The Trial of Sir Thomas More

Stephanie Mann quotes the transcript of the trial:

Sir, my Silence is no sign of any Malice in my Heart, which the King him­self must Own by my Conduct upon divers Occasions; neither doth it convince any Man of the Breach of the Law: for It is a Maxim amongst the Civilians and Canonists, Qui tacet consentire videtur, he that holds his peace; seems to give his Consent. And as to what you say, that no good Subject will refuse to give a direct Answer; I did really think it to be the Duty of every good Subject, except he be such a Subject as will be a bad Christian, rather to obey God than Man; to be more cautious to offend his Conscience, than of any thing else in the whole World ; especially if his Conscience be not the Occasion of same Sedition and great Injury to his Prince and Country : for I do here sincerely protest, that I never revealed it to any Man alive. . . .

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Ultimate Barbecue

On the Glorious Fourth.

Luckily, the old adage that simpler is better is especially apt when it comes to outdoor cooking. You can make a perfect barbecue by sticking to a few American classics. We culled five recipes from some of our favorite chefs, including racks of ribs from Australian chef Pete Evans, Elizabeth Karmel of Hill Country's crispy-skinned butterflied chickens and the warm wedges of cornbread that have done nothing to dent New York chef Marcus Samuelsson's reputation as a palate-pleaser.

Basic doesn't have to mean bland: The sweet-tart baby back ribs are given a double dose of rum and Coke, and that bird gets brushed with a glaze of lime-spiked watermelon. A potato salad is drenched with a creamy-beyond-compare blue cheese dressing, while a slaw gets a bright kick from a lemony herb dressing with mint, parsley and thyme. And let us not forget Mr. Samuelsson's polenta and fresh corn loaf. When served with a bit of honey and butter, it's practically all you'll need to end the meal.
—Rachel Wharton 

(See the recipes.)

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Monaco's Princely Wedding

I enjoyed watching the wedding of Prince Albert of Monaco to the former Miss Wittstock, now Princess Charlene. It was held in the palace rather than in the cathedral, for reasons of space. I was impressed by the serenity and recollection of the new princess during the nuptial mass. A recent Catholic convert, it is my impression that Princess Charlene has wholeheartedly embraced her new faith. The gown was simple but utterly exquisite; the prince had trouble keeping his eyes off of his bride during the ceremony. The first reading was from the Book of Tobias, about the wedding of Tobias and Sarah. Tobias, after a long search for a bride, finds his lady at last, and they pray together before consummating their union. (Tobias 8:4-10)

According to Hello! Magazine:

 The courtyard had been turned into an open-air cathedral, where Monseigneur Bernard Barsi, Archbishop of Monaco, was to conduct a Catholic wedding mass consecrating her marriage to the Monegasque sovereign.

With her head ever so slightly bowed, but with a composed smile on her face, the 33-year-old, who was raised thousands of miles away in a humble South African family, looked like she had been born to the role.

Watching her every step intently were the 3,500-strong congregation; plus 800 more celebrities, royals and family members who had been ushered into the inner courtyard.

And millions more – watching on TV screens and through the internet across the globe - witnessed her life-changing journey down the red carpet.

Before making their wedding vows the couple were asked to renew their baptismal vows. I have never seen that done before. May God bless them with many happy years! More commentary, HERE, from Mad for Monaco.

(Photos: HERE and HERE) Share

The Louis XVI Chair

Variations on a theme from The Foundary.

The history of the Louis XVI chair really begins with the Roman town of Herculaneum. Mount Vesuvius buried it under 20 meters of ash and debris for 1,700 years. Its excavation sparked a renewed interest in the classics and influenced the furnishings of the French court.

The Louis XVI style rejected the outmoded curves and cabriole legs of its predecessors and introduced distinctive straight legs, fluted to resemble Roman columns. This reinterpretation of antiquity defined the neoclassical movement.

Over 200 hundred years of history (and the cold-blooded efficiency of the guillotine) have democratized the pedigreed Louis XVI chair and made it a staple of interior design. (Read entire article.)

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At the Seaside

From Under the Gables:

It's summertime, and here we are at the seaside in 1892, painted by American impressionist painter and teacher, William Merritt Chase. Chase seems to particularly enjoy painting his family, which is likely the subject here, since he had a home in Shinnecock Hills on Long Island, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Chase had eight children.

In this work, he has captured the charm of being near the water in the midst of a stiff breeze--the umbrellas are protection against the wind, not the sun. Ladies traipse down to the beach from their houses with pillows, umbrellas, and children in tow. Children have the same preoccupations as today: digging around in the sand looking for whatever tiny critters, shells, pebbles, egg bags, seaweed, tiny seahorses, and other treasures they might find. They closely the observe the magic of burying and unburying, of hiding and seeking. Perhaps the families behind the umbrellas have brought food for picnicking. All appear unified by their class, pleasure, umbrellas, white apparel, and the red that Chase has splashed about on their clothes and accoutrements. (Read entire article.)

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The Evolution of a Restaurant

An unlikely success story from Food and Wine magazine.

Here's how a San Francisco couple powered by imagination and naïveté reconceived the restaurant experience, with Mission Chinese Food, then chronicled their success in a new cookbook, Mission Street Food.

 

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What Happened to Goodbye

Here is my BlogHer Book Club review of Sarah Dessen's novel What Happened to Goodbye about the travails of a teenager trying to survive her parents' divorce.

But in the real world, you couldn't really just split a family down the middle, mom on one side, dad the other, with the child divided equally between. It was like when you ripped a piece of paper into two: no matter how you tried, the seams never fit exactly right again. It was what you couldn't see, those tiniest of pieces, that were lost in the severing, and their absence kept everything from being complete.
— from Sarah Dessen's What Happened to Goodbye, p.165

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More Portraits Of Madame Royale

 The daughter of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, the heroine of my novel Madame Royale.

(Images from Vive la Reine, HERE, HERE and HERE.) Share

Herbal Remedies

Do they really work?

Many of us have a few herbs in our garden  -  or wilting in a pot on the kitchen windowsill  -  that we use to add flavour to a sauce or roast dinner, writes Jill Foster. But these inauspicious plants may have far more significant uses when it comes to pepping up our health. It is estimated £126million is spent on herbal medicine in Britain each year, and a poll in 2008 revealed that 35 per cent of Britons have tried shop-bought natural remedies. So could the answer to common illnesses be as simple as a trip to the supermarket? We spoke to Philip Weeks, an expert in natural medicine, about the everyday herbs with healing properties. (Read entire article.)

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