Category: The Fringe

News of the Weird spotted this item for the woman who want to dispense with all that rubbish about courtship, marriage, and lovemaking, so that she can get on with producing only the best high-quality progeny:

Among the reality-TV series being batted around in London, according to recent reports in the Daily Telegraph and The Independent, is “Make Me a Mum,” in which a woman reduces a field of men to the two whom she believes will make her the genetically best offspring. At that point, producers will inseminate the woman with sperm from both men and, using intravaginal micro technology, will attempt to record a “race” to see which sperm gets to the egg first.

The “Today” show, my morning infotainment program, reported on the “controversy” about the dancers who appear during breaks at the Olympic women’s beach volleyball competitions. The spectators seem to like them — the dancers wear bikinis, which don’t conceal either their flesh or their abject lack of dancing skills — but some female athletes are miffed. According to Reuters,

Australian player Nicole Sanderson was not impressed. “It’s disrespectful to have other girls in bikinis out there dancing,” she said while her partner, Sydney gold medallist Natalie Cook, said that if there were men out on the court dancing it could equal things out.

Strictly for informational purposes, I searched Yahoo News for pictures of Sanderson’s athletic attire. Sure enough, like the rest of the women, her bikini bottom has about the same amount of fabric as a small eye patch. (No, I will not link to the photos.)
“But it’s beach volleyball!” you exclaim. “They’re dressed for the beach!” That might make sense, but the male volleyball players wear tank tops and normal-looking shorts. Why do the women have to dress like they’re competing in a Daytona Beach best-buns competition?
You know the answer to that one. So these women play a sport where sex appeal is the primary draw, then they complain when the organizers of their events bring in dancers to keep the audience’s appetites whetted. Ladies, show up with your entire backside covered, and then we’ll listen to you complain.

In a new book “by Mary”, the renowned spiritual leader throws away all that stuff about warnings of trouble and instead takes on the hot-button issues of the day: I am asking you to revise the way you see me. I am not an historical virgin. I am a contemporary leader. I am always contemporary because I live in the Now moment. Oh, man, is there anything more passé than that? Anyway, the folks who produced this book are evidently promoting it through Google ads that show up on perfectly orthodox Catholic sites. When you see one, click on it and make a little money for the good guys.

Or “chi”, “prana”, or whatever. People claiming to live without eating as “breatharians” are planning to get together on Tuesday. Not too many of the interested people actually claim to be doing it, or not doing it, so to speak.

That is, if you’ve been away for a while.
Sometimes people become disaffected with the Church and end up in small sects or “independent” chapels because they got scandalized by something bad going on in the Church. And sometimes people come back after they get scandalized by even freakier stuff in the small sects. Here in Boston, the death of long-time “independent” traditionalist dissenter Fr. John Keane left his followers and his privately-owned chapel in an uproar: apparently two factions are now feuding over control of the property.
The priest they hired to fill in for him is reported to have a teensy weensy bit of a criminal record from running over a six-year-old, plus there’s that little matter of the sexual abuse case. Oh, yeah, and he’s said to be a sedevacantist kook too. So, God bless the congregation, they got rid of him and sent him back to the bottom of the barrel he came from.
Memo to Abp. O’Malley: maybe this would be an opportune time to reach out pastorally and seek a reconciliation for the 120 souls in that little group. We 250 at the indult Mass would be happy to welcome them. That’s what we’re here for.