DAVID ATTENBOROUGH'S - 'PRIMATE CRISIS'

Don't blame me. Blame David Attenborough and Bosco Peters.

MORE ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC ORDINARIATE

Read Bosco Peters' excellent post at Liturgy on the Roman Catholic ordinariate. Bosco points out that the ordinariate is not the only option or 'flavour' for discontented Episcopalians/Anglicans. He posted an entire list, which he admits may not be all-inclusive, but he wants a diagram to help him get up to speed. I would not mind a diagram, as I cannot keep the options straight in my head, either. Of course, the diagram would need updating from time to time, as groups continue to merge and divide.

While you're at Bosco's website, don't fail to watch the video by David Attenborough titled 'Primate Crisis'.

WISDOM FROM AN OLD JEWISH MAN

A CNN journalist heard about a very old Jewish man who had been going to the Western Wall to pray, twice a day, every day, for a long, long time.

So she went to check it out. She went to the Western Wall and there he was, walking slowly up to the holy site.

She watched him pray and after about 45 minutes, when he turned to leave, using a cane and moving very slowly, she approached him for an interview.

"Pardon me, sir, I'm Rebecca Smith from CNN. What's your name?

"Morris Feinberg," he replied.

"Sir, how long have you been coming to the Western Wall and praying?"

"For about 60 years."

"60 years! That's amazing! What do you pray for?"

"I pray for peace between the Christians, Jews and the Muslims."

"I pray for all the wars and all the hatred to stop."

"I pray for all our children to grow up safely as responsible adults and to love their fellow man."

"I pray that politicians tell us the truth and put the interests of the people ahead of their own interests."

"How do you feel after doing this for 60 years?"

"Like I'm talking to a wall."

:-) Thanks to susan s.

BULLYING...WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?

Please read the excellent post at Dirty Sexy Ministry on bullying.

Bullies don't exist.

At least that's the viewpoint held by some who think that the intentional harm they cause to others is just what happens in the course of a day's work or in the course of human relationships. And yes, we who live in community together do things to each other through thought and word and deed that hurt others.

Bullying, however, is another matter. Bullying by adults covers a range of behaviors from teasing which gets out of control (i.e. the person being teased has said or indicated that it's troubling, but the person doing the teasing refuses to stop) to serious criminal activity like verbal threats and physical assault.

I know adult teasers who don't get it that enough is enough. "Oh, it's just teasing," is the excuse. There is no excuse. When a person asks you to stop, just stop.

Bullies are a magnified example of how our own hurts and wounds can hurt and wound others. Most bullies don't see their actions as bullying; they may not even be aware of just how damaging their personal actions are to others. Perhaps a first step to healing may be admitting that there are bullies in both clergy and laity and, even more difficult, admitting that all of us are capable of bullying others. I've yet to meet a person that didn't have places in our self-image that were sensitive and lacking. I've yet to meet a person that didn't, on some level, have issues with authority and issues with misuing it at times. I've yet to meet a person who didn't crave acceptance and attention, and who didn't coerce someone to salve that craving.

I absolutely agree that we all need to examine ourselves for 'subtle and covert' signs of bullying, which is far easier to recognize in others than in ourselves. And yes, there's no denying that bullying happens in the church, at times with catastrophic consequences.

Read the entire post.

STORY OF THE DAY - OUTSIDER

I'm an outsider by choice, she said, but
I'm hoping that won't be my choice
forever.

From StoryPeople.

PRAYER FOR 2012

My prayer for 2012 is for
A fat bank account & a thin body.
Please don't mix these up like you did last year.
AMEN!

Don't blame me. Blame Doug.

BOROWITZ REPORTS...

January 9, 2012

Other Republicans Agree Not to Tell Rick Perry Where Next Debate Is

‘Only Humane Thing,’ Candidates Say

Read the rest at The Borowitz Report.

GLASS ORGAN - BACH'S TOCCATA AND FUGUE IN D-MINOR

More lovely sounds from the Glass Duo, thanks to Paul (A.).

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY FROM RICK SANTORUM

If you can take one part out, if it's not for the purpose of procreation, that's not one of the reasons you diminish this very special bond between men and women. So why can't you take other parts of it out? It becomes deconstructed to the point where it's simply pleasure.

Rick's on a roll! The statement is from an interview, which is posted on YouTube. The conversation is nearly 45 minutes long. Watch if you care to. I didn't.

How would you like such thoughts thrust upon you for four years?

Read more from Charles Pierce at The Politics Blog at Esquire.

UPDATE: I watched approximately 20 minutes of the video, (It was difficult!) and Rick did, indeed, say the words above.

PONDERISMS - PART 1

1. I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes.

2. There are two kinds of pedestrians: the quick and the dead.

3. Life is sexually transmitted.

4. Healthy is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

5. The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.

6. Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday lying in hospitals dying of nothing.

7. Have you noticed since everyone has a camcorder these days no one talks about seeing UFOs like they used to?

8. Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

9· All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.

10. In the 60's people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.

My brother-in-law sent me twenty ponderisms, but I know some of you have short attention spans, so I divided them to post in two parts.