news items

In the news:

NEW YORK - A Picasso oil painting sold for $179.4 million and smashed the record for the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction.  Full Article 

KATHMANDU - A powerful earthquake in Nepal killed dozens and injured hundreds, as buildings that were weakened by a devastating quake less than three weeks ago collapsed.  Full Article

The NFL suspended star quarterback Tom Brady for the first four games of next season and fined the New England Patriots $1 million for their role in "Deflategate."  Full Article 

NEW YORK (AP) — The number of Americans who don't affiliate with a particular religion has grown to 56 million in recent years, making the faith group researchers call "nones" the second-largest in total numbers behind evangelicals, according to a Pew Research Center study released Tuesday.

Of the last item, what I wonder is not so much whether or in what way people 'affiliate' themselves, but rather whether religion is not becoming a bit like the old question, "What if they had a war and nobody came?" Are these times, or is it just me, filling slowly with a "what if they had a religion and nobody came" ... not good, not bad, just not terribly interesting or relevant or useful?