Hate-for-pay

In the sex industry, one speaks of gay-for-pay, that is, straight men who engage in sexual acts with other men either as escorts/rentboys/hustlers or for pornography. One may question whether all those who claim to be gay-for-pay are indeed as straight as they claim or if that is part of their self-marketing. Whatever.

I thought of that as news stories emerge about pizza places and bakeries that refuse to serve gay clients gaining huge amounts of money through fundraiser sites.

Doesn't this essentially mean that they are willing to hate for pay? We will take on the burden of your hatred and bigotry and you can just send us cash and hide out in your safe little living room behind your veil of civility and Christian faith.

Sounds a lot like pornography to me. And I would imagine lots of money pours into their pockets from the same people who spend time behind closed curtains looking at ... you know.

Oh, and Merry Christmas!

Many Mormons believe that they know the exact date Jesus was born - April 6. This date mostly comes from James E. Talmage's book, Jesus the Christ and from an interpretation from The Doctrine and Covenants 20:1. Other church leaders have referenced April 6 as being the date of Jesus' birth including Harold B. Lee, Spencer W. Kimball, and, most recently, Elder David A. Bednar. 

The Doctrine and Covenants is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God, editions of the book continue to be printed mainly by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Community of Christ, formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

The passage in question is as follows:

1 The rise of the Church of Christ in these last days, being one thousand eight hundred and thirty years since the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the flesh, it being regularly organized and established agreeable to the laws of our country, by the will and commandments of God, in the fourth month, and on the sixth day of the month which is called April.

Tartan

Tartan Day is a celebration of Scottish heritage on April 6, the date on which the Declaration of Arbroath, a sort of declaration of independence and national sovereignty, was signed in 1320. An ad hoc event was held in New York City in 1982, but the current format originated in Canada in the mid-1980s. It spread to other communities of the Scottish diaspora in the 1990s. In Australasia the similar International Tartan Day is held on July 1, the anniversary of the repeal of the 1747 Act of Proscription that banned the wearing of tartan. [Damien's note: One wonders what Catholic school girls wore in the days prior to 1747.]

Tartan Days typically have parades of pipe bands, Highland dancing and other Scottish-themed events.
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Damien's other note: No haggis, thank you!

Happy Easter

Daniel is in England, the Kappas are probably still sleeping off their hangovers and I am waking up after attending John Smoake's lovely Easter vigil last night. His deacon did a fine job with the Exultet, by the way, which is one mark of a good service IMHO.

This morning I am meeting up with Daniel's sister Lainey at the Café du Canard Bizarre for Easter Brunch. I suppose for Lainey it is a mid-Passover brunch, but whatever. 

For a moment I was wondering what Patriarch George Basilarion and his Honorians are up to, but then I remembered they keep Easter next week. Poor George! He has never quite recovered from becoming Patriarch, and his aunt, the Dowager Patriarcha, is enveloped in permanent umbrage. Jackson, his husband, is still very amused.

Anyway, I intend to relax and get ready for the return of the barbarians to the Kappa House and to campus. So although there are lots of queer Easter traditions around the world, I think I will let them rest.

Happy days!

Spooky nights in the Kappa House

The Kappa Dabba Dus are away this week for Spring Break. Rather than go back to my own place, I agreed to sleep in the house director's suite so that someone would be on site at night. I spend several hours each day in Daniel's and my apartment to keep the cats company, make myself dinner and then come back here around dark. It hasn't been a problem and I am getting quite a bit of work done. 

It did remind me, however, of an old joke about frat rats:

All the fraternity brothers left the house for a long weekend except for Grady, who decided to stay behind and get some studying done. One night Grady heard a noise under his bed. Fearing it might be a burglar, he leaned over and whispered, "Anybody there?" "No," said the burglar. "That's funny," the boy said to himself. "I could have sworn I heard a noise!"

After a couple of weeks living with in the Kappa House, this is soooo believable!

A Friday 13 story for Thursday

April 2 is the feast of St. Francis Paola, founder of the Order of Minims. I once met a Sister of St. Joseph whose name was Sr. Paola, which she insisted on pronouncing Pay-oh-la. It made me think of the illegal practice in the music industry of paying radio stations to play songs in order to drive up sales.

But that is not why I bring it up today. Instead it is because of this juxtaposition of Friday and the dread number, 13:

Devotion of the Thirteen Fridays

Pope Clement XII, in the brief "Coelestium Munerum Dispensatio" of December 2, 1738, promulgated an indulgence to all the faithful who, upon 13 Fridays continuously preceding the Feast of St. Francis of Paola (April 2), or at any other time of the year, shall, in honor of this Saint, visit a church of the Minims and pray there for the Church. In this brief, mention is made of a devotion which originated with St. Francis himself, who, on each of 13 Fridays, used to recite 13 Pater noster’s (Our Father's) and as many Ave Maria’s (Hail Mary's), and this devotion he promulgated by word of mouth and by letter to his own devout followers, as an efficacious means of obtaining from God the graces they desired, provided they were for the greater good of their souls.

One notes that the Minims, never a large group, almost died out and today exist mostly in Italy, making it difficult for most Catholics to make the required visit to a Minim church. There are fewer than 200 Minims today, but there are small communities in  other places. All Saints Catholic Church in Los Angeles, for example, is staffed by Minims.

Nixon for President: April Fool 1992

April 1, 1992: National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation revealed that Richard Nixon, in a surprise move, was running for President again. His new campaign slogan was, "I didn't do anything wrong, and I won't do it again." Accompanying this announcement were audio clips of Nixon delivering his candidacy speech. Listeners responded viscerally to the announcement, flooding the show with calls expressing shock and outrage. Only during the second half of the show did the host John Hockenberry reveal that the announcement was a practical joke. Nixon's voice was impersonated by comedian Rich Little. 

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Damien's note: As I mentioned, things are moving along surprisingly well at the fraternity, and although I am busy despite it being Spring Break for the guys, I could not resist the temptation to share one of the April Fool jokes from Museum of Hoaxes Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes. Check out the whole list.

PS -- And this is not an April Fools joke, today true bibliophiles and bibliophages have an International Edible Book Festival. This is an annual event usually held on or around April 1, which is also known as Edible Book Day. The global event has been celebrated since 2000 in various parts of the world, where "edible books" are created, displayed, and small events are held. The creations are photographed and then consumed.