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uberreinigerWell I feel a lot better today. The pain subsided after a good day's sleep. And it was a good day's sleep, oh yes. Then I woke up in just enough time for Tyree's Gaming Basement to spring into action for D&D. The game was fun and Meghan was cuter than ever. She mentioned wanting to see "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" recently so I think I might ask her if she'd like to this weekend. You know, it being the perfect date movie and all.
It's been a long time since a gaming session's gotten me this fired up and wanting to do it again immediately. I think I'm back in the dice-tossing sadle. My GM groove-thang is shakin' again following a long dry spell. Now, for your entertainment, here is a
Am I the only person who finds the media's obsession with the health of Pope John Paul II at best, a little morbid and at worst, callous and disrespectful? What disgusts me is that in a typical display of journalistic cowardice, they will never come out and say what they're really thinking. Instead, they cloak their thoughts about this poor sick old man in soothing euphanisms like "the twilight of his papacy," or "he looked frail, but full of quiet strength and dignity." Everyone knows what they're really saying is "When will he die so we can have a news story." I find it even more disgusting how quickly they can segue from those euphanisms into a blithe discussion on who the next pope will be. Call me old fashioned, but I've always thought it to be the height of disrespect to speculate over who will get a dying person's things before the dying person actually dies. It just revolts me. There's even a website running a betting pool on who the next pope will be. A website which I will not name or post a link to because it is disgusting.
In case you're wondering, I am not a Catholic. But I do think John Paul's a pretty okay guy who's busted his ass to do a lot of good in the world at an age when most people would rather just count the minutes between naps and bowls of Cream of Wheat. So it grates on me the fact that for the past ten years you've been able to hear the collective stretching of trouser fabric from the media every time this guy gets a head cold. As much as they try to deny it, there's a lot of people who would probably like to see him die because it'll be a big news story, especially now. And again, I don't have a problem with them doing this, I'd just like to see a little honesty about their predatory intentions, that's all. I can see it now, all the 24 hour newsfeeds could have a nice big graphic on the screen saying something like "PAPAL DEATH WATCH 2003" or "TERMINAL PONTIFF." Alternatively, they go for stolid and genteel with "JOHN PAUL: COUNTDOWN TO ASCENCION" or the turgid yet truthful "AVE MARIA ALERT."
But let's not blame the news media for doing their job and trying to make a buck. Death sells, but I think the market is flooded and they're having a hard time getting their product out there. I mean just look: thousands of African children are dying of AIDS but you rarely here about that. It must not be as entertaining. It must not be as newsworthy. After all, John Paul's done a million newsworthy things in the last twenty-five years of his life alone. What have they done?
Then again, *sarcasm* why should the media worry about them? Isn't that, like, the pope's job?
It's been a long time since a gaming session's gotten me this fired up and wanting to do it again immediately. I think I'm back in the dice-tossing sadle. My GM groove-thang is shakin' again following a long dry spell. Now, for your entertainment, here is a
Am I the only person who finds the media's obsession with the health of Pope John Paul II at best, a little morbid and at worst, callous and disrespectful? What disgusts me is that in a typical display of journalistic cowardice, they will never come out and say what they're really thinking. Instead, they cloak their thoughts about this poor sick old man in soothing euphanisms like "the twilight of his papacy," or "he looked frail, but full of quiet strength and dignity." Everyone knows what they're really saying is "When will he die so we can have a news story." I find it even more disgusting how quickly they can segue from those euphanisms into a blithe discussion on who the next pope will be. Call me old fashioned, but I've always thought it to be the height of disrespect to speculate over who will get a dying person's things before the dying person actually dies. It just revolts me. There's even a website running a betting pool on who the next pope will be. A website which I will not name or post a link to because it is disgusting.
In case you're wondering, I am not a Catholic. But I do think John Paul's a pretty okay guy who's busted his ass to do a lot of good in the world at an age when most people would rather just count the minutes between naps and bowls of Cream of Wheat. So it grates on me the fact that for the past ten years you've been able to hear the collective stretching of trouser fabric from the media every time this guy gets a head cold. As much as they try to deny it, there's a lot of people who would probably like to see him die because it'll be a big news story, especially now. And again, I don't have a problem with them doing this, I'd just like to see a little honesty about their predatory intentions, that's all. I can see it now, all the 24 hour newsfeeds could have a nice big graphic on the screen saying something like "PAPAL DEATH WATCH 2003" or "TERMINAL PONTIFF." Alternatively, they go for stolid and genteel with "JOHN PAUL: COUNTDOWN TO ASCENCION" or the turgid yet truthful "AVE MARIA ALERT."
But let's not blame the news media for doing their job and trying to make a buck. Death sells, but I think the market is flooded and they're having a hard time getting their product out there. I mean just look: thousands of African children are dying of AIDS but you rarely here about that. It must not be as entertaining. It must not be as newsworthy. After all, John Paul's done a million newsworthy things in the last twenty-five years of his life alone. What have they done?
Then again, *sarcasm* why should the media worry about them? Isn't that, like, the pope's job?
