pic of the day

Ah, spring in the Pacific Northwest is lovely. (And for those of you with 'allergy eyes', Bausch & Lomb has a new over the counter drop called Alaway.)

photo by Offspring #1

earth day birthday

Earth Day is 37 years old today. According to Wikipedia, here's how it came to be:

Responding to widespread environmental degradation, Gaylord Nelson, a United States Senator from Wisconsin, called for an environmental teach-in, or Earth Day, to be held on April 22, 1970. Over 20 million people participated that year, and Earth Day is now observed each year on April 22 by more than 500 million people and national governments in 175 countries.

Well, we've obviously got some MAJOR environmental concerns facing us on this Earth Day 2007. (Note my not-so-subtle symbolic reference to global warming by the way I've placed the burning candles on earth...)

While the big picture might seem pretty overwhelming, I think it's important to not get totally discouraged, but rather to begin taking even small steps towards helping our planet. Check out these sites:
Earthday Network
World Wildlife Earth Day site

limbo

Yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI reversed traditional Roman Catholic teaching on limbo, that borderland between heaven and hell, by approving a Vatican report that said there were "grounds to hope" that children who die without being baptized can go to heaven. Full story here. Theologians had long taught that while children who die without baptism would not be in communion with God in heaven, they do enjoy an "eternal state of perfect natural happiness" in limbo. It probably looks something like this:




Oh wait, wrong limbo.

The Vatican report doesn't carry the authority of a papal encyclical, and it was stressed that "no one can no for certain". So limbo may be, well, in limbo for now. However, many (including myself) consider the Pope's decision to be both "sensitive and significant".

I like the statement by Rev. Richard McBrien, Notre Dame theology professor: "If there's no limbo and we're not going to revert to St. Augustine's teaching that unbaptized infants go to hell, we're left with only one option, namely, that everyone is born in the state of grace."

it's official!

After much deliberation, the decision has been reached. In the fall, Offspring #2 will be joining Offspring #1 at the same university. (Let the zany, madcap sibling college adventures begin!) I think they will look something like this heading off to school:

pandering to the ratings god

I had the tv on in the background a good hunk of yesterday while I was resting after a medical procedure. While I know it is necessary to cover the tragedy at Virginia Tech, I became increasingly disturbed by the amount and type of coverage. I fail to see the purpose in bombarding the viewer with looping images of the gunman posing with weapons and repeatedly playing the video of his rambling 'manifesto'. Responsible journalism? I think not. To my way of thinking this type of 'sensational' coverage simply granted the wish of the gunman. (Why else did he send the package to NBC instead of, say, the FBI?) It also probably served as a sick inspiration to others inclined to take such action.

There were other aspects of the story that could have been more thoroughly covered instead: e.g. mental health and the law, campus security around the nation, recalling the victims and heroes... But guess those aren't quite as zippy for ratings.

Disappointing, but unfortunately not surprising.

To quote Gilda: It's always something!

OH NOOOOOO!!!!!! Where are all my post pictures?!!?! Apparently blogger is experiencing technical difficulties.

They say:
Picasa Web Albums will be having some more maintanence this afternoon. Hopefully the outage will not last more than 30 minutes. During this time, photo uploading will be unavailable, and some older photos may not be available for viewing. We will post updates as we know more details.

Well, blog buddies, it has been way longer than 30 minutes! I guess if my photos are not back up in the next day or so, I'll have to reload them all in one by one. Assuming they will load at all. Sigh. Stay tuned.

[UPDATE: A couple of hours after my 'impatient bordering on whiny' post, the pictures were all back. Woo hoo!]

VT

Words are inadequate in the face of the tragedy at Virginia Tech. What can one say about something that seems almost incomprehensible? I ran across remembrances of some of the shooting victims on npr.org. Story here. Seeing the faces and reading a little about the background and interests of these remarkable young people and educators makes the tragedy that much more personal and poignant. Along with the rest of the nation, I mourn the loss of the victims, and feel tremendous empathy for the family and friends of the victims who must eventually try to pick up the pieces of their lives.

Nikki Giovanni, a professor at Virginia Tech, had this to say: "We are sad today, and we will be sad for quite a while. We are not moving on. We are embracing our mourning. We are Virginia Tech..."