Sunday, August 18, 2013

August 20: Bernard of Clairvaux [1090-1153] Abbot and Theologian [and a poet, too].

From a family both pious and military, Bernard entered religious orders as a reformed Benedictine [or Cistercian] at the age of 23, the beginning of forty years of life in cloister. Theologically, while he was as doctrinaire as any of his 12th century contemporaries, he presented some foundational ideas that were later to be embraced by the Protestants in the early days of the Reformation. More of him may be found by clicking the paragraph below:

Bernard was able to accomplish many things; one of his greatest achievements took place after the death of Pope Honorius II in 1130. A disputed election of the new pope caused a schism in the Church. Both Innocent II and Anacletus II were claimed to be the new pope. Catholics took sides and neither side would give in. Bernard traveled from one country to another to talk to church leaders in an effort to end the rift. After eight years of preaching and negotiating, the schism was finally ended. That was thought to be Bernard's crowning triumph.

O God, by whose grace your servant Bernard of Clairvaux, kindled with the flame of your love, became a burning and a shining light in your Church: Grant that we also may be aflame with the spirit of love and discipline, and walk before you as children of light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

The Next Time Some Bishop In The Episcopal Church Starts Pranging On About How We Need To Be Environmentally Responsible, Remind Them Of How Many Overseas And Long-Distance Trips They Take Per Year

Why does air travel get left out of the mix when we’re talking about reducing our carbon footprint? One could argue, because cars matter more -- they’re the largest single contributor to climate change in the transportation sector. Air travel accounts for about 10 percent of all carbon emissions in the U.S., versus 36 percent for passenger cars -- and some of that is air freight.

However, the majority of flight departures and air tonnage seem to be passenger travel, not freight. And although many car trips are hard to avoid, given 60 years of infrastructure development, a lot of the air travel is unnecessary -- and concentrated among the so-called one percent.

I Should Have Been A Writer

Because in the 21st century, you can publish pure gibberish and make millions from it. To wit, someone called Bethenny Funkmaster [or something] wrote a book of "healthy living advice" that includes such nuggets of sagacity as:

Man, that's just Tolstoy combined with Conrad rolled in some Marquez; a veritable turducken of lyricism.

Sigh

I was sitting with three other clergy recently. I was the youngest one present, although not by much. We each have been ordained for over a quarter century. We were speaking about changes since those days early after our ordinations. While there was discussion of shifting congregational demographics and the diminishing standard of dress by those attending funerals, we agreed that what has changed the most is the manner in which young people [those under the age of 30] view the sacrament of Holy Matrimony.

In the past decade or so there has been the development of the "It's My Special Day!" school for brides. While the wedding day is certainly one of importance for the bride and groom, the vast bulk of bridal literature makes it clear that, on her wedding day, all things on earth, and apparently in heaven, take their place behind the bride and her dress, her cake, her needs, her wants, her very being. In this brave new reality, only the bride's mother may bask in the close illumination of the Princess/Goddess. The groom often becomes a handy prop, more like his figure on the wedding cake than a living, breathing human with as much vested in the moment as the bride.

Needless to say, Jesus isn't on the guest list.

In the past few years I've worked with a bride whose appreciation for those invited, and bearing gifts, was such that she was two hours late to the liturgy in order to get her hair just perfect, another who was a mere ninety minutes late [I remember that one because it was a hot, humid afternoon in a 75 seat church without air conditioning into which 150 people had been crammed], and another so consumed with reception planning that she was still talking to the caterer on her cell phone as the bridal procession began. When her cell phone, which was in her father's tux jacket pocket, rang during the exchange of vows, her dad looked at me with the most helpless expression I think I've ever seen on a homo sapien.

I once had a couple come by the office to discuss having their wedding at the church. As this is one of those seminal moments in the lives of young adults, I always find their early trepidation and mutual concern touching. Of course, it was a little more difficult to appreciate this moment since the bride-to-be brought her mother along instead of the groom. Mom clearly wanted to have the wedding at our parish because it was convenient to the location of the reception. When the sacrament takes a backseat to petit fours, you know this is going to be a church wedding only because that was the chapter in Martha Stewart's wedding book that the bride-to-be liked the best.

Still, I knew the groom was a colleague's son and, even though it appeared that the bride was in the early stages of transformation into the Princess/Goddess of the "It's My Special Day!" school, I agreed to begin the process with them. They began pre-marital counseling with an ordained professional, filled out the pre-requisite paperwork, were given our music director's name and number, and scheduled the date for their wedding.

We never heard from them again.

I gather that they are to be married in some non-sacramental structure somewhere near the site of the reception. Apparently, Princess/Goddesses don't deign to notify mere clergy and musicians of changes in their schedules.

It's just as well, as it was clear that this was not going to be a moment of sacramental solemnity or eternal promise, anyway. First, the bride desired that a "poem", read and composed by a friend of hers, be inserted into the Book of Common Prayer's nearly 500-year-old liturgy. I've sat through these before. When placed in juxtaposition with the artistry and wonder of Christian scripture, a friend's incomprehensible "poem" makes "Roses are Red and Violets are Blue" look like a model of layered literary meaning and sophisticated construction. Second, the bride wanted to be able to compose her own vows. Presumably, the groom was to do so as well, although I thought maybe the bride's mother was going to write his.

If you wonder what that's like, let me offer this actual example of offal:

Minister: Will you take her as your wife? Will you love her all your life?

Groom: Yes, I take her as my wife, Yes, I'll love her all my life.

Minister: Will you have, and also hold Just as you have at this time told?

Groom: Yes, I will have, and I will hold, Just as I have at this time told, Yes, I will love her all my life As I now take her as my wife.

Nice, huh? I really feel the Holy Spirit working through that exchange. Maybe Dr. Seuss did the pre-marital counseling. How about this:

"I promise to make your favorite chocolate-chip pancakes on Saturdays."

Or at least until we're older and our cholesterol is too high.

Here's an exchange that really elevates the occasion:

Groom: I choose you to be my wife. In front of our friends and family gathered here I promise to love and cherish you throughout the good times and bad times. I promise to try to remember to put down the toilet seat and to replace the toilet roll when it finishes. I promise to remember this day with love and roses. I will love you always.

Bride: I choose you to be my husband. In front of our friends and family, I promise to love and cherish you through every obstacle that may come into our path. I promise to learn how to change a tire and how to refill the windshield fluid when it runs out. I will comfort you when your team loses and drink beer with you when they win. I will love you always.

I think the Christian martyrs may have thought twice about their sacrifice if they knew that silly youngsters and a mercenary bridal industry would attempt to turn their witness into witlessness.

I appreciate that Jesus worked his first miracle at a wedding. He changed water into wine to enrich the celebration of the entire community and so that all had something in which to share. It would become the metaphor for his entire ministry and its realization through the cross.

Given what some brides, er, couples, wish to do with contemporary church weddings, I think they may have thought that Jesus was at Cana of Galilee to perform some magic act as part of the entertainment.

Meanwhile, In Egypt

Christian churches across Egypt stormed, torched

The office of the Presiding Bishop had this to say: " ".

Capitalism: This chart shows what Bono is talking about

This Is Getting To Be A Strange Century

Marriage Is the New Middle-Class Luxury Item

Begone, Proles! American Royalty Requres Guns For Protection, Your Schools Don't.

White House responds to “Gun Free Zone” petition – politicians need armed security

Friday, August 16, 2013

It's A Quiet Day, So I Sent The Admin Home Early, Will Spend The Afternoon Casually Visiting Folks, And Now Will Post A Photo Of My [What Else?] Laughing Granddaughter

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Off today at a very important [?] environmental conference on Connecticut's pleasant shoreline. Standard calls will be returned tomorrow; urgent calls as soon as possible.

Thursday's Bible Recipe: Lamb and Couscous

This may be the most common recipe of the 1st century, somewhat adapted to modern tastes [Craisins? Really?].

1 large package of couscous
¾ cup boiling water
2 lb. lamb, trimmed of fat and cubed
olive or sunflower oil
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. allspice
½ tsp. ground cloves
4 Tbsp. honey
2 cups fresh chives, diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. salt
½ cup dried cranberries or craisins
juice and rind of 1 lemon
small bunch fresh parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 450°F.

In a large bowl, mix the couscous with boiling water and wait for about 10 minutes. Whisk with a fork, cover, and set aside. (If the mixture seems dry, add a bit of hot water, 1 Tbsp. at a time, until it appears fluffier.)

Place lamb cubes into a large frying pan and brown, brushing them with olive or sunflower oil while constantly turning over the cubes. Sprinkle on turmeric, allspice, and ground cloves and continue to cook on a low temperature for about 10 minutes, all the while brushing the cubes with oil. Slowly pour the honey over the meat, increase the temperature, and cook for about 5 minutes, making sure that the meat is done but not burned.

Remove the lamb and set aside in a large, covered serving bowl. Saute´ the chives, garlic, pepper, and salt in the juice remnants (if very little juice remains, add a bit of hot water and 1 tsp. oil and continue) and cook for 5–7 minutes on a moderate heat. Stir in the dried cranberries (or craisins) and the lemon juice and rind; then mix in the couscous. Pour the couscous mixture over the lamb and toss in the chopped parsley. Turn out onto a large cake platter and serve.

Makes approximately 4 normal servings at 430 calories per.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Hartford Would Prefer That Investors Stay Out Of The State, Thank You

Connecticut is ranked 50th among the states for economic growth, the number of small businesses is shrinking more rapidly than in 47 states, the state just raised taxes by 1.8 billion dollars and that still won't be enough to maintain the overgenerous, underfunded state public pensions, Barron's rates the state as the worst in the union for investment, and don't get me started on the quiet but staggering growth in costs associated with probate court.

That, plus the loss of hundreds of more jobs at Pratt and Whitney; Ruger building its new plant, and its 400 new jobs, in North Carolina, and the capital's daily paper has a shrinking circulation, a sinking budget, and waning influence.

So, naturally, the city government would take the following action:

Council Passes Resolution Opposing Koch Brothers’ Takeover Of Hartford Courant

Wednesday's Art

"The Good Samaritan" by Eugene Delacroix, completed in 1852. It may be viewed in London's Victoria and Albert Museum.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Soon, If You Want To Buy Even Just One Shotgun Shell For Skeet Shooting, Connecticut Will Demand You Be Trained In Gun Safety By Official Instructors

You know, like this guy:

Gun safety instructor SHOOTS one of his students by accident while demonstrating how to use a firearm

So relax, and leave the guns to the professionals.

A poor man has much more interest in good government than a rich man. A poor man must stay and be misgoverned; a rich man has a yacht.
— G.K. Chesterton (@GKCDaily) August 12, 2013

'Bout Time. Y'Know, Feminism And All.

After nearly 50 years of feminism, men want to go Dutch.Nearly two-thirds of them — 64 percent — believe women should pay for their share of dates, a survey has found. And 44 percent of men said they would drop a woman who never chips in, according to the findings reported at the American Sociological Association’s annual meeting in Manhattan.

Just When I Thought The 21st Century Couldn't Get Any More Absurd, I Read This Headline

Rodeo clowns asked to take ‘sensitivity training’

It's A Bad Headline, Which Is A Shame, As I Thought It Was A Much Better Story Than It Turned Out To Be

Man asked to clean up after dog pulls gun

Tuesday's Wave

There are some defeats more triumphant than victories. ~Michel de Montaigne

Monday, August 12, 2013

Hermosa Beach, 1963

Sunday, August 11, 2013

If You Know History, You Are Less Likely To Be Exploited

So, from the government's point of view, this is an ideal decision:

National Civics, History Tests to Disappear

Anglican/Episcopal Person Of The Week

Jeremy Taylor [1613-1667] - In the years between 1633 and the ascendancy of the Puritans in 1645, Taylor was a Fellow of two Cambridge colleges and chaplain to Archbishop Laud and to King Charles. Under Puritan rule, he was imprisoned three times, and forced into retirement as a family chaplain in Wales. After the Restoration, in 1661, he became Bishop of Down and Connor in Ireland.

Taylor wrote many works of theology, but they can be best summarized by this quotation he once offered to one of his students: "A religion without mystery must be a religion without God."

O God, whose days are without end, and whose mercies cannot be numbered: Make us, like your servant Jeremy Taylor, deeply aware of the shortness and uncertainty of human life; and let your Holy Spirit lead us in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Another Broken Narrative

I seem to recall, in the aftermath of our state's shooting spree tragedy, a few timid souls mildly challenged Hollywood about their rampant use of gun violence as plot devices in contemporary entertainment. This seemed reasonable, in light of the fact that a brace of stars and starlets were posting videos scolding those of us on the outside of their bubble not to be violent and not to be permitted what appears to be a Constitutional right. After all, entertainment is where one may find the most egregious and soul-twisting examples of gun, knife, power tool, and kung fu death grip violence.

When challenged, I recall some greasy auteur getting rather exercised about the question and responding that television shows and movies don't encourage violence. Well:

From 'Breaking Bad' to worse: When TV shows inspire wicked crimes

Saturday, August 10, 2013

This Is Highway Robbery! [Sorry, Couldn't Resist]

Russian man accused of stealing an entire road

I Don't Think This Was Meant To Be Seen By The General Public

Political consultants write a booklet on how to exploit the deaths of innocents to further an ideology. Ah, secularism.

The booklet explicitly urges foes of the Second Amendment to abjure rationality in favor of the argumentum ad passiones, or appeal to emotion. "When talking to broader audiences, we want to meet them where they are," the authors advise. "That means emphasizing emotion over policy prescriptions, keeping our facts and our case simple and direct, and avoiding arguments that leave people thinking they don't know enough about the topic to weigh in."

The do's and don'ts are consistent with this advice. "Examples of power language" include: "It breaks my heart that every day in our country (state or city) children wake up worried and frightened about getting shot." "Just imagine the pain that a mother or father feels when their young child is gunned down." "The real outrage--the thing that makes this violence so unforgivable--is that we know how to stop it and we're not getting it done."

You're Not Allowed To Say That, It Breaks The Narrative

Girls commit dating violence as often as boys, studies show

It's Estimated That Half Of The US Public Has Violated A Law Without Even Realizing It

One In 25 Americans Was Arrested In 2011

Really, Bob? In Church?

A 10th woman has come forward to 10News to accuse San Diego Mayor Bob Filner of sexual harassment. Renee Estill-Sombright said the incident occurred at the La Jolla Presbyterian Church in June. It was an incident that she described as creepy.

Speaking of Rocky, his 80th birthday cake is, well, unbelievably awesome. pic.twitter.com/Rukr94zyB6
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) August 10, 2013

Rocky Colavito's birthday cake. If you have to ask "Rocky who?", I feel sorry for you.

Something's Happening To My Oldest Surf Buddies

Dolphin strandings, deaths seen off East Coast waters

Give Me Five Minutes

How Did Rich Connecticut Morph Into One Of America's Worst Performing Economies?

Here's a gem:

Connecticut ranks #50 – the worst — in annual economic growth. According to the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, Connecticut’s economy contracted for the second year in a row. “Connecticut is the laggard,” reported Connecticut Department of Labor economist Daniel Kennedy.

Mr. And Mrs. Government Didn't Do So Well This Time

Actually this is a painful story to read, so please be advised.

State Seizes Two-Year-Old Child From Parents Because They Smoked Pot, Child Dies in Foster Care

Friday, August 9, 2013

Unique Churches: St. Edward's, The Cotswolds, UK

St. Edward's was originally built in the 11th century, but reflects the complicated Christian history of England in its evolving design and appearance. It was added to in the 15th century and renovated in the 17th and again in the 19th centuries. It is known for its north entrance, which is flanked by two ancient yew trees that have found themselves merging with the building itself, a nice evocation of how the natural and the human-made are united for greater purpose by God.

More about the church and its parish may be found here.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

You Mean Higher Education, Denuded Of An Active And Real Chaplaincy, Would Act In An Immoral Manner?

"A failure to act ethically, and a failure to show compassion"

I'm Arranging For My Audition

Serpent-handling pastors to star in 'Snake Salvation' reality show

God's Grandeur At Work

Sun Will Flip Its Magnetic Field Soon

Art Horn Writes An Interesting Letter. He Uses Facts, Too, Which Are Rather Unpopular When Speaking Of Climate Or Weather

Art Horn Letter to Connecticut State Department of Agriculture

Thursday's Biblical Recipe: Grilled Mackerel on a Stick [John 21:1–14]

⅓ cup sunflower or sesame oil

juice of 3 limes

1 Tbsp. tarragon

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. paprika

2 lb. fresh mackerel or sea bass, cut into 1” chunks

2 large onions, cut and separated into small wedges

12 small truffles [Good luck finding/affording these, so feel free to omit].

4 ripe tomatoes, cut into thirds

1 green pepper, cut in pieces

1 yellow pepper, cut in pieces

3 limes, cut in half

basmati rice and capers

Concoct a spicy marinade of sesame oil, lime juice, tarragon, salt, and paprika. Place the fish chunks in a large dish and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

Skewer the fish, alternating with wedges of onion, tomato, truffle, and green and yellow pepper. Place over hot flame or coals, turning frequently, for about 6–8 minutes, being careful not to overcook the fish. Serve on a bed of basmati rice and capers, and sprinkle with lime juice squeezed by hand.

Makes 4 normal servings.

While what we call mackerel was not present in the Sea of Galilee, a fish closely related was. This is an approximation to what Jewish families of the Galilean region would be eating, and what the resurrected Jesus shared with his disciples on the cited occasion in the Gospel of John.
With the basmati and capers, a serving would contain around 347 calories.

Of course, in the 1st century, the whole fish, head and all, would be served on the stick and not sliced, either. I'm told they're tastier with the head still on.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Relax, Let The Professionals Handle The Guns [And Tasers]

An 18-year-old skater was Tasered to death yesterday by Miami Beach Police officers after they caught him tagging a building.

He painted some graffiti you see, so he had to die.

Yeah, I'd Rather Not Be The One To Answer That

Will These Wetsuits Actually Deter Shark Attacks, or Just Encourage Them?

Given what they look like, I'd rather not wear one, anyway.

"Why, Exactly, Did We Leave Poland?" Or, Relax And Leave The Guns To The Professionals.

A disturbing trend in law enforcement: Heavily alarmed assault teams sent after emaciated fawns, WWII veterans in walkers, and unarmed college kids buying bottled water

A group of state Alcoholic Beverage Control agents clad in plainclothes approached her, suspecting the blue carton of LaCroix sparkling water to be a 12-pack of beer. Police say one of the agents jumped on the hood of her car. She says one drew a gun. Unsure of who they were, Daly tried to flee the darkened parking lot.

and

It took no fewer than nine crack commandoes from the Department of Natural Resources plus four deputy sheriffs to swoop down on the Society of St Francis in order to euthanize a fawn.

and now,

First they tased him, but that didn’t work. So they fired a shotgun, hitting him in the stomach with a bean-bag round. Wrana was struck with such force that he bled to death internally, according to the Cook County medical examiner.“The Japanese military couldn’t get him at the age he was touchable, in a uniform in the war. It took 70 years later for the Park Forest police to do the job,” Wrana’s family attorney, Nicholas Grapsas, a former prosecutor, said in an interview with me Thursday.

He chose not to take his medication, you see, so he had to die.

Wednesday Art: Type [Eve] Meets Ante-Type [Mary] In Christian Art

It's entitled "Fall and Rise Again"

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Apparently, This Is Surprising News

Older workers are more reliable than younger ones and 'have fewer bad days at the office', study shows

Tuesday's Wave

“Grace changes us and change is painful." - Flannery O'Connor

Monday, August 5, 2013

Anglicanism Sounds Its Death Knell: A Cat, A Hat and A Eucharist!

Sunday, August 4, 2013

She's Spiritual, Not Religious

Soon, all of us will soon be able to stay alive for as long as we want to. Imagine the eternity we will be living in. Smile! I love you!!!
— Yoko Ono (@yokoono) August 4, 2013

This Is A Brilliant Example Of Clever Advocacy

This Week's Lesser Feasts

August 7:

John Mason Neale [1818-1866] - Neale founded the Sisterhood of St. Margaret, an early convent of nursing nuns in the Anglican [Episcopal] Communion, specifically of and for the Church of England. However, his greatest contribution was as a composer of hymns, of which this is but a partial list:

A great and mighty wonder
All glory, laud and honor
Alleluia, song of gladness
Blessed city, heavenly Salem
Blessed feasts of blessed martyrs
Brief life is here our portion
Christ is made the sure foundation
Christian, dost thou see them
Come, Holy Ghost, with God the Son
Come, ye faithful, raise the strain
Creator of the stars of night
Draw nigh and take the Body of the Lord
For thee, O dear, dear country
Jerusalem the golden
Jesus, Name all names above
Let us now our voices raise
Light's abode, celestial Salem
Now that the daylight fills the sky
O blest Creator of the light
O God, creation's secret force
O God of truth, O Lord of might,
O sons and daughters, let us sing
O Trinity of blessed light
O what their joy and their glory must be
O wondrous type! O vision fair
Of the Father's love begotten
Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle
Stars of the morning, so gloriously bright
The day is past and over
The day of resurrection
Those eternal bowers
Thou hallowed chosen morn of praise
To thee before the close of day

Grant, O God, that in all time of our testing we may know your presence and obey your will; that, following the example of your servant John Mason Neale, we may with integrity and courage accomplish what you give us to do, and endure what you give us to bear; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

August 8:

Dominic [1170-1221], the founder of the Dominican Order of monks and nuns, originally established as a religious community based on the vow of poverty and the exercise of the intellect, and officially known as the Order of Preachers. Three times he was offered the post of bishop, and turned down each in order to continue a life that was simple and without the opulence that had become associated with episcopal authority.

O God of the prophets, you opened the eyes of your servant Dominic to perceive a famine of hearing the word of the Lord, and moved him, and those he drew about him, to satisfy that hunger with sound preaching and fervent devotion: Make your church, dear Lord, in this and every age, attentive to the hungers of the world, and quick to respond in love to those who are perishing; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

August 10:

Laurence [?- 258] was one of the seven deacons of the congregation at Rome, those who were in charge of administering the church budget, especially for the care of the poor. In 257, Emperor Valerian began a persecution aimed mostly at the clergy and the laity of the upper classes, the goal of which was the seizure of church property and elimination of Christian "meetings". Pope Sixtus II and most of the clergy were summarily executed.

The Prefect of Rome, knowing that Laurence was the principal financial officer, promised to set him free if he would surrender the wealth of the Church. Laurence agreed, but said that it would take him three days to gather it. During those three days, he placed all the money at his disposal in the hands of stewards, and then assembled the sick, the aged, the poor, and the widows and orphans, presented them to the prefect, and said, "These are the treasures of the Church."

This was not well-received by Roman authority and Laurence was martyred with creative brutality.

Almighty God, you called your deacon Laurence to serve you with deeds of love, and gave him the crown of martyrdom; Grant that we, following his example, may fulfill your commandments by defending and supporting the poor, and by loving you with all our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

No Surprise, Really. I've Owned Four Hondas.

Ferrari owners hate driving, Honda owners love it, Volvo drivers are most miserable

At Least Someone Is Trying To Teach Them

Ford’s Vibrating Shifter Teaches Simpletons How to Drive a Manual

Breaking News

Wales joins the International Surfing Association

One Of The Things I Miss The Most In This Brave, New 21st Century Are Small Town Newspapers

They are, alas, fading into oblivion due to the realities of a changing market. The best thing about them, other than the pictures of common, uncomplicated life, were the marvelous headlines. For example, my favorite from the 1970's was "Man, 90, Dies".

Tim Blair, an Australian journalist, enjoys them, too, and relates a brief list:

• Oven removed from home
• No flood warnings for North Somerset
• Smug swans attack Dalmatian
• Mystery of wheelchair left in Shoreham pub
• Road stays open
• Man Found Nailed To Bench
• Elderly terrified by food fight
• Woman found in Germany
• Guides delighted with their rubbish award
• Goldfish catch sparks debate
• Youth Found In Phone Box With Fork
• Cat hops into delivery van

Archaeological News

Team examining Gulf shipwreck discovers 2 other wrecks

Friday, August 2, 2013

Bingo

Of course it's important to read the great poets and novelists. But not in a university classroom, where literature has been turned into a bland, soulless competition for grades and status.

Yep, We're Working With The Vatican To Erase Poverty; Something You Won't Hear About On The Conventional News

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is in talks with Pope Francis about a new initiative that would link the Anglican Communion with the Vatican in the fight against poverty.

Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people. #WakeUp
— trutherbot (@trutherbot) July 18, 2013

I think I saw this somewhere. Was it the local senior center? Can't recall.

Stories Like This Are Getting Too Easy To Find, But Here We Go Again. Relax And Leave The Guns To The Professionals, Part Whatever

An eyewitness recorded cellphone video of a Santa Ana police officer shoot and kill an unarmed 22-year-old homeless man at a shopping center earlier this week.

He called her a name, you see, so he had to die.

Summer Shark Story II

A 15-year-old girl has died after a shark “bit her in half” while she was swimming in the Indian Ocean.

Elsewhere In Cleveland, Some Clown Keeps Three Women As Prisoners In His Home For Ten Years And The Police Don't Notice

Cleveland Police Disciplining 75 Cops After An Unarmed Couple Was Shot 137 Times

Need I say it? Ah, what the heck: Relax and leave the guns to the professionals.

A True Hero, And About Time She Was Honored

Statue of Korean War horse Reckless to be unveiled at Marine museum in Virginia

Everything Is Losing Its Charm For The Same Reason

By pandering to our shrinking attention spans, modern surf films are losing their charm

You Could Feel Free To Let That One Go Extinct

Scientists work to protect rare Canadian lizard that shoots blood out of its eyes

I'm watching TV news and realized that "baby bump" is a stupid term. That's all.

The New York Times Continues To Distinguish Itself In The Field Of American Religion [And Pop Culture]

NYT struggles to distinguish Voltaire, Spider-Man and Jesus

This is the third occasion this year when the NYT has revealed itself to be staffed by dullards.

It's As If One Has Something To Do With The Other

Even as audiences shrink, ticket prices hit a high

How Else Would He Do It?

One step at a time, man walks across United States

By Definition, Yes

More Top Officials Have Graduate Degrees From Oxford Than Any Public University in the United States: Is the Administration elitist?

There's Something Wonderfully "Cleveland" About This

Man wants Browns pallbearers so team 'can let him down one last time'

American Stupid, Politician Edition

Rep. Corrine Brown: Bible tells us to provide food stamps

It's not all sharks and headfirst trips to the bottom that should worry you while surfing

While surfing is not particularly dangerous, spending lots of time in an unpredictable ocean, with Lord knows what swimming below and around you, and reefs, rocks, sandbars, and sharp, pointy surfboards all in play, the possibility of an unpleasant death always lurks. Here are five weird ways that your next session could be your last.

I've Never Had A Cat That Would've Let Me Get Away With This

A KITTEN has almost died after its owners fed it a strict vegan diet.The horrific case at a North Melbourne animal hospital has prompted a warning about the dangers of people "forcing ideologies" on their pets.

The Decline Of American Education

In the early years of the 20th century, the students in Bullitt County, Kentucky, were asked to clear a test that many full-fledged adults would likely be hard-pressed to pass today. The Bullitt County Genealogical Society has a copy of this exam, reproduced below—a mix of math and science and reading and writing and questions on oddly specific factoids–preserved in their museum in the county courthouse.

A Valid Question

Of these, the third is the most controversial because it implies that authentic Christianity is not sufficiently liberal or tolerant for the modern age and that there were few or no pre-modern liberalizing trends within Christianity itself. There’s much historical and scholarly evidence to support the latter, much of which has been published in Acton’s Journal of Markets and Morality over the years. But the larger question is: What has happened to this Christian basis for liberalism over the succeeding centuries? Or to put it another way, while Christianity may have provided fertile soil for modern liberalism, has liberalism returned the favor?

Yes, But No One Gets Elected Or Maintains Political Power By Being Concerned About Foreign Christians

We are living through one of the largest persecutions of a religious group in history.

No Surprise To Me

Feeling good after a day at the beach? Study proves benefits of spending time near the ocean

Either Archaeological Or Forensic News

White man's skull has Australians scratching heads

One Of The Last Pieces Of Surfing's Innocent Days Is Now Dashed

This really bothers me, and it apparently bothers Mead, too.

Ultra-wealthy Southern California residents have just won a victory in the battle to impose their social preferences on the poor. The neo-puritan landowners of Newport Beach, worried about their “asthma and allergies,” have convinced air-quality regulators to make it impossibly hard for the public to use the beach fire-pits that have lined California’s coast for half a century. Sixty fire pits in Newport will be removed, and local officials can now ban them entirely if they decide “that the fires are causing a nuisance.”

New Feature: Unique Churches. This Week, It's Trinity Episcopal Church in Boston

The architect was Henry Hobson Richardson and it was completed in 1877. The entrance seen in the photo is meant to evoke the Trinity with its three doors and portals. It is a feature that many subsequent churches sought to copy, to better or worse affect.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Archaeological News

KING DAVID'S PALACE FOUND, SAYS ISRAELI TEAM

Regrettably, This Is True In Churches, Too

Men -- the new second class citizens

Ask Any Reporter In An Unguarded Moment And He/She Will Tell You That "Religion" Stories Are The Ones They Try To Avoid

"Is fraud a religion story? Not necessarily. Is Planned Parenthood a religion story? Not necessarily. But what about the larger issue of the problems mainstream media have covering abortion and other social issues related to religion? Is it worth noting here, for instance, the very odd lack of coverage of Planned Parenthood’s recent settlement over fraud allegations?

You wouldn’t probably know it from media coverage...."

You Mean Academics Don't Have All Of The Answers?

But, but, but, they're so smart. I know because, when I was one of them, that's what we told ourselves.

From Horace Mann to President Obama, and legions of politicians and educators in between, education has been heralded as the great equalizer, an institution that can balance (if not undo) racial, ethnic or other inequities that separate segments of society.

If higher education in the United States ever fulfilled that role, it is doing so less and less, not more, as time passes.

That is the stark and in many ways distressing conclusion of a report released today by researchers at Georgetown University: “Separate and Unequal: How Higher Education Reinforces the Intergenerational Reproduction of White Racial Privilege.”

The report's assertion that African-American and Latino youth -- especially those from low-income backgrounds -- are underrepresented at the nation’s 468 most selective four-year colleges and overrepresented at the 3,250 open-access two- and four-year institutions will probably surprise few; that’s a circumstance of long standing.

Over 40% of the increase in tuition costs over the last generation has been to fund "diversity" programs and their various deans, directors, and staffs. That was money well spent, eh?

Also, is "intergenerational" a real word?

Something From The "Iron Firemen"

One of my colleagues did some good work in an area not recognized as "official ministry" by some of our leadership and reminded us why unofficial ministries are so important.

Why Is This A Surprise, Given The Police Response Time?

In Newtown, Gun Permits Surge After Shooting

It took twenty minutes for a proper law enforcement response to arrive. Something similar in Roxbury would take longer. Not to mention, although I guess state politicians aren't mentioning it, that the Sandy Hook nightmare would not have been prevented even under the soon-to-be more stringent state gun control laws.

[For those who aren't getting my meaning, there were already laws against theft and murder, yet the killer stole the guns and ammo after murdering the guns' owner. The time he tried to legally purchase a weapon, he was refused. By definition, criminals and terrorists exist outside of the law, hence the term "outlaw"; the only people constrained by control laws are those who are also constrained by laws in general.]

In the past twenty years, Connecticut has cut public mental health funding by 75%, despite the steady increase in taxes. While I realize that tax revenue is necessary to maintain the over-generous and under-funded public pensions, couldn't even a little of it been used to aid people in need of treatment?

I'm told the new fees for purchasing ammunition will serve that purpose, but that doesn't seem to be written down anywhere in law or regulation, so I doubt it. Sure sounds good, though, doesn't it?

Mr. And Mrs. Government Save The Day. Again!

Starting this month, the United States Department of Agriculture has announced that it will test out a new product in school lunches—high-protein, a.k.a. Greek-style yogurt—in four different states. Yet, what seems like an innocuous, even reasonable addition to the menu of foods offered to American public school students upon inspection turns out to be the latest example of corrupt nanny-statism masquerading as “for the kids” do-goodism.

Greek-style yogurt is more expensive than other comparably nutritious yogurts. The USDA has to pilot this program in only four states—New York, Arizona, Idaho, and Tennessee—because the bureaucrats don’t know if they can get such a highly perishable item to schools that are situated further from the yogurt distribution centers. And most important, there is one particular state and one particular business that stand to benefit from a big increase in Greek yogurt sales. Those would be New York State, where most of this yogurt is produced and Chobani, which sells the most Greek-style yogurt in the U.S., is located. All of which explains why the biggest manufacturer of Greek-style yogurt spent tens of thousands on lobbyists and worked so closely with New York’s Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer to try to get this pilot program off the ground. . . . Greek yogurt may be high in protein, but so are a lot of other, less expensive and less politically-connected food products. Adding Chobani to the school lunch program is just a fat-lot of government cronyism.

Besides, Chobani tastes like slop and is useless in any sensible diet program. So, dump it on the kids and make the employed pay for it. Yay!

The government can't even permit a program to ensure that children eat well to exist without the taint of corruption.

Sociologically speaking, the act of raising awareness is really a claim for moral respect, and more importantly moral authority. The possession of awareness is a marker of superiority – and the absence of awareness is taken as a sign of inferiority. Those who refuse to ‘be aware’ are frequently morally condemned. Outwardly, awareness-raisers eschew the language of morality. They insist that they’re just providing information to help people make an informed choice. They say they are not in the business of judging others; they only want to support ‘the vulnerable’. In truth, when it comes to preaching, these awareness entrepreneurs are in a class of their own. They may use the rhetoric of non-judgmentalism, but they have no inhibitions about telling parents how to bring up their children or instructing citizens on how to behave and what food we should consume.