It seems to have been a fairly quiet week for the news media. Although there have been a couple of interesting bit pieces that have caught my eye and raised my eyebrows a bit.

The Vatican is yet again making a small spectacle of itself. In Chicago, a Jesuit priest made headlines when he allowed a woman priest to do mass, recently. Two small problems with this. First, its a terrible shame that the Pope and the Vatican both have not come full circle with the women's rights movement (do not even get me started on abortion or birth control). Earlier this year the Pope backed up the Vatican policy of not allowing women to join the priesthood. EXPLAIN to me how this works for them: is it solely a boys club? The Methodist church has jumped on the female rights bandwagon and I have known some wonderful female pastors. In fact, all three of my kids were baptized by female pastors. It works. Women have a certain amount of compassion that the average male (no offense) cannot have. We are natural caregivers.

Second, he was a Jesuit. In laymen terms, that means he believes in the churches teachings and supports the churches teachings but he is also a priest that understands that the times, they are a'changin' and that there needs to be progress. They are taught to honor what the church believes despite knowing that it may not be wholly true.

Isn't that a little hypocritical?

So the priest got himself into trouble.

This little tidbit needs to be followed up by the amazing progress that Washington state has made in the last 24 hours in the human rights and freedoms movement. As of midnight, marijuana and gay marriage are both legal. I support both although do not practice either. I think there is a reason for this in that state. After the Haight-Ashbury movement in the sixties, the hippies tootled their way up the coast to Canada to avoid the draft. After the war, they settled back into Washington and Oregon and began a very clean green living movement. I think this was a way to bring back those beliefs of that time period. All I can say is "Right on brothers and sisters, maybe the rest of the country can learn from your lifestyles."

Taking a little trip across the big pond, lets cover the topic of the impending royal baby that the Duchess is expecting. I am happy for them but concerned for their well being. As any parent knows, it is tough enough walking through the grocery store with your toddler pulling his socks off and random strangers telling you how bad you are parenting because you "happen to be tired of putting the dang things back on his feet because by the time you make it to checkout he will have pulled them off thirty more times and you will have forgotten half the grocery list and one sock will be missing...again."

Imagine the eyes they will have on them as they parent.

The Duchess is already experiencing the turmoil of morning sickness and the public eye. I am fairly certain that when that point comes that she has swollen ankles and hemorrhoids, she is going to grow to hate the world. And I feel bad for her.

And last but not least, lets cover the food world. The last time I checked, it was trending chefs that really gave push to what we eat today, tomorrow, and next week. It takes a couple of years for a food trend to actually catch on but eventually it does. Apparently McCormick has decided they own the rights to choosing what the American public will find trendy now days. On their list is Dukkah (a middle eastern spice blend that, mixed with hummus or yogurt or whatever, makes a great spread for naan), along with cajeta ( a caramel type substance) and catsu (similar to catsup but used in Japanese cuisine). The only one that I truly see taking off is cajeta and thats because it has a Spanish influence. I see Dukkah being the least favorite. I do not see people bringing crackers and Dukkah to the PTA meeting or offering them as part of their appetizer nibbles at the block party. In order for this to take off, some chef is going to have to find the target niche and really push it. Even then I do not see the American palate embracing it.

In the grand scheme of things, maybe the whole world is changing how they feel about the life we have come to know. Maybe religion is on the cusp of changing, just as our food tastes change. And who is to say that someday, Washington isn't going to be the hot destination spot for weddings where you can be married by a female priest to your gay partner of ten years and celebrate by passing the one hitter and noshing on naan smeared with Dukkah. It could happen you know.