A BIT EARLY BUT...

 

...is it ever too early to be prepared?

From someecards.

I TRIED TO TELL HER I'M TOO YOUNG

Grandpère bakes beer bread from time to time.  His latest loaf was especially delicious, perhaps because he used a special lager given him by a friend in the recipe.  I offered a slice to my 12 year old grandson, and he told me, "I can't have that; I'm underage."  I tried to explain to him that bread with a little beer in it or food cooked with a little wine was fine for him, but I don't think I made much headway.  I didn't tell him he's probably already had food cooked with wine.

The picture does not show GP's loaf because it's nearly gone.

Image from Wikipedia.

TURKEY HUNTING

 

Too late for Thanksgiving, but the old guy is way ahead of the game (no pun intended) for Christmas.

Don't blame me.  Blame Doug.

STORY OF THE DAY - ONE OF US

Someday, the light will shine like a sun through my 
skin & they will say, What have you done with your 
life? & though there are many moments I think I will 
remember, in the end, I will be proud to say, I was 
one of us.

From StoryPeople.

BACH WITH A BAR-GRAPH SCORE

Bach's most famous organ piece, with a bar-graph score.

Beautiful music.  The visual bar-graph score is fascinating to watch.

H/T to margaret.

AND THEY WONDER WHY THEY LOST THE ELECTION

 

Just unbelievable! Granted they only have 20 women in their camp and even less minorities, but this is UNDENIABLE, IN YOUR FACE the party of rich white men! SICKENING! House GOP Committee Chairs Will All Be White Men In Next Congress.  The Huffington Post.

Not even one.  Not even a token minority or woman chairperson.  Are Republican politicians teachable? 

"LINCOLN" THE MOVIE

Last Sunday, Grandpère and I went to see "Lincoln", the movie.  I urge you to see the film.  It is excellent.  Daniel Day-Lewis will be Abraham Lincoln for generations to come.  As one reviewer put it, the Oscar for best actor might just as well be handed over to Lewis today.  His portrayal of Lincoln is superb.

Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln should be a contender for best actress, as well as Tommy Lee Jones for best supporting actor for his role as Republican leader in the US House of Representatives, Thaddeus Stevens.  And how fortunate Lincoln was to have such a wise and steadfast friend, William Seward, as Secretary of State, ably performed by David Strathairn.

Steven Spielberg's direction of the actors' performances of Tony Kushner's outstanding script is masterful.  A good deal of the material for the screenplay was taken from Doris Kearns Goodwin's book titled Team of Rivals. I would not be surprised if the film made a sweep of most of the major awards - best picture, best director, best screenplay.

The movie is not a biography, but rather tells the story of the last few months of Lincoln's life, when he was focused, first and foremost, on passage of the 13th amendment to the US Constitution abolishing slavery through a recalcitrant House of Representatives.  Sound familiar?  At the same time, Lincoln attempted to arrange the terms to end the bloody Civil War, and, in his personal life, he dealt with his emotionally fragile wife, who had already lost two sons, and strongly opposed her son Robert's determination to join the war effort.  As all the photographs of the day portray Lincoln, he was a man who bore heavy burdens.

As I watched the movie, I was carried through the history of the United States back to its beginning and forward to the present day.  We reap the bitter harvest now of our foundation as the "land of the free" with the dark stain of slavery intact.  Democracy was and is a messy form of government, which hardly ever gets things quite right, but what other form is better?

Another thought came to mind: whether consciously or unconsciously, President Obama may quite often use Lincoln as his model for how to be president.  Although the two men, Lincoln and Obama, are quite different characters and personalities, I see similarities in the manner that they conducted themselves in office.

Oh, and how in heaven's name did the Republican Party of Lincoln's day come to be the Republican Party of today?  As I pondered the answer to the question, a quick series of historical flashbacks all the way back to the beginning of our history gave me an overview of how the transformation took place.  Up until today, we still wrestle with the consequences of the institution of slavery embedded in the foundation of our country.

A film that causes me think as seriously about the history of my country as "Lincoln" might well merit the designation of "great".    

Image from Wikipedia.

UPDATE: Tobias Haller wrote a splendid review of the film titled "Lincoln as Grand Opera", which is quite different from mine, though we both come to the same conclusion that "Lincoln" is a must-see movie.  Besides, Tobias' review is that of an expert as he was an actor in another life.

RED SKY

A red sky tonight 
Without moon or stars in sight 
Making my walk bright

What is it that makes the cloudy night sky reddish and the surroundings as bright as if the sky was cloudless with a full moon?

WHEN I DIE...

An arrogant and cranky old man and his long-suffering wife were married for many years.  Whenever they had any argument, yelling could be heard deep into the night.  The old man would shout, "When I die, I will dig my way up and out of the grave and come back and haunt you for the rest of your life!".

The neighbors feared him.  The old man liked the fact that he was feared.

To everyone’s relief, he finally died of a heart attack at the age of 98.

His wife had a closed casket at his funeral.  After the burial, her neighbors, concerned for her safety, asked "Aren’t you afraid that he may indeed be able to dig his way out of the grave and haunt you for the rest of your life?".

The wife replied, "So let him dig:  I had him buried upside down.  And I know he won’t ask for directions."


Cheers,

Paul (A.)

ARE THERE THREE...

One wonders if there are any three English bishops out there with the guts to get together and do what the Bishop and the Bishop Coadjutor of Aberdeen and the Bishop of Ross and Caithness did for the Episcopal Church in consecrating Samuel Seabury (our first bishop) on November 14, 1784: consecrate a woman as a bishop in England.

Probably not.

It’s hard for a leopard to change its spots. (Nigel Taber-Hamilton)

As the English already know, we are a rebellious lot here in the US, but the Church of England is no less so, having broken the yoke to the Church of Rome some hundreds of years ago.

Several of us discussed this approach to having women bishops in England on Facebook, and the conclusion for most was that it couldn't be done for various reasons. I say, "Why not?" Kudos, Nigel for your what-if.  Other suggestions may be found in the comments at Daily Episcopalian.   

The Rev. Nigel Taber-Hamilton is rector of St. Augustine’s in-the-Woods Episcopal Church on Whidbey Island, WA.   Nigel came to the US from England in 1979.

The painting by Peter J Morgan depicts the consecration of Bishop Samuel Seabury by three bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church.

UPDATE: You may want to read Lay Anglicana's post titled "Who’s Queen? – & Is She Not Also A Bishop?: John Adams".