Today

Woke up early. Made breakfast (baccon, sliced apples, toast w/ butter and honey, coffee) for Cyndi and the little boy. As we were getting dressed he said "Go to beach?" Cyndi said "Why not?" I said, "Okay!" So, Cyndi went to work and me and the little boy went to the beach.

Getting to the beach at Santa Cruz from San Jose means taking Hwy 17 "over the hill". It is a pretty (and dangerous) drive through a redwood forest. Today it was foggy.

When we got to the beach it was too cold to go swimming. So we just walked around and played in the sand. There were some people playing volly ball. A couple of sail boats were anchored about 100 yards out from the breakers. I made a necklace out of dried kelp for the little boy. It took a while, but I think I finally got him to understand that his necklace has nothing to do with Saint Nicholas.

When it got too cold by the water we walked up to the boardwalk. All the rides were closed, but the arcade was open. At first I wasn't going to go in. (I don't like the noise of video ardades.) But then I remembered all the fun I had playing ski ball in that very arcade when I was a boy. I wondered if they still had the old machines. They didn't. They had brand new souped up ski ball machines!!! Well, I bought the little boy two games. He won six tickets and then traded them for a smiley face ring, 4 plastic centepedes, and 1 plastic scorpion. He was very happy. Oh, but you should have heard him scream with delight as he played the game. It was soooo excellent!

After ski ball we drove out on the municipal warf. (It is really a pier but they call it a warf. I don't know why.) We looked at sea lions lounging on the rafters of the warf. (I guess they thought it was too cold to be in the water, too.) The boy really enjoyed that. Then we bought some fried calimari and french fries from the resaurant at the end of the pier. We also fed some french bread to the gulls.

We got home about 1:30 in the afternoon. We took a nap together. Then I dropped the little boy off at my mom's house on the way to school.

Cyndi quit her job today. She is tired of recruiting and is going to be working for the company I work for. They are going to pay for her to go to school and get a real estate license. She is totally stoked. This is such a great thing for us. Right now she spends 10-11 hours per day at work PLUS 2 hours commuting. With her new job, she will be on call all the time, but generally, will have a 100% flexible schedule. Oh, and she found out that she is getting a huge bonus from her current employer.

We both had very good days.

Diffuclties

I have discovered over the last few days that it is impossible to do homework while the little boy is awake. Blogging is easy. Working around the apartments is easy. Cooking is easy. Those don't requre though. But homework, especially, math is impossible. Today has been very difficult. He tore a page out of my math book. He insisted on sitting on me. I just gave up. He has been dancing and jumping yelling "I love daddy". I just felt like throwing him across the room and yelling "shut up and be still." (Don't worry , I didn't do it.) But I guess I'll just have to do homework at night after school while he and his mother are sleeping. This is going to be a hard quarter.

Dog Notes

A seminarian at Holy Cross is posting notes from his dogmatic theology class. Pretty interesting.

Examples:

* The whole of God's plan for salvation is manifested and recapitulated in the three main Sacraments of our Church: Baptism, Chrismation and Eucharist. In the early Church (and today), the Orthodox liturgy of initiation -- the making of a Christian -- included all three, even as salvation does. To be saved we must become a *new* creation, we must die and rise with Christ (Baptism); we must be filled with the Holy Spirit, whom Christ sends to us as a seal and comforter (Chrismation); and we must be in communion with Christ as we sanctify the world (Eucharist). The rite itself includes the fullness of revelation, and our askesis is to maintain and re-live this.

* The Holy Spirit played a great role in the life of Christ Himself: Christ was incarnated by the Spirit and raised by Him (the Creed emphasizes the former and St. Paul the latter). Thus, the *mystical* Body of Christ is vivified by the Spirit as well.

A letter to Dr. Bouteneff

Dear readers,

If you followed a link to this post and were looking for my words to Dr. Bouteneff, well.... I deleted them. I wish I had never written them. After he wrote back to me I realized that he is well intentioned and even though I think he is wrong in politics, he is more holy than I am.

Pie, Godfather, Theologians, and a Hymn I grew up singing.

I'm baking an apple pie. I put it in the oven about 7 minutes ago. Very excited. When Cyndi and I read the Little House books to each other we noticed that our forefathers often ate pies for breakfast. So, tomorrow we will have apple pie - made from all organic ingredients. I even grated the nutmeg myself. Problem with the top crust though. A little worried. But I think Cyndi and the little boy (who have been in bed for a couple of hours) will be happy in the morning.

Note about the little boy: He has seen some pictures of his Godfather. Now evertime he sees a bald man with a beard he says "Godfather?"

Working on a reply to Dr. Bouteneff's paper. I'll post it here when I finish it and send it to him.

All evening I've been hearing this song in my head:

Are You Washed in the Blood?

I grew up singing this song almost every Sunday. Oh, how my heart aches for all the people I used to go to church with. They introduced me to Jesus. They taught me the Bible. They asked me, "Are your garments spotless? Are they White as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?" I wish God would do something and cause them to see that Orthodoxy is the Church who's porch they are standing on.

Problems, the little boy, lots of comments

I have a major plumbing problem going on here at the complex. One leak turned out to be three leaks. Walls being torn out. Tenants disturbed. ARRRRGH!!!!

I've been so busy with stuff that the little boy has been bored. I'm going to go play with him on the grass in a minute. Right now he is playing with his adding machine, an old IBM.

I needed to have a lease ready for signature today but my prionter isn't working. ARRRRGH!!!!

Erica wrote a little post about the inner life of the Holy Trinity that has generated more than 40 comments.WOW!

Ever wonder which Chronicle of Narnia are you?

Click here and find out.

I've been wondering about a couple of things, does anyone know what to think of that prince in the Silver Chair? Who is he? What are we supposed to think of him? The three heroes are easy. Actually, the invisible knight is hard to understand, too. Hmmm. If anyone has any ideas I'd love to hear them.

joke

There is this atheist swimming in the ocean. All of a sudden he sees a shark in the water, so he starts swimming furiously towards his boat. As he looks back, he sees the shark turn and head towards him. He's scared to death, and as he sees the jaws of the great white beast open, revealing its horrific teeth, the atheist screams, "Oh God! Save me!"In an instant, time is frozen and a bright light shines down from above. The man is motionless in the water when he hears the voice of God say, "You are an atheist. Why do you call upon me when you do not believe in me?"Confused, and knowing he can't lie, the man replies, "Well, that's true I don't believe in you, but how about the shark? Can you make the shark believe in you?" The Lord replies, "As you wish," and the light retracts back into the heavens. The man feels the water move once again. As the atheist looks back, he can see the jaws of the shark start to close down on him, when all of sudden the shark stops and pulls back. Shocked, the man watches as the huge beast closes its eyes, bows its head and says, "Thank you Lord for this food which I am about to receive..."

Aikido and evening prayers

Tonight was my first aikido class. First impression: It is a lot of hard work. Second impression: Oh, I like this thing about not hitting back. All we have to do is get out of the attackers way. How neat! Third impression: Why does the instructor keep talking about energy flow? Am I going to find out in a couple of weeks that this is incompatible to Christ?

Prayer. The little boy and I did evening prayers together. He got a new Icon (the Resurrection of Jesus) and was pretty excited about seeing it in his Icon corner. After prayers I bless him with the candle and invoke the prayers of the saints of the day and the Holy Prophet Samuel. As I'm walking out the door he says "More daddy". So then I do it again and name a bunch more saints, usually moving West to East, e.g. Ss. Herman, Innocent, Alexis, Raphael, Patrick, Columba, Brigid, Edward, Martin, Iraneus, Ambrose, Gregory, Anthony, Athanasius, ....ending with the Theotokos).
Now, here is the cool value added benefit (When I was in advertising I talked about 'cool value added benfits' a lot. I kinda miss talking like that.): I am learning about all of these saints I name and am beginning to love them. I kind of expected to learn about them but I never expected to begin to feel love for them. But when I am praying I am filled so with the memories of what they have done and how they finished their races, and now they are praying for my little boy... I can hardley keep from crying long enough to finish praying.

Update

It has been a couple of days since I've said anything about this so, just so you don't forget...
Islam is evil and wants to kill you and rape you.

The sexual preocupation of the media humanity haters

Below is a snippet I pulled from Wonkette

"The LA Weekly has followed up on the Raw Story's lead and outed Republican California Congressman David Dreier, and many people are taking particular delight in it: Dreier represents a very conservative district, and has repeatedly taken anti-gay positions -- and not just your standard Federal Marriage Amendment-type stuff. According to the Weekly, he even voted against "the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program designed to give shelter to the impoverished sick, and against funding for the federal ADAP program that furnishes the poor with the AIDS meds they need to stay alive." (more)

Apart from "out-ing" closeted homosexuals (I don't know how I feel about that) the thing that struck me is that Wonkette described Dreir's opposition to HOPWA as as an "anti-gay" position. Only the humanity haters (my new name for what some call the Left) could possibly see this as having anything to do with homosexuality. It has everything to do with the rights of individuals to control their own property. And the ADAP program, Wow! She thinks that is about sex, too. It isn't. It is about the rights of taxpayers not to have public monies used for private gain.

Are the Haters of Humanity just stupid? Why do they see everything through sex colored lenses?

Long day yesterday. THoughts on being a dad.

School went from 3pm to 10 pm with only a couple of 10 minute breaks. After school went grocery shopping. The little boy wanted bacon and eggs for breakfast yesterday but I didn't have any for him. I wanted to make sure I had some for him this morning. Anyway, I can already tell that Clinical Procedures is going to be my favorite class this quarter. Math is just hard work.

I Just read this article and it got me to thinking about what I can do to make my little boy strong and competitive. I've given lots of thought to how I will make him gentle and humble and compassionate. But not much thought to developing these other more typically masculine charachter traits.

I guess forcing him to learn how to swim and to jump into the pool even when he is afraid has been a good thing. I did it mainly because we have a pool and it would be dangerous for him not to be comfortable in the water, able to swim to the side an pull himself out. I have no desire to find a dead 2 year old floating in the pool. But now I'm thinking that it was a good character development exercise too. Maybe he has learned that if he faces his fears and works hard he can overcome that of which he is afraid.

But what next? He's only two and his mom and I have amazing nutso schedules. (We don't even see each other awake except for on weekends. And do you know what this does sex? It might as well be Great Lent! But that is a different problem. Right now I'm talking about being a dad.) I think I need to make an effort to take him to the woods, or to the beach and let him does some exploring falling down getting knoked over gettings bruised and scraped.

As for sports (not something I've ever been good at) I guess I'll try to get him into a rugby league or something. And, of course when he is four I'll teach him how to handle a pistol and shoot without blinking. When he is nine he can join the cub scouts.

Chemistry and neckwear and singing

I am enjoying my chemistry class.
I got the new Beau Ties catalog today.
The little boy woke me up at 7. He was still in his bed but he was singing the Triagion and "God grant you many years".

Homesick

The loveliness of Paris
Seems somehow sadly gay
The glory that was Rome
Is of another day

I've been terribly alone
And forgotten in Manhattan
I'm going home
To my city by the bay

I left my heart
In San Francisco
High on a hill
It calls to me

To be where little cable cars
Climb half-way to the stars
The morning fog
May chill the air
I don't care

My love waits there
In San Francisco
Above the blue and windy sea
When I come home to you
San Francisco
Your golden sun will shine for me

First night of school, Right vs Left

School was dismal. This class is going to be hard. Problem with night classes: The bookstore is closed when I am on campus. I have homework due wednesday but don't have the right book. Hmmmm. I'll have to figure this out in the morning.

In other news I read this article about the recent popularity of Nazi-ism in Germany. The thing that caught my attenttion was the first line in which the author refers to the "far right". This is one of my pet peeves.

If you and I were to sit down and talk for a while you would probably say "Wow! Matt is a right wing nut job." But I have nothing in common with the Nazis. I am neither a nationalist nor a socialist. (the contraction of those two words in German is the origin of the word Nazi.) How is it that I, a libertarian (or a classical liberal it you prefer that label) and strict constructionist can be far right, and neo-nazis can also be far right? Simply put, it isn't possible.

What is the origin of right and left in politics? For that you have to look back to France before the Revolution. In the States-General of 1789 (the first States-General since 1614) the noblemen who supported the king sat on the right side of the room. Those who opposed the king sat on the left. That's it. Pretty easy, huh?

Both Germany and the U.S. are federal republics. Which means there is no king to support or oppose. So what are journalists talking about when they write about the right or the left? I think "far right" is code for "people we don't like". Now look at this: Both the Naziz and the Communists believe in state socialism. But one is typically called far right and the other is typically called far left. (except, I remember when I was a kid Breszhnev was called far right and Solzinitzen was called far left. Oh, this is confusing.)

Here is how I look at it. I don't even bother with right and left because outside of 18th century France the terms are meaningless. I prefer a liberty scale. Here is how it works:
There is a number line. ZERO is complete anarchy. TEN is complete totalitarianism.

I'm not aware of any ZERO societies but I suppose that in theory there could be one. But in practicality, people like to excercise power over each other so it is unlikely that there ever was or ever will be a society that earns a ZERO on my liberty guage. Any society with a Zero rating can not survive. Anarchy is destructive to society. Even angels have ranks and orders. Sinful men simply can not exist in anarchy. Even self-described anarchists will admit this if you can get then to stop blowing things up and talk in a normal speaking voice. (Actually, self-described anarchists are rarely true anarchists. They want someone to have power, just not the people who currently have it.)

Now let's look at the other end of this spectrum: TEN I'm not sure any state has ever made it all the way up to TEN either, though the Communists and the Nazis both tried really hard. I suppose I would give the Soviet Union a 9.6 and to Nazi Germany I'd give a 9.5. Well, maybe the Spartans deserve a 9.6, too.

How I would rank the various political parties on the liberty scale:

Peace and Freedom Party at 9.6
German Greens at 9
US Greens at 8
Israeli Labor Party at 8
British Labor Party at 7.5
German Christian Democrats at 7
British Torries at 6.5
British Republicans 5.9
U.S. Democrats at 5.2
U.S. Republicans at 5
US Constition Party at 4.5
US Libertarian Party at 3

Communion

I wasn't able to go to Communion yesterday. And it kind of bummed me out. Anyway, I've been thinking about communion and how St. Ignatius of Antioch really turned me around. He really turned me around on two things: Communion and the Church. Here is one of my fave St. Ignatius quotes:

"Let no one do any of the things pertaining to the Church without the bishop. Let that be considered a certain Eucharist which is celebrated by the bishop or by one whom he appoints. Wherever the bishop appears, let the congregation be present, just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church." (Letter to Church of Smyrna)

Why is it one of my favorites? Because it give me so much comfort. The last couple of years that I was a protestant I was plagued by doubt. But here St. Ignatius tells us how to be certain. I know a lot of people make a big deal out of the mystical nature of the Orthodox Church. But I love it for its concrete-ness.... I see it, taste it, smell it. I know where it is. I listen to the bishop or, more often "one whom he appoints" leads me in the liturgy and I have no doubts. Sometimes I feel like the Apostle Thomas. I want to feel the holes in his hands and side. But Jesus wants more than that. He offers me his blood for drink and his flesh for food.

Jesus offers more than just the facts of his life. He doesn't just give us the four Gospels and say "Learn my biography. Test is on Friday." The life of his church is not just a big Bible-Trivia game. (Which is sometimes what it seemed like to me when I was a Protestant.)

The Apostle John says as much in the opening of his first letter.

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ."

He gives us the facts: "Heard", "seen", "looked upon", "handled". But what is the meaning of that physical reality? "Fellowship". In the liturgy, in the chalice, God comes to me (because I can't get to where he is) and is not just handled, seen, and looked upon, but is truely eaten and becomes part of me. He lets me be with Him. The cherubim puts down his flaming sword and I am allowed to eat of the Tree of Life.

Gossip

Blessed Seraphim Rose said, "How much hope there is for those who do not trust in themselves too much and are not overly-critical of others! And how little hope for those whose orientation is the opposite!"

I have a friend who, it seems to me, is very quick to bring me news of the moral failings of Christians in public life, especially if those Christians are Pentecostal/Charismatic TV preachers. But he is also quick to tell me of the moral failings of other people not famous, but known to both of us. I used to think he was really bad for being a gossip. I used to think I was better than my friend because I did not go running to tell him the failings of others. As I was thinking about this today I saw that my feeling superior to him was just as wicked as his gossiping.

Sin sure is sneaky.

The Science

I've heard economics called the "dismal science" but this is some thing new. I suppose it could be called the squishy science.

Why I'm not voting for Bush but why you should.

I live in California. Bush will lose this state by at least 10% points. My vote for him is wasted. So, I am going to vote for either the Libertarian Party or the Constitution Party, both of which have platforms that are more in line with what I believe. But if you are in Ohio, Maine, Colorado or any of the other "battleground" states and want to stop this, then you should vote for Bush.

This does not mean that I think the evil practice will end right away. It could be ended today if the Congress would act. (And don't even get me started on the Supreme Court. Congress has the power to limit their appelate jurisdiction but congressmen are cowards.) But Bush and the Republicans are more susceptable thant are the Democrats to pressure from the people who want to end this variety of barbarism.

Okay enough politics. "Put not your trust in princes and sons of men, in whom there is no salvation." I have to keep reminding myself of that.

I only had 14 tenants tell me which storage units they are using. The deadline was yesterday. Today I cut locks off. I bet I hear from all of the other tenants who didn't respond to my request very soon after I cut their locks.

Long Day

Long day, but much fun. The little boy and I spent most of it playing. But we didn't go swimming. I think I mentioned the slipped cartilige in my left jaw. Well, it turns out that I have an ear infection. Swimming makes it worse. So for the next couple of weeks no pool for me. But we did spend a couple of hours watering the grass with a hose. Well, he spent a goodly amount of time watering me. It was fun.

Cyndi and I are cooking for the parish on Sunday. Well, we actually started the cooking tonight. Made a tray of Hello Dolly. (Cyndi thinks they'll stay fresh. She knows about things like that.) Tomorrow we will make the pecan pies, brine the chickens, and do as much of the other prep work as possible. Of course, this means we're going to miss Glendi! this year. Oh, well. If the Lord tarries, perhaps, we can make next year.

Those of you who prayed for Cyndi's job interview: Thank you. It looks like she got the job. She doesn't know her start date yet.

If you get a chance, pray for H. He is my son's Godfather and is afflicted by a hurricane right now.

Gotta like a Sec. of State with a sense of humor:
Washington Times asks Powell if he intends to stay on for a second term. Powell to aide: "Oh, God. I thought I told you, Emily, to call over and tell them. . . I serve at the pleasure of the president."

School starts Monday. Filled with trepidation.

This just in from the Saying it like it is Desk:
David Gelernter in the The Weekly Standard said George Soros' comparison of America to Nazi Germany:
Has the Republican Congress decreed a U.S. version of the Nuremberg race laws? Has the administration transformed every American news source into a propaganda machine? Demanded that Jews (or anyone) be fired? That Jewish (or any other kind of) shops, businesses, professionals be boycotted? Propaganda posters everywhere? Students thrown out of schools? Secret police grabbing people off the streets? Children urged to inform on parents? All opposition parties banned? Churches harassed? A "Bush Youth" that every "Aryan" boy must join? Storm-troopers holding torchlight parades, singing hate-mongering war songs? Gigantic communal fines levied against Jews (or anyone else)? State-sponsored pogroms? Massive regimentation and rearmament? A führer cult and special schools to train disciples? Brutal suppression of all regime opponents? No? Actually America under Bush resembles Nazi Germany in no way whatsoever, isn't that so?