If you are already a friend, you are already on the readership list. Thank you for your patronage.

If you wish to be on my friends list or an IM buddy, post a request here...

Пожалуйста объявите здесь, чтобы быть добавленными к моему списку друзей. Вы будете моим другом?

...and tell me why you think that is a good idea.

If you just "friend" me, it is not likely that I will see that for a long time. If I don't know you, I likely won't be making it mutual since you didn't introduce yourself.

If you do not have a Live Journal account, then get one. They are free and LJ won't spam you.

If you simply wish to comment on a post anonymously, you don't have to have an account for that.

Мои российские языковые навыки ужасны, между прочим.



Create your own visitor map!



Sign the guestbook!

If any of you are trying instant message me, please post that it is you. I do not accept chat requests from unknown persons as a matter of policy.

"Am I my brother's keeper?"

Yes. Yes, you are. We have an obligation to hold our friends and neighbors to a high moral and ethical standard, and to protect each other.

What kind of friend are you? If you hear your friend wants to jump off a cliff, are you the type of friend that: 1) hands them a map to the Grand Canyon, 2) the kind that walks to the cliff with them and cheers them on as they jump, 3) the kind that says its okay to jump if the cliff is of a certain height, 4) says "that is a bad idea" then does nothing more, or 5) grabs them and says "you have a serious problem and we are going to talk and get you some help"?

If you are anything other than than type five, you are not a very good friend. If you are any of the first three, you are not a friend at all, but an enemy. You do not have that person's best interest in mind.

Be your brother and sister's keeper. Don't fail your friends. You are not being nosy, gossipy, or judgmental if you are trying to stop your friends from making bad mistakes or warning them about the harm they are doing to themselves or others.

Gossip is telling "dirt" about people you know to anyone OTHER than the person the "dirt" is about. Being judgemental is when you accuse someone in such a way as to belittle them.

It is not nosy to address gossip with the one whom the gossip is about.

You are not being judgemental when you express concern to a friend that their decisions or actions are going to cause grief, pain, or harm.

Are you celebrating May Day, today? Then you are either a Communist or an "useful idiot". May Day is a day that has its roots deeply embedded into Marxism. Don't beleive me? Then read what the Marxists have to say.

Don't be an idiot. Don't participate in May Day protests.

I have gotten word, yesterday, that another set of my friends will divorce.

This grieves me immensely and partially reopens my own recent wounds. Does no one take their vows seriously? The wisdom of the world says that if a marriage is strained, it is better for the kids and each other if the parents separate. The wisdom of the world says that if you are not satisfied or fulfilled with your partner, you should move on to another. BULLSHIT! It is better for the kids if the parents quit acting like selfish children and do what is right and do the VERY HARD WORK of fixing what is wrong. The marriage and kids don't exist for the parents' personal fulfillment. If you are not fulfilled by your marriage, there is something you need to understand: your marriage does not exist for YOU. Your marriage exists for your SPOUSE and for your CHILDREN.

The big lies: "it is better this way"

No. It is not. Stop being so selfish! Get off your ass and WORK. Marriage is HARD! Deal with it. Get counseling! You'll tune up your car but won't do anything about your MARRIAGE?!?! You are just making excuses and trying to justify your decision. Stop lying to yourself.

The big lies: "it will just get worse"

It only got bad in the first place since YOU are not doing what you SHOULD be doing!

The big lies: "it will be better for the children"

This is total bullshit. I have always been against divorce. I am a product of divorce. I am also divorced (very recently, and I hate everything about it). What the HELL do you think you are teaching your children? You are teaching them nothing is permanent. You are teaching them love is how you FEEL, not what you DO. Love is NOT a chemical reaction. You are teaching them that marriage is NOT sacred. You are teaching them that your vows MADE BEFORE GOD (or at least in a court of law) are not important and can be broken (I *did* fulfill and keep my vows). You are teaching them that breaking promises is okay; that lies are okay. You are teaching them that personal sacrifice is stupid. You are teaching them that your personal fulfillment is more important than your family. You are teaching them to be selfish... just like you. And the cycle repeats in the next generation.

The big lies: "divorce is permanent"

Death is permanent. Divorce is nothing but a piece of paper telling you you are not married. Tear it up! Fix what is wrong! You want to see a judge smile big? Then tell the judge that you both changed your minds! Revoke your divorce! It CAN and DOES happen. The only reason a divorce is permanent is because one of you has decided it must be.

The big lies: "we have just grown apart"

My years of experience with my parents', my own, and observing others', divorce is that one spouse has decided to move on YEARS before the actual divorce. This decision is what creates the distance in a self-fulfilling prophecy. The two become more distant because one or both have unconsciously decided to force the marriage into a divorce. Practice a little introspection! Emotional distance is something YOU create for YOURSELF!

We have become a disposable society. People, however, are NOT disposable. Marriage is about PEOPLE! The days of "Ozzie and Harriet" were a REAL time in our society. It wasn't perfect, but it sure was better than the egocentric times of today where even life itself has become a "burden" and disposable.

Alleluia! He is risen!

He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! Alleluia!





Happy Easter to all! The Lord is risen!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! In honor of the occasion, I have a humorous story from Ireland.

Extracted from Fish on Friday by Father Leonard Feeney, M.I.C.M.


...on a certain lovely morning in Galway, when I went for a walk, and asked an Irish peasant to tell me how far it was to — let us call the place, for I forget it — Corofin.

“Good morning! How far is it to Corofin?”

He was sitting on a wall. He raised his hat and gave me a bow.

“About a half mile down the road, Father. And God speed you!”

“Thank you.”

I walked a half mile. I walked another half mile, examining sign-posts as I went. And another half mile. And another. And not until I had duplicated this distance twelve times did I arrive at Corofin, for it was six full miles away.

When I returned in the late afternoon, I met the same Irishman sitting on the wall. I went up to him indignantly.

“What did you mean by telling me Corofin was only a half mile away?” I shouted. “It was six miles away! You knew that when I spoke to you! Why didn’t you tell me the truth?”

“Well, you poor man,” he answered quietly and with great seriousness, “I didn’t want to knock the heart out of you, and you looking so tired in the early morning. I gave you a half mile to Corofin. That got you started. Somebody else gave you another half mile. That drove you on a bit further. In Ireland we do be always wanting to soften the journey of a stranger by giving him little dribbles of encouragement. Sure, there’d be nobody going any place here on a hot day, if people knew how far they had to go to get there.”

“Now listen,” I said, refusing to smile, “I don’t think that’s really funny It may be Irish, but it isn’t honest. I just came from England. In England one doesn’t get fooled that way. An Englishman takes great care in giving any information that is asked of him, and he takes great pride in giving it truthfully.”

“Do you know the trouble with the English, Father?” he replied vehemently, as he pounded the wall with his fist. “Do you know the trouble with the English? They wouldn’t think enough of you to tell you a lie!”

I am president of a 501(c)7 charitable organization. I am having to deal with the aftermath of badly behaved club members. I came up with this nugget to describe my position on threatening behavior:


"The difference between an offensive action and a defensive action is that a defensive action terminates when a threat is removed. Defensive actions are not, by their very nature, open ended. Offensive actions are."

Uh ... not exactly.

The Telegraph
Tuesday 13 March 2012

Red meat is blamed for one in 10 early deaths

The Department of Health was last night urged to review its guidance on red meat after a study found that eating almost half the daily recommended amount can significantly increase the risk of dying early from cancer and heart disease.

Small quantities of processed meat such as bacon, sausages or salami can increase the likelihood of dying early by a fifth, researchers from Harvard School of Medicine found. Eating steak increases the risk of early death by 12%.

[...]

Scientists added that people who eat a diet high in red meat were also likely to be generally unhealthier because they were more likely to smoke, be overweight and not exercise.

[...]

---

And there you have it. Highly processed food with nasty additives and an unhealthy life style will kill you. Yet, they want to blame meat. Why? Control. They want to CONTROL you. The article even appeals to your conscious by making a plea to save the environment through not eating red meat.

What *is* their beef against cattle?

I attended my church's annual parish retreat today. Our guest speaker was Mother Theodora. She is a great speaker. Some people might have a belief that nuns are quiet or even shy and have little presence. Yeah. You are wrong. Mother Theodora is very "real", approachable, and personable. She knows how to address an audience, impart knowledge, wisdom, and laughter.

Today was a good day.



Here are a few nuggets and thoughts from the retreat (various sources):

"The body is holy. So holy, God himself became flesh." ~Mother Theodora
"Every heresy has a shadow heresy against it, and that is the overreaction to it." ~Fr. Bob
"I understand what has to be done, but give me the grace to do it with joy."
"We sometimes confuse knowledge with wisdom." ~Mother Theodora
"He [God] loves us into existence." ~Mother Theodora
"Love transforms anger, or it [the anger] is transferred." ~Fr. Bob
"Never make the disciplines an end to themselves." ~Fr. Bob
Issac submitted to his father, Abraham, for sacrifice. He could have escaped. Abraham was over 100 years old, after all. This was an act of tremendous faith on both their parts.

I see a lot more traffic on Facebook since people have left here for there. I find that a bit sad. Yet, I am on it, too. I think I understand the draw of Twitter (some place I will NEVER be on). Facebook makes it easy to dispense short blurbs, whereas LiveJournal is more rich in its handling of lengthy posts. LiveJournal is more oriented to serious blogging than just casual updates to friends and family. Perhaps that is why it is not getting the love it deserves. I see people trying make lengthy posts in FaceBook and in Google+ and they are a HORRIBLE medium for that.

Nothing prevents people from using LiveJournal for casual updates. One of the features that differentiates LJ from FB and G+ is that of "likes". There is no way to rank the popularity of a post within LiveJournal. People's vanity is harder to serve on LJ.
Vanity is a big selling point.

But, as a "real" blog, does LJ even need or want that?

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I think TheOatmeal's blackout today has explained it best. This is BAD legislation.

Read more on Google.com.

Romans 13:1
Amplified Bible (AMP)


Romans 13
1LET EVERY person be loyally subject to the governing (civil) authorities. For there is no authority except from God [by His permission, His sanction], and those that exist do so by God's appointment.

-------------------

This passage bears some need of study. What this is saying is that Hitler was ordained by God to rule Germany and massacre millions of Jews and other people. There is more to this passage that I am not seeing, or there is a missing context.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

If you don't ask for it, then don't complain when you don't get it.

(make sign of cross)
Let us bless the hour.
Let us remember the holy presence of God.
Let us adore His Divine Majesty.

(option A)
One more hour of my life has past, to Thee sweet Jesus I offer my next and my last.

(option B)
One more - early morning    (6-9am)
         - late morning     (9-12pm)
         - early afternoon  (12-3pm)
         - late afternoon   (3-6pm)
         - early evening    (6-9pm)
... of my life has passed to Thee sweet Jesus. I offer my next three hours, and my last.

(may follow with the Divine Blessings)

Blessed be God.
Blessed be His Holy Name.
Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man.
Blessed be the name of Jesus.
Blessed be His Most Sacred Heart.
Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the paraclete.
Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most holy.
Blessed be her holy and Immaculate Conception.
Blessed be her glorious Assumption.
Blessed be the name of Mary, Virgin and Mother.
Blessed be Saint Joseph, her most chaste spouse.
Blessed be God in His angels and in His Saints.

May the heart of Jesus, in the Most Blessed Sacrament, be praised, adored, and loved with
 grateful affection, at every moment, in all the tabernacles of the world, even to the
 end of time. Amen. 

Many thanks to Fr. Bob.

It sure is a hassle to try to live a hassle-free life.