On Fertility, etc.

Delia's package on the Madonna of Childbirth first aired on AC360 last 21 December. As the strain of Bach's Cello Suite No. 1, 1007 In G Major: Prelude (1st movement) played in the background, FAVCILF took us around the church of Sant'Agostino in Rome, from the tomb of St. Monica, to Caravaggio's Madonna del Pellegrini painting, to finally, Jacopo Sansovino's Madonna del Parto, a marble statue believed by many to have the power to give babies.

Delia interviewed Augustinian friar dude and fertile woman, and showed us baby pictures and booties sent to the church by successful petitioners. I don't know about you, but I think they should show Delia interviewing in Italian with English captions instead of some creepy voice overs. Très sexy! CNN - trust me on this one!

Whether or not the statue performs miracles is not for me to say - faith is a very strange and potent thing. Fertility seems to be a universal desire, the primal need to endure long after one is gone. Humanity's quest for its own immortality.

In Japan, they have a less-than-sacred go-to symbol for fertility needs: on or around March 15, the Kanamara Matsuri (かなまら祭) is held in Kawasaki, Japan. It's a Shinto fertility festival, basically to invoke the giant penis to protect folks from STDs and Viagra-free nights. There's no documentation on its success rate: the number of babies born 9 months later is unknown, there are no booties or baby kimonos or pictures or anything left behind. But we'd take their word for it: "Shinto fertility related items including amulets, prayer tablets and other religious paraphernalia were on sale, as were candies made in the shape of the genitalia of both sexes. Sellers of some candies found it hard to keep up with demand."

Then Delia was on American Morning and Newsroom PM to talk about "CNN Presents: After Jesus". Favorite FAVCILF quote: "It's a fascinating two hours. I'll tell you, it will save you from reading 12 books on Christian history if you watch this" - implying that Delia has read the 12 Christian history books in question, and I, like Shep, just like brainy chicks, so *swoon* factor here. Kyra Phillips flub: "We won't want to miss your "CNN PRESENTS: AFTER JESUS, THE FIRST CHRISTIANS." Uhm, Kyra babe, Delia was not even on the credits. It WASN'T her documentary!

On Newsroom AM, Delia talked about the Pope B16 pinup calendar. And since the proceeds go to charity, we're pimpin' the site here too: www.famigliacristiana.it It's never too late to give your favorite Catholic the Official Papal Calendar! Favorite FAVCILF moment: When Delia said, "Thanks, Fred." Okay, that was swoonerific! She called her "Fred"!!!

And lastly, on Paula Zahn Now, Delia examined a mysterious egg-shaped thingy found in New Hampshire. In her best Brittany Hughes, Delia, looking straight at the camera, traced the shape of the egg with intelligent curiousity: "The stone is heavy and solid. Its surface is smooth. And the carvings have very precise. Now, people have been asking the same questions about this stone for over a century. And while modern technology can help us guess when the carvings were done or how they were made, the biggest question remains -- what does it mean? " Bettany Hughes is my HILF, the standards by which Delia will be measured against.

BH Score: B-

I'm a little slow on uploading pictures, sorry about that.


Delia Gallagher