Drumming Up Business

A new restaurant has opened near our school.  Its first day of business was Wednesday.  I came to school, that morning, and saw ten women, at the restaurant entrance, banging some big drums and clanging some metal cymbals to tell the area the new business was opening.  It seems to be a Wuxi tradition which I don't mind as long as the drums aren't near my place of work!

Stentorian:  Does that word describe my voice?  An online dictionary defines the word as follows:  

stentorian [stɛnˈtɔːrɪən]

adj

(of the voice, etc.) uncommonly loud

What is Tony up to?  Visit here or here to find out.  The video I took of him watching his train set is now the second most viewed of all my videos on youku.com

1773  The Boston Tea Party took place in 1773.

Separation of Church and State  I was misinformed.  I always assumed that the U.S. Constitution contained a "separation of Church and State" clause.  In fact, it didn't.  It contained a clause about not establishing a state church.  The words "Separation of Church and State" came from a 1947 Supreme Court decision written by a rabid anti-Catholic judge appointed by FDR.  I had been thinking that separation of church and state didn't mean separation of state and religion. But it seems that the separation of church and state was meant to separate state and religion -- a separation I don't agree with. I believe that if someone wants to put religious symbols in the public square, it should be up to the community and its representatives to decide this -- not some overarching bureaucratic entity.  And the fact that the mayor may decide to allow a manger scene in the public square does not mean there is a danger of a state church being established.