It is no secret to any of my readers that I’m a philosophical, economic, and social/political conservative. But despite the American penchant for being utterly incapable of thinking outside the binary box, that doesn’t make me a Republican. Heaven forbid.

So, when I caught Peggy Noonan’s WSJ opinion piece, I sort of shrugged and went about my lunch hour (which now includes a little blog post). I would venture to say that many, perhaps most, of us who claim the rather nebulous “conservative” label, have found the present President Bush, and the Rove-ification of the Republican Party to be distinct but nonetheless distinctive let-downs. Bush began to let me down when he began the largest expansion of the federal government in my lifetime–especially when I saw some of the detrimental affects in the lives of people I know (prescription drugs anyone?). I can’t really say the Republicans let me down, because I didn’t have any hopes pinned on them (I’m registered as independent–or I better darn well be, this is Chicago after all). But since politics is largely the applied science of the pragmatic, the Republican Party has been, since Reagan, the one place conservatives could attempt, at least on the federal and state levels, to exert some political influence. Absent a viable third party, we Americans are limited to geometric extrapolations of Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. And, regrettably, we are faced with pressing present concerns that, if we attempt to address them through politics, will not await the development of a national-stage third party. So, with the devolution of the Republican Party into just another gladhanding, moneygrubbing, porkbarrel twin of the gladhanding, moneygrubbing, porkbarrel Democrat Party, one sighs and shakes his head and wonders what is to be done.

While I’m all about civic duty, I may just decide that it truly is not in chariots or horses but in the might of the Lord that our pressing concerns are addressed. And that may mean, come General Election Day, flipping the whole political process a sanctified bird of protest, and carrying on with the day to day. God’ll topple any president and raise up any Congressman he wants. I’ll support the good’un’s, but absent some good’un’s to support, might as well spend the evening with my daughters and leave the dandified horse-race announcers to their empty yammering.

Go here: Mastering New Testament Greek eSources: Hildebrandt

Then scroll down to the bottom where you will see all of 1 John read in Greek, in mp3.

Be Still, My Beeping Heart

Sofie supplied some neat quotes yesterday morning that still give me chuckles.

She, Delaina and I were in the common room, Delaina and I on the couch, Sofie standing in front of us. We were getting them dressed in their play clothes for the day. As she was getting dressed, Sofie put her hand on her chest, and looked at me and said, “Daddy, feel this.” So I placed my hand on her chest. “See?” she said. “My heart is beeping.” Delaina chimed in with her own, “My heart is beeping, too.”

A little later we were playing around with the word “curious,” and the girls piped in with “Curious George,” to which I replied, “Curious Daddy.” Sofie admonished: “You’re not curious, you’re too old.”

Too old to be curious? Be still my beeping heart.

I’ve been revisiting some personal development stuff lately (revisiting personal vision and mission, dealing with grief, going through self- and relationship analysis). One thing I found from FranklinCovey was a free, 30-day trial offer of their PlanPlus for Windows. When it comes to planners, I’m definitely a paper version guy, but the software could convert me to the paperless/computer/PDA sort of planner guy.

I would ask the charitable prayers of my readers (most of whom are family and friends). I am presently going through an extremely difficult time, the most difficult of my life, about which I do not feel like sharing. On top of this I face the pressures of end-of-semester grading (I’m already past due on grades), increased pressures at work (due to the good things of a growing department and growing scope and responsibility), and difficult financial straits (related to and caused by the current crisis).

Your prayers do support me, and I am quite conscious of it.

Thank you.

Ode 1: It is the Day of Resurrection, /
let us be radiant, O ye people; /
Pascha, the Lord’s Pascha: /
for from death to life, /
and from earth to heaven, /
Christ God hath brought us, //
as we sing the song of victory.

Ode 3: Come, let us drink a new drink, /
not one miraculously brought forth from a barren rock /
but the Fountain of Incorruption, /
springing forth from the tomb of Christ, //
in Whom we are strengthened.

Ode 4: On divine watch let the God-inspired Habakkuk stand with us, /
and show forth the light-bearing angel clearly saying: /
Today salvation is come to the world, /
for Christ is risen //
as Almighty.

Ode 5: Let us awake in the deep dawn, /
and instead of myrrh, offer a hymn to the Master, /
and we shall see Christ, /
the Sun of Righteousness, //
Who causeth life to dawn for all.

Ode 6: Thou didst descend into the nethermost parts of the earth, /
and didst shatter the eternal bars that held the fettered, O Christ, /
and on the third day, /
like Jonah from the whale, //
Thou didst arise from the tomb.

Ode 7: He Who delivered the Children from the furnace, /
became man, suffereth as a mortal, /
and through His Passion /
doth clothe mortality with the beauty of incorruption, /
He is the only blessed and most glorious //
God of our fathers.

Ode 8: This chosen and holy day /
is the first of the sabbaths, /
the queen and lady, /
the feast of feasts, /
and the festival of festivals, //
wherein we bless Christ unto the ages.

Ode 9: Shine, shine, O new Jerusalem, /
for the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee; /
dance now and be glad, O Zion, /
and do thou exult, O pure Theotokos, //
in the arising of Him Whom thou didst bear.

[from here]

This is a marvelous Serbian video that I think captures the joy of Pascha.

[Thanks to Fr Stephen where there's a translation of the lyrics.]

Does the calf live? You’ll have to wait till the end of the video to discover the bloody (?) truth.

[H/T: My sis]

Well, although yesterday I was defeated by the Baconator^TM, today I reveled in my victory over the humble sliced turkey and cheddar cheese slice sandwich on wheat. Complete with apple.

Take that!

In celebration of Bright Monday, I purchased a Baconator^TM sandwich meal from Wendy’s for lunch. I ate all the fries, but only made it through about three-fourths of the two-patty, bacon-draped sandwich.

I guess I did lose forty pounds over the last few months.

Oh, well.