Sunday, October 19, 2008
Exhausted!
Last week was hellish, not because of terrible things happening, but because of my having too much to do in too short a time. I was exhausted. I do not have the energy that I once had, and, in truth, I was never a particularly energetic type. Being married to a hyperactive man for 47 years has not always been easy.
Yesterday, I was not in the mood to go anywhere, and I would have skipped the lunch with my old schoolmates, but for the fact that I enjoy their company, and because we are not youngsters (surprise!), and who knows when this will happen again, if ever?
I went to bed early last night and slept the sleep of the dead and woke up late. I played hooky from church, because I simply could not get going. I almost never miss church, unless I'm ill, and I go with wings on my feet, because I really want to be there. I missed Walter Bruggemann's talk in the adult class, but I hope to be able to watch the DVD later. We've had lively and interesting discussions in the class, some of the best ever.
PS: My daughter may kill me over this one. She does not smoke joints.
Colin Powell Endorses Obama
I have many issues with Colin Powell, but here's Powell at his best and most eloquent. This story will dominate the news for several days, and there are not many days left before the election. That is all to the good. I believe that Powell's endorsement will help many of the still (amazingly!) undecided make up their minds in favor of Obama. Perhaps, he may even change a few minds.
I hope that Powell's quite moving story of the picture of the Muslim mother grieving over the grave of her son, who died in Irag, his headstone marked with the star and crescent, rather than the cross or the star of David, will help greatly to counter the idiot notion that Muslim equals terrorist.
His calling attention to the vicious campaign to link Obama to terrorism because of his tenuous connection to William Ayers will be especially helpful. Who knows? It may even get the attention of the doltish managers of the McCain campaign. Of course, I could be wrong.
UPDATE: Here's a link to the picture, thanks to Harriet. The mother looks so young.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
"Blogtigued"
Like my friend, Oyster, I am a bit blogtigued today, dragged down, as he says, by "the spirit of gravity". I need a day off. Besides, Grandpère and I are going to Mandeville, Louisiana, to have lunch with several of my schoolmates from high school. GP will be the only gentleman there, because I attended an all-girls Roman Catholic high school. I need him along to drive me across the 26 mile causeway over Lake Pontchartrain. We were once in an accident, 17 car pile-up, on the bridge, and I can no longer drive it for fear of a panic attack.
Until later, my friends.
Until later, my friends.
Friday, October 17, 2008
13 Signs That You'll Live To Be 100
From Prevention, via MSN.com/Health:
1. Your Mom Had You Young
2. You're a Tea Lover
3. You'd Rather Walk
4. You Skip Soda (Even Diet)
5. You Have Strong Legs
6. You Eat Purple Food
7. You Were a Healthy-Weight Teen
8. You Don't Like Burgers
9. You've Been a College Freshman
10. You Really Like Your Friends
11. … and They're Healthy
12. You Don't Have a Housekeeper
13. You're a Flourisher
The article does not promise that you will live to be 100. You can find the details on the signs at the site.
I'm good on #1-4. I am now working vigorously on #5 (better late than never). #6-10, I'm good. #11-12: I do have unhealthy friends, but at my age, that's nearly inevitable, and I do have a housekeeper who comes every other week.
I don't know if I'm a flourisher, or not. I was surprised at the number of things I was doing right. Well, um, I did not actually do #1, did I? My mother did that.
1. Your Mom Had You Young
2. You're a Tea Lover
3. You'd Rather Walk
4. You Skip Soda (Even Diet)
5. You Have Strong Legs
6. You Eat Purple Food
7. You Were a Healthy-Weight Teen
8. You Don't Like Burgers
9. You've Been a College Freshman
10. You Really Like Your Friends
11. … and They're Healthy
12. You Don't Have a Housekeeper
13. You're a Flourisher
The article does not promise that you will live to be 100. You can find the details on the signs at the site.
I'm good on #1-4. I am now working vigorously on #5 (better late than never). #6-10, I'm good. #11-12: I do have unhealthy friends, but at my age, that's nearly inevitable, and I do have a housekeeper who comes every other week.
I don't know if I'm a flourisher, or not. I was surprised at the number of things I was doing right. Well, um, I did not actually do #1, did I? My mother did that.
Feast Of Ignatius Of Antioch
Readings:
Psalm 116:1-8 31:1-5
Romans 8:35-39
John 12:23-26
Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written,
‘For your sake we are being killed all day long;
we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.’
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:35-39
PRAYER
Almighty God, we praise you for your bishop and martyr Ignatius of Antioch, who offered himself as grain to be ground by the teeth of wild beasts that he might present to you the pure bread of sacrifice. Accept the willing tribute of our lives, and give us a share in the pure and spotless offering of your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Let us pray for our Christian brothers and sisters in the city of Mosul in Iraq, who are being killed or forced to flee their homes because of what appears to be deliberate targeting of Christians.
From CNN:
At least 900 Christian families have fled Mosul in the past week, terrified by a series of killings and threats by Muslim extremists ordering them to convert to Islam or face possible death, officials said Saturday.
....
"Where is the government and its security forces as these crimes take place every day?" asked Azoz, a carpenter who is staying with his wife and three children in a town about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Mosul, according to AP.
The history of certain of the Iraqi Christian communities stretches back to the early church. They have suffered terribly during the war. Nearly half their numbers were killed, or kidnapped, or forced to flee for their lives to neighboring countries. It appears that their suffering is far from over.
Icon of Ignatius being martyred from Wiki.
UPDATE: More on the Christians in Mosul and one of their leaders, the Anglican Bishop of Cyprus and the Gulf, at OCICBW.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
"Fair And Balanced"
In an effort to be "fair and Balanced", I decided to post a little about McCain, or rather the McCain campaign, from the same article by Nicholas Lemann in The New Yorker which I referenced in my post below.
The people around McCain put me in mind of one of those old war movies where a salty, can-do major struts into the mess hall and points: “You—soldier! I like the cut of your jib. How about coming along on a special operation? Not for the faint of heart.” And then he knows how to cadge some light artillery, a couple of jeeps, and some rations from the quartermaster (he’ll do the paperwork later). In the McCain campaign, the women (and not just Sarah Palin) tend to be a little saucy and the men look uncomfortable in suits, and it would be difficult to produce an organization chart that would explain the relationship of McCain’s travelling buddies from the Senate, Lindsey Graham and Joseph Lieberman, to the staff and the short roster of outside advisers.
To the author, I'd say that the phrase, "cut of your jib" might be better suited to addressing a sailor, rather than a soldier, but, of course, I could be wrong. Who am I to say that an author who publishes in The New Yorker made a mistake?
We learn that Sarah Palin is not the only "saucy" woman in the McCain campaign, although the others are only "a little saucy". One might say that Palin is beyond saucy, but I would never say that. The men may look uncomfortable in suits, however, I'd be obliged to draw the line and object if the author described either Lindsey Graham or Joe Lieberman as "saucy".
Both Graham and Lieberman are far down on my list of favorites. They'd be farther down on my list than McCain, except that he is running for president. There's something about Graham that I find truly off-putting the minute he opens his mouth. I don't know what it is, but I can't listen to him.
That's about as "fair and balanced" as I can be.
The people around McCain put me in mind of one of those old war movies where a salty, can-do major struts into the mess hall and points: “You—soldier! I like the cut of your jib. How about coming along on a special operation? Not for the faint of heart.” And then he knows how to cadge some light artillery, a couple of jeeps, and some rations from the quartermaster (he’ll do the paperwork later). In the McCain campaign, the women (and not just Sarah Palin) tend to be a little saucy and the men look uncomfortable in suits, and it would be difficult to produce an organization chart that would explain the relationship of McCain’s travelling buddies from the Senate, Lindsey Graham and Joseph Lieberman, to the staff and the short roster of outside advisers.
To the author, I'd say that the phrase, "cut of your jib" might be better suited to addressing a sailor, rather than a soldier, but, of course, I could be wrong. Who am I to say that an author who publishes in The New Yorker made a mistake?
We learn that Sarah Palin is not the only "saucy" woman in the McCain campaign, although the others are only "a little saucy". One might say that Palin is beyond saucy, but I would never say that. The men may look uncomfortable in suits, however, I'd be obliged to draw the line and object if the author described either Lindsey Graham or Joe Lieberman as "saucy".
Both Graham and Lieberman are far down on my list of favorites. They'd be farther down on my list than McCain, except that he is running for president. There's something about Graham that I find truly off-putting the minute he opens his mouth. I don't know what it is, but I can't listen to him.
That's about as "fair and balanced" as I can be.
Just Because They Are...
From Mark at Enough About Me:
Walking home, this morning, the sun still barely making a purple glow on the horizon, I looked up into the branches of the oaks that line the streets here. They were black against the sky, and their shapes and the "white space" effect touched me, delighted me, somehow. I remembered, then, how such things delighted me as a child, not because of anything, just because they were.
Yes, where is the lost innocence that delights in things because they are? Read the rest of Mark's post.
Walking home, this morning, the sun still barely making a purple glow on the horizon, I looked up into the branches of the oaks that line the streets here. They were black against the sky, and their shapes and the "white space" effect touched me, delighted me, somehow. I remembered, then, how such things delighted me as a child, not because of anything, just because they were.
Yes, where is the lost innocence that delights in things because they are? Read the rest of Mark's post.
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