REMEMBER DUBYA?

A peeance freeance secure Iraq in the midst of the Middle East will have enormous historical impact.

Yeah!!!

But what does it MEAN?

Those were the days, my friends. We thought they'd never end.

AUCKLAND CASTLE AND THE ZURBARÁNS

From Wikipedia:

Auckland Castle (also known as Auckland Palace or locally as the Bishop's Castle or Bishop's Palace) is a castle in the town of Bishop Auckland in County Durham, England.

The castle has been the official residence of the Bishop of Durham since 1832. However, it has been owned by the diocese for more than 800 years, being established as a hunting lodge for the Prince Bishops of Durham. It is more like a Gothic country house than a true castle with a military function.

Photos were permitted in the public rooms throughout the castle, with one exception. Below, in the center over the fireplace, is Michael Ramsey, who was Bishop of Durham before he was appointed Archbishop of York and then Archbishop of Canterbury. A larger view of the portrait is here.

The one exception to photos was the room I wanted to photograph most, the long dining room with Francisco de Zurbarán's paintings of Jacob and his sons. I was prepared to go from painting to painting and photograph them all, but it was not to be.

The castle's long dining room is home to 12 of the 13 17th century portraits of Jacob and his 12 sons painted by Francisco de Zurbarán. The room, in which they have hung for 250 years, was specifically designed and built for them. In 2001 the Church Commissioners voted to sell the paintings which have a £20m valuation, but relented until a review in 2010.

On 31 March 2011 Church Commissioners announced that plans to sell off the paintings were shelved following a donation of £15 million from investment manager Jonathan Ruffer.

Ever since I heard of their possible sale and removal from their home setting, I've wanted to see the paintings, and my wish was realized. I was able to view the paintings in their proper setting, which was a memorable experience. The paintings and the dining room are indeed impressive. I was thrilled when I heard the news that Ruffer had stepped forward to make it possible for the paintings to remain in place in the dining room at the castle, where they had been since 1756.

Exterior of the chapel at Auckland Castle from Wikipedia.

Interior of the chapel.

The castle is surrounded by 800 acres (3.2 km2) of parkland, which was originally used by the Bishops for hunting and is today open to the public.

Good-bye Auckland Castle, and good-bye to England. My visit to the castle was my final tourist activity before I left and a fitting end to my wonderful travels throughout the Green and Pleasant Land.

Of course, since I don't write of my travels in chronological order, but rather according to the whim of the moment, I have more stories and pictures to come.

A FEW WORDS FROM BROTHER LAWRENCE

From The Practice of the Presence of God:

That when an occasion of practising some virtue offered, he addressed himself to God, saying, 'Lord, I cannot do this unless Thou enablest me,' and then he received strength more than sufficient.

That when he had failed in his duty, he only confessed his fault, saying to God, 'I shall never do otherwise if you leave me to myself; it is You who must hinder my falling and mend what is amiss.' That after this he gave himself no uneasiness about it.

And I say, 'Amen!'

Thanks to Laura at Lay Anglicana for calling to mind the wonderful little book. I still have my yellowed paperback which I bought many years ago, which I've read a good many times, and which I will now read again, since Laura's mention in her latest post on a book on private devotion which changed her life.

Brother Lawrence's book changed my life. I learned from him to keep in mind that God is always present and available and to stop beating myself because I don’t have a regular quiet time set aside. Most days, I pray the short form of individual 'Morning Prayer' and 'Evening Prayer' from The Book of Common Prayer, read the Lectionary readings of the day, and offer prayers of petition and thanksgiving. Some days I forget even the Lectionary.

I turn to God fairly often during the day, most frequently to ask for help, but also to give thanks. And sometimes, I just delight in God's presence quietly for brief periods. Those are my non-scheduled quiet times. You see why Brother Lawrence's words give me such comfort, even though the good monk probably spent more scheduled quiet time with God than I do.

Another quote from the book:

That with him the set times of prayer were not different from other times, that he retired to pray, according to the directions of his superior, but that he did not want such retirement, nor ask for it, because his greatest business did not divert him from God.

I can't say an honest 'Amen' to those words, because I'm all too often diverted from God by busyness and other matters. As I said, I'm no Brother Lawrence, simply a grateful disciple.

OH THE POSSIBILITIES!

My name is XXXXXX and I work at XXXXXXXX, a rapidly-growing custom apparel company. I found your contact info through your blog and wanted to offer you $50 of free printed t-shirts. We can print anything you want on these shirts - your blog name, a memorable quote, or a picture of a cat. This comes out to 3 or 4 shirts, depending on what design you end up choosing. You could use the t-shirts to as prizes for reader contests, giveaways or other for other promotions.

All right, my readers, do you want my t-shirts? Why not a picture of me instead of a picture of a cat on the shirts? What about the text? Oooh, this is so exciting!

Ah, the company is a small start-up, and I wish them well, but I don't see myself as their best customer.

AND THE GHOSTS OF PERRY'S PAST APPEAR

From Sarah Jones at Politicususa:

Here’s the story of how Rick Perry’s name became synonymous with “Teens with T*ts” in some circles. I’ve tried to make this safe for work, but if it’s not, blame Rick Perry, for such are the perils of reporting on good “Christians” like Mr James Richard Perry. If your employer has a problem with this, tell them to see Rick Perry; it’s his money trail we’re following.

Perhaps when you see Rick Perry’s bouffant pompadour, you don’t immediately think “cheerleader”, but pom-pon carrier he was, albeit for Texas A & M instead of the Bush Yale pom-pons that heralded the destruction of America’s economy. But you’re all right with pom-pons on a man. To each their own. You might not be OK with the whole Lieutenant Governor to George W Bush thing. You might not be OK with Perry’s theocratic beliefs. But truthfully, when you picture the handsome, smirking Rick Perry and his Texas down home drawl, are you thinking about pornography?

“Teens Never Say No” kind of pornography? How about “Teens with T*ts”?

In 1995, Perry invested 5 to 10 grand in Movie Gallery, 'at that time, the largest distributor of porn in America, and able to sell and rent regular videos for much cheaper than the competition due to their heady porn profit.' We had an outlet here, and they were a good bit cheaper than Blockbuster back then.

Didn't you know that once Perry took the national stage folks would dig into his background, and didn't you have the feeling that the dark corners were dirty? I know I did. Methinks Rick is going to flame out fast.

There's more, much more at the link. A sample:

What kind of man are we dealing with in Rick Perry? Is he still profiting off of what the AFA calls obscene pornography? Is he still making money off of titles like “Teens with Tits”? In keeping with this line of inquiry into his purported “family values”, we note that Perry also kept on the director of the Texas Film Commission who was disciplined for sexual harassment…twice.

Via Slinkerwink at Daily Kos. H/T to Dennis and Laura on Facebook.

And if I see one more photo of a politician eating a corn dog....

TOO MANY DEATHS

In the past several weeks, it seems that I've been writing about the deaths of an unusual number of people from my various communities. First there was blogger friend, Kirstin. Then there was another blogger friend, Göran. Then there was Frank, David@Montreal's cousin, for whom we prayed for a number of years. Next, Tim Chesterton's friend, Joe, husband and father of four. And then, the boy, Jori, from my own town, brutally murdered by his father. I probably don't have the list in the proper order, but death seems all around. I realize that death is always all around, that death is a part of life, but when so many come within a relatively short period, it tends to overwhelm.

I'm so very grateful for the Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer, with its treasure trove of prayers for those who have died and for those who grieve. I can't think how I would write about the deaths without the comfort the prayers give to me, and, I hope, to others.

STORY OF THE DAY - PSYCHIC ENERGY

For a long time, he was trying to pop
these balloons with psychic energy but
he found a dart was simpler. I save my
psychic energy for more important
things, he told me, like trying to predict
the future. I told him a dart is good for
that too & now he never calls anymore.

From StoryPeople.

GÖRAN KOCH-SWAHNE'S FUNERAL WAS TODAY

From Allan at Facebook:

HELLO DEAR FRIENDS OF THE LATE GORAN KOCH-SWAHNE,WHO LEFT US IN DEEP SORROW ON THE 29TH JULY 2011,THERE WILL BE A FUNERAL SERVICE ON THE 17TH AUGUST 2011 AT STYRSO CHURCH AT 11:30AM. THEREAFTER WE SHALL ALL COME TOGETHER FOR A MEMORIAL SERVICE AT THE PARISH GARDENS.MAY HIS SOUL REST IN PEACE.

ALL LOVE FROM ALLAN.

Two years ago, I met Göran at our bloggers meeting in Leeds in England. The story of our gathering is here. The picture above, which is my favorite of our friend, was taken by another friend, Erika. The photo, from our lunch at the Tiled Hall Café in Leeds, included two flowers on the table, which suggest large boutonnières on Goran's lapels. I left them in the picture because, if I had cropped the flowers out, I would have removed Göran's preaching bands, and I wanted them in the picture. Göran would have been the first to smile at the accidental superimposition. In my post on the gathering, I said:

Pictured above [is] our man from Sweden, Göran, wearing his Ingemar Bergman preaching bands with his clerical collar (So cute!). I know it's not a movie costume but what the clergy wear in Sweden, but I loved the look, and it reminded me of Bergman's movies.

Göran was the very essence of the root of the word 'gentleman', a gentle man, and a humble man, despite his great dignity. His knowledge of theology and scripture was wide and deep, and his brilliance in demolishing foolish arguments from those with far less knowledge was unmatched. His wisdom and knowledge shone especially brightly at Thinking Anglicans.

In the comments to my post on Göran's passing, Erika said:

I always remember how he said he had changed and opened up because of the friendships he made on the blogs and that they had changed his life.

He certainly touched mine very deeply and I shall miss him very much.

Many of us share Erika's sentiments. Those of us who followed Göran on Facebook remember that he always said, 'Good night,' before he signed off for the evening, and I remember that he was always present with his 'Prayers ascending' comment at prayer request posts.

Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant Göran. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive him into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light. Amen.

May his soul and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Almighty God, Father of mercies and giver of comfort: Deal graciously, we pray, with all who mourn; that, casting all their care on you, they may know the consolation of your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Book of Common Prayer)

HA, HA, HA

Paul Begala at The Daily Beast:

I first met Rick Perry in 1985. He was a Democratic freshman state rep, straight off the ranch in Haskell, Texas. He wore his jeans so tight, and, umm, adjusted himself so often that my fellow young legislative aides and I used to call him Crotch. Even among state representatives, even among Texas Aggies (graduates of this cute remedial school we have in Texas), Perry stood out for his modest intellectual gifts. Hell, he got a C in animal breeding. I have goats who got an A in that subject. But lack of brains has never been a hindrance in politics.

Rick Perry threw his hair in the ring on Saturday. His entrance into the GOP presidential field can be a game changer. Perry can raise money as well as Mitt. He can rally the base as well as Michele Bachmann, and he will say or do anything—annnnnnnyyyyyyything—to win. And in today’s Republican Party, if you want to be the nominee you have to be willing to do some really crazy s--t.
....

When you’re more open to secession than Jefferson Davis was a century and a half ago, well, you've gone pretty far.'

Why am I laughing? The mocking humor of progressive elitists only serves to energize our conservative opponents. We must learn to take the pose of sobersides, look grim, never ridicule their senseless commentary, never make a joke at their expense. THEN, perhaps we'd take the wind out of their sails. Come on! We can do it!

Photo from Wikipedia.

PLEASE PRAY FOR JORI AND HIS FAMILY

O God, whose beloved Son took little children into his arms to bless them: Give us grace, we beseech you, to entrust this child Jori to your never-failing care and love, and bring us all to your heavenly kingdom; through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Most merciful God, whose wisdom is beyond our understanding: Deal graciously with Jesslyn and all who love Jori in their grief. Surround them with your love, that they may not be overwhelmed by their loss, but have confidence in your goodness, and strength to meet the days to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Help us in the community of Thibodaux, we pray, in the midst of things we cannot understand, to believe and trust in your everlasting love, in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection to life everlasting. Amen.

The story of Jori's tragic death is here.

Prayers (slightly edited) from the The Book of Common Prayer.

Further details on the murder at NOLA.com. Warning: Horrific reading.