He REALLY isn’t the Maitreya you’re looking for

Greetings.

Jewish date:  9 Nisan 5770 (Parashath Ṣaw).

Today’s holidays:  Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent (Roman Catholicism), Feast of Priapas (Thelema), Student Day (Scientology).

NOTE:  Yesterday I created an iCal calendar for Scientology holidays.  iCal calendars for holidays of religions I am not currently tracking would be appreciated.

Worthy causes of the day:  “Take Action: No stolen elections in Sudan | Save Darfur” and “ColorOfChange.org:  Tell the GOP: Stop inciting and supporting hate”.

Questionably worthy cause of the day:  “A Ticket For Rush!”.  (Submitted by Barry.)  Apparently Rush Limbaugh said on the air that if health care reform passed, he would go to Costa Rica.  This site is trying to raise money for his ticket.  While I would not be saddened by Limbaugh leaving the United States, I do not wish to inflict him on another country.

Topic 1:  Yesterday I posted on how Share International thought that author/activist Raj Patel is Maitreya, a Mashiaḥ/Messiah-like figure.  Someone calling himself “Dave” left a comment on that post denying that Share International actually thinks that Patel is Maitreya, claiming that it is all just a rumor started by Christian fundamentalists.  A bit of searching revealed that Share International makes no mention of Patel at all on their Web-site, and I wrote to Share International for further confirmation.  This is what they wrote back:

Thanks for visiting the Share International website and for your query.

A pity the media doesn't check the validity of these 'facts' as well, before
publishing. But, yes, the "Patel is Maitreya" claim is indeed "only a
spurious rumor".

Why Christian fundamentalists (or anyone else) would start such a rumor or why anyone is bugging Patel, I do not know.  Maybe someone got annoyed at both Share International and Patel and decided to be mischievous towards both.  But the moral of the story is not to blindly trust everything in the news.

Topic 2:  “Super-sizing the "Last Supper"”:  Just something curious reported recently.  Apparently the portion sizes in paintings of the Last Supper have increased over time.

Topic 3:  I had long heard of a strange claim popularly mocked that if one were photographed one’s soul would be stolen in the process.  Only recently did I learn who actually believed it:  Crazy Horse (of the Battle of Little Bighorn fame).  He apparently took this belief seriously enough that there are no known photographs of him in existence.

Topic 4:  For today’s religious humor:  “Happy Passover LOLCat Graphic”:



Yes, that is a scarf the cat is wearing, not a ṭallith.

Peace.

Aaron