Abbey-Roads2

It’s not a Catholic blog, nor is it a religious blog - rather it’s a photo blog from Paris with wonderful shots - it’s done by Eric and it is titled, “Paris Daily“.  Take for instance this ‘graffiti’ mural.  Now if only the taggers in our country were as creative - although I do like some of what I see locally, especially on train cars, as I’m waiting in traffic for a freight train to pass - but only when it’s done well.  Perhaps the graffiti artists in our country could work in pastels or chalk, and then surfaces wouldn’t be permanently damaged.

I love Paris - therefore I entered this blog in my blogroll.

The art of graffiti suggests to me that people crave art in their lives, that the cold, iconoclastic architecture of the 20th and 21st century is overwhelmingly sterile.  We think of graffiti artists as intruding upon our space, while it seems to me, the fascism of modern architecture has often been imposed upon us, creating a blank canvas upon which one desires to imprint one’s humanity.  (Or, in the case of our churches, something of the Divine and transcendent.)

What if really good graffiti artists broke into one of our auditorium style “worship spaces” and created beautiful, devotional murals across the spare interior walls?  (BUT - only if it was done as well as the above example.)  I think the end result would be far more effective than the tons of yardage of colorful fabrics the liturgical designers - in charge of  ”environment” - currently employ to enhance these so-called ”worship spaces” in contemporary Catholic churches. 

(Forgive me that I’m not very good at posting pictures on this blog - I have to figure out how to do it without pushing my sidebar to the bottom of the page.)

A few months ago I wrote about the complacency amongst many younger gay men as regards the transmission of HIV-AIDS.  A false sense of security seems to exist, that newly developed medications will keep the disease in check, giving the impression it is no longer the death sentence it once was.

On the other hand, there are some guys who just don’t care, or at best, cannot believe they could contract the virus.  “That only happens to other people.”

From the Seattle Times, there is disconcerting news concerning a new resistant strain of HIV, infecting gay men.  (If you were around in 1982 when news broke concerning the mysterious virus affecting gay men, this latest report sort of reminds me of that.) 

“Four men in King County have been diagnosed with a strain of HIV that is extremely hard to treat, and health officials are concerned it could spread further.

At least two types of HIV drugs don’t work against the strain, and another type has limited effectiveness, officials from Public Health — Seattle & King County said Thursday.

“It’s conceivable there can be more infections, and the gay community is at highest risk,” said Dr. Bob Wood, the HIV/AIDS program director for Public Health.

All the men were diagnosed with the strain as soon as they tested positive for the virus — unlike other HIV patients who develop drug resistance over time, often from taking medications inconsistently, Wood said. But there is no evidence the strain is rapidly spreading.

The four known cases were found over the course of more than a year. These were the only such cases reported in the state.”  Seattle Times

The report said all of the men carrying the virus are promiscuous gay men involved in multiple, anonymous sexual encounters, as well as meth users.