In Pursuit of Mysteries

A Japanese Vacation

My wife and I are planning out our next vacation, at least loosely. This probably won’t occur until sometime in Fall but we try to take a trip together every year.

Last Fall, we went on a short trip to Mexico to see the ruins in the Yucatan and sit on a beach. The year before, we went to Thailand for a couple of weeks.

For this coming year, we’re planning on going to Japan. I’ve always wanted to see it, having grown up with a mother that was a bit of a Nipponophile and watching Kurosawa films. There are a few places that I know that I want to go, such as some of the famous temple sites near Kyoto but I’m pretty open beyond that.

If anyone has any suggestions, especially for someone with a connection to Japanese Buddhism, please feel free to let me know. I’d love to know what people have really enjoyed in visiting Japan.

The Beard Made Him Do It!

I guess that I found out what John Michael Greer has been up to lately. (That is humor for the inept…but they have the same beard!)

Priest jailed for exorcism death

A Romanian priest has been jailed for 14 years for conducting an exorcism that led to the death of a nun who he believed was possessed by devils.

Irina Cornici, 23, died after being starved and chained to a cross at a secluded convent in the north-east.

The ritual in 2005 was led by Daniel Petru Corogeanu, 31, the priest at the Holy Trinity convent in Tanacu village.

He and four nuns were convicted of manslaughter. The nuns got jail terms ranging from five to eight years.

Nicoleta Arcalianu got eight years, while Adina Cepraga, Elena Otel and Simona Bardana were given five-year sentences.

All the defendants plan to appeal against the verdict in a case which has shocked Romania.

The Orthodox Church, which described the Tanacu incident as “abominable”, has promised reforms, including psychological tests for those seeking to enter monasteries.

It banned Corogeanu from the priesthood and excommunicated the four nuns.

In 1999, when the Vatican issued its first new guidelines since 1614 for driving out devils, it urged priests to take modern psychiatry into account in deciding who should be exorcised.

After hearing the sentence, Corogeanu said: “We will appeal and hope that it will succeed. We didn’t expect this sentence, but this is the judge’s decision. We will pray to God for help.”

Dozens of Corogeanu’s supporters packed the courtroom and several burst into tears when the verdict was announced, AP news agency reported.

Comments by Warren Ellis available as well…

Takei Has Class and Just Pwned You!

Words fail me at the brilliance displayed by George Takei here.