Sunday Link Love

The good:
I have long had a fascination with anything Hawaiian, and although Hansen's Disease is most certainly not of Hawaiian origin, what happened on Molokai is both mind-bendingly horrifying and intriguing.
My favorite books are a combination of books; for me the read was nearly a life-changing event.
'Molokai'; fictional characters and story in a historically accurate setting, beautifully written by Allan Brennert. After reading Molokai, I then read, 'The Colony', written by John Tayman; a non-fiction piece spanning a century of historical documentation and following the stories of the residents of Kalaupapa.

I am very happy to report that Father Damien de Veuster will be canonized by the Catholic Church on October 11, 2009, becoming Saint Damien.

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The Bad:
Speaking of large families with public notoriety (and no I am not talking about Octomom), I clicked on this video yesterday. You know - it says 'gift of song' and I am a music teacher, if not full of cynicism I can appreciate a good gift of song along with the best of them.
But this clip just made me squirmingly uncomfortable.
The small dark children are obviously being forced to sit there, feign cheerfulness (fail), and endure the impromptu Sunday school concert by the shining white faces.
And it makes me wonder about the producers....what were they thinking? The kids just do whatever the glory of their dad tells them to do, but the producers had a choice here to air it or cut it.
Wow.

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The Ugly:
I don't write too much about political issues on this blog; not because I don't have very strong opinions, but because there are far more eloquent bloggers on these topics and I do not wish to embarrass myself with the repetition of my favorite superlatives and the use of inappropriate language which I resort to far too often when the subject arises.

But I think it's safe to say that you understand what I am talking about when I express my extreme frustration about the misuse of funds in a corporate world - a very special fantasy world in which bankers and CEOs are rewarded for there mere existence with very special money which has been reserved for very special them - as the economy crumbles around us and most of the humans serfs are scraping by and trying to eek out an existence in a bleak future.
Our president is sick of it as well.
At least one third of my friends are out of work.
Which is why I cannot stomach the deluded news that Morgan Stanley and Citigroup will be paying out THREE BILLION dollars to their brokers, just to stay on. Oh hey - your salary isn't enough to stay here and work? No problem, we will give you money just to pledge your faith in us - because we wouldn't want to stir up an investor scare, now would we?
You know, the motivation behind this just brings to mind what Michele Bachman complained about last week, and perhaps what we should all really be focusing on here, the real problem: "we're running out of rich people in this country."