Pope Benedict XVI - I'm excited. I saw an extended interview with Cardinal Ratzinger last year on EWTN's The World Over and have been an advocate ever since. Some ultra-modernists call him a Rottweiler. I prefer to consider him "Papa Ratzi" (get it? I'm sure he's being surrounded by paparazzi these days) I was at work when the news came out, but was able to watch the event later as the ceremony preempted TiVo's usual recording of The Cosby Show (recorded for Claire).
The news media thrives on controversy. I consider it part of their template for how to present a story. Even if it's from a small minority, it'll generate news. I expect over the next week we'll see plenty of stories from certain sectors bemoaning how the Church won't significantly change under our new Pope's leadership. The usual topics will come up: abortion, contraception, gay marriage, divorce, married priests, women priests, etc. He will be portrayed as a hardliner because he isn't making the Catholic Church more ... well ... Anglican. You'll note that people aren't converting to Anglican denominations in droves and their positions on these issues are more in line with what the ultra-modernists envision.
Sometimes I'm not sure which is more interesting: the news or watching the media's portrayal of it. My favorite commentary about the news media coverage came from James Lileks:
I’m still astonished that some can see a conservative elevated to the papacy and think: a man of tradition? As Pope? How could this be? As if there this was some golden moment that would usher in the age of married priests who shuttle between blessing third-trimester abortions and giving last rites to someone who’s about to have the chemical pillow put over his face. At the risk of sounding sacreligious: it’s the Catholic Church, for Christ’s sake! You’re not going to get someone who wants to strip off all the Baroque ornamentation of St. Peter’s and replace them with IKEA wine racks, okay?
Visit - I left work early yesterday to take mom, Alyssa, William, and Kyle to the airport. We so enjoyed the visit over these past few days -- the company, the nice weather, celebrating Abby's birthday.
Furniture - When I returned from the airport, I stayed with the kids while Michelle drove to Spice Island Furniture. She picked up a piece of furniture she had noticed earlier that day. I don't know how to describe it. It's not an entertainment center, but our newest TiVo and TV are now sitting atop it, away from prying little hands. I should mention that we exchanged the TV last weekend. The (unheard of brand) Funai model we bought had problems with powering on, so a I went with a better known brand: a Sharp. Same feature set overall, a little more money, but everything "just worked" out of the box.