Circulating at Work

The Great Minimum

by G.K. Chesterton

---

It is something to have wept as we have wept,
It is something to have done as we have done,
It is something to have watched when all men slept,
And seen the stars which never see the sun.

It is something to have smelt the mystic rose,
Although it break and leave the thorny rods,
It is something to have hungered once as those
Must hunger who have ate the bread of gods.

To have seen you and your unforgotten face,
Brave as a blast of trumpets for the fray,
Pure as white lilies in a watery space,
It were something, though you went from me today.

To have known the things that from the weak are furled,
Perilous ancient passions, strange and high;
It is something to be wiser than the world,
It is something to be older than the sky.

In a time of sceptic moths and cynic rusts,
And fattened lives that of their sweetness tire
In a world of flying loves and fading lusts,
It is something to be sure of a desire.

Lo, blessed are our ears for they have heard;
Yea, blessed are our eyes for they have seen:
Let the thunder break on man and beast and bird
And the lightning. It is something to have been.

Poetry

The thing about poetry is...especially when you're young and trying it out for the first time...its actually somewhat subjective.

Oh, I know that there are poet friends that would beg to differ with me...but from this amateur, its the honest truth.

Well, one of the assignment options for the T.S. Eliot reading in my class was to write a poem. Pass or fail, based essentially on whether or not there's blood on the page, so to speak.

As might be expected, many opted for this option, and that's fine. I have been reading their art...and its made me smile more than once...and its been interesting to gain (perhaps) a little more insight into their lives...

But I have to wonder, as it really is why I allowed them to experiment in poetry; did they actually reflect on these experiences with the eye of an artist, or are they just getting an easy "a"? It might be easy to imitate art--certainly if you're not really expected to be good at it...but I wonder how many of them took the opportunity to let their souls grow a bit more by addressing something with their emotions, and not just their reason. I won't lose much sleep over it, of course (I get little enough of that as it is)...but I do hope that they might have touched something beautiful in the process of producing something intended to be artful.

Getting them to grasp the vibrant possibilities that exist when beauty is present is difficult--I try to get around that by taking them out of their comfort zone...into the outdoors...today we had class in a playground, and I was in an olive tree...that was fun. If it wouldn't be too distracting, I'd have music playing the whole class period, and hope that perhaps in the right moment, the right notes and the right words would connect and send their souls into the clouds, if only for a moment...maybe for Lord of the Rings...

What I'm listening too...

Artist: WRECKLESS ERIC

Song: Whole Wide World

When I was a young boy

My mama said to me

There's only one girl in the world for you

And she probably lives in Tahiti

I'd go the whole wide world

I'd go the whole wide world

Just to find her

Or maybe she's in the Bahamas

Where the Carribean sea is blue

Weeping in a tropical moonlit night

Because nobody's told her 'bout you

I'd go the whole wide world

I'd go the whole wide world

Just to find her

I'd go the whole wide world

I'd go the whole wide world

Find out where they hide her

Why am I hanging around in the rain out here

Trying to pick up a girl

Why are my eyes filling up with these lonely tears

When there're girls all over the world

Is she lying on a tropical beach somewhere

Underneath the tropical sun

Pining away in a heatwave there

Hoping that I won't be long

I should be lying on that sun-soaked beach with her

Caressing her warm brown skin

And then in a year or maybe not quite

We'll be sharing the same next of kin

I'd go the whole wide world

I'd go the whole wide world

Just to find her

I'd go the whole wide world

I'd go the whole wide world

Find out where they hide her

Keep Watching...

http://www.clearification.com/

Coming Soon!

A new look, a review of 300 and the lessons that both the movie and the history throw into the limelight, thoughts on the already dismally depressing Presidential campaign, and assorted thoughts on the political world, TV, heroes, and books.

So stay tuned...next week is gonna be a good one...

Just need to grade term papers and then its home free. I know I've been promising for a while now...but seriously...there'll be Superman posts, Shakespeare posts, Frank Miller/movie posts...I'm finally able to write again!

My Teacher

By going here, you can see & hear one of my favorite preachers. Hope you enjoy.

Somewhere Out There...

On the other sides of a thousand pages of reading and 200 pages of grading, after the wife earns her well deserved degree and the son gets through the perils and travails of being two, and this kid finds another job or two tow make ends meet for another summer and two semesters...

I have a blog.

It seems odd to say that this is a priority of sorts...but it is. Not for my readership...which, if they are faithful are faithful thanks to posting notification technology...but in a way because I have very few other options for composing & articulating thoughts. The chance to do so is, as a result, coveted.

The irony is that when I finally get to sit down and type, the discussions I have been conducting in my head until now seem either out-of-date, or awkwardly large for a simple blog.

Oh well.

The Daily Grind

Its been...just over a month since I last shook the dust from my key-board (metaphorically speaking...I normally end up blogging on computer's other than my own, and they are rarely dusty). Fear not, dauntless and desperate readers; I live still. Though I may not have written very much recently, I have, rest assured, been thinking about several weighty matters about which any number of blog posts could have been written.

And yet...I cannot think of any of them presently.

This is the problem. I have had...constipation of the mind of late. I think it stems from stress...but I have been slipping into a depressed state of silence that threatens to dry out my ability to discuss...anything. Its a dryness that recalls the sort of low that we would normally associate with the poetic "Dark Night." Its hardly so dramatic...I am just feeling discouraged. I went to Disneyland the other day...and felt simultaneously hopeful that the various rides and lands might suddenly actually become real, and deeply sad that they didn't. It was the most pleasant and depressing time I have had at the Magical Kingdom in a long time. Perhaps it was because it was just me and the wife...

But this is symptomatic of a larger problem. I have the bug of discontentment once again. Its a frustrating vice to deal with...there are always good reasons for being dissatisfied with yourself, your situation, etc...but there are very few justification for dwelling on those short-comings...and rarely does any progress occur as a result. There's a fine line between allowing your dreams of tomorrow to inspire you to action and residing in those dreams rather than facing the real live day.

So, I am trying to find purpose in the daily grind. I am trying to remember the meaning of peace and joy in everyday life. Jesus' life and ministry seem amazing and exotic when we read about them...but he was ministering to his home. He showed His own family and His own people what the kingdom of God means...and the incredible nature of His life was encapsulated in the confines of daily routine. Being honest, I don't understand how one can find satisfaction in that...while dreaming of everything that's not like our home, our life, our daily grind...but I suspect that the key to happiness and a healthy relationship with God lies in part in that secret satisfaction.

Ode to the Gym

Oh thou gym,
This is your hymn.

To thee we go,
For we would know--
The joy of pain,
Through which we gain
Agony! Exhaustion!
Perhaps satisfaction?

We shall see...
It may be...
But for now,
I wonder how--
Have I done harm,
When I can't lift my arms?

Fin

Well, if I were a better poet, people might miss me when I was at the gym...as it is...not so much.

Bye Bye Birdy

This is actually amazing to me.

Our justice system should take a memo...the full number of cases against him have not even cleared the courts, but having been found guilty (big surprise), he has now met his just fate.

God have mercy on him. I only wish we had been able to administer similar justice to other prolific tyrants. I cannot guess what this will mean in the days ahead...but I had not expected this to happen so quickly.

At times like these, the obvious question we must ask ourselves is whether or not justice was actually served by yet another death. There are plenty of people in the world that consider the execution of this man to be, not justice, but actually a further action of barbarism. They argue that we have out-grown the death penalty, and that life-imprisonment if enough to satisfy the debt owed by such a monster.

I find these arguments interesting. When did we become so vitally concerned with the nature of the justice done to criminals? Opponents of the death penalty throw up statistics of wrongfully accused criminals sentenced to death...but the numbers they ignore are the vast majority of correctly prosecuted murderers, rapists, kidnappers, etc, that have earned their date with the executioner.

Yet, especially as a Christian, I have to admit that there is a finality to death that is extremely harsh. Should this cause us to pause? Should we fall short of administering the ultimate punishment?

I think not. I think that it's extreme nature is what makes the death penalty important. If criminals know that they can cheat death, whatever they say about the torment of life in prison (and I believe its awful), the cost of one's life is still the only appropriate price a murderer, rapist, kidnapper, etc can pay. It is the government's job to protect us...and for that they must carry a sword. Not just a jail cell...there must be a real threat for those that treat life with contempt.

Sigh. Still, a life has been ended by force, and a man has gone to meet God, and he was (I believe) most assuredly not prepared for that confrontation. Perhaps as a Christian I should regret his wasted life. As a citizen, I rejoice that my government has acted to assert the dominion of justice and order in the world.

God With Us; Christmas Day

In a season that has, by and large, lost its meaning in the midst of the commercial profit it represents, we are called to allow our feelings to dictate our actions. To let the joy and the merriment of the season inspire us to act in ways that we would, normally, not. And, of course, the skeptics in our society mock this sentimental call-to-arms. Feelings, after all, are not highly estimable when it comes to the real and serious business of life. Death, destruction, sickness and poverty are everywhere...surely, this nonsense of Christmas is just that: nonsense.

Surely, any change in our behavior that can trace its origin to some holiday must be too artificial to be taken seriously.

Yet this is the season of Joy, and it is the celebration of the fulfillment of a promise, steeped in the myth of our race, and intertwined with our daily lives. Those skeptics would do well to remember...long ago, mankind died. We became creatures of sin, and were permitted to work our will in all things, to our own destruction. In this state, we despaired...from the darkness of the earliest years, we were lost without hope of redemption. Through all the myths and every legend, this is clearly seen...we know we are lost and cannot save ourselves; we know that there is something wrong, that we cannot put right.

But 2000 years ago...everything changed. Life was irrevocably altered. A God became a man, and that incarnate God-man turned the established world of sinners on its ear. Death was robbed of its power over sinful man...because redemption was handed down from Heaven by God Himself, if only man could humble himself to seek salvation.

In short...all hope, all love...every good thing we know in this life, finds its source in the story and promise of Christmas.

Over the years, recognition of this fact has become packaged in the celebration of the Christ-mas, which in turn has become encumbered . We have lost sight of the amazing nature of the story, and classify it as myth and metaphor, belittling its importance by passing it off as unlikely and therefore untrue.

Still, the story of mankind's hope cannot be separated from this celebration. Every year, we celebrate joy in the midst of the death of Winter. We celebrate love and giving in the season when we have, historically, the least to spare.

And yet, the critics are right, in a sense; the world is not perfected yet. Heaven will not happen in this life...our hope lies in the land of God, and our joy waits in eternity. But today, Christmas Day, we celebrate that promise of hope, and the arrival of Emmanuel. God with us...abide with us...Emmanuel. Celebrate, men of earth; the Christ-child came to earth to save us from ourselves!

Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, our Wisdom from on high, Who ordered all things mightily; To us the path of knowledge show, and teach us in her ways to go. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, oh, come, our Lord of might, Who to your tribes on Sinai's height In ancient times gave holy law, In cloud and majesty and awe.Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come O Rod of Jesse's stem, From ev'ry foe deliver them That trust your mighty pow'r to save; Bring them in vict'ry through the grave. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, O Key of David, come, And open wide our heav'nly home; Make safe the way that leads on high, And close the path to misery. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, our Dayspring from on high, And cheer us by your drawing nigh, Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death's dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel!

Oh, come, Desire of nations, bind In one the hearts of all mankind; Oh, bid our sad divisions cease, And be yourself our King of Peace. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel!

Merry Christmas, and may the Joy of Christ lift up your hearts!

Fun new links

http://robertthomasllizo.blogspot.com/
http://bourgeoisburglars.blogspot.com/
http://bourgeois-baby.blogspot.com/

The Body of Christ?

The topic of my most recent class discussion was the importance of Doctrine. Rather than preaching, as I have neither the time nor probably the auidence to warrant it, I offer this reflection and question:

The Doctrinal Statements or Creeds and tenents of our faith are the fundamental truths upon which the entire Christian belief is based...the most basic of these being a belief in God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost, and One Church, One Baptism, One Ressurection, One Life Eternal...

Great words...but what do they mean?

If the above is true, and supporting the above is what qualifies us as Christians...I must wonder, how we can be the Church of Christ if we do not understand the importance of the above? Put another way...why don't we have more Christians arguing for the beauty and truth of our faith based on the existence of a Triune God, and the Incarnate Savior? Our competitors know who and what they are...while we have lost touch with the basic foundations of our faith...and, worse, we don't even realize that we have stopped understanding (or even trying to understand) the words we use to explain our beliefs. How can they even be rightly called our beliefs?

Lord Jesus have mercy on us, the weak and sick representatives of Your body on earth. Raise us to strength, and renew our souls.

The Guy Primp

While enjoying my nearly permanent residence in the University Library, I have had the opportunity to reflect on an interesting fact about my sex: We don't primp...or at least, we don't like people to know we primp. Earth shattering, I know...but there it is.

Why is this something I have noticed, of all places, in the library, you ask? Its simple: the library bathrooms offer a unique insight into this delicate difficulty that we men endure on a day-to-day basis. Allow me to enlighten you, and distract myself for a few moments...

You see, the men's bathrooms have a large mirror right next to the door inside of the facilities. This mirror, it is assumed, is offered to us in order to staighten up before returning to normal society, outside of the facilities. But, you see...we're men. We don't primp. You will not, on average, see a man standing in front of that mirror comfortably primping himself. Oh sure, maybe tucking in his shirt, straightening his tie, or something of that nature...but most of that can be handled at the mirrors in front of the sink. This isolated special mirror has but one purpose...and we men aren't generally comfortable with that purpose. At least, not publically.

You see, unlike the fairer sex, who are portrayed as constantly talking in the midst of primping in nearly every movie...if we must primp, it is not generally a social affair. Which is why, if you were to enter the men's bathroom in the Library, you might open the door tocatch the briefest flash of motion, as the man that was primping himself only moments ago tries to pretend he was stretching and not rearranging his hair. Because, after all, we are men.

We don't primp.

I should add that there is one instance I have experienced which seems to directly challenge this observation: when a group of guys are involved in a play, they generally seem to relax the "Cannot be seen primping" rule. I guess that comes with the wearing of make-up...if that rule can be bent, what rule must remain steadfast?

Sick-o

I have been sick.

See, when I type it, it sounds just fine. If you heard me say it, however, it would sound more like this; "Imb sig. Hack, cough, hack hack cough cough, moan, hack cough...etc"

And I cannot afford time off. For a multitude of reasons...time off isn't an option.

But, you know...when the going gets tough...the tough get going...assuming they aren't dying from some stupid cold that makes their heads feel like it will explode, while acid runs down my throat and my eyes burn...

Sigh.

I hate being sick. I was NOT made to be sick.

On the plus side...my wife got me the coolest beanie in the world. So my ears are warm...and that always makes you feel (somewhat) better.

Hack, Cough, Hack Hack Hack...

LOTR and Grading

I am listening to the soundtrack to the Lord of the Rings as I grade...a million papers...forever and ever and ever and ever...

Its fun, because the music keeps me entertained, focused...and a little inspired. As if, with each pen stroke, I was on some epic journey...

*Music crescendoing in the background*
"Parallel Wording. Parallel Wording!!! For the sake of Gondor and the West, Parallel Wording!!!"

Yes, well. I am going quicker though. So that's good, right?

Congrats to the Dems

Congrats, I feel, are in order.

I will probably go to sleep without knowing *for sure* the fate of the Senate, but I will go ahead and offer my Congratulations for their hard fought win. It seems that my predictions were, well, not on the money this time around. Can't win 'em all.

They won, and we lost. Such is life.

You see...this was an important election. I don't think its sour grapes to say that I believe our country will be in a worse place tomorrow than it was today. No, I cannot deny that I believe that to be the truth.

But this election isn't the final election, whatever that might look like. It was one election. I have not spent much time ranting about it, because it didn't honestly bother me all that much. I suppose that is in part because I believe the sides have already been drawn, and our nation needs to decide if we are beyond saving or not. I don't believe there is a way to "solve" the current conflict, nor do I believe that there is a "way out", as if any one country encapsulated the current conflict.

You see...there is an ideological war being waged against the ideology of our civilization. We can choose to ignore it, but that won't make it go away. We can run from it...but that doesn't mean it won't come looking for us in the dark of the night.

And I think that reality will sink in...even if it costs us something in the present. And, when that reality DOES sink in...the party of action will be recalled to power, just as good old Winnie was called out of near retirement when the politics of appeasement were finally exposed for the brutal failure they are in the late 1930's.

And so...the Democrats control the House, and possibly the Senate.

Alright.

They won with promises of cures through the "Science" of Stem Cell research. They won with promises of "ending" the corruption of politics (this, coming from a party with leaders like Harry Reid, caught in a land scheme just last month...). They won with the promise of solving our international problems by getting us out of Iraq--that "Second Vietnam" they are so eager to denounce. Yes, they "won." And we lost.

They "won", after 4 elections in 6 years with a narrow margin. Not exactly a sweeping "Blue Wave", but who's keeping track?

Heh. I know, this sounds dramatic. Well, sometimes something as silly as politics is dramatic.

The Only Issue

This, posted at Rush's site, is a truly great article by a Democrat. Its, well, just right on.

Do your Civic Duty!

Vote!

I did.

Well, its probably too late to do anything about it if you haven't already...but if you didn't, just remember, you are doing your part to contribute to the Suicide of Thought and the Death of the West.

Yeah. They should make political ads with that tag line. Heh.

The Sanctity of Marriage

There are plenty of jokes that can, and I have no doubt, WILL be made about this.

But still...even as I prepare to make my own little jab ("If these two can't make it, what hope do the rest of us have!??!?!"), I have to reflect...this is the sad state that the sanctity of marriage has sunk to in our society.

It used to be...this would be the end--you'd be tossed out of society for being, well, just bad people. Today, its basically the reason Britney is in the news.

Sigh.