The Great Global Warming Swindle

Wow.

Want to know who some of the people are who don't agree that global warming is caused by human activity? Scientists go on the record in this documentary. Go watch.

Note that we're not saying that we shouldn't still be conservationists ... just that we need to take a closer look at this issue, who is pushing it, and why. And, in those immortal words, follow the money. Via Wittingshire.

Orson Scott Card also has a column on this.

What can I say? Beware the hockey stick chart, my child ...

Quick Reviews

Wrong About Japan by Peter Carey
Peter Carey tells the story of how he and his twelve-year-old son become fascinated by manga and anime. In an attempt to see how these reveal the Japanese psyche they go to Japan to meet some of the creators of various famous works. In the process, they discover that it is practically impossible to really discover the REAL Japan (or the real Japanese psyche). However, this is a completely charming and light read, fascinating for anyone who is interested in either anime or manga, even fairly peripherally as I am. The most interesting part of the book for me was when Carey and a Japanese friend begin watching My Neighbor Totoro. The friend's conversation showed in a fascinating way just how many unspoken Japanese cultural markers are in even the beginning of that seemingly open children's tale. Recommended.

Little Miss Sunshine
I was completely disinterested in this tale of beauty pageants for children until Hannah, a friend, and my mother all recommended it. As all three appreciate very different styles of movies, I was intrigued. No one told me that this actually was an indie movie (with a Hollywood advertising budget) about a road trip taken by a dysfunctional family to get the youngest (and most normal) family member to a beauty pageant that she has qualified for by a fluke. Not as complete as it could be (as is the case with many indie movies) this is still a charming movie with many funny moments that become even funnier when discussed later (much the same as The Castle in my experience). Recommended.

The Devil in a Forest by Gene Wolfe
I have been defeated several times trying to read Gene Wolfe books. His style is not easy, as you can hear in a recent Starship Sofa discussion. However, so very many St. Blog's Parish readers have recommended him that I keep trying, feeling that it is my problem. Finally, victory! This is a deceptively simple tale of a simple village long ago that has a peaceful life torn apart by a ruthless bandit and a band of king's men. The reader is kept wondering who the "good guys" really are. This is a story whose focus spins into a completely different viewpoint with the last line of the story.

I realize that this is one of Wolfe's older works and that is probably the answer to my problem ... to go back and start towards the beginning, working my way forward. This may also be the answer to my Tim Powers problem, which is similar, although it is not that I don't get Powers books. It is that I lose interest about halfway through them. Enough with the teasing, let's get to the meat of the story. Based on Amazon comments about "simpler than usual" stories, I am going try earlier Powers' works also to see if that helps.

Talk Tax Code to Me, Baby

STRANGER THAN FICTION
Most people have heard of the interesting premise of this movie. Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) is an IRS auditor with an incredibly dull life. One day he begins hearing a woman's voice narrating his every action. Unbeknownst to Crick, he actually is the protagonist in author Karen Effiel's (Emma Thompson) latest novel. We are shown dual realities as Ferrell tries to discover why he is hearing the voice and Effiel investigates method after method of killing off her character. When Ferrell hears the voice mention his impending death the search takes on a new urgency. He then enlists the aid of a literary professor (Dustin Hoffman) and Crick's life takes new turns as he begins to incorporate the professor's advice into his life. I am loathe to say more about the plot as this is about as much as I knew when watching the movie and I don't want to ruin it for anyone. (I will discuss some of my other thoughts in the spoilers below.)

What I can say is that this movie is an unexpected delight, as unique and original in its own way as About a Boy was, and that is high praise indeed. One of the charms is that although it was loaded with big talent no particular actor took precedence over another.

The biggest unexpected delight were the last few minutes of the movie which suddenly refocused our eyes on life in an entirely different way. It then becomes redemptive and life affirming in a way that not only affects every character in the movie but allows us to see the world in a new way as well. Intrigued? Good. Go see this movie.

(HC rating: Nine thumbs up!

SPOILER ALERT!

• I found the little counting/measuring device that overlay many of the scenes to be distracting and of no value whatsoever. It was clever but we got the point without it.
• I was really bothered by the way that practically every living space was sterile and sparsely furnished, with no decorations. The only exceptions were the baker's home and bakery, and the professor's office which all had a warm, homey feel. These characters are the only ones with fairly fulfilled lives and this shows in their environments as well.
  
• I really enjoyed the way that we were shown the author's imagined methods of death by using the little boy on a bike and the job seeker every time. I also enjoyed the fact that, as time went on, the job seeker's life obviously did also as she became employed.
• I liked seeing the author's agony as she realized that if Harold was real then there was the possibility that she had killed eight other "real" people. This was not just in the service of her art. There were real lives who had been ruined.
  
• As we got closer to the end of the movie and it became increasingly clear that Harold's death was inevitable, accepted even by him, I became angrier and angrier. Also fairly obvious was the idea that he'd have to save someone's life to make his own death necessary. However, that didn't help much, considering that the main proponent for his death was the professor who claimed it would be necessary for a great piece of literature. Is this the cost of art? No, indeed. So I just got angrier. Then when I saw the death scene ... what a cliche! This, to me was one of the weakest points. If this book was a great piece of art, then the death scene should have been a tad more original, n'est ce pas?
• Of course, the brilliant, final author's narration pulls the entire story together and spins the focus around in such a way that you see that self-sacrifice, freely offered, is an action that cannot be denied and that changes everyone who sees it. Not only is Harold redeemed but the professor stops just lifeguarding and enters the water himself. The writer also is transformed. She looks terrible throughout the movie, as if she's about to die herself, chain smoking, red eyed, hasn't published a novel in ten years, and is suffering from writer's block so severe that the publisher sends her an "assistant" to push progress along on time. When we see her at the end of the movie, she looks healthy and peaceful, even when contemplating rewriting the rest of the book, and thereby undertaking a complete departure from her usual methodology. Harold's willing sacrifice shook her our of her rut and made her see that there could be a better story, a more worthy story, to tell. That the little things like a warm cookie, the touch of a hand, a hug, a little act of kindness are truly the things that can transform our lives and make them worth living. It is also part of the genius of this movie, that such hackneyed phrases can take on a new and redemptive life when the viewer is seeing them ... and that is because they are true.
  

The Reason Jesus Told the Parable of the Prodigal Son

The parable of the prodigal son is my very favorite parable. It is one of those with so many layers of meaning and also one to which we all can relate, whether it is with the prodigal or elder son.

It is easy to understand the prodigal son's story. Sadly, it took me a very long time to even understand what the problem was with the elder son's complaints. They seemed pretty reasonable to me. Which says a lot about my basic personality. However, be that as it may, it wasn't until I was reading it in one of the Mass readings last week that I suddenly saw that this parable is not really equally about the two sons. Although the struggles of both are important, Jesus is telling this parable to the Pharisees in response to their complaints about the time he spends with sinners. The whole point of this parable is the complaints of the elder son and the father's pleading with him. That may not be news to anyone else but it sure hit me like a ton of bricks.

Often I will hear complaints about the way that Scripture is edited to fit into the Mass readings. I must admit that I also often wish we could have the whole passage. However, this is one case where I am grateful for the editing because otherwise, I would have missed this point. What is cut out is several other parables that Jesus tells first to make His point. All this time, those other parables, good as they also are, have distracted me from really getting the point.

The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to him, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."

So to them he addressed this parable.

Then he said, "A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.' So the father divided the property between them.

After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.

When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any.

Coming to his senses he thought, 'How many of my father's hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers."'

So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.

His son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.'

But his father ordered his servants, 'Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.' Then the celebration began.

Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. The servant said to him, 'Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'

He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. He said to his father in reply, 'Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.'

He said to him, 'My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.'"

Luke 15: 1-3; 11-32

We Have a Word For It ... And Here's Why

Parasite

In the first use of this word in its original form in Greek -- parasitos -- it referred to someone who was given a free room or meal in return for flattery. It comes form the Greek prefix para-, meaning "beside" and sitos, meaning "food." It was used with the same meaning in English until the 1700s, when the meaning shifted to refer to plant and animal life forms that live off of other life forms.

The Word Origin Day Calendar

"And yes, the Spartans were creatures of honor, willing to fight and die to the last. By God, sir, they were almost man enough to be Virginians."

John C. Wright.

Making me want to see 300 ... thanks to this and this.

Hearing the Truth

Or maybe it was not his [Judas'] own safety that motivated him. Maybe he just fell out of love with Jesus. That happens sometimes. One day you think someone is wonderful and the next day he says or does something that makes you think twice. He reminds you of the difference between the two of you and you start hating him for that -- for the difference -- enough to being thinking of some way to hurt him back.

I remember being at a retreat once where the leader asked us to think of someone who represented Christ in our lives. When it came time to share our answers, one woman stood up and said, "I had to think hard about that one. I kept thinking, 'Who is it who told me the truth about myself so clearly that I wanted to kill him for it?'" According to John, Jesus died because he told the truth to everyone he met. He was the truth, a perfect mirror in which people saw themselves in God's own light.

Bread and Wine: Readings For Lent And Easter

Now that is truly a different way to think about Jesus and how he shows the truth. Although I knew that he was killed by people who didn't want to know what Jesus was saying, I really never thought about applying it to my own life. Of course, it isn't in the nature of most of us to want to kill someone for telling the unflinching truth. However, I would venture to say that most of us know people (if not ourselves) who avoid God or various aspects of faith because they just can't handle the real, honest-to-goodness truth. Something to ponder over and apply to my own life, I think.

Is That One or Two Degrees of Separation?

A printing rep of ours, who has become a friend over many years of doing business together, has a talented son who has a band in Austin (for those who may not know, Austin is a big music center).

Tom just found out yesterday that the son will have a song in Spiderman 3. We have heard of the many hopes that this band has had during our friendship so I am very pleased for both the proud father and his talented son.

There is a chance that the song will be in one of the trailers. If so, once I know, I'll clue y'all in to which one.

Attachment to Sin

We all have them, however much we may not like to think about it. Recently, having read the first four chapters of St. Teresa of Avila's Interior Castle, my friend Marcia and I have had frequent conversations about Teresa's insistence that our souls are so glorious and immense that if we could see them clearly then we would understand just what damage sin does to us.

Cathy from Recovering Dissident Catholic and I have been having a little chat via comments boxes about the need to be aware of the damage done by venial sin. Indeed, this is often a problem for me. I attribute it to my entirely secular background, perhaps wrongly. I know venial sins are a problem but have trouble getting all worked up over them. When it is time for confession I am usually brought to it by having to ask the Holy Spirit to show me what is a problem. Thankfully (though I always regret it), He always comes through, usually immediately. I then have one problem after another with a hasty temper or some other thing I have managed to forget about. And off I go to the confessional ...

God seems to have been working on me lately through books (no surprise there, right?). Having read Inferno (a Dante-lite of sorts) I was brought to a new awareness of venial sin in my own life. Darwin's Lenten series on Dante's Divine Comedy has also been of immense help in keeping these sins before my eyes. Unlike some friends who have a problem with feeling guilty and letting go of sins, I suffer (and I use "suffer" advisedly) from the opposite problem of feeling as if my sins are so small that they seem as if they don't really matter. I know intellectually that this is not the case, however, knowing is not the same as feeling which is often what sends me to confession. Hence, these constant reminders are very good indeed for me.

This post was prompted by reading Adoro te Devote's recounting of a dream. Reading it from the outside the meaning seemed crystal clear and I again was sent back to considering my own soul. The images are vivid and disturbing (though not gory or unnecessarily disturbing) and just what I need to keep in mind. Her comments about complacency hit home as if she'd been aiming for a target on my forehead.

I woke up then, shuddering, wondering why I had been so complacent in that dream?

I often pray the rosary on my way to work, and that morning, as I prayed, the images from that dream pulverized me...and so I let the images come, praying all the while, asking God what I was supposed to gain from this?

And He answered.

Go read the whole thing at Adoro te Devote. Confession anyone? I'll be in line next Saturday for sure.

Amazing Nature Photography

Y'all have simply got to go check out the photos on pildiblog. I'd feature some here but I'm afraid of his copyright statement. Do go take a look.

Poetry Thursday: Screwtape V

Rose's summary of The Screwtape Letters in five poems. Today, the fifth and final poem.

Oh my dear Wormwood, my poppet, my pigsnie
The patient is dead and down here we agree,

You’ve screwed it all up, you’re finished, you’re done.
And punishment for you has barely begun.

You thought it was bad when he saw the great light
And realized that you were what never felt right.

You thought it was worse when he ascended the stairs
Confirming the fact that he was now theirs.

But, oh, do not come calling on me.
Our family bond’s not what it should be.

You’ve wanted me like I’ve wanted you
But you must know I’m the stronger of the two.

Now you’re place is on the dinner plate.
Your ravenously affectionate uncle, Screwtape

Meat or Vegetables?

... "One man's faith allows him to eat everything," the apostle Paul said in Romans 14:2, "but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables." The responsibility lies with the diners to attend to their conscience, know their weaknesses and steer clear of damaging choices.

Similarly, each of us must be sensitive to our fellow diners. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says, "Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!" (18:7) Sadly, there are some little ones and weaker brothers who fancy themselves to be the strong ones, readily denouncing rather than just cautioning those interested in meat. Imagine a child lecturing an adult about matters requiring maturity and you might understand why some moviegoers roll their eyes when self-righteous Christians confront them on what they choose to watch. Their selections may be complicated and even dangerous, but that does not always mean that the viewers are spiritually ignorant or rebellious.

It's a challenge for me as a film critic to help weaker brothers avoid films that might pose a threat to them. I need to be extremely cautious, taking care to educate readers about what dangers they might encounter. But it would be an equally damaging response if I were to condemn all films that contain potentially offensive elements or to burden my examination and appreciation with catalogues of things that could trouble someone else.

If your friend has a peanut allergy, don't serve him or her a peanut butter sandwich. At the same time, don't protest stores that sell peanut butter. If we decide that the best way to avoid being a stumbling block is to insist on abstinence from anything that could possibly be a temptation, we bind up the body, confining everyone to the limitations of the weaker brothers. The goal should be growth and strength, not mere safety.

Through a Screen Darkly by Jeffrey Overstreet

Indeed yes. I couldn't have said it better myself. Which is why I posted this excerpt.

Children and Prayer

Christ was very clear about letting the little children come to Him and if we are offering little giggles and smirks when our kids express their spirituality... we are inadvertantly giving them the message that there's something "abnormal" or out of the way about it. OURS is the "right way" to worship: lofty, serious, and composed. But the little ones are closer to Christ than we are!!! And in their minds, they are trying to make sense of the spiritual world in ways that they can understand. This is beautiful and noble!

Coffee and Diapers has a good post about a subject I never thought about much. (Scroll down to March 6, The Purity of a Child's Prayer ... there doesn't seem to be any permalink on this blog.)

I especially appreciated this viewpoint when viewing Stevie's video of her daughter, Grace, saying the Hail Mary. As Stevie says, "I know it makes all of Heaven smile when they hear it."

Our Daily Work and Little Mortifications, Part II

Now for the active mortifications ... the ones that we visit upon ourselves, so to speak. This is not exactly how I think of active mortifications but he definitely has a good point. I am better at dealing with these for some reason. Perhaps it is because I was quite tortured by a vivid imagination and memory and so was thrilled to be given this help in getting them under control.

As well as those mortifications known as "passive" -- mortifications which present themselves to us without our looking for them -- the mortifications that we propose to ourselves (and seek out) are called active mortifications. Amongst these, the mortifications which refer to the control of our internal senses are especially important for our interior progress and for enabling us to achieve purity of heart. These are:

• Mortification of the imagination -- avoiding that interior monologue in which fantasy runs wild, by trying to turn it into a dialogue with God, present in our soul in grace. We try to put a restraining check on that tendency of ours to go over and over some little happening in the course of which we have come off badly. No doubt we have felt slighted, and have made much of an injury to our self-esteem, caused to us quite unintentionally. If we don't apply the brake in time, our conceit and pride will cause us to overbalance until we lose our peace and presence of God.
• Mortification of the memory -- avoiding useless recollections which make us waste time and which could lead us into more serious temptations.
• Mortification of the intelligence -- so as to put it squarely to the business of concentrating on our duty at this moment and, also, on many occasions of surrendering our own judgment so as to live humility and charity with others in a better way. To sum up, we try ot get rid of those internal habits that we know we would not like to see in a man or a woman of God.

In Conversation With God Vol 2: Lent and Eastertide

Let the Joyful News Be Spread ...

The Vatican named Bishop Kevin Joseph Farrell as the new bishop of Dallas Tuesday. The new man replaces Bishop Charles Grahmann, who reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 last July.

Dallas Morning News

Bishop Farrell's biography can be found here. I see that the Dallas diocese site is down right now, either because they are rearranging thing or it has had too many hits.

I'm cautiously optimistic. I'd say that no one could be worse than Grahmann (Lord, how we have suffered) but all we have to do is look at Los Angeles to know that's not true. However, a friend mentioned that she was trusting Pope Benedict on this and I will do the same. She also liked that he doesn't have ties to the area (Grahmann surely does) and that we haven't heard of him before. I also tend to think it is fairly healthy that we haven't heard of him before. Hopefully that means he's been busy doing what he was supposed to and not hotdogging for glory (ahem, we'll let any comparisons just drop right there, I think).

Let's pray for our new bishop and also for the old one. Bp. Grahmann surely needs our prayers.

UPDATE

• Wick Allison sez:

  The reason we’ve waited six months, I heard, is that Archbishop Wurhl asked that his auxiliary be given more time to finish up some important projects. I also hear that he’s a real good man.

• A quick summary of Bp. Grahmann's history in Dallas which may help enlighten some who do not understand local opinions.

Our Daily Work and Little Mortifications, Part I

First the passive mortifications ... the ones that are visited upon us just through daily living. I am mortified (you should pardon the expression!) to see just how many of these I am so bad at every day.

The source of the mortifications God asks of us is almost always to be found in our daily work. Mortifications right from the start of the day: getting up promptly at the time we have fixed for rising, overcoming laziness from the first moment; punctuality; our work finished down to the last detail; the discomfort of too much heat or cold; a smile even though we are tired or do not feel like smiling; sobriety in eating and drinking; order and care for our personal belongings and for the things we use; giving up our own opinion ... But for this we need above all to follow a particular piece of advice: If you really want to be a penitent soul -- both penitent and cheerful -- you must above all stick to your daily periods of prayer, which should be fervent, generous and not cut short. And you must make sure that these minutes of prayer are not engaged in only when you feel the need, but at fixed times, whenever it is possible.Don't neglect these details. If you subject yourself to this daily worship of God, I can assure you that you will be always happy. (Furrow, St. Escriva).

In Conversation With God Vol 2: Lent and Eastertide

All the Rumors Fit to Print: Farrell Named New Dallas Bishop?

I got a call this evening from a friend who'd heard a new bishop mentioned on Channel 11 News. I hadn't heard this buzz yet, but I knew who would have if it was out there at all.

Lo and behold, I was right ... trust Rocco Palmo to be whispering about Bishop Kevin Farrell, the 59 year-old auxiliary of Washington.

Dublin-born and a former member of the Legionaries of Christ -- for which he was ordained in 1978 -- both the administrative and demographic situations on-the-ground play to Farrell's strengths, making him the clear front-runner for Dallas since speculation began at Grahmann's 75th birthday last summer.

In 1986, after years of ministry in the Legion's home-base of Mexico, he was named the second director of Washington's Centro Catolico after its founder, Fr. Sean O'Malley was made bishop of St Thomas in the Virgin Islands. Since 2001, he has served as DC's moderator of the curia and chief vicar-general after 12 years as the capital see's top financial overseer. He's the brother of Bishop Brian Farrell LC, the Stato veteran currently serving as secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

A runner and workaholic, Farrell's colleagues in Washington frequently cite their ability to trust him as the first of his standout qualities. Known for his uniquely personal outreach to victim-survivors of clergy sex abuse, he's said to be affable and gentle with a keen sense of humor, but "clear," "tough," and a straight-shooter when the task calls for it...

The Dallas Morning News also has heard the rumors and has a story on their website. As to whether it's true or not? We'll have to wait and see.

Wheelbarrow Manor

A new blog written by my dear friend Stevie.

She has lots to say and can answer all your questions ... such as what does a wheelbarrow have to do with anything ... and how come a girl is named Stevie?

I'm not just sending you there because she's my friend. She's got some good insights and an easy conversational style such as when a quote in O magazine (yes, Oprah's magazine) starts a commentary about Catholic tradition.

"So much of what we know about the world comes from oral histories, shared experiences - so I write about science in the first person, as if I'm telling a story," says Rebecca Skloot.

Okay, so she's not talking about tradition in Catholicism - but it really got me thinking.

Tradition is a hard concept for non-Catholics to understand. I never realized this until my husband and I started having discussions about it when we first started dating. He would be shocked at things I believed in that he had never heard of before in his Bible church - the Assumption of Mary for one. I was naive enough in my faith at that time (not that I'm much better now, mind you) that I couldn't explain it to him so we'd have to go have a good old apologetics lesson from my deacon dad. It took him a while to get it. Of all the things that he started out questioning, I'd say tradition was the hardest of all for him to come around on. He may still struggle with it for all I know...

Go welcome her to St. Blog's Parish!

So. Very. Difficult. To. Let. Go!

But as I listened to this internal dialogue something jumped out at me: it's all about me being in control, about my plans. And as I thought back over the past couple of years, I realized that, in general, I have always expected to grow closer to God on my terms. I want a sign that fits my requirements at the time and place of my choosing; I want my first Adoration experience to be powerful so that I'm easily motivated to go more often; I want this final Lent before I enter the Church to deepen my faith according to the schedule laid out on my calendar, starting with a stirring Ash Wednesday Mass and ending with a movie-quality Easter Vigil experience. And when things don't happen in the manner, time and place of my choosing, I promptly resign myself to frustration and despair.

I have never, I realized, been able to let go and trust in God.

Et Tu, Jen has a really good post about the way that we would all like to control our destinies ... even the parts that we already know we should let God run for us.

Darwin-mania

First of all, I didn't even know Dallas had an Irish Fest going on but we're sure glad it was since it brought Darwins large and small to our house.

Those girls are adorable! Cutest kids I've ever seen (except, of course, for the world's most adorable children ... Hannah and Rose). We really were put in mind of when Hannah and Rose were that small. Full of energy and interest in everything around them, delighted by the smallest details like our kitty napkin rings and ready to play with the dogs at the drop of a hat. The cat heard the initial excited screaming and wisely spent most of the weekend under the bed.

For a bit of contrast, Baby cruised serenely underfoot, bestowing enchanting five-tooth smiles at any who caught her eye, giggling when sisters dragged her around to "play," and glorying in times when she got all the attention because the older girls were gone watching Kiki's Delivery Service (we were glad to see that they are being given the requisite classical video training).

Needless to say this was all quite intriguing to the dogs who were much more active than usual and promptly collapsed in place, exhausted, when the car pulled away the next day.

In the meantime, around the fringes we grown-ups got to talk ... about authors, movies,and many things: "Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--Of cabbages--and kings--And why the sea is boiling hot--And whether pigs have wings." What a clever set those Darwins are ... and how very interesting to talk with!

Oh, I almost forgot. Kudos indeed to the Darwins for the way their girls behaved at Mass, As one would expect, there was wriggling, squirming, and a bit of pouting (they had been away from home for a bit after all and were tired from running with the dogs). But it never got to a level that anyone else could hear and they did us proud. The gentleman on the other side of me who was giving dubious looks when we piled into the pew next to him was smiling kindly on them by the end of the Mass. And that took a bit of doing to convert him, I can tell you. Excellent training in public behavior! Such a thing is all too rare these days. Darwins, I salute you!