Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Dinner with Pliny

People should know better than to stand up Pliny Secundus when he makes a dinner date with you. From his Epistulae, 1st century AD:
LETTER 15

TO SEPTICIUS CLARUS

How happened it, my friend, that you did not keep your engagement the other night to sup with me? Now take notice, the court is sitting, and you shall fully reimburse me the expense I was at to treat you -- which, let me tell you, was no small sum. I had prepared, you must know, a lettuce and three snails apiece; with two eggs, barley-water, some sweet wine and snow (the snow most certainly I shall charge to your account, and at a high rate, as it was spoiled in serving). Besides all these curious dishes, there were olives, beets, gourds, shalots, and a hundred other dainties equally sumptuous. You should likewise have been entertained either with an interlude, the rehearsal of a poem, or a piece of music, as you like best; or (such was my liberality) with all three. But the oysters, chitterlings, sea-urchins and Spanish dancers of a certain (I know not who), were, it seems, more to your taste. However I shall have my revenge of you, depend upon it; in what manner, shall at present be a secret. In good truth it was not kind thus to mortify your friend, I had almost said yourself; and upon second thoughts I do say so: for how agreeably should we have spent the evening, in laughing, trifling, and instruction! You may sup, I confess, at many places more splendidly; but you can be treated no where, believe me, with more unconstrained cheerfulness, simplicity and freedom: only make the experiment; and if you do not ever afterwards prefer my table to any other, never favour me with your company again. Farewell.

PLINIUS SECUNDUS
Mmm... a hundred other dainties equally sumptuous...
Vicipaedia

Did you know that the Latin Wikipedia site has almost 4,000 articles in Latin already?

Videte! Vicipaedia (Libera Encyclopaedia)

Georgius Bush:
Georgius W. Bush (Anglice: George Walker Bush) praesidens Unitorum Statuus Americae Septentrionalis. Bush in Connecticuta die 6 Julii 1946 natus est.

Ad Civitates Americae Unitae praesidendum anno 2000 electus est, primus praesidens fractionis Rei Publicae abhinc patrem eius, Georgius Herbertus Walker Bush. Bush magno conservativo, nullum favorem cum Liberalibus et Democraticis cepit. Anno 2003 Civitates Americae Unitae in bellum Iracae duxit. Bush iterum electus est anno 2004, parvo margine oppositorem Iohannem Kerryem reppulit.
Johannes Kerry:
Senator Iohannes Kerry adversarius Georgii W. Bush in commitiis anni 2004 erat. In Americ? habitat.

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

A good evening...

Today is the feast of St. Lucy, virgin and martyr.

Just got back from a mass with our young adult ministry group here in Santa Barbara, celebrated by our regional bishop, Thomas Curry, in our private chapel at the former residence where we meet. Thank you, bishop, for your generosity and willingness to spend time with us, celebrate the mass for us, and talk with us amongst all the activities on your busy Advent schedule. Afterward, we had a little advent/pre-Christmas social time. Thanks be to God.

Sunday, December 11, 2005

Rosa sine spina

I'm back from the annual candlelight procession for Our Lady of Guadalupe through downtown State Street in Santa Barbara. Once again, it was quite amazing... I reported on it last year as well. It's just such a powerful witness to see thousands of people from all parts of Santa Barbara filling the streets, with sounds of prayer and song, in English and Spanish, echoing down alleyways and between store fronts. Once again, our regional bishop, Thomas Curry, came out to lead us from De La Guerra plaza up to the church of Our Lady of Sorrows where, for a large church packed with people (I stood), he led us again in prayer in honor of the Patroness of the Americas, the Patroness of the unborn, our Blessed Mother.

Santa Maria, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, Patrona de las Américas, ora por nosotros.

UPDATE: I found out from Bishop Curry that over 5,000 people turned out for this year's procession.
Homer Simpson on Marriage

Marge: Homer, is this how you pictured married life?
Homer: Yeah, pretty much, except we drove around in a van solving mysteries.

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