Honeyfire Abroad

Yesterday, April 23rd was Sant Jordi in Barcelona and across Catalunya. The holiday marks the saint's day of Sant Jordi, Saint George in English, patron saint of Catalunya, as well as International Book Day, so named for being Cervantes and Shakespeare's birthday.

It's far and away my favorite of the Catalan/Spanish holidays, probably because the way it's celebrated is unique to Catalunya. The city fills with roses and books as men exchange them among one another. The tradition has men receiving a book and women a flower, though many women insist receiving a book as well (I'll let you guess Roser's stand on this issue).

>> Sant Jordi Pictures

Looks like the end is finally here. For all those that doubted that the pendulum’s swing had already moved into dangerous, fundamentalist territory, I give you NBC's new mini-series: Revelations, a light-hearted take on the coming apocalypse. Just what a scared people need right smack dab in primetime. To add insult to injury, Revelations is pre-empting the West Wing or, as I like to call, ex-patriot wish fulfilment. How I long for the days when primetime was about being "master of your domain", Christian boycotters be damned. Or the scariest thing on television was watching Ben Seaver's sad descent into puberty.

Want to hear more about those living in a pastime paradise? Check out Frank Rich's excellent column on the "Culture of Death".