What I want to know is how do you go about getting one of these jobs where you get paid lots of money for stating the bleeding obvious? I'm absolutely certain I would be very good at it (if that's not stating the bleeding obvious).
Saturday, 22 May 2010
NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT
From CHRISTIAN TODAY:
What I want to know is how do you go about getting one of these jobs where you get paid lots of money for stating the bleeding obvious? I'm absolutely certain I would be very good at it (if that's not stating the bleeding obvious).
What I want to know is how do you go about getting one of these jobs where you get paid lots of money for stating the bleeding obvious? I'm absolutely certain I would be very good at it (if that's not stating the bleeding obvious).
THE OF COURSE, I COULD BE CHIN WAGGING...
DISCUSSION OF THE DAY
From THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
The Anglican Bishop of Newcastle stood before the angry congregation of Terrigal parish on Sunday and explained to them why he had fired and defrocked their priest, John Gumbley. When Bishop Brian Farran finished talking, the parishioners deluged him with complaints. They scorned the procedures of the ecclesiastical court which sacked Gumbley. One man said he was questioning his faith in the Anglican church. Three or four people walked out and a couple of elderly women got the shakes from all the commotion. It was as close as the Holy Trinity congregation has ever got to the set of The Jerry Springer Show. ''The congregation virtually took over and tore the bishop apart,'' says a parishioner, Trevor Williams. ''Everyone was in favour of John.''
Gumbley was stood down after the Anglican professional standards board found he had engaged in sexual liaisons, one with a woman from his parish. But he will not go quietly. The 40-year-old has briefed lawyers to investigate launching a Supreme Court challenge to his defrocking, on the grounds he was denied natural justice. Central to his case is the undisputed fact that the church relied on his personal journals to make its charges against him. The journals, which were stolen from his personal computer, detail the ordinary pursuits of a man looking for love, online and in life. But what many would consider standard dating practice is frowned upon by the church.
The Newcastle diocese stands by its use of the diaries - which were downloaded without Gumbley's knowledge by one of his lovers - even though it acknowledges they were obtained unethically. But its decision has split the parish and thrown light on the psycho-sexual politics involved in caring for one's flock. As a single man, was Gumbley entitled to date? Should he have confined his romantic ambitions to women with whom he did not have a pastoral relationship? If not, where was he supposed to meet women - in a bar? And is a modern Anglican minister even supposed to have sex?
COMMENT: So what do you think?
Should a minister date a person in his or her own congregation?
Should a minister have sexual relations outside of marriage, if he or she is single?
What are the acceptable ways to look for romance if you are an unmarried minister of religion?
How naughty was the Diocese of Newcastle in the way they conducted this investigation?
To join in this debate go to
OF COURSE, I COULD BE CHIN WAGGING...
the facebook home of OCICBW...
You will need to join facebook if you are not already member and apply to join the OCICBCC... group.
The Anglican Bishop of Newcastle stood before the angry congregation of Terrigal parish on Sunday and explained to them why he had fired and defrocked their priest, John Gumbley. When Bishop Brian Farran finished talking, the parishioners deluged him with complaints. They scorned the procedures of the ecclesiastical court which sacked Gumbley. One man said he was questioning his faith in the Anglican church. Three or four people walked out and a couple of elderly women got the shakes from all the commotion. It was as close as the Holy Trinity congregation has ever got to the set of The Jerry Springer Show. ''The congregation virtually took over and tore the bishop apart,'' says a parishioner, Trevor Williams. ''Everyone was in favour of John.''
Gumbley was stood down after the Anglican professional standards board found he had engaged in sexual liaisons, one with a woman from his parish. But he will not go quietly. The 40-year-old has briefed lawyers to investigate launching a Supreme Court challenge to his defrocking, on the grounds he was denied natural justice. Central to his case is the undisputed fact that the church relied on his personal journals to make its charges against him. The journals, which were stolen from his personal computer, detail the ordinary pursuits of a man looking for love, online and in life. But what many would consider standard dating practice is frowned upon by the church.
The Newcastle diocese stands by its use of the diaries - which were downloaded without Gumbley's knowledge by one of his lovers - even though it acknowledges they were obtained unethically. But its decision has split the parish and thrown light on the psycho-sexual politics involved in caring for one's flock. As a single man, was Gumbley entitled to date? Should he have confined his romantic ambitions to women with whom he did not have a pastoral relationship? If not, where was he supposed to meet women - in a bar? And is a modern Anglican minister even supposed to have sex?
COMMENT: So what do you think?
Should a minister date a person in his or her own congregation?
Should a minister have sexual relations outside of marriage, if he or she is single?
What are the acceptable ways to look for romance if you are an unmarried minister of religion?
How naughty was the Diocese of Newcastle in the way they conducted this investigation?
To join in this debate go to
OF COURSE, I COULD BE CHIN WAGGING...
the facebook home of OCICBW...
You will need to join facebook if you are not already member and apply to join the OCICBCC... group.
Friday, 21 May 2010
THE MIDNIGHT JUKEBOX - FRIDAY COOL
Bobby Lounge (born Dub Brock in 1950) is an American singer-songwriter from McComb, Mississippi. He began playing for house parties while attending Louisiana Tech University in northern Louisiana in the mid 1970s. In the 1980s, Lounge played a handful of shows at Ruby's Roadhouse in Mandeville, Louisiana. He stopped playing professionally for many years while he battled Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. He launched a comeback from a short lived career when he appeared on stage at the 2005 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Tipitina's, and the New Orleans House of Blues. That performance was enthusiastically received and subsequently glowing reviews appeared in Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Living Blues, Blues Review, Down Beat, USA Today and other magazines and newspapers. Lounge performs on stage with an acoustic piano, a nurse, and an iron lung (and on one occasion with chickens). (WIKIPEDIA)
Bobby's WEBSITE
PURCHASE VIA MADPRIEST'S AMAZON STORE
OCICBW...'S BABELICIOUS BISHOPS CAMPAIGN
MOVES ON TO DIRECT ACTION
From THE CHURCH TIMES:
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, during the House of Bishops meeting in York, a naked woman guest triggered a fire alarm at the Park Inn in York. There were about 50 bishops staying at the hotel at the time and they had to evacuate the hotel when the fire alarm went off.
“The alarm seems to have been triggered when two young ladies, who were pickled, came back late at night. One of the two ladies was naked, and one of the bishops had to take his dressing gown off to cover her naked ness. I think the other woman was also trying to take her clothes off, too, but she was stopped in time," reported he Bishop of Wakefield, the Rt Revd Stephen Platten
The Bishop of Worcester, Dr John Inge, said: “It would be a good ethical test on a board game to ask what you do if you are a bishop and you open the door to find a naked lady outside. I think that throwing your dressing gown out passes the test.”
COMMENT: His test, maybe. Whether it would pass the JCF test is an entirely different matter and I have a sneaking suspicion it most definitely wouldn't.
"Is that a crozier in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me?"
Thanks to Ann Fontaine for sending this report in to MadPriest Towers. Ann doesn't say if she was one of the ladies involved in the incident or not. And that's close enough for me to start a scurrilous rumour. Pass it round!
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, during the House of Bishops meeting in York, a naked woman guest triggered a fire alarm at the Park Inn in York. There were about 50 bishops staying at the hotel at the time and they had to evacuate the hotel when the fire alarm went off.
“The alarm seems to have been triggered when two young ladies, who were pickled, came back late at night. One of the two ladies was naked, and one of the bishops had to take his dressing gown off to cover her naked ness. I think the other woman was also trying to take her clothes off, too, but she was stopped in time," reported he Bishop of Wakefield, the Rt Revd Stephen Platten
The Bishop of Worcester, Dr John Inge, said: “It would be a good ethical test on a board game to ask what you do if you are a bishop and you open the door to find a naked lady outside. I think that throwing your dressing gown out passes the test.”
COMMENT: His test, maybe. Whether it would pass the JCF test is an entirely different matter and I have a sneaking suspicion it most definitely wouldn't.
"Is that a crozier in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me?"
Thanks to Ann Fontaine for sending this report in to MadPriest Towers. Ann doesn't say if she was one of the ladies involved in the incident or not. And that's close enough for me to start a scurrilous rumour. Pass it round!
LOUD FRIDAY - DISTAFF SPECIAL
lovely ladies to show us
how they can rock just
as loud as the boys can.
Backstabbers
- Soo Catwoman (left)
Dirty Sexy Kill Kill
- The Bastard Fairies
Believin' It
- The Ticks (below)
Soo's WEBSITE
The Bastard Fairies' WEBSITE
The Ticks' WEBSITE
Soo Lucas, better known as Soo Catwoman, was an icon of the London punk subculture that sprang up around the mid-1970s. In The Filth and the Fury, Johnny Rotten singles her out among the early London punks, citing her "skill, style, and bravery".
Her trademark "Catwoman" haircut was created in an Ealing barber shop under her direction in 1976. Portions of the hairstyle were dyed different colours – the flared "ears" being black and the cropped parts being bleached. Contrary to many reports, she was never a member of the Bromley Contingent, the group of followers and fans of the Sex Pistols which lived in Bromley, a suburb of London, such as Siouxsie Sioux and Billy Idol. She appeared in a number of punk documentaries and concert films. She declined to appear in Malcolm McLaren's The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, though her persona was portrayed by actress Judy Croll. She now resides in London with her son Shem and daughter Dion, who have their own acoustic/indie band called Good Weather Girl. (WIKIPEDIA)
The Bastard Fairies are an American musical group from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2005. They are described as an "internet phenomenon," becoming at one point the #18 Most Subscribed (All Time) Musicians and #31 Most Viewed (All Time) Musician on YouTube. The band recorded their album Memento Mori "on a Mac" and it was released on April 10, 2007.
The band's website describes the group as being composed of two members, singer/lyricist Yellow Thunder Woman and guitarist/songwriter Robin Davey. Yellow Thunder Woman is a Native American ("Yellow Thunder Woman" being the English translation of her birth name, Wakinyan Zi Win), while her band mate Davey is a British expatriate from Great Cheverell, near Devizes, Wiltshire, formerly in The Davey Brothers with his brother Jesse.
They achieved a measure of fame for a non-musical reason, after releasing a promotional video that received media attention on Fox News. The video was featured on The O'Reilly Factor, whose host is mentioned in the title, and was described as "child abuse" and "emotional abuse" in a discussion between host Bill O'Reilly and lawyer/"child advocate" Wendy Murphy, who recommends shunning the child and her family (see vid below). (WIKIPEDIA)
The Ticks are perhaps the first rock group in the world that was brought together by the unifying force of ice cream trucks: One of us drives one; one of us used to drive one; one of our husbands used to drive one. What we really are is three women: Emma Dubner on bass, Julia Randall on drums, and Sue LaVallee on guitar. We all sing, and mostly perform original songs written by at least one of the three of us. Always with a mind to fashion and/or unabashed theatricality, we play driving pop-punk and rock. We enjoy clever lyrics and wry, wicked humor. Plus we want you to dance like crazy freaks!
We started off in 1999, jamming in the rehearsal space of our friends The High Kings. Our first live performance was opening for them at the Prodigal Son in Hyannis, a supposed one time event. To our surprise, our songs of every-girl longing and social satire were enjoyed by the audience! The Ticks were born... We released our debut album So Young, So Bad in 2003. In 2004 we released our record Pick Me. Lately we've been musing about recording some of our great new songs like "Believin' It" and "Shine". And ice cream trucks still appear in our lyrics: look for "Better Than That" on our next record!
(LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE TICKS!)
WILL YOU BE MY FRIEND?
From CHRISTIAN TODAY:
Schismatic Anglicans in North America are inviting priests in the Church of England to take part in a clergy swap. ACNA said the clergy swap would be an opportunity for Church of England parishes and clergy to express their solidarity and friendship with ACNA churches.
In a letter of invitation to Church of England clergy, Paul Perkin, Chair of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans in the UK and Ireland, and Secretary Chris Sugden, said, “We are writing in the wake of the letter from the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church to the Primates of the Anglican Communion that her consecration of a woman in a partnered same-sex relationship represents the mind of the majority of elected leaders in the Episcopal Church. Institutionally the CofE seems to be sitting on the fence. The Archbishop of Canterbury has said that the consecration of Mary Glasspool in TEC is 'regrettable'; yet the CofE has not fully embraced ACNA. An important contribution at this stage will be for parishes and clergy to express solidarity and friendship with clergy and parishes in ACNA.”
COMMENT: In the Church of England each of these visits would require the permission of the diocesan bishop.
Schismatic Anglicans in North America are inviting priests in the Church of England to take part in a clergy swap. ACNA said the clergy swap would be an opportunity for Church of England parishes and clergy to express their solidarity and friendship with ACNA churches.
In a letter of invitation to Church of England clergy, Paul Perkin, Chair of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans in the UK and Ireland, and Secretary Chris Sugden, said, “We are writing in the wake of the letter from the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church to the Primates of the Anglican Communion that her consecration of a woman in a partnered same-sex relationship represents the mind of the majority of elected leaders in the Episcopal Church. Institutionally the CofE seems to be sitting on the fence. The Archbishop of Canterbury has said that the consecration of Mary Glasspool in TEC is 'regrettable'; yet the CofE has not fully embraced ACNA. An important contribution at this stage will be for parishes and clergy to express solidarity and friendship with clergy and parishes in ACNA.”
COMMENT: In the Church of England each of these visits would require the permission of the diocesan bishop.
BRITAIN'S POOR TO GO WITHOUT
TO PAY FOR POPE'S VISIT
From THE BBC:
By the time Mass has ended this Sunday morning, the Catholic Church in the UK hopes the trickle of pounds and pence onto collection plates will have raised £1m towards this year's papal visit. This is a lot of small change to pull together in a single morning, but this is a fraction of the total needed to fund the Pope's state visit to England and Scotland in September. The total bill for the invited visit - without the cost of police and security - is estimated by the Foreign Office to be about £15m. Of this, £7m will come from the Catholic Church, the rest will be shouldered by taxpayers.
The government remains vague on the details of what the final cost will be to the taxpayer. A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "Policing will be provided by the state and we expect these costs to be met from existing budgets. We cannot confirm the total costs as these will depend on an assessment of the policing required to manage the security threat posed at the time of the visit. The non-policing costs of the papal visit will be in the region of £15m, including both 'state' and pastoral elements.
The last visit by a pope, in 1982, cost between £15m and £16m. According to the Bank of England's inflation calculator, an event costing £16m in 1982 would cost about £42m today.
By the time Mass has ended this Sunday morning, the Catholic Church in the UK hopes the trickle of pounds and pence onto collection plates will have raised £1m towards this year's papal visit. This is a lot of small change to pull together in a single morning, but this is a fraction of the total needed to fund the Pope's state visit to England and Scotland in September. The total bill for the invited visit - without the cost of police and security - is estimated by the Foreign Office to be about £15m. Of this, £7m will come from the Catholic Church, the rest will be shouldered by taxpayers.
The government remains vague on the details of what the final cost will be to the taxpayer. A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "Policing will be provided by the state and we expect these costs to be met from existing budgets. We cannot confirm the total costs as these will depend on an assessment of the policing required to manage the security threat posed at the time of the visit. The non-policing costs of the papal visit will be in the region of £15m, including both 'state' and pastoral elements.
The last visit by a pope, in 1982, cost between £15m and £16m. According to the Bank of England's inflation calculator, an event costing £16m in 1982 would cost about £42m today.
Thursday, 20 May 2010
THE MIDNIGHT JUKEBOX
Phosphorescent, fronted by Matthew Houck, is an indie folk/alt country band. Phosphorescent currently resides in Brooklyn, New York (formerly of Athens, Georgia) and is signed to independent label Dead Oceans.
Before recording under the name Phosphorescent, Matthew Houck traveled the world playing under the moniker Fillup Shack and released the album Hipolit in 2000. Houck later changed his recording name to Phosphorescent, and then released the full-length LP A Hundred Times or More in 2003. The following year, the band released the EP The Weight of Flight. The band received national attention after it released Aw Come Aw Wry in August 2005 and Pride in October 2007. The latter was named the 12th best album of 2007 by Stylus Magazine and received a 8.0 rating from indie tastemakers Pitchfork Media.
The band consists of Matthew Houck plus many others that come and go. (WIKIPEDIA)
Phosphorescent's MYSPACE PAGE.
PURCHASE VIA MADPRIEST'S AMAZON STORE
THE OF COURSE, I COULD BE CHIN WAGGING...
DISCUSSION OF THE DAY
From ABC NEWS (Australia):
The Catholic Church is again being urged to remove the sanctity of the confessional for child abuse cases. South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon says the law requires priests to report sexual abuse cases to the police but not if they learn about them in the confession booth.
"Where someone has confessed or has given information in relation to child sexual abuse, that should be notified to the authorities," he said.
"I think it's too important an issue where it's concerning the welfare of a child."
COMMENT: As a catholic minded priest, breaking the seal of the confessional, or just breaking the rules of confidentiality that exist between a pastor and client, would be the same, in my mind, as if I committed adultery. Also, I can't see how anyone would be so stupid as to confess to child abuse if they knew they were going to be reported, and I wonder if making exceptions to the confidentiality protocol would deter people from going to their priest to work through any guilt issues.
I also have a philosophical problem with this. What is the difference in type between the sexual abuse of a child, the sexual abuse of an adult, murder, kidnap, theft or cheating on your tax return? As soon as you make one sin an exception then it is only a matter of time before the domino effect kicks in.
But I know many people would disagree with my understanding of this ethical issue and, so, I invite your comments.
To join in this debate go to
OF COURSE, I COULD BE CHIN WAGGING...
the facebook home of OCICBW...
You will need to join facebook if you are not already member and apply to join the OCICBCC... group.
The Catholic Church is again being urged to remove the sanctity of the confessional for child abuse cases. South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon says the law requires priests to report sexual abuse cases to the police but not if they learn about them in the confession booth.
"Where someone has confessed or has given information in relation to child sexual abuse, that should be notified to the authorities," he said.
"I think it's too important an issue where it's concerning the welfare of a child."
COMMENT: As a catholic minded priest, breaking the seal of the confessional, or just breaking the rules of confidentiality that exist between a pastor and client, would be the same, in my mind, as if I committed adultery. Also, I can't see how anyone would be so stupid as to confess to child abuse if they knew they were going to be reported, and I wonder if making exceptions to the confidentiality protocol would deter people from going to their priest to work through any guilt issues.
I also have a philosophical problem with this. What is the difference in type between the sexual abuse of a child, the sexual abuse of an adult, murder, kidnap, theft or cheating on your tax return? As soon as you make one sin an exception then it is only a matter of time before the domino effect kicks in.
But I know many people would disagree with my understanding of this ethical issue and, so, I invite your comments.
To join in this debate go to
OF COURSE, I COULD BE CHIN WAGGING...
the facebook home of OCICBW...
You will need to join facebook if you are not already member and apply to join the OCICBCC... group.
WITH ALL YOUR SOUL
I love the sound of Philadelphia. It was the link between crossover and disco and contained the best elements of both. Above all, it was soulful, defined by the voice of Teddy Pendergrass.
Here are some tracks off a new compilation put together by Dimitri of Paris. An album well worth purchasing.
The Love I Lost - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
Hurt So Bad (a Tom Moulton Mix) - Philly Devotions
The Night The Lights Went Out - Trammps
The More I Get, The More I Want - Teddy Pendergrass
I Don't Need No Music - TJM
Bad Luck - Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes
PURCHASE VIA MADPRIEST'S AMAZON STORE
(WIKIPEDIA)
THE ABUSE IS NOT JUST SEXUAL
It's like the whole Roman Catholic hierarchy suffers from institutional sociopathy.
From THE HUFFINGTON POST:
A Chicago woman who devoted her life to the Catholic Church will not allow her to be buried at her own parish.
Janine Denomme was ordained a priest in April by a group called Roman Catholic Womenpriests, according to Chicago Public Radio. Though the church excommunicates women who pursue ordination, Denomme had "always wanted to be a priest," and decided to be ordained anyway.
Denomme was diagnosed with cancer before she was ordained, and blogged about her relationship with the church and dealing with her illness.
Denomme was active in the church throughout her life. Over the years her family and friends watched her struggle between her belief that she was called to ministry and the Catholic Church's refusal to open ordination to women. Deciding to accept ordination through RCWP brought her peace, says her brother Mark: "For the first time, she felt she could fulfill her vocation in ministry and not abandon the faith, the rituals, the liturgy she loved."
The 45-year-old Denomme was director of youth programs for the Center on Halsted and served as a lay preacher, church musician, parish council member, spiritual director and religion teacher for the Catholic church.
Despite her strong faith and close ties to the church, the Archdiocese of Chicago refuses to allow her to be buried at her Catholic parish. The diocese says she knowingly and willingly participated in the simulation and brought excommunication upon herself. And because of that Denomme is denied a Catholic funeral.
Denomme's funeral mass will be held at First United Methodist Church in Evanston.
COMMENT: Well, that'll teach her. I'm sure Denomme has learnt her lesson and will never go getting herself ordained ever again. Well done, men!
From THE HUFFINGTON POST:
A Chicago woman who devoted her life to the Catholic Church will not allow her to be buried at her own parish.
Janine Denomme was ordained a priest in April by a group called Roman Catholic Womenpriests, according to Chicago Public Radio. Though the church excommunicates women who pursue ordination, Denomme had "always wanted to be a priest," and decided to be ordained anyway.
Denomme was diagnosed with cancer before she was ordained, and blogged about her relationship with the church and dealing with her illness.
Denomme was active in the church throughout her life. Over the years her family and friends watched her struggle between her belief that she was called to ministry and the Catholic Church's refusal to open ordination to women. Deciding to accept ordination through RCWP brought her peace, says her brother Mark: "For the first time, she felt she could fulfill her vocation in ministry and not abandon the faith, the rituals, the liturgy she loved."
The 45-year-old Denomme was director of youth programs for the Center on Halsted and served as a lay preacher, church musician, parish council member, spiritual director and religion teacher for the Catholic church.
Despite her strong faith and close ties to the church, the Archdiocese of Chicago refuses to allow her to be buried at her Catholic parish. The diocese says she knowingly and willingly participated in the simulation and brought excommunication upon herself. And because of that Denomme is denied a Catholic funeral.
Denomme's funeral mass will be held at First United Methodist Church in Evanston.
COMMENT: Well, that'll teach her. I'm sure Denomme has learnt her lesson and will never go getting herself ordained ever again. Well done, men!
NEW APP FOR THOSE WONDERFUL AMERICANS
From BOFFIN WATCH:
A crack team of Israeli boffins has developed an important tool that might enable the United States to take its proper place in the world. Ever since the country was founded by humourless Protestants who were escaping the UK's cavalier attitudes, people in the US have been crippled by the lack of a gene to detect sarcasm. This has led them into all sorts of problems on the international scene where they have failed to see how people in other more sophisticated nations take the Michael out of them as they stroll around cultural landmarks wearing loud shirts and talking in big loud voices. For a couple of hundred years these generously proportioned types have assumed that the citizens of other nations were just being friendly as they extracted naive US dollars while managing to be completely and utterly rude.
Now an Israeli team from the Hebrew University hopes to change all that with special software called SASI, which means "Semi-supervised Algorithm for Sarcasm Identification". The team scanned 66,000 Amazon.com product reviews, with three different human annotators tagging sentences for sarcasm.
They discovered sarcastic patterns and created a classification algorithm that puts each statement into a sarcastic class.
It is envisaged that Americans will use the algorithms for an app on their phones to see if the people they are talking with are using sarcasm.
A crack team of Israeli boffins has developed an important tool that might enable the United States to take its proper place in the world. Ever since the country was founded by humourless Protestants who were escaping the UK's cavalier attitudes, people in the US have been crippled by the lack of a gene to detect sarcasm. This has led them into all sorts of problems on the international scene where they have failed to see how people in other more sophisticated nations take the Michael out of them as they stroll around cultural landmarks wearing loud shirts and talking in big loud voices. For a couple of hundred years these generously proportioned types have assumed that the citizens of other nations were just being friendly as they extracted naive US dollars while managing to be completely and utterly rude.
Now an Israeli team from the Hebrew University hopes to change all that with special software called SASI, which means "Semi-supervised Algorithm for Sarcasm Identification". The team scanned 66,000 Amazon.com product reviews, with three different human annotators tagging sentences for sarcasm.
They discovered sarcastic patterns and created a classification algorithm that puts each statement into a sarcastic class.
It is envisaged that Americans will use the algorithms for an app on their phones to see if the people they are talking with are using sarcasm.
I PREFER COFFEE
Now, wouldn't this go down well in the USA? I can just see Grandmére Mimi waltzing down main street wearing one.
WEE FREE EXPRESSION
From THE SCOTSMAN:
To many, the image of the Free Church of Scotland is of stern, colourless men and women seemingly intent on being unhappy. But the Church's leader yesterday called on members to do more to make the faith more appealing, making it a home for everyone.
The Rev David Meredith, the moderator of the Free Church General Assembly, warned that members are regarded as a "quaint relic from a bygone age". He said more excitement and edginess should be demonstrated in the Church, in a major break from tradition.
He said it would be great to hear "as much Polish and Mandarin spoken in the foyers of our churches as Gaelic". He added: "The achievement of this inclusive ethos is tied up with our preaching. The principle is that we get into our churches the very types of people that our preaching is aimed at. In Scotland in 2010 this means that we aim our teaching at everyone.
"A good start would be the Goth and the granny."
Earlier this month it was revealed that a growing group of members is pushing to lift a century-long ban on hymn-singing and the playing of musical instruments in the Free Church. A committee is currently examining the way the Church worships and if change is needed.
To many, the image of the Free Church of Scotland is of stern, colourless men and women seemingly intent on being unhappy. But the Church's leader yesterday called on members to do more to make the faith more appealing, making it a home for everyone.
The Rev David Meredith, the moderator of the Free Church General Assembly, warned that members are regarded as a "quaint relic from a bygone age". He said more excitement and edginess should be demonstrated in the Church, in a major break from tradition.
He said it would be great to hear "as much Polish and Mandarin spoken in the foyers of our churches as Gaelic". He added: "The achievement of this inclusive ethos is tied up with our preaching. The principle is that we get into our churches the very types of people that our preaching is aimed at. In Scotland in 2010 this means that we aim our teaching at everyone.
"A good start would be the Goth and the granny."
Earlier this month it was revealed that a growing group of members is pushing to lift a century-long ban on hymn-singing and the playing of musical instruments in the Free Church. A committee is currently examining the way the Church worships and if change is needed.
SWEET SINGING IN THE LOWER COLON
From THE LOCAL (Sweden):
Singing is a popular pursuit in the Nordic countries and while it is often associated with alcohol consumption it can also have positive health effects - such as easing irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Swedish research suggests.
Singing has been found to stimulate elevated oxytocin concentration in serum, and the study hoped to shed light on whether choir singing can aid anabolic regeneration, measured from saliva testosterone, and ease the symptoms of IBS, whose sufferers typically register low levels of oxytocin.
The researchers - Töres Theorell, Christina Grape, Britt-Maj Wikström, Rolf Ekmand and Dan Hasson - have published their findings in an article in the medical journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, and have found that regular choir singing can increase levels of saliva testosterone and thus have an anabolic regenerative effect thus reducing stress.
"It is documented that starting activities can help to accelerate the body's process to regenerate cells, which is fundamental to the health. What we have found it that choir groups show a clearly heightened regeneration in comparison to other activities," said Professor Töres Theorell at the Stress Research Institute at Stockholm University.
COMMENT: This is good news for choristers but hardly good news for the rest of us. It is a well known fact that an increase in such singing in churches often leads to a huge increase in the number of cases of irritating choir syndrome in the rest of the congregation, and especially among the clergy who risk high exposure to infection in the course of their duties.
Singing is a popular pursuit in the Nordic countries and while it is often associated with alcohol consumption it can also have positive health effects - such as easing irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Swedish research suggests.
Singing has been found to stimulate elevated oxytocin concentration in serum, and the study hoped to shed light on whether choir singing can aid anabolic regeneration, measured from saliva testosterone, and ease the symptoms of IBS, whose sufferers typically register low levels of oxytocin.
The researchers - Töres Theorell, Christina Grape, Britt-Maj Wikström, Rolf Ekmand and Dan Hasson - have published their findings in an article in the medical journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, and have found that regular choir singing can increase levels of saliva testosterone and thus have an anabolic regenerative effect thus reducing stress.
"It is documented that starting activities can help to accelerate the body's process to regenerate cells, which is fundamental to the health. What we have found it that choir groups show a clearly heightened regeneration in comparison to other activities," said Professor Töres Theorell at the Stress Research Institute at Stockholm University.
COMMENT: This is good news for choristers but hardly good news for the rest of us. It is a well known fact that an increase in such singing in churches often leads to a huge increase in the number of cases of irritating choir syndrome in the rest of the congregation, and especially among the clergy who risk high exposure to infection in the course of their duties.
FORGET PHILOSOPHICAL SUBTLETIES
- ROWAN WILLIAMS DID THIS
Not only the Archbishop of Canterbury, of course. But every so-called moral authority whose forked tongue pronouncements, policies of appeasement and dualistic beliefs have allowed and encouraged the evil, but, far less disingenuous, haters of our world to believe they can get away with obscenities such as this.
It is time (long passed the time in my opinion) for all Gospel based Christians to let go of their deeply ingrained propensity to always see two sides to every story and their wishful belief that there can be a third way in every dispute, and to get real. As Jim Naughton stated in his article for THE LEAD on Monday:
Perhaps the time has come to say simply: Dear Archbishop Williams, we are siding with our LGBT brothers and sisters. Do what you like. We are prepared to pay what this stand will cost us. We hope you are prepared to pay what it will cost you. And may God have mercy on us all.
From THE BBC:
A judge in Malawi has sentenced a gay couple to 14 years in prison with hard labour after they were convicted of gross indecency and unnatural acts. He said he wanted to "protect" the public.
Steven Monjeza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, have been in jail since their arrest in December 2009 after holding an engagement ceremony.
"I will give you a scaring sentence so that the public be protected from people like you, so that we are not tempted to emulate this horrendous example," said Judge Nyakwawa Usiwa-Usiwa in the commercial capital, Blantyre.
Michelle Kagari, deputy Africa director of Amnesty International, called the sentence "an outrage."
She described the pair as "prisoners of conscience" and said Amnesty would continue to campaign for them to be freed.
COMMENT: Amnesty International's Christlike commitment to free the oppressed shames the churches of the world. They are part of the solution. Thanks to prevaricators such as Rowan Williams, we are well and truly part of the problem.
It is time (long passed the time in my opinion) for all Gospel based Christians to let go of their deeply ingrained propensity to always see two sides to every story and their wishful belief that there can be a third way in every dispute, and to get real. As Jim Naughton stated in his article for THE LEAD on Monday:
Perhaps the time has come to say simply: Dear Archbishop Williams, we are siding with our LGBT brothers and sisters. Do what you like. We are prepared to pay what this stand will cost us. We hope you are prepared to pay what it will cost you. And may God have mercy on us all.
From THE BBC:
A judge in Malawi has sentenced a gay couple to 14 years in prison with hard labour after they were convicted of gross indecency and unnatural acts. He said he wanted to "protect" the public.
Steven Monjeza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, have been in jail since their arrest in December 2009 after holding an engagement ceremony.
"I will give you a scaring sentence so that the public be protected from people like you, so that we are not tempted to emulate this horrendous example," said Judge Nyakwawa Usiwa-Usiwa in the commercial capital, Blantyre.
Michelle Kagari, deputy Africa director of Amnesty International, called the sentence "an outrage."
She described the pair as "prisoners of conscience" and said Amnesty would continue to campaign for them to be freed.
COMMENT: Amnesty International's Christlike commitment to free the oppressed shames the churches of the world. They are part of the solution. Thanks to prevaricators such as Rowan Williams, we are well and truly part of the problem.
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
DUTCH GIVEAWAY
From ABC NEWS INTERNATIONAL:
A Dutch sex shop will be giving away 2,000 "Pope condoms" this weekend in a dig at the Roman Catholic Church.
De Condoomfabriek (The Condom Factory) said it wanted to make a point about sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies and the Vatican's opposition to contraceptives.
COMMENT: This isn't particularly imaginative. Wouldn't it have been more appropriate (and funny) if they had given away Benedict Brand dutch caps? They could have called them "zucchettos"
A Dutch sex shop will be giving away 2,000 "Pope condoms" this weekend in a dig at the Roman Catholic Church.
De Condoomfabriek (The Condom Factory) said it wanted to make a point about sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies and the Vatican's opposition to contraceptives.
COMMENT: This isn't particularly imaginative. Wouldn't it have been more appropriate (and funny) if they had given away Benedict Brand dutch caps? They could have called them "zucchettos"
WITH ALL YOUR SOUL
- BOBBY WOMACK
LOVE IS LIKE AN ITCHING
IN MY HEART
- TIMOTHY WILSON (right top)
IN MY HEART - JIMMY ROBINS
CHASING RAINBOWS
- JOHNNY ADAMS (right bottom)
MUDDY WATERS - THE FABULETTES
COME OUT AND PLAY
- ROY AYERS (below)
WELCOME TO THE CLUB- MARC MOULIN
AM I UNIQUE?
- HARDAGE FEAT. SKY
- HARDAGE FEAT. SKY
SNEAKIN' - JOE FREEMAN
THE STRANGER
- C. HENRY WOODS TROUPE
HEADLINE OF THE DAY
From CHRISTIAN TODAY:
I'm pleased about this. I know their aims are righteous and their complaints against the institutional homophobia of the Church are valid, but it was still morally wrong of them to turn to kidnapping in the furtherance of their cause. One thing is for certain, it would never have happened on Louie Crew's watch - he'd be turning in his grave if he wasn't still alive.
I'm pleased about this. I know their aims are righteous and their complaints against the institutional homophobia of the Church are valid, but it was still morally wrong of them to turn to kidnapping in the furtherance of their cause. One thing is for certain, it would never have happened on Louie Crew's watch - he'd be turning in his grave if he wasn't still alive.
MADPRIEST'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
A couple of weeks ago the people of Britain voted in a Conservative government.
As a socialist I feel alienated and sorrowful.
But I'm not going to emigrate.
MADPRIEST'S REPLACEMENT ARRIVES AT ST. FRANCIS
I just couldn't compete. She's so much prettier than me.
Full story at THE BBC.
Thanks to THEMETHATISME
for sending in the link to this article.
FOR SALE: THE CHURCH OF ST. MATCHSTALK
From THE TELEGRAPH:
LS Lowry was instantly taken with the tiny Wath Brow Mission Church during a visit to Cumbria in 1948. His painting is now worth hundreds of thousands of pounds and is thought to be held in a private collection, but the church itself still stands close to Cleator Moor.
But after almost 130 years as a place of worship, the 300-seat church has been deemed surplus to requirements by the Church of England. It is to be sold at auction with a guide price of £60,000 to £70,000 - a fraction of the value of the painting itself..
The local council has indicated it is happy for the church to be redeveloped into a house or business, on one condition: that Lowry’s famous façade is left intact.
COMMENT: Any takers?
LS Lowry was instantly taken with the tiny Wath Brow Mission Church during a visit to Cumbria in 1948. His painting is now worth hundreds of thousands of pounds and is thought to be held in a private collection, but the church itself still stands close to Cleator Moor.
But after almost 130 years as a place of worship, the 300-seat church has been deemed surplus to requirements by the Church of England. It is to be sold at auction with a guide price of £60,000 to £70,000 - a fraction of the value of the painting itself..
The local council has indicated it is happy for the church to be redeveloped into a house or business, on one condition: that Lowry’s famous façade is left intact.
COMMENT: Any takers?
CAPTION COMPETITION
From THE BOSTON HERALD:
Strengthening the ties between man and best friend, more than 50 pooches received special prayers from loving owners and clergy at the Calvary Episcopal Church’s inaugural Perfect Paws Pet Ministry service yesterday.
“They did beautifully. There was some sniffing and barking but once we began worship they weren’t disruptive at all,” said the Rev. Thea Keith-Lucas. “They just added to the joy of the experience.”
Strengthening the ties between man and best friend, more than 50 pooches received special prayers from loving owners and clergy at the Calvary Episcopal Church’s inaugural Perfect Paws Pet Ministry service yesterday.
“They did beautifully. There was some sniffing and barking but once we began worship they weren’t disruptive at all,” said the Rev. Thea Keith-Lucas. “They just added to the joy of the experience.”
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Check out KJ's thoughts on the film Departures (Okuribito)
at THE OCICBW... REVIEW
at THE OCICBW... REVIEW
MONEY FOR NOTHING
From THE NEW VISION (Uganda):
There was excitement when a newly-wed couple turned up at the office of the bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Mityana to receive their prize for keeping their virginity till marriage.
Last year, Bishop Samuel Stephen Kaziimba of Mityana diocese launched a campaign to reward virgins to promote abstinence among the youth.
“This is Christopher and Christine Katumba of Makonzi parish, who married when virgins. My committee of senior respected women has proved that Christine was a virgin,” Kaziimba said amid cheers from priests and other diocesan leaders, who had gathered at the bishop’s office.
The couple received sh100,000 and Bibles.
At least 50 couples have been wed at the diocese since December, but only one has turned up for the prize.
COMMENT: So 49 women had to get through their weddings knowing that everyone in the congregation were thinking "She's not a virgin, then."
There was excitement when a newly-wed couple turned up at the office of the bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Mityana to receive their prize for keeping their virginity till marriage. Last year, Bishop Samuel Stephen Kaziimba of Mityana diocese launched a campaign to reward virgins to promote abstinence among the youth.
“This is Christopher and Christine Katumba of Makonzi parish, who married when virgins. My committee of senior respected women has proved that Christine was a virgin,” Kaziimba said amid cheers from priests and other diocesan leaders, who had gathered at the bishop’s office.
The couple received sh100,000 and Bibles.
At least 50 couples have been wed at the diocese since December, but only one has turned up for the prize.
COMMENT: So 49 women had to get through their weddings knowing that everyone in the congregation were thinking "She's not a virgin, then."
Monday, 17 May 2010
HEADLINE OF THE DAY
From GLAAD BLOG:
We just have bishops and archbishops in the Church of England, so, tell me, is there a special service in the US for making somebody into an openly lesbian bishop? And, what if I was offered a bishop's post in the US - could I opt for the openly lesbian option? Does it only take properly if the other bishops who lay hands on you are openly lesbian. If a secretly gay bishop got in on the action would your openly lesbian orders be valid? If Mary was fed up with being lesbian could she have asked to have been consecrated as a straight female bishop?
We just have bishops and archbishops in the Church of England, so, tell me, is there a special service in the US for making somebody into an openly lesbian bishop? And, what if I was offered a bishop's post in the US - could I opt for the openly lesbian option? Does it only take properly if the other bishops who lay hands on you are openly lesbian. If a secretly gay bishop got in on the action would your openly lesbian orders be valid? If Mary was fed up with being lesbian could she have asked to have been consecrated as a straight female bishop?
MUSIC FOR YOUR LUNCHTIME
WORLD CUP SPECIAL
This was unexpected. It's a real shot on goal that came out of nowhere.
Every four years they put on this football tourney called The World Cup. Every four years the English get slightly excited by this, to the extent that you actually see the odd flag of St. George flying (very unusual in England as it would normally get you arrested for being racist). Every four years a smattering of truly awful records are released celebrating the event and claiming, quite unrealistically, of course, that England is going to win it. Usually these songs are of the quality of "World Cup Willie" or "Back Home." Very, very occasionally someone actually releases a record that you don't switch the radio off half a bar into it (a good example of such a record would be "Three Lions" by the Lightning Seeds et al. But that was recorded for the European Championship not the World Cup).
This time round, due to the easiness of recording a record and getting it on the internet, there are even more crappy football songs around than usual. However, I have discovered something that has just never happened before - not ever. Someone has gone and released a whole album full of the stuff that is a work of bloody genius.
I nearly fell off my chair, guv'nor.
Unfortunately, if you're not English, you will probably not get the musical and lyrical references and, therefore, not see it as the towering, innovative work of art that it truly is.
But English football fans will get it. It's a shame it's such an obscure release because it really does merit widespread fame and adulation and an OBE for Mr Black thrown in as well.
It doesn't appear to have been released on CD. But you can download it from the UK and the US Amazon sites.
Every four years they put on this football tourney called The World Cup. Every four years the English get slightly excited by this, to the extent that you actually see the odd flag of St. George flying (very unusual in England as it would normally get you arrested for being racist). Every four years a smattering of truly awful records are released celebrating the event and claiming, quite unrealistically, of course, that England is going to win it. Usually these songs are of the quality of "World Cup Willie" or "Back Home." Very, very occasionally someone actually releases a record that you don't switch the radio off half a bar into it (a good example of such a record would be "Three Lions" by the Lightning Seeds et al. But that was recorded for the European Championship not the World Cup).
This time round, due to the easiness of recording a record and getting it on the internet, there are even more crappy football songs around than usual. However, I have discovered something that has just never happened before - not ever. Someone has gone and released a whole album full of the stuff that is a work of bloody genius.
I nearly fell off my chair, guv'nor.Unfortunately, if you're not English, you will probably not get the musical and lyrical references and, therefore, not see it as the towering, innovative work of art that it truly is.
But English football fans will get it. It's a shame it's such an obscure release because it really does merit widespread fame and adulation and an OBE for Mr Black thrown in as well.
It doesn't appear to have been released on CD. But you can download it from the UK and the US Amazon sites.
THE DAY ON WHICH I BECAME INVISIBLE
I popped into the Co-op this morning to buy some soya milk for Mrs MadPriest. For five minutes or more I stood next to a woman from St. Francis - not one of the troublemakers. Even though I know I caught her eye, she completely blanked me.
I am going to have to learn to get used to my new leper type position in the neighbourhood as I will be remaining in my present house for some time to come. The congregation will divide into three groups in respect of their attitude towards me:
1. Those who will carry on speaking to me as if nothing has happened.
2. Those who will not speak to me because they feel embarrassed.
3. Those who will not speak to me because, in order to cope, they will have projected all their guilt onto me, or they never considered themselves at fault in the first place.
Those who deliberately orchestrated the hate campaign towards me in order to get rid of me, who will have done so coldly and with feelings of self-righteousness, not guilt, will mostly fall into the first category along with those in the congregation who are confused and disgusted by what their fellow "Christians" have done.
To those of you who may think that there will be two sides to my story I would point out that a couple of days ago, one of those in authority over me, referred to mine enemy as "evil." Which is nice, although I would have preferred him to have done something more pro-active before the whole thing switched to mob dynamics and careered completely out of control.
I am going to have to learn to get used to my new leper type position in the neighbourhood as I will be remaining in my present house for some time to come. The congregation will divide into three groups in respect of their attitude towards me:
1. Those who will carry on speaking to me as if nothing has happened.
2. Those who will not speak to me because they feel embarrassed.
3. Those who will not speak to me because, in order to cope, they will have projected all their guilt onto me, or they never considered themselves at fault in the first place.
Those who deliberately orchestrated the hate campaign towards me in order to get rid of me, who will have done so coldly and with feelings of self-righteousness, not guilt, will mostly fall into the first category along with those in the congregation who are confused and disgusted by what their fellow "Christians" have done.
To those of you who may think that there will be two sides to my story I would point out that a couple of days ago, one of those in authority over me, referred to mine enemy as "evil." Which is nice, although I would have preferred him to have done something more pro-active before the whole thing switched to mob dynamics and careered completely out of control.
THE EMERGENT PRIESTHOOD
Yesterday, with great reluctance, I joined The Order Of Melchizedek.
The "emergent church," as it has mostly become, is missing two major ingredients. It is not emergent and it is not a church, and I believe these two failings are linked to each other.
One of the major purposes of the Church is to contain an organisational structure that, from the outside, appears hierarchical and which, sadly, it has in practice, become. However, it was not meant to be this way. The "hierarchy" of the Church should be based on the dynamics of the Kingdom where those "higher up" the hierarchy exist to sacrificially and humbly serve those "beneath them." This model of leadership is based on the concept of the ideal king (partially achieved in the reign of David) and the concept of the ideal priest (explained most accurately in the Letter to the Hebrews). Of course, due to the greed and selfishness of human beings, this ideal of leadership has rarely been seen in reality within the Church during its long history. The vast majority of leaders in the Church, even when the above ideas about kingship and priesthood were universally understood, have gone for the "I'm in charge" option, occasionally with benign results, but, more often than not, with more oppressive and dictatorial ones.
The "emergent church" is obsessed with leadership. It has a generated an industry dedicated to publishing books on and arranging conferences about church leadership. As the emergent church is focussed, because of its defining ethos, on the contemporary, it has adopted a model of leadership based, not on ancient Hebraic formulas, but on modern business practices. No matter what the emergent church leadership may claim to the contrary, it is a leadership that aims to control and make "a profit." Emerging churches are carefully managed so that they emerge in the direction the pre-existing leadership considers "orthodox."
This situation has, in my opinion, come about because the cart has been put, well and truly, before the horse. The leadership was in place before the churches emerged. This has resulted in a leadership separate from the community.
What is needed is not just the new thing of emergent church but also the new thing of emergent priesthood. The priesthood for each, individual emergence should evolve with the new community or, if it is a "priest" who comes from outside to initiate and encourage the emergence of a new community, then that priest should be as a clean slate, ready to have his or her new priesthood written on them by the evolving community.
This is the ideal time for such experiments. More and more "priests" are finding themselves outside of the existing church hierarchies and employment. Such priests have two choices - to continue to hammer on the doors of their old homes asking to be let back in, or to take the opportunity to become part of something new, to allow their priesthood to emerge anew, to be of service to something new.
I fear that, although I understand this, I do not have the courage to follow my own convictions and will continue to hammer on the door that has just been slammed shut in my face. However, all is not lost for cowards like me as it should be possible to follow the calling of emergent priesthood within the existing churches. It's possible, although such priests will always have far less job security than their conformist colleagues.
The "emergent church," as it has mostly become, is missing two major ingredients. It is not emergent and it is not a church, and I believe these two failings are linked to each other.
One of the major purposes of the Church is to contain an organisational structure that, from the outside, appears hierarchical and which, sadly, it has in practice, become. However, it was not meant to be this way. The "hierarchy" of the Church should be based on the dynamics of the Kingdom where those "higher up" the hierarchy exist to sacrificially and humbly serve those "beneath them." This model of leadership is based on the concept of the ideal king (partially achieved in the reign of David) and the concept of the ideal priest (explained most accurately in the Letter to the Hebrews). Of course, due to the greed and selfishness of human beings, this ideal of leadership has rarely been seen in reality within the Church during its long history. The vast majority of leaders in the Church, even when the above ideas about kingship and priesthood were universally understood, have gone for the "I'm in charge" option, occasionally with benign results, but, more often than not, with more oppressive and dictatorial ones.
The "emergent church" is obsessed with leadership. It has a generated an industry dedicated to publishing books on and arranging conferences about church leadership. As the emergent church is focussed, because of its defining ethos, on the contemporary, it has adopted a model of leadership based, not on ancient Hebraic formulas, but on modern business practices. No matter what the emergent church leadership may claim to the contrary, it is a leadership that aims to control and make "a profit." Emerging churches are carefully managed so that they emerge in the direction the pre-existing leadership considers "orthodox."
This situation has, in my opinion, come about because the cart has been put, well and truly, before the horse. The leadership was in place before the churches emerged. This has resulted in a leadership separate from the community.
What is needed is not just the new thing of emergent church but also the new thing of emergent priesthood. The priesthood for each, individual emergence should evolve with the new community or, if it is a "priest" who comes from outside to initiate and encourage the emergence of a new community, then that priest should be as a clean slate, ready to have his or her new priesthood written on them by the evolving community.
This is the ideal time for such experiments. More and more "priests" are finding themselves outside of the existing church hierarchies and employment. Such priests have two choices - to continue to hammer on the doors of their old homes asking to be let back in, or to take the opportunity to become part of something new, to allow their priesthood to emerge anew, to be of service to something new.
I fear that, although I understand this, I do not have the courage to follow my own convictions and will continue to hammer on the door that has just been slammed shut in my face. However, all is not lost for cowards like me as it should be possible to follow the calling of emergent priesthood within the existing churches. It's possible, although such priests will always have far less job security than their conformist colleagues.
Sunday, 16 May 2010
ROME'S DOGMA OF DEATH
- "LET THE BITCH DIE"
COMMENT: I think God can be rightfully accused of underachievement with the Virgin Mary thing. I mean, he had to put himself out to rustle up a miracle in order to get Mary in the pudding club without the normal preceding hanky panky. Surely, it wouldn't have taken that much more effort for God to go that little bit further with the magic stuff and bang up a man - one of the chief priests, for example. I think the ladies over the following two thousand years would have really appreciated that one. For a start, millions of them may not have died needlessly if just one misogynist, male religious leader had gone through the experience of having four kilos of flesh and bone force itself out of his belly via a smallish hole between his legs.
Thanks to Ellie for sending this story into MadPriest Towers.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
Sexuality figures nowhere in the creeds. It is not mentioned in the church’s liturgies. When godparents witness to a baby’s baptism they do not swear to help to raise the infant as straight.
(Ruth Gledhill, THE TIMES)
(Ruth Gledhill, THE TIMES)
THE VIEW FROM AUSTRALIA
For a major article on the US healthcare system by Aussie OCICBWer, Boaz, check out CHIN WAG @ OCICBW...
Details of how to gain access to Chin Wag can be
found, somewhere, on the right hand sidebar.
Details of how to gain access to Chin Wag can be
found, somewhere, on the right hand sidebar.
NO REGRETS
Mary must have the most infectious smile in the world.
And is that person next to her in the photo a man?
All that lace makes me very suspicious :-)
SWEDEN - AS BARMY AS THE REST
From THE LOCAL (Sweden):
The Centre Party has promised to take action following revelations that one of its candidates for a parliamentary seat believes Jews lay behind the 9/11 terror attacks and the Holocaust.
Conspiracy theories surrounding an array of global events have flourished for years on the website of Ove Svidén, 73, according to a report on public broadcaster SVT’s news show Rapport.
“Who won the Second World War? The Jews! They got a state. A little remnant of a people gets a country. It’s not a coincidence,” Svidén told Rapport.
The politician also tied Jews to the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York. Writing on his website, Svidén describes how the construction of the World Trade Centre was a project dear to the heart of banking mogul David Rockefeller. But in a bid to “kill his darlings”, the ageing patriarch had the iconic twin towers destroyed, the Centre Party candidate argues.
COMMENT: What twaddle! It was teh gays. In fact, I know for a fact that the two planes were painted pink. But they were electronically altered to appear white on our TV screens by practicing homosexualists in the US media.
The Centre Party has promised to take action following revelations that one of its candidates for a parliamentary seat believes Jews lay behind the 9/11 terror attacks and the Holocaust.
Conspiracy theories surrounding an array of global events have flourished for years on the website of Ove Svidén, 73, according to a report on public broadcaster SVT’s news show Rapport.
“Who won the Second World War? The Jews! They got a state. A little remnant of a people gets a country. It’s not a coincidence,” Svidén told Rapport.
The politician also tied Jews to the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York. Writing on his website, Svidén describes how the construction of the World Trade Centre was a project dear to the heart of banking mogul David Rockefeller. But in a bid to “kill his darlings”, the ageing patriarch had the iconic twin towers destroyed, the Centre Party candidate argues.
COMMENT: What twaddle! It was teh gays. In fact, I know for a fact that the two planes were painted pink. But they were electronically altered to appear white on our TV screens by practicing homosexualists in the US media.
THE 4 A.M. JUKEBOX
PURCHASE VIA MADPRIEST'S AMAZON STORE
Lloyd James, (born in 1947, Montego Bay, Jamaica), better known as Prince Jammy or King Jammy, is a dub mixer and record producer. After earning money from building amplifiers and repairing electrical equipment from his mother's house in Waterhouse in the late 1960s, he started his own sound system. After leaving Jamaica to work in Canada for a few years in the early 1970s, he returned to Kingston in 1976 and set up his own studio at his in-laws' home in Waterhouse. When Phillip Smart left King Tubby's team to work in New York, Jammy replaced him, getting to work with the likes of Bunny Lee and Yabby You. For the first few years of his career, Jammy almost exclusively made Dub. In the late 1970s he began to release his own productions, including the debut album from Black Uhuru in 1977. In the 1980s, he became one of the most influential producers of dancehall music. His biggest hit was 1985's "Under Me Sleng Teng" by Wayne Smith, with an entirely-digital rhythm hook. Many credit this song as being the first "Digital rhythm" in reggae, leading to the modern dancehall era. (WIKIPEDIA)
MANAGING DECLINE
From THE TIMES:
Clergy in the Church of England are being asked to cut their cloth to suit the economic times and to prepare for mergers and staff cuts that could drastically reduce pastoral care and worship. A report on finances has found that a quarter of all 44 dioceses are running deficits and plundering reserves to pay stipends and pensions. A similar proportion has liquid reserves to last them one month or less.
High staffing levels of clegy and laity are highlighted. The Church of England spends £1 billion a year in salaries and pensions for clergy as well as the upkeep of its buildings, an amount roughly matched by donations from parishes. But rising pension costs mean that every year churchgoers are asked to increase donations. The report, commissioned to help churches to improve “efficiency and effectiveness”, suggests that finances are so finely balanced in some areas that parishoners will have to dig even deeper or face cuts in provision. “Cuts are not inevitable, but are an option that needs to be thought through,” said Paul Gibson, of the accountant Mazars, and the report’s author.
COMMENT: Cuts are not inevitable? Ha!
The cuts have been going on, disguised disingenuously with any excuse that comes to hand, for the past ten years or more. You want proof? Well, here I am.
Clergy in the Church of England are being asked to cut their cloth to suit the economic times and to prepare for mergers and staff cuts that could drastically reduce pastoral care and worship. A report on finances has found that a quarter of all 44 dioceses are running deficits and plundering reserves to pay stipends and pensions. A similar proportion has liquid reserves to last them one month or less.
High staffing levels of clegy and laity are highlighted. The Church of England spends £1 billion a year in salaries and pensions for clergy as well as the upkeep of its buildings, an amount roughly matched by donations from parishes. But rising pension costs mean that every year churchgoers are asked to increase donations. The report, commissioned to help churches to improve “efficiency and effectiveness”, suggests that finances are so finely balanced in some areas that parishoners will have to dig even deeper or face cuts in provision. “Cuts are not inevitable, but are an option that needs to be thought through,” said Paul Gibson, of the accountant Mazars, and the report’s author.
COMMENT: Cuts are not inevitable? Ha!
The cuts have been going on, disguised disingenuously with any excuse that comes to hand, for the past ten years or more. You want proof? Well, here I am.
USEFUL STUFF FOR LITURGISTS
The (Canadian) Book of Alternative Services (BAS) and supplementary resources are now available for download. In 2009, the Council of General Synod authorized the online publication of these texts. The goals are to assist liturgy planners and to encourage future web-based work of liturgical text development. For more information, email the Rev. Dr. Eileen Scully. (We know her don't we?)
Access texts via THIS LINK.
Access texts via THIS LINK.
ANSWER THAT!
Sent in to MadPriest Towers by THEMETHATISME:
A letter from SHARON UNDERWOOD
published by The Valley News
(White River Junction, VT)
Sunday, April 30, 2000
Many letters have been sent to the Valley News concerning the homosexual menace in Vermont. I am the mother of a gay son and I've taken enough from you good people.
I'm tired of your foolish rhetoric about the "homosexual agenda" and your allegations that accepting homosexuality is the same thing as advocating sex with children. You are cruel and ignorant. You have been robbing me of the joys of motherhood ever since my children were tiny.
My firstborn son started suffering at the hands of the moral little thugs from your moral, upright families from the time he was in the first grade. He was physically and verbally abused from first grade straight through high school because he was perceived to be gay.
He never professed to be gay or had any association with anything gay, but he had the misfortune not to walk or have gestures like the other boys. He was called "fag" incessantly, starting when he was 6.
In high school, while your children were doing what kids that age should be doing, mine labored over a suicide note, drafting and redrafting it to be sure his family knew how much he loved them. My sobbing 17-year-old tore the heart out of me as he choked out that he just couldn't bear to continue living any longer, that he didn't want to be gay and that he couldn't face a life without dignity.
You have the audacity to talk about protecting families and children from the homosexual menace, while you yourselves tear apart families and drive children to despair. I don't know why my son is gay, but I do know that God didn't put him, and millions like him, on this Earth to give you someone to abuse. God gave you brains so that you could think, and it's about time you started doing that.
At the core of all your misguided beliefs is the belief that this could never happen to you, that there is some kind of subculture out there that people have chosen to join. The fact is that if it can happen to my family, it can happen to yours, and you won't get to choose. Whether it is genetic or whether something occurs during a critical time of fetal development, I don't know. I can only tell you with an absolute certainty that it is inborn.
If you want to tout your own morality, you'd best come up with something more substantive than your heterosexuality. You did nothing to earn it; it was given to you. If you disagree, I would be interested in hearing your story, because my own heterosexuality was a blessing I received with no effort whatsoever on my part. It is so woven into the very soul of me that nothing could ever change it. For those of you who reduce sexual orientation to a simple choice, a character issue, a bad habit or something that can be changed by a 10-step program, I'm puzzled. Are you saying that your own sexual orientation is nothing more than something you have chosen, that you could change it at will? If that's not the case, then why would you suggest that someone else can?
A popular theme in your letters is that Vermont has been infiltrated by outsiders. Both sides of my family have lived in Vermont for generations. I am heart and soul a Vermonter, so I'll thank you to stop saying that you are speaking for "true Vermonters."
You invoke the memory of the brave people who have fought on the battlefield for this great country, saying that they didn't give their lives so that the "homosexual agenda" could tear down the principles they died defending. My 83-year-old father fought in some of the most horrific battles of World War II, was wounded and awarded the Purple Heart.
He shakes his head in sadness at the life his grandson has had to live. He says he fought alongside homosexuals in those battles, that they did their part and bothered no one. One of his best friends in the service was gay, and he never knew it until the end, and when he did find out, it mattered not at all. That wasn't the measure of the man.
You religious folk just can't bear the thought that as my son emerges from the hell that was his childhood he might like to find a lifelong companion and have a measure of happiness. It offends your sensibilities that he should request the right to visit that companion in the hospital, to make medical decisions for him or to benefit from tax laws governing inheritance.
How dare he? you say. These outrageous requests would threaten the very existence of your family, would undermine the sanctity of marriage.
You use religion to abdicate your responsibility to be thinking human beings. There are vast numbers of religious people who find your attitudes repugnant. God is not for the privileged majority, and God knows my son has committed no sin.
The deep-thinking author of a letter to the April 12 Valley News who lectures about homosexual sin and tells us about "those of us who have been blessed with the benefits of a religious upbringing" asks: "What ever happened to the idea of striving . . . to be better human beings than we are?"
Indeed, sir, what ever happened to that?
A letter from SHARON UNDERWOOD
published by The Valley News
(White River Junction, VT)
Sunday, April 30, 2000
Many letters have been sent to the Valley News concerning the homosexual menace in Vermont. I am the mother of a gay son and I've taken enough from you good people.
I'm tired of your foolish rhetoric about the "homosexual agenda" and your allegations that accepting homosexuality is the same thing as advocating sex with children. You are cruel and ignorant. You have been robbing me of the joys of motherhood ever since my children were tiny.
My firstborn son started suffering at the hands of the moral little thugs from your moral, upright families from the time he was in the first grade. He was physically and verbally abused from first grade straight through high school because he was perceived to be gay.
He never professed to be gay or had any association with anything gay, but he had the misfortune not to walk or have gestures like the other boys. He was called "fag" incessantly, starting when he was 6.
In high school, while your children were doing what kids that age should be doing, mine labored over a suicide note, drafting and redrafting it to be sure his family knew how much he loved them. My sobbing 17-year-old tore the heart out of me as he choked out that he just couldn't bear to continue living any longer, that he didn't want to be gay and that he couldn't face a life without dignity.
You have the audacity to talk about protecting families and children from the homosexual menace, while you yourselves tear apart families and drive children to despair. I don't know why my son is gay, but I do know that God didn't put him, and millions like him, on this Earth to give you someone to abuse. God gave you brains so that you could think, and it's about time you started doing that.
At the core of all your misguided beliefs is the belief that this could never happen to you, that there is some kind of subculture out there that people have chosen to join. The fact is that if it can happen to my family, it can happen to yours, and you won't get to choose. Whether it is genetic or whether something occurs during a critical time of fetal development, I don't know. I can only tell you with an absolute certainty that it is inborn.
If you want to tout your own morality, you'd best come up with something more substantive than your heterosexuality. You did nothing to earn it; it was given to you. If you disagree, I would be interested in hearing your story, because my own heterosexuality was a blessing I received with no effort whatsoever on my part. It is so woven into the very soul of me that nothing could ever change it. For those of you who reduce sexual orientation to a simple choice, a character issue, a bad habit or something that can be changed by a 10-step program, I'm puzzled. Are you saying that your own sexual orientation is nothing more than something you have chosen, that you could change it at will? If that's not the case, then why would you suggest that someone else can?
A popular theme in your letters is that Vermont has been infiltrated by outsiders. Both sides of my family have lived in Vermont for generations. I am heart and soul a Vermonter, so I'll thank you to stop saying that you are speaking for "true Vermonters."
You invoke the memory of the brave people who have fought on the battlefield for this great country, saying that they didn't give their lives so that the "homosexual agenda" could tear down the principles they died defending. My 83-year-old father fought in some of the most horrific battles of World War II, was wounded and awarded the Purple Heart.
He shakes his head in sadness at the life his grandson has had to live. He says he fought alongside homosexuals in those battles, that they did their part and bothered no one. One of his best friends in the service was gay, and he never knew it until the end, and when he did find out, it mattered not at all. That wasn't the measure of the man.
You religious folk just can't bear the thought that as my son emerges from the hell that was his childhood he might like to find a lifelong companion and have a measure of happiness. It offends your sensibilities that he should request the right to visit that companion in the hospital, to make medical decisions for him or to benefit from tax laws governing inheritance.
How dare he? you say. These outrageous requests would threaten the very existence of your family, would undermine the sanctity of marriage.
You use religion to abdicate your responsibility to be thinking human beings. There are vast numbers of religious people who find your attitudes repugnant. God is not for the privileged majority, and God knows my son has committed no sin.
The deep-thinking author of a letter to the April 12 Valley News who lectures about homosexual sin and tells us about "those of us who have been blessed with the benefits of a religious upbringing" asks: "What ever happened to the idea of striving . . . to be better human beings than we are?"
Indeed, sir, what ever happened to that?
URGENT PRAYER REQUEST
Posted by Gail at KNOW YOUR "IT'S":
A brief note - to all of you, my blog friends who frequent here lovingly and faithfully, and whose blog space I love to visit. I want to ask for your prayers for my Mom, Louise.
She was admitted to the hospital today - congestive heart failure, pulmonary embolism, arterial fibrillation. (sp)...... I have to believe that the medicines will regulate her heart, dissolve the clot and rid her lungs of the fluid they are holding. Pray with me, for my Mom - please.
I wont be posting or commenting much if at all for a while.
I love you all.................
A brief note - to all of you, my blog friends who frequent here lovingly and faithfully, and whose blog space I love to visit. I want to ask for your prayers for my Mom, Louise.
She was admitted to the hospital today - congestive heart failure, pulmonary embolism, arterial fibrillation. (sp)...... I have to believe that the medicines will regulate her heart, dissolve the clot and rid her lungs of the fluid they are holding. Pray with me, for my Mom - please.
I wont be posting or commenting much if at all for a while.
I love you all.................
FROM THE US TV SERIES "JUSTIFIED"
(SLIGHTLY ALTERED BY MADPRIEST)
Why don't Southern Baptists ever have sex standing up?
Because it might lead to dancing.
Because it might lead to dancing.
But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!
For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven.
From ANGLICAN MAINSTREAM (15th. May 2010):
Today Bishops of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America (ECUSA) pray episcopal consecration prayers over the Revd Mary Glasspool, who lives in an openly same-sex relationship.
Today, St Lawrence Morden, in the Diocese of Southwark, together with other congregation members from the team parish, keeps a day of prayer on Leith Hill, Surrey. As well as confessing individual sin, they will mourn the passing of the Anglican Communion as it has been. They will celebrate the emergence of a renewed communion, led by the large majority of Anglicans in the Global South, and intercede over the response to ECUSA’s action, by Archbishop Rowan Williams and other Church of England Bishops. We will give thanks for the unity of our Diocese maintained by recently retired Bishop, Tom Butler. We call on Anglican churches around the world to pray with us, over the appointment of the next Bishop of Southwark.
From the St Lawrence, Morden news sheet, 9th. May 2010:
Also from the St Lawrence, Morden news sheet, 9th. May 2010:
Ladies and gentleman, the judging panel of
HYPOCRITE X FACTOR
is pleased to announce:
WE HAVE A WINNER
Congratulations to the staff and members
of the Church of St. Lawrence, Morden.
Today Bishops of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America (ECUSA) pray episcopal consecration prayers over the Revd Mary Glasspool, who lives in an openly same-sex relationship.
Today, St Lawrence Morden, in the Diocese of Southwark, together with other congregation members from the team parish, keeps a day of prayer on Leith Hill, Surrey. As well as confessing individual sin, they will mourn the passing of the Anglican Communion as it has been. They will celebrate the emergence of a renewed communion, led by the large majority of Anglicans in the Global South, and intercede over the response to ECUSA’s action, by Archbishop Rowan Williams and other Church of England Bishops. We will give thanks for the unity of our Diocese maintained by recently retired Bishop, Tom Butler. We call on Anglican churches around the world to pray with us, over the appointment of the next Bishop of Southwark.
From the St Lawrence, Morden news sheet, 9th. May 2010:
Also from the St Lawrence, Morden news sheet, 9th. May 2010:
Ladies and gentleman, the judging panel of
HYPOCRITE X FACTOR
is pleased to announce:
WE HAVE A WINNER
Congratulations to the staff and members
of the Church of St. Lawrence, Morden.
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