- It is estimated that about four-to-five Masses begin each second, and that there are approximately 8-to-9,000 Masses going on at any moment around the world.
- Mass today, 14th Sunday after Pentecost is for my benefactors. I am so grateful for you.
- I added a couple more people to the live stream list.
- I received a gift card the other day, but I don’t know who sent it. No slip.
- Update on my late mother’s affairs. I have a buyer for the car: Monday. I can again think about sending things that she made which some inquired about. Drop me a note. Time to put a roof on the house. Ugh.
I have become addicted to this fellow’s tweets.
This couldn’t be more perfect pic.twitter.com/FAToCaRIas
— MedievalistMatt (@medievalistmatt) August 30, 2026
Please remember me when shopping online and use my affiliate links. US HERE – WHY? This helps to pay for health insurance, utilities, groceries, and now also my late mother’s place. At no extra cost, you provide help for which I am grateful.
So – Biden takes office, and six months later Pope Francis wrote Traditionis Custodes. And a little over a year after that, this FBI memo gets drafted. That’s not suspicious at ALL! https://t.co/8R7Ewyo2fX pic.twitter.com/hkClhTPzao
— Lepanto Institute (@LepantoInst) August 30, 2026
This…
Shades on and batteries charging! ? ?
Roman’s Solar Array Sun Shield and Lower Instrument Sun Shade have successfully deployed, powering the observatory and shading its instruments! https://t.co/RAUgaDDx0Z pic.twitter.com/9LVHCElTT7
— Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (@NASARoman) August 30, 2026
Black to move and mate in 4.
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
UPDATE: I have to add this.
ABC’s Wide World of Sports ?? Saturday at 4:30 PM
There was nothing like hearing that legendary opening theme and Jim McKay’s voice:
“Spanning the globe…” ?From the thrill of victory to the agony of defeat, Saturday afternoons were made for sports!
Who remembers ?? pic.twitter.com/ZrPizVjUo4
— Music Jim ?? (@MusicJim2) August 29, 2026
1. Bf3 Qh3+
2. Kg1 Rxd1+
3. Bxd1 Re1+
4. Qf1 Qxf1++
edit – oh, didn’t see white bishop could block the queen.
in which case
1. Bf3 Qh3+
2. Bg2 Rd1++
Wide World of Sports
Nice!
Yesterday was the Little League World Series U,S, Championship. (ESPN)
Black to move and mate in 4
1. … Qh3+
2. Kg1 {or Bg2} Rxd1+
3. Bxd1 {or Qf1} Re1+
4. Qf1 {forced} Qxf1#
If
2. Bg2 Rxd1#
If
3. Qf1 Qxf1#
1. … Qh3+
2. Kg1 RxR+
3. BxR Re1+
4. Qf1 QxQ#
That is a French Book of Hours at the Morgan Library, containing the Hours of the Virgin and the Office of the Dead; and unfortunately they have mostly digitized only the picture pages.
Weird pictures in the margins are usually memory helpers that refer to the text, or to a pun connected with the text. For example, the armed creature “surfing” on the goose probably refers to Our Lady protecting us from the Enemy, which is in one of the Hours of the Virgin prayers used in Christmastide.
The goose/duck and the eggs probably have something to do with the two turtledoves of the Presentation sacrifice, or perhaps the Gospel about the Father giving us good gifts, and not a scorpion instead of an egg.
The “Egg Brothers” might be related to the Sirach reading used in the Christmastide Hours, about Wisdom being like cinnamon and like myrrh, leading up to “I am the mother of fair hope,” etc.
It could also relate to a passage about the King of Assyria in Isaiah, where he brags that he can gather all the earth like gathering eggs, and God retaliates by defeating him.
But yeah, usually it helps to have the text, in order to understand Art of Memory images relating to the text.
Interesting FBI report of traditional Catholics as a dangerous subversive group. It claims that their beliefs are “comparable to Islamists”. I guess I missed the traditional Catholics slaughtering Muslims in Africa, raping Muslim women in Europe, driving cars into crowds, etc., etc., etc.