I'll Get You

Did I already post this song? Don't think so. More Paul McCartney ...



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Pope Francis and McCarrick

So, the pope has accepted the resignation of Cardinal McCarrick ... No question, Pope Francis made history Saturday on McCarrick. What's depressing is that this is considered a big deal. If the church was instead any other organization in the west, an employee with multiple credible accusations against them of child abuse and sexual abuse of young adults working under them would have been suspended/terminated and the person would likely be investigated by the law.

But instead, this is notable because it's the first time a cardinal accused of such acts has ever stepped down. One recent example is Cardinal Keith O'Brien. Though he was credibly accused of sexually harassing a number of priests who worked for him (which he admitted doing) ... Vatican accused of cover up over Cardinal Keith O'Brien's 'sexual conduct' ... Pope Francis allowed him to remain a cardinal, and the church bought O'Brien a home in Northumberland in which to live.

And then there's Cardinal Pell, the third most important prelate at the Vatican after the pope, who's now on trial in his native Australia for sex abuse and rape .... 2 Trials Set For Cardinal Pell On Sex Abuse Charges. The pope hasn't asked him to resign and so far is supportive of him.

Meanwhile, there are and have been numerous cardinals who are known to have covered up sex abuse but who have never even heard a harsh word from Pope Francis, mush less been asked to resign. There include the notorious Cardinal Law of Boston (now dead), Irish Cardinal Sean Brady, American Cardinal Roger Mahony, Chilean Cardinal Riccardo Ezzati, and others.

When people think about the Catholic church and Pope Francis, they have to stop putting them in some special class when it comes to the handling of sex abuse .... what the pope and the church get away with on this issue would never be tolerated in any other organization.

Ready Player One

People come to the Oasis for all the things they can do, but they stay for all the things they can be.

This week's movie rental was Ready Player One ...

a 2018 American science fiction adventure film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, and written by Zak Penn and Ernest Cline, based on Cline's 2011 novel of the same name. The film stars Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Lena Waithe, T.J. Miller, Simon Pegg, and Mark Rylance.

The film takes place in 2045, when much of humanity uses the virtual reality software OASIS to escape the desolation of the real world. Orphaned teenager Wade Watts (Sheridan) discovers clues to a hidden game within the program that promises the winner full ownership of the OASIS, and joins several allies to try to complete the game before a large company run by businessman Nolan Sorrento (Mendelsohn) can do so.

I had been looking forward to this film with trepidation - I really like the book and have read it many times, so I wondered how it might be changed in the movie. It was indeed changed, but it basically stayed true to the spirit of the book, if not all the details - it was different but still fun. I do recommend the movie.

Here's a trailer ...

I Only Want to Be with You

On the muzak at Whole Foods today, British singer Dusty Springfield ...

A Quiet Place

This week's movie rental was A Quiet Place ...

a 2018 American horror film directed by John Krasinski, who stars with Emily Blunt, his real-life wife .... Over three months in 2020, most of Earth's human population has been wiped out by sightless creatures with hypersensitive hearing that attack anything that makes noise.

I had seen a lot in the news about this movie when it first came out and though it's categorized as horror, I think it's science fiction too. It's unusual in a number of ways, including the virtual lack of verbal dialog - it tells the story almost completely visually.

Here's the beginning of a review ...

‘A Quiet Place’ Review: ‘Stay Silent, Stay Alive’ Says This New Horror Classic

Did you ever think that quiet – the hush in which no talk is above a whisper – could scare the hell out of you? A Quiet Place does just that, raising the stakes on terror until no one can hear you scream. As director, star and cowriter (with Bryan Woods and Scott Beck), John Krasinski hits on a killer hook: What if a family of four, among the few left alive after a monster apocalypse, can survive on their upstate New York farm as long as they don’t make a sound? Any sound. At all ....

I thought it was very good, especially for horror (not too gory), and they did an interesting job with the monsters. I recommend it.

Here's a trailer ...

President Obama ...

delivers the Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture in Johannesburg, South Africa ...

Be honest about celibacy

In the recent news - Cardinal removed from public ministry after sex abuse allegation

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who led the Archdiocese of Washington and was a political force in the nation's capital, said on Wednesday that he has been removed from public ministry by the Vatican because of a decades-old allegation of sexual abuse .... McCarrick was also accused three times of sexual misconduct with adults "decades ago" while he served as a bishop in Metuchen and Newark, New Jersey, the current bishops of those cities said on Wednesday. Two of those allegations resulted in settlements, the bishops said ...

This case is similar to a case a few years ago in the UK when Cardinal Keith O'Brien retired after priests working under him went public with accusations of his sexual misconduct against them ... UK's top cardinal accused of 'inappropriate acts' by priests

Jesuit Thomas Reese had an article about this today - Priests, celibacy and sex - in which he writes about the weirdities of a mandatory celibacy rule that is overlooked by large percentages of clergy.

This isn't just about the criminal behavior of the sexual abuse of children by priests. Richard Sipe is quoted in the film Spotlight as saying that only 50% of the celibate clergy actually practice celibacy, which creates a culture of secrecy in the priesthood that encourages cover-ups. Priests have sex with parishioners, each other, their superiors, seminarians, and all this is furtive because of the public adherence to the rule of celibacy.

If the church is serious about reducing the sex abuse of children and the unhealthy secret relationships between priests and other adults, the church has to be honest about celibacy. If celibacy is important, then enforce it, and if it isn't important, then make it optional and let priests have public above-board relationships.

Back in the U.S.S.R.

For some reason, this song has been on my mind lately ....

The latest on Yoda the kitten

It's been about two weeks since Yoda's last vet visit. At that time, they said she has a deflated lung, though they don't know why - she doesn't have an infection after all. They decided they could take her to adopt out as soon as all her tests came back as ok. The test results were good, but now the vet people have decided they can't take her to adopt out until another of the kittens they already have has been adopted out first.

I'm beginning to believe they won't ever take her and that I am now the single parent of a nutty little 8 week old indoor kitten who has no other living companion but me ..... eeeeeeeeeeee! Not sure how I can take care of another cat (#16), pay for food, vet bills, etc., plus just the emotional investment for the next almost 20 years.

Oh well, she is awfully cute :) ...

Old stuff in drawers

Today my sister came over and we went through all the stuff in my mother's and grandmother's old dressers. There was a lot and I took photos of some of what we found ....

Here's me at my (outdoor) wedding. I'm wearing a dress my mom made. Unfortunately the color of the photo was so bad, I had to make it B&W ...



We also found some things from our one trip to Europe just after college. Here is a ticket from a play we saw in London at the Young Vic. I don't remember what the play was, but Simon Ward was in it ...



And here's something (a museum ticket?) from when we visited Greece ...



But most of what was in the drawers was family stuff - old photos and news clippings. There were quite a few about my grandmother's brother, Uncle Earl. He had actually played baseball in the World Series in 1924 and he has his own Wikipedia page. Here's one of the articles about him - that's Yoda the kitten's foot at the top ;) ....



Looking through all this stuff with my sister made me realize that I do still have a family ... yes, most of them are dead, but they are still my family.

John Roberts and Roe v. Wade

In the news, there's much about the next Supreme Court Justice, Roe v. Wade, and the idea that the Chief Justice, John Roberts, is a moderate who will protect abortion rights. I think that's an unrealistic expectation. Roberts is a conservative Catholic whose wife is a member of the pro-life group Feminists For Life. This subject came up when Bush appointed Roberts ...

Anti-Abortion Advocacy of Wife of Court Nominee Draws Interest

[...] Mrs. Roberts, who declined to be interviewed for this article, was not recruited by Feminists for Life, but sought the group out about a decade ago and offered her services as a lawyer, said its president, Serrin Foster. The group was reorganizing at the time and beginning to focus its work on college campuses. Its mission statement, driven home in advertising in recent years, says: "Abortion is a reflection that our society has failed to meet the needs of women. Women deserve better than abortion."

Mrs. Roberts served on the board of the organization for four years, and later provided legal services. Ms. Foster said that as an adoptive parent, Mrs. Roberts made contributions that included urging the group to focus more on the needs of biological mothers, and adding a biological mother to the board of directors.

Ms. Foster said Feminists for Life was committed not only to ending abortion, but also to making it "unthinkable" by providing every woman with the assistance she needs. Reversing Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that recognized a constitutional right to abortion, is a goal, she said, "but not enough." .....

The group, Feminists For Life, one member of which is Sarah Palin, sounds benign but it's not. Here an article in The Nation about the group ... Feminists for (Fetal) Life (2005).

I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better

Here are the Byrds recording one of my favorite songs in studio. I love the shimmer effect of the electric12 string guitar ...



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