The Boston Globe Goes Local
After the purchase of The Boston Globe by the New York Times, New Englanders wondered what changes would be forthcoming. And now we see the true benefit of the sale! The lead article, above the fold, -- Beekeeping! Below the fold, an informative piece on whales being interfered with. The daily pope picture was missing today. And the every other day fire in Lynn or Brockton was missing. Not a word about AFSCME threatening the leadership of Citigroup. Or that institutional investors are pulling out of mutual funds. Something about Iraq. Nothing about Afghanistan. Well, we had better keep our eyes on the breath-taking competition from the weekly Tab. Argh. This ain't funny!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Truth from Der Spiegel: Back from the Grave
BACK FROM THE GRAVE
Padre Pio Exhumed for Pilgrims in Italy
The Catholic Church is rolling out one of its most popular saints -- although he died in 1968. Padre Pio's remains will be on display for the rest of the year in Italy for pilgrims to visit.
The body of Padre Pio, one of the Catholic Church's most recent and popular saints, went on display Thursday in southern Italy to mark the 40th anniversary of his death.
Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, head of the Vatican's sainthood office, conducted an outdoor mass for about 15,000 pilgrims in the town of San Giovanni Rotondo, where Padre Pio spent most of his life in a Capuchin monastery. Then the cardinal paid a private visit with a few other Church officials to the crypt where Pio's remains are laid out in a crystal-windowed casket.
A sort of cult has grown up around the Italian monk who was said to have stigmata, or bleeding wounds to imitate Jesus' crucifixion, on this hands and feet. Thousands of pilgrims gathered to attend a special mass and view his reconstructed corpse.
As a living cult figure, Padre Pio embarrassed the Church because of his popularity and his supposed wounds. For years he was banned from saying mass in public. But Pope John Paul II made him a saint in 2002, and Church officials say they have exhumed his body now so the faithful could pray before it, and to make sure the corpse was well preserved.
Padre Pio died in 1968, at the age of 81. Critics accused him of faking his wounds with carbolic acid, but there was no question of finding them on the corpse -- part of the myth is that they vanished after he died.
Padre Pio Exhumed for Pilgrims in Italy
The Catholic Church is rolling out one of its most popular saints -- although he died in 1968. Padre Pio's remains will be on display for the rest of the year in Italy for pilgrims to visit.
The body of Padre Pio, one of the Catholic Church's most recent and popular saints, went on display Thursday in southern Italy to mark the 40th anniversary of his death.
Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, head of the Vatican's sainthood office, conducted an outdoor mass for about 15,000 pilgrims in the town of San Giovanni Rotondo, where Padre Pio spent most of his life in a Capuchin monastery. Then the cardinal paid a private visit with a few other Church officials to the crypt where Pio's remains are laid out in a crystal-windowed casket.
A sort of cult has grown up around the Italian monk who was said to have stigmata, or bleeding wounds to imitate Jesus' crucifixion, on this hands and feet. Thousands of pilgrims gathered to attend a special mass and view his reconstructed corpse.
As a living cult figure, Padre Pio embarrassed the Church because of his popularity and his supposed wounds. For years he was banned from saying mass in public. But Pope John Paul II made him a saint in 2002, and Church officials say they have exhumed his body now so the faithful could pray before it, and to make sure the corpse was well preserved.
Padre Pio died in 1968, at the age of 81. Critics accused him of faking his wounds with carbolic acid, but there was no question of finding them on the corpse -- part of the myth is that they vanished after he died.
Monday, April 21, 2008
The Second Night
The Second Night
On the first night, we had Indian food: chicken tikka masala, saag paneer, unleavened bread, raita -- I drank Hendricks instead of four glasses and she had a mango daquiri. Totally successful seder.
The second night we had leftovers in memory of the rush to get out of Egypt. Very tasty.
On the first night, we had Indian food: chicken tikka masala, saag paneer, unleavened bread, raita -- I drank Hendricks instead of four glasses and she had a mango daquiri. Totally successful seder.
The second night we had leftovers in memory of the rush to get out of Egypt. Very tasty.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Land for Peace!
Miami, Havana, Jerusalem and Washington – all abuzz at rumors circulating that a major land-for-peace deal is in the works. With the retirement of Fidel Castro, Washington expects that many Miami Cubans will be returning to the island. In fact, efforts are already underway for a reverse boat lift to Havana from a secret location in Florida.
But that’s not the whole story. Apparently, Jimmy Carter raised the possibility with Hamas that the U.S. could give the state of Florida to Israeli Jews who would be re-settled in former Cuban-held properties. The U.S. would then foot the re-settlement bill – Jews to Miami, Palestinians to Tel Aviv! The result: peace everywhere.
The only fly in the ointment (problem) is that Texas Born-Againers are against this. “How can we have Armageddon if the fucking Hebes come back to the U.S.? No way!”
In Crown Heights, Brooklyn, there was also a wail or two. “Let my people go to Florida? What kind of song is that?”
But that’s not the whole story. Apparently, Jimmy Carter raised the possibility with Hamas that the U.S. could give the state of Florida to Israeli Jews who would be re-settled in former Cuban-held properties. The U.S. would then foot the re-settlement bill – Jews to Miami, Palestinians to Tel Aviv! The result: peace everywhere.
The only fly in the ointment (problem) is that Texas Born-Againers are against this. “How can we have Armageddon if the fucking Hebes come back to the U.S.? No way!”
In Crown Heights, Brooklyn, there was also a wail or two. “Let my people go to Florida? What kind of song is that?”
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Get a Fork!
Pledge to eat differently
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Wednesday’s NPHW behavior focuses on encouraging participants to “Eat Differently” to help mitigate the effects of climate change. Join Americans across the nation in signing on to the Healthy Climate Pledge and adopting this healthy behavior and others throughout the week.
Like traveling differently, eating differently will result in positive outcomes for not only the health of the planet, but for your individual health as well. To learn more about how our food choices affect the health of the planet, check out this fact sheet — [special thanks to Dr. Roni Neff of the Center for a Livable Future].
Here are some strategies to get you started as you try to eat differently:
1. Eat with clothes on at least one day a week
2. Check what’s currently in your kitchen: Give her/him a kiss!
3. When shopping, buy sustainable things like Fair Trade chocolate pudding!
3. Check food labels; then check your pocket book. Then checkout the checker, but don't get cheeky! Get a stool for the checkout person.
4. Plan locally sourced meals
Did you know that a typical, conventionally grown carrot travels 1,838 miles to reach your dinner table? Reduce food miles: buy macaroni and cheese produced in a nearby cellar.
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Running Water
Special History from Moldova: Running Water
The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s:
Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor; hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.
Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water...
Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof When it rained it became slippery and sometimes t he animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying. It's raining cats and dogs.
There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house . This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.
The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, Dirt poor. The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door , it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence the saying a thresh hold.
(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)
In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old..
Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, bring home the bacon. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat..
Those with money had plates! made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.
Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.
Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.
England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer..
And that's the truth...Now, whoever said History was boring ! ! !
Educate someone. Share these facts with a friend ...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster Total Access, No Cost.
The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s:
Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor; hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.
Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water...
Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof When it rained it became slippery and sometimes t he animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying. It's raining cats and dogs.
There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house . This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.
The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, Dirt poor. The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door , it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence the saying a thresh hold.
(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)
In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old..
Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, bring home the bacon. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat..
Those with money had plates! made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.
Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.
Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.
England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer..
And that's the truth...Now, whoever said History was boring ! ! !
Educate someone. Share these facts with a friend ...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster Total Access, No Cost.
Fallopian Tube Shortage on Long Island
Fallopian Tube Shortage in Nassau County
Special from Ou Correspondent in Wantagh, New York
According to an outraged elderly patient, there is a dramatic shortage of fallopian tubes in Long Island hospitals. "I was scheduled for an examination of my heart -- you know, where they put a tube down your throat and pump dyes in -- and the nurse came back and said we'd have to postpone! There were no fallopian tubes in the stockroom!"
"It's the damn Republicans," said one old-time commentator. "Time for a change!"
Special from Ou Correspondent in Wantagh, New York
According to an outraged elderly patient, there is a dramatic shortage of fallopian tubes in Long Island hospitals. "I was scheduled for an examination of my heart -- you know, where they put a tube down your throat and pump dyes in -- and the nurse came back and said we'd have to postpone! There were no fallopian tubes in the stockroom!"
"It's the damn Republicans," said one old-time commentator. "Time for a change!"
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