Nebula Images from the Hubble Telescope

More than one way to skin a cat...

Pope-a-lope sacks 86 y/o astronomer

I had a great picture from the Hubble Telescope picked out, but blogger wouldn't let me load it-argh.

Pope Benedict XVI has sacked his chief astronomer after a series of
public clashes over the theory of evolution.

He has removed Father George Coyne S. J. 86 from his position as director of
the Vatican Observatory after the American Jesuit priest repeatedly
contradicted the Holy See's endorsement of "intelligent design"
theory, which essentially backs the "Adam and Eve" theory of
creation.

Pope Benedict favours intelligent design, which says God directs the
process of evolution, over Charles Darwins original theory which
holds that species evolve through the random, unplanned processes
of genetic mutation and the survival of the fittest.

But Father Coyne, the director of the Vatican Observatory for 28
years, is an outspoken supporter of Darwins theory, arguing that it
is compatible with Christianity.

He has been replaced by Argentine Jesuit Father Jose Funes, 43, an
expert on disk galaxies.

Although the Vatican did not give reasons for Father Coynes
replacement, sources close to the Holy See say that Benedict would
have been unhappy with the priests public opposition to intelligent
design theory.

Father Coynes most notable intervention came after Cardinal
Christoph Schonborn of Vienna, a former student of the Pope, put
the case for intelligent design in an article in the New York Times
in July last year.

Prayer

by Zelda
Each of us has a name given by God and given by our parents.
Each of us has a name given by our stature and our smile and given by what we wear.
Each of us has a name given by the mountains and given by our walls.
Each of us has a name given by the stars and given by our neighbors.
Each of us has a name given by our sins and given by our longing.
Each of us has a name given by our enemies and given by our love.
Each of us has a name given by our celebrations and given by our work.
Each of us has a name given by the seasons and given by our blindness.
Each of us has a name given by the sea and given by our death.

My partner, the Beloved, used this in her father's funeral service. Go to this website for more information:
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Weekly_Torah_Commentary/bereisht_uahc5762.htm

Friday Five-My Strange Year

Well it had to be didn't it, love them or hate them I bet you've been asked about New Year resolutions. So with no more fuss here is this weeks Friday Five;

1. Do you make New Year resolutions?
No

2. Is this something you take seriously, or is it a bit of fun?
See above

3. Share one goal for 2008.
ARE YOU LISTENING? Well if I have to, I would take relaxation more seriously and swim more (once my various wounds and holes heal!)

4. Money is no barrier, share one wild/ impossible dream for 2008: Let's see...I'd start by touring the world by ship, hitting all the major and minor ports, particularly the ones I studies as an art student. Then I'd visit all the great places to live, and build a house in each one, this would include a big apartment in Manhattan, Not too big-wouldn't want to be greedy, but at least 4 bedrooms and a study each for me and BL. Don't forget that state of the art kitchen and at least 3 bathrooms.

5. Someone wants to publish a story of your year in 2008, what will the title of that book be? There Were Good Times There Were Bad Times There Were Strange Times

The Saga Continues

My T tube ex ray showed another gallstone which has to be removed in the same way that gave me pancreatitis. I'm a little depressed. In addition, the super gi doc, alleged, is out of town until 1/17.
I went to my surgeon high on painkillers prepared to have my t-tube removed, but noooo! I have the mystery stone that has been hiding until last week when it suddenly appeared and cannot stay!
I have nothing else to say. I'm so depressed.

Note to self:  After 20 years of sobriety, 2 painkillers can turn me into my 89 year old aunt, from an introvert to extrovert, quiet to loquacious. Now I now why they call it a social lubricant!

An "Auld Lang Syne" Friday Five

Thinking back on memorable things both good and bad for 2007 here are the ones I came up with:

1. The first was a promotion that came at the end of 2006 and started at the first of 2006. I work for state government and a promotion involves a test, than group interviews and usually a transfer that has the opening. So with all that I moved my office from Manhattan to Brooklyn and became a senior counselor and that made me very happy, and continued to be challenging and interesting and fun through the year.

2. In March, the Beloved and I went to the south of Italy and had a wonderful time. It was my first time in the country of my mothers ancestors and it was everything I expected and more. We had the best time! The country is so beautiful. My grandfather was a farmer/grocer etc. and I could see from the agriculture of the country where my grandfather got the beautiful way of planting. It looked familiar to me and I'm from Ohio! Plus the art, the food, the architecture, the, the ,the...

3. In the summer, my world traveling god-child and her Ghanese (sp) husband settled in Brooklyn (where he is doing his residency), therefore giving me a chance to spend actual face time with her rather than on the fly visits from far flung destinations like Turkey or Taiwan!

4. In September I got a fever w/dx as Hep A, which turned out to be the most complicated gall stones on the face of the earth. I said enough about this in previous posts!

5.The Beloved's father passed away. We're preparing for the funeral on Sunday-I won't be going due to my ongoing recuperation, but BL is on her way to Florida.

God Moments? Participating in Mass with Victoria Rue and seeing God in a Woman. Seeing the land of my fore mothers and fathers. Bonding with my Catholic Lesbians and realizing that I can be gay and Catholic and accepted in some churches. Meditating and finding peace. Meeting all of you swell Rev Gals who give me support in many ways, but in particular, by sharing your lives. Thank you.

It Doesn't Rain, but it Pours

My Beloved's father has been in hospice since I was in the hospital. She went to see him last weekend and only stayed overnight as she was worried about me. He was in poor shape, unable to communicate, but as she described, I think he knew she was there and was happy about that. She returned to NY on Christmas eve and he passed away on Tues. Because the funeral is in Florida, it won't be until Sunday. (In the Jewish tradition, the person is buried within 24 hours.) So, BL is making flight plans again.

I won't be attending as I still have this T-tube hanging from my belly, and all of this surgery, etc. seems to have exacerbated my Caude Equina Syndrome, so I am having neuropathy-like hat pins repeatedly stuck in areas where I have no feeling. Not to mention that it's Christmas week and my surgeon, neurologist and therapist are out of town. No problem. Did I mention that I had a T-tube cholangiogram which showed that I have a remaining gall stone or clot. Sigh!

After the funeral, she will be coming back to NY and we will be having a few nights of shiva. I better find some dressier sweat clothes!

MOURNER'S KADDISH
An English Translation

Glorified and sanctified be God's great name throughout the world which He has created according to His will. May He establish His kingdom in your lifetime and during your days, and within the life of the entire House of Israel, speedily and soon; and say, Amen.

May His great name be blessed forever and to all eternity.

Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, extolled and honored, adored and lauded be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, beyond all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations that are ever spoken in the world; and say, Amen.

May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life, for us
and for all Israel; and say, Amen.

He who creates peace in His celestial heights, may He create peace for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen.

More Playful Christmas-Merry Christmas to my Bloggy Friends

Friday Five-Playful Christmas

I have debated with myself for weeks about today's Friday Five.

Self 1: It should be deep and theological.
Self 2: But it's almost Christmas, it should be fun and warm and sweet.
Self 1: But your last Friday Five was sort of silly. You should show your more serious side.
Self 2: You worry WAY too much!
So after consulting with my fourteen year old daughter, we're going playful, pals o' mine! I love stories, so I hope you'll tell some about your favorite Christmas memories.

What was one of your favorite childhood gifts that you gave?
-I remember few specific gifts that I gave except that I always gave them. I usually made them or bought them at the "five and dime" which wasn't five and ten cents even then. I often gave my Aunt Julie earrings that had interchangeable buttons of colors, so that may be my favorite. I probably didn't register that once was enough.

What is one of your favorite Christmas recipes? Bonus points if you share the recipe with us.
My mother's Christmas cookies that I have a cookbook full of recipes, but never make. I can't seem to find the cookbook right now, so I may add a recipe later today.

What is a tradition that your family can't do without? (And by family, I mean family of origin, family of adulthood, or that bunch of cool people that just feel like family.)
OK, Here's what the NY Jewish folk do. I'm Catholic, but my Beloved is Jewish and sometimes we have done this. You can too if you have already had too much Christmas and want a break;
Eat chinese food and see a movie. All the best chinese restaurants are full of Jewish
folk and you can see the new movies before anyone else!

Pastors and other church folk often have very strange traditions dictated by the "work" of the holidays. What happens at your place?
N/A

If you could just ditch all the traditions and do something unexpected... what would it be?
Speed up my recovery and go to a nice warm island with sand, sun and water!

Merry Christmas to all and to all well-factoid ...The Night Before Christmas was written across the street from me in what is now the General Theological Seminary.

Very Sad, Jane Rule Dies

from the New York Times:
Jane Rule, Canadian Novelist, Dies at 76


By MARGALIT FOX
Published: December 9, 2007
Jane Rule, a prominent Canadian writer whose first novel, “Desert of the Heart,” is considered a landmark work of lesbian fiction, died on Nov. 27 at her home on Galiano Island in British Columbia. She was 76.

The cause was complications of liver cancer, said Deborah Windsor, executive director of the Writers’ Union of Canada.

A major literary figure in Canada, Ms. Rule wrote seven novels as well as short stories and nonfiction. But it was for “Desert of the Heart” that she remained best known. Published by Macmillan in 1964, the book appeared five years before the Stonewall uprising, at a time when lesbians were all but invisible in mainstream letters. It told the story of a woman who goes to Reno, Nev., for a divorce and there finds love with a dynamic younger woman.

The novel was the basis for a film, “Desert Hearts,” released in 1985. Directed by Donna Deitch, it starred Helen Shaver, Patricia Charbonneau and Audra Lindley.

Ms. Rule’s other books, some of which also centered on lesbian themes, include the novels “This Is Not for You” (McCall, 1970); “Against the Season” (McCall, 1971); and “After the Fire” (Naiad Press, 1989); the story collection “Theme for Diverse Instruments” (Talonbooks, 1975); and a volume of criticism, “Lesbian Images” (Doubleday, 1975).

Jane Vance Rule was born on March 28, 1931, in Plainfield, N.J., and raised in the Midwest and California. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Mills College in 1952. In 1954 she joined the faculty of the Concord Academy, a private school in Massachusetts. There Ms. Rule met Helen Sonthoff, a fellow faculty member who became her life partner. They settled in Vancouver in 1956.

Ms. Sonthoff died in 2000, at 83. Information on other survivors could not be confirmed.

Ms. Rule, who became a Canadian citizen in the 1960s, was awarded the Order of British Columbia in 1998 and the Order of Canada last year.

Over the years Ms. Rule’s opposition to government censorship of gay and lesbian books made her a highly visible public presence in Canada. She did not, however, support same-sex marriage, which was legalized there in 2005.

“To be forced back into the heterosexual cage of coupledom is not a step forward but a step back into state-imposed definitions of relationship,” Ms. Rule wrote in BC Bookworld, a Canadian trade periodical, in 2001. “With all that we have learned, we should be helping our heterosexual brothers and sisters out of their state-defined prisons, not volunteering to join them there.

ed. note Jane Rule was the first author I read where the couples didn't end up killings themselves or going off with a man. She was a wonderful writer and I will miss her. I had the honor of meeting her once on a rare visit to NY.