23 November 2003

So long and thanks for all the fish!

It is time for some changes in my life. I will be making my final (for the foreseeable future) trip to Virginia this weekend and also I am ending this blog. So Salaam, Adiós, Ciao, Adieu, Salut, Auf Wiedersehen, Xaire, Aloha, Arrivederci, Sayonara, Alavidha, Proshyai, Zbogom. I am out of here!

*Turns off the lights and locks the doors for one last time*

22 November 2003

Whew! That was tiring!

I just got all of my shopping done for my family, present wise, for the upcoming Nativity season. I like to get it all done before the Nativity Fast, which thankfully for us Orthodox on the Old Calendar in America, starts on Friday, the day after American Thanksgiving! Yay!

21 November 2003

Interesting Days!

From Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:

RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCHES MOVE TOWARD REUNIFICATION
Archbishop Kirill, head of the Moscow Patriarchate's Foreign Relations Department, announced on 19 November that the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad have reached an agreement in principle on the need to unite the two churches, ORT reported. He said that the two churches, which split in 1917, will issue a canonic decision during their respective Metropolitan councils next year. Archbishop Kirill said there are virtually no areas of disagreement remaining between the two churches, "although there remain psychological divisions generated by the Russian Civil War."


But the official ROCOR and MP statements are a little bit different than this. You can read both of them here.

17 November 2003

Ugh!

A stomach flu bug seems to have infested our house. Hence, the lack of updates. In your compassion, please pray.

15 November 2003

Fallen World Update :-(

FCC Approves "F" Word on TV and Radio

The Federal Communications Commission has approved the use of the "F" word for use on any TV show or radio program, ANYTIME DAY OR NIGHT!

The FCC said the word can be used whenever desired except in sexual situations!

That means that real soon you will be watching a sit-com on TV, or news, or any drama or movie-ANY PROGRAM-and it is ok! Hollywood is rejoicing!

Soon, when you are driving your kids to school you will be listening to a song which makes extensive use of the word. Shock jocks such as Howard Stern are now free to use any language, no matter how vile and repugnant, on their radio shows. And use it they will.

No longer will movies shown on TV have to be edited because of language.

Speaking of Interesting Posts ...

According to a post by Lounger at the Euphrosynos Café, Bishop Gabriel has told people that they can only commune at TOC churches and not at JP parishes, except at the Holy Sepulcher. Very interesting!

Step One: Pour Gasoline ...

I posted a link on a few lists toward a post on my board titled, Address to ROCA, by Bishop Gregory in order to promote discussion there. (And as Lounger says, maybe they will buy some of the Nativity ornaments we have for sale in the Cafe store! LOL!) Somehow I think this may be like pouring gas on the floor and sending in a bunch of people with matches in to see how quick it turns in to a flame war. LOL! Ought to be interesting!

14 November 2003

Top Ten Science Scams

So-called scientific "truths" are sometimes nothing more than science fiction. Read the list at The Guardian about scientists who fooled the world with their lies.

13 November 2003

Round Foreheads

I remember that during the summer after I graduated from high school, my favorite movie was Pump Up the Volume. Of course part of that reason was the beautiful costarring actress, Samantha Mathis. I remember someone once asked me why I found her attractive and it seems to be a reason that hold until this day. She was not only pale (I have always preferred alabaster skin to any sort of tan) but also had a round forehead, which I find appealing. The only think she did not have going for her was platinum blonde hair. (I guess I just do not like pigment in girls, LOL!)

I never cared for flat foreheads and always liked them round. Looking back it was probably from my high school years of dating punk/new wave girls that had various shaved hairstyles and one would see how the forehead matched with the flow of the entire head.

Although it is hard to tell from the pictures below, this gives you an idea of what Samantha Mathis' somewhat round forehead looks like:
middle

Let it blow, let it blow, let it blow!

I do not know how many leaf storms I drove through today. There were trees signs down all over the place today. Sustaining winds of 30-40 mph with gusts of 60 mph! What a day to be traveling all over this windblown state!

12 November 2003

Sorry ...

No additional entries today. Too busy! :-(

Wow! Look at that economy grow!

Unemployment down, sales up in almost every sector, every report in the last 3 weeks shows the economy growing more than expected. Can the liberals and other Bush-haters continue to spin that the economy is in trouble? Looks like we are well on our way out of the Clinton economical mess. Yay!

11 November 2003

Veterans Day

We salute you veterans. Thank you for serving and protecting our country and our freedoms. We all owe you.

10 November 2003

Miracle or Medical Mistake?

Child pronounced dead, later revived

Forty minutes after a toddler found face down in a swimming pool was declared dead at a hospital, a police investigator examining the body noticed the little girl was breathing. Doctors who rushed to the room Friday were able to revive 20-month-old Mackayala Jespersen, and Saturday morning, the little girl was in critical condition but alive, Sgt. Sean Fares said.

Hypocrite!

“They used me as a way to symbolize all this stuff,” Jessica Lynch said in an interview. “It hurt in a way,” she said.

       She also said there was no reason for her rescue from an Iraqi hospital to be filmed. “It’s wrong,” she said.


Of course she says this all while appearing on various interview shows, shilling her new book and made-for-TV movie. If it was wrong for the military to do this, and I do not agree with Lynch here, then it is even more wrong for her to capitalize on the military's so-called exploitation of her!

08 November 2003

Lunar Eclipse!

Anastasia saw her first full lunar eclipse tonight. As she said, "Oooh that's pretty!" Glorious are Thy wonders oh Master, Christ our True God!

Another sign of growing up

My daughter has graduated to ordering Extra Value Meals, and being able to eat it all, rather than the bigger Kids/Happy Meals: Mighty/Big Kids Meals. Another benchmark in life. :-D

07 November 2003

Whew! Part Deux!

I finished one major project at work today and have 1 massively major one to go as well as a smaller project left. Then for my side work I have 2 decent sized updates I need to get done this weekend. I am tuckered out!

06 November 2003

Whew! That was tiring!

I just updated my résumè and daily search agents CareerBuilder.com, Monster.com and HotJobs.com. Whew! What a lot of work. I also applied to a few different places. As always, prayers are appreciated! :-D

05 November 2003

Oh Goody!

In my latest job search from CareerBuilder.com I found a job opening as an Innkeeper at a Hotel that I like a lot! I wrote the owner about it tonight and hope to get the details soon. Hopefully it is something that could work out for me! Please, if you would, say a little prayer or two for me to Saint Xenia on Saint Petersburg for this intention.

Hump Day Already?

With Anastasia just getting back to school today and my working from home, today feels more like a Monday than a Wednesday!

04 November 2003

Good News and Bad News

Good News: I voted and got my car back!

Bad News: When I got it the headlights did not work!

Good News: The shop fixed that while I waited!

Bad News: I noticed later that now my brights do not work! LOL!

Good News: Yesterday's therapy and chiropractic helped me out.

Bad News: My back has not improved as much as we hoped and I am back to visiting twice a week again. :-(

Good News: People like my redesign of The Euphrosynos Café! Yay!

I am off ..

... to go return the rental, pick up my car and go vote. All with the sniffle bug en-tow. But at least she is no longer as nauseous or battling a pounding headache. Thank you for the prayers. Tomorrow she returns to school. No more sleeping all day for her!

03 November 2003

Election Day!

In the United States of America, tomorrow is Election Day, so all you Orthodox Christians, go out and vote please!

My Car

It is done. I pick it up in the morning! Yay!

The 24 hour tree

This morning the tree in my yard had turned bright yellow. This evening when I returned from physical therapy and chiropractic sessions, almost all the leaves had fallen! And today it got in to the 70's!

02 November 2003

Good News!

I took apart my heating pad, which was previously broken and now it is working again! Oh glorious heat, how my aching muscles have missed you so! :-D

Update on Anastasia

Well she is in bed again, after sleeping until almost noon. Looks like I may be working from home tomorrow unless she get much better. Thank you for your prayers!

When you are still up and it is almost 4 ...

... do you just forget about going to sleep or try to get a few winks in before your daughter wakes up sick again? I am still hoping somehow she gets better when she wakes up so we can make it to Divine Liturgy. As slim of a chance as that seems right now.

Prayer Request

My daughter just got up again as she has a cold that is making it very had to breathe along with an upset stomach and a sore throat. If you would, at Divine Liturgy and at home, please pray that Anastasia gets better soon.

30 October 2003

Why the window?

I found out today that when they were taking the back end off my car, they found a chunk that was knocked out. It was a miracle that it had not shattered they said, as with a back window having that damage, a hard wind and some small rocks it could have shattered in a million pieces. That is what happened when they took it out. Praised be God that it did not happen when Anastasia was in the back seat!

This is too funny!

Ann Coulter Talking Action Figure

Push the button on the figure, and you'll hear such "Coulterisms" as:

  • "Liberals can't just come out and say they want to take more of our money, kill babies, and discriminate on the basis of race."

  • "At least when right-wingers rant, there's a point."

  • "Swing voters are more appropriately known as the 'idiot voters' because they have no set of philosophical principles. By the age of fourteen, you're either a Conservative or a Liberal if you have an IQ above a toaster."

  • "Liberals hate America, they hate flag-wavers, they hate abortion opponents, they hate all religions except Islam, post 9/11. Even Islamic terrorists don't hate America like Liberals do. They don't have the energy. If they had that much energy, they'd have indoor plumbing by now."
  • 29 October 2003

    Microsoft Employee gets fired For Blogging!

    No, really, go read about it here! :-o

    Oookay ...

    So I call up the auto shop since they asked me to call and check up today, and I am told they are putting a window in the car now and to call back tomorrow. The only odd thing about this is that I DID NOT HAVE A BROKEN WINDOW! LOL! Maybe they broke it trying to pry my mangled trunk off of the frame? The said it was amazing that the back window did not break in the accident, after all. LOL!

    More Orthodox Christian Humor from the Onion Dome

    Moscow Patriarch's Warning: Russian "Mail-Order Brides" May Not Be Orthodox

    In a recent anouncement to Orthodox bachelors of North America, His Holiness FEOFAN, Metropolitan of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod and All the Russias Besides, warned that not all Russian women seeking to come to North America as "mail-order brides" are necessarily Orthodox Christians.

    "Better you should deal direct with certified Russian matchmakers," explained His Holiness. "Please to see Russian Matchmaker website for details. We were being very sad if North American Orthodox bachelor sent away for wife, and got atheist or even Baptist. Is not possible being too careful."

    Torrential Rain Storms + Lots of Fallen Leaves =

    Clogged drains, flooding and hydro-planing. Not fun!

    28 October 2003

    French government forsees preemptive nuclear attacks!

    The French government has outlined possible plans for preemptive nuclear attacks on rogue nations and terrorist organizations. Were they not, just a year ago, attacking us for doing the same minus the nukes?

    I guess France was not the anti-war saviours that peaceniks had championed them as!

    More fire pictures!



    Read prayer requests here.

    27 October 2003

    According to the Foilage Network ...

    This week is the peak period for beautiful autumn leaves changing in West Virginia. Looks like my trip was a little too early! LOL!

    Fire!



    FBI: al-Qaeda detainee spoke of fire plot

    Links

    A few people have wondered why my links to the left are in the order they are. Some have read an importance ranking by the list or their being grouped by site type. Actually it is more simple than either of those ideas: I just have the shortest name on top down to the longest name on bottom. I used to have it the other way, but when redesigning the blog I reversed it for kicks. Sorry to not have any deeper meaning to my linkage list order! LOL!

    Night of the Panther Redux

    I was just thinking how amazing it was, that in a large mall, the line to buy Mac OS X 10.3 Panther was wrapped around past the mid-point of the mall! I took my friend, who is our IT guy at work. He deals with Windows at work and runs both Linux and Windows at home and was very impressed by Panther. Everything was 10% off, so I wish I had the money to buy a new Mac or an 40GB iPod! :-D

    I hate doctor's offices!

    There always seem to be magazines of dubious natures laying around. Today it was the latest copy of GQ or Esquire with nude photos of Brittany Spears. Like I needed to see that! Ugh! So, seeing that I proceeded to bury it under all the other magazines in hopes that no one else accidentally comes upon it either!

    Good News and Bad News!

    First the Good News: Starting next week, I will only visit the chiropractor and therapist once a week! I still have to take it easy, but my recovery progresses!

    Now the Bad News: My car is not going to be done until Friday. :-(

    26 October 2003

    I just do not get Cyprianism!

    According to Cyprianism (The Ecclesiology of Metropolitan Cyprian's True Orthodox Church of Greece), the World Orthodox/New Calendarist Orthodox Churches are heretical, but still have grace in their mysteries. How can this be so if the fathers of the Church said that a heretic is cut of from both the truth and the grace of the Church? It seems to me that Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia/Russian Orthodox Church Abroad no longer teach that the World Orthodox/New Calendarist Orthodox groups are heretical. Did the ROCOR/ROCA perhaps agree with Cyprianism when they first chose to come in to communion with the Cyprian True Orthodox Church and have since changed?

    25 October 2003

    Remember to fall back!

    At 2 a.m. (the first time!) those of us that have to suffer through Daylight Savings Time get a reprieve and should set our clocks back one hour. Enjoy that extra hour's sleep in the morning before the 3rd and 6th Hours and Divine Liturgy all you Orthodox Christians with a church nearby! :-D

    Lightning struck set of THE PASSION twice!

    According to CNN the actor, James Caviezel, who played Christ in the movie even was struck by lighting during the filming. Does anybody else get the feeling that maybe, just possibly, God did not want this film be made? LOL!(You know there are canons against Orthodox Christians being actors or viewing the theatre)

    24 October 2003

    Tonight is the night ...

    Tonight is the Night of the Panther! I, along with some friends and my daughter, will be there from 6 p.m. (When the first presentation begins) until 8 p.m. (when Mac OS 10.3 goes on sale) at least! I look forward to installing Panther on my Mac when I get home! Woo-hoo!

    Ahhhh!

    11 hours of sleep. That, along with Excedrin PM will cure a migraine indeed!

    23 October 2003

    Figures!

    The day my back is feeling the effects of the weather, my heating pad dies on me! :-(

    Argh! >:-(

    My car will not be done until Monday it seems. Ugh!

    Peaked

    In my area, it seems that the leaf changing peaked yesterday as a lot more leaves look dead today after the freeze last night. Oh well, it was neat while it lasted!

    Heater ... ON!

    Monday night I actually had Anastasia turn on the heater for the first time this season, but only up to 60. Last night, with the more severe cold and rain we finally turned it up to a comfortable 65. I find that these temperature changes really can be felt in my back. So it has a heating pad night again like Monday night was. Personally I prefer it cold but have been advised to not allow myself to get cold or this could bring on cramping in the back.

    21 October 2003

    I hate ...

    Heartburn! Ow! >:-(

    Pushing

    Sometimes people think that they can push me to do their will. But for me, this only pushes me away from them and makes me want to NOT do what they want. It is kind of like a picture I have hung up on one of the inner windows of my office. There is a man in a computer chair with logs on fire. Under the picture it says, "There is a better way to motivate staff." LOL!

    Progress!

    I have reached a new milestone in my physical therapy and chiropractic treatment schedule. I now only have to go twice a week! Yay! Plus I am finding it easier to stand for longer periods of time. In Orthodoxy we do not use pews but stand for Divine Liturgy and most of Vespers and Matins, so this is very good for me. Perhaps within a week or so I can return to going to both Vigil, Hours and Liturgy on the weekends. Yay!

    Ecumenism Class at Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary :-o

    Church History 372 (472, 572)
    Credits: 2 or 3 (3) credits / Professor John Erickson

    Orthodoxy and ecumenism. Historical and canonical perspectives: changing perceptions of schism and heresy in the early Church. Chalcedonian-Non-Chalcedonian relations: an example of estrangement and reconciliation. Orthodox-Anglican relations and the beginnings of modern ecumenism. The modern ecumenical movement: Life and Work, Faith and Order. Councils of churches. The Roman Catholic Church and the ecumenical movement. Current Orthodox-Catholic dialogue. Contemporary Orthodox critiques of the ecumenical movement.

    And now for a nicer picture. :-D


    After that horrible image below, I wanted a better image to headline my blog entries for the day. So here is Ann Coulter reading the conservative newspaper of the University in North Carolina, Carolina Review. I am blessed to have a few friends on the staff of that fine periodical. She visited them recently for a very small sum. Conservative groups are actually growing on college campuses, even at Berkley. This is a good sign for the political future of the United States of America.

    If you had any doubts that "Monastery Icons" were pagans ...

    Here is some of their so-called "icons" from a pagan catalogue I got in the mail yesterday. >:-( They claim to be Syrian Orthodox these days, and most of their customers are Byzantine or Latin Roman Catholics, but just check this out:



    If you want to read more about these pagans and how their "icons" are not truly icons at all, here.

    Great finds!

    During my trip, we ended up visiting and old library that was selling books. I ended up getting a very old copy of The Complete Works of Shakespeare, along with some other books, for only $1 each! What a bargain!

    Legislature acts to save Schiavo!

    Praised be God!

    20 October 2003

    Terri Schiavo wants to live! State & her husband wants to murder her!

    Woman to be murdered by state wants to live!

    I have been following this state-ordered murder of this woman for some time. It is sickening and sad. Thank God that Glenn Beck has helped make people know about it over the last few years! It is just too sad that so few people care. :-(

    I am home!

    Just got home! It was a good vacation, although south of PA there was very little color in the leaves other than green and brown.

    While on the trip, we stopped at the President Woodrow Wilson Museum, but got there too late as the last tour was at 4 p.m. and we got there at a quarter to 5. We did visit the country's largest Confederate cemetery which was both educational and beautiful. (Joe Zollars would have loved this! :-D) There is even a grave with a Russian Orthodox cross on it! Who knew there was such a thing as "OrthoDixie" during the Civil War? At least he fought on the right side! :-D

    On the way home I say something that is totally southern hick joke fodder, as a guy in a van pulled over and started quartering out and skinning some fresh roadkill! LOL! I do not think I will ever forget seeing that!

    We took a new route back which avoids the major cities and their resulting gridlock. I think next time I make this trip, I will take that route, going North up CT Route 34 to I-84 East and then down Interstate 80. It is further in distance, but faster over all.

    Well, time for my heating pad to go on and for me to lie down. Thank you to all that prayed for us on this trip!

    17 October 2003

    Pray for us!

    Well we are about to take off for our autumn changing-leaf viewing vacation. We will go from Connecticut to Virginia and hopefully see hundreds of different kinds of trees. Please pray for us to have a safe trip and for this little rental car to make it! :-D

    16 October 2003

    I hate that!

    I just put a pizza in the oven because I am really hungry and then not even 20 minutes later I get dead tired and only want to sleep. WTH?

    Wow, Bush must have had a really good speech to the UN!

    From Fox News:

    "UNITED NATIONS — The United States is poised for victory at the U.N. Security Council (search) as its resolution on the reconstruction of Iraq is expected to get unanimous support.

    Syria, which was expected to abstain from the vote Thursday morning, instead will back the measure, a U.N. official told The Associated Press. Earlier in the day, Germany, France and Russia -- the leading opponents to the U.S.-led war in Iraq -- said they will vote in favor of the resolution.

    The resolution authorizes a multinational force under U.S. command and calls for troop contributions from other countries. Plus, it seeks "substantial pledges" from the 191 U.N. member states at a donors conference in Madrid, Spain, on Oct. 23-24."


    The USA getting Germany, France and Russia on her side and then Syria? Wow, that is amazing!

    New Blog Style

    I hope you like the new digs. The old look was just top heavy, so I went with something new and something orange.

    Best Snack Packs Ever!

    I recently bought some Hummus & Pita Athenos Travelers and boy are they a great snack! The Roasted Garlic flavored Hummus is my favorite, but there are a lot of varieties. Not only does it taste good, but it is fasting food too! Yay!

    15 October 2003

    Tut, tut, looks like wind.

    Oh the weather outside is frightful,
    but in here its quite delightful,
    so as long as those winds will blow,
    let it blow, let it blow, let it blow!
    *winds blows power out again*

    Car Update

    Car parts finally came in yesterday. Will be finished next week. Wednesday if I am lucky, more like Friday. Argh! :-(

    14 October 2003

    One of those days, nay, weeks ...

    Its been a rough week for a couple of reasons, but finding out that Anastasia still is not doing all her work in school and the parts to my car are still not in has only made today worse. (I was supposed to get my car back today BTW!) So this weekend, to get away from the stress of life, we are going to cruise up and down the Atlantic Ocean and see the various kinds of trees with their changing colors and falling leaves. The autumn leaves is very metaphorical to life I think. We are going to leave Friday morning since Anastasia has the day off and return sometime Monday. Unfortunately we will probably be in that tiny rental car of mine. >:-( I think I will print off a few resumes and see if I can find a new job while on the road trip. Please pray for us!

    Oops!

    Time to go to sleep!

    13 October 2003

    OCnet gets a new banner!

    With all the joke banners of late, I decided to remake the serious OCnet Forum banner, since I was the creator of both the original OCnet logo and the joke ones.

    Here it is:

    11 October 2003

    No one expects the Slavic Inquisition!

    "Our chief weapon is surprise ...
    surprise and fear ...
    fear and surprise ....

    Our two weapons are fear and surprise ...
    and ruthless efficiency ....

    Our three weapons are fear, surprise, and ruthless efficiency ...
    and an almost fanatical devotion to the Bishop ....

    Our four ...
    no ...

    Amongst our weapons ...

    Amongst our weaponry ...
    are such elements as fear, surprise ...

    I'll come in again."


    I think these things are always supposed to come in threes! At least thats the way the Spanish Cardinals did it. :-P

    Orthodox Islam Dot Net?

    Look what happened to the OCnet forum!



    The blood stains are fitting for Islam however. :-D

    10 October 2003

    Tag!

    You are it!

    An Excerpt From The Onion Dome

    Visit The Onion Dome for more funny stories like this:

    Ohio Online Orthodox Forum Attracts Retired World Wrestling Star

    Former World Wrestling Entertainment star Nick "The Russianator" Bosovich has decided to become Orthodox, based on his experiences on the Ohio Online Orthodox Forum (OOOF). "I used to think Orthodoxy was all old ladies with wool rosaries," explains Bosovich, "Until I realized that those old ladies have canes and they hit people with 'em. Now that's my kinda religion! Then I hooked up with this Ohio Online thing, and these people don't hold no punches! Lemme tell ya, smashin' a chair over somebody's head ain't nothin' compared to what goes on on that there Ohio Forum. I ain't never seen such name-callin', nose-thumbin', face-slappin' and eye-pokin' religion in any church before. Sign me up! This Orthodoxy stuff is for me! Arrrrrgh!"

    Figures!

    I was enjoying my first pain-free day since the car accident and then as I open up my junk mail, I get a huge paper cut. Owww! :-(

    09 October 2003

    OrthodoxJudaism.net???

    So early today I am lurking at OCNet and look at what I found. The Jews have not only taken over the news media and Hollywood, but OCnet too! :-P LOL!

    10 Little Orthodox

    Ten Little Orthodox came to church all the time;
    One fell out with the priest, then there were nine.

    Nine Little Orthodox stayed up late;
    One overslept on Sunday, then there were eight.

    Eight Little Orthodox intent on Heaven;
    One took the low road, then there were seven.

    Seven Little Orthodox, chirping like chicks;
    One didn't like the singing, then there were six.

    Six Little Orthodox seemed very much alive;
    One took a vacation, then there were five.

    Five Little Orthodox pulling for Heaven's shore;
    One stopped to take a rest, then there were four.

    Four Little Orthodox each as busy as a bee;
    One had his feelings hurt, then there were three.

    Three Little Orthodox couldn't decide what to do;
    One couldn't have his way, then there were two.

    Two Little Orthodox each brought one more;
    Now don't you see, two plus two equals four.

    Four Little Orthodox worked early and late;
    Each brought one, now there were eight.

    Eight Little Orthodox if they double as before;
    In just seven Sundays, we have one thousand twenty
    four.

    -Author Unknown

    Yeah.

    uh huh, uh huh, uh huh, Yeah.

    08 October 2003

    Finally!

    The ads on the blog are back to Orthodox Christian ads! Yay!

    07 October 2003

    I apologize!

    I found out tonight that I may have unintentionally offended some people that I care about with one of my earliest blog entries and have deleted it and am publicly apologizing and asking their forgiveness. I am very sorry. While I am at it, it seems a proper time to ask forgiveness of anyone this blog may have unintentionally offended.

    Random memories from Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary ...

    Orthodox Christian Rock is just as bad, if not worse than the worst of Protestant or Roman Catholic "Christian Rock". Yuck!

    I am unsure if there were lots of Roman Catholic clergy in attendance or if they OCA and Antiochian priests and bishops, since there were a lot of short haired, clean shaven faces in clerical suits minus pectoral crosses on campus.

    Observations

    Society is depraved.

    One can see hordes of white trash at sports entertainment venues.

    Leaving during the main event is a good way to avoid bad traffic.

    Pepsi seems to be changing the shape of their cans slightly.

    Some people never get the clue that forwarding a message will not do anything special.

    It is sad when you have to put relatives on your spam block list.

    06 October 2003

    Good Site.

    What else needs to be said?

    Death by cracker!

    No, the title has nothing to do with this posting, just a random insane rambling.

    Yesterday was a painful day. Did a Reader's Service but was only able to handle reading 2 Gospels instead of the full 4 and I read kind of fast. I also could not stand the whole time for it or my morning and evening prayer rule.

    Today I am still sore, but the big cushy chairs at work provide relief. Most of my day yesterday revolved around laying on a heating pad, not even getting up to answer the phone more times than not. My physical therapist & chiropractor has today off because of the Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur, so no therapy until tomorrow and then I get 2 days of therapy in a row!

    I have won tickets to a sports-entertainment event tonight, so hopefully the chair are comfortable there too!

    04 October 2003

    Ow! Ow! Ow!

    The drive to Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary along with all the walking up and down hills is causing me major hurt now, so please pray for me. I could not even stand up for all of my evening prayers. :-(

    Funny Things ...

    At Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, kids got free t-shirts. Ksenia said they only had one size and I said that was fine. The thing reaches to Anastasia's ankles and wrists! LOL! It looked like a dress, as it almost completely covered the one she was wearing!

    Later, Anastasios was the cashier when I bought my tapes and Vicki asked if I would dare trust a New Calendarist's addition. I just told them I would subtract 13 from whatever number he came up with. :-P

    Also, it seems that after my visit, the home page of all of Saint Vladimir's library computers are now http://www.EuphrosynosCafe.com! I wonder how that could have possibly happened? LOL!

    My day at Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary

    Today I went to Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary for their annual Education Day and Book Sale. While there I ran in to TonyS, Vicki, Ksenia and Anastasios from the OCnet, as well as a few people from my parish, including my Godfather. Neither one of us knew the other was going to be there!

    We got there quite late, however, as the directions on the seminary page were bad, leading us to an exit that was closed due to construction. Luckily, I had the foresight to also bring Map Blast directions. So we back tracked and found it after getting lost a time or two. :-o

    While there, we got pierogies/pyrohys/pyrogies (is there a wrong way to spell it?) and kielbasa. Yummy! Also, since there was a book sale, I bought The Ladder of Divine Ascent, The Mystagogy of the Holy Spirit, Father Arseny, 1893-1973: Priest, Prisoner, Spiritual Father on tape and The Way of a Pilgrim: And the Pilgrim Continues His Way on tape as well.

    I did not know it, but in reading the front of my new books, I found out that my Godfather, Joachim Ronald Wertz, actually translated the part by Father Justin Popvich/Popovich of The Mystagogy of the Holy Spirit! Sometimes it is a small, small world after all.

    Before we left, we got a tour of Anastasios' abode, which was pretty nice married seminarian living for only $650 a month.

    On our way home we started listening to the Way of the Pilgrim which got Anastasia excited about reading the book, so right now, that is what she is doing! Yay! :-D

    But now I am quite sore from the driving and walking. I hope I am able to go to Divine Liturgy tomorrow. If not, it may end up being another Reader's Service day!

    Russian Orthodox Ads?

    The advertisements are still not Russian Orthodox or Greek Orthodoxy ads. I mean why not advertise something for Orthodoxy Christianity on this blog?

    I know, I know, I spoke so much about something else, that it sees those as the key words still. :-/

    But at least at last look the related searches are for Saint Duchess Martyr Anastasia Romanov and Saint Tsar Martyr Nicholas Romanov II! Gee I woder how that happened? ;-) At least the related searches are Russian Orthodox I guess! :-D

    No Go.

    Bummer! Wal-Mart did not have an opening for me this time, but is keeping my application on file. So it is back to putting eggs in other baskets as I find them. Please pray I find one.

    03 October 2003

    My car

    It is still at the shop, now on a frame machine. The insurance guy is going to go back and look at the frame and cut me another check and then the auto show will start the work. It will take about 2 weeks from Monday to get it all done. So for now I am stuck in the rental.

    I am a Canon Breaker! :-o

    I found out today that my doctor is a Jew. That is technically against the Canons in the Rudder. :-o

    02 October 2003

    Trash Day!

    I hear the garbage truck! Someone gather the trash quickly!

    01 October 2003

    Part Two: The Sequel :-p

    Here is a cartoon I drew a while back that proved to be quite popular in some circles:


    And here is the oft-demanded sequel that I was recently inspired to draw:


    Yes, those round things are supposed to be air bubble escaping from the hull of the ship! :-D

    Finally!

    After a while working on this church web site, which was an enjoyable job, it is now live.

    Father Dionysi has allowed me to reconstruct the web site for his parish, Saint Basil of Kineshma. If you would like to look at the new design I came up with, it can be seen at http://SaintBasilChurch.org.

    Touching Story

    Last Saturday we had Reader's Services as home and I read from The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church, September Volume and my daughter got excited about wanting to go to Jerusalem on the feast day next year and possibly get a piece of the True Cross.

    Later she thought about it and said if we could go and only get one piece, while it would be great to have a piece, she would give it to her friend with seizures, Helen (who you can read about here), since she really needs it and we do not. It is moments like this that really makes you realize the blessing of the selflessness of children.

    29 September 2003

    Finally!

    I was able to purchase an Apostolos and a Evangelion and they arrived today. These books are super-helpful for Reader's Services. However, their full names are are huge!

    The Evangelion's title is The Evangelion: A Lectionary of Anthological Texts taken from the Four Gospels as They are Read in the Divine Services of the Holy Orthodox Church for the Entire Liturgical Year for Both Greek and Slavonic Usages.

    The Apostolos' title is The Apostolos: A Lectionary of Anthological Texts taken from The Acts of the Holy Apostles and the 21 Epistles of the Holy Apostles as They are Read in the Divine Services of the Holy Orthodox Church, with the Antiphons, Prokeimena, Alleluaria, Enterance Hymns, and Communion Hymns for the Entire Liturgical Year for Both Greek and Slavonic Usages.

    Told you they were huge! LOL!

    Ow! Ow! Ow!

    Yesterday I stood for most of Liturgy, that for some reason I am unsure of, minus half the readings and homily, was almost all in Slavonic. Then I sat in the uncomfortable-at-this-time-in-my-life wooden chairs through trapeza and the high school Religion class that I sit in on. I am paying for it all today. One of my worse days. Ow!

    I had something to say ...

    ... but I seem to have forgotten it! :-o

    28 September 2003

    Russian Orthodox Keywords

    It appears that I cannot get the pain ads to go away for the much-preferred Russian Orthodox ads, so here we go with some extreme measures ...

    Free Russian Orthodox Church
    True Orthodox Church of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
    Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece
    Catacomb Tikhonite Church of Russia
    Catacomb Josephite Church of Russia
    Greek Old Calendar Orthodox Church
    Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church
    Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
    Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
    Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church
    Greek Old Calendar Orthodox Church
    Catacomb Josephite Church of Russia
    Catacomb Tikhonite Church of Russia
    Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
    True Orthodox Church of Greece
    Free Russian Orthodox Church
    Free Russian Orthodox Church
    True Orthodox Church of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
    Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece
    Catacomb Tikhonite Church of Russia
    Catacomb Josephite Church of Russia
    Greek Old Calendar Orthodox Church
    Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church
    Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
    Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
    Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church
    Greek Old Calendar Orthodox Church
    Catacomb Josephite Church of Russia
    Catacomb Tikhonite Church of Russia
    Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
    True Orthodox Church of Greece
    Free Russian Orthodox Church
    Free Russian Orthodox Church
    True Orthodox Church of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
    Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece
    Catacomb Tikhonite Church of Russia
    Catacomb Josephite Church of Russia
    Greek Old Calendar Orthodox Church
    Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church
    Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
    Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
    Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church
    Greek Old Calendar Orthodox Church
    Catacomb Josephite Church of Russia
    Catacomb Tikhonite Church of Russia
    Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
    True Orthodox Church of Greece
    Free Russian Orthodox Church
    Free Russian Orthodox Church
    True Orthodox Church of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
    Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece
    Catacomb Tikhonite Church of Russia
    Catacomb Josephite Church of Russia
    Greek Old Calendar Orthodox Church
    Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church
    Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
    Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
    Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church
    Greek Old Calendar Orthodox Church
    Catacomb Josephite Church of Russia
    Catacomb Tikhonite Church of Russia
    Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
    True Orthodox Church of Greece
    Free Russian Orthodox Church
    Free Russian Orthodox Church
    True Orthodox Church of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
    Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece
    Catacomb Tikhonite Church of Russia
    Catacomb Josephite Church of Russia
    Greek Old Calendar Orthodox Church
    Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church
    Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
    Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
    Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church
    Greek Old Calendar Orthodox Church
    Catacomb Josephite Church of Russia
    Catacomb Tikhonite Church of Russia
    Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
    True Orthodox Church of Greece
    Free Russian Orthodox Church
    Free Russian Orthodox Church
    True Orthodox Church of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
    Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece
    Catacomb Tikhonite Church of Russia
    Catacomb Josephite Church of Russia
    Greek Old Calendar Orthodox Church
    Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church
    Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
    Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
    Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church
    Greek Old Calendar Orthodox Church
    Catacomb Josephite Church of Russia
    Catacomb Tikhonite Church of Russia
    Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
    True Orthodox Church of Greece
    Free Russian Orthodox Church
    Free Russian Orthodox Church
    True Orthodox Church of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
    Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece
    Catacomb Tikhonite Church of Russia
    Catacomb Josephite Church of Russia
    Greek Old Calendar Orthodox Church
    Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church
    Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
    Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
    Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church
    Greek Old Calendar Orthodox Church
    Catacomb Josephite Church of Russia
    Catacomb Tikhonite Church of Russia
    Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
    True Orthodox Church of Greece
    Free Russian Orthodox Church

    We will have to see if that works. It might take until tomorrow however.

    27 September 2003

    Finally!

    I have received some oil of Saint John of Shanghai and San Francisco today. I am pretty excited to have received it. Perhaps it will cure me of my back and neck pain. I just need to learn the proper application and prayers to be said when it is put on.

    Reader's Service Complete!

    I love doing these! Normally after the Readers service I will sit on the couch and read a sermon from The One Thing Needful but I was shocked to find that there was no Exaltation of the Holy Cross homily! So instead we do what I usually do second, and read from the Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church, September Volume. Anastasia loved the story of Saint Helen and the Exaltation of the Holy Cross so much that she wants us to go to Jerusalem next year for the feast day! LOL! As if I could afford that!

    26 September 2003

    We want ads! Russian Orthodox ads! ;-)

    The blog ads* are still currently about things involving car accidents on the legal and medical sides. I prefer it when they run Russian Orthodox ads such as ads for a Radio Show on Russian Orthodoxy or and ad for Greek orthodox Icons from Greece and such.

    *Actually, I normally do not see them as I use Safari (based on the KHTML Linux browser, Konqueror) as my primary browser and Mozilla as my secondary. Internet Explorer is used only as a last resort or to check sites I design in every major browser including Opera and OmniWeb.

    Finally!

    It came sooner than I thought! Saturday is the Feast day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, one of the major feasts (and also a fast day) of the Orthodox Church. However, my back cannot deal with standing for 2 liturgies, 2 days in a row yet so with the blessing of my parish priest I am staying home and doing Reader's Services. I love doing these and am all prepared with my Unabbreviated Horologion/Book of the Hours, my Orthodox New Testament Evangelistarion (The Holy Gospels) and my Orthodox New Testament Praxapostolos (Acts, Epistles, and Revelation) laid out, open to or bookmarked at the proper readings, at my family icon corner bookshelf. Soon I will have an Orthodox New Testament Evangelion (Gospel Lectionary) and an Orthodox New Testament Apostolos (Epistle Lectionary) as the Holy Apostles Convent has them on sale for only $50!

    Ugh!

    Another sore back day. :-( I just want to go home and lay down with my heating pad on.

    25 September 2003

    Waiting ...

    ... -1 ... :-p

    Rental Cars Bite!

    I normally drive a Hyundai Elantra but my rental car is a tiny Hyundai Accent with a tiny engine that does not like hills. I admit that I am spoiled, as having to lock and unlock doors as well as roll windows up and down manually is a major pain for me.

    24 September 2003

    Finally!

    After over 2 weeks, my car is in the shop for the other company's estimate (they have to take the back end off to see all the damage) and I have a rental! About time!

    Waiting ...

    ... 0 ...

    23 September 2003

    Waiting ...

    ... 1 ...

    Yummy!

    The Strawberry Fruit Coolatta from Dunkin' Donuts is a wonderful thing! Much better than the quite tart lemonade Coolattas that I usually get! I will have to try the new Orange Mango Coolatta next.

    22 September 2003

    Pray! Pray! Pray!

    The Hurricane has probably slowed the process, but please keep praying on this job I have applied for please!

    Waiting ...

    ... 2 ...

    Charlie Horses ...

    ... are the worst way to wake up in the morning! >:-(

    This Weekend

    Saturday was the first day I actually can say I felt "good". Not 100% as I will not be 100% for a long time, but good. So I helped with laundry and helped clean up the kitchen. On Sunday due to over doing it and lengthy standing at Liturgy I was in pain all day. Something to be learned.

    19 September 2003

    Blog Vacation

    I am going to try and relax over the weekend, so unless something comes up, there will not be a new blog entry until Monday. See you then!

    From http://EuphrosynosCafe.com/forum/

    Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer are in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe and the biran fguiers it out aynawy.

    Waiting ...

    ... 3 ...

    18 September 2003

    Hurricane Isabel Updates

  • The eye of the storm is right on the North Carolina-Virginia border now.

  • Over 1 million people are without power.

  • At least one hotel in Kill Devil Hills, NC has collapsed into the ocean.

  • Virginia Beach has lost over half of its pier.

  • Airlines have cancelled nearly 2,000 flights.

  • North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley said about people refusing to follow the mandatory evacuation, "Every person has an inalienable right to make a fool of themselves and some of them want to exercise that right during a hurricane."

  • Pray!

    Waiting ...

    ... 4 ...

    17 September 2003

    Ooh look! Vegan Egg replacer!

    Has anyone actually ever tried Ener-G-Egg-Replacer? Kudos to Jack Miller of As the Apple Turns for pointing us to this fine fasting recipe egg substitute!

    Isabel!


    :-o

    Another Al-Quesda terrorist attack in America today?

    They report, you decide! :-)

    Hehe!

    Today my chiropractor, after doing a new position of chiropractic where I am on my side and he acts like he is going to rip me in half bringing my shoulder one way and my legs another, asked if I was from Pennsylvania Dutch country because of my beard. He said it makes me look very intellectual. Interesting. LOL!

    Oops, I totally forgot about my waiting ...

    ... so let us start over where I left off, so again ...


    ... 5 ...

    16 September 2003

    Stupid Liberal Things That Make Me Mad!

    1. The 9th Circuit Court agrees with the NAACP that blacks and hispanics are too stupid to understand punch card voting, so the system is unconstitutional. The Democrats celebrate. When will blacks realize that the racist party is the Democrats? If the system is unconstitutional, then this means that Gray Davis is not constitutionally the governor since it was an unconstitutional practice, right?

    2. Some people are allergic to peanuts, so my daughter cannot take peanuts or a peanut butter sandwich to school. I am sure there are people allergic to jelly, to bologna, to cheese, to cotton, why are these things not banned? Oh public school, I remember why I despise thee so!

    3. Back to California, Gray Davis decided to allow ILLEGAL aliens drivers licenses. Oh wow, in a time when we are tightening up security, this sure is a smart move to prevent terrorists from having a valid ID to get around America!

    Good News!

    I am doing well enough in the last 2 days that I now only have to go to physical therapy every other day! My neck is pretty much where it needs to be, bone position wise, but my back still needs some work in all 3 regions. Today is one week since the accident, and it has been a very long week for me, so I am glad to have made such progress!

    15 September 2003

    "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash."

    I always liked Johnny Cash for one reason or another. His way of introducing himself at the beginning of every concert, as if it was needed, was very unique. It is too bad that he is gone. Thankfully, due to CDs and DVDs his music will live on forever.

    In this picture, like many others, interestingly enough, he looks like an older version of my step-father, Brad. Except that Brad would never grow his hair out that long! Right mom? LOL!

    14 September 2003

    Reader's Services Today!

    Since I am unable to stand or sit for a few hours at a time, I stayed home and did a Reader's Service today. I actually quite enjoyed doing it. All one needs to do it is a Reader's Horologion/Book of the Hours with the Typica, The Jordanville/Holy Trinity Prayer Book for the Troparia and Kontakia, a source for the Prokeimenon, and a Evangelion (Gospel Lectionary) or Evangelistarion (The Holy Gospels) and an Apostolos (Epistle Lectionary) or Praxapostolos (Acts, Epistles, and Revelation). I look forward to doing it again this December when I am visiting family in Nebraska!

    13 September 2003

    No physical therapy on the weekend!

    As much as PT hurts, I am really wishing I had some today. The stiffness and a different kind of pain comes without it. :-( But soon, on Monday I go back to daily sessions! I unfortunately miss Vigil and Liturgy because of the inability to sit or stand for hours, but Anastasia is going to help me do a Reader's Service in the morning before her all day play date with a friend from her old school. Since driving bothers me so, her friend's mom is going to pick Anastasia up, Yay!

    12 September 2003

    I love my heating pad!

    I finally am able to use heat on my back and neck rather than the painful, stinging ice! I went out and bought a Kaz SmartHeat HP910 with electronic slide control, 4 heat settings, moist and dry heat capable, that is king-sized (12"x24") with a 5 year warranty. This thing is my new best friend. :-D

    11 September 2003

    Update!

    I was quite sore after therapy and my chiropractic sessions yesterday. The doctor has not assigned me any home exercises, just daily therapy and chiropractic care. Yesterday he put me on a machine where I laid on my stomach and it lowered my legs and then brought them back to a prone position. I really felt this as it worked my spine. After my chiropractic session (after the therapy) my middle back was very sore and is worse today. With the initial 2 days of icing over I am going to start heat therapy today and then go back in for PT and chiropractic work for an hour at 4 p.m. today. I hope I do not hurt any worse than I am hurting right now. :-(

    09 September 2003

    Car Accident Injury Updates! :-(

    Here is a quick update, as sitting for more than a few minutes hurts my back. I was waiting to merge on to Route 15 when I was hit from behind. The estimate of a few people is around $6-7,000 of damage to the car. My attorney will be getting the insurance company to do a proper estimate at the body shop with folks he trusts. There is a slight chance that they will total it out because of the frame damage in addition to the rear quarter panels, bumper and trunk needing replaced. :-o

    The doctor gave me Naproxen to stop the inflammation and help the pain. He said that although I am in pain and stiff today, tomorrow will be much, much worse. Not fun! :-(

    For the next 2 days I am supposed to lay around sleeping as much as possible and ice my back and neck. I also have therapy with a chiropractor/therapist every day of this week. My medicine will make me sleepy and maybe dizzy so I have to take it with food and cannot drive after taking it, so I will be taking it after I take Anastasia to school, after I pick her up and before bed, as I have to take it thrice a day. :-/

    Like I said, I am supposed to ice it for the next few days. When muscle spasms come after that I am supposed to use heat. All in all kind of a bummer of a day, but at least the injuries were not to severe! They could have been worse. :-)

    I will try to check online every now and then, but as I said, sitting hurts, so I would like to ask all of your prayers please.

    The back end of my car is now smashed in.

    The trunk and back end of my car are smashed in and my back, neck and head are very sore. Luckily there are no severe injuries that I can tell and my car is drivable, but please pray for me since my neck and back pair are likely to to be worse tomorrow and the following days. Thank you in advance!

    08 September 2003

    Waiting ...

    ... 5 ... ?

    Has Hades frozen over?

    I am really wondering as I agree with Al Sharpton's words to the Central Virginia Business and Construction Association!
      Sharpton cautioned the Democratic Party that it can't treat black voters as its "mistress" and rebuked rap artists for lyrics that that degrade black women.

      "We must not be in a relationship with a Democratic Party that takes us for granted. We must no longer be the political mistresses of the Democratic Party. A mistress is where they take you out to have fun but they can't take you home to mama and daddy. Either we're going to get married in 2004 or we're going to find some folks who ain't ashamed to be seen with us."

      He took particular aim at rap artists whose violent lyrics refer to women in derogatory terms.

      "To think that we have come down dangerous alleys, that we have traveled through the backwoods of terror, that we have survived beatings, been shot down in cold blood doesn't give you the right to call your mama a whore."
    I never saw that coming! :-o

    06 September 2003

    Mmmmmm iHop!

    My daughter had the great idea of going to brunch at IHOP today. Great idea! I love the Country Fried Steak & Eggs Skillet with Sausage Gravy. Yummy! IHOP rules!

    Oops! I almost forgot! Waiting ...

    ... 8 ...

    Argh!

    I have 3 web sites I have to do this weekend. I really wanted to get some cleaning done too. Looks like I might miss Vigil trying to get home and work stuff done. :-/ Oh well, nothing I can do about it and it is time for bed now. Good night!

    05 September 2003

    Environmentalist Extremists are stupid!

    ELF, An American Environmentalist Terrorist Group that PeTA supports, has recently burned down an apartment complex as well as various Range Rover and other SUV dealerships. It has been estimated that the damage to the environment from the fires to the auto dealerships was far more severe that what the combined possible pollution output would have been from all these vehicles!

    Waiting ...

    ... 9 ...

    04 September 2003

    Something that irritates me

    Is there anything as ridiculous as parents who drive their kids to the bus stop 10 minutes early and just sit in their cars waiting for the bus? I mean, why not just drive them to school. I mean I am seeing this happen literally 1/4 of a mile away from the school!!!

    I have been alerted ...

    ... by both a co-worker and my boss that they have gotten calls from Wal-Mart for a reference check. Both said they gave me a positive referral, so we will see if that will land me a third interview. Please keep praying!

    True Conversation

    Eastern "Ruthenian" Roman Catholic Uniate: We still consider you to be mystically part of the Church, "the other lung" so to speak.

    (Non-Moscow Patriarchate) Russian Orthodox: We still consider you to be heretics.

    LOL!

    Waiting ...

    10 ...

    03 September 2003

    Finally!

    Anastasios has finally added more pictures to his site from the OCNet Summer Fest 2003!

    The new ones are here.

    Islam Revealed

    As the two-year anniversary of Sept. 11 approaches, a very unusual ceremony is being planned in London. Critics say the event will celebrate the tragedy and the hijackers who killed thousands that day ...

    [Read More]

    01 September 2003

    My Great and Horrible Weekend ... :-o

    Let me just get in to it.

    Friday I left late because of having to do some last minute work and Anastasia being pokey. Arrived later that I hoped because of bad traffic. Ended up being over a 10 hour drive! :-( After checking in at the Belle Grae Inn We went over to Father Dionysi's house and stayed for a few hours talking. Anastasia and the girls got along famously.

    Saturday morning we went sight seeing in downtown Staunton. Although it is a smaller town, it would take you many days to see all the wonderful sites. This day was not all great though, as I somehow got a flat tire and when walking down a hill, slipped and hurt my head, neck, back and ribs pretty good. I am still pretty sore. :-( Saturday evening we went to vigil and then ate some Long John Silver's which I have missed, living in New England.

    Sunday morning, after Liturgy, Anastasia, Helen and Catherine went and walked the Belle Grae Inn dogs, Shiitake and Portabella. Later we met up with Father Dionysi and the girls to do some archery in a nearby park. That evening we had dinner together and made plans for today.

    Today Father and I went to the Wal-Mart Distribution Center and I had both my first and second interviews. I think they went okay and hope and pray I get called for a 3rd. Matushka Christina brought Anastasia later and so we all said goodbyes before leaving for home.

    The trip home was good except for my taking 2 wrong turns, getting a flat in DC and having to use a donut until Maryland. (I was able to get a new tire rather put on my car quickly in Maryland thanks to the Maryland Visitors Center and Firestone -- A big THANK YOU to both!). Unfortunately I tore the pants I was wearing in the process of putting the donut on, which is really bad because Matushka Christina spent hours trying to get the mud and grass stains out of them from my fall on Saturday! (Yeah it was a nasty fall!) So although some bad things happened, Anastasia and I both enjoyed the trip. Thank you to everyone who prayed for us! Please keep them coming!

    28 August 2003

    This week

    I was planning on an entry where I went off of all these little girls at Quassy with skimpy tops on their 2-piece bathing suits, but I just have not felt up to the whole big argument about their immodesty and what their parents are thinking. But I have not been up to it yet. Maybe another day.

    27 August 2003

    First Day of School!

    Normalcy, or at least what passes for normalcy, returns. Yay! :-D

    26 August 2003

    Prayer Request!

    Today I contacted Wal-Mart about a job in their Systems Department. I have an interview on Monday, September 1st at 9:00 a.m.. I would like to request the prayers of all of you, if you can spare a few prayers. Thank you VERY MUCH in advance!

    25 August 2003

    24 August 2003

    Hello Autumn!

    Today we received a wonderful gift from God. An early taste of Autumn! Nice 70 degree temperatures, nice cool wind. What a wonderful day to turn off the air conditioner (finally!) and open up all the windows and enjoy the fresh breeze.

    23 August 2003

    Behold the Game!

    Parcheesi!

    I changed the link to Parcheesi: The Classic Game of India to a link where you can buy the game online instead of the link to product description by Hasbro. Also, in this entry I am adding a link to the Parcheesi Deluxe Edition: A Royal Game of India by Milton Bradley for people that prefer the more traditional version. Personally I prefer the Hasbro version. As my daughter says, "It's cooler!"

    22 August 2003

    Recent Windows Viruses may be Terrorist Attacks?

    Read here for all the juicy details.

    Oops! There will be entries after all! :-o

    Well we should have been at Lake Compounce all day today, but the over 90 degree, super humid, cloudy, foggy weather turned into severe thunderstorms by the time we got near the Lake. So as a consolation we went to Toys 'R' Us and spent a few hours looking at... well, toys! At the end of the day, I let Anastasia get one thing and convinced her that Parcheesi: The Classic Game of India would be a good choice. Fun game! :-D

    Since we missed out on going to Lake Compounce's last open weekday, (and I never go to amusement parks on weekends in the summer, too much people traffic!) we are instead going to go to Quassy on Monday, God willing and weather permitting. We have been to Lake Compounce and Six Flags New England before, but never Quassy, so maybe this will be a better choice anyway!

    Thank goodness Anastasia's school does not start until Wednesday, as I think the park will not be busy since many start school on Monday instead!

    SORRY! No Blog Entry Today!

    We should be at Lake Compunce!

    20 August 2003

    More delicious fasting recipes!

    Tofu Lasagne and Tahini Spread for Wraps are 2 of the new fasting recipes posted today. Check them out here!

    Argh! Still not working!

    So let us try this exercise in keywords again! :-D

    Free Russian Orthodox Church
    True Orthodox Church of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
    Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece
    Catacomb Tikhonite Church of Russia
    Catacomb Josephite Church of Russia
    Greek Old Calendar Orthodox Church
    Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church
    Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
    Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
    Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church
    Greek Old Calendar Orthodox Church
    Catacomb Josephite Church of Russia
    Catacomb Tikhonite Church of Russia
    Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
    True Orthodox Church of Greece
    Free Russian Orthodox Church

    19 August 2003

    Ugh!

    I have talked too much about WinDOH!ze as now my ads on my blog (that auto-change by the most popular subject) are all for security for Pee Cees! I have got to do something to stop that!

    Free Russian Orthodox Church
    True Orthodox Church of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
    Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece
    Catacomb Tikhonite Church of Russia
    Catacomb Josephite Church of Russia
    Greek Old Calendar Orthodox Church
    Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church
    Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
    Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
    Genuine Orthodox Christians of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church
    Greek Old Calendar Orthodox Church
    Catacomb Josephite Church of Russia
    Catacomb Tikhonite Church of Russia
    Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece
    Russian Orthodox Church Abroad
    True Orthodox Church of Greece
    Free Russian Orthodox Church


    That should help, I would think! :-D

    Christ is Transfigured!

    On Mount Tabor!

    Happy Feast Day of the Transfiguration of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ!

    18 August 2003

    Sources: Sabotage Cannot Be Ruled Out in Blackout

    Monday, August 18, 2003

    Although government and energy-industry officials have continued to state that Thursday's massive power blackout was not an act of terrorism, they are unable to rule out the possibility that a computer hacker plunged 50 million people into darkness, a source told Fox News Monday.

    There were also reports that Al Qaeda had claimed responsibility for the outage, although U.S. officials said Monday that those claims should be taken with "a giant grain of salt."

    Read more here

    For the first time in 8 years ...

    ... I went to a dentist and had me teeth and gums cleaned, picked at, scraped, scrubbed, polished, etc. My teeth are now very shiny and bright, but oh man did it give me the mother of all headaches. I have been sleeping all afternoon in hopes of getting rid of it no no avail. Now I am doing the pain meds thing. (I could not take them earlier because of how you are not supposed to eat or drink for at least 1 1/2 hours after a deep cleaning like this) Ow!

    Another picture from the OCnet get-together.


    Pretty ordinary picture of the get together. The interesting thing you may notice is that Phil is the only one not eating his food. See, a secret came out during the OCnet get-together. See Phil is not really an Indian, but a ROBOT!!! It came as a shock to all of us.

    Going to bed early tonight!

    I mean, look, its only 1:15 am! That is like 45 minutes earlier than usual! Oy!

    17 August 2003

    Sick people, please pray

    My daughter, Father George, Matushka Anna, and others are all sick, please pray. Details here.

    Last night, same thing

    Please pray that I get my sleep schedule straightened out soon. School starts next week and my body seems to be wanting to stay up later! :-(

    16 August 2003

    Unintentionally funny article.

    A click on www.windowsupdate.com gives an invalid URL message when you click on it today, but that doesn't mean it's gone forever.

    Microsoft said that the site had been subjected to a denial of service attack, according to Network World Fusion, but it wasn't anything to do with the Blaster worm or the power down in the US.


    Yeah right! Trust Microsoft? I think not. Blaster was created to do a Denial Of Service (DOS) attack on www.windowsupdate.com today. Why lie?

    If you have to use Windows, which I often affectionately call WinBlows, WinDoze or WinDOH!ze, be sure to check http://www.windowsupdate.com regularly to plus the millions of security holes and fix the millions of bugs that are rampant in every version of Windows. And make sure you update your virus protection AT LEAST every month. If you cannot set it to do so on its own to check weekly, do so manually. Its the best protection against viruses other than to never open attachments from people you do not know and never open .exe files that you get via email even if it is a trusted source. The person could simply be infected with a virus and inadvertently sending you a copy of said virus.

    But, if you can afford it go to MacWarehouse Computer Stores and buy yourself a new Apple Macintosh Computer. You may miss the fun of constant virus scares, the blue screen of death and persistant crashing, but the simplicity and power more than make up for that inefficent fun of losing files that you will miss out on. :-P

    I really need to ...

    ... stop staying up until 2am every night. I thought it was just supposed to my daughter with the messed up sleeping schedule? LOL!

    15 August 2003

    Interesting stats.

    From http://www.euphrosynoscafe.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5638
    94% of Americans believe in God.
    89% of Americans believe in Heaven.
    86% of Americans believe in miracles.
    83% of Americans believe in the Virgin Birth of Jesus.*
    73% of Americans believe in Hell and the Devil.
    58% of Americans believe it is neccesary to believe in God to be moral.
    40% of Americans believe it is not neccesary.
    28% of Americans believe in the Theory of Evolution.
    13% of the French believe it is neccesary to believe in God to be moral.
    *91% of Christians say they believe in the Virgin Birth, but so do an astonishing 47% of NON-Christians Americans!

    How sickening! >:-(

    Marriott victimizes young girl and boy
    "We were all enjoying the film when about an hour into it, the screen instantly changed to hard-core pornography."
    - Marriott guest, mother of young children
    To make matters worse, the hotel manager refused to speak directly to the parents about the incident because he was busy and could "not be disturbed." He made a desk clerk deal with the problem, even though the parents tried several times to speak with the manager.

    Is this an isolated incident? Perhaps. But the real problem lies in Marriott's corporate policy. The Marriott Hotel chain claims to be "committed to traditional family values," yet most of the corporately owned and franchised Marriotts sell "hardcore pornography" on televisions in rooms.

    If you would like to write Mariot about this, you can right here.

    Great article on the Big Blackout

    Here is a small excerpt. You can read more at http://www.dondodd.com/caruba/alan.html which is from the site of Radio Free West Hartford.

    Notes on the Big Blackout
    By Alan Caruba 08/15/03
    There's a fundamental reason for the latest blackout on the East Coast.  The United States of America needs more power facilities. I'm not talking about ten thousand windmills on the coast of Massachusetts or seventy square miles of solar collectors in Vermont. I'm talking about burning coal and using natural gas. I'm talking about hydroelectric plants and, yes, nuclear-based plants. All of them gloriously producing electricity.

    ‘SERIOUS’ LOOTING IN OTTAWA*

           Crowd control was a problem north of the border. Looting broke out in Ottawa after dark, Ottawa police said, as the power outage pitched much of Ontario into darkness.

           “There is serious looting going on,” said Ottawa police chief Vince Bevan, adding there had been reports of break-ins, smashed windows and theft in the Canadian capital. Ontario declared a state of emergency after the power outage left much of Canada’s most populous province in the dark.

    *From the continuing coverage by MSNBC, linked below.

    14 August 2003

    When Orthodoxy (Church) and Confederacy (State) meet. :-D

    Dormition Fast Begins

    Today starts the Dormition Fast. Unfortunately because of the blackout I missed the Paraclesis service at our church to start off the fast. Thankfully there are 2 more during this "Little Lent".

    Tonight, with it being a strict fast, we are having Yves* Veggie Chilli mixed in with egg-less pasta. If anyone is looking to get or share their own fasting recipes there is a thread full of them here.

    *Yves Veggie Cuisine is one of the few vegetarian fake-meat companies that does not have dairy or eggs in most of their their products, so it is great for the Church fasts. Their Good Burger™ is one of the best tasting veggie burgers around as well! Much better than that thing Burger King puts out! YUCK!

    Sad News :-(

    I actually have been checking out the news sites since this blackout, and found the following story. I post an excerpt and a linked title to read more if you like.

    France says thousands dead from heat
    PARIS, Aug. 14 — France's worst heat wave on record has killed an estimated 3,000 people across the nation, the Health Ministry said Thursday, as the government faced accusations that it failed to respond to a major health crisis.

    Update!

    It now has spread from New York City to Toronto to Detroit! During Rush hour of all times!

    CNN Story

    MSNBC Story

    Fox News, why are you not covering this yet???

    What's going on?

    It looks like the northeast is getting hit with weird blackouts. They've hit me a few times already today. Very odd, the power goes out and comes back really slow, with lightbulbs barely lit, fans hardly moving, etc. Read the story here!

    The test failed. :-(

    This blog is supposed to be UTF-8 Encoding, and the last post had both Russian and Greek writing which, at least on my browser, failed to appear. :-/ Oh well.

    Test

    ?????????
    ???? ????? ??? ???? ????? ???????? ???? ? ??????????, ???????????, ????? ? ???????.

    ????????
    ? ???? ??? ??? ??????????? ???? ???????? ??????.

    13 August 2003

    Tired Days

    I was doing things last night and caught a second wind, so I was up past 2:00am last night! I am paying for it this morning. Thankfully I am working from home for the next 2 weeks! :-D

    12 August 2003

    Tank Wars!

    Today my daughter and I had a tank war. Before American Independence Day I bought a box of 12 little 3 shot tanks that roll forward when you light them. I also bought the mother of all firework tanks, the Black Cat M-85 Tank. That was my tank against Anastasia's 12 mini-tanks. I think I won, she thinks she won, so we called it a tie. This reminds me that I really need to get a digital camera. My landlady is just going to be mad that they seem to have scorched the brick sidewalk and stained it. Uh-oh! :-o

    How in the world?

    How did my post on needing prayers for a new job turn into a war of the states in the commentary section??? I am no fan of the area in which I live, and would have supported the Confederate States of America if I had lived in that era, but let us lose the hate. It is unChristian to hate someone for where they live, which is something, as adults, often we cannot control completely.

    Haha!

    I posted that link to the I Support Police Brutality Web Site on a message board and the deleted it because it was offensive. LOL! I just think it is funny.

    11 August 2003

    Step One

    I just received a call from a company that I would really like to work for and they will be scheduling a first interview by phone with the manager of this center. Could I please ask the prayers of everyone who views this blog? I am sure this is just one step among many to get the job and I am going to need your prayers each step of the way. Thank you in advance!

    09 August 2003

    Just as I predicted ...

    Tonight, doing evening prayers before the icon corner in my daughter's room (and stepping all over unpacked toys and clothes, in a room I had closed off all summer), indeed, everything felt right again. Thank God for daughters! I pray that I never forget that she is a huge chunk of why I am who I am today. Also thank you to all of you that prayed for her to have a safe trip back home.

    Today I pick up my daughter from the airport ...

    ... and then, relatively, all will be well with the world.

    08 August 2003

    AARGH!

    I am just going to vent. Please bear with me.

    AARGH!

    My mom just met with my ex-wife and picked up my daughter and it seems she slept the whole car trip from Colorado to Nebraska because my daughter has been sleeping days and staying up all night. So now I have to get her sleeping schedule back to normal for the sake of my work and her upcoming return to school. >:-(

    Not only that, but for the 4th week in a row, they missed Liturgy. This time because "Their cat was going to have babies." Umm hello? Cats are animals, they do NOT need human help unless it is a vet. and there are 2 other adults living in the house along with another one visiting — none of which were going to Liturgy. (The visiting adult goes to Sunday atheist meetings where they talk about the Bible and God. LOL!)

    Before that it was "We forgot", "Sunday morning we realized there were no dresses in her suitcase and no stores were open" (There were 2 packed) and then "We got lost just down the road from the Church". I wonder how she manages to get to work every day if she cannot get to Church once in 4 weeks! ;-)

    I would love to go off on how my ex-wife works for a smut shop, and how wants to indoctrinate my daughter with liberalism and evolution, how her other daughter (NOT MINE!) at age 6 sneaks out in the middle of the night, their phones keep getting cut off, while their DVD and Playstation game collection keeps growing, etc. but I will not today. Neither will I go on about how my daughter maybe gets a call around her birthday, but otherwise until just before summer Sonya does not call to talk to her, write her or anything. :-P

    Please pray for my daughter, Anastasia.

    Fried Day

    Tomorrow my daughter comes back home! Every summer she goes and visits relatives for 6-7 weeks. For a week or two, it is nice living the bachelor life — being able to do whatever I feel like any time of the day or night — but then I start missing her big time and just want her to be home. I am so ready for her to be back where she belongs! Please pray that she has a safe trip home.

    07 August 2003

    LOL! Black Bishop Paying White People to Come to Church

    Fred Caldwell, Bishop of Greenwood Acres Full Gospel Baptist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana, is paying white people to attend his church; $5 on Sundays, $10 on Thursdays, when it "it might take a little bit more extra effort" to make it to a service due to work commitments.

    CNN reports that Caldwell is hoping to diversify his 99.9% black congregation with these measures. And though it's already stirring up controversy, Caldwell thinks it's not a bad deal for a hour's worth of worship:

    "$10 an hour is not bad. It's probably better than maybe McDonald's or Burger Kings would pay."

    LOL! How funny is this?

    Check out the Police Brutality Store at http://www.cafeshops.com/policebrutality. Do you think the police would just give you a warning if they saw this bumper sticker on your car? LOL!

    05 August 2003

    Fast Food Salads

    As someone that frequents many a fast food restaurant, I found the following article interesting and thought I would share with the group. :-D

  • The Slate Reviews Fast Food Salads
  • 04 August 2003

    OCnet Summer Fest 2003

    Whew! It was an exhausting weekend. Let me try to run down what all happened as far as I can remember.

    Friday
    Wednesday I had very little sleep. Thursday night I got to sleep around 2am and had to get up at 6 to take my car in to be serviced before driving down. So not much sleep for me. Needless to say, I was tired.

    Not a bad drive down. I left at about 9 and got there around 2-3ish I think. The other guys who were there (Robert, Phil, Clint, Reader Anthony and Matt) got back from lunch and let me in to the vacant apartment we were staying at. (Thanks again Tom!) We bought some wine at the local store and had it with our Italian meal after Paraclesis at the GOA (St. Sophia) Cathedral. We also drove by the Vatican embassy and saw a guy with a sign saying something about Pedophilia being the worst of the Corporate Crimes of the Vatican.

    Later, I took a few of the guys for a grocery run and made a U-turn (at the urging of Robert and against the urgings of Phil). We got pulled over and after a few questions about where we were coming from, going to and then number of drinks we all had consumed, (I was the only sober one in the car!) I got off with a warning. (We were all doing Jesus prayers in the meantime!) We got back with the groceries and some pre-mixed White Russians that has St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow on the labels and box and met Anastasios and his wife, Michaela. At some point when we were drinking White Russians I strangled Robert. But not too hard. No permanent damage! ;-) :-p It was all in good fun. We have made up over the transgressions that have taken place in the past. People had a few drinks and then we all went to sleep between 2 and 3am.

    Saturday
    The whirlwind of services continues as Phil decided we should go to the ROCOR (St. John the Baptist) Cathedral Morning Divine Liturgy, thus we woke up at 6am. The Cathedral was great and IMO blew away the Greek Cathedral in both externals and substance. This was an all-Slavonic service, but for the sermon the deacon translated in to English with a microphone that could be heard to via small short range receivers with earphones. (they are available at the candle desk) Great use of technology! I spoke with the priest and sent him my parish priest's greetings and well wishes. The starostra pulled Clint to the side and whispered to him know that hands in the pants pockets was not allowed. It was unintentional, and not meant in disrespect, but funny that he got pulled aside.

    During the hot muggy day, we had the picnic where I grilled kielbasa, chicken, hamburgers and hot dogs for everyone. We met Tom's wife, Nikki, and a married Anglican couple that visit OCnet and go by the names of Keble and Ebor. Phil gave me some gruff, in jest, of my separate praying before the meal.

    That evening we all, minus Tom, Anastasios and their wives, hit Vigil at the OCA (St. Nicholas) Cathedral, as no one ended up wanting to go to the ROCOR Cathedral with me and I did not know how to get from it to the St. Nicholas Cathedral to meet up with them afterwards. St. Nicholas is beautiful, but the Vigil was lacking IMO because of bad you/who translations, cut-outs etc. Matt Frobisher (Poor Matt was called Frobisher or Frobie by everyone all weekend!) said that he saw in me something that Serge needed to add to the "You Might Be a Russian Orthodox If ..." list — that, being the fact that walking out or going somewhere a short distance behind me during vigil I always walked backward so that I kept myself facing the altar. The Cathedral had General Confessions, but I waited outside with the other non-OCA folk. During this visit in saw the guy with a sign protesting at the Vatican embassy again. This time we honked and I waved at him and give him 2 thumbs up. He waved back with a smile that made it appear that we had made his day.

    We met back up with Anastasios and Michaela after they were done napping and we all went to dinner at some place located in the middle of a street festival. I had some delicious Goat Cheese Raviolli and discussed the error of Roman Catholicism with the Uniates that came. We went top bed around 2 or 3 am. See a pattern forming?

    Sunday
    I wake up at 6am, Pattern #2 of this trip! :D I say my goodbyes to everyone as some of them are going to an Indian Malankara liturgy and some to the OCA Cathedral and others to a Melkite liturgy. (Clint and Matt are Uniates) I had a 2.5 hour trip down to Staunton to attend St. Basil of Kineshma Church where Father Dionysi, who posts at the Euphrosynos Cafe Forum, is priest. I planned to leave for home after trapeza.

    Divine Liturgy and trapeza were both wonderful at this small ROAC church and I did not end up leaving until almost 6pm! During trapeza I was invited to sit at the table with Father Dionysi, Deacon Photios and Reader Jerjis (George in, I believe, Arabic) and we had wonderful conversations on the world political situation, world history, the Church, etc. Father Dionysi knew I was very tired since my eyes kept closing during the Hours, so he loaded me up with Mountain Dew for my trip home.

    I was on I-495, and suffering from a sore back and very tired, when I needed to fill up with gas and go to the bathroom — since I was by the apartment, I stopped there. The guys were surprised that I was back. We all decided to go out for Indian food as Phil's birthday was the next day. Excellent murg and lamb dishes were had by all. (Although by Monday morning, Frobie's stomach was not liking the murg anymore! LOL!) I was so tired and my back was sore that I decided to take some Tylenol PM with our wine and stay the night. I finally went to bed before midnight. Not by much, but I made it with a minute or two to spare!

    Monday
    I woke up at 10am, much later than I anticipated. I said my goodbyes again, (Phil thought I would be this uber-serious guy and said he was pleasantly pleased as to how "cool" I was, insisting that we hang out again soon! :-D) got on the road before 11am and hit a few traffic jams and thunderstorms, (the humidity on the east coast has been 90-100% all weekend) but I got home by 5pm, which was pretty good time, all things considered. I am still tired though and will be crashing soon. All in all it was a great time and a good group of guys.

    *All spelling, grammar and logic mistakes will be blamed on my extreme tiredness. :-)

    31 July 2003

    The Onion Dome Slays Me! LOL!

    here is a sample paragraph from an article now appearing at The Onion Dome:

    Istanbul, Turkey — In a move which has His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch PATRIARCHUS the Nth drumming his fingers in disappointment, government officials in Ankara recently nixed plans by the Patriarch to turn the Phanar, the tiny little enclave in Istanbul which houses the Patriarchate, a score of bishops, maybe two or three priests, and the cleaning lady, into a sleek, modern amusement park. ...

    Read the rest of this article here

    iCame, iSaw, iConquered, iGot Addicted!

    I downloaded an online Risk type of game called iConquer. What an awesome and addicting game! If anyone downloads it we can play online against each other too! It is only for Mac OS X currently, so WinDOH!ze users, you're out of luck I am afraid. No addiction for you! :-P

    P.S. There may not be blog entries tomorrow or this weekend due to a trip to Washington D.C. that I am making.

    30 July 2003

    What Saith the Chinese Fortune Cookie?

    Being that it is a Wednesday and Orthodox fasting requires me to avoid meat and dairy, I had Chinese for lunch. Specifically vegetable lo mein. Anyway, after my meal I eat my fortune cookie and read it. What did it say? I am glad you asked. LOL!

    It's time you asked that
    special someone out on a date.

    I am so keeping this one! :-D The last fortune that I saved from a Chinese cookie was the following.

    Many a false step
    is made by standing still.

    Insane Ramblings & Orthodox Ecclesiology

    The name of this blog is Insane Ramblings & Orthodox Ecclesiology and while I seem to have mastered that whole Insane Ramblings part, I have seemingly ignored the Orthodoxy Ecclesiology* part. Oops! Do not worry though, the Orthodoxy Ecclesiology blog entries will be coming soon, just not today.

    *And no this was not just another way for search engines to associate Orthodoxy Ecclesiology with this site.

    More Lyrics ...

    Many people dislike the so-called "Christian Rock", but here is a favorite of mine called What if I Stumble? from the album Jesus Freak by DC Talk.

    The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today
    Is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips
    Then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle.
    That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.

    What if I stumble?
    What if I fall?

    Is this one for the people?
    Is this one for the Lord?
    Or do I simply serenade for things I must afford?
    You can jumble them together, my conflict still remains
    Holiness is calling, in the midst of courting fame

    Cause I see the trust in their eyes
    Though the sky is falling
    They need Your love in their lives
    Compromise is calling

    What if I stumble, what if I fall?
    What if I lose my step and I make fools of us all?
    Will the love continue when my walk becomes a crawl?
    What if I stumble, and what if I fall?

    What if I stumble, what if I fall?
    You never turn in the heat of it all
    What if I stumble, what if I fall?

    Father please forgive me for I can not compose
    The fear that lives within me
    Or the rate at which it grows
    If struggle has a purpose
    On the narrow road you've carved
    Why do I dread my trespasses will leave a deadly scar

    Do they see the fear in my eyes?
    Are they so revealing?
    This time I cannot disguise
    All the doubt I'm feeling

    What if I stumble, what if I fall?
    What if I lose my step and I make fools of us all?
    Will the love continue when my walk becomes a crawl?
    What if I stumble, and what if I fall?

    What if I stumble?

    Everyone's got to crawl when you know that
    You're up against a wall, it's about to fall
    Everyone's got to crawl when you know that

    Everyone's got to crawl when you know that
    You're up against a wall, it's about to fall
    Everyone's got to crawl when you know that

    I hear You whispering my name You say
    My love for You will never change never change

    What if I stumble, what if I fall?
    What if I lose my step and I make fools of us all?
    Will the love continue when my walk becomes a crawl?
    What if I stumble, and what if I ...

    What if I stumble, what if I fall?
    What if I lose my step and I make fools of us all?
    Will the love continue when my walk becomes a crawl?
    What if I stumble, and what if I fall?

    What if I stumble, what if I fall?
    You never turn in the heat of it all
    What if I stumble, what if I fall?
    You are my comfort, and my God

    Is this one for the people, is this one for the Lord?

    28 July 2003

    Of Couplings and Marriages ...

    Over at the Euphrosynos Café forum people were asked to post their stories on how they met the person they married and how they ended up engaged. So far, not a "normal" story among them. But all of the stories are from the heart and you can just feel the love that exists in these married couples. Very inspiring. Here is a link to the stories.

    The Orthodox Scouter Allows Sharing Only with Attribution