An irregular journal of Thoughts, Stories, Ideas, and Recollections
It was in the late summer of 1974. I had recently come to live in northern Italy, had not yet begun my final year of high school, and could not yet speak Italian. There were no English language television or radio programmes. I was sixteen years old, unhappy about my
I was raised a Roman Catholic, and then I grew up. For the most part I find Paul in Corinthians to be despicable, but there is one verse — 13.11 — that I can get behind. Here is the King James Version (which I prefer because I like the flavour of
Transgender issues are nothing new. Ancient Egyptians had gender bending rulers, as did many other ancient cultures. But let us explore an intriguing individual from the 1700s. Born female in Rome in 1719, Caterina Vizzani lived a short life, dying in Siena at the age of 24 years in June
If Moses supposes his toeses are roses, Then Moses supposes erroneously; For nobody's toeses are posies or roses, As Moses supposes his toeses to be. These lyrics from a 1895 nonsense tongue-twister song were made popular in the 1952 movie Singin’ in the Rain. Enjoy the incomparable combination
Sometimes the Saints were… hmmm… jerks? St. Patrick is one of those saints that even non-Roman Catholics know to some extent. Perhaps most recall that he is the Patron Saint of Ireland, and that he drove the snakes out of that country. Some may know that he is the patron
Look what happens when you don't confess to "wanton lust"! The stories are there, but you sometimes need to seek them out. Marozia is less than a mere footnote in history, but at least she is noted. She lived and she had a story, and thanks