Clemency
Clemency DM 14th December 2024 Clemency seems to be the word of the month in the fading administration of the present US government. The whole concept, when delivered through the presidency rather than the judiciary, seems fragile, and even audacious when it involves family members. But the concept is not new. The Book gives many […]
The Greatest Kiss
The Greatest Kiss DM 30th November 2024 The cult-classic, The Princess Bride has many famous and memorable lines, including this one describing the triumphal lip-smack of the leading characters, Wesley and Buttercup: “Since the invention of the kiss, there have only been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one […]
Bloopers
Bloopers DM 23rd November 2024 Most movies have them. Even the best ones. Sometimes little anachronisms. Modern items caught in ancient places, like the daily newspaper at the café in the latest Gladiator movie. Sometimes little malpositions. Familiar things caught in unlikely places, like the sharks hunting in the Coliseum. Sometimes little word faults: malapropisms […]
Bloodlines
Bloodlines DM 16th November 2024 In that documentary, Who Do You Think You Are?, celebrities are invited to watch-on, and hold-on, as their ancestry is traced and the secrets of their past revealed. I’ve not watched a full episode, but only the promotional ads where the celebs express a range of emotions from horror to […]
Footprints (version 2)
Footprints (version 2) DM 9th November 2024 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a good-fellow when it came to popular poetry, but a strange-fellow when it came to religion. He belonged to the Unitarian Church, professing unitarian monotheism, not trinitarian monotheism; that is faith in God the Father, but not faith in God the Son nor God […]
Without guile
Without guile DM 2nd November 2024 I just meet Ehud’s wife. (Ehud was one of Israel’s famous judges – a left-handed assassin who knifed an oppressive king.) The location was the checkout at the local supermarket. I had a trolley full of groceries. She, the poor thing, had just one item. “Please go ahead,” I […]
The King is here!
The King is here! DM 19th October 2024 This week our King arrives in Sydney for a special visit. And no doubt there will be enthusiastic crowds lining the road, and pretty posies submitted to the royal hand, and a grand car with the royal insignia flags flapping in the breeze and giving testimony to […]
Granny Flat Christians
Granny Flat Christians DM 12th October 2024 My neighbour’s elderly parents have just moved in to a granny flat. It used to be a storage shed, but has skilfully been turned into comfortable accommodation, with the installation of a bathroom, air-conditioning, and bedroom furniture. The whole arrangement seems very suitable, with meals shared in the […]
Protests and parables
Protests and parables DM 5th October 2024 I don’t quite get the message from the Just Stop Oil people who recently threw soup on Vincent’s famous painting Sunflowers. I could understand if they glued their hands to a petrol bowser, but to vandalize an innocent and beloved piece of art is a mystery to me. […]
In the valley
In the valley DM 28th September 2024 C S Lewis is masterful in his portraits of Christ that are sprinkled through his famous Chronicles of Narnia. Some are frequently retold and have become well known, like the children’s first enquiry about Aslan the great lion, who is Christ: “Is he safe?” they ask, to which […]