happened In My Birth Year?

From Doug. I thought it was interesting. I found out that my birth year is the same as Leonard Cohen, Alan Bates, and Dame Edna.

UPDATE: I added a picture of a 1932-34 Ford Model B from my birth year, 1934. Padre Mickey, who is a mere youth, gave me the idea. Picture from Wikipedia.