SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

Ha ha.  Thanks, Doug.

CARAVAGGIO - "JOHN THE BAPTIST"

Caravaggio - "John the Baptist"
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City

Caravaggio's painting at the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City caused me to gasp as soon as I walked into the gallery and spotted it. I made a beeline to it to get a closer look and read the details. I did not instantly recognize it as a Caravaggio, but I should have.  What a masterpiece!

The contrast of the light and shadow is superb, with the eyes and the background shaded and the torso, the arms, and one leg in the light. Then, there's the striking dark slash across the torso from the shadow of the arm and the contrast of the luscious vermillion (?) of the cloak. This is a pensive John the Baptist, wearing a colorful and elegant cloak (the likes of which he almost certainly never wore). Even looking at the reproduction causes me to catch my breath.

Caravaggio, Rembrandt, and Vermeer are included in my top ten list of painters I love.  I'd have to give a little thought to the rest of the list.

Thanks to my Facebook friend Richard, who reminded me that today is the anniversary of Caravaggio's death on in 1610 and inspired me to post again on the painting and artist whose work I love.

Image from Wikipedia. 

THE QUEEN SAYS YES

Her Majesty, The Queen, has given the Royal Assent and signed the marriage equality bill for England and Wales.

 Lovely. Thanks to my friend James on Facebook for the picture.

GROTTO ON BAYOU LAFOURCHE

How long the grotto in honor of Our Lady has been in place on the bank of Bayou Lafourche in Thibodaux, I have no idea, but, only the other day, when I picked my grandson up from day camp, did I first take note.  The grotto is on the main road through town, which makes it quite visible, and I wonder how I could have missed seeing it for however long it's been there.

The grotto stands next to a peaceful scene of Bayou Lafourche, which is a tributary of the Mississippi River. 

The opening to the left of the statue of Mary curves through to the side of the grotto, to what purpose I can't say.

The top photo shows the corner of the bench where visitors can sit and pray, or meditate, or simply rest a while.

Now that I've discovered the structure, I'd like to know something about when it was constructed and by whom.  I Googled, but I found nothing. 

The photo to the right shows the side opening of the grotto.  As you see from the green moss or lichen (or whatever) growing on the stones, the structure has been there a while.

To the right of the grotto is a paved area large enough to park two cars.  The entire concept is well-planned and well-constructed.  Now that I've discovered the grotto, I want to know more.

UPDATE:

Grotto

Our Lady stands
In the small grotto
Built by unknown hands
On the bank of the bayou
And prays in peaceful repose

(June Butler - 7/17/2013)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY - EASIER

 

A bright yellow car would be easier to find when I forget where I've parked in a large parking lot.

OOPS!

Not my kitchen

Last Friday, we called the plumber because we had a slow leak under our kitchen sink.  Our plumbers installed the plumbing and drainage in our house 30 years ago at the time of construction.  The team is excellent, and the plumbers are now into the third generation of the family from when we built our house.   Since ours was not an emergency, we did not expect such a speedy response, but the plumbers arrived early this morning, before I was out of bed, layabout that I am.

I had planned to clear and clean the cabinet under the sink before the plumbers came, but....  The drainpipe under the kitchen sink was replaced a few years ago, so the cabinet was somewhat cleaned out of junk and dust, but the story is not over.  I'd noticed that the drainpipes under our bathroom lavatories were corroded in spots, so we wanted them checked out.  I was able to get to the cabinets before the plumbers to clear them of two waste baskets of junk, if not to clean the embarrassing amount of dust, which I've been meaning to get to - oh, I'd say for years - but it never happened.

As the plumbers checked around, they found that every drainpipe in our house except the kitchen needed replacing, including the lavatories in the bathroom upstairs and the sink in the laundry room.  One of the pipes in our bathroom was about to fall off.  Thank heavens for small favors like the slow leak under the kitchen sink, or we could have had a fast leak in our bathroom very soon, and eventually another from one of the lavatories upstairs, which could have resulted in major ceiling damage.  Shudder.

That the drainpipes lasted 30 years is a testament to the quality of the materials and workmanship of the plumbers.  We will receive a large bill, but we won't complain.  At least, I won't, but I expect Grandpère will, for he complains about every large bill.

Below is a picture my friend Eileen posted on Facebook this morning and which I shared, because it is so very true.

"FOR NOTHING WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD "

Prayer For Social Justice

Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart and especially the hearts of the people of this land, that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer)

LE PETIT PRINCE

As I reread Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince for the umpteenth time, I realize, once again, what a lovely story and charming illustrations the author offers his readers.  Alas, even after the many readings, I still must look up the occasional French word in the dictionary which follows the tale in the study edition pictured on the left.  I bought the book second-hand many years ago for a French class, and my copy is old and tattered.  The illustrations are in black and white, and not all are included in the inexpensive study edition.   

 
On the right is the beautifully illustrated (in watercolor)  English edition which I bought for my children when they were young.  The Little Prince is a tale for children and grown-ups, and, though my children enjoyed the book, none were quite as taken with it as I, for I never tire of reading the story over again.

Once again, I reread the story, and I loved the enchanting little prince even more than I remembered.

In the course of the tale, the little prince visits Earth from his home on the tiny Asteroid B-612, where he's left behind his flower and three small volcanos, two active and one extinct. He lands in the Sahara Desert, where he meets a fox who asks the boy to tame him.  The fox explains to the little prince, "Tu deviens responsable pour toujours de ce que tu as apprivoisé". ("You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.")  The boy tames the fox but eventually leaves to search for humans.  As the prince prepares to leave, the fox speaks my favorite words in the entire book: "On ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." ("One sees clearly only with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye.")

If you are unfamiliar with the book and want to know more, further information on the author, a description of the characters, and a summary of the plot may be found here.

ANGLICAN CATHOLICS BUT STILL ROMAN CATHOLICS

Pope Francis is letting baptized Catholics join the new church structure created to receive Anglican converts.

The "ordinariate," which functions like a diocese, was initially designed to enable Anglicans upset over the liberalizing trends of their church to join the Catholic Church while retaining some of their Anglican heritage.

And why not?  For all the talk of Anglican heritage, the people in the ordinariates are Roman Catholic converts with an Anglican flavor.  The ordinariates were set up by Benedict to self-destruct and eventually merge into the main body of the church, but this move by Francis gives the ordinariates longer life.  Baptized, but not yet confirmed?  And must one have fallen away from the RCC to join the ordinariate?  The rules seem strange to me.  The whole concept of the ordinariates seems strange to me, but who am I to say?

More at The National Catholic Register.

Image from Wikipedia.

WHO WOULD EVER HAVE EXPECTED...? PART TWO

 

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality has issued two new compliance orders against Williams Olefins over air and potential water releases stemming from a June 13 fire and explosion at its Ascension Parish facility in Geismar.

The new compliance order dealing with air quality cites the Tulsa, Okla.-based company for at least 39 air permit or reporting violations starting in 2007 and extending to the day after the June blast.

The explosion sent a fireball high in the air seconds after a 200-foot-high vapor cloud was emitted from the facility, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board officials testified to Congress last week. Two men were fatally burned and 114 people were injured.
....

Separately, DEQ has issued another compliance order over contaminated water that ended up in a pond on site that is usually pumped into the Mississippi River. That order, issued June 19, puts water quality limits on future discharges from the pond.

The Mississippi River in Louisiana is the dumping ground for any number of chemical discharges and waste from refineries and plants along its banks, which, added to fertilizers and waste already present in the river from plants, farms, and farm animals on its borders in states to the north, makes for a mix of heaven only knows what in our source of drinking water.  The mighty Mississippi - aka the sewer of the country.  In addition, the plants release chemicals into the air in the vicinity and their very presence is a reminder of  the danger that something terrible could go wrong. 

Since the plants are a source of well-paying jobs, the regulatory agencies tend to treat them with kid gloves, and there's not a lot of push-back from the people in the area until something goes badly wrong.

As you read the article and keep in mind the recent explosion of the West Fertilizer plant in West, Texas that killed 14 people, injured more than 200, and destroyed a number of structures in the town, and think about the pathetic oversight by state and federal regulatory agencies offered to the citizens of the the two states.  I assume some states are more diligent than Louisiana and Texas in inspections and follow-up to make certain that citations for violations are corrected.  What's the point in issuing citations for safety and environmental violations, if there is no follow-up?  Where is the incentive for businesses to make their operations safer?