The End is Near

All of a sudden family and friends are sending good links.

Kris sent this link, which is a performance of the Hallelujah Chorus that is very clever. I think the introduction is overlong; you may disagree. I also didn't like the St. Francis of Sissies thing. What is that about? Are they saying something about monks, St. Francis, gays, or Roman Catholics? But if you can get past that, the performance itself is clever.

Brother Ted (a sibling, not a monk) sent this video of Congressman Shimkus from my former Congressional District in Southern Illinois, explaining why global warming couldn't be happening.



Lord, help us.

I try to be respectful of other people's beliefs, but if they're going to be spouting blather like that, they deserve to be challenged. Actually, Shimkus is a perfect representative for Southern Illinois. Unfortunately, he has a vote in Congress.

Do you ever have the feeling that you're living in a science fiction novel, where the decisions are made by people who don't believe in history or science, but instead worship strange idols that are not subject to any sort of empirical test, and that that leads to the destruction of human life? I have that feeling all the time now.

Stupid Sheep Tricks

From Andrew Tobias. (You'll get a larger screen if you click on the picture after the movie has started. That will open it in You Tube.)



Actually, this should probably be called Stupid Sheep Dog Tricks.

Whose Father Was He?

The NY Times has an interesting series of articles running this week called Whose Father Was He? The first article ran today.

It's about a soldier killed at Gettysburg who died with no identifying information, but was clutching a photograph of three children. Who was he? What was his story?



A successful effort was made in 1863 to find the answer. But that's just the first installment.

My mother recommended this story, so siblings: you know your homework assignment.

Update: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ran an article about this photograph's story in 2003. If you don't want to read the 5-part series in the Times, I'll bet you'll find it all summarized here. And Historynet.com has a long article here.

Second Update: Having read the second installment, it's clear that this article is about more than Amos Humiston. It's about the process of research, and a very good read it is.

Third Update: Part three is here.

Fourth Update: Part four is here.

Fifth and Final Update: Part five is here.

Okay, Last Bachmann Post for a While

Thanks to Jeannelle for this link to the Dump Michele Bachmann web site. Have fun!

More Bachmann, Because I Just Can't Stop Myself

Bachmann in Overdrive

The World of Wackos is getting dangerous. At Talking Points Memo, we learn Michele Bachmann is trying out for cheerleader.

Bachmann: Right now I'm a member of Congress. And I believe that my job here is to be a foreign correspondent, reporting from enemy lines. And people need to understand, this isn't a game. this isn't just a political talk show that's happening right now. This is our very freedom, and we have 230 years, a continuous link of freedom that every generation has ceded to the next generation. This may be the time when that link breaks. And I'm going to do everything I can, I know you are, to make sure that we keep that link secure. We cannot allow that link to break, because as Reagan said, America is the last great hope of mankind. where do we go--

Hannity: The last great hope of man on this Earth.

Bachmann: Do we get into an inner tube and float 90 miles to some free country? There is no free country for us to repair to. That's why it's up to us now. The founders gave everything they had to give us this freedom. Now it's up to us to give everything we can to make sure that our kids are free, too. It's that serious. I hate to be dramatic, but--

Hannity: It's not -- you are not overstating this case, Congresswoman, and you don't need to apologize for it. And as a matter of fact, it's refreshing. And I can tell you, all around this country, on 535 of the best radio stations in this country, people are saying "Amen," "Hallelujah", "where have you been?"

There's audio and more at the link.

[Postscript: The holy Father Briggs, who paid for the billboard shown above, has been dead for a few years. The photo has nothing directly to do with the story, really.]

How to Avoid Huge Ships

Okay, time for a break from the dreariness of the daily news. Time for a ripping good read.

What will it be:

A Pictorial Book of Tongue Coatings?

Waterproofing Your Child?

People Who Don’t Know They’re Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What To Do About It?

So little time and, thanks to Sarah Lyall and the NY Times, so much to read.

By the way, go to Amazon.com and search for the Huge Ships book, and you'll get a number of other excellent reading suggestions. Does The Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories appeal to you?

Krugman's Argument, and More!

Paul Krugman gives the big picture of why he thinks Geithner's plan isn't going to work here. It's an interesting read, even if (like moi) you know next to nothing about economics.

Or maybe it's an interesting read only if you know next to nothing about economics. It sure would be a good idea for Obama's people to explain why Krugman is wrong. What's their argument?

While we're waiting for that, courtesy of Michael Powell's blog at the NY Times, here's the inimitable Cramer calling Andrew Cuomo a communist for wanting to investigate WaMu:



Okay, enough Cramer for a while. I promise.

But how about a little of Sarah Palin recalling her debate with Biden:

So I'm looking around for somebody to pray with, I just need maybe a little help, maybe a little extra. And the McCain campaign, love 'em, you know, they're a lot of people around me, but nobody I could find that I wanted to hold hands with and pray.

Former Master of the Universe: It's Not Fair!

It's not a pretty sight. Can you read it all the way to the end? I couldn't.

With so many people in this country really hurting, you'd think some people would realize their problems don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. I guess not.

I'm Not Always Right

It is not a source of comfort that Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz, both Nobel Laureates in economics, think Obama's bank plan will fail. I hope they're wrong.

America's No. 1 Wingnut

Sempringham correspondent Troutay alerted us last year to the biggest flake in Congress (and probably east of the Rockies), Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota. The woman lives in an alternate reality.

Talking Points Memo put together this great little video of what they call "The Bachmann Effect." Michele opens her mouth, and people can't believe she's really saying what they're hearing.

Bits & Pieces

This is just a link to some interesting stories around the web.

Go back into hiding, GOP begs Dick Cheney

Pakistan is 173 million people, 100 nuclear weapons, an army bigger than the U.S. Army, and al-Qaeda headquarters sitting right there in the two-thirds of the country that the government doesn't control. The Pakistani military and police and intelligence service don't follow the civilian government; they are essentially a rogue state within a state. We're now reaching the point where within one to six months we could see the collapse of the Pakistani state....

Army Dude: "I never thought I would say this 10 or 15 years ago, but today…yes, I would support allowing gay Soldiers to serve."

In the year 2000, the PLA [People's Liberation Army] had more students in America's graduate schools than the U.S. military, giving the Chinese a growing understanding of America and its military.


The Kindle Revolution
Digital readers will save writers and publishing, even if they destroy the book business.

And finally, from brother Mike:

Las Vegas churches accept gambling chips.
This may come as a surprise to those of us not living in Las Vegas, but there are more Catholic Churches there than Casinos. Not surprisingly, some worshipers at Sunday services will give Casino Chips rather than cash when the basket is passed. Since they get chips from many different casinos, the churches have devised a method to collect their offerings. The churches send all their collected chips to a nearby Franciscan Monastery for sorting and then the chips are taken to the casinos of origin and cashed in. This is done by Chip Monks.

I hope it's not genetic.

Mariette in Ecstasy

Sunday was a special treat: we went to see an adaptation of Mariette in Ecstasy written by our good friend, Christina Calvit.

Christina is one of those extremely talented people I've mentioned who attends our ridiculous little church, which is where we met her and her husband, Eric Haugen*. In addition to holding down a full-time job in advertising, Christina is an ensemble member at Lifeline Theater here in Chicago, for which she writes plays and adaptations of novels. The first of her plays we saw was Pride and Prejudice, which we enjoyed twice at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival about 10 years ago. To give you an idea of her artistic range, Christina also adapted Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, which is the current children's matinee show at Lifeline.

Lifeline Theater is 25 years old now, founded by graduates of Northwestern University's justly famous School of Theater. It is located less than a block from the Morse Avenue "El" stop on the Red Line.


The theater offers free parking, but because this neighborhood was built before anybody thought of such a thing, the parking lot is six blocks away. No problem: there's a free shuttle that will carry you to the theater, and back to your car afterward.

The young lady standing here in front of the theater is passing out maps to the parking lot.


Inside the theater we found this great photograph of the Lifeline Ensemble. If I knew the photographer's name I would tell you. Believe me: I try to take photos half this good and can't. My hat is off to a master. [Of course, having professional actors posing for you probably helps.]

That's Christina in the middle, peeking over the top of her book. She just found the naughty bits, I think.

And here's the theater lobby.


I snuck a picture of the set for you before the play started.

Mariette in Ecstasy, a novel written by Ron Hansen, was a best seller in 1991. It tells the story of Mariette's remarkable career as a postulant at the priory of the Sisters of the Crucifixion.

The storyline is basically this: In 1906, Mariette arrives at the priory to begin her life as a nun. Shortly after her arrival, she announces that Jesus has talked to her. Pere Mariott says yes, Jesus guides all of us in our lives. She says, no, she has actually heard his voice.

People are ... shall we say, skeptical.

Then she displays stigmata. Okay, this is something else, entirely. Her fellow nuns are believing, disbelieving, envious, adoring, and every emotion in between. Her own father, a physician, examines her and essentially declares her a fraud. She is expelled from the priory.

But things are rarely that simple, are they? I can't wait to talk to Christina to hear her take on the story. Hansen left it ambiguous, I think. Christina left it ambiguous, too.

I hate that about Christina!

A few comments on the production: the cast is superb, the directing is superb, and the set is superb. Brenda Barrie as Mariette manages to transform herself from a lush young thing when arriving at the convent into an anorexic, post-stigmata fright.

Priory life is demarcated by the daily cycle of prayer and work (at least that's what it says in books; I have no personal knowledge), and the director, Elise Kauzleric, communicates those daily rhythms effectively. You'll know what I mean when you see the play.

I particularly liked Brian Parry as Pere Mariott.

Finally, there was some first-class singing. Really first-class. How do they find people who can act AND sing?

Oh, one other thing: this is the only play I can remember seeing where someone comes out to wash the blood off the floor during intermission.

If you live in or near Chicago, you should see this show. If you're visiting Chicago on business or pleasure, you should see this show. It's a shining example of the superb work that can be done by smaller professional theaters -- something with which Chicago is richly blessed.

Update: You can see a short video of Mariette in Ecstasy here. Click on Now Playing! up at the top.

Another update: Go here to read the press clippings.

+++++

* This post is not about him, but Eric is an actor and author who keeps body and artist together by doing fascinating work of another sort: he rebuilds enormous, 100-year-old organs -- and keeps organs alive in ridiculous little churches. He also specializes in leaving disrespectful comments on blogs. If you've written a devastating attack on some government policy, against which there is no defense, you can count on a comment demanding more pictures of your cat.

Can We at Least Tar and Feather Them?

Bullied Pulpit links to this excellent article by Steven Pearlstein at The Washington Post.

My righteous indignation about AIG burns with a pure, white heat. But Pearlstein is right.

And in Another Version

For shutterhand:

They Just Make Stuff Up

This tidbit from Steve Benen:

On CNN's "Situation Room" yesterday, Wolf Blitzer, paraphrasing President Obama, told House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), "[H]e seemed to be saying, all those Republicans who want a free market, who want to deregulate, who want the government off the back of these huge corporations, look what we got as a result of all of that." Boehner replied:

"Wolf, you have to understand, there was no deregulation of anything in the financial services industries. As a matter of fact, there was an increase in regulation."

It is truly no wonder we are in such a mess. For these guys, reality is whatever they want it to be. Just make it up.

Genealogical Notes

As a genealogist for some 40 years (and it makes me shudder to say that), there have been only a few books that have had much influence on me in this field. One, Genealogy as Pastime and Profession, was published in 1930 by Donald Lines Jacobus, perhaps the most distinguished American genealogist of all time. Jacobus firmly set genealogy on the path of historical accuracy, a path it had not been on consistently up to that point. Too much genealogy was of the "find a link to a noble family" sort, and frequently dealt as much with fantasy as with facts. He was not the first to publish an accurate genealogy, but he did more than anyone to raise the standards.

A recent conversation with a friend sent me to find another, The Mountain of Names: A History of the Human Family, by Alex Shoumatoff, in a basement bookcase. Shoumatoff has been called "the greatest writer in America" by Donald Trump, but I don't think it is fair to hold that against him.

The Mountain of Names was published in 1985, but is still in print, which says something about it. In a chapter called The Kinship of Mankind Shoumatoff talks about the shape of our pedigrees. We are all used to seeing a family tree that begins with one person, and above that, two parents. And above each parent, two parents, so that the original person has four grandparents, eight great-grandparents, and so on. By the time we get back ten generations, we've got 1,024 ancestors in one generation! And then they really get going! Go back another 10 generations, and we've got about a million ancestors in that generation. We don't need to get back to Roman times before we realize there's something wrong: we have more ancestors than there were people alive at that time. Shoumatoff explains what happens:

Each time cousins marry, duplication occurs in their descendants' pedigrees, because as cousins they already occupy a lot there. The farther back one traces any person's genealogy the greater the rate of duplication grows, until finally, when there is more cousin intermarriage than input from new people, the shape of one's pedigree stops expanding and begins to narrow. Each person's complete family tree, in other words, is shaped like a diamond. In the beginning it expands upward from him in an inverted triangle.... At some point, hundreds of years back, the rate of expansion peaks; the base of the inverted triangle is reached and, overwhelmed by "collapse," the pedigree starts to narrow again, eventually coming to a point at a theoretical first couple, "Adam and Eve."

Two more quotes from the book:

The pedigree of Prince Charles has probably been as exhaustively researched as anybody's.... In the seventeenth generation of his pedigree, for instance, when he should theoretically have 65,536 progenitors, cousin intermarriage has deprived him of all but about twenty-three thousand ... of which [Robert C.] Gunderson has identified only twenty-eight hundred.... Of these twenty-eight hundred, Gunderson has discovered that "at least two thousand" of the descents are from the same person: Edward III, who ruled England from 1327 to 1377.

and

All Americans with British ancestry are probably descended from Edward III.

You can call me "Sir Sempringham." Or how about "Lord Sempringham." I like that. It has a nice ring to it.

A Must-Read

Don't miss Gail Collins' column today.

Going Galt

If you're not familiar with John Galt, here's an excellent introduction from Tristero at Hullabaloo:

... John Galt is the copper-haired, white-boy protagonist in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. Galt leads a revolutionary movement in which all the top leaders of the banks and corporations forsake their corporate jets and perks to work in diners or as subway repair guys. No they weren't fired by Galt. Rather, Galt urged them to go on strike and withdraw their expertise from an increasingly socialist world. Deprived of the genius of their genius, the world economy collapses.

Ayn Rand is the favorite author -- they even call her "philosopher"! -- of Alan Greenspan, Milton Friedman, and lonely, resentful 17-year-olds everywhere.

And "Going Galt" is the latest fad in the propeller-head crowd. They're encouraging the "productive elite" to cut back on their earnings so they won't have to pay Barack Obama's socialist, wealth-redistributing taxes.

ABC News quotes a member of this productive elite:

A 63-year-old attorney based in Lafayette, La., who asked not to be named, told ABCNews.com that she plans to cut back on her business to get her annual income under the quarter million mark should the Obama tax plan be passed by Congress and become law.

"We are going to try to figure out how to make our income $249,999.00," she said.

"We have to find a way out where we can make just what we need to just under the line so we can benefit from Obama's tax plan," she added. "Why kill yourself working if you're going to give it all away to people who aren't working as hard?"

With elites like that, who needs village idiots?

The ABC story goes on:

But Gary Schatsky, a financial advisor and the president of NY-based Objectiveadvice.com, said that reducing your income won't help a great deal because of the way the country's tax system is set up.

"Just going over $250,000 doesn't mean it impacts your tax liability for every dollar before that," said Schatsky, "It impacts you at the margin."

Marginal or graduated tax systems like the one in the U.S. means only the money earned over a certain amount -- $250,000 in the case of Obama's proposal -- will be taxed at an increased percentage.

For instance, for a person earning $350,00, the first $250,000 of income would be taxed at lower tax rates, while the last $100,000 would be taxed at Obama's higher rate.

"Only the incremental earnings above [a quarter of a million dollars] are taxed at a higher rate," said Schatsky.

"[T]o focus keeping your income below a quarter million dollars is not going to have any spectacular magic for individual tax payers," said Schatsky. "The difference between $249,999 and $251,000 will probably have zero tax impact."

And what is the onerous, socialist, wealth-redistributing tax rate that is causing our productive elite to fall all over themselves to become elevator operators, just so the economic world will collapse and serve us parasites right?

From John Cole, here's a chart of the top tax rates from the 1920s to the present:

You'll need to click on it to enlarge it.

I never realized that Dwight David Eisenhower was a socialist.

Prepare to be Amazed

Just in case you think you know the order of the Universe, take a look at this video of dolphins creating and playing with rings of bubbles. They taught themselves to do this.


I guess these might be intelligent animals.