The Muppets play Bohemian Rhapsody.

[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlxozJh2JNo]

What he said:

The culture’s attitude is Hefnerism, basically, if less baldly chauvinistic than the original Playboy philosophy. Sexual fulfillment is treated as the source and summit of a life well lived, the thing without which nobody (from a carefree college student to a Cialis-taking senior) can be truly happy, enviable or free.

Meanwhile, social alternatives to sexual partnerships are disfavored or in decline: Virginity is for weirdos and losers, celibate life is either a form of unhealthy repression or a smoke screen for deviancy, the kind of intense friendships celebrated by past civilizations are associated with closeted homosexuality, and the steady shrinking of extended families has reduced many people’s access to the familial forms of platonic intimacy.

Yet as sex looms ever larger as an aspirational good, we also live in a society where more people are single and likely to remain so than in any previous era. And since single people have, on average, a lot less sex than the partnered and wedded, a growing number of Americans are statistically guaranteed to feel that they’re not living up to the culture’s standard of fulfillment, happiness and worth.

Sex selection abortion is being made illegal in the UK:

Good reminder to Look UP.

We’re getting more of these reminders now to use “social” media less and interact more. But this one was particularly good. It’s on a Czech newspaper site, but all in English. (You can read the Czech subtitles if you need to.)

A new video clip from Signal Hill. It is well done.

It is to advertise their new pregnancy quiz. I failed! Please, however, be advised that if you choose an answer it will push you immediately to the next question, ie. you don’t get a chance to reassess. (That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.)

[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC7v7xwPwx0]

Lots to enjoy just in the headline alone!

(Emphasis mine and added for your reading pleasure.)

Women do not care what the personhood status of the fetus is in deciding whether or not to have abortions.

Joyce Arthur makes this point with Jerry Agar, and I fully agree.

Pro-life education campaigns need to draw attention to the humanity of the fetus at all stages of pregnancy so that it would filter into our subconscious that the fetus has humanity and matters in an extraordinary, supernatural way.

But pro-life counselling in the midst of crisis cannot focus on personhood, because that is not the predominant issue for women in crisis.

It is truly any number of the following issues: My life will change too much, I can’t envision this going well, I need to keep training for my Olympic bid, I don’t have the money, my husband is against me, my boyfriend will leave me, etc. etc. etc.

A CBC discussion between pro-abortion Member of Parliament Carolyn Bennett and anti-abortion former Member of Parliament Jim Karygiannis.

My favourite moment is when Bennett tries to bring up same-sex marriage to divert attention from her party’s ridiculous position on abortion.

I had met Joanne twice through pro-life work. Sad to hear that she passed away. My friend Lea Singh has written a lovely tribute to her. But it’s also a call to honour people in our lives today, knowing that death is the only certainty we know on earth:

Why is it that we wait until after death to celebrate a person’s life? It’s really all upside down. We should get together before the funeral. We should speak up before the funeral. Before the person has passed away, they should have the solace and joy of knowing how much they have meant to us.

Joanne McGarry was the same age as my mother, and perhaps that is why I am thinking especially of my own mother, whom I want to appreciate and recognize ever more for all that she has done for us in her hard life. I want to make sure that my mother understands that I love her and that I am grateful for all her toil and all her sacrifices.

There have been times, even in my adult life, when I have given my mother a very hard time and brought her to the point of tears. I hope that she has forgiven me for those times. The truth is that my mother is an inspiring example of strength for me. She still works so hard, and my mission now is just to keep our relationship good and to bring her as much happiness as I can, especially though her grandchildren, whom she dearly loves.

Life is so short. I know that when I pass away, there will soon be hundreds of unread emails in my in-box. My to-do list will be nowhere near accomplished, and those great projects I’ve been planning will remain forever undone. But all of that will not matter at all, and even I wouldn’t miss all those unfinished tasks, which are really more of a burden than a pleasure in some ways.

Since we can’t possibly accomplish everything we want in life, we need to focus on what truly matters and put our energies there. As St. Alphonsus de Liguori makes clear in his Preparation for Death, the greatest treasure we have been given here on Earth is time, which so many people fritter away in silly ways.

It is hard to use our time well. There are innumerable distractions, a never-ending parade of things that seem important in the moment but are insignificant and forgotten soon afterwards.

Whenever we need help to evaluate what matters in the long term, nothing is better than thinking about our own death. We don’t need to get depressed over it and snorkel in a pool of self-pity. We can use it to snap ourselves into focus.

On a different note, I learned of this while frittering my time away on Facebook. Sigh.

Canadians get a day off today, to celebrate Queen Victoria’s birthday. A number of funny quotes are ascribed to her, but I shall choose to publicize this one, in honour of every pro-life woman across this great land who goes out on a limb for the cause and receives hate mail for it:

The important thing is not what they think of me, but what I think of them.

Well put.