Watched the final episode of UGLY BETTY and now, having been left dangling on that precipitous cliff, will have to wait for the third series. It really has been an award winning rewarding series, only a couple of episodes I found just a little iffy (the paint ball episode for example) but considering the hours of television involved in the two series that really is some going.
So His Holiness has been opening his mouth and putting his foot in it yet again. He has informed the faithful that homosexuality is not a sin but a homosexual act is. Hey hey hey, come on, guy, talk about having your cake and eating it! And the reason he is against it is because he’s worried about the possible extinction of the human race. What? With the population multiplying at the rate it does year by year? It’s as illogical as the emperor Justinian banning it because he believed it causes earthquakes. If the Pope is that worried that not enough heterosexual hanky panky is going on in the world perhaps he would consider lifting the ban on priestly celibacy so that more breeders can be added to the list, though he would have to have a declaration from the members of the clergy that they are hetero inclined and not in his view sinful as, judging by the recent scandals in the church, many of them are. And why not? They are probably better priests for it, so long of course as they do not actually indulge in any homosexual act but keep it well bottled up. Strange how sex for some people is the be all and end all of what they consider to be sin. Queers are bashed and murdered because god hates fags, so what? Which is the greater sin? The sexual act or the murder? There is absolutely no logic in old Popie boy’s thinking. With the advancement of science, in particular medicine, and with the human population breeding like rabbits, (the heterosexual part, though even some gays have been known to hop over the fence in the right circumstances, and vice versa I may add), if he’s worried about the rain forest and the destruction of the planet’s resources then maybe he should think seriously about lifting the ban on contraception. I wonder if god (I refuse to capitalise it) realised when he ordered “go forth and multiply” needing no prompting, just how successful the human race would be. Even with the terrible massacres that marked the twentieth century the population, Popie, still explodes to use up those world resources at an ever faster and faster rate and as long as there is sperm available, men to actually do the dirty sinful (out of marriage) deed are simply not necessary. Has he never heard of artificial insemination? In vitro fertilisation? And, to really put the latter mockers on it, cloning?
No, the only reason the old guy is frowning, wrinkling his nose, and clucking like an old hen whose feathers have been ruffled is because he just finds the whole subject distasteful. It has absolutely nothing to do with saving the human race or any other part of his god’s creation. Happy Christmas, Popie. Stop worrying, fella. It’s not going to go away so just accept it.
PS: In UGLY BETTY we have two gay guys and one transsexual permanent members of the cast and others come and go. I wonder how that goes down in America’s Bible Belt, Fundamentalists being even more frothing at the mouth than the Pope whose remarks, when you come to think of it, maybe ridiculous but are fairly mild in comparison.

After my two days in warmth and sunshine and in a summer shirt, hacking my way through the jungle known as the garden, today gave us the first indication of a coming Cretan winter; sky heavily overcast, leaden grey, thunder rolling ominously in the distance behind the mountains and a fair amount of rain to please the olive farmers. Although we lit the zompa in the saloni last night so we could watch “Ugly Betty” in comfort today was also the first day to don that extra garment for warmth and the cats very wisely have stayed in all day, even though the clouds dispersed around lunchtime. A clear sky means it will be colder tonight so time also to turn on the central heating. We’ve delayed up to now because of the price of heating oil though the tank is still almost half full from last winter, more than I thought when checked out and, if we delay too long, the house will get damp. In the old days, not all that long ago, before central heating, if a Cretan was cold he/she merely added layers of clothing (didn’t an English politician recently advise the hard-up to put on another sweater?) and the damp was ignored.
I’m beginning to grow just a little bit bored (wrong word – weary?) with this novel, mainly because I need to do a lot of research and Google just isn’t coming up with the answers I want, or I’m not asking the questions in the right way. Think I might give it a rest for a couple of days and then come back to it hopefully refreshed. Why is it proving so difficult when I am basing it on a previous finished work anyway so it’s not as if I am in unknown territory? It is definitely true – the hardest writing means the easiest reading – I hope. Which would seem to be the case with “Ugly Betty,” not exactly a masterpiece, whatever the definition of a masterpiece might be, but most enjoyable watchable well plotted television as opposed to so much crap that’s put out. I still can’t, despite my state of the art highly expensive hearing aid, understand a quarter of what the youngsters say but I guess for the rest of my days I might as well accept the fact that young actors no longer know how to speak. It’s a pity though to miss the gags. Chris says it’s a matter of balance of the sound so it’s the original sound mix which is to blame. I’m not too sure I agree with him as the older actors are perfectly understandable.
The Adobe software programme has been ordered and eagerly awaited!