WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL - YES TO SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

The Washington National Cathedral had been ready to embrace same-sex marriage for some time, though it took a series of recent events and a new leader for the prominent, 106-year-old church to announce Wednesday that it would begin hosting such nuptials.

The key development came last July when the Episcopal Church approved a ceremony for same-sex unions at its General Convention in Indianapolis, followed by the legalization of gay marriage in Maryland, which joined the District of Columbia. The national church made a special allowance for marriage ceremonies in states where gay marriage is legal.
....

Cathedral officials said the church will be among the first Episcopal congregations to implement a new rite of marriage adapted from the blessing ceremony for gay and lesbian couples that was approved last year by the Episcopal Church's national governing body.

Though I may be the last Episcopal blogger to note the announcement by Washington National Cathedral that it will host same-sex marriages, I am pleased and proud that the Episcopal cathedral, where so many historic events have taken place, will perform same-sex marriages early in the history of the practice of marriage equality in the Episcopal Church.

THE FABULOUS RITA HAYWORTH

Set to the music of the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive", here's a wonderful video compilation of clips from her movies to remind us what a fabulous dancer Rita Hayworth was. Rita was drop-dead gorgeous, talented, and sexy, too. And, like Ginger Rogers, she danced with the best male dancers of the time in high heels.

UPDATE: Thanks to Ann Fontaine fore the link.

AND WE ALL PASSED A GOOD TIME

What a fun evening! The films were wonderfully hilarious, and Gene Traas' accompaniment on the organ was excellent and just right.  Buster Keaton was my favorite, but all the comedies provided many laughs.  I am old but not old enough to have seen the silent comedies in the first showings, but, as a child, I spent a good deal of time at the movies, and, from time to time, the silent film comedies were shown as short subjects before the feature movie began.  Thus, I am not altogether unfamiliar with Laurel and Hardy, Chaplin, and Buster Keaton, and it was a very good thing to see them again.  Plus, laughter is good for the soul.



The gathering was a fund raiser to help pay for the restoration of the pipe organ at St John, which, while it still plays, is not in top form and is in need of repair






Pictured above is the organ in the balcony of the church. To the left is the console, which is located in the front right of the nave.

BLESSINGS AND CONGRATULATIONS, ARCHBISHOP JUSTIN!

A medieval ceremony has begun the process of the Rt Revd Justin Welby becoming the Archbishop of Canterbury. 

The College of Canons of Canterbury Cathedral has unanimously elected Bishop Justin Welby as the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. 

The 35-strong College of Canons, made up of senior clergy and lay people from the Diocese of Canterbury, met at Canterbury Cathedral's 14th-century Chapter House to take part in the formality, which dates back more than 1000 years.

Splendid!  And if the new Archbishop of Canterbury succeeds in bringing the Church of England into the 21st century, that would be a remarkable feat of valor, indeed.  Though certain of the membership will resist, and some will insist on staying behind, Justin Welby would be a hero in the eyes of many.

Seriously, the new Archbishop of Canterbury needs our prayers, because he undertakes a very difficult job.

Almighty and everlasting God, from whom cometh every good and perfect gift: Send down upon Archbishop Justin and the bishops, clergy, and congregations committed to his charge in the Church of England, the healthful Spirit of thy grace: and, that they may truly please thee, pour upon them the continual dew of thy blessing. Grant this, O Lord, for the honor of our Advocate and Mediator, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

H/T to Andrew Gerns at The Lead.

BOBBY JINDAL - MAKE THE POOR PAY MORE

Gov. Bobby Jindal said Thursday that he wants to eliminate the state’s personal and corporate income taxes.

Jindal declined an interview request to discuss the proposal.

“Eliminating personal income taxes will put more money back into the pockets of Louisiana families and will change a complex tax code into a more simple system that will make Louisiana more attractive to companies who want to invest here and create jobs,” Jindal said in a prepared statement.
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Legislative leaders who attended a briefing with the governor said the lost revenue will be replaced, possibly through sales tax increases.

We'll see if the legislators lie down and allow Jindal to walk over them with this brilliant idea. Jindal says he is concerned about the burden the sales tax will impose on low-income people and the poor, but I don't believe him.  In his policies, Jindal shows clearly that he does not care about the plight of the poor.  He is determined to destroy state government institutions and privatize the functions of government, no matter the negative impact on the poor.  The rich and big business are Jindal's constituency, along with Christian fundamentalists who want schools to teach junk science and all access to abortion banned.

As usual, Jindal declined an interview with the Baton Rouge Advocate.  The governor is inaccessible to the local press, but he gives interviews to certain friendly national media to further his ambition to be president. 

BAD WEATHER

 

The weather here is nasty, with thunderstorms, a tornado watch, and flash flood warnings.  I had an appointment for a check-up with my ophthalmologist in New Orleans, but I cancelled.  The street in front of my house is already flooded, and who knows what the streets would be like in Metairie.  The radar map is from Wunderground and is active and moves without refreshing the page.

Below is a picture from my front porch.  As you can see, it was quite dark.  The spots are rain blowing on the camera lens.  The storm is slow-moving and is likely to be with us for much of the day.  I hope we don't lose power.   

 

SILENT FILM COMEDY TRIFECTA WITH LIVE ORGAN MUSIC

 

If you're in the neighborhood of Thibodaux, LA, the Trifecta should be fun.  I'll be there.

Gene, the accompanist, is staying at our house, and he cooked a delicious meal for us last night.  He saw shrimp in the refrigerator and asked us if we wanted him to prepare supper.  Of course, we said, "Yes."  He gathered up whatever other suitable ingredients he could find and put them all together to make a very tasty dish.

JESUS AND MO - MINDS

 

Click on the strip for the larger view.

From Jesus and Mo.

PRINTER WOES

Aarrgh. My entire morning was taken up with printer problems. Grandpère wanted me to print a form for applying for a grant for the boat museum from the parish, and the printer ran out of paper. When I added paper, the printer continued to tell me that the paper tray was empty. I turned the printer and the computer on and off several times and plugged and unplugged to try to print the rest of the form to no avail. The same message continued, "The paper tray is empty." Nor could I print anything else.

After trying and failing far too many times to print the rest of the form, and wasting far too much time in the effort, I finally uninstalled the printer and tried to reinstall three times without success, until I thought to disable my virus protection. Finally...success...after several hours.  Grrr.  Tomorrow, the printer at the boat center should be set up to do their printing.  I hope so. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ELVIS!

I did not know the King and I were born only a few months apart, though not in the same year.  Actually, there were earlier royalty in rock 'n' roll, but the musicians were black. 

Often very overlooked, African-Americans contributed greatly to the advent and success of rock and roll music. Little Richard was telling the truth when he said he is the real King of Rock and Roll, and if it wasn’t him then it was Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, or Bo Didley.

Rock and roll music and many of its’ artists were heavily influenced by the sounds of black blues artists, people like Muddy Walters, Howlin Wolf, and Junior Parker to name a few.

In fact, one of the first true rock and roll songs mentioned came from Joe Turner, black blues artists, who sang, “Shake, Rattle, and Roll.” If one listens to this song by Joe Turner it should be very clear that this is the, or one of the, first true rock and roll songs. It sounds like a rock and roll song, not a blues song. The beat is up tempo and the words and rhythm of the song depict the sounds and feelings of a true rock and roll song.

Another first rock and roll song was “Rocket 88, which was a number one R&B song in 1951. This song was first recorded by the Ike Turner band not Bill Haley and the Comets. “Rocket 88” and “Shake, Rattle, and Roll” were all remade by Bill Haley and the Comets. However, it is obvious why black artists and their songs were overlooked in the development and contribution of rock and roll music.

That's not to mention lesser known musicians like The Dominoes, The Midnighters, Lloyd Price, The Five Keys, and The Clovers, and others whose names I've left out.  But I digress.  

Elvis had his long list of hits, and he learned his lessons well from the African-American musicians.  Presley's career flew to the heights after his third appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.  The cameramen went to close-ups of his upper body during the wildest of his gyrations in the third show, but the audience could see, and viewers could hear the squeals and screams.

Rockin'



And a ballad



Photo from Wikipedia.