Thanks to John Bambenek for giving me one of his spare monitors so I can be back in business.
Lots of links accumulated since my computer woes began, so I'll just put them up here.
From a couple of weeks ago: Zenit interviews Fr. Richard John Neuhaus about the Pope.
Where IVF is taking us
The Denver Post reports that a Danish sperm bank is selling donor sperm in New York, marketing them as "Viking babies." Although the article mentions the eugenic implications, nobody seems terribly bothered by the notion.
"They are just so damn cute," he said.
I seem to remember another guy who was enamored with blond hair and blue eyes and pushed eugenics... now who was that?
The BBC reports that scientists are currently researching new birth control pills that will specifically target already conceived children by making it impossible for them to implant. All birth control pills already do this, but they are trying to focus on this specific form of preventing pregnancy because of the many health risks that come from screwing with a woman's body. The artile refers to is as a birth control pill, but make no mistake, this will be nothing other than an abortion pill.
"A Special Kind of Journalism"
Sandro Magister analyses the Vatican's media arms and the journalists who cover the Vatican. Absolutely fascinating in an info-geek sort of way.
Friend and reader Rob emailed with this piece on the Cubs from a Sports Illustrated blog: The Magic of Lowered Expectations.
So, I am taking this chance to thank the Cubs who have given me the slightest glimmer of hope recently, because I am sure that I will soon return to my angry ways when the Cubs get swept by Toronto and the Red Sox (see, never think positive)...
Rusch, Rusch to the rescue: I would like to kiss Jim Hendry on the forehead for re-signing Mr. Rusch. During the preseason Rusch was slated for long relief, and possible fill-in starter. Joe Borowski was hit in the hand with a liner during preseason, knocking him out of the closers role. LaTroy Hawkins stepped in and bombed, leaving Ryan Dempster to move to the pen. Enter Rusch.
More pressure was heaped on the lefty when Wood went down because of his "violent mechanics" and then Prior returned to the DL. So how has Rusch done as a fill in? He leads the team with five wins (5-1 overall) and a 1.96 ERA. So with $13 million worth of pitching on the bench (Wood: $9.5, Prior: $3.5) this $2 million guy is getting it done.
Jeromy Burnitz: I set the bar pretty low for him. All I wanted out of right field was a better performance than Sosa would give in Baltimore and thus far Burnitz has achieved that. He betters Sosa in average by 20 points, doubles his RBIs (Burnitz: 34, Sosa: 17), and has more homers. Burnitz also has managed to stay healthy thus far, and not sneezed hard enough to land on the DL. Well done!
I added those last three paragraphs because they mirror pretty closely what I said here and here.
Gotta get to work... more tomorrow.
