What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~
Stephen's name means "crown," and he was the first disciple of Jesus to receive the martyr's crown. Stephen was a deacon in the early Christian Church. The apostles had found that they needed helpers to look after the care of the widows and the poor. So they ordained seven deacons, and Stephen is the most famous of these.
God worked many miracles through St. Stephen and he spoke with such wisdom and grace that many of his hearers became followers of Jesus. The enemies of the
The saint spoke about Jesus, showing that He is the Savior, God had promised to send. He scolded his enemies for not having believed in Jesus. At that, they rose up in great anger and shouted at him. But Stephen looked up to Heaven and said that he saw the heavens opening and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
His hearers plugged their ears and refused to listen to another word. They dragged St. Stephen outside the city of
After such an expression of love, the holy martyr went to his heavenly reward. His feast day is December 26th.
What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~
What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~
VATICAN CITY Dec 22, 2005 — Whether it's Prada and Gucci, or just fancy ecclesiastical tailoring, Pope Benedict XVI is his own man when it comes to dressing. Just days before Christmas, Benedict showed up at his weekly public audience in St. Peter's Square wearing a fur-trimmed stocking cap that could have passed for a Santa Claus hat.
Earlier this month, he made another fashion statement donning a red velvet cape trimmed in ermine for the traditional papal visit to the statue of the Madonna near the Spanish Steps that marks the beginning of Rome's Christmas season.
Coming after gossip about his wearing Gucci sunglasses and bright red Prada loafers, the vintage styles have turned Benedict into something of a fashion celebrity.
"Those red shoes have made quite an impression," said Vatican historian Alberto Melloni.
Benedict's predecessor, John Paul II, had no use for fancy papal attire. Most often he put on the basic white cassock and white gold-trimmed sash. In winter, however, he enjoyed a crimson wool cloak trimmed in gold braid, at times allowing children to play hide and seek in its deep folds.
The 78-year-old Benedict lacks John Paul's natural charisma, and the trappings of Vatican splendor may be a way to compensate.
The bright red Santa cap certainly has a distinguished papal pedigree.
Called a "caumaro," the long forgotten head-covering dates back to the Middle Ages and figures in many famous papal portraits, including one of Julius II by Raphael. It was last worn by John XXIII, who was pontiff more than 40 years ago.
The velvet cape called a "mozzetta" has also been part of official papal attire, but hadn't been seen since John XXIII's successor, Paul VI, in the 1970s. With its regal trimming, it is reminiscent of a time of papal political power some prefer to relegate to history books.
But those who know Joseph Ratzinger from his years as head of the Vatican's doctrinal office dismiss any notion of vanity in the new pope's dressing habits.
"He wouldn't know Gucci from Smoochi," said Marjorie Weeke, a former official at the Vatican's Social Communications office.
VATICAN CITY, DEC 16, 2005 (VIS) - Yesterday evening, following the annual pre-Christmas Mass for Roman university students, celebrated in the Vatican by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the Pope arrived in the basilica to greet the students. The tradition of celebrating this Mass dates back to Servant of God John Paul II, who upheld the custom throughout the 26 years of his pontificate.
Benedict XVI greeted the rectors, professors, chaplains and students from Italian universities, as well as student delegations from various European and African countries, and participants in a world congress for the pastoral care of foreign students, which is being promoted by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples.
"Continue your reflections," said the Pope in his address, "on the new humanism, bearing in mind the great challenges of modern times and seeking to bring faith and culture together harmoniously. How important it is at this moment in history to cultivate attentive cultural and spiritual research!"
The Holy Father expressed his contentment at the fact that the five faculties of medicine in
The Holy Father then called on young people "to follow joyfully the itinerary of your Christian formation," and to associate it with their daily studies. "It is necessary to rediscover the beauty of having Christ as the Master of one's life, and thus freely and consciously renewing one's own profession of faith."
Turning to consider foreign students, the Pope pointed out how young people leaving their country of origin in order to study "face no small number of problems, especially the risk of a crisis of identity, and of a loss of spiritual and moral values However, he went on, "for many young people the chance to study abroad represents a unique opportunity ... to contribute to the development of their own countries, and to participate actively in the mission of the Church. It is important to continue on the journey we have begun in order to meet the needs of these brothers and sisters of ours."
With reference to the forthcoming Christmas celebrations, Benedict XVI made a call "to grasp the fullness of the message with which this feast presents us. God became Man, He came to dwell among us. Let us prepare our hearts to welcome Him Who came to save us by giving His life."
The Holy Father concluded: "May you be guided by Mary Most Holy, 'Sedes Sapientiae.' Her icon, which is being taken around various nations, is now passing from the Polish to the Bulgarian delegation, to continue her 'peregrinatio' in the university cities. May she, the faithful Virgin, Mother of Christ, obtain for each of you and for your academic institutions the light of divine Knowledge, Christ the Lord."
AC/UNIVERSITY STUDENTS/RUINI
What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~
What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~
What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~
What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~
What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~
The pioneering comedian, whose audacious style influenced generations of standup artists, died Saturday of a heart attack at age 65, said his business manager, Karen Finch. He had been ill for years with multiple sclerosis, a degenerative disease of the nervous system.
By expressing his heart, anger and joy, Richard Pryor took comedy to its highest form.
Richard Pryor is a legend. He will be missed.
What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~
What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~
On His Years as a Crip:
"I have a despicable background. I was a criminal. I was a co-founder of the Crips. I was a nihilist."
"I functioned primarily on street wit. I managed to make it to the 12th grade. The teachers were insipid in their methodology." "Cripping was all I knew. I lived it. I breathed it. I walked it and I talked it."
"My courage was predicated on violence, on a negative reputation, on drugs, on ignorance. The courage I have now, or fortitude, is based on faith."
On His Transformation:
"People forget that redemption is tailor-made for the wretched."
On the Case Against Him:
"I always ask the question: Can a black man in
On the Man the Jury Saw:
"I was darned near twice this size. I had an indelibly entrenched grimace on my face. I had total disdain for the law enforcement system and it showed. And I was shackled."
On the Families of the Victims:
"To threaten me with death does not accomplish the means of the criminal justice system or satiate those who think my death or my demise will be a closure for them. Their loved ones will not rise up from the grave and love them. I wish they could. I sympathize or empathize with everyone who has lost a loved one. But I didn’t do it. My death would not mollify them."
On His Work With Children:
"They can empathize with me. I pretty much experienced all the madness they're going through."
"I feel a sense of bliss within. I like to see the viability of youth."
"I don’t take myself seriously. I do take my helping children and writing books exceedingly seriously."
On Taking Responsibility for the Murders:
"How can a person express contrition if he's not guilty?"
"If I were culpable of these crimes, I'd be on my knees, begging everybody."
On What He Would Have Said to Mr. Schwarzenegger:
"First and foremost, I would say that I’m innocent. Second, I believe that if I’m allowed to get a clemency or an indefinite stay, it would allow me to continue to proliferate my positive message, including a collaboration with the N.A.A.C.P., to create a violence-prevention message for at-risk youth."
On Death Row:
"I've never seen a millionaire here."
"You're surrounded by a motley of different characters. Within the madness, there are those other than myself who have opted to redeem themselves.
"The longer I sit in this animalistic cage, the more human I become. I've learned not to allow the negative ambience to control me. I've risen above all of that, like a phoenix, a black phoenix."
"Had I still been in society I never would have been able to make the kind of impact I can now."
On the Death Penalty:
"We know that it's not a deterrent. It's wasted a lot of the taxpayers’ money. The death penalty in a sense is a disguise for vengeance."
"It's a barbaric system that propagates, ‘to resolve murder is to murder someone,’ another oxymoron. It doesn't work."
"It's a more sophisticated type of killing than a mob lynching. It's pathetic."
"In reality, there's no disparity between this place and
On What He Misses:
"My freedom. Being able to hold my grandchild. Being able to go to the beach. Women. Food. My mother."
On the Prospect of Execution:
"They have the audacity to ask, 'Do I want a last meal?' Absolutely not. 'Do I want anyone present?' Absolutely not. 'Do I want a preacher?' Absolutely not. I want nothing from this institution."
"I feel good. I really do. I feel good physically and mentally and spiritually. Had I not undergone this redemptive transformation, I guarantee I’d really be a mess."
"I have that joie de vivre. I love life."
"My faith sustains me. I don't crack under pressure."
"The least I can do is maintain my dignity. I confront madness with integrity. I don’t walk around like some shuffling black man."
"I'll go through it with dignity, with integrity, with love and bliss in my heart. I smile at everything, and I’m quite sure I’ll smile then, too. I smile to myself, and I don't worry about it."
What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~
A little something for Hanukkah!
Add a little sole to your candle-lighting ceremony with this delightful Women's Shoes Hanukkah Menorah. It's an actual menorah, but each candle holder is a lady's high heel shoe. (Naturally, the holder of the middle candle -- the shamash -- has a higher heel than the others.)
But it at Stupid.com!
Evil Squirrel Shoes
Passers-by were too late to stop the attack by the black squirrels in a village in the far east, which reportedly lasted about a minute.
They are said to have scampered off at the sight of humans, some carrying pieces of flesh.
A pine cone shortage may have led the squirrels to seek other food sources, although scientists are sceptical.
The attack was reported in parkland in the centre of Lazo, a village in the Maritime Territory, and was witnessed by three local people.
A "big" stray dog was nosing about the trees and barking at squirrels hiding in branches overhead when a number of them suddenly descended and attacked, reports say.
"They literally gutted the dog," local journalist Anastasia Trubitsina told Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper.
"When they saw the men, they scattered in different directions, taking pieces of their kill away with them."
Mikhail Tiyunov, a scientist in the region, said it was the first he had ever heard of such an attack.
While squirrels without sources of protein might attack birds' nests, he said, the idea of them chewing a dog to death was "absurd".
"If it really happened, things must be pretty bad in our forests," he added.
Komosmolskaya Pravda notes that in a previous incident this autumn chipmunks terrorised cats in a part of the territory.
A Lazo man who called himself only Mikhalich said there had been "no pine cones at all" in the local forests this year.
"The little beasts are agitated because they have nothing to eat," he added.
American Airlines Flight 924 was in Miami on a stopover during a flight from Medellin, Colombia, to Orlando, Florida, when the man, identified as Rigoberto Alpizar, said there was a bomb in his carry-on backpack, a Department of Homeland Security official said.
Alpizar was confronted by a team of federal air marshals, who followed him down the boarding bridge and ordered him to get on the ground, the official said.
What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~
What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~
