When I walk into an Orthodox Church… one is immediately aware that one has stepped into the presence of what Saint Paul would call the whole family in heaven and earth. You have stepped into the precincts of heaven!
—Thomas Howard
«— Microsoft must abandon Vista
—» Artificially Created Stem Cells Used to Cure Sickle Cell in Mice
And the award goes to Веб дизайн — “The Web Design.” This unique character is the name given to the knave who wrote nearly an essay in Russian on web design as a spam comment on my post hailing Dr Bacchus’ home innovation.
«— People who are always right
—» Confusion in the Tao of Gender
Wow. BabuLife: Doctrine of Hairology
Hat tip: Fr. Joseph Huneycutt
«— Butterfly Kiss-Off
—» Hairology
James takes issue with people who are always right. So is he saying these “people” need some help with their logic skills? Or is he saying that they point out the fallacies in his own arguments, and therefore he needs help with his? Just kidding. In fact, I totally relate.
Yesterday, I left my iPod at work, plugged in, fully charged. It had been paused on a song (I can’t remember which one.) This doesn’t bother me, because leaving it allows the duty sonarmen to have some music to pass the time after everyone has gone home.
I arrived this morning to find it was on a game (my iPod has games?), unplugged, and the battery nearly depleted. I said to no one in particular, “I wish people wouldn’t play games on my iPod unplugged when the charger is right there!” A cow-orker spoke up rather angrily (as if being accused) and affirmed in as forceful a manner as possible that no one had messed with my excrement. When I tried to point out to him that iPods don’t play games and run down their batteries by themselves, he again, more forcefully, asserted that no one had messed with my excrement.
The mind boggles at the logic. Or perhaps he thinks raising his voice would make me infer that I have a ghost in my machine.
«— Get A Woman HOW-TO
—» Vigil
This is for Brother Bourbon:
But why are so many stories about sports and religion so shallow? The fact is that sports have superseded religion in most areas as the dominant means for communal interaction. Athletes are much more popular than saints or religious figures. Team colors are donned much more fervently than liturgical colors. Sports arenas are viewed by many as places for worship and devotion — and, sometimes, as sanctuaries — more than cathedrals are. Fans may spend more time tracking their fantasy stats than they do studying religious texts. And there’s little question that religious feast days are being displaced by more important days (Superbowl Sunday comes to mind).
These are all aspects of an interesting sociological phenomenon. So when Major League Baseball contracts with a company to use team logos on urns and caskets, I wonder if Reuters’ reporter might get a comment or two from folks who could provide perspective.
Read more: GetReligion: Kicking the bucket through those great goal posts in the sky
«— Another Sign for a Council
—» Bishop Basil and the Legacy of Metropolitan Anthony
The Extreme Diet Coke & Mentos Experiments:
What happens when you combine 200 liters of Diet Coke and over 500 Mentos mints? It’s amazing and completely insane.
See it at EepyBird.com – Extreme Diet Coke and Mentos Experiment.
Hat tip: Clifton Healy at “This is Life! Revolutions around the cruciform axis”
«— Insurgents Feign Funeral Processions to Attack Coalition Forces
—» No Coincidences?
I haven’t seen the film. This isn’t a criticism of its content. It’s just funny on the face of it:
A Massachusetts correctional officer is being disciplined for showing the gay cowboy movie “Brokeback Mountain” to inmates at the state’s largest prison because his boss determined that the film includes content inappropriate for a prison setting.
Read more: Prison official punished over “Brokeback” screening – Boston.com
«— Creation Revisited
—» OCA Chancellor Relieved of Duties
Clifton has an excerpt from C. S. Lewis that is quite apropos.
Christians think that God Himself has taught us how to speak of Him. …a child who has been taught to pray to a Mother in Heaven would have a religious life radically different from that of a Christian child….
It is fascinating that it is written, in the 1960s, in a theoretical tone.
The “Hail, Mary” (Ave Maria) combines Luke 1:28 and 42 with an ancient Christian prayer; hearing it ripped and rewritten as a prayer to “the goddess” creeped me out.
Hat tip: Paradosis
«— Cuddling ticket tossed
—» Creation Revisited
BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Da Vinci author scorns copy claim
The writers of Holy Blood, Holy Grail are suing Dan Brown for plagiarism:
They say Mr Brown copied ideas in their book The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail.
“I have been shocked at their reaction. Furthermore I do not really understand it,” Mr Brown said in a statement.
Both books explore a theory that Jesus did not die on the cross but survived and had children with Mary Magdalene, and that their descendents survive.
I think this case only has merit because the original book is fiction to begin with.
«— Merry Christmas!
—» Are You a Heretic?
Create an e-annoyance, go to jail | Perspectives | CNET News.com
Yet another reason why I voted for someone else.
Hat tip: DrBacchus
«— Grammy-Winning Singer Lou Rawls Dies
—» Merry Christmas!
CNN.com – Collectors go bananas for flawed $20 bill – Jan 6, 2006
“I’ve collected for probably seven years now and nothing comes close to the way people react to it — their eyes pop out,” said Daniel Wishnatsky, a Phoenix currency collector who bought the bill in 2003 on the eBay auction Web site for $10,100.
«— Firefox 1.5 Released
—» The Help of Mariners
Southland Christian Church near Lexington is joining several evangelical megachurches across the country in canceling services for the holiday, which this year falls on a Sunday. Officials at the church, where about 7,000 people worship each week, said the move is designed to allow staff members and volunteers to spend the holiday with their families.
You can’t make this s—— up, folks.
«— Converting Text Files
—» The Orthodox Way Blog Reviews Rice
US scientist quits top stem-cell team over ethics – Yahoo! News
The facts can’t lie.
«— West Maryland Rail Trail
—» More on Shelby Foote
I saw this story on Get Religion and gleefully rejoiced. The book mentioned has a cover picturing Noah’s ark being rebuilt (apparently with steel instead of gopher bark). It sits prominently on the side of I-68, and I passed it on my way back to New England. “Gleefully rejoiced” because I wanted to turn around and get a photograph, but I felt pressed for time (especially after taking an hour’s nap).
Also featured in the GR article: a photograph of Golgotha Fun Park. People, you can’t make this s—— up.
«— Army Priest
—» Shedding Tears for Strangers by Frank Schaeffer
Trent Reznor Awarded Nearly $3 Million – Yahoo! News
Is a photo of Trent Reznor smiling a sign of the apocalypse?
«— Study Supports Church Practice
—» Creation, Part V: With Help from St. Maximus
In a recent comment, I mentioned that Sixpence None the Richer singing in a commercial for a contraceptive pill struck me like Petra doing a Trojan commercial. Well, it seems one sectarian cleric has done me one better: WWJD prophylactics.
Copyright © 2002–2011 Kevin Robert (Basil) Fritts, all rights reserved.