Quote of the Week - Sinead O'Connor

The last two paragraphs in a March 28 column in the Washington Post written by Sinead O'Connor about the (criminal) child molestation scandal currently facing the Church and the Pope.

"Almost 18 years ago, I tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II on an episode of "Saturday Night Live." Many people did not understand the protest -- the next week, the show's guest host, actor Joe Pesci, commented that, had he been there, "I would have gave her such a smack." I knew my action would cause trouble, but I wanted to force a conversation where there was a need for one; that is part of being an artist. All I regretted was that people assumed I didn't believe in God. That's not the case at all. I'm Catholic by birth and culture and would be the first at the church door if the Vatican offered sincere reconciliation.

As Ireland withstands Rome's offensive apology while an Irish bishop resigns, I ask Americans to understand why an Irish Catholic woman who survived child abuse would want to rip up the pope's picture. And whether Irish Catholics, because we daren't say "we deserve better," should be treated as though we deserve less."

Sinead O'Connor, a musician and mother of four, lives in Dublin.

Quote of The Week

Rough Fractals will be going acoustic for 2 - 3 weeks - still playing but unplugged. One of the principals is finalizing a thesis, the other finalizing a movie and the other pretending to work for a few weeks in Guatemala where he will not have ready access to his computer. Accordingly, the posts will be lite.

We wish all the Rough Fractals mishbrucha a happy Pesach. If you find any sub prime afikomen that you want to remove from your balance sheet - we suggest you sell it back to your Seder leader under the same loan terms as being offered under the Geithner plan. "Leverage the Matzoh!" If we can collectively accumulate enough afikomen we can start a hedge fund and sell matzoh brie particpations to the public. The no-load fund is served with applesauce - for a slight fee you can have sour cream. Just remember FASB has changed the rules - it's no longer "mark to market" for this night it's "mark to matzoh".

Speaking of Passover, it is sort of wierd to wonder what Bernie Madoff is doing this year? Do they serve unleavened bread in jail? Ending the Seder with "next year in Jerusalem" while facing life in prison does not make much sense. Ironic (?) that tonight most Jews celebrate hard and long sought freedom while Madoff contemplates his own opposite. Not that anyone will be asking at his prison Seder (if there is one?), but the four questions should be easy for him - Manish tana halilah hazeh - Why is this night different from all others?

So -- Rough Fractals is signing off for a bit (except for the maybe few posts that may show up over then next few weeks) and leaves you with the following quote from David Foster Wallace:

"... our endless and impossible journey toward home is in fact our home ... imagine [Kafka's] art as a kind of door. To envision us readers coming up and pounding on this door, pounding and pounding, not just wanting admission but needing it, we don't know what it is but we can feel it, this total desperation to enter, pounding and pushing and kicking, etc. That, finally, the door opens ... and it opens outward: we've been inside what we wanted all along."

Dayanou!

Quote of The Every Other Day

There is so much smart stuff around that maybe we will be able to change our quote of the week to a quote of the every other day. Here is today's:

"...Life is a motherfucker; living it anyway, and sometimes laughing in the process, is where humanity is won."

from an essay by Jerald Walker entitled "Dragon Slayers" published in 2007 in the Iowa Review. "Dragon Slayers" is from Notes from the Promised Land, an in progress collection of essays on being a black academic. Mr. Walker is an assistant professor of English at Bridgewater State University in Bridgewater, MA.
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Quote Of The Week

Rough Fractals is introducing a "Quote of The Week" section. This week's quote is from author, David Foster Wallace:

""The people who most interest me now are people who are older and people who have been through a sort of mid life crisis. They tend to get weird because the normal incentives for getting out of bed don't tend to apply anymore. I have not found any satisfactory new ones yet."