Archive | April 2008

NPM: Poetry for the Sheer Joy

Apr30

Believe it or not, people once read poetry for the sheer joy of it. With the right poets, it still may be done. For straightforward one goes to Tennyson, Poe, Wordsworth, for convoluted and lovely one strays into Eliot, Hopkins, Browning, Pound, and Arnold. And there are a great many contemporary poets well worth your attention.”

Steven Riddle, Flos Carmeli

For sheer joy in words, Poe or Emily Dickinson.

For sheer joy in ideas, Eliot or Matthew Arnold

For sheer joy in characterization, Frost or Browning.

For sheer joy in nature, Wordsworth, of course, or any of the other Romantics.

For the sheer joy of the Lord, King David (the Psalms) or George Herbert or John Donne.

ASCENSION by John Donne

Salute the last and everlasting day,
Joy at th’ uprising of this Sun, and Son,
Ye whose true tears, or tribulation
Have purely wash’d, or burnt your drossy clay.
Behold, the Highest, parting hence away,
Lightens the dark clouds, which He treads upon ;
Nor doth He by ascending show alone,
But first He, and He first enters the way.
O strong Ram, which hast batter’d heaven for me !
Mild Lamb, which with Thy Blood hast mark’d the path !
Bright Torch, which shinest, that I the way may see !
O, with Thy own Blood quench Thy own just wrath ;
And if Thy Holy Spirit my Muse did raise,
Deign at my hands this crown of prayer and praise.

Poet of the Day: John Donne
Poetry activity for today: Put a poem in a letter or make your own poetry greeting cards.

Tomorrow May 1st, by the way, is Ascension Thursday.

Poverty to a Decent Life

Apr29

Adam Shepard believes that anyone can go from rags to . . . maybe not riches, but at least a decent life. He believes because he lived it and he ended up with a car, a furnished apartment and $5000.00 dollars in the bank just nine months after checking himself into the homeless shelter.

His book is called Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream.

Economics 101: Josh Sowin reminds us what it takes to retire rich. Start young and invest monthly. Easy, breezy—unless you’re already fifty years old and you didn’t exactly do it right when you were young.

NPM: Others Celebrating

Apr29

Carrie at Mommy Brain passes on some links and resources for your poetical enjoyment.

Mental Multivitamin: In a ragged pocket . . . “. . . you don’t need a plan or a permission slip to enjoy poetry with your family. Simply pull down a collection of poems and read. Play with the language. Take turns delighting in silly poems. Teach one another the importance of old favorites. Recite from memory the poems you’ve learned. Let favorite pieces become part of the pattern of your family’s secret language, like lines from favorite books and films.”

Some of Ruth’s favorite poetry books.

Every Day in Every Way

Apr28

Christianity for Modern Pagans, ch. 6: Vanity of Human Justice.

Ambrose Bierce: A conservative is one enamored of existing evils; a liberal wants to replace them with new ones.

Kreeft: “We don’t want to believe that the evils of our age are only another version of perennial injustice. We want to believe that either they are far worse than those of the past or far lighter. If we believe they are worse, the past becomes our Utopia; if they are lighter, the future does.”

I have been trying to articulate this thought and related ideas for lo these many years. We do not live in the best of times, nor the worst of times. There are things from the past that it would be good to bring back: simplicity, family closeness, extended family networks, a joy in work, a rhythm of work and recreation. But other aspects of the (agrarian) past are abhorrent: lack of medical care, work so hard that it drove many to an early grave, a single dependence on the land and the weather that saw families starve or lose their livelihood in a bad year, harsh discipline of children, lack of educational opportunities.

As for the future, I do not believe that every day, in every way, we are getting better and better, nor do I hold to a post-millennial view of history which says that we Christians, as we conform to the image of Christ, are busily ushering in the reign of Christ on this earth. I’m not a premillennialist either, seeing everything getting worse and worse, descending into chaos and judgement. No, rather I believe that this world will end in God’s time, either with a bang or a whimper, and then Our Lord Jesus Christ will reign over a new heaven and a new earth forever and ever. Amen.

Pascal: “When everything is moving at once, nothing appears to be moving, as on board ship. When everyone is moving toward depravity, no one seems to be moving, but if someone stops, he shows up the others who are rushing on, by acting as a fixed point.”

The Fixed Point is Christ Himself. I can judge my life and ethics by the life and ethics of Jesus. However, I also become something of a “fixed point” as I follow and conform myself to him. In this, I will be seen as a dangerous reactionary by some and a religious fanatic by others, but as closely as I follow Jesus, I will be less and less changeable and more and more a stable point of reference. Again may it be so.

NPM: Poetry Out Loud

Apr28

The 2008 National Finals for Poetry Out Loud National Recitation Contest will be held at the George Washington University Lisner Auditorium in Washington, DC. Semifinal rounds will take place all-day on Monday, April 28 and the Finals will be held in the evening on Tuesday, April 29. Admission is free and open to the public.

You can find out more about Poetry Out Loud and perhaps make plans for your high school or high school student to participate in the contest next year at the Poetry Out Loud website. I think this poetry recitation contest sounds like a lot of fun, and I hope I can get my homeschool co-op to participate.

Poem: Spring By Betsy Bee

Apr26

Spring

What is the time of year where flowers grow, 
where the sun comes out, and water flows. 
When is the time the birds come out, 
the time of year everybody talks about. 

It has such a wonderful sound, 
It's the time of year leaves don't fall on the ground. 
I never knew it's the best time of year, 
until my grandpa started living here. 
He says " Son now you should know 
the time of year you use the hoes,
because it's when the flowers grow, 
SO pretty now you need to know. 

I'll tell you now but keep it a secret, 
you can't even tell it to the egret. 
The thing i've been telling you is Spring my boy
and that always filled me up with joy. 
And so now you know what i've been saying, 
better go see the dog Huffy baying. 
Oh, yes it's my favorite time of the year, 
have no fear it's spring!  

Friday’s Center of the Blogosphere

Apr25

Nature is an infinite sphere of which the center is everywhere and the circumference nowhere..”
Blaise Pascal

S.M. Hutchens on losing one’s faith: “Experienced pastors, when faced with students who ‘lose their faith’ at college, do not begin to argue back with them on matters philosophical or theological. They inquire into ‘lifestyle’ issues in the attempt to ascertain whether there is a release to be gained from overthrowing the faith in which they were raised. There usually is.”

I could lose my sanity, not my faith, if I followed many links like this one: Virtual Bubble Wrap. I got the link from Mrs. Dani, so blame her.

In much more serious news, The Headmistress at The Common Room has been blogging the heck out of the travesty of justice that is taking place in my old hometown of San Angelo, Texas. Just go there and find the posts, and you’ll read what I think about what CPS is doing to 300+ children and their mothers. I’m mostly worried about the children. CPS says they are, too, but I don’t believe it.

Gracious Hospitality collects Teatime Recipes this week. I’m planning to host a book club tea at my house soon, so I will definitely be looking over these recipes. There’s a linky there to add a link to your favorite recipe, too.

This collection of links was all over the map from the mundane to the silly to the serious and discerning. Take it for what it’s worth, and don’t get stuck popping the virtual bubble wrap for too long.

LOST Rehash: The Shape of Things To Come

Apr25

What I asked:
Why can’t Ben kill Widmore, or vice-versa?

What rules (whose rules) did Widmore violate when his henchman killed Alex? These people live by rules?

Where is Penelope now, and why wouldn’t Ben be able to find her? Is Desmond with her?

Who killed the doctor? And could it be that the doctor really is fine, back on the boat in the past? But the “time warp” made it seem like the Boat People are lying? And made Faraday try to lie?

Why is Ben so attached to Alex since he really isn’t her dad? He doesn’t seem to care about anyone else. Why Alex? Because he raised her? Did he really steal her from Rousseau? Why? Why were Ben’s people taking children in the first place? To replace the surplus population?

And what’s going on at that “temple” with Little Richard and the rest of Ben’s people? And the kids they stole?

How does Ben end up in the Sahara? What is that “thang” Ben used to take out the Bedouins? Whatever it is, he knows how to use it, and it’s lethal.

Wasn’t C.S. Lewis in the desert of Tunisia when we first met her? I can’t remember what it was she found there. Something with a Dharma logo?

Who is Jacob, and why do Ben and Locke have to pay him a visit? Yeah, I know, so that Jacob can tell them what to do next. Why? Why is Hurley the only one who can find Jacob’s cabin now?

Is Locke a total dork? Answer: yes.

Why can’t Widmore find the island in 2005? He seems to have done so once; why not again?

Why did They kill Nadia? What did she have to do with anything? Maybe Ben had her killed just to get Sayid on his team. Ben has an evil smile.

What will happen to my now-favorite characters: Miles, Daniel Faraday, and C.S. Lewis? Oh, I hope, hope, hope, nobody kills them. Even if Faraday is a bad liar.

What I liked:
Bernard knows Morse code. I like Bernard and Rose. I may be the only one who does, but I have a soft spot for both of them.

Sawyer and Hurley playing RISK. Who won that game? I guess it was interrupted.

Hurley’s taking the servant-leadership position again. “Guys, just put down the guns.”

Sawyer’s an old softie. “If you harm one hair on that curly head . . .” I think we can expect Sawyer to do something really cold and self-centered soon just to balance out the the mush. ‘Cause he’s Sawyer, and he can’t allow anyone to think he’s going soft.

Moriarty? Sherlock Holmes’s nemesis, an arch-criminal, head of vast crime syndicate. That’s Ben. (Kerouac also has a character named Dean Moriarty in his book, On the Road, but I prefer A. Conan Doyle’s Moriarty.) However, if we’re going to have to choose between being on Ben’s side or Widmore’s side, I say, “A plague on both their houses.”

Predictions:
Jack will not die of appendicitis.

Claire will die soon. She’s acting kind of like a zombie lately, anyway.

Desmond and Penny will not be reunited because Desmond doesn’t have very good luck.

Sawyer and Locke will fight a civil war over control of the island as soon as The Oceanic Six leave, however they leave.

Faraday and Hurley ought to become friends, but they might kill Faraday off. Which would be sad. Because I like him almost as much as I like Hurley.

I’m glad LOST is back.

Christians and the New Media

Apr24

As communication theorist Marshall McLuhan argued, the tools we use to communicate a message can shape that message in ways we may or may not intend. If this is true then Christians have a duty to critically evaluate the effect of our media choices on our message. Do our choices of media forms allow the message to remain Christian? Or are the tools with which we communicate at odds with the message of the Gospel? If the medium affects the message, how will the Christian message be affected by the new media?

A response to the Evangelical Outpost Symposium sponsored by Wheatstone Academy.

Media? Message? What?

After reading this explanation of Mr. McLuhan’s famous dictum, I am only somewhat less confused. If the “new media” we’re talking about are cell phones, the internet, ipods and whatever else is out there that I’m not hip enough to know about, and the message is whatever the use of these media is implanting into our subliminal culture, then certainly these new media are not inherently Christian and are not preaching the gospel as an intrinsic media-borne message. However, I’m not sure I see that the new media are distorting the gospel either.

One element of the gospel is the building of Christian community. Jesus said that Christians were to be the Church, a community of disciples, praying together, learning together, and worshipping together. The internet, like television and even radio before it, can be a somewhat self-indulgent and isolating addiction. But it doesn’t have to be. Just as we can isolate ourselves from real community by spending too much time in front of a TV screen or a computer screen, we can also connect with others, especially via the internet, in ways that were not possible even ten years ago. If the Christian brothers and sisters I meet via the internet become my church to the exclusion of a real physical church community, then the medium of the internet has twisted and limited my understanding of what a true Christian community is meant to be. If the information and the encouragement that I get from others, blogs and forums and such like, become an adjunct to the community I experience and cause me to care not just about my immediate community, but also about the world and the Church around the world, then the underlying message of the internet is helpful and supportive to the cause of Christ.

Christians don’t control the internet any more than they control the publishing industry, and we shouldn’t aspire to do so. We can learn to effectively use the media—blogging, podcasting, music making, text-messaging, etc,—to communicate the most important message of all, the message of John 3:16 to a multitude of lost, hopeless people around the world. And as long as we remain “as wise as serpents and harmless as doves” and discern the limitations of the media we use, we can see these new media as a gift. When have we ever been closer to the day when the gospel of Jesus Christ would truly be preached “throughout the world?”

So I’m not sure I agree with McLuhan’s formulation in the first place. The medium carries a message of its own, yes. Television can cause us to focus on the visual to the exclusion of the other sensory apparatus that also receive communication. The internet can isolate and appeal to a limited attention span. However, the media, new and old, also carry the messages that the communicators put into their music, photographs, moving pictures, speeches, written words, and other forms of communication. And Christians, although we should be aware of the inherent limitations and distortions that accompany any given medium, need not fear that the message of the good news of the love of God through Christ will be lost in the messages of the new media, any more than it was garbled and made ineffectual by the printing press or the telegraph.

NPM: Birthday of the Bard

Apr23

“From you have I been absent in the spring,
When proud-pied April dress’d in all his trim
Hath put a spirit of youth in every thing,
That heavy Saturn laugh’d and leap’d with him.
Yet nor the lays of birds nor the sweet smell
Of different flowers in odour and in hue
Could make me any summer’s story tell,
Or from their proud lap pluck them where they grew;
Nor did I wonder at the lily’s white,
Nor praise the deep vermilion in the rose;
They were but sweet, but figures of delight,
Drawn after you, you pattern of all those.
Yet seem’d it winter still, and, you away,
As with your shadow I with these did play.”
– William Shakespeare, Sonnet 98

Shakespearean resources from last year’s Shakespeare birthday post.

Poet of the Day: Wm. Shakespeare, of course.
11 poetry activities for today:
1. Read some Shakespeare in the original version.
2. Read Shakespeare in a modern English version.
3. Watch a play. Shakespeare Movies for the Family from Higher Up and Further In.
4. Memorize some of your favorite lines from Shakespeare.
5. Check out the Mental Multivitamin Bardolatry archives.
6. Find a live performance of one of Shakespeare’s plays to attend with your family.
7. Write or read a sonnet.
8. Read a biography or a historical nonfiction book about Shakespeare and his times.
9.Have some fun with Macbeth.
10. Answer these questions for a Shakespearean meme.

For a little humor, you might like this poem by Don Marquis about Shakespeare’s thwarted ambitions:

pete the parrot and shakespeare.