the court jester

when obama was elected, ryan and i consoled ourselves with the prospect of laughing at joe biden for the next four years.  unfortunately, the new president caught on fairly quickly that his VP was the comic relief for "the other side," and wasted no time in shutting him up.  so, we were delighted to read this commentary from WSJ's james taranto:

He's Such a Panic 
"Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday that he would not recommend taking any commercial flight or riding in a subway car 'at this point' because swine flu virus can spread 'in confined places,' " Politico reports:

"I would tell members of my family--and I have--I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now," Biden said on NBC's "Today" show. "It's not that it's going to Mexico. It's [that] you're in a confined aircraft. When one person sneezes, it goes all the way through the aircraft. That's me. . . .

"So, from my perspective, what it relates to is mitigation. If you're out in the middle of a field when someone sneezes, that's one thing. If you're in a closed aircraft or closed container or closed car or closed classroom, it's a different thing."

So, to sum up: Avoid all forms of public and commercial transportation. If you need to travel, go by car--alone. Avoid other people at all times while indoors. If you must be in the presence of other human beings, make sure it is in a vast open field.

The White House was forced to issue a statement explaining that Biden really meant to say something completely different, and altogether reasonable:

"On the Today Show this morning, the vice president was asked what he would tell a family member who was considering air travel to Mexico this week. The advice he is giving family members is the same advice the administration is giving to all Americans: that they should avoid unnecessary air travel to and from Mexico. If they are sick, they should avoid airplanes and other confined public spaces, such as subways. This is the advice the vice president has given family members who are traveling by commercial airline this week. As the president said just last night, every American should take the same steps you would take to prevent any other flu: Keep your hands washed; cover your mouth when you cough; stay home from work if you're sick and keep your children home from school if they're sick."

That should probably read "keep your hands clean" or "wash your hands often"; "keep your hands washed" doesn't quite make sense.

Under normal circumstances, for the vice president of the United States to say what Biden said would have risked setting off a panic. Fortunately, everyone discounts for the fact that the vice president is Joe Biden.

Unfortunately, if President Obama were unable to perform the duties of his office, the vice president would become president--and the vice president is Joe Biden. That's no reason to panic, only to be afraid.

Maundy Thursday

Introit But it behooves us to glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ:  in whom is our salvation, life and resurrection: by whom we are saved and delivered.  May God have mercy on us, and bless us: may He cause His countenance to shine upon us; and may He have mercy on us.

Collect Christ became obedient for us unto death, even to the death of the cross.  For which cause God also hath exalted Him and hath given Him a name which is above all names.

Offertory The right hand of the Lord hath wrought strength:  the right hand of the Lord hath exalted me.  I shall not die, but live: and shall declare the works of the Lord.

After the Mass is sung the Pange Lingua, from which the "Tantum Ergo" is taken; following which the altars are stripped to the recitation of Psalm 21, "Deus, Deus meus":   My God, my God, look upon me:  why has thou forsaken me?  The voice of mine offenses keepeth Thy deliverance far from me. 

i wish i could reprint the whole Maundy Thursday liturgy, but i shall spare you.  i love how long the old liturgy is--even with my ADD.  paying attention for anyone is hard--an extremely difficult skill to acquire, because it demands that we give of ourselves:  our interior lives.  it requires that we truly leave behind every distraction, every preoccupation, and give our thoughts to God, in addition to our time.  every celebration in the "new order" has been sometimes drastically truncated, and it seems to me that we miss not just the richness of the form and content, but also the chance to sacrifice in a way that is not often required of us, especially now.

please don't mistake me:  we are attending most of the Triduum in the novus ordo.  tonight's liturgy will be very beautiful and very reverent and very valid, and i expect that it will be very powerful, as well.  but it will not be quite the same.

a few of my favourite things

as long promised . . .

"red, red, vermillion red" / key chain rack, from anthro

red & turquoise: mmmmm / the china hutch

the cyclamen! / 2-in-1: best beloved & ireland

April

did i really only post once in march?  i meant to post more . . . april means that holy week and Easter are peeking around the corner--it is already Passion-tide.  it also means that the insanity that has been my life for the past semester is drawing to an end.  

already i only have five more weeks left of teaching -- oh frabjous day!  callooh!  callay! and i am working on the rough draft of chapter three of thesis:  that means just intro and conclusion, and of course revision, and then i'll finally actually have my stinking degree!  after three years!  my former prof pretty much hated chapter two, but current thesis director said it's in "pretty good shape".  i think i'll stick with the latter opinion.  

darling husband is gone until late tomorrow night, presenting a paper at the midwest political science association in chicago.  it

sounds impressive, but it's also the sort of thing that is having a gay/ lesbian/ bisexual caucus tonight.  i'm glad i'm not there -- hubs probably is, too, 'cause i get "realmad" at that sort of thing.  but i have the best neighbors ever, so i've been pretty well taken care of today and will continue to be -- thanks, allison & ruthie!

ryan has his computer, too, so i can't download any photos of "my favourite things" or of my baby bump.  yes, there is a quite distinct bump at 17 weeks, simply because there is no where else for Bean to go, on account of my severe short-waistedness.

in the meantime, since i think posts sans photos are boring, here are a brace of ballet photos that i found today that i think are nifty.

i know it's passe to talk about the weather, but i am going to because it's been so delightful: 60s and 70s, stormy, windy, and most of all, cool!  i am NOT looking forward to the hot hot weather and am so grateful that it is taking its time in coming.

also, i must mention my little cyclamen plant.  it has been at the grocery store for the past month.  no one wanted it because it was not as bloomy as all the rest--oh, the mistake all those people made!  for there are myriad of little tiny bloomlings down at the bottom that are rapidly rising to the top with some normal water and good ol' sunshine . . . because my darlingest husband, who has very little understanding for my love of plants and flowers, bought it for me!  i will post a photo of it whenever i get around to "my favourite things".

in the meantime, i have a large stack of essays and midterms that i still have not graded, and chapter three is calling out to me . . .