Roman sunrise long ago at 0537.
Roman sunset will be soon at 2038.
The Ave Maria Bell: still 2100.
I have had the stuffing kicked out of me today, probably by Old Scratch.
Today was the day I was suppose to fly home. I extended my trip for the sake of beautiful feasts and more Masses in Rome.
Today, my traps flared up big time. Saying Mass was also time off of purgatory.
On the way home, I got hit by the rear view mirror of one of those slick black Mercedes vans that people hire speeding along on one of few straight streets. Hurt like..! The driver got out and, *****, blamed me. I used a very strong Roman phrase. And as he passed me again, he shouted at me. I’ll be black and blue tomorrow.
Then, in the space of about a minute, as I was hobbling down the Via Giulia, relatively clear sky to… rain. DAMN. Really?
If you are not over the target, they don’t shoot at you.
I’d like to put these people in front of a different target…
Austrian Bishop rides e-scooter through church at Confirmation Mass to ‘explain the Holy Spirit’
Jesuit lays siege to the Papal office. Synod and female ordination as solutions of Catholicism.
On my anniversary, we drove out to Castel Gandolfo for supper at a nice place I’ve known for decades. The back gate of the papal enclosure. Surely this is where the papal carriages would arrive from Rome.
Alas, this stain.
Mate in 4. For white. NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
Father, as the quondam ghostwriter of Bishop McButterpants’ diary, as you review the latest encyclical, I thought you might enjoy this. :)
https://creativeminorityreport.com/blog/2026/05/28/ai-to-release-encyclical-de-servo-humano-to-counter-pope/
Father, we arrived in Rome yesterday and I can’t believe we haven’t been hit by a car yet. Or a moped. Or a scooter. Or a bicycle.
Second stop this morning will be Pippo and Anastasia’s.
Feel better Father!
Well Father, you’re in good company along with Padre Pio, Cure of Ars… wasn’t it St Teresa of Avila whose carriage was dumped in the mud.
From Mother Teresa: “I never forget one day I met a lady who was dying of cancer, and I could see the way she was struggling with that terrible pain. And I said to her, I said, “You know this is but the kiss of Jesus, a sign that you have come so close to Him on the cross that He can kiss you.” And she joined her hands together and said: “Mother Teresa, please tell Jesus to stop kissing me.”
https://www.thomasaquinas.edu/about/bl-mother-teresa%E2%80%99s-commencement-address-class-1982
For those of us in the Midwest crockpot demographic, what exactly do you have on the plates?
On the mixed seafood plate there are various raw slices of fishes, tuna, salmon, swordfish, and a couple of mudbugs (gambero, scampo). On the meat side there are “prosciutto”-like slices of duck, goose, pork, wild boar, and Roman cacio cheese.
If you have some crushed ice in a plastic bag you can lay/lie? down with it
on the problem area of your back-would most likely give some relief, help with the inflammation; can you tell I have back issues?!!
Along with the ice idea, you can also try applying Extra Virgin Coconut oil to the painful area. Hope you feel better soon!
1. Nf6+ Kh8
2. Nh4xB+ QxN
3. Qxh7+ QxQ
4. RxQ# mate
I think that jhogan overlooked the fact that Black’s 2nd move Q×N (or Q×g6) puts White’s King in check.
That being said, I still haven’t come up with a valid solution.
White to move and mate in 4.
Whew – this was a complicated one! Lots of variations.
A big problem – black wins if he can get his queen to g6 checking white. Mate by black then follows almost immediately so white has to work around that difficulty.
I think the following covers all the variations.
Hope the notation is helpful. Variations are marked with tags starting with “*” and each tag should have an associated “If”. For example: *A and later If *A.
I’ve probably messed something up so if you see a mistake or a missed variation please comment.
1) Qe6+ Kh8 or *A Kf8 or *E Bf7
2) Qf6+ Kg8 or *B Bg7
3) Ne7# mate in 3
If *B
2) Qf6+ Bg7
3) QxBg7# mate in 3
If *A
1) Qe6+ Kf8
2) Qf6+ Kg8 or *C Ke8 or *D Bf7
3) Ne7# mate in 3
If *C
2) Qf6+ Ke8
3) Qe7# mate in 3
If *D
2) Qf6+ Bf7
3) Qxf7# mate in 3
If *E
1) Qe6+ Bf7
2) Qxf7+ Kh8 forced
3) Qf6+ Kg8 or *F Bg7
4) Ne7# mate in 4
If *F
3) Qf6+ Bg7
4) Ne7# another mate in 4