[Sun]

"I am on the committee for the SOlemn Mass of Our Lady of Guadalupe which will be held this evening at our large Midwestern church. We will have flags of the Americas, children dressed in native costumes, a procession, and a dinner. I have been over helping decorate the church.
Most of the people on the committee are not Hispanic, but Anglo. A lot of people don't know that she is the patroness of ALL of the Americas."

I am proud to have "met" you.

For a few years my husband got our priest to have a Holy Eucharist adoration from 9 p.m. on Dec. 8 to 1 a.m. on Dec. 9 for preborn babies.

[Ciexyz]

I saw the film "Apocalypto" over the weekend and I would highly recommend it for viewing. I even saw some parents taking their older children to see this "R"-rated film. Let me say that the violence is not excessive for the subject matter and is all part of the plot. In fact, Mel pulled his punches on several occasions (I don't want to spoil anyone by giving details). The violence is more like something you'd see in "Conan the Barbarian" or the "Xena" TV show. There's human sacrifice, but it's part of the plot. This is NOT "Rambo in the jungle", it carries deeper connotations.

It was pretty clear to me that this film is a metaphor for a decayed and dying USA which is rotting from within because it kills its children. Mel opens the film with the printed statement, No civilization is ever conquered from without unless it first decays from within" (something to that effect). This film also could be seen as a metaphor for a nation under attack by terroristic outside forces, and the only way to save ourselves is to be strong, as strong as we can be, because only we ourselves can protect our own family.

The characters are very appealing. Respect is shown to aged men and women. Even the villains, vile as they are, are portrayed with a degree of humanity.

Mel has included "religious" themed comments. When the captive Indians are marched away from their village, the youngest children are left behind as unneeded, left to fend for themselves. A woman captive looks back and prays aloud, apparently to their goddess, "Blessed Mother Ochotl, look after them and protect them."

In another scene, the bad guys begin to figure out that a lot of bad luck is coming their way because they've been hurting the hero, a young man named "Jaquar", and one prays to their god, "Father, forgive us for our trespasses against your holy son Jaguar".

This film is a story about a man trying to protect his family. It's very watchable. I had no problem at all following the subtitles.

My only criticism was an unnecessary use of the "f" word in the subtitles, in a phrase "he's f---ed" meaning "his goose is cooked". It got a cheap laugh and I guess Mel did it for his male audience.