Essay 1083

Sunday sermonizing in a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• The pope said he was “deeply sorry” for the responses to his remarks about Islam, insisting he was quoting text that he didn’t necessarily agree with (see Essay 1081). “These [words] were in fact a quotation from a Medieval text which do not in any way express my personal thought," said the pope. “At this time I wish also to add that I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address at the University of Regensburg, which were considered offensive to the sensibility of Muslims.” Guess future pontiff pontifications will carry a disclaimer: All comments expressed by the pope do not reflect the opinions of the Vatican and its assorted deities.

• New York Post columnist Tim Arango reported that agencies are unhappy over the alleged disorganization for Advertising Week, slated to launch September 25. Arnago wrote, “Several agency sources said they felt that poor planning led to a last-minute letter dated Aug. 28 from the organizers asking large agencies to ‘contribute’ $10,000 and small agencies $5,000 to a minority scholarship fund. … The request felt more like a stick-up, sources said, since agencies that couldn’t come up with the cash wouldn’t get access to the opening night bash with hot hip-hop act Gnarls Barkley or a closing party in TriBeCa with DJs Mark Ronson and DJ Logic.” Arango quoted an agency leader who said, “If it were better orchestrated from the get-go, then we would buy into it and support it from the start. … But the whole thing has been ad-hoc.” Hey, maybe it’s all part of the signed agreements designed to instill diversity on Madison Avenue.