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Templar Knights Vindicated (Maybe)

Yesterday Oct. 13, 2007 was the 700th anniversary of the treachery that started the persecution of the Templar Knights. These raids were conducted all across Europe simultaneously on the morning of October 13th 1307. It was a Friday and Friday the 13th has been known as an unlucky day.

The trials that followed were full of accusations, forced confessions, recantations, burnings at the stake and the beginning of stories of the order continuing underground. Due to the secret nature of the Templar order and the secretive ways of the Vatican legend has grown over the years.

The two latest developments are:
1. The Vatican is releasing the recently discovered Chinon Parchment that contains Pope Clement V's absolution of Jaques De Molay and the Templar Knights.
2. The Vatican has announced the limited printing of Processus contra Templarios which is said to be the complete transcript of the Templar Trials. For some reason the publication is limited to 799 copies and according to some will cost over $8,000 per copy.

It's interesting that all of this is happening at a time when the Vatican Library will be closed for a 2 year restoration. The documents from the library have been made available in available on mirofilm at St. Louis University in St. Louis MO. I wonder if SLU will get a copy of Processus Contra Templarios. Not very likely.

Addendum: An AP story published on 10/12 gives some additional details and answers a couple of questions that I had after reading the other articles. Apparently there will be 800 copies of the 300 page book, but only 799 are available for purchase. The other copy goes to Pope Bendedict XVI.

R.I.P. Bip

Bip, the white faced sad eyed clown wearing a stovepipe hat and carrying a red flower is the first image most of us see when thinking of Marcel Marceau. Bip was only one of the many characters that Marceau developed during his 50+ year career. Michael Jackson's moonwalk was "borrowed" from Marceau's walking against the wind routine, but the routine that always sticks in my mind was The Mask. No, not the Jim Carey movie, a simple routine where the mime finds 2 masks similiar to the comedy and tragedy masks used to represent acting. He tries them on, one at a time, switching quickly from the comedic grin to the tragic frown. The switching gets faster and funnier until suddenly the comic mask is stuck and he can't pry it from his face. At first the mime is amused, then annoyed, soon he gets frustrated, The frustration gives way to anger and the anger to despair. Somehow, Marceau was able to convey all of these emotions without a single word, while his face continued to wear the absurd comic grin. His mouth smiled, while every other muscle in his body cried. It was incredible to watch. Seeing him perform on stage was miles beyond seeing him on television. Even the televised performances were lightyears away from the obnoxious street mimes who have made the art of mime the object of ridicule. He was truly the master of his craft.

In his memory, mimes everywhere will be observing a 60 second moment of conversation . ....... Sorry I just couldn't resist.

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'Tis the Season

Well, I made my weekly pilgrimage to Wal-Mart on Saturday. While standing in line I couldn't help but notice that the older lady behind me had an entire shopping cart filled with nothing except vegetable oil. 48 oz. bottles, front to back, side to side , two layers deep. Never being one to let common courtesy get in the way of curiosity, I looked at her cart then at her and said, "Looks like you're going to be doing a lot of frying". "Yep." was her curt reply. Rather than shut me up, her one word answer piqued my interest even more. "Fish fry at the family reunion?" I asked. Granny shot me a toothless grin and said, "Giggin' season starts tonight. Gotta be ready."

I assumed she meant frog gigging, but was quickly informed that frog gigging season had been open since June 30th and would close on Oct 30th. She meant the non-game fish gigging season that runs from Sept 15th - Jan 31st. So whats a non-game fish? Non game fish include bluegill, green sunfish, drumfish, buffalo fish and gar, but primarily we're talking about suckers and carp. Mmm, glad I asked. Brings a whole new meaning to Carpe Diem !

Remembering Sept. 11, 2001

I could tell you that I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing as each moment of that horrific day unfolded, but I won't. You could do the same. We all remember it like it was yesterday, We will remember it for the rest of our lives, and we should. In the six short years that have passed there have been articles written, books published and movies made. For me the most powerful and moving memorial is simply a portion of CNN's website that has been dedicated to those who were killed on that terrible day, September 11, 2001.

Take a moment, visit the memorial and remember not just what you saw that day, but remember what you felt. Here's the link.
http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/memorial/