| Ten Thousand Lovers |
[07 Nov 2009|04:30pm] |
 Ten Thousand Lovers by Edeet Ravel
Tel Aviv Trilogy #1
Review 2003
373 pages
Fiction
This was a random buy the other week; the author's new book caught my eye and since it was the third book in a sort-of trilogy, I picked up the first one, this one, and was interested enough to take it home with me. For some reason, it was just begging to be read, so it didn't have to wait the usual waiting period of books I take home (which is anywhere between five months and five years). However, now that it's time to write the review, I find myself stuck. Every time I try to summarise it, it just doesn't sound right. So I'm ditching my usual review structure and will just talk about the book, revealing necessary bits of the plot-light story as I go.
The premise, in brief, is about a young woman, Lily, studying linguistics and language at the university in Jerusalem who meets a man, Ami, who works as an interrogator for the army. It is a story of their love for one another, a story of horror and heartbreak in a war-torn country, of a people persecuted - and I'm not talking about the Jews here. It's a powerful story, set in the 70s, that is inherently relevant today.
( Read on... )
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| Fr. Ted Tack, OSA on St. Augustine's Relevance Today |
[07 Nov 2009|01:44pm] |
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This past Thursday, Fr. Ted Tack, the former Prior General of the Order of St. Augustine, gave a talk at Villanova University on the spirituality of St. Augustine and his relevance today. I attended the talk and it was quite excellent. I recorded it and have made it available online. If anyone is interested in listening, you can find it here. From that link you may either listen to it online or download it to your computer. Enjoy!
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| Anglicanism and Intentional Community |
[07 Nov 2009|02:39pm] |
I've stumbled across some interesting snippets talking about Intentional Community in an Anglican Emergent context.I find this very exciting, having done intentional community before and having a keen interest in how relational Christian practice is formed. Some links might be interesting, including this Anglican "order" from New Zealand:
http://www.oss.net.nz/about.html
The Anglican Intentional community movement has been bigger in the UK then it has been here int he US, but it's growing rapidly with some rather amazing results. I think for any Christian, while community means different things, it has the potential to bring about a real transformation. My community wasn't amazingly intentional, and we certainly had our ups and downs, but we still had a cohesiveness and a prayer-life that produced some amazing growth, healing, and change not just in me, but in the others in the house. We weren't an "Anglican" community, but rather an Episcopal Intern Community with members of various denominations, who followed spiritual disciplines and a rule of life that was based on an Anglican framework.
Vineyard, the church movement I identify myself with and have been a part of, is very relational in terms of small cell groups, but does not have the capacity for intentional community. My goal now, rather then focusing on being in a physical community sharing a physical space, is to be more intentional about my relationships with those I worship with, and to hone my own rule of life in a way that allows me to harness some of the basic elements that were so life-giving when I lived in community.
Here's an interesting Welsh community and a link to the better known Iona community:
http://www.colegygroes.co.uk/community.htm
http://www.iona.org.uk/
If any folks here from the UK know of any to add to this list, please do! Some day I would love to travel around the UK and perhaps visit one of these communities. I don't think I'm the only person here to see a need for intentional communities.
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| What Comic Book Sound Are You? |
[07 Nov 2009|02:29pm] |
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http://feeds.blogthings.com/whatcomicbooksoundareyouquiz/ [ Error: Irreparable invalid markup ('<img [...] "pow"?">') in entry. Owner must fix manually. Raw contents below.] <p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="http://feeds.blogthings.com/whatcomicbooksoundareyouquiz/">http://feeds.blogthings.com/whatcomicbooksoundareyouquiz/</a></p><center><a href="http://feeds.blogthings.com/whatcomicbooksoundareyouquiz/"><img src="http://www.blogthingsimages.com/whatcomicbooksoundareyouquiz/button.png" border="0" alt="Are you a "ZAP" or a "POW"?"></a><br />
<a href="http://feeds.blogthings.com/whatcomicbooksoundareyouquiz/">What Comic Book Sound Are You?</a> - Are you a "ZAP" or a "POW"? |
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| Utter Failure. What's Your Solution? |
[07 Nov 2009|06:44am] |
A subset of congressional conservatives in America, which has received four times as much money in political contributions from HMO's and drug companies as the rest of congress, has leveraged so many compromises and changes in the health care bill that the bill is now a crippled and bloated albatross with a page count almost twice as high as the failed Hillarycare bill. And now conservatives are complaining, with poorly disguised glee, that the bill is a bloated mess which will never work. They're right. They saw to it.
Please understand... I have no political agenda in this post, because I freely admit that if the congressional liberal subset were the minority power, and they were faced with monumental legislation for which they received a four-to-one contribution ratio, they would do the exact same thing: Cripple the bill with concessions and compromise, then gleefully ride the bill's failure to regain political power.
That's my point, actually... the system is an utter failure. The bloated travesty of a health care bill is just a symptom of the bipartisan necrosis of conscience present throughout the U.S. government. Both parties are so opportunistic that they're more interested in gaining power (money) than they are willing to work together for the greater good.
And try as I might I can not think of a way to fix the underlying problem. Anyone have any ideas?
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| Cycle 13 Final Four Poll |
[07 Nov 2009|06:04am] |
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It's that time again! The cycle is winding down, and it's time for us to play ANTM judges and look back over the models' portfolios in deciding who should win. Normally, this would be done the week before the finale with the final three girls, but this is a special cycle, so we're doing it early!
( Massive Poll Below The Cut )
As always, no spoilers in this post. This post is for fun and for speculation, not for spoilers. Thanks!
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| The Perfect Christmas Gift? |
[07 Nov 2009|10:07am] |
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Hi guys.
What I'm going to ask, is perhaps today's most idiotic question, but I'll ask anyway.
I'm working at a bookstore (in Norway) and I'm wondering if anyone of you have any good tips on books that can be given as Christmas gifts? Mainly because I've got the feeling that "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown is going to be the Christmas hit this year and I want to give the costumers good recommendations except for the "regular" best selling books.
Thanks in advance.
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| I am slowly going crazy 1 2 3 4 5 6 SWITCH! |
[07 Nov 2009|01:10am] |
For years now, every time I type the word "separated" I misspell it as "seperated." ...Then spell check catches it, I correct it, I grumble at my ongoing inability to remember that word's proper spelling, then I go on typing the rest of the document.
This happens over and over and over.... sometimes more than once in the same document.
It's maddening. Why the hell can I not get that correction to stick?
Anyone else have a mental block like this about spelling a particular word or using the correct grammar for a particular phrase?
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| Faith-based Environmentalism |
[06 Nov 2009|12:37pm] |
"Floating just off Greenland’s ever less icy shore, a boatload of religious leaders, alongside scientists, environmentalists, and politicians, gazed meditatively at the rapidly melting Ilulissat glacier. “Surrounded by icebergs, Sunni, Shiite, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Christian, and Shinto leaders committed themselves last Friday to leave the planet ‘in all its wisdom and beauty to the generations to come,’” Colin Woodard wrote in the Christian Science Monitor.."
http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/csrpl/RINVol10No3/Faith-based%20Environmentalism.htm
"Creating consciousness of our responsibility, for respect and protection of the
natural environment of the planet, of which we are simply stewards and not
owners." The Green Patriarch, Bartholomew of Constantinople.
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| Evolution and Adam and Eve |
[06 Nov 2009|09:37pm] |
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the heater |
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For those of you who believe in theistic evolution, how do you reconcile this with the story of Adam and Eve and Christ's redemption of humanity's sins? Do you believe in the literal account of the fall of humanity as presented in Genesis or have you come to another conclusion?
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| Ammunition... of Sorts... |
[06 Nov 2009|05:53pm] |
Turns out the guy who shot up that office building in Orlando today is Christian. Figures. Timothy McVeigh was Christian, too. That's why he blew up the Murrah Federal Building. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were raised Christian. Christianity must be a violent religion.
The stupidity level present in my preceding statement is so rampant that it hurt me to type it. Hopefully it hurt you to read it.
Next time some idiot tries to tell you someone did something horrible because they're Muslim try to brace yourself and utter the above statement. If they still believe Islam is the cause they're not worth arguing with.
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| Encountering the Mystery |
[06 Nov 2009|11:00am] |
I watched the end of an interview on public channel 13
with Charlie Rose and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.
His book Encountering the Mystery is well written and researched.
What I liked about it is that is stresses, the sacraments in
non abstract language applied in practical daily living.
http://www.antiochian.org/node/17473
here is the transcript and below I will note
the passages that I found most interesting.
http://www.charlierose.com/download/transcript/10696
CHARLIE ROSE: "One might ask with respect, is the church doing enough?
Is the church communicating well enough, whether it’s Islam, whether it’s
Christianity, whether it’s Judaism? It’s a huge responsibility to have us
understand values, fairness, equity.
ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW: To be honest, no.
Religion has done a lot throughout the centuries for us Christians,
Christianity gives the strongest message, and the essence of our Christian
faith is love and respect for the human person.
But neither Christianity nor the other monotheistic religions
succeeded to bring peace and love and respect all over the globe as we
experience it every day.
Because representatives of religions are also human beings, it means
not perfect. They have their own the things, they have their own
incapacities and willingness to fulfill their sacred responsibilities, and
sometimes not internal but objective, external reasons prohibit us to
fulfill our sacred mission and task.
And that is why whatever religions proclaim and promise is not the
reality in the life of humanity."
At first glance one might think that this is negative towards the church
but the message is very important as it turns one to personal,
individual responsibility.
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| Poo facts for October 31-November 6, 2009 |
[06 Nov 2009|01:31am] |
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54-40, "I Go Blind" |
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Poo nugget for this weekend: Ghost Poo - A most perplexing poo, the Ghost Poo can rattle even the most stoic of bathroom-goers. What begins as just another poo ends with disbelief, even fright. The post-poo glance reveals nothing but crystal clear water in the toilet bowl, leaving the would-be pooer to wonder: "Where has my poo gone?" Not to be confused with Log Jam (although the appearance is similar), Ghost Poo is the most mysterious of all poo. Some have even invoked the existence of a poo gnome, while others question whether a poo Bermuda Triangle may be to blame. [the drawing is of a guy scratching his head while looking perplexedly at the toilet bowl, hahaha!]
Poo nugget for Monday, November 2: Camouflage Poo - Synonyms: Dalmatian Dookie, Chocolate Chip Cookie Doo, Black and Tan, Olive Leaf. (POO OF THE MONTH!)
Poo nugget for Tuesday, November 3: Old Glory - In 2005, German citizens expressed their disdain for George W. Bush by placing miniature flag portraits of the U.S. president in over 2000 piles of dog poo, giving new meaning to being the "butt of a joke."
Poo nugget for Wednesday, November 4: Dr. Stool Says - Volvulus - This twisting of the colon causes intestinal obstruction, and can cause abdominal pain in addition to the inability to pass stool. There is marked geographic variation in this condition, with the highest rates seen in the so-called "volvulus belt" - countries including India, Iran, Russia, and Brazil where volvulus is a common cause of intestinal obstruction. While genetic factors may play a role, these countries' residents also consume high-fiber diets that result in them having larger-diameter colons. In turn, this may predispose them to volvulus formation.
Poo nugget for Thursday, November 5: Doo You Know? - The Major Components of Human Farts - Nitrogen (20 to 90 percent), Carbon Dioxide (10 to 30 percent), Hydrogen (0 to 50 percent), Oxygen (0 to 10 percent), Methane (0 to 10 percent).
Poo nugget for Friday, November 6: Hold That Enema - Enemas are widely available and are used for the treatment of constipation. However, inappropriate use can result in serious consequences. Stimulation of the vagus nerve (as occurs when enemas are forcibly discharged into the rectum) can trigger an arrhythmia known as bradycardia, in which the heart rate can slow to dangerous levels. The most common side effects of enema overuse are massive diarrhea and severe electrolyte imbalances.
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| Derrr... |
[05 Nov 2009|07:32pm] |
I had CNN on, because they're covering the Fort Hood shootings and I'm obviously concerned about it... but I wasn't paying attention for a little bit because I was distracted. I look back up and, shockingly, CNN was showing aerial photographs of Fort Hood... an important U.S. Army Base.... and pointing out what the various buildings on the base are.
I thought... what the fuck?!
...and then I noticed the text in the corner of the screen...
"Images courtesy Google Earth"
*thumps head on desk*
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