However, I have nothing of note to say at this time so I will keep this post short and breathe a
Monday, August 15, 2011
Housekeeping
Let me just hurry along with another post here as I don’t want to leave the one entitled “And on the seventh day, God went bowling” at the top of my blog too long, because on the blogs of people who have linked to me those words are repeated, and the way the universe works is if enough commotion is made about something it eventually will come to the attention of Almighty God Himself. That would not augur well for my continued existence or at least my status as His Fair-haired Child Who Can Do No Wrong.
However, I have nothing of note to say at this time so I will keep this post short and breathe alittle prayer sigh of relief that it does its job, blogwise.
However, I have nothing of note to say at this time so I will keep this post short and breathe a
Friday, August 12, 2011
And on the seventh day, God went bowling
Is it just me, or does this artist’s rendition of the latest astronomical discovery look like a bowling ball with just one finger grip instead of three? I did not have to think long about whether God uses only his thumb or his index finger or his middle finger when he goes bowling, because on closer inspection of the photograph or artist’s rendition or whatever it is I realized that what I first thought was a finger grip is not a finger grip at all, it is a moon circling the bowling ball.
It is not even a bowling ball.
It’s the latest rage in the astronomical world, a new planet.
And it’s not just any planet, either. It was marketed to the public early today as “a coal-black, alien planet, bigger than Jupiter.” Don’t worry, it’s not in our solar system. [Note. In later editions of the story, the word “alien” was replaced by “strange”. --RWP]
Officially, astronomers have named it TrES-2b. It is in the system of the yellow sun-like star GSC 03549-02811, which is over 750 light years away in the direction of the constellation Draco.
Why don’t astronomers, when they are naming new planets or stars or whatever, use names like Marguerite or Tammy or Nostradamus or Dr. Phil instead of strange combinations of letters and numbers like TrES-2b and GSC 03549-02811? No one knows.
Here’s the entire article that Yahoo published today about the newly-discovered planet.
Speaking of the constellation Draco, here is Wikipedia’s absolutely fascinating description of it, including the fact that in Chinese astronomy (yes, Virginia, there is a Chinese astronomy) Draco is divided into two areas known as Purple Forbidden Enclosure and The Black Tortoise of the North.
And for those of you who have absolutely nothing to do and a great deal of time on your hands (apparently the sole requirements for becoming an astronomer), here is a list of the stars in Draco.
If you make it all the way through those links, I make this prediction: Your head will be spinning, just like a bowling ball (real or imagined).
Any attempts at humor (Brit., humour) and/or irreverence by me in this post are purely intentional, and I shall have to answer for them at the Day of Judgment (Brit.,Judgement).
Unless, of course, the Day of Judgment (ibid.) turns out to be another Chinese-astronomer-named area in the constellation Draco. In that case, I will not be between a rock and a hard place, or between the devil and the deep blue sea, or even between Scylla and Charybdis. I will be between Purple Forbidden Enclosure and The Black Tortoise of the North.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Figures never lie, but liars often figure
Since the summer solstice (an arbitrary date I have chosen off the top of my head), I have published 31 posts (not including this one) that have generated 173 comments in all, or 5.6 comments per post on average. The smallest number of comments on a single post was 1 and the largest number was 11.
The period from June 21 through August 4 covers 6 weeks and 5 days, or 47 days in all. I have therefore posted 0.65957446808510638297872340425532 posts per day (31 divided by 47). Let’s call it two-thirds of a post per day. Close enough for government work. I have gone, on average, 1.5161290322580645161290322580645 days between posts (47 divided by 31). Let’s call it a day and a half. Again, close enough for government work.
Over on the right side of the blog, above all those little photographs, it says I have 73 followers. The post with the least number of comments (1) equates to 1.4% (rounded to the nearest tenth of one percent) of my followers commenting (1/73). The post with the most number of comments (11) equates to 15.1% (rounded to the nearest tenth of one percent) of my followers commenting (11/73). On average, then (5.6/73), 7.7% (rounded to the nearest tenth of one percent) of my follwers chose to comment on a post of mine during the period.
All of the foregoing raw numbers are true, but all of the conclusions drawn are false.
Why?
Because fully forty-four (as in full fathom five my father lies) of the comments were from me when I was responding to the comments of others. So that skews the results.
And also because there were not 129 (that is, 173 minus 44) individual commenters. There were in reality only a few, each of whom commented multiple times. So that skews the results.
Still, sharing these meaningless statistics with all of you faithful readers who inexplicably continue to hang on to my every word provides me with an opportunity to let you see this very interesting graph as well:
The only conclusion that can possibly be drawn is that I am one mean blogger.
The period from June 21 through August 4 covers 6 weeks and 5 days, or 47 days in all. I have therefore posted 0.65957446808510638297872340425532 posts per day (31 divided by 47). Let’s call it two-thirds of a post per day. Close enough for government work. I have gone, on average, 1.5161290322580645161290322580645 days between posts (47 divided by 31). Let’s call it a day and a half. Again, close enough for government work.
Over on the right side of the blog, above all those little photographs, it says I have 73 followers. The post with the least number of comments (1) equates to 1.4% (rounded to the nearest tenth of one percent) of my followers commenting (1/73). The post with the most number of comments (11) equates to 15.1% (rounded to the nearest tenth of one percent) of my followers commenting (11/73). On average, then (5.6/73), 7.7% (rounded to the nearest tenth of one percent) of my follwers chose to comment on a post of mine during the period.
All of the foregoing raw numbers are true, but all of the conclusions drawn are false.
Why?
Because fully forty-four (as in full fathom five my father lies) of the comments were from me when I was responding to the comments of others. So that skews the results.
And also because there were not 129 (that is, 173 minus 44) individual commenters. There were in reality only a few, each of whom commented multiple times. So that skews the results.
Still, sharing these meaningless statistics with all of you faithful readers who inexplicably continue to hang on to my every word provides me with an opportunity to let you see this very interesting graph as well:
The only conclusion that can possibly be drawn is that I am one mean blogger.
Friday, August 5, 2011
O res mirabilis!
It is interesting to me that in the painting above, seven of Christ’s disciples have haloes and five do not. I wonder why the artist painted them that way.
When I was a teenager, some of us who thought we were smart/cute/funny/all of the foregoing used to sing this highly irreverent jingle to the tune of the then-current Pepsi-Cola commercial:
Christianity hits the spot
Twelve apostles, that’s a lot
The Holy Ghost and the Virgin too
Christianity’s the thing for you.
Lightning did not strike us dead on the spot, evidence of God’s great love for and great patience with not-so-smart/cute/funny teenagers.
According to the book of Exodus in the Old Testament, the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years and were fed miraculously with something they called “manna” (because they didn’t know what it was) that fell from heaven each day. They gathered up enough each morning to feed themselves for one day. If they tried to gather more than a day’s worth, it bred worms and stank. On the day before each Sabbath, on which they did not work because God had said, “Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy,” they gathered enough manna for two days and it did not breed worms and stink. This is how the Israelites survived for forty years until they came to the Promised Land, which in actuality was only an eleven-days journey from Egypt. I guess GPS had not been invented yet.
According to the New Testament, Jesus of Nazareth said, “I am that bread which came down from heaven” and also “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty” and also “I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
It’s all in the sixth chapter of The Gospel According To Saint John, which goes on to say that then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" and that Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.”
As people used to say back in the sixties, “Heavy, man.”
John also says that from this time many of Christ’s disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
Panis Angelicus, a hymn written by Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), has been set to music many times, perhaps most famously in 1872 by César Franck for voice, harp, cello, and organ.
Here are four renditions, one by Andrea Bocelli (3:58), one by Charlotte Church (4:00), one by Luciano Pavarotti (3:42), and one by Mirusia Louwerse (5:00).
Here is the Latin text of Panis Angelicus, with doxology:
Panis angelicus
fit panis hominum;
Dat panis coelicus
figuris terminum:
O res mirabilis!
Manducat Dominum
Pauper, servus et humilis.
Te trina Deitas
unaque poscimus:
Sic nos tu visita,
sicut te colimus;
Per tuas semitas
duc nos quo tendimus,
Ad lucem quam inhabitas.
Amen.
and here is an English translation:
The angelic bread
becomes the bread of men;
The heavenly bread
ends all prefigurations:
What wonder!
The Lord is eaten
by a poor and humble servant.
Triune God,
We beg of you:
visit us,
just as we worship you.
By your ways,
lead us where we are heading,
to the light in which you dwell.
Amen.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
August 4 is the birthday of my son-in-law
...whom I will neither name nor show to you, in keeping with my own personal blogging policy. He’s 43 today.
According to Wikipedia, a lot of other things also happened on August 4. Here are a few of them:
70 A.D. -– The destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans.
367 –- Gratian, aged 8, son of Roman Emperor Valentinian I, is named co-Augustus by his father and associated to the throne.
1265 -– Second Barons’ War: Battle of Evesham, in which the army of Prince Edward (the future king Edward I of England) defeats the forces of rebellious barons led by Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, killing de Montfort and many of his allies.
1327 -– First War of Scottish Independence: James Douglas leads a raid into Weardale and almost kills Edward III of England.
1532 -– the Duchy of Brittany is annexed to the Kingdom of France.
1578 -– Battle of Al Kasr al Kebir, in which the Moroccans defeat the Portuguese. King Sebastian of Portugal is killed in the battle, leaving his elderly uncle, Cardinal Henry, as his heir. This initiates a succession crisis in Portugal.
1693 -– Date traditionally ascribed to Dom Perignon’s invention of Champagne, although he actually did not have anything to do with sparkling wine.
1704 -– War of the Spanish Succession: Gibraltar is captured by an English and Dutch fleet, commanded by Admiral Sir George Rooke and allied with Archduke Charles.
1789 -– In France, members of the National Constituent Assembly take an oath to end feudalism and abandon their privileges.
1790 -– A newly passed tariff act creates the Revenue Cutter Service (the forerunner of the United States Coast Guard).
1791 -– The Treaty of Sistova is signed, ending the Ottoman-Habsburg wars.
1796 -– French Revolutionary Wars: Napoleon leads the French Army of Italy to victory in the Battle of Lonato.
1821 -– Atkinson & Alexander publish the Saturday Evening Post for the first time as a weekly newspaper.
1824 -– The Battle of Kos is fought between Turk and Greek forces.
1873 -– Indian Wars: while protecting a railroad survey party in Montana, the United States 7th Cavalry, under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, clashes for the first time with the Sioux near the Tongue River; only one man on each side is killed.
1892 -– The father and stepmother of Lizzie Borden are found murdered in their Fall River, Massachusetts home.
1914 -– World War I: Germany invades Belgium. In response, the United Kingdom declares war on Germany. The United States declare their neutrality.
1944 -– World War II: A tip from a Dutch informer leads the Gestapo to a sealed-off area in an Amsterdam warehouse where they find and arrest Jewish diarist Anne Frank, her family, and four others.
1946 -– An earthquake of magnitude 8.0 hits northern Dominican Republic. One hundred are killed and 20,000 are left homeless.
1964 -– American civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney are found dead in Mississippi after disappearing on June 21.
1964 -– Gulf of Tonkin Incident: U.S. destroyers USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy report coming under attack in the Gulf of Tonkin.
1969 -– At the apartment of French intermediary Jean Sainteny in Paris, American representative Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese representative Xuan Thuy begin secret peace negotiations. The negotiations will eventually fail.
1974 -– A bomb explodes in the Italicus Express train at San Benedetto Val di Sambro, Italy, killing 12 people and wounding 22.
1984 -– The Republic of Upper Volta changes its name to Burkina Faso.
1993 -– A federal judge sentences Los Angeles Police Department officers Stacey Koon and Laurence Powell to 30 months in prison for violating motorist Rodney King’s civil rights.
2010 -– California’s Proposition 8, the ballot initiative prohibiting same-sex marriage passed by the state’s voters in 2008, is overturned by Judge Vaughn Walker in the case Perry v. Schwarzenegger.
These people were born on August 4:
1792 -– Percy Bysshe Shelley, English poet (d. 1822)
1870 -– Sir Harry Lauder, Scottish entertainer (d. 1950)
1899 -– Ezra Taft Benson, thirteenth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons, people) and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture under President Dwight D. Eisenhower (d. 1994)
1900 -– Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Scottish consort of George VI (d. 2002)
1901 -– Louis Armstrong, American jazz trumpeter and singer (d. 1971)
1920 -– Helen Thomas, American journalist
1955 -– Billy Bob Thornton, American actor and writer
1961 -– Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States, Nobel Peace Prize laureate
1962 -– Roger Clemens, American baseball player
1971 -– Jeff Gordon, American race car driver
These people died on August 4:
1060 -– King Henry I of France (b. 1008)
1113 -– Gertrude of Saxony, daughter of Bernard II, Duke of Saxony and wife of Floris I, Count of Holland (b. 1030)
1306 -– King Wenceslaus III of Bohemia, Hungary and Poland (b. 1289)
1875 -– Hans Christian Andersen, Danish writer (b. 1805)
1981 -– Melvyn Douglas, American actor (b. 1901)
1997 -– Jeanne Calment, French supercentenarian, the world's oldest human on record and the only person ever to live past the age of 122 (b. 1875)
1999 -– Victor Mature, American actor (b. 1913)
August 4 is the Christian Feast Day of both Saint John Vianney and Saint Sithney, patron saint of mad dogs.
It is Coast Guard Day in the United States, Revolution Day in Burkino Faso, Constitution Day in the Cook Islands, and Johnny Cash Day in Arkansas. I have been unable to ascertain whether it is Lizzie Borden Day in Fall River, Massachusetts, however.
I thought of naming my son-in-law co-Augustus today and breaking open a magnum of Don Perignon’s bubbly, but that will have to wait until another year. I have chosen instead to end this post with a poem and one more photograph:
Lizzie Borden took an axe
Gave her mother forty whacks
When she saw what she had done
She gave her father forty-one
According to Wikipedia, a lot of other things also happened on August 4. Here are a few of them:
70 A.D. -– The destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans.
367 –- Gratian, aged 8, son of Roman Emperor Valentinian I, is named co-Augustus by his father and associated to the throne.
1265 -– Second Barons’ War: Battle of Evesham, in which the army of Prince Edward (the future king Edward I of England) defeats the forces of rebellious barons led by Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, killing de Montfort and many of his allies.
1327 -– First War of Scottish Independence: James Douglas leads a raid into Weardale and almost kills Edward III of England.
1532 -– the Duchy of Brittany is annexed to the Kingdom of France.
1578 -– Battle of Al Kasr al Kebir, in which the Moroccans defeat the Portuguese. King Sebastian of Portugal is killed in the battle, leaving his elderly uncle, Cardinal Henry, as his heir. This initiates a succession crisis in Portugal.
1693 -– Date traditionally ascribed to Dom Perignon’s invention of Champagne, although he actually did not have anything to do with sparkling wine.
1704 -– War of the Spanish Succession: Gibraltar is captured by an English and Dutch fleet, commanded by Admiral Sir George Rooke and allied with Archduke Charles.
1789 -– In France, members of the National Constituent Assembly take an oath to end feudalism and abandon their privileges.
1790 -– A newly passed tariff act creates the Revenue Cutter Service (the forerunner of the United States Coast Guard).
1791 -– The Treaty of Sistova is signed, ending the Ottoman-Habsburg wars.
1796 -– French Revolutionary Wars: Napoleon leads the French Army of Italy to victory in the Battle of Lonato.
1821 -– Atkinson & Alexander publish the Saturday Evening Post for the first time as a weekly newspaper.
1824 -– The Battle of Kos is fought between Turk and Greek forces.
1873 -– Indian Wars: while protecting a railroad survey party in Montana, the United States 7th Cavalry, under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, clashes for the first time with the Sioux near the Tongue River; only one man on each side is killed.
1892 -– The father and stepmother of Lizzie Borden are found murdered in their Fall River, Massachusetts home.
1914 -– World War I: Germany invades Belgium. In response, the United Kingdom declares war on Germany. The United States declare their neutrality.
1944 -– World War II: A tip from a Dutch informer leads the Gestapo to a sealed-off area in an Amsterdam warehouse where they find and arrest Jewish diarist Anne Frank, her family, and four others.
1946 -– An earthquake of magnitude 8.0 hits northern Dominican Republic. One hundred are killed and 20,000 are left homeless.
1964 -– American civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney are found dead in Mississippi after disappearing on June 21.
1964 -– Gulf of Tonkin Incident: U.S. destroyers USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy report coming under attack in the Gulf of Tonkin.
1969 -– At the apartment of French intermediary Jean Sainteny in Paris, American representative Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese representative Xuan Thuy begin secret peace negotiations. The negotiations will eventually fail.
1974 -– A bomb explodes in the Italicus Express train at San Benedetto Val di Sambro, Italy, killing 12 people and wounding 22.
1984 -– The Republic of Upper Volta changes its name to Burkina Faso.
1993 -– A federal judge sentences Los Angeles Police Department officers Stacey Koon and Laurence Powell to 30 months in prison for violating motorist Rodney King’s civil rights.
2010 -– California’s Proposition 8, the ballot initiative prohibiting same-sex marriage passed by the state’s voters in 2008, is overturned by Judge Vaughn Walker in the case Perry v. Schwarzenegger.
These people were born on August 4:
1792 -– Percy Bysshe Shelley, English poet (d. 1822)
1870 -– Sir Harry Lauder, Scottish entertainer (d. 1950)
1899 -– Ezra Taft Benson, thirteenth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons, people) and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture under President Dwight D. Eisenhower (d. 1994)
1900 -– Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Scottish consort of George VI (d. 2002)
1901 -– Louis Armstrong, American jazz trumpeter and singer (d. 1971)
1920 -– Helen Thomas, American journalist
1955 -– Billy Bob Thornton, American actor and writer
1961 -– Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States, Nobel Peace Prize laureate
1962 -– Roger Clemens, American baseball player
1971 -– Jeff Gordon, American race car driver
These people died on August 4:
1060 -– King Henry I of France (b. 1008)
1113 -– Gertrude of Saxony, daughter of Bernard II, Duke of Saxony and wife of Floris I, Count of Holland (b. 1030)
1306 -– King Wenceslaus III of Bohemia, Hungary and Poland (b. 1289)
1875 -– Hans Christian Andersen, Danish writer (b. 1805)
1981 -– Melvyn Douglas, American actor (b. 1901)
1997 -– Jeanne Calment, French supercentenarian, the world's oldest human on record and the only person ever to live past the age of 122 (b. 1875)
1999 -– Victor Mature, American actor (b. 1913)
August 4 is the Christian Feast Day of both Saint John Vianney and Saint Sithney, patron saint of mad dogs.
It is Coast Guard Day in the United States, Revolution Day in Burkino Faso, Constitution Day in the Cook Islands, and Johnny Cash Day in Arkansas. I have been unable to ascertain whether it is Lizzie Borden Day in Fall River, Massachusetts, however.
I thought of naming my son-in-law co-Augustus today and breaking open a magnum of Don Perignon’s bubbly, but that will have to wait until another year. I have chosen instead to end this post with a poem and one more photograph:
Lizzie Borden took an axe
Gave her mother forty whacks
When she saw what she had done
She gave her father forty-one
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
I was thinking of ending the blog...
...just because it all tends to run together after a while, and because of the ennui-enducing sameness of it all, and because of the never-ending need to find new topics about which to post, and because of the amount of time it takes each day and the dreariness of going through the routine over and over again and the utter and complete futility of thinking I could ever write in the first place and the...
And then I happened to review the list of visitors during the last 24 hours:
1. Novi Sad (Serbia)
2. London (England)
3. Taipei (Taiwan)
4. Eastham, Massachusetts (U.S.)
5. Mountain View, California (U.S.)
6. Warsaw, Mazowiecke (Poland)
7. Italy
8. Little Rock, Arkansas (U.S.)
9. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina (U.S.)
10. Fort Worth, Texas (U.S.)
11. Jakarta, Jakarta Raya (Indonesia)
12. Council Bluffs, Iowa (U.S.)
13. Longview, Texas (U.S.)
14. Manti, Utah (U.S.)
15. Chihuahua (Mexico)
16. Tubarão, Santa Catarina (Brazil)
17. Honolulu, Hawaii (U.S.)
18. Birmingham, Alabama (U.S.)
19. Russellville, Arkansas (U.S.)
20. Strongsville, Ohio (U.S.)
21. Clayton, North Carolina (U.S.)
22. Chicago, Illinois (U.S.)
23. Hopkins, Minnesota (U.S.)
24. Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil)
25. Warner Robins, Georgia (U.S.)
26. Savannah, Georgia (U.S.)
27. Sunnyvale, California (U.S.)
28. Kristianstad, Skane Lan (Sweden)
29. Mumbai, Maharashtra (India)
30. Fountain Valley, California (U.S.)
31. Jyväskylä, Western Finland (Finland)
32. Quezon City (Philippines)
33. Carrollton, Texas (U.S.)
34. Calcutta, West Bengal (India)
35. Whitchurch, Shropshire (England)
and my heart was made happy.
That list doesn’t even include some of my regular commenters from Oregon and Florida and British Columbia and New Zealand and Australia and the Netherlands, all of whom apparently are taking a long-deserved vacation (whether individually or together, I cannot say).
And then there’s the fact that ever since I wrote the first post with fear and trembling nearly four years ago, I have managed to save most of the little flags of the countries of the world that have visited my blog. Know how many I have saved so far?
131.
Who woulda thunk?
Of course, it isn’t about quantity; it’s about quality. Some of those folks may show up for a second or two, not like what they see, and depart posthaste, saying, “This isn’t my cup of tea.”
And that’s okay.
There will always be naysayers.
You can’t please everybody.
Actually, you can please all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.
Somebody famous said that, I think. Either Abraham Lincoln or Lady Gaga.
Everybody blogs differently. Some people post photographs almost exclusively, some people have a mixture of text and photos, and some people have mostly words. I’m in the last two groups, moving back and forth between them depending on my mood. But mostly, in my heart of hearts, I’m a word person.
My friend Rosezilla (whose real name is Tracie) down in Florida says, “A word is worth a thousand pictures,” and I tend to agree.
I will make you a solemn promise. If you continue to read my blog, I will never post photo after photo of my children and grandchildren. I will never post a recipe that contains twelve ingredients and thirty-six photographs. I will never show you any handcrafts I have made, in or out of rehab, computer-assisted or otherwise, except for possibly the occasional poem or short story.
If you don’t continue to read my blog, I make you another solemn promise:
You will never know what you’re missing.
Note. The photo on the right was selected at random from thousands of possibilities. The person in the photo is not Mrs. Rhymeswithplague nor is it a child or grandchild of ours. As to whether it might be me, I refuse to answer on the grounds that it may tend to incriminate me.
Note 2. I would like to make two exceptions to the “no handicrafts” rule, and those are Pat of Arkansas and Katherine DeChevalle who produce exquisite greeting cards and oil paintings, respectively. In fact, I am a recipient personally of their work, and am in awe of their talents and abilities. When I said “handicrafts” I was thinking mostly of knitted squares for afghans and pasted-together covers for boxes of Kleenex.
And then I happened to review the list of visitors during the last 24 hours:
1. Novi Sad (Serbia)
2. London (England)
3. Taipei (Taiwan)
4. Eastham, Massachusetts (U.S.)
5. Mountain View, California (U.S.)
6. Warsaw, Mazowiecke (Poland)
7. Italy
8. Little Rock, Arkansas (U.S.)
9. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina (U.S.)
10. Fort Worth, Texas (U.S.)
11. Jakarta, Jakarta Raya (Indonesia)
12. Council Bluffs, Iowa (U.S.)
13. Longview, Texas (U.S.)
14. Manti, Utah (U.S.)
15. Chihuahua (Mexico)
16. Tubarão, Santa Catarina (Brazil)
17. Honolulu, Hawaii (U.S.)
18. Birmingham, Alabama (U.S.)
19. Russellville, Arkansas (U.S.)
20. Strongsville, Ohio (U.S.)
21. Clayton, North Carolina (U.S.)
22. Chicago, Illinois (U.S.)
23. Hopkins, Minnesota (U.S.)
24. Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil)
25. Warner Robins, Georgia (U.S.)
26. Savannah, Georgia (U.S.)
27. Sunnyvale, California (U.S.)
28. Kristianstad, Skane Lan (Sweden)
29. Mumbai, Maharashtra (India)
30. Fountain Valley, California (U.S.)
31. Jyväskylä, Western Finland (Finland)
32. Quezon City (Philippines)
33. Carrollton, Texas (U.S.)
34. Calcutta, West Bengal (India)
35. Whitchurch, Shropshire (England)
and my heart was made happy.
That list doesn’t even include some of my regular commenters from Oregon and Florida and British Columbia and New Zealand and Australia and the Netherlands, all of whom apparently are taking a long-deserved vacation (whether individually or together, I cannot say).
And then there’s the fact that ever since I wrote the first post with fear and trembling nearly four years ago, I have managed to save most of the little flags of the countries of the world that have visited my blog. Know how many I have saved so far?
131.
Who woulda thunk?
Of course, it isn’t about quantity; it’s about quality. Some of those folks may show up for a second or two, not like what they see, and depart posthaste, saying, “This isn’t my cup of tea.”
And that’s okay.
There will always be naysayers.
You can’t please everybody.
Actually, you can please all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.
Somebody famous said that, I think. Either Abraham Lincoln or Lady Gaga.
Everybody blogs differently. Some people post photographs almost exclusively, some people have a mixture of text and photos, and some people have mostly words. I’m in the last two groups, moving back and forth between them depending on my mood. But mostly, in my heart of hearts, I’m a word person.
My friend Rosezilla (whose real name is Tracie) down in Florida says, “A word is worth a thousand pictures,” and I tend to agree.
I will make you a solemn promise. If you continue to read my blog, I will never post photo after photo of my children and grandchildren. I will never post a recipe that contains twelve ingredients and thirty-six photographs. I will never show you any handcrafts I have made, in or out of rehab, computer-assisted or otherwise, except for possibly the occasional poem or short story.
If you don’t continue to read my blog, I make you another solemn promise:
You will never know what you’re missing.
Note. The photo on the right was selected at random from thousands of possibilities. The person in the photo is not Mrs. Rhymeswithplague nor is it a child or grandchild of ours. As to whether it might be me, I refuse to answer on the grounds that it may tend to incriminate me.
Note 2. I would like to make two exceptions to the “no handicrafts” rule, and those are Pat of Arkansas and Katherine DeChevalle who produce exquisite greeting cards and oil paintings, respectively. In fact, I am a recipient personally of their work, and am in awe of their talents and abilities. When I said “handicrafts” I was thinking mostly of knitted squares for afghans and pasted-together covers for boxes of Kleenex.
Monday, August 1, 2011
It was a dark and stormy night
People mean well, I think, and usually try to do their best. Sometimes, though, I just have to laugh.
Even during a devotional reading.
Let me explain.
Each morning for nearly a year now, I have been reading The Upper Room, a daily devotional guide published every other month by the United Methodist Church. It is printed in nearly 40 languages and reaches into more than 100 countries.
The format is simple and never varies. Each page has a title at the top, a Scripture reference, the devotional itself, and a prayer focus at the bottom of the page. For example, on July 6th the title was “Entangled in Sin” and the bottom of the page read:
Prayer Focus: THOSE WHO ARE ENTANGLED IN SIN
On July 7th, when the title was “Keeper of Crayons,” the devotional reading began “My young son has autism, and one of the activities that soothes him is coloring...” and the bottom of the page read:
Prayer Focus: CHILDREN WITH AUTISM AND THEIR PARENTS
So far, so good. As I said, it is a simple format, but effective.
But then I came to the reading for yesterday, July 31st, which I am going to reproduce in its entirety for you. Readers of this blog may think of Bulwer-Lytton's 1830 novel Paul Clifford when they see the title. But that is not what made me laugh.
Read on, please.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT
Read Luke 8:22-25
[Nothing] in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. --Romans 8:39 (NRSV)
My daughter cried out in the night, afraid of the storm. Thunder boomed and lightning flashed. She said she was afraid that the wind might sweep her away in the darkness. I tried to comfort her as the windows rattled and the wind howled against the house.
That night, I could understand what the disciples felt as a storm came upon them on the Sea of Galilee and their boat was tossed by the waves. (See Mark 4:35-41 and Luke 8:22-35.) Now, as then, only Jesus Christ can give us peace in the midst of a storm. Calling on his name and remembering the assurances in scripture give us courage in the midst of all adversity.
As I told my daughter, “The best thing about storms is that they always pass.” And each of us can always pray, as my daughter and I did that night.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for simple prayers and for the peace you give when we are afraid of the storm. We pray as Jesus taught us, saying, “Our Father, [here was printed the Lord’s Prayer].” Amen.
Then I saw it, at the bottom of the page. The Prayer Focus. If it doesn’t make you laugh, or at least scratch your head and say “Whaat???” for a second before thinking, “Oh, I get it,” you just aren’t wired correctly:
PRAYER FOCUS: THOSE WORKING IN THE FISHING INDUSTRY
Even during a devotional reading.
Let me explain.
Each morning for nearly a year now, I have been reading The Upper Room, a daily devotional guide published every other month by the United Methodist Church. It is printed in nearly 40 languages and reaches into more than 100 countries.
The format is simple and never varies. Each page has a title at the top, a Scripture reference, the devotional itself, and a prayer focus at the bottom of the page. For example, on July 6th the title was “Entangled in Sin” and the bottom of the page read:
Prayer Focus: THOSE WHO ARE ENTANGLED IN SIN
On July 7th, when the title was “Keeper of Crayons,” the devotional reading began “My young son has autism, and one of the activities that soothes him is coloring...” and the bottom of the page read:
Prayer Focus: CHILDREN WITH AUTISM AND THEIR PARENTS
So far, so good. As I said, it is a simple format, but effective.
But then I came to the reading for yesterday, July 31st, which I am going to reproduce in its entirety for you. Readers of this blog may think of Bulwer-Lytton's 1830 novel Paul Clifford when they see the title. But that is not what made me laugh.
Read on, please.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT
Read Luke 8:22-25
[Nothing] in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. --Romans 8:39 (NRSV)
My daughter cried out in the night, afraid of the storm. Thunder boomed and lightning flashed. She said she was afraid that the wind might sweep her away in the darkness. I tried to comfort her as the windows rattled and the wind howled against the house.
That night, I could understand what the disciples felt as a storm came upon them on the Sea of Galilee and their boat was tossed by the waves. (See Mark 4:35-41 and Luke 8:22-35.) Now, as then, only Jesus Christ can give us peace in the midst of a storm. Calling on his name and remembering the assurances in scripture give us courage in the midst of all adversity.
As I told my daughter, “The best thing about storms is that they always pass.” And each of us can always pray, as my daughter and I did that night.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for simple prayers and for the peace you give when we are afraid of the storm. We pray as Jesus taught us, saying, “Our Father, [here was printed the Lord’s Prayer].” Amen.
Then I saw it, at the bottom of the page. The Prayer Focus. If it doesn’t make you laugh, or at least scratch your head and say “Whaat???” for a second before thinking, “Oh, I get it,” you just aren’t wired correctly:
PRAYER FOCUS: THOSE WORKING IN THE FISHING INDUSTRY
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