Showing posts with label Ireland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ireland. Show all posts

15 August 2020

My Novel, "Vhaidra & the DESTINY of Nikodemos", is Available Internationally in Both eBook and Paperback Versions NOW!

 

My novel, Vhaidra & the DESTINY of Nikodemos, is now available as an eBook, for those of you who prefer electronic versions of books rather than the paper and print versions. 

Currently at Amazon it is ranked #3 in Romantic Action & Adventure and #15 in Fantasy Action & Adventure for new releases (released in the last 90 days) as of today! At Barnes & Noble it is ranked #1 in English Drama, #4 in Fantasy Drama English Literature, and #22 in Epic Fantasy in new releases (released in the last 30 days)! Thank you to all of you helped my novel get such great numbers! I am super happy to be listed amongst the top books in these genres, (Othello, Richard III, Harry Potter, etc.)

I'm asking everyone to take a photo of them with my book or reading it for my readers collage, and to give the book a 5 star review if they can. If you cannot for any reason, please reach out to me with your feedback, as feedback is a gift! Here are some of the people who have already sent me photos of them with my novel. 


If you would like to know where you can purchase my book, here are the links where it is currently available: 

AMERICA (USA)

  1. A Galaxy Called Dallas: https://bookshop.org/shop/AGCD
  2. AbeBooks: https://www.abebooks.com/products/isbn/9781734914009/
  3. Alibris: https://www.alibris.com/search/books/isbn/9781734914009
  4. Amazon USA: https://amzn.to/3fTpTNG 
  5. BAM!: Books-A-Million: https://www.betterworldbooks.com/product/detail/Vhaidra-and-the-DESTINY-of-Nikodemos-9781734914009 
  6. Bargain Book Store: https://amzn.to/3keE7LU 
  7. Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/vhaidra-and-the-destiny-of-nikodemos-nicholas-stanosheck/1137418794 
  8. Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Vhaidra-DESTINY-Nikodemos-Nicholas-Stanosheck/9781734914009 
  9. Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/12559/9781734914009 
  10. Better World Books: https://www.betterworldbooks.com/product/detail/Vhaidra-and-the-DESTINY-of-Nikodemos-9781734914009
  11. California Books: https://amzn.to/30plgFK
  12. eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vhaidra-and-the-DESTINY-of-Nikodemos-Paperback-or-Softback/383664125493 
  13. Google Play Books: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=lKH0DwAAQBAJ 
  14. Google Shopping: https://www.google.com/shopping/product/9923216831165234301
  15. Grand Eagle Retail: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vhaidra-and-the-DESTINY-of-Nikodemos-by-Nicholas-Stanosheck-English-Paperback/392890580584 
  16. Kindle USA: https://amzn.to/3ajuCXf 
  17. Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/vhaidra-the-destiny-of-nikodemos-nicholas-stanosheck/1137433353 
  18. Rakuten Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/vhaidra-the-destiny-of-nikodemos 
  19. Second Sale: https://www.secondsale.com/i/vhaidra-and-the-destiny-of-nikodemos/9781734914009 
  20. ThriftBooks: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/vhaidra-and-the-destiny-of-nikodemos_nicholas-stanosheck/26770326/#isbn=1734914009 
  21. Walmart: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Vhaidra-the-DESTINY-of-Nikodemos-eBook/375887354 
AUSTRALIA
BRAZIL/BRASIL
FRANCE
NORWAY/NORGE
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19 March 2019

Orthodox Christian Saints that were Scouts and Scouters

While it is somewhat common knowledge to many Scouts that Saint George the Trophy-Bearer of Cappadocia is the patron saint of Scouting, and that Sea Scouts share the same patron along with Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker of Myra in Lycia, Saint Brendan the Navigator of Ireland, and Saint Cormac of the Sea, many may not know that some modern Orthodox Christian Saints were involved in Scouting.

I only list a few more prominent saints, but I am sure there are many more Orthodox Christian Saints that were involved in Scouting as well.

Saint Nicholas the Tsar Martyr - Had Scouting brought to Russia by Lord Robert Baden-Powell (pictured left)

Saint Basil the Hieromartyr of Kineshma - Scoutmaster and Bishop (pictured top left)

Saint Alexei the Royal Martyr and Passion Bearer - The First Scout of Russia (pictured right)


Saint John the Wonderworker of Shanghai and San Francisco - Scout Camp Chaplain in Europe and America (pictured top right)

You can see more about the founding of Scouting in America, in Russia, and in many traditional Orthodox Christian countries at https://orthodoxscouter.blogspot.com/2016/09/orthodoxy-and-scouting-in-america-and.html

I will post more about the lives of these holy saints of Scouting in the upcoming months. Holy Orthodox Scouts and Scouters, Pray unto God for us!
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23 September 2018

My DNA: Tracing my ancestory to Noah, Adam, and Eve!

I recently had my DNA tested by 23andMe. If you'd like to check out your DNA, you can save by registering at this link: https://refer.23andme.com/s/ir2tk I guarantee that you will find it fascinating!

Most of it was unsurprising, such as having Irish ancestry. My paternal grandfather was born in Ireland shortly before immigrating with his mother, Queen Tobin Stanosheck to America. Recently we learned that my maternal grandfather's family had lived in Ireland for some time before immigrating to America. Through my maternal line it appears we are related to Clan McLaren/MacLaren too.

Both my maternal grandmother's and grandfather's families had lived in Germany so having German DNA was not surprising.

Now the last names of my grandfathers are Polish-Russian and Welsh. So having DNA from Poland and Great Britain was not a surprise. But what was a surprise was that although my last name is a blend of Polish and Russian, I have no Russian DNA, but do have Ukrainian DNA. (I've actually had an intuition about this before getting tested).

Surprise #2 is that we were always told that my maternal grandmother was Czech, but according to my DNA, she was actually Slovak, as I have Slovak DNA but no Czech DNA.

Surprise #3 is that my DNA can be traced all the way back to Noah. We are related to Noah via his son, Japheth, his grandson Gomer, and his great-grandson, Ashkenaz.

It looks like someone in my ancient family members moved from Syria to the Slavic lands, and then up to Scandinavia. Where exactly, my DNA doesn't know, but it was in my mother's side of the family.

So many people who get their tests done get surprise African or Asian DNA, but my test showed my DNA to be solely European (as far as it can go back). Here is the exact (to 99.98% accuracy) breakdown:

Here are the histories that my DNA tells:

The stories of all of our paternal lines can be traced back to just one man: the common ancestor who lived in eastern Africa at the time, Adam.

Your paternal-line ancestors gradually moved north, following available prey and resources as a shifting climate made new routes hospitable and sealed off others. Then a small group ventured across the Red Sea and deeper into southwest Asia. Your ancestors were among these men, and the next step in their story is marked by the rise of  your ancestors in the Arabian Peninsula.

Passing through the Middle East, your paternal-line ancestors continued on to the steppes of Central Asia, vast grasslands stretching all the way from central Europe to the eastern edge of Asia.

The next step in your story can be to the common ancestor of a man who likely lived in Central Asia. His descendants roamed the vast steppes of the continent, where they hunted huge mammals like the mammoth.

Your ancestral path forked off again in western Asia, but farther south in the Iranian Plateau your ancestors flourished.

As the people of the Fertile Crescent domesticated plants and animals for the first time. Around 8,000 years ago, the first farmers and herders began to push east into Central Asia and north into the Caucasus Mountains. Some of them eventually reached the steppes above the Black and Caspian Seas. There, they lived as pastoral nomads, herding cattle and sheep across the grasslands, while their neighbors to the south developed yet another crucial technology in human history: bronze smelting. As bronze tools and weaponry spread north, a new steppe culture called the Yamnaya was born.

Perhaps triggered by a cold spell that made it difficult to feed their herds, Yamnaya men spilled east across Siberia and down into Central Asia. To the west, they pushed down into the Balkans and to central Europe, where they sought new pastures for their herds and metal deposits to support burgeoning Bronze Age commerce. Over time, their descendants spread from central Europe to the Atlantic coast, establishing new trade routes and an unprecedented level of cultural contact and exchange in western Europe.

The men from the steppes also outcompeted the local men as they went; their success is demonstrated in the overwhelming dominance of the lineage in Europe, especially Ireland and Wales.

You descend from a long line of women that can be traced back to eastern Africa. If every person living today could trace his or her maternal line back over thousands of generations, all of our lines would meet at a single woman who lived in eastern Africa, Eve. The story of your maternal line begins with her it.

While many of her descendants remained in Africa, one small group ventured east across the Red Sea, likely across the narrow Bab-el-Mandeb into the tip of the Arabian Peninsula.

Your story continues with one of two branches that arose from southwestern Asia. Researchers have long debated whether they arrived there via the Sinai Peninsula, or made the hop across the Red Sea at the Bab-el-Mandeb. Though their exact routes are disputed, there is no doubt that the women migrated across all of Eurasia, giving rise to people from Portugal to Polynesia.

One of those branches traces back to a woman who likely lived in the Middle East or the Caucasus Mountains. Her descendants appear to have migrated into northern Europe, and then through southwestern Asia as far as Pakistan with the expansion of agriculture about 8,000 years ago.

Women carrying this haplogroup likely migrated into and across Europe during this stretch of milder climate.

Today, they are mostly spread across southeastern Europe and into the Middle East, including in the North Caucasus and northern Iran. Some can also be found in the northern and western reaches of Europe, including in Britain, Finland, and even western Siberia.
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01 May 2017

Other Interesting Blog Stats

While my blog's audience is definitely mostly American, here are the top 15 countries that my visitors are from:

  1. United States of America
  2. Russia
  3. United Kingdom
  4. Germany
  5. France
  6. Canada
  7. India
  8. Ukraine
  9. China
  10. Australia
  11. Romania
  12. Ireland
  13. Singapore
  14. South Korea
  15. Macedonia
Here are the top 7 browsers they use:
  1. Microsoft Internet Explorer
  2. Google Chrome
  3. Mozilla Firefox
  4. Apple Safari
  5. Opera
  6. Samsung Browser
  7. Lynx
Here are the top 7 Operating Systems used to access this blog:
  1. Microsoft Windows
  2. Apple Macintosh (Mac OS X)
  3. Apple iPhone (iOS)
  4. Google Android
  5. Linux
  6. Unix
  7. Blackberry
Here are the top referring sites to my blog: 
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17 March 2017

Saint Patrick the Enlightener of Ireland

Saint Patrick, the Apostle of the Irish, was seized from his native Britain by Irish marauders when he was sixteen years old. Though the son of a deacon and a grandson of a priest, it was not until his captivity that he sought out the Lord with his whole heart. In his Confession, the testament he wrote towards the end of his life, he says, "After I came to Ireland - every day I had to tend sheep, and many times a day I prayed - the love of God and His fear came to me more and more, and my faith was strengthened. And my spirit was so moved that in a single day I would say as many as a hundred prayers, and almost as many at night, and this even when I was staying in the woods and on the mountain; and I would rise for prayer before daylight, through snow, through frost, through rain, and I felt no harm." After six years of slavery in Ireland, he was guided by God to make his escape, and afterwards struggled in the monastic life at Auxerre in Gaul, under the guidance of the holy Bishop Germanus. Many years later he was ordained bishop and sent to Ireland once again, about the year 432, to convert the Irish to Christ. His arduous labours bore so much fruit that within seven years, three bishops were sent from Gaul to help him shepherd his flock, "my brethren and sons whom I have baptized in the Lord - so many thousands of people," he says in his Confession. His apostolic work was not accomplished without much "weariness and painfulness," long journeys through difficult country, and many perils; he says his very life was in danger twelve times. When he came to Ireland as its enlightener, it was a pagan country; when he ended his earthly life some thirty years later, about 461, the Faith of Christ was established in every corner. His Feast Day is celebrated on March 17th in the Orthodox Church.

Apolytikion 

O Holy Hierarch, equal of the Apostles, Saint Patrick, wonderworker and enlightener of Ireland: Intercede with the merciful God that He grant unto our souls forgiveness of offences.

 Kontakion

The Master revealed thee as a skillful fisher of men; and casting forth nets of Gospel preaching, thou drewest up the heathen to piety. Those who were the children of idolatrous darkness thou didst render sons of day through holy Baptism. O Patrick, intercede for us who honour thy memory.
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08 March 2017

Messengers of Peace, An Initiative Started by Two Kings

What is "Messengers of Peace"?

Messengers of Peace is a World Scout Committee initiative designed to promote and recognize service projects that contribute to world peace.

What is the program’s goal?

The goal of Messengers of Peace is to inspire millions of young men and women throughout the world to work closer toward achieving peace. Using state-of-the-art social media, the initiative lets Scouts from around the world share what they’ve done and inspire fellow Scouts to undertake similar efforts in their own communities. The result will be a mosaic of stories, data, and results showing the impact of the Scout movement—a tool for recruiting members, assuring parents, inspiring donors, and making existing members proud to be Scouts.

Who runs the program?

The initiative is inspired by the World Scout Committee, administered by the World Scout Bureau, and driven by youth volunteers worldwide. Participation by the Boy Scouts of America is being coordinated by the International Department and a team led by Peter E. Hyman.

How did the initiative come about?

The initiative stems from the 10-year-old Gifts for Peace program, which has inspired over 10 million Scouts in 110 countries to work toward peace in their local communities. After hearing about this work, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia noted that “Scouts are the messengers of peace.” He and King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, honorary chair of the World Scout Foundation, formally launched the Messengers of Peace initiative in September 2011.

What do we mean by peace?

Scouting defines peace as more than just the absence of war. In terms of the MOP initiative, peace encompasses three dimensions:
  1. The personal dimension: harmony, justice, and equality
  2. The community dimension: peace as opposed to hostility or violent conflict
  3. Relationships between humankind and its environment: security, social and economic welfare, and relationship with the environment
What types of projects qualify as Messengers of Peace projects?

Any project that has a significant impact on the community in any one of the three dimensions above would qualify. Messengers of Peace projects include unit-level service projects, William T. Hornaday Award, and Eagle Scout service projects—any projects undertaken within a Scouting context that impact peace

How do we know if our project qualifies?

It qualifies if it meets the definition of peace given above. No one beyond the unit has to approve a project’s Messengers of Peace status.

What about projects Scouts do through schools or religious institutions?

Messengers of Peace is only designed to recognize projects undertaken through Scouting. Many of those projects may involve other organizations, which is fine, but there must be a Scouting connection.

What about Girl Scout projects?

BSA members who participate in a Girl Scout project that meets the MOP definition above are eligible to receive MOP recognition.

Can you give me some examples of qualifying projects?

Projects like these inspired the Messengers of Peace initiative:
  • Scouts in El Salvador working to disband violent street gangs
  • Scouts in New Orleans working on the ground to rebuild post-Katrina New Orleans
  • Scouts in the Great Lakes region of Africa running an inter-ethnic peace education project
  • Scouts in Sierra Leone rebuilding their communities following a decade of civil war
  • Scouts in Ireland bringing young Catholics and Protestants together
  • Scouts in Haiti doing work in rescue, relief, and rehabilitation after the deadly earthquake in 2010
Do we have to work with specific national organizations on Messengers of Peace projects?

No. Working with local organizations with similar goals to Messengers of Peace can be an excellent approach.

Who should report Messengers of Peace service projects?

MOP service projects should be reported by the individual in each unit designated to report Journey to Excellence service projects.

How do I submit a Messengers of Peace project?

To designate a Messengers of Peace project, simply select Messengers of Peace as the partner organization when entering a service project through the Journey to Excellence website (www.scouting.org/Awards/JourneyToExcellence).

Can an individual complete an MOP project? If so, how does he or she submit it?

Yes, individuals can complete MOP projects. (An Eagle Scout service project is a good example.) Reports must be submitted by the unit’s designated person for registering service hours. The individual will get credit for the hours he or she worked.

Should we submit our projects on the Messengers of Peace website?

No, just submit your project through the Journey to Excellence website, as described above. The BSA is working with the World Scout Bureau to have projects posted on the Messengers of Peace map. Also, the BSA is working with the World Scout Bureau to collect information on all projects that have already been registered in the world system.

We would like to share a video of our Messengers of Peace project. How can we submit it for consideration?

Send a message to international@scouting.org with the subject line of "Messengers of Peace."

What recognition items are available?

In addition to the unit certificate, any Scout or Scouter who participates in a qualifying project is eligible to wear a Messengers of Peace ring patch around the World Crest on his or her uniform. A unit representative can purchase these ring patches at a local Scout shop, council service center, or ScoutStuff.org.

Can an individual earn Messengers of Peace recognition more than once?

Yes, but only one ring patch may be worn.

Do Messengers of Peace ring patches go to all unit members or just those who participate in a Messengers of Peace project?

Only those who participate in an MOP project are eligible to receive the ring patch.

Is there a Messengers of Peace video we can use to promote the initiative to our Scouts and the public?

Yes, video clips highlighting specific MOP projects are available on this website.
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24 February 2014

My Blog Stats, Compared

My blog stats vary, which is normal, due to them having different audiences, but here are the stats I found interesting for the last month, and you may too.  Blog A is Orthodox Ecclesiology and the World, Blog B is How to get Married in China, and Blog C is Steamies vs. Diesels.

Visitors by Browser
Blog A
  1. Chrome (27%)
  2. Firefox (27%)
  3. Internet Explorer (25%)
  4. Safari (13%)
  5. Opera (3%)
Blog B
  1. Chrome (41%)
  2. Firefox (26%)
  3. Internet Explorer (14%)
  4. Safari (7%)
  5. Opera (1%)
Blog C
  1. Safari (30%)
  2. Chrome (24%)
  3. Internet Explorer (21%)
  4. Firefox (11%)
  5. Opera (1%)
But why such an bwoser disparity? Maybe this can be explained by OS?
Visitors by Operating System:
Blog A
  1. Windows (67%)
  2. Macintosh (13%)
  3. iPhone/iPad (8%)
  4. Android (6%)
  5. Linux (3%)
Blog B
  1. Windows (64%)
  2. Macintosh (12%)
  3. Android (10%)
  4. iPhone/iPad (7%)
  5. Linux (3%)
Blog C
  1. Windows (55%)
  2. iPhone/iPad (29%)
  3. Macintosh (6%)
  4. Android (6%)
  5. Linux (2%)
OK, but why such an OS disparity? Maybe this can be explained by the origin of the audience?
Visitors by Country:
Blog A
  1. United States
  2. Ukraine
  3. China
  4. United Kingdom
  5. India
  6. Canada
  7. Germany
  8. Turkey
  9. Russia
  10. France
Blog B
  1. United States
  2. New Zealand
  3. Germany
  4. United Kingdom
  5. Australia
  6. Canada
  7. Indonesia
  8. France
  9. Singapore
  10. China
Blog C
  1. United States
  2. United Kingdom
  3. Ukraine
  4. Australia
  5. Canada
  6. Japan
  7. New Zealand
  8. Ireland
  9. Russia
  10. Indonesia
Based on this and other evidence, it seems that Safari and iPad/iPhone stats are higher for Blog C because of the traffic from the United Kingdom. Do any other bloggers or webmasters see this same type of trend?
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