Just when you think it can't get worse . . .

It gets worse.

(Here's contact info for Paramount. Lord knows if it'll do any good to contact them, but it's better than doing nothing.)

More on 'Joan'

From creator Barbara Hall:

"I wanted to do a show about a girl warrior. It's based on the life of the actual Joan of Arc. God didn't ask her to do anything simple. He asked her to get an army together and go to war. That's why she's my favorite saint, because that sounds so un-godlike. We all have a hard time dealing with that particular God. Even Joan of Arc had trouble dealing with it. It was a violent calling.

"One of the commandments of this show is that evil exists, and that's why we're not Buddhists. It isn't just in how you look at it, not in my world."

Again, if you haven't yet contacted CBS about saving this show, make sure you do.

A Protestant on the new pope

He may be a non-Catholic (heck, so am I), but still, Lileks nails it.

"The selection of Ratzinger was initially heartening, simply because he made the right people apoplectic. 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."

Nice guys finish first

I've been a bad and neglectful blogger lately. But I'm coming out of hibernation to celeberate the fact that Gilead won this year's Pulitzer Prize for fiction. It's the story of a truly good man -- my favorite kind of story. (Not to be accused of sexism, I'll add that stories of truly good women are also high on the list. :-) ) And it's written by a devout Christian, which helps explain the assumption that goodness does exist and is something worth striving for. Highly recommended.

So, a living will solves everything?

Yeah, right.

Don't let this one get away

Please take a moment tonight and contact CBS (just scroll down to "Feedback") to ask them to renew Joan of Arcadia. My mom and I love this show -- one of the few that actually explores issues and relationships with real depth, heart, and humor, and acknowledges that the divine just might have a role to play in our world. In particular, they've brought a refreshingly mature attitude (and I mean really mature, not "mature" as in supposedly "mature films") to the subject of teen sexuality. Not easy to do, as anyone could testify who's witnessed Smallville's remarkably ham-handed approach to the topic this season (and I say that as one who loves Smallville). Too many good shows get canceled early -- let's see if we can help this one survive.

Speaking of my mother, I was going through some old posts the other day and noticed that I completely forgot to mention her birthday, which was the same month as my sister's. (I did celebrate it with her, I just forgot to blog about it!) A very belated but very sincere "happy birthday" to The Blog Mom.