Kirstin at Barefoot and Laughing has been in New Orleans for several weeks doing interviews for a book on survivors of Katrina and the federal flood. She will take leave on Sunday. Her farewell gift is a beautiful and moving post on my beloved city of New Orleans. She is among the best of the best of those who attempt to describe the nearly ineffable attraction of the city for those who are natives and for those who are New Orleanians by adoption. Not all natives of the city love it. Not all who visit or move to the city like it, but those who fall in love, fall hard.
I have not lived in New Orleans for over 40 years, but, as yet, I feel like a New Orleanian living in exile. There is much to like about the town that I live in, but the home of my heart is, and will always be, New Orleans. For me, to be a New Orleanian is part of my nature, part of who I am, whether I live there or not.
You can imagine my joy when a visitor sees what I see and feels what I feel about my beloved and writes something like this:
There is hope here. I heard it yesterday in the voice of a woman who had organized a neighborhood renewal, since spread throughout the city, based on cooperation and sharing resources. I saw her love for her home, and this city, shining in her eyes, as she talked about how she has been blessed in the gifts she’s been able to give.
I hear it over and over, in the stories people tell me of their lives in this city since the storm. They tell me why they love it here, why they came home, why they stayed. They stayed because it is their home. Because Houston or Mobile or wherever, just wasn’t. Because this is New Orleans. There is a vivacity here that is unique to this place. So much in the culture is about relationships, and about acceptance. You can be whoever you are—not only in the Mardi Gras, crazy way portrayed in the media (though there is that), but in your dailiness as well. The violence, and crime, are of course awful. But life is celebrated here, too.
I am in love with the spirit of resurrection I see and feel all around me. I’d give anything to be able to stay, longer than I can. I’m hoping and praying to come back. The spiritual rebirth is as apparent as the physical, and everything in me wants to be part of it.
Please go read her entire post. Kirstin has a wonderful gift for writing, and this piece is from her heart.
Friday, January 25, 2008
About The Man Who Licks His Comb
From Juan Cole on the State Department re-hiring Paul Wolfowitz as an adviser on arms control:
Hiring Paul Wolfowitz to advise the State Department on arms control is like hiring Lindsay Lohan as a driving instructor.
Besides, when someone is consistently wrong and always vastly exaggerating the threat from abroad, it isn't normal.
....
And we need him to vastly exaggerate the threat from Iran, why? Maybe because no one reputable would take it on.
Take Cole's "trip down memory lane" on Wolfowitz's mistakes from the long-ago past.
Read the rest of Cole's post for the day and for days past, if you like. I try not to miss his daily reports on the Middle East.
Riding On The Road To Damascus?
An illumination depicting the Conversion of Saint Paul from "Livre d'Heures d'Étienne Chevalier" (c. 1450–1460) by Jean Fouquet.
In the church calendar, we celebrate the conversion of Saul of Tarsus from a persecutor of Christians to a follower of Jesus. He then became known as Paul.
Acts 22:6-11
Paul Tells of His Conversion
‘While I was on my way and approaching Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” I answered, “Who are you, Lord?” Then he said to me, “I am Jesus of Nazareth* whom you are persecuting.” Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me. I asked, “What am I to do, Lord?” The Lord said to me, “Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told everything that has been assigned to you to do.” Since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, those who were with me took my hand and led me to Damascus.
In most depictions of the event, Paul is shown on a horse, but in his own account in "Acts", there is no mention of a horse. My question: Was Paul riding a horse?
Won't some biblical scholar help me out here? Would a person in Saul's position in Roman-occupied territory have been traveling on a horse? I want to know.
Readings:
Psalm 67
Acts 26:9-21
Galatians 1:11-24
Matthew 10:16-22
PRAYER
O God, who by the preaching of your apostle Paul have caused the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world: Grant, we pray, that we, having his wonderful conversion in remembrance, may show ourselves thankful to you by following his holy teaching; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Image from Wiki.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Gov. Bobby Jindal Watch - Two
From the Baton Rouge Advocate:
Gov. Bobby Jindal faces state ethics charges for failing to timely disclose more than $100,000 in campaign aid he received from the state Republican Party.
The Louisiana Board of Ethics ordered a public hearing to explore charges that Jindal and his governor’s campaign committee violated the state’s Campaign Finance Disclosure Act.
Timmy Teepell, Jindal’s chief of staff, said Thursday night that Jindal would pay the fine.
Jindal failed to “accurately disclose in-kind contributions” from the state GOP, according to a Tuesday letter notifying Jindal of the reporting problem.
Well, that didn't take long. Our new governor ran on the promise of change, the promise of bringing ethics back to government in Louisiana. He'll have to start with himself, won't he?
Thanks to Oyster for the heads-up.
Gov. Bobby Jindal faces state ethics charges for failing to timely disclose more than $100,000 in campaign aid he received from the state Republican Party.
The Louisiana Board of Ethics ordered a public hearing to explore charges that Jindal and his governor’s campaign committee violated the state’s Campaign Finance Disclosure Act.
Timmy Teepell, Jindal’s chief of staff, said Thursday night that Jindal would pay the fine.
Jindal failed to “accurately disclose in-kind contributions” from the state GOP, according to a Tuesday letter notifying Jindal of the reporting problem.
Well, that didn't take long. Our new governor ran on the promise of change, the promise of bringing ethics back to government in Louisiana. He'll have to start with himself, won't he?
Thanks to Oyster for the heads-up.
"Through the Eye of Katrina"
The current issue of the Journal of American History focuses on Katrina.
This special issue of the Journal of American History, “Through the Eye of Katrina: The Past as Prologue?” provides a compelling first take on the history surrounding the disaster of Hurricane Katrina and its impact on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Twenty articles and essays, written by scholars who specialize on areas that surround this topic, discuss the Katrina disaster through multiple lenses, including political, urban, environmental, architectural, and musical history.
The articles, pictures, audios, and videos are available online. Scout Prime at First Draft beat me to this one.
Image from the Journal of American History.
ORDINATION OF FLORENCE LI TIM-OI
From James Kiefer at the Lectionary:
Florence Li Tim-Oi was ordained a priest by Bp. Ronald Hall of Hong Kong in 1944, primarily because of difficulties occasioned by the Japanese occupation of China. A storm of protest after the war forced her to refrain from exercising her role as a priest. Towards the end of her life, she emigrated to Canada where she was able to resume her priestly duties. She died in 1992.
Readings:
Psalm 116:1-2
Galatians 3:23-28
Luke 10:1-9
Prayer
Gracious God, we thank you for calling Florence Li Tim-Oi, much-beloved daughter, to be the first woman to exercise the office of a priest in our Communion; By the grace of your Spirit inspire us to follow her example, serving your people with patience and happiness all our days, and witnessing in every circumstance to our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the same Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Florence demonstrated extraordinary patience in her long wait to exercise her priestly ministry. My bolding in the biographical information.
Florence Li Tim-Oi was ordained a priest by Bp. Ronald Hall of Hong Kong in 1944, primarily because of difficulties occasioned by the Japanese occupation of China. A storm of protest after the war forced her to refrain from exercising her role as a priest. Towards the end of her life, she emigrated to Canada where she was able to resume her priestly duties. She died in 1992.
Readings:
Psalm 116:1-2
Galatians 3:23-28
Luke 10:1-9
Prayer
Gracious God, we thank you for calling Florence Li Tim-Oi, much-beloved daughter, to be the first woman to exercise the office of a priest in our Communion; By the grace of your Spirit inspire us to follow her example, serving your people with patience and happiness all our days, and witnessing in every circumstance to our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the same Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Florence demonstrated extraordinary patience in her long wait to exercise her priestly ministry. My bolding in the biographical information.
A Word From Brother Causticus
Brother Causticus, who writes at TitusOneTen, my favorite of all the vergers of my virtual acquaintance, has broken silence to request prayers for the people of the Diocese of San Joaquin - for those who will go and for those who will stay. Brother Causticus is working with the vergers of the diocese in their "listening process" and is presently situated "en suite with the very-nearly-abstemious and Tablet-perusing Deacon Thorndike Andrewes, availing himself of the complimentary Internet connection in a commodious double queen room at the Comfort Inn overlooking historic downtown Hanford, California."
Hearing from the good brother again was immensely satisfying, but I was somewhat mystified by his words in the quote which follows:
Though the machinations of offense by proxy – "I, Little Stone Bridget, am thoroughly vexed that Dagenham Rector, noted apostate, has promulgated vulgar representations of and about Father Mass Progeny, which under no circumstances should be viewed by any faithful Anglican, but can be found at… & etc." – are endlessly instructive to be certain, BC avers presently the moment arrives where the thurible must be stoked, torches must be trimmed and lit, and – the Cross leading the way! – the procession move ever on.
Of whom does he speak? Who are these people?
Please go read his entire entry. You won't be sorry. We must encourage him not to leave us without his words of wisdom for long stretches of time.
Hearing from the good brother again was immensely satisfying, but I was somewhat mystified by his words in the quote which follows:
Though the machinations of offense by proxy – "I, Little Stone Bridget, am thoroughly vexed that Dagenham Rector, noted apostate, has promulgated vulgar representations of and about Father Mass Progeny, which under no circumstances should be viewed by any faithful Anglican, but can be found at… & etc." – are endlessly instructive to be certain, BC avers presently the moment arrives where the thurible must be stoked, torches must be trimmed and lit, and – the Cross leading the way! – the procession move ever on.
Of whom does he speak? Who are these people?
Please go read his entire entry. You won't be sorry. We must encourage him not to leave us without his words of wisdom for long stretches of time.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Gov. Bobby Jindal Watch
From Americans United:
Take Louisiana, for example. Earlier this week, Bobby Jindal, a 36-year-old Indian-American, took the reins as the state’s 55th governor. Jindal, who served two terms in Congress as a representative of a suburban New Orleans district, broke through racial divisiveness in the state by touting his personal faith.
....
Jindal, the son of immigrants from India and a born-again Roman Catholic, suggested on the campaign trail that he supported teaching “intelligent design” in public school science courses and boasted about his animosity toward reproductive rights.
....
[Louisiana Family Forum's Tony] Perkins also noted that Jindal’s “top priority” would be to revamp ethics laws to make Louisiana more attractive to businesses “that have shied away from my home state because of its history of political corruption.”
“Once that mission is accomplished,” Perkins continued, “I fully expect him to turn his attention toward promoting a more pro-family environment within the state.”
Bobby Jindal is a Rhodes scholar. He well knows that ID is not science and has no place in the science classroom. This is plain and simple pandering to religious fundamentalists. One wonders what sort of "pro-family environment" we can expect, considering his "animosity toward reproductive rights". We shall see if the new governor meets Tony Perkins' expectations.
You'd think Perkins would know enough to shy away from the mission accomplished metaphor. The fundamentalists seem to enjoy military analogies.
The full name of the organization that these quotes are taken from is Americans United for Separation of Church and State. I believe I'll join and throw them some support.
Thanks to Fran at FranIAm for calling the group to my attention.
Take Louisiana, for example. Earlier this week, Bobby Jindal, a 36-year-old Indian-American, took the reins as the state’s 55th governor. Jindal, who served two terms in Congress as a representative of a suburban New Orleans district, broke through racial divisiveness in the state by touting his personal faith.
....
Jindal, the son of immigrants from India and a born-again Roman Catholic, suggested on the campaign trail that he supported teaching “intelligent design” in public school science courses and boasted about his animosity toward reproductive rights.
....
[Louisiana Family Forum's Tony] Perkins also noted that Jindal’s “top priority” would be to revamp ethics laws to make Louisiana more attractive to businesses “that have shied away from my home state because of its history of political corruption.”
“Once that mission is accomplished,” Perkins continued, “I fully expect him to turn his attention toward promoting a more pro-family environment within the state.”
Bobby Jindal is a Rhodes scholar. He well knows that ID is not science and has no place in the science classroom. This is plain and simple pandering to religious fundamentalists. One wonders what sort of "pro-family environment" we can expect, considering his "animosity toward reproductive rights". We shall see if the new governor meets Tony Perkins' expectations.
You'd think Perkins would know enough to shy away from the mission accomplished metaphor. The fundamentalists seem to enjoy military analogies.
The full name of the organization that these quotes are taken from is Americans United for Separation of Church and State. I believe I'll join and throw them some support.
Thanks to Fran at FranIAm for calling the group to my attention.
Rajun' Cajun Radio
All Louisiana, All The Time!
While I was setting the radio stations on my new car, (yes, my car died in the accident, or rather it was so damaged, that we had to put it down) I discovered a new radio station, Rajun' Cajun Radio, out of Golden Meadow, Louisiana. That's down Bayou Lafourche from me - way down the bayou.
6:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. - The Hot Sauce Express - "Get on the Hot Sauce Express" with Bu-Bud and Waylon Thibodeaux. Every weekday morning, they host a 4-hour morning show featuring some of the best Cajun, Zydeco and Swamp Pop music in the world. On Friday mornings, from 7am - 8:00am, join Hugh Louviere for the South Louisiana Hunting and Fishing Show.
What's not to like? Well, I skip the fishing part. Some of the Swamp Pop Music sounds a lot like rhythm and blues and the old rock 'n' roll, the good stuff from the 50s.
Every cloud must have a silver lining
Wait until the sun shines through
I can't stay a melancholy baby forever, right?
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
One Year Ago Today....
At the 1 year anniversary of my first blog post, I reflect on a year that was in many ways a wonder to me. When I started to blog, I thought that after the first rush of virtual friends dropped by, few would come around to visit, but I wanted to write and do commentary on the events of the day and give my family and friends a break from my harangues. Even if the blog turned out to be nothing more than a diary, it would not be all loss.
The time and work required to do what seemed like simple posts is beyond what I ever imagined. The blog has taken over my life in ways that I never thought possible. I confess that on some days I look at what I have written, and I think that it's not worth the time I put in. I've said to myself, "Woman, give it up". Let me be clear. I'm not soliciting compliments or reassurance with these words. Far too many of you good folks have complimented me far beyond my desserts, and I thank you for the many kind words. But, in the end, it will be my own judgment of what I do here that will determine if I think it's worth the time and effort.
Through the blog, I have met so many wonderful people, in both virtual and real life. Our gathering in New York was fantastic. I would not have missed that for the world. I loved meeting Kirstin in New Orleans. You, my friends, have enriched my life greatly. I won't name names, because you are many, and I would surely leave someone important out.
A week or so ago, I happened to notice that my numbers on StatCounter were right at 57,969. Today they're at 59,562. In a few days, I will round off 60,000. Now I know that's nowhere near the numbers of the big league religion bloggers, but I am humbled to have that many visitors. I'm sure that a large number of visitors come from Google or some other search engine and don't find what they want at my blog and click off immediately. Perhaps a few take a look around and one or two come back. The great majority of those who visit do not leave a comment. To those of you who come to read, thank you. To those of you who leave comments, a special thank you. I love the exchange in the comments, as much, if not more, than the writing. But, of course, without the writing, there would be no exchange.
At the end of a year, I owe more to you, my readers, than I can say. It was good for me. Was it good for you?
The time and work required to do what seemed like simple posts is beyond what I ever imagined. The blog has taken over my life in ways that I never thought possible. I confess that on some days I look at what I have written, and I think that it's not worth the time I put in. I've said to myself, "Woman, give it up". Let me be clear. I'm not soliciting compliments or reassurance with these words. Far too many of you good folks have complimented me far beyond my desserts, and I thank you for the many kind words. But, in the end, it will be my own judgment of what I do here that will determine if I think it's worth the time and effort.
Through the blog, I have met so many wonderful people, in both virtual and real life. Our gathering in New York was fantastic. I would not have missed that for the world. I loved meeting Kirstin in New Orleans. You, my friends, have enriched my life greatly. I won't name names, because you are many, and I would surely leave someone important out.
A week or so ago, I happened to notice that my numbers on StatCounter were right at 57,969. Today they're at 59,562. In a few days, I will round off 60,000. Now I know that's nowhere near the numbers of the big league religion bloggers, but I am humbled to have that many visitors. I'm sure that a large number of visitors come from Google or some other search engine and don't find what they want at my blog and click off immediately. Perhaps a few take a look around and one or two come back. The great majority of those who visit do not leave a comment. To those of you who come to read, thank you. To those of you who leave comments, a special thank you. I love the exchange in the comments, as much, if not more, than the writing. But, of course, without the writing, there would be no exchange.
At the end of a year, I owe more to you, my readers, than I can say. It was good for me. Was it good for you?
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