weeping for wonder...

The spiritually profound O Magnum Mysterium by Morton Lauridsen.

UST Alumni Singers, both incredibly able and obviously popular (over 80,000 views).

Below, proof that a group can be seamlessly one, even when comprised of solo quality voices, one of which is deliciously featured here in Unusual Way (from the musical Nine, Maury Yeston, composer). Arrangement by their director.

saving fuel in Wonderful W...

I just loved the serendipitous proximity of the high gas prices news header and the photo above it!

overheard this morning...

"What was I saying when I so rudely interrupted myself?"*

- from an interminable ENFP

Oooo, I found a website that not only links to prayers for each Myers-Briggs personality type (ENFP: "Oh, Lord, help me to keep my mind on one thing at a....OH! Look at the birdie!!!"), but also suggests a style of prayer best-suited for the types. Augustinian, for NT's.

*Fr C isn't allowed to comment...as he already did.

somewhere... there's a beam down there to land on...

How is this humanly possible???

UNCONSCIONABLE

Just read in Yahoo news that - growingly persistent warnings aside - the known estrogen mimicker/hormone disrupter BPA is actually just peachy-fine for lining our food cans (including infant formula) and hardening our babies' bottles. This in stark contrast to other studies done by...you guessed it: scientists who are not in bed with the government agency or the chemistry council.

You may read an opposing and illuminating view here. Or, perhaps better yet: download/read the PDF of a thorough and riveting Vogue magazine article - 'An Inconceivable Truth'*.

If there is any question of risk - especially for babies, something should be BANNED until the safety can be 100% proven (pardon me while I seethe: 'Are any of these cr*$$* chemicals 100% provably safe???'). Unfortunately, while protecting big business, 'we' seem to approve things that are not acceptable with greater ease (and some bribes/bucks) than it takes to question or dislodge them later. It's all about money and CYA. (Cases in point: aspartame, mercury fillings & vaccines.)

Before I use some words that will ban this blog from the 'sphere, let me just say: I am not a sheeple and I refuse to go back to any regularly scheduled programming.

*This IS a magazine article. Therefore, there are bits of other articles on some of the pages.

Addendum: As standard news goes, the Washington Post's article is superior, IMHO. Their articles are not always accessible online, so here it is:

WASHINGTON — A chemical commonly found in can linings, baby bottles and other household products does not pose a health hazard when used in food containers, according to a draft assessment released Friday by the Food and Drug Administration.

The report stands in contrast to more than 100 studies performed by government scientists and university laboratories that have found health concerns associated with bisphenol A, or BPA. Some have linked the chemical to prostate and breast cancers, diabetes, behavioral disorders such as hyperactivity and reproductive problems in laboratory animals.

Exposure to the small amounts of BPA that migrate from the containers into the food they hold are not dangerous to infants or adults, the draft said.

"FDA has concluded that an adequate margin of safety exists for BPA at current levels of exposure from food contact uses," regulators wrote in the draft report, which will be reviewed Sept. 16 at a meeting of members of an FDA advisory committee studying the safety of the chemical.

The chemical industry and the agencies that regulate the use of BPA, the FDA and the Environmental Protection Agency, have deemed the chemical safe, largely on the strength of two industry-funded studies that found no problems. The American Chemistry Council welcomed the findings of the new report.

"FDA is the premier agency responsible for the safety of our food," Steven Hentges, an executive of the group, said in a statement. "FDA’s thorough analysis confirms that food contact materials containing BPA can continue to be used safely."

FDA critic Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Research Center for Women and Families, said the agency lacks sufficient data to declare the chemical safe.

"Clearly their effort was to minimize people being concerned about this," Zuckerman said. "It just seems that whenever there is an opportunity to look at a new important issue, they just seem to be siding with industry’s point of view."

BPA, in commercial use since the 1950s, is in many everyday items, including compact discs and automobiles. One federal study estimated that it is present in the urine of 93 percent of the population.

c'est moi...!

BORG QUEEN'S COSTUME

This coming weekend, we'll be attending a significant anniversary celebration for Fr C's sister and her husband. Star Trek costumes required...at least if you want to have fun. Lucy can even come...if she's in costume.

So, ever clever BLT found this one for me. C'est partfait!!!

Christie's auction house description of it: A biomechanical body suit made from cast latex, painted as metallic cyborg hardware, with a pair of Borg gloves -- designed by Deborah Everton and worn by Alice Kriege as the Borg Queen in Star Trek: First Contact and subsequently by Kriege and by Susanna Thompson in Star Trek: Voyager (3).

Oooo Laaaaaa!!!!

Looks like it did already sell for $6K. Drat.

Former choir sojourners will know that an accoutremental surplice overlay is obviously obligatory...for 'other uses'. Demonstrating that 'Anglican Borg sound' has never been so fashionably commanding.



This.... ....plus this.... ....equals this!

christian the lion...

This amazing 1970 reunion has resurfaced, thanks to a spot on 'The View'. Christian's journey from his sheltered life in England (after having been born in a Rotterdam zoo) to being truly 'Born Free' in his ancestral Kenya was an arduous one, glossed over in the above video. If you have time and patience, the story of "Christian, the Lion Who Thought He was People" is told in depth in a series of fascinating and oftentimes unbelievable, black and white videos - beginning here. Intertwined is the story of "Boy", one of the 'Born Free' lions, who is an integral part of it all. There are ten parts to the series. The next video link is always to the right of the one you're watching -- under where it says 'info'. Or, click on the links below.

Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10 (short)

the dynamic duo...

Having some morning fun

Play among equals. Equally fond of each other. Both mouths wide open.

Kitten ends up quite damp from being 'guided' by The Mouth. Lucy's nose hopefully not the worse for wear from Muffmeister's Claws.

the right brain???...

Auditory : 40%
Visual : 60%
Left : 46%
Right : 53%

Damsianne, you possess an interesting balance of hemispheric and sensory characteristics, with a slight right-brain dominance and a slight preference for visual processing.

Since neither of these is completely centered, you lack the indecision and second-guessing associated with other patterns. You have a distinct preference for creativity and intuition with seemingly sufficient verbal skills to be able to translate in any meaningful way to yourself and others.

You tend to see things in "wholes" without surrendering the ability to attend to details. You can give them sufficient notice to be able to utilize and incorporate them as part of an overall pattern.

In the same way, while you are active and process information simultaneously, you demonstrate a capacity for sequencing as well as reflection which allows for some "inner dialogue."

All in all, you are likely to be quite content with yourself and your style although at times it will not necessarily be appreciated by others. You have sufficient confidence to not second-guess yourself, but rather to use your critical faculties in a way that enhances, rather than limits, your creativity.

You can learn in either mode although far more efficiently within the visual mode. It is likely that in listening to conversations or lecture materials you simultaneously translate into pictures which enhance and elaborate on the meaning.

It is most likely that you will gravitate towards those endeavors which are predominantly visual but include some logic or structuring. You may either work particularly hard at cultivating your auditory skills or risk "missing out" on being able to efficiently process what you learn. Your own intuitive skills will at times interfere with your capacity to listen to others, which is something else you may need to take into account

Test courtesy of Brainworks.