Autumn 2004 Web Log

 

'Twas at the royal feast for Persia won
By Philip's warlike son—
Aloft in awful state
The godlike hero sate
On his imperial throne;
His valiant peers were placed around,
Their brows with roses and with myrtles bound
(So should desert in arms be crowned);
The lovely Thais by his side
Sate like a blooming eastern bride
In flower of youth and beauty's pride:—
Happy, happy, happy pair!
None but the brave
None but the brave
None but the brave deserves the fair!  

        John Dryden  Alexander's Feast (st. 1)

Dr. Maturin:
"Because, sir, teaching the young gentlemen has a dismal effect upon the soul.  It exemplifies the badness of established, artificial authority. The pedagogue has almost absolute authority over the pupils: he often beats them and insensibly he loses the sense of respect due to them as fellow human beings.  He does them harm, but the harm they do him is far greater.  He may easily become the all-knowing tyrant, always right, always virtuous; in any event he perpetually associates with his inferiors, the king of his company; and in a surprisingly short time alas this brands him with the mark of Cain.  Have you ever known a schoolmaster fit to associate with grown men? The Dear knows I never have.  They are most horribly warped indeed.  Yet, curiously enough this does not seem to apply to tutors: perhaps it is scarcely possible to play the prima donna to an audience of one.  Fathers, on the other hand -- "

Patrick O'Brian The Ionian Mission (p.92)

GOP Convention, 8/31/04.

How do you know if you are a Republican? I'll tell you how.

If you believe that government should be accountable to the people, not the people to the government...then you are a Republican!  If you believe a person should be treated as an individual, not as a member of an interest group... then you are a Republican!  If you believe your family knows how to spend your money better than the government does... then you are a Republican!  If you believe our educational system should be held accountable for the progress of our children ... then you are a Republican!  If you believe this country, not the United Nations, is the best hope of democracy in the world ... then you are a Republican!  And, ladies and gentlemen ...if you believe we must be fierce and relentless and terminate terrorism ... then you are a Republican!

There is another way you can tell you're a Republican.  You have faith in free enterprise, faith in the resourcefulness of the American people ...and faith in the U.S. economy. To those critics who are so pessimistic about our economy, I say: Don't be economic girlie men!

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

 

God moves in a mysterious way,
     His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
     And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
     Of never failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs,
     And works his sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
     The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
     In blessings on your head.

Judge not the LORD by feeble sense,
     But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence,
     He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
     Unfolding ev'ry hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
     But sweet will be the flow'r.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
     And scan his work in vain;
GOD is his own interpreter,
     And he will make it plain.

William Cowper, 1731-1800

In holy contemplation

We sweetly then pursue

The theme of God's salvation,

And find it ever new;

Set free from present sorrow,

We cheerfully can say,

E'en let the unknown tomorrow

Bring with it what it may!

Though vine nor fig tree neither

         Their wonted fruit shall bear,

Though all the field should wither,

         Nor flocks nor herds be there:

Yet God the same abiding,

         His praise shall tune my voice;

For, while in Him confiding,

          I cannot but rejoice.

William Cowper, 1731-1800

It's not better teachers, texts, or curricula that our children need most; it's better childhoods, and we will never see lasting school reform until we see parent reform.                   —Samuel Sava, in Leadership

Remember: When you talk you only repeat what you already know, but if you listen you may learn something.
                            —Amish school proverb

A new sister's description of my friend:
"I met a friend at work that was very different from anyone I had ever met.  She was genuinely happy.  I watched her in meetings, when we went to lunch and when we did things outside of work.  She was full of a very truthful joy."

2:31 pm PDT September 29, 2004
MOUNT ST. HELENS, Wash. -- Geologists have raised the alert level at Mount Saint Helens to a "volcano advisory," the second highest warning of a possible eruption.  Geologists said activity at Mount Saint Helens is "ramping up" and they are more convinced now that magma is moving under the volcano. They expected an eruption would be limited to within three miles of the volcano... [S]mall earthquakes are now occurring at the rate of four a minute.

___________________

Reported Feb 27, 2004
- - - - - - - - - - -
While excavating a burial tomb near Jerusalem in 1979, Gabriel Barkay uncovered the oldest known copy of Old Testament scripture. The priestly blessing, recorded in Numbers 6:24-26, was discovered on two small silver scrolls dated to the 7th century B.C.

“This was a discovery of utmost importance,” said Barkay, professor of archaeology at Bar Ilan University near Tel Aviv. “These verses pre-date the famous Dead Sea Scrolls by approximately four centuries. They are the only biblical verses we have from the time of the First Temple [period].”
. . .
“It took us three years to unroll it [the larger scroll],” Barkay said. “When unrolled, it was covered with very delicately scratched characters. The first word we could decipher was the ‘YHWH’ –- sometimes anglicized as ‘Jehovah.’ This is the name of the Lord in the Hebrew Bible.”

Until this time no inscriptions with the name of God had been found in Jerusalem.

…time goes on crutches till love have all his rites.

From ACT II SCENE I, Much Ado About Nothing

The Tin Woodman sat on his glittering tin throne in the handsome tin hall of his splendid tin castle in the Winkie Country of the Land of Oz. Beside him, in a chair of woven straw, sat his best friend, the Scarecrow of Oz. At times they spoke to one another of curious things they had seen and strange adventures they had known since first they two had met and become comrades. But at times they were silent, for these things had been talked over many times between them, and they found themselves contented in merely being together, speaking now and then a brief sentence to prove they were wide awake and attentive. But then, these two quaint persons never slept. Why should they sleep, when they never tired? 

Opening lines of The Tin Woodman of Oz, L. Frank Baum

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

Isaac Watts, 1707.

But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 

Galatians 6:14

‘Was discipline to be combined with the spirit of a Sallee rover,’ said Jack,‘ it would sweep the ocean clean.’

{ Perhaps the major theme of the entire Aubrey/Maturin series.}

Capt. Jack Aubrey in Master and Commander
by Patrick O’Brian

Election Determines Fate of Nation

From the Wed 06 Oct 2004 issue of the Ellensburg Daily Record (Ellensburg,Washington)
written by Mathew Manweller, Central Washington University political science professor.

"In that this will be my last column before the presidential election, there will be no sarcasm, no attempts at witty repartee. The topic is too serious, and the stakes are too high.

This November we will vote in the only election during our lifetime that will truly matter. Because America is at a once-in-a-generation crossroads, more than an election hangs in the balance. Down one path lies retreat, abdication and a reign of ambivalence. Down the other lies a nation that is aware of its past and accepts the daunting obligation its future demands. If we choose poorly, the consequences will echo through the next 50 years of history. If we, in a spasm of frustration, turn out! the current occupant of the White House, the message to the world and ourselves will be two-fold.

First, we will reject the notion that America can do big things.

Once a nation that tamed a frontier, stood down the Nazis and stood upon the moon, we will announce to the world that bringing democracy to the Middle East is too big of a task for us. But more significantly, we will signal to future presidents that as voters, we are unwilling to tackle difficult challenges, preferring caution to boldness, embracing the mediocrity that has characterized other civilizations. The defeat of President Bush will send a chilling message to future presidents who may need to make difficult, yet unpopular decisions. America has always been a nation that rises to the demands of history regardless of the costs or appeal. If we turn away from that legacy, we turn away from who we are.

Second, we inform every terrorist organiza! tion on the globe that the lesson of Somalia was well learned. In Somalia we showed terrorists that you don't need to defeat America on the battlefield when you can defeat them in the newsroom. They learned that a wounded America can become a defeated America.

Twenty-four-hour news stations and daily tracing polls will do the heavy lifting, turning a cut into a fatal blow. Except that Iraq is Somalia times 10. The election of John Kerry will serve notice to every terrorist in every cave that the soft underbelly of American power is the timidity of American voters. Terrorists will know that a steady stream of grizzly photos for CNN is all you need to break the will of the American people. Our own self-doubt will take it from there. Bin Laden will recognize that he can topple any American administration without setting foot on the homeland.

It is said that America's W.W.II generation is its 'greatest generation'. But my greatest fear is that it will become known as America's 'last generation.' Born in the bleakness of the Great Depression and hardened in the fire of WW II, they may be the last American generation that understands the meaning of duty, honor and sacrifice. It is difficult to admit, but I know these terms are spoken with only hollow detachment by many (but not all) in my generation. Too many citizens today mistake 'living in America' as 'being an American.' But America has always been more of an idea than a place. When you sign on, you do more than buy real estate. You accept a set of values and responsibilities.

This November, my generation, which has been absent too long, must grasp the obligation that comes with being an American, or fade into the oblivion they may deserve.

I believe that 100 years from now historians will look back at the election of 2004 and see it as the decisive election of our century. Depending on the outcome, they will describe it as the moment America joined the ranks of ordinary nations; or they will describe it as the moment the prodigal sons and daughters of the greatest generation accepted their burden as caretakers of the City on the Hill."
 

What nature wants, commodious gold bestows,

'Tis thus we eat the bread another sows. 

But how unequal it bestows, observe,

Tis thus we riot, while who sow it starve:

What nature wants (a phrase I much distrust)

Extends to luxury, extends to lust:

Useful, I grant, it serves what life requires,

But dreadful too, the dark assassin hires:

 Trade it may help, society extend. 

But lures the pirate, and corrupts the friend.   

  It raises armies in a nation's aid. 

But bribes a senate, and the land's betray'd.

In vain may heroes fight, and patriots rave;

If secret gold sap on from knave to knave.

Once, we confess, beneath the patriot's cloak,

From the crack'd bag the dropping guinea spoke,

And jingling down the back-stairs, told the crew,

'Old Cato is as great a rogue as you.'

Blest paper-credit! last and best supply!

That lends corruption lighter wings to fly!       

Gold imp'd by thee, can compass hardest things,

Can pocket states, can fetch or carry kings;

A single leaf shall waft an army o'er,

Or ship off senates to a distant shore;

A leaf, like Sibyl's, scatter to and fro

Our fates and fortunes, as the winds shall blow:

Pregnant with thousands flits the scrap unseen,

And silent sells a king, or buys a queen,

Oh! that such bulky bribes as all might see,

Still, as of old, encumber'd villainy!  

Excerpt From Epistle III.--Of the Use of Riches
Alexander Pope

 

"If you ask me how I want to be remembered, it is as a winner. You know what a winner is? A winner is somebody who has given his best effort, who has tried the hardest they possibly can, who has utilized every ounce of energy and strength within them to accomplish something. It doesn't mean that they accomplished it or failed, it means that they've given it their best. That's a winner."
                               —Walter Payton
 

Boy Scout Oath  

On my honor, I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country
      and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake
       and morally straight.

Only when our Congressmen and Senators are forced to contribute to Social Security and participate in Medicare themselves, will  they repair or replace these shams they mismanage to the hurt of the people they claim to serve.
                                            — RLS

With his full-throated baritone and 6-foot-4-inch frame, Keel was a romantic figure in such classic musicals as "Annie Get Your Gun," "Showboat," "Kiss Me Kate," "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" and "Kismet."   (A favorite of mine.  ~RLS)

Lovers walk a different tightrope,
Lovers always speak in tongues.
             "Lovers Speak" Joan Armatrading

( I listened to bits of her new album after eight years without recording.  It is hard on the ears musically, but interesting lyrically. ~RLS)

It is wrong to think that love comes from long companionship and persevering courtship. Love is the offspring of spiritual affinity and unless that affinity is created in a moment, it will not be created for years or even generations.                  -- Kahlil Gibran

'Your Call Is Very Important to Us...'
Reuters - Mon Dec 6, 8:07 AM ET

Nine out of 10 Chinese calling into a suicide-prevention hotline in the capital Beijing are getting the busy tone, a newspaper said on Monday, adding that nationwide four people were killing themselves every minute.

If kissing did not go by favour
it was not kissing at all.

The Letter of Marque,
p.241, Patrick O'Brian

A teacher was giving a lesson on whales and how they could not swallow a man with such a narrow throat. A little girl asked about Jonah from the Bible story, but the teacher repeated that it was not possible. The child said she would ask Jonah when she got to heaven. "Suppose Jonah went to hell?" asked the teacher. The little girl replied; "Then you ask him!"