Operation AXIOM

I had a reasonably effective April Fools' Day, with my FaceSpace pranks paying dividends. My grand plans for The Secret Base were scuttled by a lack of time & a lack of forethought, but there's always next year. For the second year in a row, I changed by FaceSpace profile photo to an archival shot of me before my whiskers (well, before most of my whiskers, since I did sport an imperial, or "soul patch," in those days) & for the second year in a row some bought the ruse hook, line, & sinker. Last year, the principal victim was Nick Andopolis, drummer for The Loose Ties; this year, my mother allowed her good sense to be snookered by her disdain for my whiskers. (For the record, she hates my tattoos, too, & wishes I'd let my hair grow.) I also changed the banner image across the top of my FaceSpace page to the "O" of President Obama's two campaigns & posted some vague drivel about reevaluating my opinions on socioeconomic & geopolitical issues. This pranks snared some, but also brought out a number of knowing winks from those who sniffed subterfuge. All in all, I'm pleased.

How was your April Fools' Day, treasured readers? Regale me with tales of pranks who pulled on others or others' pranks for which you fell. April Fools!



Urbi et Orbi
Through the end of the first quarter, I've attended Mass nineteen times, averaging just over six Masses per month through the first three months of Anno Domini 2014. Were that pace to be sustained, which it shan't be, I'd attend Mass seventy-six times in '14, shattering '13's record of sixty-three Masses. More importantly, I've yet to miss a Sunday, which is this year's central attendance goal. Onward & upward.