CuriousByNature

A wrinkle or two adds character. Here's a photo from my 47th birthday:

It could be worse...

Yes, please accept my condolences for your loss, and may 2024 bring you much happiness and success. You sound like a decent and thoughtful guy Regarding the photos, I would be more concerned about the lack of face pictures if your chosen name here was 'neanderthalman' instead of 'cromagnonman'. And perhaps consider using 'homoerectusman' for your RM profile

Yeth it ith

100% agree. She could pass for 50, and it's hard to believe she's almost 76.

It looks to me like she's gradually turning into Faye Dunaway, albeit a younger version of Faye Dunaway.

Henry Sandon, who graced the television screen for many years as the porcelain and pottery expert on the Antiques Roadshow, died Christmas morning at the age of 95. Sandon appeared on the show well into his 80s and made a special appearance on the occasion of his 90th birthday in 2018. He joined the show in 1979 and quickly became a fan favourite for the enthusiasm he showed when even appraising the humblest piece of pottery. An expert on Royal Worcester porcelain, a highlight of Sandon's career was discovering a North Staffordshire slipware figure of an owl during a 1990 episode. The owl, nicknamed 'Ozzie', was made circa 1680 and was valued by Sandon to be worth 20,000 pounds at the time. Sandon's son John followed in his father's footsteps and also became a porcelain and pottery expert on the show, making his own discovery in 2004 of a 17th century Staffordshire slipware vessel that he appraised at 50,000 pounds, declaring it, "Better than Ozzie".

My gay uncle was my great-aunt Sheila. She was not rich, and managed to drop dead from an aneurysm while shopping in her early 90s.

I hope you told them to suck it up and get the job done.

Sometimes blond is a state of mind.

Or maybe it's a reminder to yourself that you've completed your thoughts... I know that (inhale) I often need to (exhale) remind myself of (inhale) some of the most (exhale) basic functions (inhale) of life (exhale)....

Apparently this guy is a local and is into rainbows. But you'll need a pot of gold for his donation.

I'm sure there are others much more familiar than I am, but I'll give it a shot I think that sanctifying something means to set it apart, or elevate it as something holy, whereas blessing is seeking to add God's (or any divine entity's) favour to something or someone. Sanctification is transformative for whatever or whoever is being sanctified, whereas blessing does not necessarily result in a transformation. Blessing confers or invokes heavenly favour as a means of bringing happiness and purpose to the person or thing being blessed. For example, saying grace before a meal is a blessing that expresses thankfulness for the food and seeks God's favour to make it beneficial to those consuming it, but it does not transform the meal into something holy. That said, some pizzas I've eaten have bordered on divine experiences... LOL

I think everyone should be really pissed off about hypocrisy, and the harm that has been done to so many who have been abused. I am not Catholic, but I have known quite few people who are pretty devout, including members of the clergy. All of them have been horrified by the abuses that have happened, and are thankful it has come to light so that it can be acknowledged and addressed. Unfortunately it has not come to light in many, many of the religious and secular organizations where abuses like these, and others, continue to happen on a daily basis. Any organization that is built on hierarchical power differentials runs the risk of attracting predators - particularly in organizations that have a public face of innocence and trustworthiness. It sadly is happening everywhere - from churches to mosques, from colleges to hospitals, from public schools to local gyms.

What the Pope says or does doesn't matter to me personally either, but I do care about it because it affects the lives of millions of people around the world who (for whatever reason) look to him for moral guidance. I am hopeful that this spirit of openness continues, and that those who have used dogmatic reasoning to prop up their discrimination of others will have a weaker and weaker foundation to base those biases upon. But maybe I am too idealistic and hopeful?

I wonder if he uses ski poles as part of the massage, or if he offers a sip of brandy from a little barrel strapped to his neck?

It the czechered shirt supposed to be ironic?

I would buy at least two, and carry one in my $100K bag as a drive my $300K car back to my $1M studio condo on the outskirts of Toronto...

Ah, Karl Malden's nose. He never left home without it.

What concerns me is that the ability to take decisive and appropriate action is a key component of effective leadership. Those with a compassionate leaning seem to have become so overwhelmed with political correctness and wokeness that any decision they face produces high levels of anxiety. That leaves the least compassionate people within the future generations to become the decision makers, and they are the one's that will have a disproportionate influence on how society is shaped.

I think this is a massive development. Not just for same-sex Catholic couples but for the church as a whole. I'm not Catholic myself, but I understand that many Catholic people's views are still influenced to some degree by the views of the Pope. This Pope has gone a million times further than any in recent history with respect to compassionately shining a light on matters that were literally closeted away for hundreds and hundreds of years. I have a feeling he waited until Benedict passed away for taking this step, since Benedict was staunchly conservative and Francis may have wished to avoid any duels with the Pope Emeritus.

In any interaction with anybody I don't think you can go wrong by treating others the way you would like to be treated yourself. Unless you're a masochist. LOL

Perhaps he didn't inhale