We All Missed It

Brian's one-year Blogiversary was April 5th!

hln

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Yes, It's Cycling Season

Wow, April already. The bike and I did our first outdoor dance since December last Friday. Creve Coeur Park has expanded its trail from 5 miles to about 9 miles with a planned extension all the way to the Katy Trail. There're now some hills (thankfully).

The thing about April is this dastardly wind. Okay, anytime you're outta distance cycling cardio shape, the wind's going to knock you around a bit. That and the beating my poor ego took when I stuffed my winter-comfy body into cycling clothes. Zowie. Too many dark chocolate Hershey's kisses means no modeling for Frank J's t-shirt contest. Whom shall I endorse?

But, I rode about 9 miles on Friday, 22 on Saturday (Riverfront Trail), and 12 on Monday. Only a bit sore in the neck since I don't generally train my neck. Wasn't even saddle sore, though I expected to be. Unfortunately, the weekend isn't projected to be warm at all; rather, it'll be in the 40s and rainy. So that means indoor ride time and then pick up the outdoor stuff on Wednesday when Spring resurfaces.

And, potential cyclists - those of you with bikes that are not as used as they could/should be, remember that there are charity events you can ride in to raise money for worthy causes. In most major cities, there's Tour de Cure (mine's in June in St. Louis) for Diabetes research and the two-day MS 150 to raise money to fight Multiple Sclerosis.

Peace be with you and yours. I gots a hockey game to watch.

hln

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PETA, Thy Enemy

Frank J. gives you the rundown on PETA!

I've been waiting for this day for a long time.

* In a battle between Aquaman and PETA, Aquaman would be fined for disturbing the peace of fish. Unable to pay the fine, Aquaman would have to serve jail time, and you know someone like him just isn't going to last in jail. Poor Aquaman.

So true! Silly humans - fish are for eating by other fish.

hln

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Passion Misses a Fact

I'll bet you've seen that or something like it before. This is a card I got today from Grace Church, a local non-denominational entity that's so large it requires or employs police officers to direct traffic on Sunday mornings. I'm not denigrating it; I'm just calling it like it is.

You see that nail? That ain't where it goes.

I've long been fascinated by the Shroud of Turin - probably since early high school. I became somewhat fascinated by Christ's crucifixion and crucifixion in general, as odd as that may sound. I read bits of all sorts of books - those who believed it (the Shroud) to be genuine and those who dubbed it a fake.

But back to the nail. Today's lesson involves the Space of Destot. Now, I've not seen The Passion of Christ, and, truthfully, don't feel (or think) I need to. So, someone will have to clue me in if Mel Gibson and his moviemaking crew got this detail right.

The Space of Destot is described as "an unsuspected gap in the wrist" - not the hand. Quoting from the 1984 book The Turin Shroud Is Genuine, page 76:

Considering the nail wound in the wrist first, Vignon had presumed that nails in the palms would not support a body on a plain cross. Barbet proved it using a dead body. Vignon pointed out that the nail had apparently been driven through the wrist, and realised that this would have given sufficient strength to hold the body. Barbet actually drove a nail through the wrist of an amputated arm. The wrist is a mass of bones, and it was not until he placed the nail against it, and struck hard with the hammer, that the nail forced its way through an unsuspected gap called 'The Space of Destot'. As the nail went through, it penetratd or displacd the long tendon coming from the forearm that flexes the thumb, which was drawn across the palm.

For further information about the Space of Destot, I send you here, here, and here. (I love this web thing - I didn't have any of this available as a young lass of 14 or so).

I'm somewhat bothered that the church doesn't know this. For some silly reason, I feel that all of the knowledge in my head is common knowledge, but of course that is not true.

Just one more crucifixion tidbit - tidbit being a horribly misplaced word for such a gruesome and terrible way to die. Those crucified do not die from bleeding to death - they die from asphyxiation - the inability to breathe. They suffocate. The Gospel of St. John mentions in 19:32 - 33:

Then came the soliders, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him.

But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs.

If a man is struggling to breathe on a cross, he's likely pushing upward with his nailed feet. This is no longer possible with broken legs. Presumably, the crucifixion of the thieves had lost its spectacle appeal after some time.

While two days before Maundy Thursday might be a compelling time for a church to recruit new members, it ought to package a bit of substance with its marketing.

hln

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This is Gonna Be Way Freaky

Brian caught me reading the latest print copy of Reason (May's - the one about pornography) and pointed me to the Hit & Run proclamation that the next issue will include a bunch of our personal information, including a picture of our house, within its pages.

He wasn't kidding.

Most subscribers will receive an issue that features four cover pages of intensely personalized information, a demonstration of bleeding-edge technology that may one day allow for mass-customized and hyper-individualized print publications (btw, pace the Times' headline, our monthly print circulation totals about 55,000).

I would think this would be prohibitively expensive, but obviously not. Reason's not exactly what comes to mind with the words Big Budget.

Looking forward to this one.

hln

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Geek April Fool's Day

Well, we put the Christmas tree up today at the office. But the folks at ThinkGeek.com had a bit more fun, as Ryan pointed out.

hln

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