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The Devil Is In The Details

Representations of faith such as the one mentioned above does little to aid the cause of Christendom in the greater world, and frankly mortifies more than a few Christians – such as this one – to boot.

At church this past Sunday, there was a dramatic reading of Matthew 4:1-11, the text in which Jesus, hungry in the wilderness for 40 days, is tempted by the devil. In the service, the choir sang a response praising God periodically during the reading. Then at the end, the devil is walking around the sanctuary, singing the very same song that the choir had been performing. It was quite affecting.

I was reminded of this a couple of days ago when I saw on YouTube a video of a young woman praising God for answering the prayers of “the believers”, that “God literally took Japan by shoulders and shook it.”

HE RATTLED THE ATHEISTS IN JAPAN!! (If you want to watch it, you can’t anymore, as Arthur explains.) Even though, or maybe because I now know it to be a hoax, I’m sorry to admit – as a self-professed pacifist – that I still wanted to reach into the screen and slap this person silly.

I was also reading Jo Page’s column in this week’s Metroland weekly about how the “New Atheists” should Give Faith a Chance and how “it is a kind of arrogance to look down your nose dismissively at the varieties of religious experience.” While I understand her point, I also recognize that representations of faith such as the faux one mentioned above do little to aid the cause of Christendom in the greater world, and frankly mortifies more than a few Christians – such as this one – to boot.

In fact, Arthur’s quote of the week dovetails nicely here: “I knew I’d struggle with the injunction to love my enemies when I first became a Christian. I just didn’t expect so many of them would turn out to be other Christians.” – Tapu Misa

I will opine that, noting pious-sounding language may be spouted by the devil, if I were to believe in a personalized Satan, it would be messengers like the person in the video that I’d be most worried about. I’m not saying she’s the devil in Christian clothing, but…
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And speaking of hell freezing over, I find myself agreeing with FOX News’ Glenn Beck. Yes, I’m surprised, too.

“Analysts from the Poynter Institute and The Blaze, a website set up by Fox News host Glenn Beck, told an NPR reporter that they found a short version of the video deceiving when compared with the full two-hour tape of a lunch meeting between NPR fundraisers and two conservative activists posing as a fake Muslim group.” Nevertheless, James O’Keefe, the same dude who edited versions of his videos to discredit the nonprofit group ACORN, still got NPR’s Ron Schiller fired. Read more HERE.

I is for Ides

Only the ides of March, May, July, and October are on the 15th; the rest are on the 13th.

Vincenzo Camuccini-The Ides of March. 1800.

When one hears of ides, it is almost always the Ides of March, which is March 15. And when one thinks of the Ides of March, one inevitably contemplates the assassination of Julius Caesar by his foes and so-called friends in 44 B.C.

Of course, the telling of the tale by William Shakespeare is the most well-known portrayal of the leader’s murder. There are at least 27 different movies and TV shows named Julius Caesar in the IMDB.

An iteration of Caesar’s death I hadn’t been familiar with is The Ides of March: A Novel by Thornton Wilder. From the Amazon description: “The Ides of March, first published in 1948, is a brilliant epistolary novel set in Julius Caesar’s Rome. Thornton Wilder called it ‘a fantasia on certain events and persons of the last days of the Roman republic.’ Through vividly imagined letters and documents, Wilder brings to life a dramatic period of world history and one of history’s most magnetic, elusive personalities.” Moreover, Jerome Kilty turned the book into a 1971 play.

I never saw it, but Episode No. 89 of the TV show Xena was called IDES OF MARCH.

Here’s a look at March 15 in history. Incidentally, the ides of a month is not necessarily on the 15th. In fact, only the ides of March, May, July, and October are on the 15th; the rest are on the 13th.

George Clooney began filming the movie Ides of March, about a Democratic governor campaigning in presidential primaries, in Cincinnati, Ohio in February 2011, continuing into March. Perhaps even on the 15th? Or would that be tempting fate?

There are a few songs called Ides of March, including one by Iron Maiden, but I thought I’d end with a song by a group called Ides of March, doing a live version of their #2 1970 hit Vehicle.
ABC Wednesday – Round 8

The Seven Deadly Sins Meme

Massage is good, to give or receive.

I woke up Friday morning hearing about a tsunami heading towards the United States, without any context of what was actually happening in Japan itself. First thing I read, actually, was Reader Wil’s post. Then I watched a lot of the television coverage. And I STILL don’t know what to say, yet. Maybe OMG. I do like Jaquandor’s post, though.

From Sunday Stealing.

1 – Pride. Seven great things about yourself.

I’m rather smart.
I’ve been told I’m a good writer.
I have a great deal of curiosity.
I do a reasonably good job keeping in touch with my friends.
I have social awareness.
I’m a good listener.
I take my loyalties seriously.

2 – Envy. Seven things you lack and covet.
OK, I’ll stipulate that I lack them, but not so sure about the coveting part.

Spatial awareness.
Mechanical aptitude.
Great awareness of 21st-century music.
Time to keep up on magazines.
Patience for long-range goals.
Desire to talk about budgeting.
Ability to keep track of my keys.

3 – Wrath. Seven things that piss you off.

Bad drivers.
Lying politicians.
People who say, “Get over it, move on” a lot.
Obsession with celebrity.
Intentional polluters.
People who litter, especially when the garbage can is three feet away.
War.

4 – Sloth. Seven things you neglect to do.

Make the bed.
Straightening my desk.
Worry about trendy clothes.
oh, I can’t really think of anything else

5 – Greed. Seven worldly material desires.

A new computer, because ours is a dinosaur.
A new TV, because the current one requires the sound to be really high in order to operate.
A new bicycle, to replace the one stolen.
A new bathroom, because it’s needed replacement since we moved in.
A new kitchen – ditto.
A new roof – necessity.
A new Pop Hits book.

6 – Gluttony. Seven guilty pleasures.

Banana bread.
Zucchini bread.
Carrot cake.
Strawberry ice cream.
Fig Newtons.
Lasagna.
Just about any fruit pie (apple, cherry, blueberry, strawberry rhubarb)

7 – Lust. Seven love secrets.

Smart women are inherently sexier than not-so-smart women.
Massage is good, to give or receive.
In terms of talking, less is usually more.
A good, moral center is definitely helpful.
A good sense of humor is overrated unless it’s the same KIND of sense of humor.
Confidence goes a long way.
Being socially aware of others generally means you have less time to be stuck on yourself.

Rock Hall QUESTION

I saw the film Afterglow on Presidents Day weekend of 1998, and Somewhere by Tom Waits was particularly affecting.

“Neil Diamond and Alice Cooper are among the musicians who will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. Tom Waits, Darlene Love, and Dr. John will also join the class of 2011… Other honorees will include Jac Holzman, Leon Russell, and Art Rupe.”

Those nominees who were not chosen for induction this year were Bon Jovi, the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J. Laura Nyro, Joe Tex, Chic, Donovan, J. Geils Band, Donna Summer, and Chuck Willis.

And I remember in the early days of the Rock Hall, which I visited in May of 1998 – they had tributes to recently deceased Carls, Wilson, and Perkins – that I was actually excited who got in. And now it’s, “Meh.”

Whereas I still care about the Baseball Hall of Fame, and to a lesser degree, the Football Hall of Fame. (I need to get to Canton someday.)

Maybe it’s because the notion of “merit” in the rock hall seems even fuzzier; it’s not strictly commercial appeal, for certain. One can argue the inclusion or exclusion of sports figures in their respective halls. But the music selections seem more arbitrary.

What do you think? And what is your favorite song by the inductees, if any? Here are mine:
Alice Cooper-School’s Out
Neil Diamond- Thank the Lord for the Night Time
Dr. John- Right Place, Wrong Time
Darlene Love- Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)
Leon Russell- Roll Over, Beethoven
Tom Waits- Somewhere [From West Side Story], used as the outro to the 1997 movie Afterglow; I saw that film on Presidents Day weekend of 1998, and the song was particularly affecting.

Anniversary

“I may be a headache, but never a bore.”

My parents were married on March 12, 1950, in Binghamton, NY. I always found that very convenient to remember; I would often say that I was their early third-anniversary present.

When their 50th anniversary was coming up – in 2000 (easy math!) – my sisters and I were trying to plan a surprise party at my parents’ church in Charlotte, NC. The only trouble was that there was an occasional conflict with the date, which was a Sunday. It turns out that my father was ALSO planning a surprise anniversary party at the church, for my mother. Once we were apprised of that fact, we gave up trying to surprise them both and concentrated on her.

So my sister flew in from San Diego, and my parents-in-law, my wife and I drove down from upstate New York, staying at a local hotel. My father did most of the decorations of the room at the church. my father needed to rest more often than he did just months before when he was primarily in charge of decorating the church for Carol’s and my wedding in May of 1999.

The family did meet before that Sunday morning; I suspect my mother figured something was up even before that. But we managed to keep her away from the decorated room.

During the service itself, much to my surprise, and definitely to my mother’s, there was a renewal of my parents’ wedding vows. (Whether my father knew, I was never able to ascertain.) I’m positive that when the pastor brought her up and ask her whether she’d marry him all over again, she did think about it for a few seconds before saying, “Yes.” Undoubtedly, what ran through her mind is a quote she attributed to my father, which I heard him say once or twice, but which she repeated regularly: “I may be a headache, but never a bore.”

After the church service, we had a lovely party, and we kids DID manage to surprise both of them with a video of some still photos, put together with music. Interestingly, we never got a family photo taken, as we had in 1995 and in 1990, maybe because the process was too fraught with drama – a tale for another time. In any case, that was my parents’ last anniversary together – until now, if you believe in an afterlife – because my father died on August 10 of that year from prostate cancer.

This is what their joint headstone reads:
Leslie Harold Green
9-26-1926 8-10-2000
(Military Info…)
Les
Renaissance Man

Gertrude Elizabeth Green
11-17-1927 2-2-2011
Trudy
Wind Beneath Our Wings