JESUS AND MO

 

From Jesus and Mo.

RICK PERRY IN NEW ORLEANS (LOUISIANA)

Rick Perry: “Now there are many other states that embrace those conservative values, the approach that we’ve taken over the years. I’m in one today – in Florida.  Look at South Carolina; you look at Florida.”

From the audience: “We’re in Louisiana!”

Rick Perry: "I know; I said that.  I'm in one of those states that reflect those today - in Louisiana.  Yes, I got that."

Run, Rick, run.  Oooh, I hope Perry runs. He will not be the candidate unless the death wish in the GOP is far stronger than even I can imagine, but it will be such fun if Perry runs. The video is priceless. Graceful recovery - NOT.

H/T to Daily Kos and a Facebook friend.

THANK YOU, FEEDLY

Feedly, my new reader, which replaces Google Reader, now lists the blogs I follow in alphabetical order, an arrangement I have wanted from the beginning. I didn't change any settings, but today I had my wish.  Previously, I couldn't figure out the rhyme or reason for the arrangement of the list, and I often had to search for a while to find a particular blog. Thank you, Feedly.

So far, I've adjusted well to the new reader.  Feedly pays close attention to feedback from users, and they are trying hard to provide a useful and satisfying service.

GAYS CONFESSING

 

Yes.

Read David's post at nakedpastor.

SLEEPLESS AND SUNRISE IN THIBODAUX

 

Wondering how today will go with no sleep last night. The picture shows a less than spectacular sunrise, a view I don't often see, for I'm not an early riser.  Since I wasn't sleeping, I got up from bed before sunrise and hoped for a beautiful sight.  Still, it's a good thing the sun rose, yes?

No major problems, just vague digestive distress, enough to keep me awake.  And, of course, when one tosses and turns, the mind tends to race, which is not conducive to sleep.  A vicious cycle.  I don't often have insomnia.  Sometimes I don't get enough hours of sleep, but hardly ever no sleep at all.  I should be counting my blessings, yes?

Y'all have a good day.

UPDATE: I slept well last night.

ELEPHANT REVIVAL - "ANCIENT SEA"

Listening to the music of Elephant Revival always makes me smile. All the musicians in the group are so very talented.

WATCHED "THE LIFE OF PI" - FINALLY

Last night, after first receiving a damaged DVD of "The Life of Pi" from Netflix which was unplayable and had to be sent back (frustrating, indeed!), I finally watched and thoroughly enjoyed the film on a replacement DVD.  I cancelled my membership to Netflix's mailing program because this is the second time I've received a damaged DVD. I joined the streaming program, and I'll watch movies online and see how that works.  I gather that Netflix would like to be rid of the mailing program, thus, I assume, the reason for the missing quality control.  

Though I prefer to watch movies on TV, and there is apparently a way to connect to a television set, both our TVs are old, and I doubt they are equipped to make the connection. The other night, I watched an episode of a TV series on my computer, and it was fine, as I have a sizable screen.  I could watch on my laptop in a more comfortable chair, but the sound system is poor. For the next viewing, I'll carry in a footstool from another room in the house, which will give me more comfort watching on my computer.

About the movie, "The Life of Pi" won four major Academy Awards: Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, and Best Score, all well-deserved.  The story is enchanting, and the combination of visual beauty and splendid music made for wonderfully fulfilling sensuous experience.  I'm surprised none of the actors won the top award, for nearly all were excellent in their roles.  The performance of Tabu, in her role as Pi's mother, was especially beautiful.  The only actor who was not believable to me was Rafe Spall, who played the novelist, Yann Martel, to whom Pi tells his story. Of course, in a sense, the selection for Best Director Award acknowledges indirectly the excellence of the performances.  I award the movie five stars, my top score.

ROSARIES BLESSED BY THE POPE AND OTHER ODDS AND ENDS

Roman Catholic rosary

This morning Grandpère told me that he regretted he had not gone with me to Rome on one of my two visits to the city.  I'd love to have had him along, but he chose not to go.  What can I say?  Regrets, regrets - they will not get you there.

At the time of my second visit to Rome on a study tour, I was already in the Episcopal Church, but, as we were scheduled to attend a general audience with Pope John Paul II, several Roman Catholic friends asked me to have rosaries blessed by the pope.  I agreed, but when the time came for the audience, I realized that none of my friends had given me rosaries, and I would have to provide them.  Hmm...  Did my friends think the pope tossed them out like Mardi Gras beads?

The facade of Santa Brigida on Piazza Farnese.

During the visit, our group, which was engaged in a study of a particular aspect of the history of the Vatican which I've now forgotten, stayed at the Convent of St Bridgit of Sweden on the Piazza Farnese, a lovely place.  The single rooms were sparsely furnished with simple but lovely antique furniture - all that we needed, but no excess.

One of the conditions for staying at the convent was that we had to take breakfast and luncheon meals in the dining room, which was no great sacrifice as the food was very good.  For the evening meal, we were allowed out.  We had a key to the main door of the convent, but the key and the lock were old, and one evening we were quite late and could not get the key to work, so we had to ring the bell.  I'm certain the nun who came to let us in was awakened from her sleep, and we felt like wayward adolescents who'd stayed out past curfew.

None of the sisters spoke English, and only one spoke Italian, so communication was a challenge, but we managed with one of the leaders of the study group, who spoke fluent Italian, doing most of the talking.  I even managed with hand gestures and pointing as the day for the audience with the pope arrived, and I needed rosaries.  The sisters came to the rescue, for they made rosaries and sold them in their tiny shop for a very reasonable price, so I bought the five or six rosaries for my friends there and dutifully remained after the audience to have the rosaries blessed.

St Bridget - Salem church, Södermanland, Sweden

The study tour in Rome was one of high points of all my years of travel, obviously not so much for what I learned, but for the places we visited, which included an after-hours tour of the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel.  I had visited both places before, but, during the private visit, I saw the gorgeous mosaic tile floor in the chapel for the first time.  In the previous visit, the chapel was crowded with tourists packed in wall-to-wall, and I could see very little of the floor.

Well, as Woody Guthrie said, I roamed, and I rambled, and I followed my footsteps, but not to this land of yours and mine, but rather to Rome.  As you see, I did not  make a long story short.  I could go on, but, I won't.   

Images from Wikipedia here, here, and here.

ALAS...

To Kill a Mockingbird is a lovely book. I met Harper Lee, the author, when she gave a lecture at our library around the time the book was published.

EMPLOYEES AS "COSTS"

Not perfect, but good enough

From Business Insider:

The real problem is that American corporations, which are richer and more profitable than they have ever been in history, have become so obsessed with "maximizing short-term profits" that they are no longer investing in their future, their people, and the country.

This short-term corporate greed can be seen in many aspects of corporate behavior, from scrimping on investment spending to obsessing about quarterly earnings to fretting about daily fluctuations in stock prices. But it is most visible in the general attitude toward average employees.

Employees are human beings. They are people who devote their lives to creating value for customers, shareholders, and colleagues.  And, in return, at least in theory, they share in the rewards of the value created by their team.

In theory.

In practice, American business culture has become so obsessed with maximizing short-term profits that employees aren't regarded as people who are members of a team. 
Rather, they are regarded as "costs."

Employees are seen not as valuable assets but rather as "costs" which must be reduced as much as possible to increase profits for the corporations which are already earning record profits and pay huge salaries and bonuses to further line the pockets of top employees who are already rich.  And, as a general policy, if the company has a bad year, the employees take the hit with layoffs, reduced benefits, and frozen wages, and - tah dah! - those at the top get bonuses.

Short term profits and daily stock prices take precedence over sharing with employees the results of their labors.  Think of it: Human beings who spend the better part of their lives building and keeping corporations running are considered liabilities rather than assets.  Greater and greater numbers of those who once considered themselves middle class are sliding into poverty.

Four out of 5 U.S. adults struggle with joblessness, near-poverty or reliance on welfare for at least parts of their lives, a sign of deteriorating economic security and an elusive American dream.

As more and more of the wealth of the US shifts to the haves, will the time ever come when the numbers of people who can purchase the goods and services of the corporations fall to such a low point that the profits of the corporations diminish, and the bubble pops?  People with lower incomes must spend their money on every day subsistence, but the wealthy are able to invest and hoard their wealth. 

As Amie Bush said on Facebook, "People are costs and corporations are people.  It's a crazy-messed-up world we are a'livin' in people!   I mean folks!   Uh, I mean costs!"