Antiquitopia

Evidently an Italian priest, Antonio Rungi, wants to break general negative stereotypes of nuns (as elderly, stiff, ruler-holding women) by holding a beauty pageant only open to nuns. It seems he wants to promote a Sofia Loren vision of nuns. It is an online competition, but he hopes that in the future it will be run like other beauty competitions, in person. According to the Times (that's the one in London), The contestants must be aged between 18 and 40, and can be either full members of an order or novices. Father Rungi said that he expected many who applied to be young, attractive — and non-Italian. He said: “Do you really think nuns are all wizened, funereal old ladies? Today it’s not like that any more, thanks to an injection of youth and vitality brought to our country by foreign girls.” He said there were nuns from Africa and Latin America who were “really very, very pretty. The Brazilian girls above all.” See the full article here . Is this attempt to balance inner, spi...

After my last post, I just could not help but quote the incantation against the Evil Eye, something feared throughout the ancient Mediterranean and ancient near east--Tolkien's Eye of Sauron seems to rely upon some of these characteristics, particularly the first line: The Eye goes, yea it runs; It has seen its brother, that he is good. Its brother, that he is lovely; It has begun to devour his flesh without a knife. To drink his blood without a cup; It is the eye of a BTY-man that has seen him [the brother], The eye of a BTY-woman that has seen him, The eye of a price-setter, The eye of an assembler, The eye of a gate-keeper. The eye of a gate-keeper, to the gate-keeper let it return! The eye of the assembler, to the assembler let it return! The eye of the price-setter, to the price-setter let it return! They eye of the BTY-man, to the BTY-man let it return! The eye of the BTY-woman, to the BTY-woman let it return! RS 22.225, Trans. Dennis Pardee This text is rather well put toget...