What I'm Going to Make as Soon as this Fast is Over

Okay, I understand the reason for this fast (After Pentecost the Apostles prepared for thier evangelistic missions. We do the same by fasting and praying.) but I'm really having trouble getting into it this year. All I can think about are lamb shanks. Usually, I braise them in a red wine reduction, but I think as soon as this fast is over (on the Feast of Ss. Peter & Paul, June 29) I am going to have to make...

Lamb Shanks with White Beans

For lamb shanks
4 lamb shanks (about 1 pound each)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped coarse
1 medium carrot, chopped coarse
1 celery rib, chopped coarse
8 garlic cloves, chopped coarse
3 1/2 cups Bordeaux or other full-bodied red wine
4 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 fresh thyme sprigs

For gremolata
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves (preferably flat-leafed)
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
3 garlic cloves, minced

For beans
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 small onions, chopped fine
2 small carrots, chopped fine
2 celery ribs, chopped fine
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups cooked white beans (preferably Great Northern or navy)
2 to 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 fresh tarragon sprigs


Make lamb shanks:
Pat lamb shanks dry and season with salt and pepper. In an 8-quart heavy flameproof casserole heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and brown lamb shanks well in batches, transferring to a plate as browned. To casserole add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic and sauté until onion is softened. Add wine and simmer mixture, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced to about 3 cups. Return lamb shanks to casserole and stir in broth, tomato paste, and thyme. Bring liquid to a boil and simmer, covered, stirring and turning lamb shanks occasionally, 1 1/2 hours. Simmer mixture, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 1 hour more, or until lamb shanks are tender.

Make the gremolata while lamb is cooking:
In a small bowl stir together gremolata ingredients.

Make beans while lamb is cooking:
In a saucepan heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and cook onions, carrots, celery, and garlic, stirring, 2 or 3 minutes, or until softened. Add beans, 2 cups broth, butter, and bay leaf and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally and adding enough remaining broth to keep beans moist and to reach a creamy consistency, about 30 minutes. Discard bay leaf and add half of gremolata and salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer lamb shanks to a plate and keep warm, covered with foil. Strain braising liquid through a sieve into a saucepan, discarding solids, and stir in butter and tarragon. Boil sauce, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly. Strain sauce through sieve into a bowl and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Sprinkle lamb shanks with remaining gremolata and serve with beans and sauce.


(Although under U.S. law a recipe can not be copyrighted, I do want to mention that I got this recipe from Epicurious.)

A Birthday, Some Recipes, and New Tires

Last Saturday was my son Devon's 21st birthday. It was a tough one since the same week marked one year since the death of Billy, Devon's older brother and my oldest son. So, there was sadness and and happiness mingled together.

I planned a surprise party for Devon. He is part of a Bible study at at protestant church, so I got all those people to come. My brothers and my sister were there. Actually, my sister, because she lives in a very large house that was designed entertaining let us have the party at her house. Also, several of Devon's cousins were there. His fave cake is cheese cake so I had one of those made for him by Sugar, Butter, Flour.

Everyone brought the ingredients to make a cocktail for Devon to try. He tasted a Campari Cocktail (2 parts gin, 1 part Campari, shaken w/ ice, strained into cocktail glass, twist of lemon), a BBC, a brain hemorrhage, a watermelon collins, and some others. He especially liked my wife's Gin and Tonic made with Tanqueray and Fever Tree tonic water. Devon only tasted each drink and didn't finish any of them. Wise. All the recipes (Many of them were illustrated by the party attenders!) for the drinks he tasted, as well as happy birthday wishes from all the people celebrating with him were written in a commemorative book.

Today I bought new tires for the Cruiser. Michelin. I don't know why exactly, but all the people I know who are really into cars say the only tires worth having are French or Italian. The store I went to didn't sell Pirelli (which I had on the Acura Integra) so I went with French. But that's okay. Michelin is what I've always used on the Cruiser and it is used to those. It might not have reacted well to a change like that. You know, it's like serving Coke to a Pepsi drinker. Hmmm. Now that I think of it, maybe the reason Pirelli and Michelin are recommended has more to do with those calendars than with tire quality, after all, the people who swear by the tires are men. I mean, do BF Goodrich and Yokohama even have calendars? Let alone, world famous limited edition collector item calendars?

There is one thing I'm not sure about. I usually buy tires with 800 hardness ratings (When I had the Integra and regularly drove over 110 mph I used to care about speed and traction ratings, too. I don't worry about those with the Cruiser.) so I'll get 90,000 to 100,000 miles out of them before I need to replace them. Unfortunately, this store, the store with the best prices, only special-orders tires with hardness ratings up where I like them. So, because I am always pressed for time, and because I have a long road trip coming up soon, I got the off-the-shelf 740 rated tire. It will be interesting to see how long it lasts compared to the 800s I just got rid of.

For dinner tonight I made something my mother always called Summer Salad. I diced several tomatoes, two cucumbers, half a red onion and dressed it with mirin. Anselm Samuel and Basil Wenceslas didn't eat it (they hate onion) but Devon Abram had several servings. That made me happy. He isn't really used to the way we eat yet, especially during the fasts. I'm very glad to have made something he likes.

Stanley Tucci's Wardrobe

I have seen four great movies about food. Two of them brought tears to my eyes. It is true that both of those films starred Stanley Tucci wearing beautiful clothes, but the clothes are not what brought tears to my eyes. If you have an opportunity to see Julie & Julia or Big Night, I implore you, do not let the opportunity pass you by. Each film deals truthfully and elegantly with food. Each film portrays some of the beauties of a past era. Neither is to be missed. Aside from the food and atmosphere, each of these films featured 1950s men's clothing worn by Stanley Tucci. If I were ever to open a haberdashery I think I should only sell clothes of that period and call the shop Stanley Tucci's Wardrobe.

The B (Women and Children in Greek Antiquity)

I got a B. I hate getting a B. Not as much as I loathe an A minus, but I hate it. Regardless of how much I hate it that is the grade the paper received. (Thankfully it is only worth 4% of my final grade.) Below, you will find the paper that earned the B. When I wrote it I thought it was an A paper. Now, having read it over and over again, I see why it is only a B paper. I wish this blog program would let me import the Word document as I typed it, for the footnotes are a work of beauty. They do not appear in this format.


---------------------

Women and Children in Greek Antiquity


By
Billy Matthew Karnes


For
Prof. Stanley Carpenter
American Military University
HIST531 K001 Spr 10


It is impossible to say what the condition of women and children was in Greek antiquity without specifying which women and which children. The conditions of Spartan mothers were very different from the conditions of Corinthian prostitutes, or Athenian merchant women. Likewise, the living conditions of pre-pubescent boys were different from those of pre-pubescent girls. This paper will examine lives lead by women and children in various circumstances.

The first peril a child in ancient Greek society had to face was the risk of exposure. The kyrios of every household had the absolute right to decide whether or not to let a babe live or to expose it. It is not known what percentage of babies were exposed, but there is evidence to suggest more girl babies than boy babies met that pitiful end.

If a child did survive past infancy it was soon segregated according to sex. In cities other than Sparta, girls, at least free-born daughters of citizens, destined for marriage in the upper classes, would be taught household tasks in the gynaikonitis, out of which they emerged only infrequently. The work skills - let there be no mistake about it, every woman in ancient Greek society worked - taught to young girls were the same as those employed by her mother: carding wool, spinning and dying yarn, weaving, making clothes, cooking, and managing slaves. They would also be taught to read and do basic math. These skills were taught to upper class girls to make them a attractive brides, and help their fathers form or strengthen alliances with other upper class men. In most of Greek society, girlhood ended at or shortly after menarche when girls were married and assumed the role of oikodespoina , which, being translated, is mistress-of-the-house.

There was one outlet for girls of the gynaikonitis, however. Girls were allowed to serve as kanepharos, basket-bearers during religious ceremonies and processions , offer libations , and carry the sacrificial knife. In Athens, exceptionally "well-born" girls were granted the honor of grinding the grain for sacrifices and serving in the temples of Athena and Artimis. Poor girls who did not become prostitutes learned a trade or how to read that they might help their parents in their work.

Greek boys, except for in Sparta where the law protected boys from pederasts, were buggered by men and this was thought of as beneficial. Other than that, Greek boys, at least, all sons of citizens were taught to read and work. They were also taught how to fight to defend the polis. Boys from less well off families were taught to work in their parents trade.

The state of women in Greek society was not very good, and women, even citizen-born wives of the social elite were thought of as little better than slaves, who's entire worth was found in their sex. Demosthenes, the prosecutor of Neaira made this clear when he said "We have hetairai for our pleasure, pallaki for the daily care of our bodies, and wives for legitimate children." Additionally, available to men there were pornai and flute girls, lower class prostitutes than the pallaki, who can be thought of as concubines or kept women.

Some Greek women were religious prostitutes. At Corinth in 446 B.C. Xenephon dedicated 100 girls to prostitute in the temple of Aphrodite. But it would be a great mistake to think only young girls and prostitutes were engaged in religious work. Women served as priestesses in temples and had exclusive control over the messages of the Oracle of Delphi.

Other Greek women were not elite ladies living in the gynaikonitis, nor prostitutes of whatever class entertaining men, nor priestesses of the gods and goddesses. Rather, they did physical work outside the home. Evidence of this is found on grave markers, some of which from the 4th century B.C. read as follows:

Phanastrate
midwife and
physician,
lies here.

This is the tomb
of the immigrant
Apollodorus'
daughter, Melitta,
a nurse.

Mania, the grocer
whose shop is near
the spring.

Additionally, many freed female slaves left records of their occupations. They included sesame seed seller, grocer, harpist, perfume seller, woolworker, and wet nurse. Though there is not much evidence for it or against it, in the countryside women must have been engaged in agricultural work since it is the universal pattern that farm wives help their husbands.

Sparta was an exception. There women, the highest to the lowest did all manner of work, though their most important work was birthing children for the polis. Their preparation for this work began in childhood when they were strengthened and toughened up by strenuous physical activity. Spartan women also mated (married seems to be the wrong word to describe what Spartans did) later than other Greek women. Whereas the women of Athens and Corinth and the other poleis were married shortly after menarche and immediately began trying to conceive sons, even though such early first pregnancies were detrimental to their health and decreased the likelihood of a successful pregnancy and delivery ; the women of Sparta married after they were fully mature and more likely to have a healthy pregnancy and delivery.

Finally, though most Greek women died at about the age of thirty-five after giving birth to an average of ten children and watching six of them die , some did live past the child-bearing years. This enabled them to serve as certain types of priestesses, and also, especially if they were widows, opened up more of the public sphere to them, as they became managers of the family oikos.

In conclusion, life for ancient Greek children and women was short and full of hardship.



Bibliography

Demand, N., Birth, Death, and Motherhood in Classical Greece (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994)

Dillon, M., Girls and Women in Classical Greek Religion (New York & London: Routledge, 2002)

Guhl E. & Koner, W., Everyday Life of the Greeks and Romans (New York: Crescent Books, 1989)

Ide, A., Women in Greek Civilization Before 100 B.C. (Mesquite, Texas: Ide House, 1983)

Martin, T., Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times (New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 1996)

Massey, M., Women in Ancient Greece and Rome (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988)

Plutarch, On Sparta (New York: Penguin Classics, 2005)

Applicable Fiction

Éothain: "Do we walk in legends or on the green earth in the daylight?"
Aragorn: "A man may do both. For not we but those who come after will make the legends of our time. The green earth, say you? That is a mighty matter of legend, though you tread it under the light of day!"

Saturday Soundtrack: Do Your Duty

Bettye LaVette is more famous for the song "He Made A Woman Out of Me" but the first song of hers I ever heard was "Do Your Duty". I was living in Tampa in the early 1980s. I remember hanging out with a couple of my cousins and their girlfriends when this song came on the radio. The second time I heard this song was when I was working at SF Weekly, so that must have been 1998. I was in a night club in San Francisco's Transbay Terminal. (The nightclub isn't there anymore.) The girl I was with was someone I met at John Lee Hooker's Boom Boom Room the night before. (John Lee was still alive then.) It was her scene more than mine. Though my business card got me into all the best bars and nightclubs I was, really, a navy blazer man, even then. I just couldn't get down with jook joint in a bus station, not even with a crazy not-quite-dressed-enough gray-eyed mullato girl. Not even for those fabulous chicken wings one of the other customers brought from home to share with whoever turned up that night. The girl was dangerous. The wings were good. The music was classic R&B. But I had a book waiting for me at home.

The diet

I struggle with my weight. Even as a child I was overweight. Even when I was in the infantry and excercizing HARD two or three times a day I had to watch my weight. In the past 10 years I've tried three different weight loss diets: Wieght Watchers, South BEach, and the HMR diet. They all failed for what I think of as the same reason: THey were complicated and required a lot of planning.

About 2 weeks ago I read an article about suger and other carbohydrates, that medical researchers are beginning to think that all the sugar and grain Americans eat might be killing us, that the baccon on a BLT might be better for us than the bread that olds it all together.

So I started thinking about that. And I mentioned the storyto my wife who told me about a fired of hers who used to struggle with her weigh until she got reid of all sugar and grain from her diet. Now the friend is svelte and healthy. So I thought about that, too.

And I decided to try to live without sugar and grain. The only exception to the grain rule is Commuion and an occasional bowl of oatmeal. There is no exception to the sugar rule. I don't eat honey. I don't eat maple syrup. I don't even eat sweet fruit, such as oranges, apples, and plums. (Olives and tomatoes are okay). Also, alcohol consumption has been limited to red wine, and no more than a quart of that per day.

So, what do I eat? Mainly, roasted meats and vegetables, boiled potatoes, eggs, beans, and raw vegetables. I eat as much as I want. I eat all the high fat foods (e.g. butter, milk, cheese, and olive oil) I want. And it is much much easier than keeping track of calories or points like the commercial diets wanted me to do. I will not lie and say it has been easy. The craving for bread and pasta was pretty bad the first week. After that it was much deminished. Now I don't even think of it, unless I am in a coffee shop and see a croisant in the display case. I should mention this: it is a little bit inconvenient not being able to eat any prepared foods at all. I mean, if it comes ready to heat and serve you can safely bet it has sugar, corn, and wheat it it.

So, what are the results after two weeks? I have lost weight and, this surprised me, I feel less sluggish and more alert.

Oh, would I recommend this diet for everyone? No. I have unusually low cholestorol. It hovers around 90 and my "good" colesterol number is two or three times my "bad" cholsterol number. I suppose if I had high cholestorol a diet like mine might be dangerous. But it is working for me.

Of Snowpacks

Anyone who's read this blog over the years knows my concern for the snow pack. Well today I read that the Sierra snow pack is 167% of "normal". This is some of the best news I've heard in a decade. I'm very happy. I guess some of the farmers aren't happy but, seriously, are farmers ever happy?

One of my favorite days

Today is the commemoration of the third finding of the head of St. John the Forerunner. Every year on this day I pray for the current guardian of St. John's head. It must be a difficult job.

Once a year is not often enough.

Woe, to you, O my darkened soul!
Your life is stained by depravity and laziness;
your folly makes you shun all thought of death.
How complacent you remain!
How can you flee the awesome thought of Judgment Day?
When will you change your way of life?
On that day your sins will rise against you.
What will your answer be then?
Your acts will condemn you; your deeds will expose you.
The time is at hand, O my soul.
Turn to the good and loving Savior!
Beg Him to forgive your malice and weakness, as you cry in faith:
“I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned against You,
but I know Your love for all mankind.//
O good Shepherd, call me to enjoy Your lasting presence on Your right hand!”

-Aposticha from Vespers for Sunday of Meatfare/Sunday of the Last Judgment

Chanting

I am being trained to be a reader in the Orthodox Church. So far, the best part of it has been reading the books I was told to buy. Every Tuesday and Thursday I drop Basil Wenceslas off at Kidspark and take Anselm Samuel to LOA, which meets at a church in in SanJose. The church, which is very large, has a cafe. I sit in in the cafe and pray the Hours and Matins from my copy of the Horologion while Anselm is with the other kids doing science and history.

So far, during services at St Nicholas Church I've been allowed to read the life of St. Mary of Egypt, chant the 1st and 3rd hours, and chant the Prayers after Communion. I kind of thought it would be easy, but chanting, I've discovered, is more difficult than singing. I enjoy being useful.

Merry Ascension!

The Lord has been taken up into heaven, that he may send the Advocate to the world. The heavens have prepared his throne; clouds his ascent. Angels marvel to see a human high above them. The Father receives him whom he holds eternally in his bosom. The Holy Spirit orders all his Angels, ’Lift up our gates, you rulers’. All you nations, clap your hands: for Christ has gone up where he was before.

Lord, at your Assumption the Cherubim were amazed as they contemplated you, the God who is seated upon them, ascending on the clouds; and we glorify you, for your mercy is kind. Glory to you!

As we see your exaltation on the holy mountains, O Christ, the splendour of the Father’s glory, we hymn the appearance, formed of light, of your countenance; we worship your sufferings, we honour your Resurrection, as we glorify your glorious Assumption. Have mercy on us.

Lord Christ, giver of life, as your Apostles saw you borne up on clouds, filled with lamentations of tears of dejection, grieving they said, ’Master, do not make us your servants orphans, whom through pity you have loved as you are compassionate; but, as you promised, send us your all-holy Spirit to guide our souls with light’

From Vespers for the Feast of the Ascensionof the Lord

A day of getting ready

Today's theme is "Getting Ready". I've been getting uniforms ready for the Scout-o-Rama tomorrow. I've been getting apartments ready for their new residents. I've been getting meals ready to eat, boys ready for life, paint ready for painters,and the pool ready for swimmers. It reminded me of this song:

Forgiveness

It just dawned on me that it is impossible to forgive unless we have been hurt.

I Miss Her

A funny thing I did.

Tonight, a friend reminded me of something I did a long time ago. I was living with an Air Force officer back in 1997 or 1998 who was on loan to a secret part of the U.S. gov't. I asked him once if Congress knew what he did. He said "A couple of them do." He was that kind of guy. But you would never know it if you met him. Well, one day I needed to talk to him when he was at work but I didn't have his direct number. So, I called [location where secret go'vt pffice bldg was] and a sergeant answered the phone. I said, "Good morning, Sergeant. Could you put me through to Capt. [name] in [secret organization]? The sergeant said, "I'm sorry, sir. We have no one here by that name."

Having once been an enlisted man in the Army, I know a little bit how enlisted men think. So I changed my voice to sound a little bit angry and a little bit southern. I put a touch of Drill Sergeant inflection in it and I said, "Son, I am a colonel in the United States God Damn Marine Corps. You will put me though to Capt. [name] right now or I am comming down there!"

"Yes, Sir!"

The next voice I heard was my roommate who asked, "How did you get through to me at this number?" I was dying laughing as I told the story. He said, seriously, "He wasn't supposed to do that. What was his name."
I said, "Come on, he thought he was on the phone with an angry colonel, give the guy a break."
My roommate laughed then, too.

Good Books

While looking online for a good homeschool Greek curriculum I came across a reading list recommended by Mortimer J. Adler, the former editor-in-chief of the Encylopaedia Britannica and my favorite modern philosopher. (He spent his life talking himself into believing the truth of Christ and abandoned pagaism for Christianity in his 80s.) Many of the books on his list we have already read to our boys but many I've never heard of. For instance, we have the red, gree, and blue fairy books but until now had no idea there were brown, lilac, and yellow fairy books.

“The Good Books”
Literature Reading List
Nursery – 8th Grade

Nursery (7 Books)
The Complete Tales of Peter Rabbit (all 23 little books) by Beatrix Potter
A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Language of Flowers by Kate Greenaway
Kate Greenaway’s Mother Goose Coloring Book by Kate Greenaway
The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang

Preschool (9 Books)
The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne
The Complete Poems of Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne
The Lilac Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
Nonsense Poems by Edward Lear
The Pink Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
Anderson’s Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Anderson
The Olive Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
The Violet Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
Ride a Cock-Horse and other Rhymes and Stories by Randolph Caldecott

Kindergarten (10 Books)
A Treasury of Mother Goose
Perrault’s Complete Fairy Tales by Charles Perrault
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Dr. Dolittle: A Treasury by Hugh Lofting
The Orange Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
Favorite Uncle Remus by Joel Chandler Harris
The Brown Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm

First Grade (10 Books)
The Aesop for Children by Aesop
The Story of Dr. Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
Water Babies by Charles Kingsley
Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
The Kate Greenaway Birthday Book by Kate Greenaway
The Crimson Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
The Grey Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
The Pied Piper of Hamlin by Robert Browning

Second Grade (12 Books)
Arabian Nights edited by Andrew Lang
Smoky by Will James
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder
By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgeson Burnett

Third Grade (12 Books)
The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss
Log of the Cowboy by Andy Adams
Flower Fables by Louisa May Alcott
Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgeson Burnett
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
Hilaire Belloc’s Cautionary Verses by Hilaire Belloc
The Lost World by Sir Arthur Doyle
The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald
The Princess and the Curdie (CD ROM) by George MacDonald
Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb

Fourth Grade (17 Books)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott
Captain’s Courageous by Rudyard Kipling
The Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle
Around the World in80 Days by Jules Verne
The Boy Knight by G. A. Henty
Kidnapped by Robert Lois Stevenson
The John Carter Mars Collection (CD ROM) by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Knight of the White Cross by G. A. Henty
Story of a Bad Boy by Thomas Bailey Aldrich
The Cat of Bubastes by G. A. Henty
The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
A Tale of the Western Plains by G. A. Henty
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Call of the Wild by Jack London

Fifth Grade (18 Books)
An Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott
Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott
20,000 leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne
From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne
Hans Brinker by Mary Mapes Dogdes
Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Return of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Tarzan: The Beasts of Tarzan, the Son of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Jungle Tales of Tarzan (CD ROM) by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Under the Lilacs by Louisa May Alcott
The Dash for Khartoum by G. A. Henty
The Ranch on the Beaver by Adams Adams
The Chessman of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Wells Brothers: the young Cattle Kings by Andy Adams
Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott
Bonnie Prince Charlie by G. A. Henty
In Freedom’s Cause by G. A. Henty

Sixth Grade (22 Books)
Jo’s Boys by Louisa May Alcott
Jack and Jill by Louisa May Alcott
Westward Ho! by Charles Kingsley
Sketchbook by Washington Irving
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Moods by Louisa May Alcott
The Dragon and the Raven by G. A. Henty
Work by Louisa May Alcott
In the Reign of Terror by G. A. Henty
Won by the Sword by G. A. Henty
Under Drake’s Flag by G. A. Henty
Mysterious Island by Jules Verne
The Lion of St. Mark by G. A. Henty
Main-Travelled Roads by Hamlin Garland
Son of the Middle Border by Hamlin Garland
Facing Death by G. A. Henty
Michael O’Halloran by Gene Stratton-Porter
With Wolfe in Canada by G. A. Henty
Evangeline by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens
Beric the Briton by G. A. Henty
A Girl of the Limberlost by Stratton-Porter

Seventh Grade (22 Books)
Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
Kim by Rudyard Kipling
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Wulf the Saxon by G. A. Henty
Winning his Spurs by G. A. Henty
The Young Carthaginian by G. A. Henty
For the Temple by G. A. Henty
The Silverado Squatters (CD ROM) by Robert Louis Stevenson
Two Years before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Comedy of Errors by Shakespeare
Freckles by Stratton-Porter
The Pathfinder by James Fenimore Cooper
The Lion of the North by G. A. Henty
The Harvester by Stratton-Porter
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
By Pike and Dyke by G. A. Henty
With the Lee in Virginia by G. A. Henty
Across the Plains by Robert Louis Stevenson
In the Heart of the Rockies by G. A. Henty
Penrod by Booth Tarkington
The Complete Stalky and Co. by Rudyard Kipling

Eighth Grade (22 Books)
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
A Daughter of the Land by Stratton-Porter
At the Foot of the Rainbow by Stratton-Porter
The Two Admirals by James Fenimore Cooper
The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper
St. Bartholomew’s Eve by G. A. Henty
The Ways of the Hour by James Fenimore Cooper
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Pilot: A Tale of the Sea by James Fenimore Cooper
The Wing-the-Wing by James Fenimore Cooper
Chainbearer by James Fenimore Cooper
The Prairie by James Fenimore Cooper
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Barnaby Ridge by Charles Dickens
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
Rob Roy by Sir Walter Scott
The Pioneers by James Fenimore Cooper
Kenilworth by Sir Walter Scott
Mr. Midshipman Easy by Marryat
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Doyle


Update: Basil Wenceslas, who is 4 years old, will not sit still for any of the Fairy Books.

Review: Word of Promise New Testament

The Word of Promise New Testament Audio NKJV Bible (Thomas Nelson)
Total Listening time: 21 hours.

Reviewing a Bible is really hard, for while cringing because of some of the production decisions I can not help but be moved by the words. So, because the words are God's and beyond my power to to criticize - God forgive me for even thinking it! - I am confining this review to the readers/actors, music, and the sound effects.

Orthodox auditors, used to hearing the Holy Scriptures chanted will be distracted at first by the dramatic reading style. But that distraction goes away by the 2nd or 3rd chapter of Matthew. The distraction that remains is the music. For example, while Stacey Keach reads 1st Corinthians there is an orchestra backing him up. And that might be fine if we didn't also hear cricket's chirping and St. Paul's pen writing on an animal hide, too. This resulted in me imagining two different things: Was I listening to St. Paul reading aloud while writing God's words? Or, was I listening to a tuxedoed Mr. Keach standing a stage in a concert haul with a symphony orchestra in the pit? The music and sound effects are a problem on all the recordings.

There is more about that pen sound effect. The pen can be heard in the recordings of all the Epistles. It is truly annoying. I was listening to the Epistle of St. James but kept seeing Stacey Keach, who played St. Paul, scribbling on parchment. And it seems to fade in and out without explanation. The pen and the orchestra: They detract much from the experience.

There is one book however where the music and sound effects really work: Revelation/Apocalypse. The trumpets, the dragon growling, the war in heaven: It mostly works, though at a couple of places (i.e. the last few verses of chapter 12) it seems the conductor went overboard, it works more often than it doesn't.

I would not have chosen Louis Gosset, Jr. to play St. John. He sounds too young, too strong for St. John's ninety-plus years but I can live with it. Another casting mistake is Jim Caviezel as Jesus. Coming out his mouth the words sound like someone else's. It is as though he is in awe of the words he is reading, which is understandable, but I want to hear Jesus not Mr. Caviezal. This is not to say his performance is entirely lacking. Though I think his vocal interpretation in the Gospel of Matthew is not very good, it is better in the other Gospels, and in Revelation 22 it is stunning. The hopefulness of Mr. Caviezel's voice, contrasted with Mr. Gossett's voice has a very good affect on this hearer. The urgency of St. John to communicate the yearning of Jesus for his people and that of his people for their Savior, as revealed in the actors' voices, is thrilling.

Oh, there is one more thing I want to mention. I really like Michal York introducing each book. There is a certain quality about him that reminds me of James Mason, and really, who doesn't think James Mason was one of the coolest actors ever?

Is this 20 CD set (there is also a bonus DVD about the recording process) worth the money? Yes. Is this for serious Bible students? No way. Is it a replacement for a printed New Testament? No. But how many people are serious Bible students? This set is ideal for the 90% of people who want to be more familiar with the New Testament but, for whatever reason, don't want to actually read it. It would make a good gift for high school graduates, I think. Grade: B-

He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven

I have been enjoying a particularly bookish movie, 84 Charing Cross Road, and heard such a moving poem. Here it is reproduced for your pleasure.

HAD I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
- Wm. B. Yeats

A letter I received today

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Christ is risen!

I would like to inform everyone that the Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna will visit Holy Trinity Cathedral on May 1 at 11:30 a.m. It will be a brief visit because she has to leave by noon. I also would like everyone to make every effort to greet her so that Her Imperial Majesty, the Grand Duchess Maria, will know that Orthodoxy in America is thriving by our presence here at Holy Trinity Cathedral. This announcement also will be made from the ambo after the Divine Liturgy. I hope that all of the parish council memebers will be at the church door to greet her with the rest of us.

On behalf of His Grace, Bishop BENJAMIN, our rector, with his blessing, I will greet Her Imperial Highness with the cross as she enters the Cathedral. Subdeacon Johann and I will escort her through the tour of the cathedral. Our deacons also will join us.

Tentatively, if you agree, I would like ask the head of stwards, Katherine to bake the bread. She will also have the honor to greet Her Imperial Highness with a bouquet of flowers. As usual, our warden, Anthony Frank, will present bread and salt. Reader Stephen will give a short tour. I also would like him to appoint bell ringers.

If there is anything that you would like to add to this list or change, please feel free to notify me. We would like to review this in the next parish council meeting this Sunday.

We would like to greet her with bread and salt, a bouquet of flowers. We will present a framed picture of Holy Trinity Cathedral, post cards, and a booklet of our history with a commemorative mug from the 100th anniversary. If you would like to add anything or have another idea, please inform me.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. I look forward to see you all on that special day after next Sunday.

Indeed, He is risen!

With Love in Christ,

Archpriest John Takahashi, Dean

Holy Trinity Cathedral, San Francisco

Natalia Winovich's Farmers Cheese Recipe

"you need 1 gallon Berkeley Farms whole milk and half a gallon berkeley farms buttermilk (for mine i used "bulgarian" or sth like that)
in a big pot heat up the whole milk, dont over boil, just make it super warm, then pour all the buttermilk in, lower the heat and stir constanty for about a minute maybe 2 but not too long, just until its all curdled and seperated.
pour it through a cheesecloth doublefolded and spread over a coliander. let it drain. its ready as soon as it cols down.
you can pachk it tight in a box store in the fridge, you will be able to cut in slices. its great for bliny, pierogi, or on a toast with jam. the best part its fresh.
enjoy!"

The Smelling Tour

Anselm Samuel, Basil Wenceslas and I set out to fly kites today but, though there was a slight breeze, the wind wasn't strong enough to keep the kites up. So we went on a smelling tour of the neighborhood instead. We smelled scores of different flowers. Roses and orange blossoms. Magnolia and pine cones. Lavender and honeysuckle. Thanks to tradition derived from the ancient and venerable Roman Law XVIII promulgated by Romulus, we harvested oranges and grapefruit from trees overhanging the street. At the end of our walk the boys decided the orange blossoms and roses smelled prettiest, and sadly, our much loved California Golden Poppy smelled worst.

heaviness

Sometimes the most important things, and also the things most interesting to you, gentle readers, are things I can't write about here. It makes me wish I could have a secret blog, but that is not something I would do. I'm not wild about annonimty. If you are a praying person, perhaps, you will pray for me?

Spam comments and viruses

I'm sorry, but because of recent spam comments with links to virus infected sites I am making it a little more difficult to leave comments on this blog. I hate doing it, but I don't want any ofmy readers to be negatively affected.

Got my card

I spent Saturday and Sunday in the California Dept. of Fish and Game's hunter education course. The teacher was great. She's a volunteer but charges $10 per student so she can buy guns for kids. The gun was the cutest little .22 single shot you ever saw. Our class only had one child in it, a 10 year old boy. 80% on the test was passing. He had to get a 95% to win the gun. He got 95%. We all shouted and congratulted him. He was such a neat kid.

Another of my classmates was from Bosnia. He had some interesting observations about hunting in Europe and hunting in America as revealing the cultures of each people. It seems that in Bosnia, to hunt one must join a hunt club which costs the equivalent of about $1,000. Then there is the buying of the gun, which has a 500% tax. But the kicker is that there is not a way for a person to legally go hunting except in a group of 20 or more. My Bosnian friend, a Roman Catholic, says this requirement for being in a group, forcing 20 people to chase one animal, shows that Europeans are "unfair to animals and haters of individual personal liberty." Interestingly, he also said that America is not a good aswe used to be. "America is only 20 years behind Europe. We are going to wind up like them." I thought it was neat that this guy who has only been here 3 years already says "we" when talking about America! I asked him why he came to here. He said, "Pretty soon there won't be any freedom anywhere in the world but, at least today, even a poor man can hunt bears and pigs in America."

So, I passed the test with a 96%. Only one point better than a 10 year old boy but the highest score in the class of 23. I couldn't remember the effective range of several cartridges at 12,000 feet elevation but other than those, I knew my stuff. Hopefully, I'll be able to find some time this month to get some spring turkeys.

Sanctification: Pentecostal and Orthodox

I've mentioned in the past that I think Pentecostals, even more so than Episcopalians ought to be introduced to Holy Orthodoxy. (I don't have anything against Episcopalians, its just that of the couple of dozen I've met, only 2 actually believed Jesus came back from the dead. The Pentecostals are much farther down the road toward Orthodox Christianity than the Episcopalians. We might see mass conversions of Pentecostals, I doubt we will see mass conversions of Episcopalians.)

With similar words (though dissimilar belief) both practice Communion. With nearly identical belief, but sometimes different words, both claim the present day operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Another area of near, if not total agreement is sanctification.

Here is one statement of what the Assemblies of God, the largest Pentecostal denomination and the 4th largest group of Christians in the world (about 50,000,000 worshipers) believes about sanctification:

What is the Assemblies of God belief about sanctification, and how does it differ from other churches?
The basic idea of sanctification is that of separation or setting apart. In the Bible the words sanctification and holiness are interchangeable. At the time a person receives Christ, he is sanctified (1 Corinthians 1:30; 6:11), which means he has been separated from his past life of sin and is now dedicated to God. From Scripture we find that the Holy Spirit is the One who sanctifies (2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 1 Peter 1:2).

We believe the Bible is clear in teaching that Christians should continue living a life separated from sin and dedicated to God because, as the apostle Paul tells us, this is His will for them (2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:3). We call this the progressive aspect of sanctification. The Scriptures speak of it in a variety of ways, such as growing in grace (2 Peter 3:14) and being gradually transformed spiritually (2 Corinthians 3:18).

The purpose of the sanctification process is that believers might become more and more like the Lord Jesus Christ. Even though Christians may not attain absolute perfection in this life, they are expected to make every effort to live a holy life, because "without holiness no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).

Some churches teach that sanctification is a one-time experience that takes place after a person has become a Christian, at which time he is made perfect. The Assemblies of God teaches that sanctification takes place at the moment of salvation and then progresses as the believer continues to submit to the control of the Holy Spirit. (From the AoG USA website)

It is difficult to say, concisely, what the Orthodox belive about sanctification. Brevity is not one of the Orthodox Church's gifts. As Metropolitan (then Bishop) Kallistos wrote in his book, The Orthodox Church, We can't talk about Sanctification without also talking about everything else.

"Theology, mysticism, spirituality, moral rules, worship, art: these things must not be kept in separate compartments. Doctrine cannot be understood unless it is prayed: a theologian, said Evagrius, is one who knows how to pray, and he who prays in spirit and in truth is by that very act a theologian. And doctrine, if it is to be prayed, must also be lived: theology without action, as St. Maximus puts it, is the theology of demons. The creed belongs only to those who live it. Faith and love, theology and life, are inseparable. In the Byzantine Liturgy, the Creed is introduced with the words, ‘ Let us love one another, that with one mind we may confess Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Trinity, one in essence and undivided.’ This exactly expresses the Orthodox attitude to Tradition. If we do not love one another, we cannot love God; and if we do not love God, we cannot make a true confession of faith and cannot enter into the inner spirit of Tradition, for there is no other way of knowing God than to love Him.”

However, it is not wrong to say the orthodox view Sactification as one of the most importat ways the Church reveals God to the rest of Creation. As Metropolitan (Then abbot) Jonah wrote in 2001,

The sanctification of the life of the community itself, daily life, is also a fundamental element of the Church as the revelation of the Kingdom of God on earth. The life of each community of the Church is built around the mutual support of the members for one another in their common spiritual process of transformation. (Source)

The life of the community is experienced, primarily, in the Holy Mysteries or Sacraments, thus it is that sanctification is always mentioned as the goal of the Sacraments. For example, before and after Communion there are prayers prayed by the Orthodox stating that we are unworthy, asking for God's mercy, and asking for God's aid in becoming holy. And these prayers are prayed, and the Holy Mysteries are experienced at least once a week by the Orthodox. The reason for this is that the whole point of the Christian life is sanctification, or as Fr. John Breck wrote, the goal

...is to allow the Holy Spirit to re-create us in the Divine Image, to lead us from a self-centered state of sinfulness, corruption and death to one of righteousness, peace and joy, as we dwell in eternal and intimate communion with the Lord of all things.

So, we and the Pentecostals are working toward the same goal. And though they lack the means of the Holy Mysteries God gave the Church they are zealous to reach that goal. Are our bishops talking to the leaders of the Pentecostals? If not, let's pray that God will lead them into conversation with each other.

Basil Wenceslas' Favorite Song

Today during agape Vespers (I did the reading in Latin) I was standing in the choir singing this song when loud above every other voice I heard my four year old son singing with great joy. Here is a video of the same song on the same day but not in my parish and not this year. It's his favorite song. It might be mine, too.

Christ is Risen and Death is Overthrown!

An angel cried to the Lady full of grace, "Rejoice! Rejoice, O pure Virgin! Again I say rejoice! Your Son has risen from his three days in the tomb! With himself he has raised all the dead!" Rejoice! Rejoice, all ye people! Shine! Shine, O New Jerusalem! The glory of the Lord has shone on you! Exult now! Exult and be glad, O Zion! Be radiant, O pure Theotokos in the resurrection, the resurrection of your Son!

A New Blog I've Been Enjoying

I know now, at 41 years, that I'll never be a city planner. But I still am interested in cities and land use. I recently have become a fan of this blog named Planning Commisioners Journal. Maybe you'll enjoy it, too.

On Communion

Today, after the Liturgy, Fr. Basil read us these words by St. Cyril of Jerusalem (d.386)...

"For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and giving thanks, broke and said: Take and eat: This is my body...therefore, whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord....For he that eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord.

Even of itself the teaching of the Blessed Paul is sufficient to give you a full assurance concerning those Divine Mysteries, of which having been deemed worthy, you have become of the same body and blood with Christ. For you have just heard him say distinctly, That our Lord Jesus Christ in the night in which He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks He broke it, and gave to His disciples, saying, Take, eat, this is My Body: and having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, Take, drink, this is My Blood. Since then He Himself declared and said of the Bread, This is My Body, who shall dare to doubt any longer? And since He has Himself affirmed and said, This is My Blood, who shall ever hesitate, saying, that it is not His blood?...

Wherefore with full assurance let us partake as of the Body and Blood of Christ: for in the figure of Bread is given to you His Body, and in the figure of Wine His Blood; that you by partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, may be made of the same body and the same blood with Him. For thus we come to bear Christ in us, because His Body and Blood are distributed through our members; thus it is that, according to the blessed Peter, we become partakers of the divine nature.

Christ on a certain occasion discoursing with the Jews said, Except you eat My flesh and drink My blood, you have no life in you. They not having heard His saying in a spiritual sense were offended, and went back, supposing that He was inviting them to eat flesh.

In the Old Testament also there was show-bread; but this, as it belonged to the Old Testament, has come to an end; but in the New Testament there is Bread of heaven, and a Cup of salvation, sanctifying soul and body; for as the Bread corresponds to our body, so is the Word appropriate to our soul.

Consider therefore the Bread and the Wine not as bare elements, for they are, according to the Lord's declaration, the Body and Blood of Christ; for even though sense suggests this to you, yet let faith establish you. Judge not the matter from the taste, but from faith be fully assured without misgiving, that the Body and Blood of Christ have been vouchsafed to you.

Also the blessed David shall advise you the meaning of this, saying, You have prepared a table before me in the presence of them that afflict me. What he says, is to this effect: Before Your coming, the evil spirits prepared a table for men , polluted and defiled and full of devilish influence ; but since Your coming. O Lord, You have prepared a table before me. When the man says to God, You have prepared before me a table, what other does he indicate but that mystical and spiritual Table, which God has prepared for us over against, that is, contrary and in opposition to the evil spirits? And very truly; for that had communion with devils, but this, with God. You have anointed my head with oil. With oil He anointed your head upon your forehead, for the seal which you have of God; that you may be made the engraving of the signet, Holiness unto God. And your cup intoxicates me, as very strong. You see that cup here spoken of, which Jesus took in His hands, and gave thanks, and said, This is My blood, which is shed for many for the remission of sins...

Having learned these things, and been fully assured that the seeming bread is not bread, though sensible to taste, but the Body of Christ; and that the seeming wine is not wine, though the taste will have it so, but the Blood of Christ ; and that of this David sung of old, saying, And bread strengthens man's heart, to make his face to shine with oil , "strengthen your heart," by partaking thereof as spiritual, and "make the face of your soul to shine." And so having it unveiled with a pure conscience, may you reflect as a mirror the glory of the Lord, and proceed from glory to glory, in Christ Jesus our Lord:— To whom be honour, and might, and glory, for ever and ever. Amen."

Paskha

We made the paskha tonight and put it in the molds. It will stay in the fridge until Saturday. Here is the recipe we use.

Ingredients
1/3 cup brandy (Christian Brothers is what I use.)
1 cup raisins
2 pounds farmers cheese
2 hard boiled egg yolks
1 stick softened unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup sour cream (Don't even think about low fat)
2 tsp vanilla extract(Use real vanilla not imitation. Imitaion should only be used in baking.)
1/4 teaspoon salt.

I don't use a Paskha mold. I've tried in the past but I can't get it to come out right. I use terra cotta pots. I've seen people use a chinoise but I've never tried that.

Heat brandy and raisins in a small pan over low heat until warm, then remove from heat and let steep about 15 minutes.


Force cheese and yolks through a potato ricer into a bowl.

Whip the cream in a different bowl with clean beaters until it holds soft peaks.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add cheese/yolks, sour cream, vanilla, and salt and beat until just combined.

Fold whipped cream and raisins with any remaining brandy into cheese mixture gently but thoroughly.

Line the flowerpot with a single layer of cheesecloth, leaving a 2- to 3-inch overhang on all sides. Spoon cheese mixture into mold, then fold ends of cheesecloth over top. Put small plate on cheesecloth, then put heavy cans or bottles on plate. Set the pot on a large plate to catch liquid. Let sit at least 2 days, longer if possible.

When it is time to be blessed by the priest removpaskha. Turn a serving plate upside down and set in on the cheese. With one hand on top of the serving plate and another hand under the terra cotta pot, swiftly turn the whole thing over so the paskha is resting on the serving plate. Carefully remove the pot and cheese cloth from the paskha. Arrange raisins in the shape of the Cross on the side of the paskha.

After the priest blesses, eat it.

From Bridegroom Matins

Grass blowing

Tomorrow it will be 8 years since Anselm Samuel was born. Where did it go? The "little boy", that's what I used to call him, is hidden under the rough and tumble little man. He's already asking me what he what new things he will be allowed to do as a teenager. I barely remember the day he was born. I have a few mental snapshots. The things I said I would never forget have been forgotten. And I'm 41! With as much gray and white in my beard as red and brown. It's strange. Like Anselm, I'm still me but I am not, in many ways, who I was yesterday. Life goes by so fast. I mean, my body is wearing out. Though I am by no means weak, I am not as strong as I was when I was 20.

Something I've never thought about until now is that this might be why, in general, older people tend to be more religious. We see life zooming past and realize that if there is no after life all this stuff we experience between conception and death is meaningless, pointless.

We know it isn't pointless. Not, I think, the way philosophers know things. We don't have to reason out extremely precise arguments. We merely have to feel the difference between right and wrong. If we are aware of moral rules we know there is more to life than matter.

Christians know more than that, of course. We know this life, though fleeting, will be renewed. Though I die, yet shall I live. That is what we know. The grass that withers and is blown away will be gathered. Not blade will be lost. Memory will not fade but shall be eternal.

So busy so busy so busy

A couple of days ago I installed a dishwasher, something I had never done nor hoped to do. As it turns out the dishwasher was 1/8" wider than the space it had to fit into. Also, and I didn't know this, dishwashers do not come with wires or hoses. So I had to cut the cable off the old one, splice the wires together. Then, to make the machine fit into the counter, I had to remove the sound insulation. It fits. It works. No leaks. No electrocution. But, man, is it loud!

Devon, my 20 year old son has been looking for work and getting discouraged by lack of success. I suggested this school for him and he got very happy and applied. He has an appointment with them on Monday to talk about becoming the world's greatest baker. Lord, have mercy on him.

Anselm Samuel, my 7 year old, is zooming through math and handwriting. In the second grade he is easily doing stuff I didn't master until the 4th. He is reading more books for fun, which thrills me. He earned a more advanced chess award from the cub scouts, having earned the first award last year. Sadly, and this is puzzling to me, he has no sense of pitch or rythm. I've never seen anything like it. He can't clap on beat, can't sing in key, can't follow a melody. So, of course, he can't sing in a choir. We let him drop out of the local youth choir this week. I feel sad for him. It is his first failure in life.

My wife is super busy with work, school (2nd Masters degree), Red Cross work and as a mediator for the city of Palo Alto.

Basil Wenceslas, my 4 year old, learned how to operate my cordless drill/driver today. He had much fun changing bits, drilling holes and driving screws in some scrap lumber I gave him to play with.

I was allowed to help sing Matins and the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete Wednesday night. Also, and I was totally shocked by this, the priest asked me to read the Life of St. Mary of Egypt during the service. I'm being trained to be a reader but I didn't expect to read the Life. I don't know if Bishop Benjamin will actually make me a reader or not, but I'm really getting a lot out of the training. I have fallen in love with The Unabreviated Horologion.

With spring here I kind of dread the annual wave of move outs. 1/5 of the residents here have told me they plan on buying houses and moving out in the next two months. Vacancies always weigh heavily on me. Besides that, my boss told me to raise rents. I don't think this market will bear it, but I'll try.

We are looking forward to Holy Week. I am thinking about the memory verse Anselm Samuel worked on this week: We shall reap if faint not. (Gal. 6:9) If you need a good source for caviar for Lazarus Saturday I heartily recommend Markey's.

Tonight's Project

Station 1: Lumber. Each Cub Scout gets 2 poles.

Station 2: Sanding. While waiting to measure for drilling each Cub Scout will sand his poles.

Station 3: Measuring. Each Cub Scout will make two marks on each pole. 6.5 inches from the bottom, and 4.5 inches from the bottom.

Station 4: Pilot holes. Each Cub Scout will drill 4 pilot holes, one in each measured mark on each pole. The pilot holes should be .75 inches from each edge of the pole.

Station 5: Big holes. Each Cub Scout will drill four 3/8 inch holes, following the pilot holes.

Station 6: Hardware and foot blocks. Each Cub Scout will receive 4 carriage bolts, 4 washers, 4 nuts, and 2 foot blocks.

Station 7: Attaching. Using crescent wrenches, socket wrenches, and a rubber mallet, each Cub Scout will attach the foot blocks to the poles.

Station 8: Trimming. Adult leader will trim the poles so they are no taller than tops of Cub Scouts' heads when they are standing on the stilts.

Lentils

One of my favorite things about Lent is that the humble lentil is named for the season. Here is a recipe you might like if you have a crock pot. (My oldest brother gave me one for my birthday last month.)

* 2 cups lentils
* 4 cups water
* 8 cups vegetable broth
* 1 onion, diced
* 3 stalks celery, sliced
* 3 carrots, chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 tsp salt
* 1/4 tsp black pepper
* 1/2 tsp oregano
* 1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
* 2 tbsp red wine vinegar

Stir together all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. Serves 6.

Saturdays in Lent

On Saturdays in Great Lent we are supposed to visit the graves of our ancestors and pray for them. Today we visit my parents grave.

Into thy hands, 0 Lord, I commend the souls of thy servants Billy and Helen, and beseech thee to grant them rest in the place of thy rest, where all thy blessed Saints repose, and where the light of thy countenance shineth forever. And I beseech thee also to grant that our present lives may be godly, sober, and blame-less, that, we too may be made worthy to enter into thy heavenly Kingdom with those we love but see no Ion~r: for thou art the Resurrection, and the Life, and the Repose of thy departed servants, 0 Christ our God, and unto thee we ascribe glory: to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Reading and Ideas

After coming Home from Blue and Gold last night I tucked into my last bit of school work for the week. It took all night and I didn't get to bed until a quarter of 5 this morning, but I got it done and turned in before the deadline.

Athanasia, Anselm Samuel, and Basil Wenceslas got up at 7 to get ready for church. Our family was cooking for the parish. Thankfully, Athanasia got most of it done before she went to bed last night. I was in no shape to go to church so I stayed home with Basil. I kept him home because there was no way she could manage them both and put the meal together. I really really hoped he would go back to bed for a couple of hours but no way. He was up and when a little boy is up everyone in the house is up. So, I struggled though till my wife came home after church and I went to bed.

After waking many hours later I spent a little time with my family but they were really into watching the movie Because of Winn-Dixie on the the computer. I had read the book and enjoyed it very much. I wasn't very interested in seeing the movie. So, I went to Barnes & Noble and looked around.

When I was in my teens and twenties I used to love reading the journals. Tikkun, Commentary, Oxford American, Policy Review, Foreign Affairs, Liberty, Zyzzyva, First Things, Harvard Business Review. I would disappear into those pages for hours. But tonight, after picking up and leafing through several of them, it dawned on me that I knew what was going to be said between their covers before I even picked them up. It was all very predictable. And now I wonder, is that just part of being forty-one years old? Do I know everything about the world of ideas there is to know?

Now, it seems to me, I have spent enough time in this world. I know what is has to say. Its best ideas are spent. Its words are lacking. How much more I love the words I read as a boy, when I read a chapter of the Bible every day. The Psalms never get old, and though I know many of them by heart they are never predictable. The prophets are always surprising. The Gospels, where I meet Jesus, are always new and exciting. The Lord is good.

Blue and Gold

Tonight was the Blue and Gold Banquet. We celebrated 100 years of scouting in America. Athanasia made a cake and brought home the prize.

The cake was six packages of Ghirardhilli brownie mix with an extra package of chocolate chips and an extra package of toasted walnuts. The pine trees, scouts, and tents were made of sugar cookie. The frosting was cream cheese frosting on the brownie. Frosting on the cookies was royal icing. The river was lined with chocolate pebbles. They really look like pebbles. It's freaky. About 1/4 of it was et and we brought it home. Must get it out of the house. Will drop it off for my nephew's children tomorrow.

The Cake

Anselm Samuel with the trophy

Now the boys are asleep, Athanasia is preparing food for the parish tomorrow, and I am about to launch into school work.

Forgiveness

I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. Luke 15.18,19

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us: but if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1.8,9

Dearly beloved brethren, the Scripture moveth us in sundry places to acknowledge and confess our manifold sins and wickedness; and that we should not dissemble nor cloak them before the face of almighty God our heavenly Father; but confess them with an humble, lowly, penitent and obedient heart; to the end that we may obtain forgiveness of the same by his infinite goodness and mercy.

— From The Order for Evening Prayer, BCP, 1662

Start of Lent

Earlier tonight was the start of Lent. Beautiful. Tiring but joyful. Also, tonight I began training (after the priests blessing) to become a reader in the Orthodox Church. I must admit I am surprised both by how many books are involved and how much is not written down.

Happy St. Valentine's Day

The Flower Crowned Skull of St. Valentine

Stocks worth considering

My investing goal is to be able to take care of my wife when we are too old to work. Mostly, I look for companies with little debt, a history of paying dividends, strong brands. I also like to understand the business; who customers are, what the products are, sales cycle, etc. Below are the stocks I currently hold.


LLTC

AAV

MGIC

SWHC

MGIC and AAV are gambles. They do not fit into my regular strategy. But it is worth noting that they are foreign companies. I own them, in part, as a hedge against devaluation of the American dollar. Also, together, AAV and MGIC represent less than 20% my stock holdings. As I said, they are gambles. So far they are winning. But it bothers me that I don't know why. I probably will sell them in the next few months and and put my "winnings" into something I am more comfortable with.

The Unexpected

(Some details in the following story have been changed to protect the innocent.)

A few weeks ago Athanasia and I were having a beautiful brunch with some friends and friends of friends at a place up in Napa. One of the couples turned out to be a former pastor of mine and his wife. He knew we had lived in San Francisco and asked if we had ever attended a certain famous Protestant church. As it so happened we had attended that church, and was shocked and saddened when we confirmed what he had heard about it. Then he asked how we became Orthodox. I told him and he told us about his experience in eastern Europe as a short-term evangelical missionary, and how he wished he had been more sensitive to the Orthodox Christians there. He was very full of regret.

After our time together I began to feel kind of bad about something. When a Protestant asks me "Why did you become Orthodox?" it is really hard to answer that in away that doesn't sound like "because Protestantism is wrong and Orthodoxy is right", especially when I only have 5 or 10 minutes to answer, and am experiencing some of the best food and drink ever. (Say what you will, the Ramos Gin Fizz is the best way to have your eggs in the morning.) So, for a couple of weeks I've been feeling bad about pretty much telling my former pastor,to his face, that he is wrong.

A couple of days ago, while waiting to talk to a loan officer about financing on a tri-plex, who should walk past me but that same former pastor of mine? We greeted each other and I took the opportunity to say, "I'm glad we ran into each other. I've really been feeling bad about what I said the other morning. It's hard to answer that question you asked in a way that isn't insulting to you. I'm sorry and I want you to know that there is nothing in my heart but thanksgiving for my Protestant up-bringing..."

Here he interrupted me and said," Oh! No, no, no. You didn't offend me at all, and besides, Protestantism isn't the destination. It's just the stepping stone to where you are now. I didn't say this the other morning, but the main reason I resigned from my position at the church is that I just didn't believe what they believe anymore. I would be sitting in the leaders meetings and be asking myself, 'are we even a valid church body?' And you can't be a pastor of a church if you have doubts like that."

I was astounded. I said, "No, no you can't. You really have to be on the same page as the other leaders.

"Yes, yes you do. Well, the people in the pews don't. They can go to church Sunday after Sunday for years and not really know what about the doctrinal...

"Right. The average church goer doesn't know about the doctrinal positions. No one takes out the Statement of Faith and preaches..."

"Right. But in the leadership doctrine is very important, and... Well, I really have to run. I'm glad we ran into each other. Pray for me."

"I will. I do."

And with that he walked past me and out the door of the bank.

Only later did I realize he was holding a book the whole time we were talking. I think it was Adversus Haereses by St. Irenaeus of Lyons.

Is my former pastor becoming Orthodox? Roman Catholic? I am amazed by the whole thing.

Pentecostals and Orthodox

I've mentioned on this blog once before that I think the Pentecostals, at least most of them, will become Orthodox, that the similarities in experience and theological emphasis will bring them together. It seems that I am not the first person to think of this. I totally want to read this book.

Opening Paragraph

One of the professors I have in my M.S.(environmental planning) program is asking the class to answer this question. Is Garret Hardin's "The Tragedy of the Commons" still valid today?

I haven't completed the answer (Short version of my answer: It isn't valid today, it wasn't validin 1968.), I'm only on the third paragraph, but this this is the rough draft of the opening paragraph.

I have to admit that when I think of Garret Hardin I am reminded of a character in J.R.R. Tolkein's novel, "The Return of the King". In that book there was a great villain, an existential enemy of persons of good will called Sauron. Sauron, like most tyrants, I suppose; like, for instance, Orwell's Big Brother sought the enslavement and corruption of those who resisted his will. Failing that, he would settle for their deaths. I am not suggesting Hardin is that important. He is no Sauron. He is no Big Brother. Hardin is not the prime enemy of humanity. He is merely another slave, though a willing one, of that enemy. He is like the man who stood at the Black Gate of Mordor and called himself "the Mouth of Sauron". In much the same way as "The Mouth of Sauron" spoke for Sauron, or like Goebbels spoke for Hitler, Hardin was a wicked and corrupted being speaking for the ancient enemy. His version of mercy, like his master's, was to let malnourished people starve to death, thus fulfilling the words of King Solomon the Wise "the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel". And like all servants of that enemy, he met an ignominious and evil end: Self-murder. But he did not merely kill himself. He perverted that love promised and hoped for in marriage into a pact for mutual-destruction. So, when I consider anything written or spoken by Hardin, when I evaluate his arguments, I keep in mind who's mouthpiece he is, that he advocated death, that he ended his life like Judas, that he destroyed the image of love.

When all the communicants have received...

...Let our mouth be filled with Thy praise, O Lord,that we may hymn Thy glory, for Thou hast vouchsafed us to partake of Thy holy, divine, immortal, and life-creating Mysteries. Keep us in Thy holiness that we may meditate on Thy righteousness all the day long. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. (From the Divine Liturgy)

Wisdom

“The Words of God, if pronounced by rote and not heard, have no resonance in the actions of those who merely speak them. But, if they are pronounced and put into action, they have the power to dispel demons and help people build God’s dwelling in their hearts and make progress in works of righteousness.” ~ St. Maximus the Confessor

Cities make people smarter and richer

A Good Start to the Week

On Saturday night we went to Confession and Vespers. On Sunday morning we went to Liturgy. Basil Wenceslas was very well behaved (Thank you, Lord.) and we were all able to be in the services from start to finish without interruption. I don't know what it was, but something said by the prist during his sermon struck Basil as funny and he just kept lauging at him. Several times after the service he said, "Wasn't he funny, Dad? He said funny things." Unfortunately, during the liturgy I began to have an occular migraine. It didn't bother me too much during the service, it merely made things I was trying to look at seem all shimmery and hard to see. But after the service a headache started that pretty much knocked me out all afternoon.

About 4 o'clock I was able to get up and be productive. Athanasia had already begun cooking the lamb shanks (recipe below), so I got started on the carrots (recipe below). While we cooking Anselm Samuel was working on spelling, and Basil was playing with Devon, my 20 year old son.

During dinner we talked about getting ready for Lent. We talked about the wise and foolish virgins. (Interestingly, both St. Leo the Great and Blessed Theophylact teach that the oil in those lamps was alms. The failure of the 5 foolish virgins was to delay doing good when they had the opportunity.) We talked about the Publican and the Pharisee and how God isn't impressed by fasting, how Satan is a much better faster than we can ever be. We talked about the upcoming Forgiveness Vespers, and how we will all prostrate and ask forgiveness of everyone else in the parish. At this point Devon began to look a little bit confused. He had never heard the word prostrate and thought we were saying prostate! It was very funny. Basil demonstrated a prostration for his older brother.

Today there have been many activities. Anselm had chess class. Athanasia had a dentist appointment. A plumber came and had to cut the ceiling out of a kitchen in one of the apartments. The bathroom upstairs had a major leak that could only be accessed from underneath. I have a fan on the exposed beams and joists right now. On Thursday I'll bring in someone to do sheet rock and painting.

Tonight is 2-for-1 night at the pizza parlour around the corner. After that there is a little school work for Anselm. Then we'll all practice our ukes.


Balsamic Glazed Carrots
1/2 cup butter
2 1/2 pounds peeled and chopped carrots
6 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1. Melt butter in pan over medium heat.
2. Sautee carrots for 5 minutes.
3. Add balsamic vinegar and sugar.
4. Stir so all carrots are coated.
5. Cover and cook for 7 minutes.
6. Uncover, stir, pour into serving bowl.


Braised Lamb Shanks
6 lamb shanks (trim off the excess fat)
salt and pepper
1 large yellow onion, maybe two.
5 cloves of garlic
1 bottle hearty red wine
1 pound dry egg noodles

1. Brown the lamb shanks in a large skillet over high heat, as they brown add the salt and pepper.
2. Pour yourself a glass of wine.
3. When shanks are browned reduce heat to medium. Add onions and garlic. Stir everything up so the onions and garlic are in the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring by moving the shanks around in the pan (it isn't perfect but that's okay). Do this until the onions are golden. Add 1/2 of the remaining wine to the pan.
4.When it starts to boil reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until lamb is tender enough to fall off the bone. This will take at least three hours maybe 4.
5. After two hours pour yourself another big glass of wine. Pour remainder of bottle into the pan.
6. When the shanks are fully cooked remove them from the pan. Remove all meat from bones. Keep meat warm.
7. Raise heat under skillet to medium and reduce liquid, scraping the bottleof the skillet to get all the yummy stuff into the liquid.
8. Once the juices are a nice thick sauce return the meat to the pan and give it a good stirring so the bigger pieces are broken up.
9. Cook the egg noodles according to directions.
10. Serve the yummy meaty sauce over the egg noodles.

Late night TV Talk Show moment

I think the first time I heard of the Orthodox Church was when Adrian Zmed (Grease II) was being interviewed on the Arsenio Hall Show. Not much was said about it, all I remember was a joke about married priests. Our brother Adrian's father has fallen asleep in Lord.

Posted 01/14

CHICAGO, IL [OCA] -- Archpriest George Zmed, 93, retired pastor of Holy Nativity Romanian Orthodox Church here, fell asleep in the Lord on Tuesday, January 12, 2010.

Father George was born in Chicago on April 24, 1916 to Nicolae and Paraschiva [Balan] Zmed, both of Comlosul Mare, Timis, Romania. At the age of five years, he and his family returned to Comlosul Mare, where he lived until returning to the US in November 1952.

He graduated from the Timisoara-Caransebes Theological Academy in 1942, after which he studied for one year at the Law School in Cluj.

He was ordained to the diaconate by His Eminence, Archbishop [later Metropolitan] Vasile [Lazarescu] in Pesac, Banat, Romania, on October 18, 1942, and to the priesthood the following week in Satchinez. He was awarded the right to wear the red sash by Metropolitan Vasile and elevated to the dignity of archpriest by the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America on March 19, 1996.

After his return to the US, he was received into the ranks of the clergy of the Romanian Episcopate in July 1958. He served Chicago's Holy Nativity parish until his retirement in 1983.

Father George served as spiritual advisor to the American-Romanian Orthodox Youth and administrative dean of the Episcopate's Chicago Deanery, contributed to the "SOLIA" newspaper, and participated in numerous other Episcopate actitivities. He was fluent in the Romanian and English languages and is well remembered as a musician with a fine voice, who organize many musical programs for his parish.

Married to the former Persida Golub of Cerneteaz, Romania in Timisoara on October 15, 1942, he and his wife are survived by three sons, Cornel, Walter, and Adrian, a well known actor.

Funeral services will be celebrated at Chicago's Holy Nativity Church on Wednesday evening and Thursday, January 20-21.

May Father George's memory be eternal!

Memory Eternal!

Who is Christianity for?

"The Christian faith isn't a white collar faith. It isn't even a faith for people in blue collars. If anything, it it a faith for people who don't even have shirts." ~ Fr. Patrick Reardon

I've often joked that Orthodox Christianity is Christianity for graduate students. We are an unusually highly educated bunch. We quote obscure writers in our conversations and sing unusual and ancient music in our services. Most of the Orthodox I know speak at least two languages. Most of the Orthodox Christians I know would be classed as white collar. So my question is, if Fr. Patrick is right, have we made a mistake? Why isn't our Church more attractive to the very poor and the uneducated, the dregs of society? What can I do to make the poor and uneducated feel at home in this faith?

Regret

"Thou shalt not slay the child by procuring abortion; nor, again, shalt thou destroy it after it is born. Thou shalt not withdraw thy hand from thy son, or from thy daughter, but from their infancy thou shalt teach them the fear of the Lord." ~Epistle of Barnabas: Chapter XIX

I never took part in an abortion but O, how terribly I failed my two oldest sons. Will the rest of my life spent in prayer be enough to help them?


UPDATE: My aunt Joann used my Aunt Nettie's facebook account to send me this message:

"Aunt Joann here....read your blog re your oldest boys, and didn't know how to send a comment, so I'll do it here. I heard someone say once "you do the best you can until you know better, then you do better". Parenting classes aren't required before we reproduce, so we just have to fly by the seat of our pants until we learn how to do it better. God is a Redeemer, so along with your praying, BELIEVE! Love you"

Traffic Planning

This film was made during a cble car ride up Market Street toward the Ferry Bldg, in the days just before the 1906 earthquake.



Here is the same trip in 2005, but this time on an electric street car. There are no more cable cars on Market Street.



The 1906 film looks like a lot more fun with much more energy, doesn't it? It is too bad planners try to streamline the flow of traffic, as though getting from A to B is the most important thing. The wonderful thing about city life is what happens between those points.

Obama = Carter

The President of the United States has many jobs. But one matters more than all others. He must so terrify any potential attacker that only the insane would dare attack us. Those few who do attack us he must hunt down and kill. Every time. No exceptions. If he does not protect us from foreign aggression or, failing that, destroy the aggressor who is not afraid to harm us, he violates the Social Contract that holds our all civilizations together. We obey governments because they protect us.

I have now read everything that has been made public about the attempted airliner bombing on Christmas. Presented with incontrovertible and unambiguous evidence of a foreign attack the government failed. The President failed.

Now the attacker is in the custody of the U.S. government. But instead of holding our enemy and trying him as an unlawful combatant in wartime, he is being treated like a civilian criminal in peacetime. He has been read his Miranda rights. Our enemy will be using a court-appointed and taxpayer-funded lawyer. Now every attacker knows that if they are captured alive they will receive the protection of the very laws they were trying to destroy. The President has indicated that our attackers do not need to fear us. They know the President is not going to kill them. This is the President's second failure. The President imperils the nation.

Has he been busy with health care reform, the economy, banking legislation, saving the auto industry? It doesn't matter. He sets the agenda, and the the first item on the Presidents agenda is supposed to be the physical security of the United States. It is his most important job and he failed. It is time for him to go. If he does not resign let the the people reject him in 2012.

Isn't it Amazing?

"For while all things were in quiet silence, and that night was in the midst of her swift course, Thine Almighty Word leaped down from heaven out of thy royal throne, as a fierce man of war into the midst of a land of destruction." (Wisdom of Solomon 18: 14-15)