The Pope Is Coming

Tucson Weather Today

____________________

I saw on TV news that the Pope has okayed it for priests to 'forgive' women who have had  abortions... which means of course that once again the Catholic religion is changing from what once was God's Word to a religious cult that reflects the will of the liberal peoples of the Earth. Oh yes. Religion must eventually always agree with what the people want, because the people (not the priesthood) have the final say. The people always know what is best, not their God.

The Pope . . .

"Ha ha ha ha ha!"

_______________

This Is Who I Am

More Great Stuff From PBS

     

Tucson Weather Today

____________________

I often watch a PBS show called Nature; the last episode I viewed was about the White Tail Deer. Again, it's surprising how fascinating such shows can be. And how much one can learn from them.

As most dedicated hunters know, the whitetail deer's best defense is it's ability to smell. Their noses are equipped with 297 million olfactory receptors, which allow them to smell everything in the woods. To put their ability into perspective, humans have only 5 million olfactory receptors. So to sum it up, the whitetail deer can smell 60 times better than a human.

I also learned that a White Tail buck grows a completely new set of antlers every year, and that the new antlers grow an inch every 2 days.

White Tail Deer

Last night I watched the show I mentioned in yesterday's blog entry which was titled simply "Salinger" which started at 9 P.M. and ended about 11:15. Much too late for me to still be up. But when I was watching it there was no question of stopping. No question about it.

Now I will have to look up my old copy of Catcher In the Rye and reread it... again.

Tonight that same PBS channel will be presenting on Nature an episode about a new animal called a Coywolf. Neither a coyote nor a wolf. But a strange mixture of the two, I am guessing.

Thankfully it begins at 8 o'clock and lasts only an hour.

_____

Did You Know . . .?

Recently collected data has shown that political conservatives on average report being more easily disgusted than liberals.
source:
The New York Times

_____

HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1973 the Supreme Court decriminalized abortion by handing down their decision in the case of Roe v. Wade. Despite opponents' characterization of the decision, it was not the first time that abortion became a legal procedure in the United States. In fact, for most of the country's first 100 years, abortion as we know it today was not only not a criminal offense, it was also not considered immoral.

The fight over whether to criminalize abortion has grown increasingly fierce in recent years, but opinion polls suggest that most Americans prefer that women be able to have abortions in the early stages of pregnancy, free of any government interference.

_____

WORD FOR TODAY

crepuscular
adjective
1.  Of or like twilight; dim.
2.  Zoology Becoming active at twilight or before sunrise, as do bats and certain insects and birds.

_____

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Joseph Aloysius Wambaugh, Jr.

(born January 22, 1937)

Joseph Wambaugh is a bestselling American writer known for his fictional and non-fictional accounts of police work in the United States. Several of his first novels were set in Los Angeles, California, and its surroundings, and featured Los Angeles police officers as protagonists.

Piper Laurie

(born January 22, 1932)

Piper Laurie is an American actress of stage and screen known for her roles in the television series Twin Peaks and the films The Hustler, Carrie, and Children of a Lesser God, all of which brought her Academy Award nominations.

Wilfred Bailey Everett "Bill" Bixby III

(Jan 22, 1934 - Nov 21, 1993)

Bill Bixby was an American film and television actor, director, and frequent game show panelist. His career spanned more than three decades, appearing on stage, in films and on television series. He is known for his roles as Tim O'Hara on the CBS sitcom My Favorite Martian, Tom Corbett on the ABC comedy-drama series The Courtship of Eddie's Father, stage illusionist Anthony Blake in the NBC crime drama series The Magician, but is perhaps best known for his role as scientist Dr. David Banner on the CBS sci-fi drama series The Incredible Hulk.

Linda Denise Blair

(born January 22, 1959)

Linda Blair is an American actress. Blair is best known for her role as the possessed child, Regan, in the film The Exorcist (1973), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and two Golden Globes, winning one. She reprised her role in Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977).

__________

I hate to say this, but I'll repeat it: After death, all we know that you do is stink.
--Jack Kevorkian

NASA TV

This Is Who I Am

   

More On Getting Old

     

Tucson Weather Today

____________________

It seems that I have reached the age wherein I feel the need for a nap in the afternoon and to retire to my bed earlier than formerly each night. Why this is I do not know, as I rise each morning feeling just as fatigued as I had felt the night before.

Even the relative excitement of gift-giving and receiving at Christmas-time doesn't seem to upset this newest routine of momentarily slipping away.

Dozing Off On Christmas Eve

Tucson, Arizona

December 24, 2013

_____

Since there is no scientific evidence that suggests consciousness survives the death of an organism, this indicates (to me) that there is a Heaven after all.

Think about it.

_____

Did You Know . . .?

The Grand Canyon can hold around 900 trillion footballs.

_____

HISTORICAL EVENT

On this day in 1994, John Salvi III walked into two separate abortion clinics in Brookline, Mass. and shot workers with a rifle, killing two receptionists and wounding five other employees. He was captured the next day after firing 23 shots at a Norfolk, Virginia, medical clinic.

In March 1996, Salvi's trial jury rejected his insanity defense and convicted him of murder. After receiving two life sentences, he killed himself in prison in November 1996.

_____

WORD FOR TODAY

death
noun
-  The state of being dead.
-  The act of dying; the end of life.
-  The total and permanent cessation of all the vital functions of an organism.

Death is the cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include biological aging (senescence), predation, malnutrition, disease, suicide, murder and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury. Bodies of living organisms begin to decompose shortly after death. There is no scientific evidence that suggests consciousness survives the death of an organism.
--Wikipedia

_____

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods

(born December 30, 1975)

Tiger Woods is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Currently the World No. 1, he has been one of the highest-paid athletes in the world for several years according to Forbes.

Matt Lauer

(born December 30, 1957)

Matt Lauer is an American television journalist best known as the host of NBC's The Today Show since 1996. He is also a contributor for NBC's Dateline NBC.

Robert Michael Nesmith

(born December 30, 1942)

Michael Nesmith is an American musician, songwriter, actor, producer, novelist, businessman, and philanthropist, best known as a member of the rock band The Monkees and co-star of The Monkees TV series (1966–1968).

David Thomas "Davy" Jones

(Dec 30 1945 - 29 Feb 2012)

Davy Jones was an English actor, musician, recording artist, performing artist, and businessman best known as a member of the pop rock band, The Monkees, and star of the TV series of the same name. His acting credits include a Tony-nominated role as the Artful Dodger in Oliver! as well as roles in The Brady Bunch film and television show; My Two Dads, and Love, American Style. Jones is considered by some to be one of the great teen idols

__________

I actually think there's an incredible amount of self-knowledge that comes with getting older.
--Jamie Lee Curtis

NASA TV

This Is Who I Am

   

Religiosity, Etc.

    


Tucson Weather Today

___________________________

This was a week for weird storms in Tucson. I managed to capture a few shots of the back yard (the scrub leading to the mountains) out beyond the swimming pool.

Here is one of them:

Early Morning Before The Storm

 

. . . With Eva

_____

HISTORICAL CLIP

On March 10, 1993 Dr. David Gunn was shot and killed during an anti-abortion protest at the Pensacola Women's Medical Services clinic. Dr. Gunn performed abortions at several clinics in Florida and Alabama and was getting out of his car in the clinic's parking lot when Michael Griffin shouted, "Don't kill any more babies!" and shot the doctor three times in the back. Griffin immediately surrendered to a nearby police officer.

Griffin had attended a prayer service and protest organization meeting three days earlier and was apparently waiting for Dr. Gunn, the father of two, to appear on the morning of the shooting. Rescue America, the group holding the protest, did not exactly strongly condemn the murder of Dr. Gunn. "While Gunn's death is unfortunate, it's also true that quite a number of babies' lives will be saved," said national director Don Treshman after the slaying.

Also . . .

On March 10, 1969, James Earl Ray plead guilty to the assassination of African American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and was sentenced to 99 years in prison.

_____

WORD FOR TODAY

religiosity
noun
1. The quality of being religious.
2. Excessive or affected piety.

What most measures of religiosity find is that there is at least some distinction between religious doctrine, religious practice, and spirituality.

One can accept the truthfulness of the Bible, but never attend a church or even belong to an organized religion.

An individual who does not hold orthodox Christian doctrines might attend a charismatic worship service in order to develop his/her sense of oneness with the divine.

An individual can disavow all doctrines associated with organized religions, not affiliate with an organized religion or attend religious services, and at the same time be strongly committed to a higher power and feel that the connection with that higher power is ultimately relevant.

_____

 

BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

 

Olivia Wilde

 

Born Mar 10, 1984
Age: 28 years old

Olivia Jane Wilde is an American actress and fashion model. She has appeared in a number of television and film productions such as The O.C., The Black Donnellys, House, Tron: Legacy, Cowboys & Aliens, and In Time.

Sharon Stone

 

Born Mar 10, 1958
Age: 54 years old

Sharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct by Paul Verhoeven. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama for her performance in Casino.

Carrie Underwood

 

Born Mar 10, 1983
Age: 29 years old

Carrie Marie Underwood is an American country music singer, songwriter, and actress. She rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol in 2005. Underwood has since become a multi-platinum selling recording artist, a winner of six Grammy Awards, sixteen Billboard Music Awards, seven American Music Awards and eleven Academy of Country Music Awards, among several others. As a songwriter, she has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. Underwood is also a two-time winner of the Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year award and the first female artist to win such an award consecutively (2009/10).

Underwood was inducted into and became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2008. She was also inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 2009.

Harriet Tubman

 

Born March 10, 1820
Died March 10, 1913

Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Harriet Ross) was an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy during the American Civil War. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made more than thirteen missions to rescue more than 70 slaves using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. She later helped John Brown recruit men for his raid on Harpers Ferry, and in the post-war era struggled for women's suffrage.

__________

I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
--Mahatma Gandhi
    

This And That (Again)

Born on this day in 1809

Edgar Alan Poe

January 19, 1809 - October 7, 1849

_____

The Cardinal Newman Society blog has an interesting article concerning St. Joseph's College (where I was once employed) in my hometown of Rensselaer, Indiana. Its headline is:

Catholic College Honors MLK with Abortion Rights Activist and Republican Basher

Its opening paragraph is:

Martin Luther King Jr. was a Republican for much of his life, at least according to the National Black Republican Association. And according to his niece Alveda King, he was pro-life.

That’s why it’s odd that Saint Joseph’s College in Indiana, founded and sponsored by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, will honor the legacy of Martin Luther King by hosting a lecture by a former Planned Parenthood board member and outspoken abortion rights activist who has called the Republican Party racist.

Isn't that puzzling? A self-proclaimed Catholic College hosting an abortion rights activist. Not that I object to that. But it's certainly an unexpected and curious thing to contemplate.

Note:
An entry in Rensselaer Adventures was where I was first introduced to the above.

_____

The AWAD word for today:

Satisficing

Satisficing (a portmanteau "combining satisfy with suffice") is a decision-making strategy that attempts to meet criteria for adequacy, rather than to identify an optimal solution. That definition is from Wikipedia.

Also from AWAD, here is a little known factoid:
It took 12 years to complete, but Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases Classified and Arranged so as to Facilitate the Expression of Ideas and Assist in Literary Composition has been in print continuously since its publication in 1852.

_____

Creative Minority Report presented a piece titled:

U.G.L.Y. You Ain't Got No Alibi

_____

I have been reading about BENJAMIN FRANKLIN who was born in 1706 and died in 1790. Here is one of the things I have learned about this fascinating man:

Though he only had two years of formal schooling, he taught himself foreign languages and read books on grammar, science, and math. He was awarded honorary degrees from Harvard and Yale even though he lacked a formal education.

Wow! A self-taught intellectual. How 'bout that?

_____

Here is an announcement:

My writers group has issued a challenge -- an exercise that calls for members to write six short stories in six weeks (one story each week) and I am going to try it. So I might not be posting my usual blog entry each and every day for a while. Not sure though... time will tell.

__________

"Let's face it, writing is hell."
--William Styron