Padre Pio

One thing I forgot to mention yesterday; it was one of those rare days where I had little to do -- aside from watch glorious Duke victories -- so I got up early, hit the gym, and then off to some errands -- some groceries, a trip to the cemetery to see the parents, and, equally importantly, I went to Mary Queen of Peace parish to venerate the touring relics of Padre Pio.  The church is nice -- not St. Stan's nice, of course -- but plenty of nice features.  Very large -- surprisingly so; I didn't realize how much space there is inside.  Anyways, they had five relics of Padre Pio, including a bit of kerchief with his blood (from the Stigmata).  I tried to get a picture, but it was difficult -- they let you do it, but a steady of stream people (including me) were trying to venerate the relics, so I got a side shot, and that was...fine?  Funny; I took Communion to my friend on the West Side -- she met him!! -- and I was sure to show the pics to her.  I have been praying to him more and have been reading a bio... interesting.  

So, the CFP rankings were released and it seems that, as succinctly as possible, there has been hell to pay.  The big news is that two non-power conferences are in, Miami is in, and that Notre Dame is out... and in consequence, they are not going to a bowl game at all.  This seems a bit...extreme?  I would think they would want to play someone -- anyone -- and put the wood to them, but obviously not.  Similarly, wouldn't the players want to play, get the swag, etc.?  Duke is going to the Sun Bowl, which would be funnier had I not suggested in group chat that they would be going...to the Sun Bowl.

Trump’s Top Advisers Wage Campaign to Shift His Focus to High Prices - WSJ
This seems a good idea, even though in many ways stuff is going down -- eggs are cheaper (not 99 cents a dozen but close enough), gas is $2.65, and some prices are stabilizing.  But people are concerned.  Housing is an issue.  Going after industry concentration is a good thing, and I would like to see people going after companies with high margins and stock buybacks -- not a traditional GOP thing, but this is not the traditional GOP.  To be sure, with POTUS, you could see anything, but I would a populist type is the last man in line to speak to the guy...