Shira Ovide sent out an interesting article. Shira writes a technology column for the NY Times. It is not a deeply technical article about software or the newest tech devices, but more a “big picture” view of things technical going on in the world. Her post today looks at what we think we know – that ain’t necessarily so. Some curious factoids:
- Americans spend about two-thirds of their TV time watching conventional television and just 6 percent streaming Netflix.
- Online shopping accounts for less than 14 percent of all the stuff that Americans buy.
- Remote work is a hot topic these days, but only about one in six U.S. employees are working that way.
- About 6 percent of Americans order from the most popular restaurant delivery company in the United States.
Today is the Memorial of Saints John Fisher and Thomas More, the latter of the two who is more popularly known as he was the central character of the movie, “A Man for All Seasons.” The film depicts the final years of Sir Thomas More, the 16th-century Lord Chancellor of England who refused both to sign a letter asking Pope Clement VII to annul Henry VIII of England’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon and to take an Oath of Supremacy declaring Henry VIII Supreme Head of the Church of England. But St. John Fisher was in the same situation as Thomas More. 
Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
In today’s 
At the end of the movie “Tora! Tora! Tora” (1970 film about the Dec 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor), Admiral Isoroku Yamamato comments, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.” It is a great line, prescient in nature, but… Although the quotation may well have encapsulated many of his real feelings about the attack, there is no printed evidence to prove Yamamoto made this statement or wrote it down. William Safire traces its origins to the phrase dubiously attributed to Napoleon, “China is a sickly, sleeping giant. But when she awakes the world will tremble”. But the metaphor of the awakened sleeping giant was apt – and may well have been in Yamamoto’s mind. The admiral had studied, served and traveled in the United States and was well aware of its extensive industrial capability – as were a number of key Japanese military leaders of the day. 
This weekend the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, a feast perhaps better known by the Latin Corpus Christi. At its core, the solemnity is a celebration of the Tradition and belief in the Eucharist as the Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Many folks wonder why this celebration is not integral with Holy Thursday. It was, mixed in with other themes, e.g., institution of the priesthood. And, all this occurs in the shadow of Good Friday. The placement of the celebration was not one that necessarily lends itself to a joyful celebration. 
friarmusings 