There is one.

…Or is the anchor kind of laughing at this story as he announces it? Because that would be fair, in my view. It’s funny. Here’s the story of one Montreal woman who wants to be allowed to go topless on any beach. Because men do. Seriously, that’s her reasoning. She’s launched a Human Rights case.

[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZDMOIqn7LQ]

If I had the time, wouldn’t be too hard to do a spoof. (I resent that they put it to one of my favourite pieces of classical music.)

(h/t)

…this article makes me laugh. Out loud, even, as happened in the doctor’s office early this morning. It’s about a woman and her two husbands. She just couldn’t “shake the feeling that some part of me was repressed.” She knows what she wants: “When I learned about polyamorous relationships, I knew that’s what I wanted. My husband wasn’t so sure, though.” …”One of the biggest hurdles in non-monogamy — probably the hurdle — is jealousy.” …

For crying out loud, if I was to try and clip all the parts that made me laugh, I’d have to paste the entire article. This of course, with the exception of where she talks about her daughter, which sobers me right up. In general, however, the Onion couldn’t do this any better–they should just cut and paste the whole thing and click the magic publish button.

Sometimes when someone dies, we consider that we should have spent more time with them. That we should have treasured them more while they were here. Prioritizing people and relationships is a good thing, an important thing, especially in our fast-paced, workaholic world. It occurred to me then, that small children demand we spend more time with them not just because they need care, which they do, but because we want to know them in whatever stage they are, before that stage “dies.” My four-year-old niece will not always wander around the house randomly singing out “la la la,” and chuckling to herself, but it is something fun to behold. We benefit from seeing this and from living in the moment, even while we continue to frame having kids as being a lot of work, and costing much, which it also does. Perhaps when we have fewer children around, which in modern western society is certainly the case, we don’t live in the moment quite as much.

On the flip side, I might be over thinking things, because in a bygone era when people had lots of kids, it’s hard to consider that they would have had any time to really notice these small “la la la” moments. Perhaps noticing these things are one of God’s gifts to visiting Aunties, gifts I will happily accept.

Why this came to me as I drifted off to sleep last night, I don’t know.

A short snippet on how more children are arriving in South Korean orphanages, an unintended consequence of a new adoption law. Someone once asked me why Canada doesn’t have orphanages anymore. I answered, “because we have abortion.” So while this situation is clearly far from ideal, you have to ask yourself whether these babies ought to be dead, instead. I wonder whether these babies might be adopted now, due to the media attention on the matter.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3iUM_QYpAk]

I was sitting with a good friend, watching the world go by, on a sunny, August day when a group of people–what appeared to be a family–passed by. The man was carrying a baby, the woman was pushing a stroller and three other pint-sized kids were with them, for a total of five. No one was crying and they looked to be having a pretty nice afternoon stroll. My friend says, “I hope they aren’t all theirs!” to wish I say, “I hope they are!” And we continued chatting.

Yesterday I read a column by a woman who is a producer of pornography. Today I read a column by a prostitute. These were both in mainstream British papers.

It strikes me as interesting that in both cases, the byline details were slipped into the columns as if it were as normal as declaring that the sky is blue.

I’m not sure how to wrap up this comment. Perhaps only by saying that we no longer appear to strive toward virtue for the sake of it. I’m not saying these women are any more wicked than you or I–I believe the line between good and evil is drawn in every human heart. But what I am saying is that I feel that perhaps in the past we didn’t put wickedness on display and claim it as virtue.

I suppose I could link to the columns. But I’d rather not lend them further exposure so you’ll have to take my word for it.

Imagine how little this will cost in five years time.

…in whatever form we find it:

Starting with a small group of determined men who met at a print shop in London on May 22, 1787, to begin the campaign against the slave trade, the abolitionist movement is an example of how evil can only be overcome by determination, perseverance, hard work and sacrifice. This movement also demonstrates the truth of a popular saying: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”