In the age of Twitter, we are following black smoke?

[HipChick]

[hedgehog]

1. Not only that - but it's been at least 2minutes 32 seconds,

and no one has posted a Latest Breaking News thread!

[aristocles]

2. They can't twitter, Facebook, or email

All electronic communications are being blocked.

[NightWatcher]

15. That's cause they didn't want the cardinals texting their boyfriends

They've gotta focus on picking the next Infallible One.

[BlueStreak]

3. These are people who believe in talking snakes and transubstantiation

They haven't made it to the 12th century yet. What is this Twitter noise? Telegraphs are still 800 years away for them.

And we are paying attention these Luddites, why?

[DJ13]

4. Ever watch Lost?

You dont fight the black smoke.

[donco]

5. Smoke signals

[B2G]

6. I think traditions are beautiful

I'm not Catholic but a lot of our members are.

I don't get your post.

[NV Whino]

7. Okay, I have to rec this.

[onenote]

8. Yes, and we still start football games by fllipping an actual coin

and we swear in Presidents on a real bible, not a iPAD, and Native American still hold ritual ceremonies similar to those held by their ancestors, and on and on and on.

So what?

[A HERETIC I AM]

17. Luckily, the new head of the CIA bucked that trend.....

And swore in with his hand on the Constitution;

[BlueStreak]

19. That is the most encouraging thing I have heard about Tenet

I don't give a damn how he feels about the Bible, but he'd better uphold the Constitution.

We should make that change for ALL elected officials.

[randome]

9. I'm curious what they use for combustible material.

Wood? Witches? Blasphemous books?

[kudzu22]

11. The ballots from the vote

[B2G]

13. Dyes

Originally, damp straw was added to the fire to create dark smoke; beginning in 1963 coloring chemicals have been added, and beginning in 2005 bells ring after a successful election, to augment the white smoke, and especially if the white smoke is not unambiguously white.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_conclave#Conclaves

[BlueStreak]

20. So they are upgrading to modern technology after all.

Of course, they could simply pick up the phone and say, "We're done."

[snooper2]

34. They are actually using an old slant six with a blown head gasket...

They just dump some water back in the radiator to change the smoke from black to white

[HappyMe]

24. Smart phones.

[cthulu2016]

10. 'Cause nothing would convey the grandeur of the moment like a tweet

[CTyankee]

32. Of course! This is theatre,pure and simple. The Church has been doing this FOREVER!

Everybody should read up on the Counter Reformation when things got REALLY gussied up!

[WilliamPitt]

12. Ermahgerd, smerk

[B2G]

14. Stellar contribution

[WilliamPitt]

21. Ermahgerd

I'm ashermed.

[B2G]

25. Grow up

[WilliamPitt]

29. Ermahgerd

Ner.

[Lint Head]

16. The powerful rule the world with a Dark Age to Medieval aged mentality.

It's called controlling thought. We must live by the rules of the Uber powerful. If not, we are considered abnormal and either chastised, marginalized or jailed. Looking at a puff of smoke is like waiting for the Sun to come up because the gods have delivered the populace from the darkness. In popular culture the good guy wears the white hat and the bad guy the black hat. The Evil One lives in the darkness and the Good One lives in the light. Evil people are also depicted by having some stereotypical look or deformity. Good versus bad. White versus black. This controlling concept has spilled over into racism throughout time.

Why not just have some official looking person come out on a balcony and make an announcement? Rituals can be good but most are a waste used as a controlling factor.

[onenote]

30. "Rituals can be good"

but apparently only the ones that you like.

I suspect you have put more thought into coming up with a reason why the Catholic Church follows a hundreds year old tradition for announcing a new Pope than the church has.

[Lint Head]

35. Rituals can be good. Not the smoke. But, when a person dies people must grieve and let go.

Last edited Tue Mar 12, 2013, 09:58 PM - Edit history (1)

The ritual of saying goodbye to a loved one, be it scattering ashes, memorializing them or just a remembrance can be therapeutic.

[The Straight Story]

18. At least the cardinals don't use electronic voting machines like we do (nt)

[BlueStreak]

23. Pope George W. Bush, henceforth to be ddressed as Pope Hammered II

I hope he can uphold the tradition of Pope Hammered I

As long as we're talking traditions, what is it with these stage names for the popes? Can the Cardinals take on a stage name too?

[One_Life_To_Give]

22. Sometimes we take horse drawn carriages

Just because we have a technology doesn't mean it isn't nice to occasionally do things the old ways.

[Renew Deal]

27. In some cases, the old ways are necessary

There isn't a more destructive way to dispose of paper than fire.

[Renew Deal]

26. It's better than burning computers

[Iggo]

28. What you mean "we", kimosabe?

[Lex]

31. I follow their black smoke as much as I do their rules about birth control, women's rights

and just about everything else.

[HipChick]

33. Polluting the enviroment? For what?

When they could pick up the phone?