Thursday, September 24, 2015

POPE FRANCIS

 



Today, September 24, 2015, Pope Francis addressed Congress in a speech that went directly to the heart of the Gospel.  I could not help but smile as I watched him enter the room welcomed by cheers and ovation.  He truly is a man of God who lives the gospel every day.  He communicated beautifully how we are to behave in the world with its many problems, different religious viewpoints, different political viewpoints, the sin of poverty, racism, narcissism, consumerism and war for profit.  There are so many terrible injustices in the world, too many to count, but if we, as individuals, try to do our best to be Christ in the world, to be compassionate, forgiving, tolerant, then maybe the world can be transformed a little at a time, person by person.  It's a lofty thing to say and much too simplistic to convey the real difficulty of trying to transform ourselves consistently when at any moment our resolve can fall apart by an unkind word, a job loss, or an emotional loss which can throw us into a tailspin and leave us feeling abandoned and a failure.  The Pope's message reminds us that God is for us.  Individually, and together as a society.  And if God is for us who can be against us?  We need to remember that.  We can do anything when we invoke God's grace to help us.  We can transform ourselves.  We can be better human beings. We can be kind to each other.     

Let America look at herself without the beam in her eye and stop waging war for profit; allowing its citizens to live in poverty and shaming them at the same time; dehumanizing the immigrant, denying education to the many who desire it; and most of all, the sin of capitalism.  Yes … I do believe that capitalism unregulated is sinful.  It causes struggle and heartache for those who are not in the game and punishes those who are not in the game as being lazy and unmotivated.

I pray that the Pope's visit will move those in that room towards personal transformation and a reexamination of conscience because deep down I believe every one in that room KNEW that the Holy Father's words were nothing less than what Christ himself would say. 

I know that there will be many who will accuse the Pope of not doing enough for whatever cause it is that one feels strongly about.  But there is no doubt that he can inspire people to be their better selves.  And if the Pope can wash the feet of criminals in the streets of Rome ... how can you argue with an example like that?


I believe this visit will have an effect on countless individuals who might look at their lives and see where they can be better.  At least I hope so.  And if one of those individuals is a member of congress, that would be better still.

 

 

Sunday, September 20, 2015

2015 EMMY RED CARPET REPORT

Heidi Klum.  Girl ... do you EVER stay home?  Do you have to attend EVERY SINGLE AWARD SHOW EVER?


I'm thinking Big Bird.  A furry long sleeve, a mini skirt, a sheer long skirt, a spaghetti strap and yellow platforms.  Yeah.  Definitely Big Bird.  Grade:  F-

Christina Hendricks ... 


Studs for the plus sized gal.  Christina - FYI - spray tan.  Grade:  D-

Laura Prepon ...


All that is missing are the castanets.  Grade:  D-



Amy Shumer looking very pretty.  I think the top is a little too small, but hey, if you've got the knockers - show them off.  Because I Love her ... Grade:  A!

Claire Danes ...


1.  The hair does not go with the dress or this event.  President of the PTA, yes.  The Emmy Awards, no.  
2.  And what's with the hardware?  It makes the dress look like that heavy bib 
     they make you wear when you get your teeth x-rayed.  Grade:  F- 

Lady GaGa ...


Tres elegant, however those tats leave much to be desired.  If she'd covered those things up she'd be a real winner.  Grade:  B-

Jamie Lee Curtis ...


Perfection!  Elegance/class/style ... and I love the fact that she hasn't had any work.  Grade:  A

Joanna Newsom ...


I'm thinking Civil War .... cameos .... and then there's a waterfall of salmon chiffon down the center for no good reason.  This is either fashion forward or a huge mistake.  Grade:  Huge Mistake


Uzo Abduba ...


So ... first you've picked two of the ugliest colors to begin with and then you put them together.  The skirt part of the dress looks like a painter's drop cloth with gray paint.  This is plain old ugly.  Jewlery bad.  Hair bad. Overall look BAD.  
Grade:  F- 

Taryn Manning ....


Vampira?  Grade:  F- 

January Jones ...


I like that she went with a romper (jumpsuit in my day) however it lacks the glam factor for an awards show.  It doesn't fit her properly and it needs to be pressed. Grade:  C-

Kiernan Shipka ...


Very pretty little girl but she should have made up her mind ... pants or a dress.  Wearing these together is STUPID.  Grade:  F-

Teyona Parris ...


Kind of sweet ... her hair is right out of the 80's (my favorite era) ... I'll give her B-

Sofia Vegara...



Same old same old. I'd love to see her do something different.  Grade:  The Usual.

Naomie Grossman ...




She looks like a punctuation mark.  And the earrings are ALL WRONG.  
Grade:  D-  

Regina King ...


Ding Dong.  She looks like a bell.  Grade:  C-

Nazanin Bonialidi...


Very pretty girl.  I believe this was the Stepford girlfriend the Scientologists were grooming for Tom Cruise ... she came after Katie found her marbles and decided to rejoin the real world.  The dress is a little odd but I kind of like it.  Grade:  B-

Now for my confession.  I didn't even watch the show this year.  Have totally lost interest.  I did this at the last minute.  (shame shame) ... please feel free to comment and to add any one I didn't mention.  

THANKS EVERYONE!!!  And have no fear ... THE ACADEMY AWARDS are still what I live for!


P.S. My friend Bob of "I Should Be Laughing" (http://ishouldbelaughing.blogspot.com) who ALWAYS faithfully leaves comments on my silly little posts left a HILARIOUS comment to my Emmy post.  Please check it out and check out his blog.  He's brilliant!!

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