'GUESS WHO LOVES DICK CHENEY'S BOOK'

NEW YORK (The Borowitz Report) – Publishing circles were abuzz today with the news that the new memoir by former Vice President Dick Cheney features a foreword by an unusual contributor: Satan.

Read it all. Andy reports; you decide.

KVETCHING ANYONE?

On Facebook, I noted a number of instances of kvetching that the media over-hyped the threat posed by Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene. As I watched the news coverage of Irene, I did not at all see the coverage of the storm as overdone. Predictions of paths and intensity of hurricanes are not precise, even with the technological resources now available to track the storms.

Some who were only mildly affected by Irene seemed almost to be a tad disappointed that effects of the storm were not more serious in their area. Since I live near the coast in south Louisiana, I've endured the watching and waiting many times, and I've never thought news coverage was overdone, and I'm no great fan of TV news. Each time the worst effects of the hurricanes or tropical storms by-passed my area after we appeared to be under threat, my reaction was one of relief and gratitude, while at the same time I felt great sympathy for those who were affected badly by the storm.

From CNN:

Flooding emerged as a major concern Monday for states hit by Irene, which hit the East Coast as a hurricane and then a tropical storm over three days.

Even as Irene weakened to a tropical storm, authorities warned that its impact was not waning, especially in Vermont.

"Many Americans are still at serious risk of power outages and flooding, which could get worse in coming days as rivers swell past their banks," President Barack Obama said Sunday, adding: "The recovery effort will last for weeks or longer."

Officials said the storm had knocked out power to more than 4 million people and was responsible for at least 21 deaths.

Never, ever will I forget the commentary after the worst of Katrina had passed through New Orleans that the city had, in effect, 'dodged a bullet', only to have the levees break and flood large areas of the city, killing nearly 2000 and wreaking massive destruction. The kvetching has now died down as we know more of the devastation that resulted from Irene, but what I read pained me at the time.

Let us pray for those who were killed in the storm.

Let us pray for those who grieve for lost loved ones.

Let us pray for the safety of those who may yet be in danger from flooding.

Let us pray for those whose homes were destroyed or massively damaged in the storm.

Let us pray for those who lost their businesses or their jobs.

Let us pray for those without electrical power, especially those who may be without power for days or weeks.

I've only scratched the surface in listing those who are in distress from the storm. Pleas pray for all who were harmed in any way by Irene.

Click on the link below to watch a slide show.

Photos: Hurricane Irene Aftermath | Denver Post Media Center — Denver, Colorado, Photos and Video

Do read Rmj's post at Adventus, titled 'Still the view from Manhattan'.

'GOODNIGHT IRENE' - LEADBELLY

A wonderful 1943 version of the song by the late, great Leadbelly, folk and blues musician.

Although Lead Belly most commonly played the twelve-string, he could also play the piano, mandolin, harmonica, violin, concertina, and accordion. In some of his recordings, such as in one of his versions of the folk ballad "John Hardy", he performs on the accordion instead of the guitar. In other recordings he just sings while clapping his hands or stomping his foot.

The topics of Lead Belly's music covered a wide range of subjects, including gospel songs; blues songs about women, liquor and racism; and folk songs about cowboys, prison, work, sailors, cattle herding, and dancing. He also wrote songs concerning the newsmakers of the day, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Adolf Hitler, Jean Harlow, the Scottsboro Boys, and Howard Hughes.

(From Wikipedia)

Thanks to Kathryn on Facebook for posting the video, which, of course, I had to have for Wounded Bird.

'IN LOVING REMEMBRANCE - KIRSTIN'S MEMORIAL SERVICE'

From Andee at Barefoot and Laughing:

On July 30, 2011, family and friends of Kirstin Paisley gathered together at Trinity Cathedral in Sacramento, California, to remember the gift she was in their lives. This gathering was a time for remembering, celebrating, loving, joking and sharing.

With many, many thanks to videographer Sean McConnell....

Here is the gorgeous two-part video that intertwines Kirstin's July 30, 2011 memorial service, with the tributes that were offered during the reception afterwards, and photos of her life.

Join us in remembering...

View or download the full worship bulletin here.

Remembering Kirstin: Part One from Sean McConnell

Remembering Kirstin: Part Two from Sean McConnell

 

Click the links above the image to view the vimeos.

SPELL CHECKER

I halve a spelling checker,
It came with my pea see.
It plainly marks four my revue
Mistakes I dew knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait aweigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the era rite
Its rarely ever wrong.

I've scent this massage threw it,
And I'm shore your pleased too no
Its letter prefect in every weigh;
My checker tolled me sew.

Cheers,

Paul (A.)

Sent in between buckets as he bails out his basement flooded with 3" of water, thanks to rain sent by Irene.

HURRICANE IRENE - MY PRAYERS AND MY THOUGHTS ARE WITH YOU

O God, creator and preserver of all mankind, we pray for all in the path of Hurricane Irene, especially for the sick and disabled and those who care for them; for all who watch and wait in uncertainty; we ask you to comfort and relieve them and bring them safely through the storm. And this we pray for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.

UPDATE: I posted a later image from Weather Underground.

UPDATE 2: I'm keeping the prayer post at the head of my blog for now.

DOGS BANNED IN NYC BARS

From the New York Times:

Miles has been going to Ace Bar all his life.

His face has grayed there. Friends have come and gone. He never paid for a drink, but rarely walked out of the East Village bar with an empty stomach. He may have purged his dinner on the floor a time or two, his fellow bar patrons said, but who among them hadn’t done the same?
....

“He’s a dog, but I swear he looks sad,” Mike Israely, 33, said of Miles, his 9-year-old boxer-pug mix, as the dog peered through Ace Bar’s glass doors Thursday night. “Coming here was part of our evening walk.”

Dogs in bars have long been banned in NYC, but it was a look-the-other-way offense that was much ignored. Actually, I could not resist linking to the article in the NYT because I liked the second paragraph, but I do think that it would have been better if the powers had continued to look the other way for well-behaved dog patrons. That dogs are not allowed even at outside tables, is pushing the rules too far.

Once we took Diana to a Mardi Gras parade here in Thibodaux, only to be told that dogs were not allowed at parades. The officer did not make us leave with Diana, which was kind of him, and we haven't tested the rule again.

STORY OF THE DAY - VETERAN TRAVELER

carries a lot of suitcases but all of them
are empty because she's expecting to
completely fill them with life by the end
of this trip & then she'll come home &
sort everything out & do it all again

From StoryPeople.

WE ARE ALL DESERTERS

And Jesus said to them, ‘You will all become deserters; for it is written,

“I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.”

But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.’ Peter said to him, ‘Even though all become deserters, I will not.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Truly I tell you, this day, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.’ But he said vehemently, ‘Even though I must die with you, I will not deny you.’ And all of them said the same.

From Mark 14: 27-31

There it is. Jesus said it. Were his words just for the disciples at the time? I don't think so. The passage is for all of us. At one time or another, we turn away from God, even if only briefly. Peter denied Christ, as we all do in one way or another.

In Chapter 16 of Matthew's Gospel, after Peter confesses to Jesus, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’, Jesus says:

‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’

Did Jesus take back the keys to the kingdom from Peter after his denial? The rest of the story tells us Jesus did not. And the keys of the kingdom are not just for Peter, but for us, too, and despite our desertions, Jesus does not take back the keys when we desert him.

From Psalms 16, which is also in the readings for today, one of my favorite passages in the Scriptures:

You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fullness of joy;
in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.

...in the kingdom of God, which is right now, but not yet.

My meandering reflections on today's readings from the Lectionary, which may have meaning only to me.

PRIEST'S MURDERER FOUND GUILTY

From the Daily Comet:

A 33-year-old man is guilty of bludgeoning a priest to death in August 1992, a verdict that brings closure to a murder mystery that stumped police for 15 years.

A 12-member jury unanimously found Derrick Odomes guilty of second degree murder Thursday afternoon following a two-day trial.

Prosecutors argued that Odomes bludgeoned the Rev. Hunter Horgan to death Aug. 13, 1992, inside the priest's office in St. John's Episcopal Church in Thibodaux. Odomes, who was 14 years old in 1992, was arrested in September 2007.
....

District Judge John E. LeBlanc, who presided over the trial, ruled last year that Odomes can't be sentenced if convicted of the slaying because he was a juvenile at the time of Horgan's death.

But Odomes received a life sentence last week as a result of six felony convictions he has racked up in the 19 years since the alleged murder, ensuring he will face significant jail time regardless of the outcome of the murder trial.

The article reveals details which I never knew before and which I'd rather not know now, but there it is.

Pray for Fr Hunter Horgan's family and all who loved him, including the parishioners at St John's, that God will give them comfort, consolation, and the peace that passes understanding to keep their minds and hearts.

Pray for Derrick Odomes. Some won't like that I ask for prayers for Derrick, but Jesus said pray for your enemies. That is enough for me.