1. New York City, New York
2. Honolulu, Hawaii
3. San Francisco, California
4. Las Vegas, Nevada
5. Lahaina, Hawaii
6. Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
7. New Orleans, Louisiana
8. San Diego, California
9. Sedona, Arizona
10. Seattle, Washington
See the entire list of the top 25 most popular places visited in the US at TripAdvisor.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
EL CINCO DE MAYO - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GAYLE!
Today is my beloved sister Gayle's birthday. She died five years ago on April 27. We celebrated her life in a memorial service on her birthday, May 5, 2006. After the service, we had a quiet gathering of friends and family. Later that evening, we had a not-so-quiet gathering, in other words, a party. Gayle loved parties, so it was fitting.
She also loved that she shared her birthday with the Mexican celebration. Of course! Another occasion for a party.
¡Viva México! ¡Viva El Cinco de Mayo!
Viva Gayle! May we meet in the kingdom!
Friends of Gayle set up The Dillenkoffer Endowment to provide scholarship grants to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered teens. If you'd like to make a donation, click the link or click on the plaque on the right sidebar.
We know that it's not easy to come out as a teenager. The consequences, at worst, can be nothing less than deadly. I greatly admire all the young men and women who have the courage to step forward and claim their identities in the face of the difficulties.
UPDATE: Here are the names of the winners this year:
$5K winner-Clay Stacy - St. Louis, MO
$3K winner-Kyla Kiefer - Perryville, MO
$1K winner-Jessie Doggendorf - Dittmer, MO
$1K winner-Hayley Gilchrist - Wichita, KS
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"How many more gay people does God have to create before we ask ourselves whether or not God actually wants them around?"
Minnesota State Rep Steve Simon
Watch the video of Rep Simon's full statement on pending legislation in Minnesota to ban marriage equality at The Friends of Jake. It's great.
Unfortunately, the legislation is likely to pass with Republican majorities in both houses.
A CERTAIN JUSTICE
Stolen from Padre Mickey. I don't know who did the shop job, but, if I find out, I will give credit.
As I said at Padre Mickey's:
"Mission Accomplished" was surely one of Bush's most embarrassing moments. As others, especially the press, fawned over Bush in his flight suit, I laughed. It was one of the most ridiculous performances I had ever seen. (Lightly edited)
I was wrong to laugh. It wasn't and isn't funny to the service members and civilians who have been killed or maimed since Bush's day of "triumph", nor is it funny to their loved ones. The wars go on, so the picture isn't true today, either. Still, I see a certain justice in the photoshop.
UPDATE: Image from BartCop.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
GET RID OF NON-SCIENCE IN LOUISIANA SCIENCE CLASSES
Support for the effort to repeal Louisiana's anti-evolution law is mounting. The American Institute for Biological Sciences, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the American Society for Cell Biology, the Louisiana Association of Biology Educators, the Louisiana Science Teachers Association, the National Association of Biology Teachers, and the Society for the Study of Evolution together with the Society of Systematic Biologists and the American Society of Naturalists have all endorsed Louisiana's Senate Bill 70, which if enacted would repeal Louisiana Revised Statutes 17.285.1, which implemented the so-called Louisiana Science Education Act of 2008. All of these statements are posted at the Louisiana Coalition for Science's website.
That should be enough to get the attention of the legislators who passed the stupid bill, but who can tell?
A real hero in the fight for repeal of the bill is Zack Kopplin, a high school student from Baton Rouge. His website is Repeal Creationism.
The Louisiana Science Education Act of 2008 should be renamed to the Louisiana Non-Science Education Act. The law disgraces and embarrasses all but the ignorant amongst us.
The text of the act may be found here.
D. This Section shall not be construed to promote any religious doctrine, promote discrimination for or against a particular set of religious beliefs, or promote discrimination for or against religion or nonreligion.
And the above statement from the text is nothing more than a load of BS.
BLESSINGS AND CONGRATULATIONS, BRYAN
On Monday evening, my grandson Bryan, pictured above in the red gown, was one of the confirmandi at St Matthew the Apostle Church in River Ridge. He stands with his Dad, Mom, and two brothers, William on the left and Andrew on the right. Grandpère was his sponsor. The girls wore white gowns and the boys red. Both Bryan and GP played their parts well. The mass was lovely, with the choir at St Matthew's performing and leading the congregational singing beautifully. Roman Catholic Archbishop Gregory Aymond gave a sermon suitable for all ages. Altogether, it was a lovely evening.
Above is Bryan with his aged (OMG, how aged!) grandparents. At a certain point in one's life the picture-taking should stop, right?
I should mention here my mea culpa for having missed my oldest grandson's confirmation, much to my regret, due to a misunderstanding on my part that Grandpère, also Joey's sponsor, was going to a rehearsal instead of the real thing. I should also mention that miscommunication in my family is not all that unusual.
In the top picture, Bryan's eyes caught the light of the flash and were blank. I shopped in eyes as best I could, but the result is far from perfect. Sorry, Bryan.
Above is the picture my daughter took of Bryan in front of the Resurrection cross. I wish I had caught him in his wicked moment with his arms stretched out. Alas....
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
PRAY FOR KIRSTIN
From Kirstin at Facebook:
Unprintable!
Brain mets "progressing." [unprintable]
Unprintable!
O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers: Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to your servant Kirstin the help of your power, that her sickness may be turned into health, and our sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE BISHOP WEARS ARMANI
From the Guardian:
The devil may wear Prada, but a Sicilian bishop has set out to show Satan does not have a stranglehold on designer clothing by ordering new vestments from Giorgio Armani.
Bishop Domenico Mogavero drew compliments from churchgoers when he turned out for mass on Monday on the Mediterranean island of Pantelleria in green silk vestments designed by Armani and decorated with symbols of vines, wheat, shells and starfish.
The bishop insists that his vestments are not part of a fashion show, that their beauty is for the glory of God. I'm willing to cut the bishop slack because of his delicious sense of humor.
Most recently he [Bp. Morovero] penned the preface to a book that details the financial scandals at the Vatican during John Paul II's papacy and was published on the eve of the Polish pontiff's beatification.
Another view of the vestments from Corriere del Mezzogiorno.
So. What do you think? Thumbs up, or thumbs down on the Armani vestments?
UPDATE: Of the rumors that the pope has a weakness for Prada shoes, L'Osservatore Romano says that the pope's shoes are are made "by an Italian artisan". Further:
"The Pope is not dressed by Prada but by Christ," the newspaper stated.
All right, then.
Monday, May 2, 2011
OSAMA BIN LADEN'S DEATH
Thus far, I haven't said much about Bin Laden's death. At The Lead, I said, "May the Lord have mercy upon him." I add now that God is just, and God is merciful, and I'll leave it to God to sort out Bin Laden's fate.
With all due respect and sympathy to all those who have suffered or died due to Bin Laden's evil schemes, I cannot find it within myself to take joy in the death of another human being. I wanted Bin Laden stopped from doing harm, and now he's stopped. For that I feel relief.
Several posts by bloggers speak wise words about Bin Laden's end. Mark Harris, at Preludium, Penny's post titled A Note About the Death, and Rmj at Adventus. Rmj picked up commentary from around and about and added his own.
As a sign that I am entirely human and capable of taking the low road, I said the following at Penny's blog:
What I did not add at Penny's blog is the rest of what I wanted to say: "Up yours, all you Americans who call our president a terrorist!"
With all due respect and sympathy to all those who have suffered or died due to Bin Laden's evil schemes, I cannot find it within myself to take joy in the death of another human being. I wanted Bin Laden stopped from doing harm, and now he's stopped. For that I feel relief.
Several posts by bloggers speak wise words about Bin Laden's end. Mark Harris, at Preludium, Penny's post titled A Note About the Death, and Rmj at Adventus. Rmj picked up commentary from around and about and added his own.
As a sign that I am entirely human and capable of taking the low road, I said the following at Penny's blog:
Still, I take a certain satisfaction in the timing. For all George Bush's bluster, Osama bin Laden was not killed on his watch but on the watch of a president who has been labeled a terrorist by certain citizens of this country. Not exactly a Christian sentiment on my part, eh?
What I did not add at Penny's blog is the rest of what I wanted to say: "Up yours, all you Americans who call our president a terrorist!"
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