Just when you think

Just when you think you couldn't find a better gift than say the John Bobbit signature set of Ginzu knives along comes

Who could resist it at just less than a c-note? I must write to Lorena, I know she'll just love it. And, our thanks to RJ for pointing out this little gem and others that are so necessary this time of year.

Beautiful and not so beautiful

There is a place in China, Harbin, where from time to time some beautiful things happen, namely the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival which has been recorded in magnificent detail in 2003 and 2005 by R. Todd King.  Over the years with the changes in the political and economic climate Harbin has fallen on some hard times

It was once a bustling hub of heavy industry, but many of its people have been out of work for years after local state-owned enterprises collapsed under the pressure of economic reform.

The Sunday Times, 27 Nov 2005

and most recently some very hard times

Cover-up can't hide murky water truth China Daily 20051125

 

Wen visits Harbin; Russia offered sorry AP 200511270918 from China Daily

 

China's premier visits waterless city 20051126

 

When the taps run dry 20051127 

with the recent spill of over one hundred tons of benzene in the Songhuajiang River several hundred miles upriver from Harbin at Jilin.  One hundred tons of benzene is an enormous amount of benzene by any measure, a large economic loss for those who spilled it, and a huge environmental and public health disaster for all those along the river. The immediate and future potential harm this benzene spill can have for millions of people is simply immense.  The sheer ugliness of this chemical spill in every dimension stands in stark contrast to the great beauty that you can see in the photographs we've linked above from the Snow and Ice Festival.  As China races headlong into the industrialized future, one she will likely dominate soon in the region and perhaps globally, the tension between economic and human values will only increase.  We can only hope that broad public exposure of events like the recent ones in Harbin will help to achieve a better balance between the economic and human values.  China will perhaps prove in the near future to be the ultimate test of how large societies can balance economic growth through free market systems, or nearly free market systems, with a broader concern for basic human values like adequate sources of clean water.  What has happened here in China will affect the entire length of the Songhuajiang River downstream from Jilin through China, on through Russia and out into the North Central Sea of Japan which washes the shores of not only China, Russia, North Korea, South Korea and Japan, but also ultimately the Pacific Rim and the rest of the world.  This is a global event that bears watching closely not only for the Chinese response but also the responses of all those affected.

 

More of one thing leads to another

More of one thing leads to another was demonstrated this morning while reading

The Method of Nature

An Oration delivered before the Society of the Adelphi, 
in Waterville College, Maine, August 11, 1841

by R.W. Emerson

we came across the word inchoation

The method of nature: who could ever analyze it? That rushing stream will not stop to be observed. We can never surprise nature in a corner; never find the end of a thread; never tell where to set the first stone. The bird hastens to lay her egg: the egg hastens to be a bird. The wholeness we admire in the order of the world, is the result of infinite distribution. Its smoothness is the smoothness of the pitch of the cataract. Its permanence is a perpetual inchoation. Every natural fact is an emanation, and that from which it emanates is an emanation also, and from every emanation is a new emanation. If anything could stand still, it would be crushed and dissipated by the torrent it resisted, and if it were a mind, would be crazed; as insane persons are those who hold fast to one thought, and do not flow with the course of nature. Not the cause, but an ever novel effect, nature descends always from above. It is unbroken obedience. The beauty of these fair objects is imported into them from a metaphysical and eternal spring. In all animal and vegetable forms, the physiologist concedes that no chemistry, no mechanics, can account for the facts, but a mysterious principle of life must be assumed, which not only inhabits the organ, but makes the organ.

and knowing from the context that inchoate can't possibly have any meaning we look up inchoation and find a caution about the age of the definition and the age of the source of the definition

Quick definitions (inchoation)

(n.) Act of beginning; commencement; inception.

(This definition is from the 1913 Webster's Dictionary and may be outdated.)

And, of course who can ignore such cautions, so we are led to,

inchoation : Webster's 1828 Dictionary

which is nearer the year of Emerson's address and very likely his reference.  And, what do we find but

Webster's 1828 Dictionary, Electronic Version by Christian Technologies, Inc.

where from the tone of the other books available from Christian Technologies I would doubt that the folks at CTI would be much in line with me or dear old RWE in terms of theology, but I would bet my bottom dollar that CTI claims American culture as Christian in origin.  In fact we find on the page titled The American Student's Package on CD a note at the bottom of the page

*American Quotations includes a comprehensive compilation of nearly 4,000 quotations throughout American history from Presidents and historical figures plus biographies, all based on the US Christian heritage; passages and phrases influencing early and modern American history, referenced according to their sources in literature, memoirs, letters, governmental documents, speeches, charters, court decision and constitutions.

which if it doesn't give the game away certainly begins to make my speculations more solid, eh?  When will these dunderheads realize that Jefferson, Franklin, Emerson, Parker and scores of others were Christians whose theology would mystify if not totally appall the modern American Fundamentalist Christian?

Recently we saw the movie Kingdom of Heaven, and it wouldn't seem to me to be much of a stretch to me to give a sound Biblical basis to a line from the movie, where Balian hammers home the point about the supremacy of religious tolerance when he hands over the Holy City to Saladin, he tells his followers

God is in your head and your heart, not in any particular place.

And, we might logically add not in any particular book. It would seem easy to me to use no more than

Luke 12:34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

and one of the last verses of Matthew

Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

to give Balian's line a Biblical basis.   As we mentioned yesterday, the only unforgivable sin Jesus spoke of

Matthew 12:31,32 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

was to deny the presence or power of the Holy Spirit. So it would seem to me that the only dispute would be the manner in which I choose to see that power and presence expressed and the mode of my connection to it. But, then what do I know, the RC church excommunicated the likes of me a long time ago.

Jesus remains to my mind one of the best kept secrets of the Bible and the most unknown figure of Christianity.  And, America's Christian heritage remains the best kept secret of American history.  A little more reading of American history wouldn't hurt anyone, and a good deal more reading of Emerson and Jefferson would be of great benefit to the "Christian Heritage of America" crowd, they just might realize that they are not in the same room with these folks.  Or, Praise God!, they just might become Christian Deists, or Christian Transcendentalists, or, wonder of wonders, Christians tolerant and accepting of another view of the world.  For a good take on the simplified view of life try "A Little Knowledge" from our friends at Outer Life.

Read more Emerson!

Who knows one thing might lead to another for you too.

 

 

 

 

Miracles and Metaphors

A number of people seem to be reading Erik Reece's recent essay in the December Harper's "Jesus Without The Miracles: Thomas Jefferson's Bible and the Gospel of Thomas" and writing about the essay. The two best that I've seen so far are

"Thomas, Jefferson, and Stewardship", posted November 24, 2005 at The Daily Blague

and

"The gospels of Thomas", posted November 23, 2005 at Philocrites

Particularly interesting from Philocrites was the link to R. W. Emerson's 1838 Address to the Divinity School. These three pieces have reminded me once again how small, how absolutely petty, and contentious the legalists can be and they, the rabbis dancing on the head of a pin as I like to call them, can absolutely suck the life out life itself leaving a hollow tasteless husk that they will claim to be the essence of life when in fact it is nothing more than the wrapper. And, before the metaphorical apologists get started on wrapper, let's set that straight, I said wrapper, not peel or skin. Wrappers are external to a product and of no substance, peels and skins are integral to a fruit, vegetable or animal and do contain nutrients. But, we said wrapper didn't we, so don't start with the wrapper having the life in it, eh? The richness of Emerson's language and the depth of his thought along with the interesting takes on Christianity by the blog authors and Reece which again have a good deal of depth and richness stand in stark contrast to the tedious legalism of the Fundamentalist Christians and their tag alongs who have recently been seen featured in the national news magazines and other venues cheerfully wanting to explore the arguments about the origins of life from a point of view they want to term "intelligent design" so as to some how separate it from the arguments of "creationism". The "intelligent design" arguments real flavor can best be tasted in the near charlatanism of the Discovery Institute's Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture and its director, Dr. Stephen Meyer, in the position paper THE WEDGE STRATEGY the opening introductory paragraphs of which would be nearly laughable if only they weren't presented seriously, and especially if they didn't have the ear of a number of members of the current administration in Washington. We have been down these roads before with the conservatives so perhaps there is hope in this instance, but the road was last time a bit of a rough ride down to the intersections where reason was available and there is no guarantee that this time we will not be swallowed by one of the potholes the conservatives have created like the War in Iraq.

The only unforgivable sin Jesus spoke of

Matthew 12:31,32 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

was to deny the presence or power of the Holy Spirit. So it would seem to me that the only dispute would be the manner in which I choose to see that power and presence expressed and the mode of my connection to it. But, then what do I know, the RC excommunicated the likes of me a long time ago.

Jesus, the best kept secret of the Gospels and the least known figure of Christianity.

I am rambling again. In any event read R. W. Emerson's 1838 Address to the Divinity School and the other items I've cited above and then compare them to what passes for thought with the creationists. Consider the broadness of Emerson's view and the narrowness of the current administration's view of life in general and then perhaps you can wonder as I do if the root causes of the conservative malfeasance in thought and policy like we've seen from the Bushies are not really spiritual in nature. Miracles and metaphors are in many ways the same and as I recall the mircales were not for those who had eyes to see and ears to hear, but for those to whom the Gospels would appear as foolishness.

Honk, if you like "Horn Of Plenty" aka www.hornofplenty.co.uk

Recently, we wrote to the author of Horn of Plenty, a site well worth your time I belive.

Mr Quink,

 

Honk, if you like "Horn of Plenty" aka www.hornofplenty.co.uk.

 

We held this sign up recently on my block and the noise was deafening.  Of course mine is the only house on the block.

 

A small typo you might want to attend to under the Parodies heading

As we always tell our lawyers, writing a parody does not involve stealing someone else's ideas. It involve stealing their ideas, ...

might better read

As we always tell our lawyers, writing a parody does not involves stealing someone else's ideas. It involves stealing their ideas, ...

 

I found your site attempting to chase down the "Horn of Plenty" link on the sign in page from GMail this morning.  I think I have gotten the far better end of the deal in finding your site rather than whatever GMail was trying to show me with their dead link.  Whatever free time presents itself today will likely be spent in further digging into the strange twists and turns of your mind. What a fine piece of work the collection of parodies on Horn of Plenty is, thank you.

 

We have our own not so nearly interesting nor well done blog, The Quality of the Light, largely as the result of encouragement we have received from an old roommate and far more accomplished blogger who writes, The Daily Blauge.

 

I expect a good deal of resonance from reading your work since I have a number of old workmates who are UK expats and who now live in Texas, an ex in Maidstone who works for the National Health Service, a deep affinity for Guiness and good Scotch Whiskey, and I also spent eight years under the care of the nuns, mainly the good Carmelite sisters and the Sisters of the Incarnate Word. Who could possibly forget a grade school principal whose name was Sister Mary of Perpetual Help. 

 

I think we'll just post this note on my blog to make the world a bit more aware of your site. 

 

Again, thanks for your effort with Horn of Plenty, we look forward to spending more time with you today.

 

Best regards,

 

George

 

Re: Southern Girls

Recently, I had some correspondence with a friend about GRITS, she is from Huntsville,Texas and I am from Red Hill, Texas.

Charlotte,

A clean copy with a bit more material can be found at

G.R.I.T.S. - Girls Raised In The South

All of the entry is good, but if you just want the text scroll down to

I have a friend from Bawston, bless her heart, who thinks it's hilarious when I say I've got to "carry" my daughter to the doctor or "cut off" the light. She also gets a giggle every time I am "fixin" to do something. And, bless their hearts, they don't even know where "over yonder" is, or what "I reckon" means! My personal favorite was my aunt, saying, "Bless her heart, she can't help being ugly, but she could've stayed home."

Southern girls know bad manners when they see them:
a. Drinking straight out of a can.
...

and go on from there. As you may or may not be aware this is also the title of an exellent book

Grits (Girls Raised in the South) Guide to Life (Illustrated)
By Deborah Ford, Edie Hand
Hardcover / 224 Pages / E P Dutton / April 2003 / 0525947264

Thanks for reminding me of a wonderful text that's been passed around the net for quite awhile and the book, which I really do need right now for another question.

I don't think of myself as being from the South do you? I don't find much in common with the Southerners, people who constantly remind you that they are from the South, from AL, MS, GA, SC, AR, VA. I do find a good deal of resonance with people from rural backgrounds or from families where the immediate parents are from rural backgrounds. I think of myself as being from East Texas, The Big Thicket, Texas, but not a typical TEXAN not the loud JR from Dallas type, perhaps more Billy Bob Thorton is my style. As I learned to say in South Texas where I lived for over a decade,

Yo soy un Tejano gringo puro, y yo soy un viejo vacquero tambien, verdad

I am a pure Texas gringo and an old cowboy as well now, ain't that so.

Keep'em coming in Charlotte. You got any fat back so I can make beans tomorrow. Just a bit, if you've got it, please. I've looked the beans and changed the soak water once, tomorrow morning I'll change the water again, throw out the floaters and start them to boiling. You comin' for navies, cold sliced purple onions, chow-chow, bacon and corn bread tomorrow for dinner. And, you know dinner will be after church in the middle of the day don't you now. Supper, the meal closer to sun down than noon, is often skipped on Sundays since dinner is usually big and always after church, generally around two or three, eh? But, lately I've heard people refer to this same meal as Sunday supper and that distresses me, since if they invite me for Sunday supper this time of year I probably won't show up until five or six in the evening.

On 11/12/05, Bioniclady
Subject: Southern girls

> > Southern girls appreciate their natural assets:
> >
> > Clean skin
> >
> > A winning smile
> >
> > That unforgettable Southern drawl
> >
> >
> >
> > Southern girls know their manners:
> >
> > "Yes, ma'am."
> >
> > "No, sir."
> >
> > "Thank you darlin."
> >
> >
> >
> > Southern girls have a distinct way with fond expressions:
> >
> > "Y'all come back!"
> >
> > "Well, bless your heart."
> >
> > "How's your Mama?"
> >
> >
> >
> > Southern girls know their summer weather report:
> >
> > Hazy

> >
> > Hot
> >
> > Humid
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Southern girls know their vacation spots:
> >
> > Hilton Head beach
> >
> > Daytona beach
> >
> > Panama City beach
> >
> >
> >
> > Southern girls know the joys of summer:
> >
> > Golden tans
> >
> > Flip-flops in every color

> >
> > Strapless sun dresses
> >
> >
> >
> > Southern girls know everybody's first name:
> >
> > Honey
> >
> > Darlin'
> >
> > Sugar ("Shugah")
> >
> >
> >
> > Southern girls know the movies that speak to their hearts:
> >
> > Fried Green Tomatoes
> >
> > Driving Miss Daisy
> >
> > Steel Magnolias
> >
> >
> >
> > Southern girls know their religions:
> >
> > Baptist
> >
> > Methodist
> >
> > Football
> >
> >
> >
> > Southern girls know their country breakfasts:
> >
> > Red-eye gravy with country ham
> >
> > Grits
> >
> > Homemade biscuits with mama's homemade jelly
> >
> >
> >
> > Southern girls know their cities dripping with Southern charm:
> >
> > Charleston (Chawl'stn)
> >
> > Savannah (S'vanah)

> >
> > Atlanta (Adlanna)
> >
> >
> >
> > Southern girls know their elegant gentlemen:
> >
> > Men in uniform
> >
> > Men in tuxedos
> >
> > Rhett Butler, of course!
> >
> >
> >
> > Southern girls know their prime real estate:
> >
> > The Mall
> >
> > The Country Club
> >
> > The Beauty Salon
> >
> >
> >
> > Southern girls know the three deadly sins:
> >

> > Having bad manners
> >
> > Cooking bad food
> >
> > Wearing too much makeup in the summer
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Southern girls know men may come and go, but friends are fo'evah!
> >
> > Now, darlin', send this to some GRITS (Girls Raised In The South)
> >
> > or ones who wish they had been!
> >
> >
> >
> > If you're a Northern transplant, bless your heart, honey, fake it.
> >
> > We know you got here as fast as you could.

--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.12.8/163 - Release Date: 11/8/2005

--
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.12.8/163 - Release Date: 11/8/2005

--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.12.8/163

--
George
www.qualityofthelight.blogspot.com