TWO DOGS DINING

All right, visitors, the video is long for bloggers' attention spans at over six minutes, but, once you start watching, I believe you won't be able to stop. I was hooked within a few seconds.

No blame here; only thanks to Doug.

GOOD-BYE MATT

From the Washington Post:

James Arness, who presided over the frontier town of Dodge City as television’s most enduring western hero, the laconic, fair-minded and incorruptible Marshal Matt Dillon of the two-decade-long series “Gunsmoke,” died June 3 at his home in Los Angeles at 88. The cause of death was not reported.

Mr. Arness, who was a rugged 6-foot-7, stood tall in the dusty streets of Dodge City, Kan., portraying a U.S. marshal whose badge represented more than just the force of law. He was the embodiment of quiet moral authority, a sensitive arbiter of conflict in a rough-and-ready cow town — “Gomorrah of the plains, they call it,” as he said in the show’s first episode. Only when pushed to the limit would Marshal Dillon pull his six-gun from its holster.

"Gunsmoke" was a must-watch TV show for me for years, and the characters, Matt, Miss Kitty, Doc, Chester, and Festus were were fond members of my extended family living at a distance in time and place in the "Gomorrah of the plains".

His relationship with Miss Kitty developed to the point that they shared a kiss during one episode in 1973. They never married, though, and the social order of Dodge City remained intact.

After the kiss, Matt should have married Miss Kitty to keep her reputation intact instead of being concerned with the social order, don't you think?

Guys, take note: Matt was tough and sensitive.

R.I.P., James. You brought many of us pleasure for a long time, and your character, Matt, taught us how to live. I like to think that there was more than a little of you in Matt.

"I'M IN CHARGE 'ERE!" 'E SAYS

I am the very model of the focus of great unity

I say who is to be a bishop vis-à-vis who's not to be

And when four-thirty's come and gone with tea and crumpets for each one

I read a little Johnny Donne and give thanks for impunity



I'm very well acquainted, too, with matters theological

With books and thoughts from Genesis to Greek eschatalogical

You'll never find a brighter mind just knocking 'round and killing time

The Pauline corpus whole is mine - that's why I'm Christological



Yet even with so fine a grasp on life-behind philosophy

I'll write a poem, make a vid, and burn it all to DVD

I've yet to have a thought that wasn't captured without modesty

And posted up to interwebs in matters most postmodernly



This purple cassock hides a frame that's wracked with years of self-regret

Perhaps I'd show you after ten, but not until just then, you bet

I'd like to quote 'The Body's Grace' and get along with homophiles

But unity comes with a price and Lambeth is my domicile



Because the Thames, so fast and deep, so easily o'erflows its banks

And we have all these partnerships the world around, and we give thanks

To God the Father in whose name we obfuscate and place the blame

And dare not speak the love whose fame incites us all to spank the Yanks



Who even now would like to say that what they said and what they meant

Were justice-born and justice-done and no great cause for gross lament

When some elect and some consent, it's democratic government

So let's get on our knees, repent, and sign up for the Covenant



Yet there's a place for each and all at God's communion table

And I am called an Instrument to say that we are able

If we could only change the tide and Unity could take a ride

And Faith and Order lay aside ... Perhaps it's just a fable

Lyrics by TOTALLY ANONYMOUS.

I know you know, but think Pirates of Penzance for the tune.

Don't blame me for the Photoshop. Blame MadPriest.

PRAYERS PLEASE

Original request: Molly is only 10 years old but went into congestive heart failure today -- prayers for healing.

Update: The news on Molly isn't good. We will probably loose her tonight. It is cancer & she is bleeding internally. We will probably put her to sleep so she doesn't suffer.

Molly lives with a friend of Ann Fontaine.

Ann also asked for prayers for another friend who is undergoing tests for possible tumors.

Molly is so beautiful. May she have a peaceful passing. May God give comfort and consolation to all who love her.

May Ann's friend receive a good report from the doctors after the tests.

PRAYER REQUEST FROM DAVID@MONTREAL

dear beloved Giants:

before anything else, I'd ask for your ongoing prayers for our cherished sister Kirsten. as you can read in a post on Kirsten's blog by her primary caregiver Andee Barefoot and Laughing. there are now concrete needs in addition to our prayers which are required, and any of you- extraordinary beings that you are- who know of any possible resources..... well you know what to do.

i'd also ask for traveling mercies for our cherished margaret. margaret is about to take a sabbatical month away from her parish in Virginia to visit the Great Leonardo (another radiant Episcopalian, an awesomely talented artist and articulate gay man) living a life of real grace in Guatemala.

traveling mercies this week-end for Christopher also please

i'd ask your prayers please for the repose of my very dear friend and former colleague Louyse, and for the comfort of her family. shortly after my project and employment were cut for financial reasons at the university, Louyse underwent major brain surgery, to remove a large tumor, and essentially since then she has been living with the challenging outcome. a truly beautiful soul of amazing integrity and generosity, Louyse had both the courage and grace to embrace and to live beyond the woundedness of her past and loved nothing more than to invest in the future of her students.

So, beloved giants, you know what to do.

DR KEVORKIAN'S WORK CONTINUES

From The Borowitz Report:

Paul Ryan Vows to Continue Kevorkian’s Work

Medicare to be Replaced with ‘Kevouchers’

Read the rest and more funnies at the link.

OLD COMPUTER, NEW COMPUTER

We are looking to buy a new desktop computer. The store where we had decided to buy the computer promised they would transfer my material from the old desktop to the new and clean the old computer for Grandpère to use. He doesn't do nearly as much on the computer as I do, and the old computer cleaned of my stuff should serve him well.

Well, it turns out that the store cannot do all that they promised, because the employees are only salesmen and not technicians. So we took our old computer back home and, by a miracle, I managed to get the plugs in the right place and get the old computer up and running again.

Now, I'm not sure I will purchase a computer from the store, and I will definitely need someone to do the transfer, because I do not want to lose what I have on my drive in an effort to do it myself. Please do not offer do-it-yourself advice to make the transfer, because I will not even try. Grandpère knows nothing about computers, so he's no help at all.

This post as a whine. Consider it not worth reading but simply as a diary post where I vented my frustration - top secret, for my eyes only.

UPDATE: The good news is that I believe I can set up the new computer on my own. I'll see about the rest.

SHORT STORY OF THE DAY

Wolves were closing in on a mother skunk and her family and there was no place for them to hide.

As the wolves came closer, the mother skunk said,
"We will form a circle, dear children, and let us spray."

I've already asked Doug to leave the stage.

FROM LESLEY TO JIM

Please read Lesley's post titled Moratorium Schmoratorium. The post is short, so I won't give you a quote, but the title should be enough to intrigue you.

And then, read Jim Naughton's post at the Daily Episcopalian on the process of choosing a bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington DC as compared with....

Last week, while the Church of England was dealing with embarrassing revelations about how badly the Archbishops of Canterbury and York had behaved while selecting the current Bishop of Southwark, I was observing the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D. C. as it prepared to choose the successor of Bishop John Bryson Chane, who retires in November.

The process that I witnessed was so different than the one described by the late Dean Colin Slee in his now-famous memo, that it seems almost unfair to draw comparisons. In filling the vacancy in Southwark, the English method of appointing bishops was clearly at its worst. Or so one hopes. A story of subterfuge leavened with a dash of Python-like absurdity, it featured a media leak meant to scuttle two candidacies, clumsy attempts to blame the leak on an innocent party, an investigation into the leak whose findings have been kept secret, and a delicious moment in which the Archbishop of York lobbied for votes while leading a group outing to the toilet. Little wonder that members of the Crown Nominating Committee were reduced to tears during the proceedings.

There's more.

The process in DC sounds similar to ours in the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, when Morris Thompson was elected bishop about a year ago.

FEAST OF THE ASCENSION

THEOPHANES the Cretan - The Ascension - 1546
Stavronikita Monastery, Mount Athos

Matthew 28:16-20

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’

Collect for Ascension Day

Almighty God, whose blessed Son our Savior Jesus Christ ascended far above all heavens that he might fill all things: Mercifully give us faith to perceive that, according to his promise, he abides with his Church on earth, even to the end of the ages; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

The icon is exquisite. The colors are gorgeous; the figures are graceful and beautifully highlighted; the balance of the arrangement of Jesus, Mary, the Apostles, and the angels is wonderful. I don't know how to read icons, but I see inspiration and soul food in the image above.

About the artist:

Theophanis Strelitzas (Θεοφάνης Στρελίτζας), also known as Theophanes the Cretan (Θεοφάνης ο Κρης) or "of Crete" or "Theophanes Bathas", was a leading icon painter of the Cretan school in the first half of the sixteenth century, and in particular the most important figure in Greek wall-painting of the period.

Image from The Web Gallery of Art.

Biographical information from Wikipedia.