Hokus Pokus Magic-Nokus

some months ago I posted this picture

of the "last rose and the first fallen leaf."

It occurs to me that if I turn it around

maybe Spring will be just around the corner:

"The last fallen leaf and the first rose"

what's this you say? 

It does not work this way?

What a shame!

I thought it was a great idea.

An exciting day on the slopes.

This is a great day for all international skiers and their many fans.
It's, after all, the Alpine Skiing World Championships.
Today was the Men's "Super Giant Slalom."
That a diminutive (1.57 m)  Austrian girl yesterday won the gold medal in the Ladies Super Giant Slalom and triumphed, against expectations, over the ladies-aces from Switzerland, Italy and Germany gave confidence to everybody.
So, today all the Greats, the Champions of this sport were present.,
There were the Austrians! Mat Mayer, Max Franz, Vincent Kriechmayr, Hannes Reichelt and Marcel Hirscher, each one of them had a good chance. There also were the French skiers, Adrien Theaux, Alexis Pinturault, and several others. There were the fast Swiss, the mighty Germans, the proud Italians, the always steady and reliable Norwegians, among them Kjetl Jansrud, the absolute favourite.
Everybody who was anybody was at the starting gate.
Yes there were also three Canadians. However, the time of "the Crazy Canucks" was long gone and
Dustin Cook, with start number 12, Erik Guay, who started with number 14 and 26th out of the starting gate Manuel Osborn-Paradis, were only given and outside chance.
Let me stop this torture and give you the standings at the end of this exciting race:

Number ONE and winner of the Gold Medal: Eric Guay.(Canada)
Number TWO and winner of the Silver Medal:  Kijetl Jansrud (Norway)
Number THREE and winner of the Bronze Medal: Manuel Osborne Paradis (Canada)

Erik Guay negotiated this 2,196 meter long trail, dropping 605 m

in 1 minute and 25.38 seconds, a full 45/100th of a second ahead of 

second place Jansrud.

Only 6/100th of a second later, Osborne-Paradis crossed the finish line.

It is also interesting to note that between 1st and 9th place

only 1.02 seconds elapsed.

 With start number 14, Erik Guay comes across the jump in St. Moritz

From left to right:

Jansrud, Guay, Osborne-Paradis

Proudly showing the name of the manufacturer of their skies:

I imagine that "Head" sales will jump dramatically.

Erik Guay being interviewed

after the Gold Medal Race.

I regret that I do not have a picture of 

Kijetl Jansrud

Manuel Osborne-Paradis

Bronze Medal.

P.S. Now you may ask me: Was I in St. Moritz to get these fabulous pictures?

I wish!!!

Sorry, I sat in my studio, in front of a good H.D. Television Set and my trusty camera.

Catholics: Do not read this! It may hurt your feelings.

In the most recent entry in my Blog I made the statement that even a “modernized” Roman Catholic Church would remain a “preposterous and silly” organization.

The dictionary meaning of “Preposterous” is: “Contrary to common sense, utterly absurd and ridiculous”.

In spite of the risk of offending close friends, who are believing Catholics, I would like to repeat and explain this judgment here and now.

This “modernizing” of the RCC may extend to very general terms of interactive practices, such as the free distribution of condoms to inhabitants of lesser developed countries, (see prior Post) for reasons of prevention of life threatening diseases, and other peripheral customs and practices, but it will never, at least not in the foreseeable future, extend to issues which go to the heart of this belief system.

Let me list here a few fundamental tenets which I believe will not likely be changed by this current or any future Pope.

In the very beginning let's look at the number one pillar of this Faith:

(John 3:16) “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son...”

(Romans 3:23-25) “Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us.”

“For all have sinned. But God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and satisfy God's anger against us.”

These and many more such references try to convince us that mankind's sins would be forgiven through the killing of Jesus Christ.

Please explain this to me: God actually said: If you kill my son, I will forgive your sins.

Now isn't this preposterous?

Could he not have said: I will send my Son to teach you and if you believe him and follow his teachings, your sins will be forgiven. No need for this cruel torture and final crucifixion.

This entire “preposterous” idea becomes even more “utterly absurd” when we consider that, in accordance with the teachings of the New Testament, Christ rose from the dead after three days and walked among his disciples and, forty days later, went back to heaven to sit on the right side of his father. So Christ did not even die. Did he? So it wasn't such a big sacrifice! Was it?

But the people who killed him didn't know that. So, for all they knew, they killed him...

and as a reward for this evil deed, they get all their sins forgiven?

Such Silliness.

Let's have a quick look at “Holy Communion”

It is written in the New Testament that during this last Dinner Christ broke some bread and told his Apostles: “Take Ye; this is my body!”

He then raised a beaker and said: “This is my blood, which is poured for many.”

He urged the men around the table to do this “in my memory.”

This is truly a powerful statement by a Man known for speaking in parables and similes.

Could this not also have been a simile? Could Jesus not also have meant to say: When you partake of a meal, or raise a glass to drink, think of me.

Somehow, the idea that bread and wine, when used during the celebration of “the Eucharist” literally, actually, substantially, changes into the body of Christ, really does not make sense... is contrary to reason, is absurd.

Think for a moment of the Priest who taught Religion in the Public School I attended as a little boy.

In preparation of the “First Communion” he told us, not to bite the wafer, since this would hurt Jesus Christ. “Just press it gently with your tongue against the roof of your mouth. This way you do not inflict pain to the son of God! 

If this is not the height of Silliness, I don't know what is.

Before I forget!

There is this other “Must Believe” in the RCC.

Although, to the best of my knowledge, there is no mention in the Bible, they invented, out of whole cloth, two types of sins. And just like Coca Cola has the regular, strong Coke and Coca Cola Light, the RCC invented a serious sin (the mortal variety) and a less serious sin ( the venial sin).

If you die with a non-confessed Venial sin besmirching your soul, you will not go to Heaven, but you will also not go to Hell. In fact, you will go to this halfway house of the RCC, called Purgatory.

There you will have to wait a while and do penance, before you can enter Heaven.

Purgatory, in other words, is a little like the dry cleaning shop for slightly dirty souls.

If, however, you should have the bad luck to die with an unconfessed mortal sin on your soul, you will go straight to Hell and roast there for ever and ever.

Assume for a moment that this man has lead an exemplary life. Has, to the best of his ability, followed the 10 Commandments and has gone to confession every week. On his way to work, this morning, he sees his neighbor's wife in the garden, hanging up her laundry and, in passing, he thinks: “would I ever love to take her to bed some day.”

Right around the corner a bus hits the poor man and kills him.

He's dead, with a mortal sin on his soul and according to the RC teachings, he will “go to Hell” and no ifs, whens or buts about it.

The life long high moral standard, adhered to by this man, has no influence on his final destination.

Now isn't that just silly?

Since we were just talking about “mortal sins”, remember, they're the ones which, if un-confessed, will send you straight to Hell.

Listen carefully now: Not attending Sunday Mass is a mortal sin!

Where, you ask, is this written? You could not find it in the Bible? Don't waste your time looking for it there. It is written in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2181.

So much is written in the CCC. Part after Part, Chapter after Chapter, Verse after Verse, and all of it must be obeyed by the faithful.

All of this is mandatory despite what it says in Deuteronomy 4:2:

“Do not add to what I command you, and do not subtract from it....”

or in Revelation 22:18:

I testify to everyone who hears the words of Prophesy in this book:

“If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book....”

If the CCC is not an addition to the Bible, I'll never know what is.

And so it goes on and on. One contradiction after the other, one “preposterous” statement after the other, so that there is but one issue to consider and to wonder about:

Why is it, that so many, otherwise quite intelligent men and women believe in all of this?

I try to practice only one tenet: “Do onto others as you would like them to do onto you!”

This, however, gets us into the discussion of “Altruism” vs “Egoism”...

and that's a new one, for another day.

Bertstravels
promises that his will be
the last entry of its kind....
unless something else bugs me.

...and in this corner:

The POPE against SMOM

Have you ever heard of the “ Sovereign Military Order of Malta”? (SMOM)

If you haven't, don't feel guilty or ashamed, because not many people know of this ancient, small, but powerful Catholic Order. It traces its history all the way back to the Crusades, where, so it reports, it fought many a bloody battle against the “infidels.”

The Order finally withdrew to the rocky island of Malta, from whence comes their name.

Nowadays, however, their headquarters are in Rome, from where their “Grand Master” directs about 15,000 members. They engage over 100,000 employees and volunteers throughout the Christian World.

They are now engaged less in battling infidels, and more in doing Good Works.”

The SMOM considers itself to be a sovereign national entity. To strengthen this claim, they issue their own passports, their own stamps, and send diplomatic envoys to over one hundred countries in the world. Pretty good for a small group of ultra conservative Catholics. Wouldn't you say?

The Grand Master of this organization is, or was, one Fra' Matthew Festing.

One of his lower echelon members was the German “Grand Chancellor Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager.”

Good old Albrecht thought he was doing one of his Organizations “Good Works” by distributing Condoms in Myanmar.

Festing: “What did you say? Distributing Condoms? Are you insane? We do not distribute Condoms. Condoms prevent conception and that is sinful, because “Conception” is the only reason for sexual intercourse. Basta!”

Boeselager: “But Condoms will prevent many people from contracting HIV/Aids, which will kill them.”

Festing: It may kill them, but they will not go to Hell because they had Sex just for pleasure. It is better to die a slow death here on Earth than to roast in Hell for ever.

Since Boeselager would not agree to this penetrating Catholic Logic, Festing fired him.

Many leading Catholics cheered and jubilated: Another “heretic” out of the game and the conservative practice of Roman Catholicism preserved.

Hold everything for a moment:

Has the “Grand Master” Fra' Festing not read the Pope's Encyclical “Amoris Laetitia”?

Or did he just want to defy his boss, Franciscus, to whom he has sworn obedience, by ignoring it?

So, the Pope did the only thing he could do under the circumstances: He fired Fra Festing and re-instated his nemesis Boeselager.

The whole “Condom Affair” is, it seems, just a camouflage for a greater struggle within the Catholic church.

It is a competition between Pope Franciscus, attempting to modernize the Church a little and the arch- conservative forces which want to keep it mired in the earliest Century AD!

Bertstravels

thinks that even a “modernized” Catholic church

is still a pretty preposterous, silly Organization.

Strictly for the Birds

They come in droves.

we cannot fill the feeder fast enough.

More "Tohuwabohu" in Bleiburg

This picture was taken some time ago.
Today, at +1 degree Celsius, almost all of the snow has gone.
I am posting this image simply because I like its "tohuwabohu" ...

Cat on a Cold Tin Roof

Our cat, called Kiddy-Cat-Cat, is an undeniable roamer.
Even during the coldest Winter days she roams the neighborhood,
including any reasonably accessible roof.
Here is the proof, photographed this morning.

Kiddy-Cat-Cat leaves a deep impression on all our lives.