Thursday, February 14, 2013

Saint Valentine's Day

So, Pope Benedict XVI has announced that he will be resigning from the Papacy on February the 28th.

I have very low expectations for most things, including organized religion.  All I want from a new Pope is that he decides that Saint Valentine really existed after all.  (Back in 1969, amid doubts that there was a single martyr named Valentine, he lost his Feast Day.  Valentine was once a very common name, and there were lots of dead Valentines.)

The Catholics should follow the lead of the Anglicans, who kept Valentine as an official saint.  Even if they decide that Valentine was some weird, floating, bow-wielding cherub.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Waiting for Snow

The snow from Nemo the Nor'easter is due to begin within an hour.  (Actually, it will be a change of light rain to snow - just a drop in temperature.)  Waiting for snow is always an odd sensation.  Sound carries differently over snow.  Even before the snow begins, I imagine that I can hear sounds from far away.

Thankfully, I live near Philadelphia, which is often near the dividing line between rain and snow.  North of us they are expecting up to two feet of snow; the states of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island have ordered everyone off the road.  But here in the Philadelphia area, it's business as usual.

Around here, tonight is expected to be just another night.  Only with an inch or two of snow.