Army Days

I don't often think about my time in the U.S. Army.  But when I do I usually think about basic training.  That was the best part of the Army, as far as I'm concerned.  Running around, shooting, singing, shouting, blowing things up, leaping over walls.  And life was simple.  Wake up, work hard, eat, sleep, obey.  I was in the second squad (12 men) of the 1st platoon (53 men), of B Company (218 officers and men), of 4th Battalion (883 officers and men), of the 5th Brigade (4,600+ officers and men).  I saw the colonel once.  I saw the sergeant major once.  I saw my captain 4 times.  But I saw Drill Sergeant McCain every minute I was awake for 8 weeks.  He was one of the best men I've ever met.

In my squad was a man named Micael Ainsley.  I don't know much about him, but he had a hiarious sense of humour.  He told me about a book called Bored of the Rings. I read it after I was graduated from basic training and thought it was the funniest thing I'd ever read.  Back then, the only time a soldier got to fall out of formation was for a smoke break.  Until I heard a sergeant say it, I thought "smoke 'em if ya got 'em" was just something said in the movies.  He thought I was pretty funny and bought me my first cigar so I could hang out with him and the other smokers on their smoke breaks.  It was a White Owl.  In the second week of basic training the Surgeon General of the Army forbade smoking in all training units.

There was a man, he was 19, in my squad from the Dakotas.  He played the cello and had joined the army to pay for the rest of his education.  I think his name was Olson.  He told me, and I've never been brave enough to try it, that he learned on an indian reservation that one can pour a bottle of rubbing alcohol through a loaf of bread and it won't kill, blind, or make the drinker mad.

Pete McGlincy was one of the funniest men I met in those at weeks at Ft. Dix.  He was a 17 year old from Nanty Glo, Pennsylvania.  When Olson, Ainsly, and I would be talking about philosophy and cigars and our plans for the future (wow, those sure didn't work out!) he would talk about all the girls he slept with and laugh at us for not knowing what was important in life.  I think he managed to go on sick call at least half the days of basic training.  I think he actually added a few pounds of fat before graduation!  He was the one who told me about the donuts in the hospital.  I didn't see it for myself until I got hurt while stationed at Ft. Monmouth, but it seems that back then, if not today, there was a big platter of donuts on a counter in every Army hospital.  It had to be 3 feet high!

Laid off

I figured it was coming when, for over a month, I was only getting 2 or 3 days of work each week, and even some of the most skilled men in the company were being sent home early because of no work.  I was laid off today.  Oh, well.  It was fun.  Things I got to do that I had never done before: Weld steel and iron, solder copper tubes, repair and install pumps, drive a bobcat, weave re-bar and pour concrete, and a bunch of other really fun things.  I, also, received a nicknme: Pipewrench. Now that part of my life is over. Time to find something else. And file for unemployment insurance.

Oh, wait mintue.  My wife just gave me a list...

Star Trek

It is strange to think of it this way, but Star Trek has been part of my life, for my whole life.  In fact, the earliest thing I can remember seeing on teevee was an episode of Star Trek, the one in which Cap'n Kirk fight the Gorn.  I must have been four years old.  It scared me so I went outside and played with my plastic sword.  Later, when I got out of the Army and was living with my sister my brother-in-law and I would watch StarTrek: The Next Generation together.  The show had been on the air for a few years at that point, but I was busy doing Army stuff and hadn't seen it.  I really liked the last movie, especially how Cap'n Pike was put into the story with the whole time travel thing. Being a Star Trek purist, I was worried about how that was going to play out.  I think consistency in the Stat Trek universe is important.


Source: SPACE.com: All about our solar system, outer space and exploration

Job Hunting

Things have been slow at work.  Only got 2 days this week.  Week before, too.  My boss says there are several really big jobs in the pipeline.  I'm looking for other work.  Applied for several media sales jobs today.  I need to make more money than I make as a pump and compressor mechanic.  Besides, I'm pretty good at media sales.  Seattle, Hollywood, Mountian View, Los Angeles.  Hope I get one of them.

Treehouse Closing

Stacy the "Chief Elf"

     When Anselm Samuel was in the second grade, and we lived 50% closer to his school he would walk to school and then back to home.  Sometimes, he wouldn't be home when I expected him.  On those occasions I would put Basil Wenceslas on my shoulders and walk down the street to the school.  Invariably, I would find him in Treehouse in the Glen, playing with Stacy the "Chief Elf" of the best toy store I ever knew.  Most of their toys were made of wood, and all of them were very engaging.  Haba, Holtzinger, and Ostheimer are some of the lines they carried.  The boys bought many marbles there.  And wooden swords.  My favorite thing we ever bought there is a game called Chickyboom.  But what was really nice was that my son had a place where he could stop for a few minutes on his way home from school.
     I just got an email announcing that Treehouse in the Glen is closing.  A couple of months ago I thought they were showing signs of struggle: No new inventory, half their floor space set apart for art lessons.  But today it is official.  Their website is already down.  Tomorrow they start a going-out-of-business sale: Everything 50% off.  I am not excited about the sale.  I know everything changes, and probably another interesting business will take the storeforent, but it makes me sad to see this place my son enjoyed so much go out of business.

When I was 10 or 11 I saw "A Little Romance".  It is still, after more than 30 years, the sweetest movie I have ever seen.  Nostalgia for a movie.  Gosh, what's wrong with me.  Well, this piece by Vivaldi was used throughout the movie, and makes me feel in love with being in love.  If you get a chance, see the movie.

Depression

I've been diagnosed with depression.  I'm not sure how I feel about that.  I won't list all my symptoms, but they are the typical collection of indicators. My wife has been trying to get me to see a psychatrist for over a year.  It is strange to think of the way I feel as a disease.  To me, it really seems more like sin.  Sin of ingrattitude.  Sin of selfishness.  Sin of faithlessness.  But, I suppose, it might be a disease.  After all, the Church teaches that sin is a disease more than it is an infraction of the law.  I think, if I could just see Jesus I might be alright.  Since his resurrection he is always telling people to be at peace to be not afraid.  He even offered his wounds to Thomas to get him to calm down.  He ate some fish with some of his disciples to help them see who he is.  Probably, his mother was the only one he didn't need to re-assure, as she was already full of grace.  I need to be full of grace.

Anywhere But California Dreamin'

I was wondering how is it that my wife and I make so much money (way over the national average) but barely skimp by.  Then I heard a story on the news talking about the extremes of the American economy.  At one end is Detroit where $400,000 gets you a 4 story, twelve thousand sq ft house on 2 acres.  And on the other side is where I live, Silicon Valley.  In my "middle class" neighborhood of Willow Glen $400,000 doesn't buy anything.  In fact, if you want a twelve hunded square foot "starter-house" on a 1/8 acre lot you are going to pay $600,000 to $800,000 for it.

My current situation remeinds me of a movie I saw about 12 years ago.  It was called "The Slums of Beverley Hills"  I won't go into the whole movie, but the important part, as far as I am concerened was that the main character of the movie was so concerend about projecting an image of proserity that he refused to live anywhere but in Beverly Hills.  So, he lived in one ding bat apartment after another, all just barely within the city limits of Beverly Hills, and all just barely out of his budget.  I do not want to be that man.


I love California.  I really do.  From the deserts to the beaches (where I was yesterday), to the fog shrouded redwood forsests, to the high Sierras.  I love it all.  But the prices are killing me.  And taxes.  I had to cash in my life insurace to pay my taxes.   I see no future for my children here.  I think pretty soon, if I can find a job somewhere else, I might be one of the people who leave California.

Mary at Pascha

One of the things I have learned about Mary is that she is the Church, and the Church is her, and Israel is the Church and we all love God, and Mary is the remnant of Israel, and God shelters her, and she is Creation's offering to God, which means we are Creation's offering to God and we offer God to God, And she is the God-bearer and we are God-bearers, too,  and Mary rejoices in being God's servant and not putting herself forward  (unlike certain of the 12 disciples I could mention) and she is the offering of adoration to God by Creation, and she loves God, and He loves  Mary  and He loves the Church and it's all tied up together when Jesus is raised from the dead. Zion rejoices. Mary Rejoices. The Church rejoices. All people on earth Rejoice.  All angels in heaven rejoice.  Creation rejoices. And the Orthodox sing this song at Pascha.

Conversation with Physician

Physician: You have Y and Z.

Me: Okay, what's the cure?

Physician: There really isn't a cure for these things, maybe surgery for Z, but even then it might not work. I'll give you a referral to a specialist.

Maybe it's faulty memory, but I remember that when I was a kid doctors cured things.  I'd get sick, go to the doctor, get a bottle of something and a couple of days later I'd be out playing with my friends again. So, I want to know, when did doctors stop curing things?  Gosh, where are doctors like Edward Jenner, Jonas Salk, and Louis Pastuer.

Paschal Hours

In the Orthodox Church this week is called Bright Week.  We eat anything we want.  We drink anything we want.  We have as much sex as we want, or can, if that is the case.  But we also change some of our liturgical practices.  For example, we do not read the Psalms or pray O Heavenly King.  And there are liturgical changes at home, too.  Morning and Evening Prayers, as found in the prayer books, are pretty long but during Bright Week we pray different prayers (click the links to hear the music):

Holy Unction

Anselm and I, the sick ones, went to Holy Unction tonight.  We thought we'd be at St. Nicholas' but when we got there we saw so many cars in the parking lot and all up and down the street that we knew it would be packed like a sardine can in that little building.  So, we went to St. Stephen's instead.   And, I am so glad we did go there.  A friend from San Francisco, who I haven't seen in several years was visiting St. Stephen's tonight. It was good to see her again after so many years.

 Ah, was there a miracle tonight?  Yes.  Anselm was the first to notice it.  But I won't say anymore about it but that it was beautiful and unexpected.

Today

Anselm Samuel is sick so I am home with him.  Taking advantage of the time to get ready for Pascha: Boiling eggs, cleaning house, making sure we have have all the ingredients for paska and kulich.  Anselm and I will go to Holy Unction tonight.  But I am so tired.  That's one of the things I saw the doctor about yesterday.  All I want to do is sleeep.  TO much to do, though.  Looking forward to Pascha.  My wife is the parish warden so that means I'll be pretty busy helping her do crowd control and other stuff the warden has to do.

Lazarus Saturday to Tuesday of Holy Week

Saturday:  I was able to attend  the Festal Vigil for The Feast of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (AKA Palm Sunday).  I am so glad I did.  Last week I heard a certain priest (his books I tend to like) say the account of the disciples getting the ass and her foal in the Gospel of Matthew was semi-mythical.  I do not understand how Orthodox priests get away with such faith destroying things like that, but this one is famous, so I guess he gets away with it.  But, at the Vigil on Saturday night the Gospel reading was the same passage from Matthew.  And Father Basil gave a little talk.  And what do you think he talked about?  That's right he talked about that passage, and I don't know if it was intentional or not, but he answered that famous priests' argument and in 5 minutes my damaged faith was rebuilt.  I think I am going to avoid listening to the famous priest's recordings. I also was able to go to confession.  That was good.

Sunday:  We went to San Francisco where I became god father to a little boy.  It scared his mother when I did the prostration with the boy in my arms, but he didn't touch the ground and didn't fuss at all until he went into the water.  I gave him my cross to wear.  It was good.  And it was good to be in Holy Trinity Cathedral again but Father John's sermons are way over my head.  I only understand about 1/4 of what he is takling about.  He is a very deep and intellectual man.  But not like a ful-of-himself intellectual like Marx or Sartre.  He doesn't show off. He is one of the most loving men I have ever met.  Everytime he talks to me it is like my presence is the most important thing in the world to him.  He's like that with everyone.

Monday: We met with a lawyer.  Went hoping for good news.  Got ambiguous to bad news instead. Once this issue is completed and is behind us, I hope I never have need of a lawyer ever again.  Saw my doctor, who gave me more bad news.  It is piling up.

Today: Was up at 5:30, at work at 7.  Had to drive to Monterey to install a lift in a garage.  This one was made by Challenger.  Much heavier than the Rotary lifts I usually install.  The work wasn't too bad.  Thankfully they had a fork lift, and that made it much quicker than I was expecting. The rain was cold.  I saw lightning over the ocean.  Rain is expected all week.  Got back to San Jose at 5:30.  Anselm Samuel has a fever.  It looks I'm staying home with him tomorrow.  Looking forward to Holy Unction tomorrow.  Hoping for a healing or three or four.

Right now:  Basil is teling me about minataurs while spinning around in circles making himself dizzy.  Being his Dad is much fun.

My Godson Was Baptized This Morning

Turabian Cheat Sheet By Professor John Kreiss of APUS

Turabian Cheat Sheet 2.0

There is certainly a great deal of confusion regarding the appropriate formatting of footnotes and bibliographies. Chicago, Turabian, APA, MLA - which style guide ought you to use? APUS requires what they call Chicago/Turabian style guides. The two style guides are similar but not the same. I have opted to use the Turabian style guide in all my classes at APUS and to assist you with this, I have created what I call the Turabian Cheat Sheet 2.0 - it is called 2.0 since it is actually my second attempt at such an undertaking!

The information provided here is taken from the 7th Edition of Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007), and while I make no claim to being comprehensive (you can buy Turabian at any bookstore), what I have included here seem to me to be the most common sort of formatting issues you will encounter in your writing.

One of the few things I learned in my Historical Methods class in graduate school (I say "few" because that course actually taught me very little) is that when it comes to footnotes and bibliographies - be consistent.

An Interview with the Only Orthodox Priest in Pakistan

Fewer Hours, Confict on the SSC, This and That

This week I've only worked about half the hours as I normally would.  Why?  No work.  Today, everyone but the salesmen stayed home.  It doesn't bode well.  

What does bode well?  On Tuesday a customer I was doing a job for asked me for a price on a thing.  I looked at it and figured out that it was a custom built piece of equipment and that it would take some work building a duplicate.  So, I took measurements, took pictures, drew a diagram and gave it to my boss.  Yesterday, Thusday I asked him if he had a price so I could get back to the customer.  My boss was less than enthused and wanted nothing to do with the project.  I don't fault him.  He has been blamed, latley, for things going wrong that, I think, went wrong in the sales process long before they landed on his desk.  He only wants to do what he knows how to do and doesn't want to do anything unless he knows he can do it quickly and make a lot of money.  He said to me "We don't do that kind of work.  We don't sell stuff like that".  But, unknown to me, the owner of the company was standing behindme and said, "We are in the business of selling anything anyone wants to pay us for."  So, the project was put into my hands.  I've been getting prices for supplies together, thinking about the manufacture process, and talking to the one man in our comapny who I think can do the job.  I think the company will make about 70% gross profiton this job. It fun to work with a spread sheet again after several months of not using one.

The principle of the school my boys go to is an ex officio member of the School Site Council, which decideds how to spend certain moneys.  He and I are at loggerheads over whether or not he has the right to change meeting dates and times.  One of the teacher members of the Council totally does whatever the principle wants to do (he is her boss so it makes sense), the Chairman of the Council (a parent member) is good but seems more interested in what the Council spends money on than in how the Council operates.  The other, members of the Council are, I think, more like the Chairman, and don't think constitutional questions are very important.   I on the other hand, think questions of procedure and powers are paramount, for they decide everything else.   Oh, how I love a good parliamentary battle!

I am still working on that M.A. degree.  And  I am looking for other work.  Something that pays more money and is less dangerous. (I won't even tell you about the crazy dangerous stuff I did Wednesday.)

More and more I am wondering about the rest of my life.  It is clear to me that I am never going to do anything great.  I'm not going to be a farmer.  I'm not going to have any of the careers I had once hoped to have. Not in advertising, not in city planning, not in farming, not in law, and not in the priesthood (canonical barriers to that last one).  And, everthing that is within my realm of possibilities I have already done.  It is likely that I will live into my seventies.  That's thirty years of... what?  I am remided of that song by John Cougar Mellancamp.  The one with the line "... Oh, yeah, life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone."  I didn't understand that song when I was 15.  I understand it now.  I don't think I am having a midlife crisis.  I'm not even sure what that is.  I just can't figure out what else I am supposed to do.  I mean, other than stick around 12 more years for my kids.  But after that, what?  Maybe, if I had been able to go to any of the Lenten services this year I would be feeling differently.  Maybe, I'll feel differently when the boys are grown and gone.  I'll be free-ish, but will I be to old to do anything?  Even if I have the money to buy a farm my body tells me I am too old for that.  Does my Church have anything for old laymen to do?  Do we have lay missionaries?

I think I'll do some more homework now.

Relics Comming to Saratoga

Dear Friends,

Christ is in our midst!

The following relics will be visiting our St. Nicholas Church in Saratoga, THIS Thursday evening at 7 PM. After a brief Prayer Service, and veneration of the relics, we will have a presentation on the New Martyrs of Aiud (Romania) in the Parish Hall. Please, come and tell your family and friends.

Coming are the relics of :

Saint Seraphim of Sarov

Saint Nectarios of Aegina

Saint Luca of Crimea

Holy Apostle Acquilla

Saint Maximus the Greek

Saints from Sinai and Raithu

No confusion here.

Real Madrid removes Cross from atop the crown in their logo “to avoid any confusion or misinterpretation”.  Really.

Paper on the Seven Ecumenical Councils

Here is a paper I wrote for my Byzantine History class.  It, certainly, isn't the best paper I've ever written, but it is the best paper I've written while recovering from surgery and stoned on drugs or deprived of sleep and going to work at a very demanding job.

----------

The Seven Ecumenical Councils: Causes and Consequences

On Church Councils

When St. Constantine I ordered all bishops of the Christian Church to assemble in Nicea to settle the question of Arianism it wasn’t as though he was acting on a novel idea.  Some years earlier he had experienced a local synod settle the question of the Donatists in north Africa[1].  But that was a local problem settled by a handful of bishops.  The Council called by Constantine that would meet in the city of Nicea was different.

Arianism

I spent most of Saturday, which, given the hour I hight think of as yesterday or today, writing a paper on the Seven Ecumenical Councils.  I only made it through the first one.  Not nearly as much as I had hoped.  Intersting thing though, I learned (I always learn the most while writing papers) that the Church of England was burning Arians as late as the 17th Century.  Arianism, it seems, is like a monster in a movie: You think it's dead but then it appears again.  Oh, I also learned that we were successful in destroying all of Arius' writings.  We only understand today what Arius' ideas were because St. Athanasius did such a good job refuting them.

A disadvantage of living in a republic

In general, I love living in a republic.  I am who I am, and bow to no man, except Orthodox Clergy, and my brothers and sisters in Christ, and the poor, and sinners, and pictures of saints, and... but other than those few exceptions, I bow to no one.   Because we are all equal-ish.  I'm a mister and the President is a mister.  But when I see and hear something like this; love of their queen, and faith that God hears their prayer blended together in beautiful music, well, it is almost enough to make me a monarchist.

Making money on the mark of the beast (this is a stock tip)

I have no doubt that NFC technology will be key to the Beast's control over the economy, but it seems to me that there is no reason not to make some money off of it before he turns it to evil.  So, if you want to make a lot of money over the next 5 years you should take a look at NXP Semiconductor (NXPI).  

Why I am recommending it:

1.  NFC is a key technology in rapid flow of money, and money's favorite thing to do is move.

2.  NFC technology is being built into all personal electronic devices, such as smart phones and tablet computers.

3. NXPI is the leader of the NFC industry

4. NXPI is the excusive supplier of several of the largest device manufactureres

5. NXPI owns many patents that are crucial to the NFC industry

6. Every credit card, check, debit card, and Federal Reserve Note in your wallet represents a money moving system for NXPI to dislocate.

7. The price of the stock, as measured against reasonable potential earnings, is very low.

Who Will Bow to the Antichrist?

"Anyone who is attracted merely by glittering censors, incense and beautiful vestments, he, first of all, will fall down before Antichrist."  -  Fr. Seraphim (Rose) of Platina

Gearing up

I had surgery on my leg earlier this week.  The one I cut with an angle grinder at work a few months ago.  I also had a frank discussion with my wife about finances.  Given the danger inherent in my work and the low level of remuneration for that kind of work, I've decided to get back in to advertising, even if it is on the sales side and not on the planning side.  So, it's back to reading AdWeek, Fast Comapny, and the the Wall Street Journal ...and writing resumes.  Oh, the surgery?  It was successful. Been stoned out of my head in narcotics all week because of the pain, but they got all the fragments out.  But that doesn't matter.  I'm still going back to being an ad man as soon as someone makes me an offer.

A Better Procession

It is a recent custom in the Orthodox Church in North America that parishes in an area get together on the Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy and process with their icons around the interior of one of their buildings.  It is fun.  But is it the best we can do?  No.

If you've read about the contest between the Orthodox and the Iconoclasts in the 8th century you know the processions of the monks carrying Icons was not in their church buildings.  Rather, their processions were through the cities, under the noses of the very people who denied the holy Icons.  They did this even under the threat of violence and death.  And they won.

Then why, here in North America, where no one will kill us for carrying Icons in public, do we process indoors.  Why, when we are surraounded by Christians who deny the holy Icons but usually out of ignorance not animus, do we keep the Light under a bushel?

Proposed: Next year, instead of processing in our church buildings we should process through our cities, past all the churches that deny the  holy Icons.

From My Friend Matt's Blog

Through The Looking Glass

J.E. Dyer:

It’s a useful distinction to consider. A particular moral idea governs left-wing views on social and health matters, and the left’s purpose with political advocacy is to put the power of government behind that view. By examining the left’s very different policy approaches to eating and sex, we can discern the features of the morality at work.

The left’s governmental approach to sex today involves, among other things, the following:
...
The suite of policies advocated by the left is designed to encourage sex but limit procreation and STDs. The social “good,”

The Gates of Hell

I often hear it said that "the gates of Hell shall not prevail" against God's Church.  Usually, I hear it in the context of a temporary set back in the Church, spoken as encouragement from a pastor to a suffering Christian.  But it occurs to me that gates are not a weapon to be broken on the neck of the Church.  A gate never killed anyone.  No.  I think what Jesus had in mind when he said the gates of Hell woud not prevail against his Church was a battering ram.  Yes, the Church is a battering ram, smashing the gates of Hell into oblivion so that it's prisoners can be free.  It is a battering ram driving missionaries into un-Christian lands, lands where they kill Christians but where the gates of Hell will be smashed open.  It is a battering ram, knocking down the gates of Satan's strongholds in my heart.  The gates of Hell can not prevail because the Church is God's seige engine of uncirmuscribed love.  His weapon of truth. But if the Church does not attack the gates will hold, and those trapped in Hell while living on this earth will die and spend eternity in Hell.  If I do not let the Church wage war against the wickedness in my heart I will be found impure on the Day of the Lord.

Bob the Builder

The work week is over.  Here is a list of tools I used this week: Bosch roto-hammer, 4 lb mini-sledge, mill file, shovel, Bobcat with front end loader, rebar bender-cutter, dikes, pipe wrench, De Walt 12v cordless drill, assorted Craftsman combination wrenches, 34 inch Pittsburgh (it is made in China) wrench, assorted punches, De Walt 4" angle grinder with diamond blade, Makita 7"angle grinder with flap wheel, De Walt chop-saw with carbide blade, channel lock pliers, Craftsman 1/2" socket set, Craftsman 1/4" socket set,  18 inch Crescent wrench, hex wrenches, Klein insulated screw driver, wire strippers, wire crimpers, Lincoln flux core welding machine, three different prybars (The smallest is one foot long.  The largest is five feet long and weighs 80lbs!), De Walt bench grinder with wire wheel, trowel, rebar tying hook, Milwaukee reciprocal saw, Skill rotary saw.

Too Old for Narnia

Last night I went into the boys' room to read to them.  I took from the shelf The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis.  They both complained of my choice.  Basil said he had heard it before, to which explained that he had heard two of the Narnia books but not this one.  Anselm said he was "too old for Narnia" and that he liked Greek gods and heros now.  To that I said, "I'm 43 and still love Narnia, besides, I don't think you remember this book since it was a few years ago that you last heard it."

After the first page of the first chapter I stopped reading and asked, "Shall I stop?" Basil said "NO!"  Anselm said, "No, this is good."  At the end of the chapter, when I closed the book they begged me to keep reading.  I read them another chapter tonight, again they begged me to keep reading when I had finished the chapter.

People are so funny.  We think we know what we like and don't like.  I wonder, how many good things have I passed by and not noticed because I thought I was "too old" or too serious, or too sophisticated?

Saturday Soundtrack

Like much of the music that forms the soundtrack of my life, I first heard this song because of my brother Mark.  Interestingy, I didn't even know it formed part of my soundtrack until earlier tonight when I heard some of the cast of Garison Keilor's show singing it, and sang along with them.  I was surprised that I knew all the words.  This version of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" is really cool because it isn't only Al Green, but lots of other amazing musicians, such as Tito Puente, Carlos Santana, and Toni Childs all working together under the direction of Paul Shaffer (he is a musical genius.) during Letterman's 7th anniversary show.    

Al Green, as you probably know, became a Christian minister and left show business.  He has since returned to show business.  Toni Childs still has an intersting voice and is still recording and performing.  Carlos Santana is still performing and doing works of philanthropy.  Melissia Etheridge is still a musician, but, sadly, she has allowed her homosexual activities to eclipse her music-making.  Tito Puente the greatest percussionist ever to come out of Puerto Rico died of old age in 2000.  He was a decorated veteran of WWII (he served on a U.S. Navy warship) and a lifelong performer.  In 1997 he was awarded the National Medal for the Arts, the United States' highest award in the name of the people (That is what distiguishes it from the Kennedy Center Honors, which is more of an honor in the name of the cutural eites.) In 2003 he was posthumously awarded a Grammy for lifetime achievement. Paul Shaffer (he is a musical genius) still works as David Letterman's music director, but also is the musical director for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and has released to albums of recorded work.

St. Ignatius

Until I heard his name at vespers earlier tonight I hadn't noticed that today (Orthodox Christians begin the day at sundown) is the feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch.   St. Ignatius is one of the people who lead me to Orthodox Christitianity.  In his seven letters, which he wrote in the 1st century while under arrest and on his way to be fead to lions (I found the letters on the shelves of the library at Peninsula Bible Church), I learned that the bishop, working together with the priests and deacons, rules his diocese like a father rules hisfamily (letter to the church at Magnesia), I learned that bishops work together to serve the whole Church (Letter to Polycarp), that the bloodless sacrifice is the central event of Christian worship (Letter to the church at Ephesus).  I even saw, in the difference between the letters to the six churches and the letter to Polycarp how a metropolitan addresses churches in his metropolia and how he adresses a bishop outside his jurisdiction.   In short, St. Ignatius' letters caused me to doubt the church structure of my Protestant Christianity and primed me to recognize ancient Church structure when I saw it a couple of years later in the Orthodox Church.  

But my favorite thing said by St. Ignatius is something all Christians agree with.  It is from the letter to the Trallians:

"Stop your ears, therefore, when any one speaks to you at variance with Jesus Christ, who was descended from David, and was also of Mary; who was truly born, and did eat and drink. He was truly persecuted under Pontius Pilate; He was truly crucified and died, in the sight of beings in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth. He was also truly raised from the dead, his Father having raised him up, as in the same manner his Father will raise up us who believe in him by Christ Jesus, apart from whom we do not possess the true life."

So, we Orthodox Christians give praise and honor to our father in the Holy Faith, Ignatius of Antioch.


Troparion

By sharing in the ways of the Apostles,

you became a successor to their throne.

Through the practice of virtue, you found the way to divine contemplation,

O inspired one of God;

by teaching the word of truth without error, you defended the Faith,

even to the shedding of your blood.

Hieromartyr Ignatius, entreat Christ God to save our souls.

Kontokion

 The stirring celebration of your victorious fight

Is an announcement of the One who is to be born of the Virgin.

In your eagerness to possess Him forever,

You hastened to be devoured by the wild beasts.

Therefore, O glorious Ignatius, you were called the bearer of God!

Tattle-tales and Love

The boys have been bothering me with their tattleing on each other.  So I got the Icon of St. Peter down off the wall, and with the icon in my lap and each boy sitting beside me, I read to them a sermon on Love and Peter preached by Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh.   Then we taked about love and not rejoicing in the misdeeds of others. And, beeseching the prayers of St. Peter we asked God to help us love each other like Peter loves Jesus and Jesus loves Peter.  Basil was in tears by the end, but I think Anselm still wants to tattle.

Something I Wish the Orthodox Had: A Call to Artists

Every month the leaders of my Cub Scout Pack meet in the science cassroom of a Roman Catholic school. On the wall is a poster of their liturgical calendar.  I look at it with envy every month.  I wish such a thing existed for Orthodox kids, so they could see how the year fits together.   Our calendar poster would be much more detailed, with weekly tones, fasts & feasts, etc.

The other thing I wish we had was a books of the Bible poster like the Protestants had when I was a boy.  It was a simple thing.  It showed two book cases, one the left was the OT, on the right was the NT.  Shelves on the left were labeled "Law", "History", "Poetry", "Major Prophets", & "Minor Prophets".  The shelves on the Right were labeled "Gospels", "History", "Epistles", and "Prophecy".  The poster showed each book of the Protestant Bible as a book on one of these shelves.

I don't think I am up to making a poster of the Calendar but I might try the poster of the books of the Orthodox Holy Scriptures.  I don't think it would be too hard.  And, I think, there is a need for this kind of stuff.  It helps kids learn who they are and what is important.

Rquired Reading for Spring Semester

After a year off, I am starting back to work on the masters degree in history. It will be a lot of work, but it ought to be fun. At least the reading list looks fun. In fact, I've already read some of these books.

Roberts, John M., A Short History of the World (Oxford University Press)
Standage, Tom, History of the World in Six Glasses (Walker & Company)
Burke, Peter, French Historical Revolution: The Annales School, 1929-1989 (Stanford University Press)
Manning, Patrick, Navigating World History: Historians Create a Global Past (Palgrave)
Davis, Leo Donald, The First Seven Ecumenical Councils (325-787) (Michael Gazier, Inc.)
Ostrogorsky, George, History of the Byzantine State (Rutgers University Press)
Hollister, W., Medieval Europe: A Short Sourcebook, 4th Ed. (McGraw-Hill)
Bennett, Judith, Medieval Europe: A Short History, 11th Ed. (McGraw-Hill)

If the papers I write are any good, I'll post them here.

The Kingdom of God is Within You

From the Detailed Rules for Monks by Saint Basil the Great, bishop 
(Resp. 2, 1: PG 31, 908-910) 
The ability to love is within each of us

Love of God is not something that can be taught. We did not learn from someone else how to rejoice in light or want to live, or to love our parents or guardians. It is the same-perhaps even more so—with our love for God: it does not come by another’s teaching. As soon as the living creature (that is, man) comes to be, a power of reason is implanted in us like a seed, containing within it the ability and the need to love. When the school of God’s law admits this power of reason, it cultivates it diligently, skillfully nurtures it, and with God’s help brings it to perfection.

For this reason, as by God’s gift, I find you with the zeal necessary to attain this end, and you on your part help me with your prayers. I will try to fan into flame the spark of divine love that is hidden within you, as far as I am able through the power of the Holy Spirit.

First, let me say that we have already received from God the ability to fulfill all his commands. We have then no reason to resent them, as if something beyond our capacity were being asked of us. We have no reason either to be angry, as if we had to pay back more than we had received. When we use this ability in a right and fitting way, we lead a life of virtue and holiness. But if we misuse it, we fall into sin.

This is the definition of sin: the misuse of powers given us by God for doing good, a use contrary to God’s commands. On the other hand, the virtue that God asks of us is the use of the same powers based on a good conscience in accordance with God’s command.

Since this is so, we can say the same about love. Since we received a command to love God, we possess from the first moment of our existence an innate power and ability to love. The proof of this is not to be sought outside ourselves, but each one can learn this from himself and in himself. It is natural for us to want things that are good and pleasing to the eye, even though at first different things seem beautiful and good to different people. In the same way, we love what is related to us or near to us, though we have not been taught to do so, and we spontaneously feel well disposed to our benefactors.

What, I ask, is more wonderful than the beauty of God? What thought is more pleasing and wonderful than God’s majesty? What desire is as urgent and overpowering as the desire implanted by God in a soul that is completely purified of sin and cries out in its love: I am wounded by love? The radiance of divine beauty is altogether beyond the power of words to describe.

This Is Why I Am Orthodox

Back in the 1990s my very good and wonderful, full of love, and committed to the Bible church, Peninsula Bible Church in Cupertino (home of some of the best preaching I ever heard), lost it's worship pastor, and for a long time it was without one.  There were a lot of people who came through as temps or try-outs.  I remember one was very academical and tried to direct the congregation like it was a choir.  Another, who came up for the weekend from southern Caifornia, lead us in singing Desperado. (I'm not making that up.)  And there were alot of discussions among the people about what exactly worship should be.  I guess it was the summer of 1998 or, maybe, 1999 that I first stepped into an Orthodox church and was blown away by what I saw and heard and smelled.  I remember thinking, "this is the kind of setting where God is likely to appear".

Sometimes, when people ask me why I became Orthodox I jokingly say "I came for the baklava but stayed for vodka."  In reality, I came for the worship.  I stayed for the truth.   Or, something like that.

The Polyeleos (greek for "many mercies") is an example of that worship: Scriptural, joyful, reverent, beautiful.  It is a blending of two Psalms with "alleluia" inserted in between the verses.

The Christian Parent

 Metropolitan EPHREM of Tripoli said
1) The role of a Christian parent is to help his children to pass from earthly life to heavenly life;
2) A Christian parent’s one and only concern is for the salvation of his children;
3) A Christian parent seeks above all to help his children to be filled with the Grace of the Most High; and
4) A Christian parent is supposed to be moved by the Spirit of God and not by that of the world.

Atai Parthenos (Today This Virgin) A Coptic Orthodox Hymn

هذه العذراء نالت اليوم كرامة هذه العروس نالت اليوم مجد، هذه الملتحفة بأطراف موشاة بالذهب مزينة بأنواع كثيرة.
Today, this virgin received honor. Today, this virgin received glory. Her clothing is woven with gold and adorned with many colors.

داود حرك الوتر الأول من قيثارته صارخا قائلا: قامت الملكة عن يمينك أيها الملك. (مز ٤٥:٩)
David moved the 1st string of his harp crying out and saying: At your right hand stands the queen O king (Psalm 45:9).


وحرك الوتر الثاني من قيثارته صارخا قائلا: اسمعي يا ابنتي وأنظري وأميلي أذنك وانسي شعبك وبيت أبيك. (مز ٤٥ : ١٠)
And he moved the second string from his harp crying out and saying: Listen, O daughter, consider and incline your ear; forget your own people also, and your father's house (Psalm 45:10).

وحرك الوتر الثالث من قيثارته صارخا قائلا: كل مجد ابنة الملك من الداخل مشتملة بأطراف موشاة بالذهب. (مز ٤٥ : ١٣)
And he moved the third string from his harp crying out and saying: The royal daughter is all glorious within; her clothing is woven with gold (Psalm 45:13).

وحرك الوتر الرابع من قيثارته صارخا قائلا: يدخلن إلي الملك عذاري خلفها. (مز ٤٥ : ١٤)
And he moved the forth string from his harp crying out and saying: Virgins shall enter to the king after her (Psalm 45:14).

وحرك الوتر الخامس من قيثارته صارخا قائلا: عظيم هو الرب ومسبح جدا في مدينة إلهنا علي جبله المقدس. (مز ٤٨ : ١)
And he moved the fifth string from his harp crying out and saying: Great is our Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in His holy mountain (Psam 48:1).

وحرك الوتر السادس من قيثارته صارخا قائلا: أجنحة حمامة موشاة بفضة ومنكباها بصفرة الذهب. (مز ٦٨ : ١٣)
And he moved the sixth string from his harp crying out and saying: The wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold (Psalm 68:13).

وحرك الوتر السابع من قيثارته صارخا قائلا: جبل الله الجبل الدسم الجبل المجبن الجبل الدسم. (مز ٦٨ : ١٥)
And he moved the seventh string from his harp crying out and saying: The mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan; A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan (Psalm 68:15).

وحرك الوتر الثامن من قيثارته صارخا قائلا: أساساته في الجبال المقدسة، أحب الرب أبواب صهيون. (مز ٨٧ : ١و٢)
And he moved the eighth string from his harp crying out and saying: His foundation is in the holy mountains. The Lord loves the gates of Zion (Psalm 87:1, 2).

وحرك الوتر التاسع من قيثارته صارخا قائلا: تكلموا من أجلك بأعمال كريمة يا مدينة الله. (مز ٨٧ : ٣)
And he moved the ninth string from his harp crying out and saying: Glorious things are spoken of you O city of God (Psalm 87:3).

وحرك الوتر العاشر من قيثارته صارخا قائلا: الرب اختار صهيون ورضيها مسكنا له. (مز ١٢٢ : ١٣)
And he moved the tenth string from his harp crying out and saying: For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His habitation (Psalm 122:13).

Saturday Soundtrack: My Ten Least Favorite Christmas Pop Songs and my Favorite Christmas Pop Song

10.  Jingle Bell Rock - Really?  This is the best thing you can think of doing on Christmas?
9.  My Grown Up Christmas List - Wow! What a self-righteous trip this song's writer must have been on.
8.  It's a Marshmallow World - except for the live version with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin)
7. Christmas by the Bay - Well, yes, it is the best City in the world, but really, can't we think about someone other than ourselves on Christmas?
6. Santa Clause is Coming to Town  - What is a "rooty-toot-toot"?
5. Feliz Navidad - The is my son Basil's favorite Christmas song, and I dig the the whole South of the Border thing, but I think it's too repetitive.
4. Wonderful Christmas Time - Paul McCartney's worst song ever.  Someone, please, unplug that synthesizer.
3. My Favorite Things -  The Sound of Music is one of my all time fave plays, but this song isn't about Christmas.
2. Happy Christmas (War is Over) - What a dismal song.  It's like the opposite of Paul McCartney's Christmas song, but not in a good way.
1. Last Christmas - Isn't a song about the sex life of that guy from Wham! what you wan't to sing about on Christmas?

This is my fave Christmas pop song.  It contains the whole Gospel plus you can dance to it!

Beauty

I don't know why, perhaps it is because someone recently challenged my practice of venerating Mary, saying the Orthodox Church's exaltation of her is a remnant of paganism, but tonight at the vigil I found this song very moving...


My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.
     More honourable than the Cherubim, and incomparably more glorious than the Seraphim, thou who in virginity didst bear God the Word; thee, true Mother of God, we magnify.
For He has regarded the humility of His handmaid. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
     More honourable than the Cherubim, and incomparably more glorious than the Seraphim, thou who in virginity didst bear God the Word; thee, true Mother of God, we magnify.
For He Who is mighty and Whose Name is holy has done wonders for me. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
     More honourable than the Cherubim, and incomparably more glorious than the Seraphim, thou who in virginity didst bear God the Word; thee, true Mother of God, we magnify.
He has shown His strength with His arm, He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
     More honourable than the Cherubim, and incomparably more glorious than the Seraphim, thou who in virginity didst bear God the Word; thee, true Mother of God, we magnify.
He has put down princes from their thrones and has exalted the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent empty away.
     More honourable than the Cherubim, and incomparably more glorious than the Seraphim, thou who in virginity didst bear God the Word; thee, true Mother of God, we magnify.
He has taken Israel as His child in remembrance of His mercy, as He promised our fathers, Abraham and his sons forever.
     More honourable than the Cherubim, and incomparably more glorious than the Seraphim, thou who in virginity didst bear God the Word; thee, true Mother of God, we magnify.

Here it is in a slightly different translation but sung...

Eclipse, Welding, Advent, Book

Eclipse Welding Christmas Book

Athanasia and I woke the boys up early this morning, and we went out and watched the lunar eclipse.  We were able to see the last sliver of the moon  go dark just before it slipped below the clouds and fog on the Santa Cruz mountains.  Athanasia and the boys are back in bed now, but I'll wake them up in an hour so Anselm can get ready to go on his first hike with a Boy Scout Troop.  He is aWebelos now, and is making the transition from Cub Scout to Boy Scout.  I can hardly believe how fast these years are flying by.  It seems like yesterdy that he fisrt put on that blue uniform and said the Cub Scout Promise.

The other day my boss asked me if I know how to weld.  I had to tell him I don't know.  I hated that.  Sometimes I feel so useless at work.  I am sure that if it wasn't for my braun and enthusiasm they would have let me go a long time ago.  Anyway, I checked out a company called TechShop and am signed up to take welding classes when my company closes for the first week of Christmas.  I'm very excited about it.  In a couple of weeks, if my boss needs something welded I'll be able to do it.

We are reading The Advent Storybook again this year.  Every day of December Benjamin Bear opens another door on his Advent Calendar, and his mother tells a story about what he finds in the calendar.  The first day he opened a door and saw a star, so his mother began the story about a little bear who begins to follow the star to Bethlehem.   Each day the little bear encounters whatever Benjamin Bear finds in his advent calendar.  Each day, through pictures and words a little bit more of the Gospel is revealed.  Sometimes it is subtle, such as last night when the only hint of the Gospel was the number of men (three) traveling in a caravan  toward Bethlehem.  Other times it is more obvious.  It is a good book for our family.  The daily readings are short, and there are layers of meaning so Anselm Samuel picks up on stuff that Basil Wenceslas (he is six) doesn't, and then he explains it to Basil.

Popcorn Balls

Last night my god daughters and their parents came over.  It was a grand good time.  The kids made lanterns out of glass jars, and they made fairies out of pipe cleaners and artificial flowers.  They seemed to have a lot of fun. We mulled wine and cider.

Today after dropping Athanasia off at work and the boys off at school I was able to go to church for about an hour.  I was present for the end of Matins and the 1st half of the Divine Liturgy.  Then I had to leave to go to an appointment with a physician.

She said I'm doing better and the hole in my leg should be all healed in two more weeks if I can keep infection at bay.  I'm doing my best.

Athanasia made blue popcorn balls, in honor of the Theotokos' feast day today. She is the best mom.

The Advent Wreath

Last Sunday, after the Divine Liturgy, Basil's Sunday School class made Advent wreaths.  Or, at least, started making Advent wreaths.  Today, Athanasia and the boys completed it with greenery from redwood, juniper, holly, pine, and orange trees.  I brought six candles home from church to put in the wreath.

Tonight as we shall for all six Sundays leading up to Christmas, we sung a little service at home.  

With all of us standing around the table, with the Advent wreath on the table, Basil Wenceslas lit the first candle. We faced the Icon and sang O Heavenly King, as Orthodox always do before lessons.

Then, sitting, I reminded the boys about our ancestors' expulsion from the garden and how they lost true wisdom and knowledge of God.  But I also told them that God was not content for us to have our minds darkened, and he promised to send a redeemer, the Messiah.  I read them the promise in Genesis 3:15, and explained that God repeated the promise, and even made a people, Israel, whose job it was, in part, to keep knowledge of that promise alive.  And we talked about how sometimes Israel didn't do a very good job and God sent prophets to remind them, and that lead us into Anselm Samuel reading the prophecy of Isaiah  

And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORDAnd shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.

And we talked about how Christ means anointed or chrismated, and that Jesus is called Christ, which in Hebrew is Messiah, because he is anointed with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of Wisdom resides in him, and that with his wisdom he lifts the darkness from our minds and teaches us to be wise, not like our ancestors who gave up wisdom, that is fellowship with God for mere knowledge of good and evil, but wisdom born out of fear of God.


Then Athanasia prayed this English translation of the first O-Antiphon...

O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High, 

reaching from one end to the other mightily, 

and sweetly ordering all things: 

Come and teach us the way of prudence.

Then we all sang this verse from O Come O Come Emanuel

Oh, come, our Wisdom from on high, 

Who ordered all things mightily; 

To us the path of knowledge show, 

and teach us in her ways to go. 

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel 

Shall come to you, O Israel!

And then Basil Wenceslas blew out the candle until next Saturday night when he will light two.

Three Children's Christmas Books

     Basil's Cub Scout Den visited the fire house on Saturday.  The fire fighters were a great bunch of guys.  This was the second time we visited this fire house.  The first time, two months ago they had to respond to a fire just as the wee Cub Scouts arrived for their tour.  This time there were no emergencies so the boys got the whole tour.  Their favorite part?  The brass pole the fire fighters use to get from upstairs to downstairs.  Really.  They liked the fire engine.  They liked the helmets.  But the LOVED the idea of grown men sliding down the pole.

     After the tour Basil and I walked to the library just 100 yards up the road.  While there we listened to two harpists.  We heard Morning Has Broken, And Can It Be, and Greenesleeves (We learned Greenesleeves was written by Henry VIII.) before Basil got squirmy and we went and looked at books.  

     I made a mistake of picking two books by their covers.  Santa's Snow Cat and Santa's Snow Kitten are worth avoiding.  Maybe, if you really like cats you'll like these books, but Basil couldn't get into them, and I also thought they were boring.  It seems the chief virtue of the books is that on every page there is a picture of a wide-eyed yet emotionless cat.  I have trouble thinking of predators sympathetically, but if you like pictures of cats and can look past the destruction cats visit on the wildlife of North America you might like these books.

     A far better book is The Gingerbread Baby. This book has a story that is familiar but has an unexpected ending. It isn't deep and meaningful, but it is fun.  And the illustrations are beautiful and rich.  Basil and Anselm both liked this book.

     I have a stuffed pumpkin in the oven.  Have been enjoying Strauss Family Creamery's egg nog.  The Nativity Fast starts soon and the egg nog will be sold out by the time Orthodox can drink milk again, so these first few days of november are the only time we can drink it.  But that's okay.  I can make my own egg nog, which I'll do during Christmas.

So much to write about

Well, let's see....   I've been working as a pump and compressor mechanic for a few months now.  I like it.  I think the most interesting thing I've learned how to do is sweat copper tubes for air, water, and oil lines.  I did hurt myself pretty bad with a diamond bladed cutter about 2 months ago.  It cut out a horrible gash in my leg (I lost part of my left tibia) and it hasn't completely healed yet.  It was a very dirty cut and it got infected.  That slowed healing.  But I am okay.  It is mostly healed now.

For the bast couple of weeks my son Billy has very much been on my mind.  I had the trisagion for the departed served for him after the Divine Liturgy last Sunday.  I miss him.  I haven't heard anything from my son Devon in months.  I hope he is okay.  I hope if he isn't that he'll let me know.

We celebrated the anniversary of our conversion to Orthodoxy on Nov. 3.  It is hard to believe it has been 9 years.  I hope I have made progress but I don't see it, if I have.

I've been searching for a 16 pocket wrench roll.  I want it to be leather, made in the U.S.A., and have a pocket large enough for a 1 1/4" combination wrench.  I haven't found what I am looking for.  But I did find this cool blog that tells how to make a wrench roll.

Over the past couple of months I've been reading The Lord of the Rings to Anselm.  I just finished it last week and was trying to decide what to read now.  Then I thought that this year, because we have amassed such a large collection over the years, I should start reading Christmas books early.  I started last night with reading aloud the first few stories of The Animals' Merry Christmas.  Hopefully, I'll be finished by Theophany.

Orthodoxy and Monarchy

Today, after the liturgy, I was talking with a reader and a subdeacon over coffee.  We were talking about books when the reader said, "The introduction to [A Gathered Radiance] contains the best explanation of why the Orthodox Church prefers a monarchy."  I expressed surprise at the idea and he the reader said, "Well, can you imagine Tolkein's last volume of Lord of The Rings set in a world of Republics?  Return of the Prime Minister just doesn't have the same power as Return of the King."

Beauty

Even though it falls short, it is worth watching.  I especially like that names modern architecture a crime.

Update on job and a C.S. Lewis Quote

My job is pretty amazing.  Everyday is filled with doing things I have never done and never thought I would do. I even managed to cut out a bit of my left tibia with an angle grinder.  I use blow torches, sledge hammers, and giant wrenches pretty often, but the thing I enjoy doing most is the fine work of re-building Graco Fire Ball Pumps. There is something very satisfying about taking a broken machine apart, cleaning it, figuring out what is wrong with it, and fixing it. I have a few of them sitting on my work bench in the shop. I work on them when I'm not out on a job site, which is where I usually am.  As I fix them my employer sells them to customers.  The goal is for parts and labor to be less than 70% of the selling price.  So far I have done one at 88% (The first one I did) and one at  61%.  I'd like to get good enough so that most of them are at 50%.  The hard part, is figuring out exactly what's wrong with them, but I should get better at diagnosis as time goes by.

Oh, while I'm here I should share with you this quote from C.S. Lewis' essay "Modern Theology and Biblical Criticism."

All theology of the liberal type involves at some point — and often involves throughout — the claim that the real behaviour and purpose and teaching of Christ came very rapidly to be misunderstood and misrepresented by His followers, and has been recovered or exhumed only by modern scholars. Now long before I became interested in theology I had met this kind of theory elsewhere. The tradition of Jowett still dominated the study of ancient philosophy when I was reading Greats. One was brought up to believe that the real meaning of Plato had been misunderstood by Aristotle and wildly travestied by the neo-Platonists, only to be recovered by the moderns. When recovered, it turned out (most fortunately) that Plato had really all along been an English Hegelian, rather like T.H. Green. I have met it a third time in my own professional studies; every week a clever undergraduate, every quarter a dull American don, discovers for the first time what some Shakespearian play really meant. But in this third instance I am a privileged person. The revolution in thought and sentiment which has occurred in my own lifetime is so great that I belong, mentally, to Shakespeare’s world far more than to that of these recent interpreters. I see — I feel it in my bones — I know beyond argument — that most of their interpretations are merely impossible; they involve a way of looking at things which was not known in 1914, much less in the Jacobean period. This daily confirms my suspicion of the same approach to Plato or the New Testament. The idea that any man or writer should be opaque to those who lived in the same culture, spoke the same language, shared the same habitual imagery and unconscious assumptions, and yet be transparent to those who have none of these advantages, is in my opinion preposterous. There is an a priori improbability in it which almost no argument and no evidence could counterbalance.