AMAZING RECORD SLEEVES OF ALL TIMEWHERE DOES HE FIND THEM?OH, BUGGER! IT'S CHRISTMAS

Themethatisme sent this album sleeve into MadPriest Towers.

Do not for a moment think that this is an example of 1963 naivety. Paddy Roberts knew exactly what the word "gay" meant, even back then.

I don't have this album but I do have a "Best Of" CD, from which the following sleeve notes are taken:

Paddy Roberts is a large man with a quiet voice and a gentle manner that belie his ironic but dangerously sharp sense of humour. In his time he’s been a divorce lawyer, a club pianist, an airline pilot and a ’song plugger’, but we all know him now as the singer, in a voice with an appealing tendency to go off-key, or some of the wittiest and wickedest songs ever to entrench themselves in the hit parade.

Born in a remote part of South Africa in the year the King Edwared VII died, Paddy was sent to England for his schooling, but returned to South Africa where after graduating he took up a law practice, “making a speciality of undefended divoce cases”. But he had started to write songs at university, and when the opportunity arose he worked his passage on a sailing ketch to Britain, where he landed with 30/- in his pocket. Taking on odd jobs to keep himself, he began his assault on the British song industry. He was first heard on the BBC in a series called ‘Songs You Might Never Have Heard’. As a member of a vocal group featured on the show, the ‘Tin Pan Alley Trio’, he was beginning to make finacial progress when war broke out.

During the war, Paddy flew with the R.A.F. across the Atlantic. to Russia, in the Western Desert and with Coastal Command, and when peace came he became a transatlantic pilot for B.O.A.C. But in 1950 he returned to song writing, and reached the number on spot in 1954 with ‘Softly, Softly’, which was recorded by Ruby Murray. Then he made the first of the records featuring his own singing of his more saucy songs which were to keep him at the top of the charts for months on end, and he rapidly became a top cabaret star. Since then he has been very busy with appearances throughout Britain, and he has been back to sing in South Africa, but he has also found time to work as vice-chairman of the Performing Rights Society and Chairman of the Song Writer’s Guild.

Here on a newly-recorded L.P., Paddy Roberts sings again the songs, spicy, sophisticated, some the slightest shade of blue, which have made his name a byword for wit and entertainment.

Here are three tracks by this great wordsmith and songwriter. The first is the sad tale of a gay cowboy that predates "Brokeback Mountain" by nearly half a century; the second is an ironic thank you to Christopher Columbus ("Get our teenagers plastered, and leave them a little bastard, a souvenir of Uncle Sam"); and the third is one of the three greatest Christmas songs of all time (the other two being by Greg Lake and Frank Kelly).

The man was a genius. You are so going to enjoy these tunes, as will any gay dogs you happen to live with.

HEADLINE OF THE DAY

From THE DAILY MAIL:

IN OUR OCCASIONAL SERIES

If the TWO AUNTEES were dogs . . .

A VERY QUEER GRACE

Sin is a difficult issue for many, if not most, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (“LGBT” or “queer”) people of faith. It is the primary reason why LGBT people are denied full participation in the life of the Church, including the denial of sacraments and rites such as same-sex marriage and ordination, as well as the denial of many secular rights such as civil marriage and anti-discrimination laws. Sin also torments LGBT people starting from a young age. That is, we are taught very early on that same-sex acts are sinful, and we will be condemned to eternal punishment in hell if we fail to repent and abstain from such acts.

As a result, many LGBT people are unable to understand what grace – that is, the unmerited gift of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ – is all about. If a central part of our identity (if not the central part), which is the ability to experience embodied love and pleasure with another human being, is understood as intrinsically sinful and in need of repentance and abstinence, then why should we care about God’s grace? In fact, what kind of sadistic God would create people one way and then insist that they change who they are in order to attain salvation? It is not surprising, then, that many LGBT people have turned away from the Church and organized religion.

So begins the first of five essays by the Reverend Dr. Patrick S. Cheng to be posted over the coming weeks at THE JESUS IN LOVE BLOG. As you can see from the above, it is good stuff. The titles of the essays are:

1) Erotic Christ

2) Out Christ

3) Liberator Christ

4) Transgressive Christ

5) Hybrid Christ

Check them out!

WHY ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPSSHOULD GET LAID AT LEAST ONCEIN THEIR SEXUALLY FRUSTRATED LIVES

From THE CATHOLIC WEEKLY:

Allowing two men or two women to ‘marry’ would involve a fundamental change in our understanding of marriage, from a life-giving and sexually complementary union to a personal, romantic relationship with no true communion or connection to procreation, says Bishop Julian Porteous, auxiliary Bishop of Sydney.

“It will entrench, in a public way, the separation of sexuality from its life-giving aspect and separate the notion of marriage from including the generation of children,” he said.

“It will move marriage from a children-centred institution to an adult-centred one. It will weaken the meaning and dignity of motherhood and fatherhood and declare that having both a father and a mother is unnecessary for the raising of children. This will deeply affect children and young people’s aspirations for their own marriage.

“Their understanding of marriage would also shift to being about one’s self-fulfilment, rather than about self-giving.”

COMMENT: Oh, get real, bishop!

Marriage has always been about two post-pubescents, who, hopefully, really fancy each other, shagging. Everything else is accidental.

What's more, when it isn't about this, then things can get really immoral. You only have to look at the English aristocracy (right up to and including England's very own Prince Charles) to realise that arranged and forced marriages, where the mutual, sexual attraction is not present, leads very easily to infidelity and promiscuity. But it would seem that the Roman Catholic hierarchy prefers immorality behind closed doors to open, loving, faithful, gay relationships.

If people got married primarily to have children then, in today's society, there would be even more divorces than there are already. If anything, children push married couples apart - probably because the parents don't get to have sex as much as they should. The reason why sex is such a sticky business is so that those involved in it get stuck together.

VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

‘My faith is in Jesus of Nazareth. I don’t have faith in an institution and nobody wants that. That is not authentic faith.”

I could have cheered out loud when I read this from Fr Shay Cullen, an Irish missionary in the Philippines, who is probably best known for his campaigning work against child trafficking and sex tourism. Cullen is quoted in Joe Humphreys’s often uplifting and always informative book, God’s Entrepreneurs: How Irish Missionaries Tried to Change the World (New Island, 2010).

My reaction to a discussion on the BBC’s Newsnight programme a few weeks ago was the opposite: I nearly screamed with frustration at one of the five Church of England bishops who are defecting to Rome in protest at the ordination of women bishops.

When pressed by Jeremy Paxman and a female priest, Bishop John Broadhurst was reduced to citing “church tradition”. No Christian imperatives or logic involved – there could be none – just reference to the customs of the institution. It seems the last thing senior church members ask themselves is: “How would Jesus react to this?”

The problem with an institution, as alluded to by Cullen and exampled by Bishop Broadhurst, is that invariably its own perceived welfare comes to take precedence over everything else. This is particularly tragic when the institution lays claim to embodying the essence of the greatest person who ever walked this earth, Jesus Christ.

Go read the rest of this wonderfully righteous rant
by David Adams at THE IRISH TIMES. It rocks!

IF DUNCANITES WERE GIVEN GUNS

From THE WASHINGTON POST:

Hostile supporters of a dissident church leader who is close to President Robert Mugabe have tried to take over a Harare seminary, police and authorities at the school said Thursday. Bishop Paul Gwese, a leader at Bishop Gaul College in Harare, said police were called in to eject the supporters of Bishop Nolbert Kunonga this week.

"Twenty armed youths came to our college on Tuesday with some dubious documents claiming that they were taking over the college and were threatening our students who are studying," Gwese said. "Police managed to stop them, but we don't know whether this is the end of the matter."

The Anglican Church in Zimbabwe has been divided since Kunonga, accused of supporting political violence in the country, lost a bid for re-election as Harare bishop in 2007. After the election, he refused to hand over the cathedral and its administrative offices, bank accounts and vehicles. Then he said he was breaking away from the Church of the Province of Central Africa, the regional Anglican governing body, and declared the formation of an independent Anglican Harare diocese.

COMMENT: It all sounds so familiar, doesn't it?

NEWS FROM THE RESISTANCE

Anti-Covenanters should check out Simon Sarmiento's article, "The covenant is a waste of time and money," at THE GUARDIAN.

It's clear to opponents that many English bishops and other synod members dislike the covenant, but still support it solely because they don't want to be seen to oppose Williams. Some have whispered that opposition may harm their promotion chances (and now synod voting is electronic, rollcalls are published for all to see).

Go read!

THE SOPPY CLUMBER SELECTION

From TONIC:

Sometimes even an abandoned, injured dog with a bad rap ends up doing great things. And so it was with a female pit bull, being guarded by her beloved boyfriend, a Chihuahua. What the Pennsylvania dog warden did not realize when he rescued the pair on Labor Day, was just what a sweet story these two dogs had to tell. Once the pit bull got into a crate on the warden's truck, the Chihuahua would not follow. Instead, he put himself between the two, barking and growling at the warden.

"So I sat on the ground ... all the time having a conversation with a Chihuahua that was guarding a Pit Bull!," the warden writes in a story about this odd couple.

"Eventually he let me get close enough so we could have a face to face & heart to heart discussion. I told him that his intentions were very noble and would not go unrewarded for the both of them."

The warden would not follow his usual routine when finding a pit bull — to take the dog to a facility that could euthanize her within 48 hours. "Due to this little guy's tenacity and I do believe true affection for his Pit Bull lady," the warden writes, "I was not going to let that happen."

The warden found them safe haven at the no-kill Washington Area Humane Society. He asked the staff, could they please find room in their already overflowing no-kill shelter for just two more dogs?

"We truly didn't have room but we could not let them go," says Alice Wancowicz, assistant manager of the shelter in Eighty Four, PA.

And so, the staff embraced the pair, naming them Bonnie and Clyde.

So it comes as a surprise that they have not been adopted. "They would fit in anywhere," says Wancowicz. "They don't have issues with adults or kids."

The dog warden writes that we need to change our opinions of pit bulls: "You may find a loving, loyal and dedicated companion to fight for like our Chihuahua friend did."

COMMENT: You can read more of this story at TONIC, and they also have details of the shelter that is looking for a home for these two characters. Well, you never know, one of you may be in a position to come up trumps for them - they're a couple of outsiders and that's something the OCICBW... crowd can truly empathise with.

THE FUNNIEST DOG BLOG IN THE WORLD EVER

THIS is the funniest dog blog in the world ever.

Thanks to Ann and Our Trace for sending it in to MadPriest Towers to cheer me up. It certainly did the trick.

MADPRIEST UPDATE

I actually got some sleep last night and on the occasions I woke up the pain was annoying rather than excruciating. This morning it is bearable but my face is still swollen. I still look like a lopsided hamster.

For those of you having problems envisaging a lopsided hamster here is an excellent illustration from Grandmère Mimi who has certainly been hiding her artistic talents under her bushel (and, from all accounts, Mimi was well known for her cute little bushel around the New Orleans jazz dives back in the day and can, even now, give the young girls a run for their money when it comes to the shaking of bushels).

MADPRIEST UPDATE

This is just typical of my life.

Having gone through a course of antibiotics a few weeks back to get rid of a tooth abscess, I was persuaded by my dentist to have root canal work on the offending premolar to stop the abscess returning. This morning, after a fitful sleep, I woke up to find my jaw had swollen up (not quite like a melon but certainly resembling an average size satsuma). So, off I went to the dentist to discover that the surgery to stop me getting another abscess had given me, yes, you guessed it, an abscess.

This has been why I have been in such agony since Monday. Unfortunately, because my dentist had warned me that I might get some toothache for two or three days, it hadn't crossed my mind that it could be anything other than post surgery pain.

Anyway, it's back on the horse tablets for another week. I hope they take effect soon as, at the moment, I look like a lopsided hamster.

THE KING IS A PUBLIC RELATIONS DISASTERLONG LIVE THE KING

I just love Prince William's wicked, "I know I'm going to get what I want tonight" grin. And, boy! He certainly knows exactly how to perform in an interview. He was completely in control throughout, taking care of both himself and his missus.

I am, as you know, a royalist. But I'm a pragmatic one and, although I respect Prince Charles' attempts to make the world a better place, I have to admit that he has the diplomatic and self presentation skills of his father rather than his mother; in other words, none whatsoever. Perhaps the lowest point in his generally miserable public career was his interview alongside Diana when they got engaged. The "what is love" gaffe certainly warned us all of what was ahead. William, on the other hand, is either very much in love or an incredibly good actor and, to be honest, the British public won't give a damn which is true. With royalty, the play is the thing, and last night's performance by William and Kate, bodes very well for a record breaking run, at least by today's standards of fidelity and public service.

Now, you republicans, keep your thoughts to yourself on this one and, at least, try to pretend that you are excited. If we all pull together as a nation we might just get a public holiday out of the wedding. I remember Charles and Diana's wedding day - the pubs were open all day and the party spilled out onto the streets. Don't let your vehemently held beliefs get in the way of a good time!

Although the embedding function has been switched off the full interview can still be viewed at YOUTUBE.

MADPRIEST UPDATE

The over-the-counter tablets are now giving me about 2 hours pain relief out of every 4 hours. So there is some improvement. However, I have now gone 2 nights without any real sleep and have that yucky feeling that two days of popping Paracetamol gives you. But, brave, little martyr that I am, I persevere.

There is no need to send in emails full of sympathy this time as you have already done that in spades which, as a male with a very low pain threshold and who "wants his mummy," I am extremely grateful.

SPINNING THE WOOL OF THE SHEEP'S CLOTHING

The pressure group, Fulcrum, is the "model village" of fundamentalism in the Church of England. It seems so innocuous, so third way, and claims to adhere to a so-called "open evangelicalism." However, in reality, it is no different to the "model villages" set up by despotic regimes in order to persuade visiting dignitaries that their countries are really very nice and democratic and all that. It is the spin doctor of conservative evangelicalism in the C. of E. and, when things heat up, hiding behind semantics and a false reasonableness, it promotes the party line with vigour, as an article by the suffragan bishop of Sherbourne, Graham Kings (Fulcrum's very own Alastair Campbell) at THE GUARDIAN today, demonstrates very well  in deed.

The covenant has been portrayed, and betrayed, by its detractors as a dangerous, monolithic innovation of regulatory control, which will stifle freedom and diversity. But forced assimilation is not on the table, and it is false witness to dress it up as such. Gregory Cameron (secretary to the group who produced the covenant) and Andrew Goddard (Anglican ethicist) have demonstrated that its detractors have seriously misconstrued the text and its intention.

The model of the covenant is drawn from family ties and kinship and bounded by mutually agreed norms of behaviour which benefit everyone. It is not a document of doctrinal specifications, like the conservative Jerusalem Declaration, drawn up mostly by those who boycotted the Lambeth conference. Nor is it a contract, as feared by its liberal critics. It is truly a covenant.

In his address to the Lambeth conference 2008, the Chief Rabbi, Jonathan Sacks, was pithily penetrative and perceptive in drawing out contrasts: "A contract is a transaction. A covenant is a relationship. Or to put it slightly differently: a contract is about interests. A covenant is about identity. It is about you and me coming together to form an 'us'. That is why contracts benefit, but covenants transform."

Lay people and priests, as well as bishops, are crucial in crises and in the vote on the covenant. The progress of the covenant does indeed move at a glacial pace, but the debate next week forms a focal point in the stretching of our Anglican imagination. The communion does not need conservative or liberal incitements to isolation but encouragement to interdependence. Where there is a will, there is a middle way.

This is the comment I left at the Guardian:

I cannot emphasise enough the damage the Covenant will cause to local (especially lay) involvement in the debates of the Anglican Communion. If the Covenant is adopted then not only will there be coercion from the centre to stop discussion on "controversial" issues at the local level (just as in Roman Catholicism) but there will be absolutely no point in anybody, other than the primates of the party with the most votes, to discuss anything. What would be the point, for example, of discussing the role of LGBT people in the Church at a parish away-day, if everyone involved knows full well that the decision has already been made, and written in stone, by the Curia. When you add that to the fear, that will soon come, that disagreeing with those in power will get you into trouble (again, as in Roman Catholicism) it is obvious that the Covenant is just the Archbishop of Canterbury's attempt to disenfranchise the laity and parish priesthood by the back door (and please feel free to take that last phrase as an innuendo because, although I can't say it outright, it is exactly what he is doing to us).

PRO-COVENANT JUNTA USESACNS TO PROMOTE THEIR CAUSE

From ANGLICAN COMMUNION NEWS SERVICE:

Posted On : November 16, 2010 10:36 AM

Many things have already been said in the public arena about the proposed Anglican Communion Covenant. As Provinces around the world continue to discuss this important document I think it worth clarifying some points about it. I am not arguing here for or against the Covenant, merely pointing out that it should be debated fairly, with an accurate reading of the text.

The first thing to say is that for any Anglican or Episcopalian to be able to properly enter into a discussion about the Covenant it is vital that they first read it for themselves here: 
http://anglicancommunion.org/commission/covenant/final/text.cfm

Having done that, let me then clear up some misconceptions that some people have about the document. The Standing Committee is not new; it is made up of elected Primates and elected members from the Anglican Consultative Council and it co-ordinates work in the Communion. Regarding the Covenant, it would have the role of monitoring developments and has no power other than proposing to the Instruments of Communion (the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates’ Meeting) steps to be taken to encourage discussion and discernment about disputed questions among the Provinces, or, if processes of mediation have broken down, what the relational consequences might be.

The point of the processes outlined in the Covenant is precisely to encourage one part of the Communion, when seeking to respond responsibly in its own context in mission, to consider how that will affect other parts of the Communion It is not that one Province would exercise a veto over another, but that there would be collaborative discernment. In a globalised world, it is no longer possible (if it ever was) for one church to act entirely for itself; decisions have ramifications, and the intention is for these to be explored together.

Some critics in the Church of England have suggested that Provinces would become subordinate to the judgements of the Standing Committee. This is not true. The Covenant explicitly says in section (4.1.3): “Such mutual commitment does not represent submission to any external ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Nothing in this Covenant of itself shall be deemed to alter any provision of the Constitution and Canons of any Church of the Communion, or to limit its autonomy of governance. The Covenant does not grant to any one Church or any agency of the Communion control or direction over any Church of the Anglican Communion.” It is also not true that non-signatories would no longer count as part of the Communion. There will be Provinces which have adopted the Covenant, and there may be (though one hopes not) Provinces which have not. They are equally members of the Anglican Communion, according to the Constitution of the Anglican Consultative Council. The difference would be that signatories will have made a commitment to live in that communion in a particularly enhanced way, and to a process of consultation and common discernment.

The assertion is often made that the ordination of women could not have occurred if the Covenant were in place. It is not at all clear that this would have been the case. The consultative processes of the Anglican Communion actually resulted in the discernment that this was an issue about which Anglicans were free to differ. That is exactly the kind of discernment that is needed when any new matter emerges: how do churches in communion distinguish between that which may further the Gospel and that which may impede it? There are never simple answers, but the intent is that the Anglican Communion Covenant provides a way of doing this in a collaborative and committed manner.

Canon Alyson Barnett-Cowan

Director for Unity Faith and Order

The Anglican Communion Office

COMMENT: They really do think we are stupid. It is obvious that as the majority will be able to veto the aspirations of minorities under the Anglican Covenant and police the Communion as they see fit (which Rowan Williams has already, unconstitutionally and immorally,  done), the Anglican Covenant will hand over local, provincial authority to whoever happens to be able to swing the most votes at the worldwide communion level.

If the Covenant is only about discernment then the answer is very simple. If a province proposes a change within their own province that is vetoed by other provinces, then a fixed time should be set (three years would be appropriate) for conversation within the province proposing the changes and between provinces. If, at the end of the fixed period, the province proposing the changes still wishes to proceed  it should be allowed to do so without further permissions being required and without punishment. That the Covenant does not contain such a sensible process for discernment is proof that it is about control and not discernment.

I now look forward to the ACNS circulating a press release stating the opposing view to that which is propounded by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

DON'T BLAME MADPRIEST, BLAME JIM

A mother and her very young son were flying Southwest Airlines from Kansas City to Chicago. The little boy (who had been looking out the window) turned to his Mother and asked, "If big dogs have baby dogs and big cats have baby cats, why don't big planes have baby planes?"

The mother (who couldn't think of an answer) told her son to ask the Flight Attendant. So the boy went down the aisle and asked the Flight Attendant.

The busy Flight Attendant smiled, and said, "Did your mother tell you to ask me?"

The boy said, " Yes, she did."

"Well, then, you go and tell your mother that there are no baby planes because Southwest always pulls out on time. Have your mother explain that to you."

MY APPLICATION IS IN THE POST

THEMETHATISME has kindly sent me the following news story. I'm going for it. It strikes me that if I can put up with you ne'erdowells for five years a few demons from hell won't be any problem for me in the slightest.

From YAHOO:

Overwhelmed with requests for exorcists, U.S. Roman Catholic bishops held a special training workshop in Baltimore last weekend to teach clerics the esoteric rite. The church signed up 56 bishops and 66 priests for the two-day workshop seeking to boost the small group of just five or six American exorcists that the church currently has on its books.

Catholic Church law stipulates that only properly trained priests can perform the rite - and then only with the permission of their bishops. Possible signs of demonic possession include scratching, cutting, biting of the skin; profound displays of strength; and a strong or violent reaction to holy water.

COMMENT: ". . . a strong or violent reaction to holy water."

Just as I have always thought - those ultra-Calvinists in our midst, like the members of Reform in England, are just a bunch of satanists.

THE SOPPY MARK BRUNSON SELECTION

This is a photo of, the now internationally famous, Katzie, after he had recovered from the major surgery OCICBW... readers helped to finance. Mark has posted a whole load more photos of Katzie and his friend, Miutu, on his ENOUGH ABOUT ME: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY blog.

I also notice that the post before this happy one is a very sad one, in deed. You may wish to pass on your condolences to Mark and his brother, if you have not already done so.

MADPRIEST UPDATE

The reason why St. Laika's has been silent recently is that I have been silent. An abscess on a tooth led to me having root canal treatment this morning and I am probably in more agony now than I was with the abscess. My dentist tells me it will ease off in a couple of days. I could do with a morphine based painkiller but they only prescribe it in hospitals nowadays to reduce the chances of junkies getting hold of it. Why I have to suffer because of the weakness of others seems very unfair to me. But that's England for you.

FUNDI-ATHEISTS CONTINUE CAMPAIGNTO BORE US OUT OF OUR RELIGION

This is the American Humanist Association's Christmas campaign this year:

From THEIR WEBSITE:

The American Humanist Association’s Consider Humanism campaign, the largest nontheist advertising campaign in history, is a series of advertisements that feature two “sections”—one devoted to quotes from religious texts, the other to humanist principles.

There are millions of Americans of strong moral character (There are? Where are they hiding then?) who don’t happen to believe in a god. Humanists have always understood that you don't need a god to be a good person, but many other Americans have not, and that’s one reason we’ve been running ad campaigns in the past. This year, we’re going further in our attempt to challenge the intolerant view that atheist and agnostic humanists can’t be good without Bible derived morality. We’re taking a hard look at what is included in religious texts.

The first section of each ad displays one of several quotes from the New International Version Bible and a Qur’anic quote as well. A description accompanies each quote, naming the source of the quote. This section includes large-font text that reads, “What some believe.” The second section features contrasting quotes from humanist documents. These have been pulled from Humanism and Its Aspirations and from nontheist luminaries such as Katharine Hepburn and Richard Dawkins. This section includes large-font text that reads, “What humanists think” and “Consider Humanism.”

The ads will be featured in major newspapers such as USA Today, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Seattle Times, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Village Voice, the Durham Herald Sun, the Arizona Republic and the Independent Triangle, and magazines such as the Progressive and Reason. The ads will also appear on buses and phone booths across Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco, inside the Washington DC metro and bus system, on billboards in Moscow, Idaho and Philadelphia, PA, as well websites such as the Friendly Atheist. Consider Humanism TV commercials will appear nationwide on NBC’s Dateline, and stations such as MSNBC, CNBC and Bloomberg Business Television.

The campaign is costing them $200000. Money that could be better spent on feeding the starving victims of faithless capitalism if you ask me.

Until these bitter people start proclaiming the good news of their non-religion that they cling to so religiously and stop shouting about the bad news of the world's faiths, they are only going to encourage more people into religion. You won't get anywhere advertising Apple Macs with photos of spotty geeks using them.  For the same reasons you are not going to sell atheism to our godless and consuming generation if all your spokesmen (yes, men) are obviously boring nobodies with huge chips on their shoulders who have never been laid.

HE'S A VERY NAUGHTY BOY

From YAHOO:

Tel Aviv has long prided itself on being a secular, cosmopolitan outpost in a land overflowing with religions, saints and shrines -- but now it has its very own "messiah". Sitting cross-legged on the ground in a gritty part of town by a bustling open-air market, he exudes the air of a Biblical character, down to his long hair, beard and sandals.

"One year and two months ago I was an ordinary person and then a snake bit me in Bethlehem. And then I started to see God," he told AFP, describing how he died and was "resurrected" as the messiah.

Calling himself only "The Messiah of Tel Aviv", this 31-year-old Russian-born immigrant has become a fixture in a neighbourhood more accustomed to beggars and bohemians before he announced he was a prophet, bringing dark warnings of the approaching apocalypse.

But he has not been warmly welcomed.

"They hate me, bite me, spit on me, try to kill me," he says of passers-by, whose jibes and jabs he endures on a daily basis.

"This is the kind of thing you have to be ready for if you are messiah."

Tel Aviv's "chosen one" claims variously to be Jesus or Moses and his philosophy seems to borrow heavily from texts associated with the Jewish mystical discipline of Kabbalah, which incorporates elements of gnosticism.

His mission, he says, is to teach people to give more, take less and let go of their ego -- all before the apocalypse comes in 2012.

Although the Messiah of Tel Aviv has not yet attracted the masses, he does have his fans. Sitting next to him is a thin blond in dark glasses. She is his third "wife" in less than a year, he says.

The first disappeared after she was hustled away from the market in a car by her parents. She has since started a Facebook page claiming the "messiah" abused his female followers. The second, a Moldovan, who was deported for overstaying her visa, appears to still be a believer.

"The time will come, and it is already near, when it will be too late for you to believe that he is the true Christ, our saviour," she warned in an email.

DONKEY SERENADE

From TYPICALLY SPANISH:

A goat and 48 donkeys made up the audience on Saturday to a performance of popular Spanish songs by the group Anda Jaleo, with United States singer, Josephine Foster, at the Association for the Defence of the Donkey, ADEBO, in Rute in Córdoba.

The music came from the ‘Canciones Populares Españolas’ by Federico García Lorca, compiled in 1930, and the Lorca Foundation is one of the supporters of the donkey association. The concert was to draw attention to the work of the association which is trying to remove the image of clumsiness and brutality traditionally put against the donkey.

President of ADEBO, Pascual Rovira, said it has been shown that donkeys are ‘the most intelligent of animal species’. He said they often play the animals taped music, and have noted that they are not that found of Flamenco, preferring gentler tunes.

COMMENT: Okay, I'm a bit out on the species, but the sentiments are so spot on that I just have to play it:

AN IDEA WORTH TRYING?

From THE LOCAL (Germany):

German writer Charlotte Roche offered in an interview Sunday to spend the night with President Christian Wulff if he votes against government plans to extend the lifetime of Germany's nuclear reactors.

"I am offering to sleep with him if he does not sign," the 32-year-old anti-nuclear activist told the weekly Der Spiegel. "My husband agrees. Now it is up to the First Lady to give her consent. I am also tattooed," she said, referring to Bettina Wulff's much-talked about body adornment.

Roche, British-born author of the sexually explicit 2008 bestseller “Wetlands,” took part in major demonstrations last week against the transport of radioactive waste that underlined unease in Germany over nuclear power.

Wulff has to decide this year if a law prolonging the lifetime of the country's 17 nuclear reactors by up to 14 years should be enacted without the consent of the Bundesrat, the upper chamber of parliament that represents the regions.

COMMENT: Come on, ladies, it's for a good cause. If it's the only way to get the Grand Tufti to vote against the Anglican Covenant, surely it's worth a little sacrifice on your part. I mean, it's only for one night.

IT'S IN THE GENES

My niece (goddaughter), Larissa, whose marvellous voice I have featured before at OCICBW..., entered a national talent contest this year. She got as far as the penultimate round, which was very good as she is a classically trained singer and this particular contest was geared up, primarily, towards pop singers. Furthermore, the sound engineer obviously has no idea how to mix vocals with a backing track and, above all, my niece is definitely no slapper, which seems to be the number one qualification for female pop stardom nowadays.

Here is the video of her performance. To be honest it does seem a little unfair that all the members of one family should possess so much talent.

And my goodness! She sure can hit those high notes at the end.



If you want to see the talentless crap
she was up against, CLICK HERE.

SOUTHERN CONE WITH FLAKE BEGINS TO MELT

From THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION NEWS SERVICE:

Posted On : November 15, 2010 9:22 AM

One week after a proposal to allow dioceses to individually permit women's ordination to the priesthood was turned down by the Tenth Synod of the Province of the Southern Cone, the Diocese of Uruguay has voted to seek another jurisdiction with which to share its ministry. The vote in the Province had been by a specific request of the Diocese of Uruguay and sought to allow a diocesan option in the matter, rather than Province-wide adoption, so that the diocese could proceed to minister within a very difficult agnostic milieu. Uruguay felt that after a nine-year hiatus since the last vote for approval, a patient wait would be rewarded. That was not the result and so the Uruguayan Synod took this measure to move away from the Province.

The extraordinary diocesan Synod was held November 12 in the capital city of Montevideo and the motion to quit the Province was proposed by the Diocesan Council and passed with a simple majority vote in orders according to the Uruguayan canonical process. Bishop Miguel Tamayo then informed the Primate, Hector 'Tito' Zavala, Bishop of Chile, the other Bishops and the Executive Council.

The diocese requests that permission for transfer from the Province take place within the year and that, if this is not possible, an appeal would be made to the Anglican Consultative Council to arrange for oversight, following Provincial canons. Uruguay has been a diocese within the Southern Cone since its formation in 1988.

COMMENT: This is, of course, brilliant news, especially for women, as it shows how equality for all is slowly, but surely, becoming accepted as a basic human right in all areas of the world and not just in the rich, developed nations.

However, we must be careful as this is very much a boot on the other foot situation. Uruguay is a diocese. If it is given permission, as a diocese, to leave one province and become a member of another, then those dioceses in the USA that could easily achieve a simple majority vote to leave TEC and align with one of the many misogynist or homophobic provinces still spewing their bile in the Anglican Communion, should also be allowed to do so.

To avoid such a situation getting out of control the Anglican Communion should revert to its original orthopraxis of insisting that each province is a national, orthodox church. The Anglican Church in Uruguay, no matter how few members it may have, should become a province in its own right, as should all national churches that are, at this moment in time, part of a multinational province. Such a move would be totally in line with the true nature of Anglicanism and would strengthen the campaign to halt the Grand Tufti's plans to turn the Anglican Communion away from the Orthodox paradigm and towards the Roman Catholic (Roman Empire) model of church. National churches do not need to be established (most orthodox national churches are not). National churches do not need to develop an insular worldview (again, most orthodox nation churches are not). But their definite geographic, cultural, social and political attachments make them the most effective agencies of mission that is possible on our multinational planet. The anti-Covenant campaign should not be just a negative campaign against the proposed covenant. It should take the opportunity now present of fighting to return the Anglican Communion to a purer state, to an apostolic, early church paradigm where democracy practiced within local churches prevailed until the bishops of the Church started to demand obedience from those they served and grabbed the authority that once belonged to the Holy Spirit alone.

THE MIDNIGHT JUKEBOXSUNDAY GO TO CHURCH SPECIAL REQUEST

Tonight, the Midnight Jukebox is playing especially for Joe Wakelee-Lynch who sent me an email earlier today in which he wrote:

You mentioned Gavin Bryars. For some time, I've considered asking if you know his "Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet." I heard it years ago, probably on KCRW (an NPR affiliate) here in the L.A. area, and it was immediately seared into my memory. I had no clue about Bryars, but Tom Waits' music I certainly knew.

So for Joe and for anybody else who likes weird but pretty stuff, here is the orchestral version of the tune complete with the Tom Waits' vocals.



Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet is a 1971 composition by Gavin Bryars. It is formed on a loop of an unknown homeless man singing a brief stanza. Rich harmonies, comprising string and brass, are gradually overlaid over the stanza. The piece was first recorded for use in an Alan Power documentary which chronicles street life in and around Elephant and Castle and Waterloo, in London. When later listening to the recordings, Bryars noticed the clip was in tune with his piano and that it conveniently looped into 13 bars. For the first LP recording, Bryars was limited to a duration of 25 minutes; with the invention of the cassette tape, Bryars was able to complete a 60-minute version of the piece; and later, with the advent of the CD, a 74-minute version. A further recording was made in the 1990s with Tom Waits singing along with the original recording of the tramp during the later sections. (WIKIPEDIA)

And, as a bonus, here is Nashville, Christian rock band, Jars of Clay, with their 2003 version, which is actually rather lovely.

WHERE DOES HE FIND THEM?

MADPRIEST'S WALKING DEAD STAY AT HOME MEME

We've had vampires and werewolves and now it's the turn of zombies as "The Walking Dead" series hits our television screens. But eventually we are going to get bored of the three biggies of the horror world and the TV companies will need to come up with new monsters to scare us with. I think we could help them with this. What new creatures from hell could creep into out nightmares and make HBO and the like a lot of money?

Please note: Although ACNA bishops are very scary they actually fall under the "living dead" category. So, there is no need to suggest them.

Off you go then:

WITH ALL YOUR SOUL

Just a round up of the odds and ends of the soul records I have purchased recently. This is quite a funky mix. So, I expect you
all to be shaking your booty along to the groove, brothers and sisters!

A Song For Carrie - The Search
Double Face - Eumir Deodato And Al Jarreau (photo below)
Haters Gone Hate - T. K. SOUL
Too Much Too Fast - Vera Brown And Rich Girls
Anything (You Want) - Benidito
Prove It To Me - New Experience
(Them) Changes - Captain Sky (photo above)
Let The Music Turn You On - Cashmere
House In the Funk - 242 Clones
Peanut Butter And Jam - The Search
Wanna Get Down - Corrina Joseph
Natural High - Captain Sky

ANOTHER GOOD MAN DONE GONEMadPriest's Henryk Górecki tribute

Henryk Mikołaj Górecki

Composer

6th. December, 1933 
to 12th. November 2010

I believe in the sun
even when it is not shining.

I believe in love
even feeling it not.

I believe in God
even when he is silent.


There were three recordings that dominated the classical music scene in England during the 1990s. They were Steven Isserlis' recording of Taverner's "Protecting Veil," The Hilliard Ensemble's album, "Officium" with Jan Garbarek and, above all, Dawn Upshaw singing on a recording of Górecki's Third Symphony.

The commercial classical radio station, Classic FM, started broadcasting in September 1992. Its daytime programming was deliberately restricted to short pieces and single movements presented by personable deejays, many of whom had worked on pop stations previously. The station was looked down on, venomously, by classical purists. In composers such as Górecki, Taverner, Gavin Bryars and Pärt, Classic FM saw the opportunity to schedule modern art music without having to play unlistenable dross. This decision paid huge dividends for the station and propelled these contemporary ambient composers into the consciousness of the British public. And I say, well done, Classic FM. They single handedly rebooted the dying classical music scene in my country and made it possible for anybody, whatever their education and social class, to attend classical performances without feeling like lepers. They also brought a lot more money into the classical music industry, no doubt making the lives of many of the snobs, who had originally shown nothing but disdain towards the station, a lot more financially secure.

Most of Górecki's compositions are pleasant to listen to. He may or may not go down in history as one of the great composers of all time. But, I have a feeling that "The Symphony Of Sad Songs" will always be a part of the classical repertoire. I hope so as it is a reminder of both the disgusting acts of violence against innocence that humans are capable of and the miraculous acts of faith humans are capable of, even when God appears to have given up on us and left the universe to its own evil devices. (MadPriest)

Here is a recording of his choral work, "Totus Tuus" performed by The Robert Shaw Festival Singers and Chamber Singers:



And here is a YouTube video of the
second movement of his third symphony: