Tagged- Gah!

My darling baby sister has tagged me. This is an Internet phenomenon which I have hitherto avoided participating in. She's family though, so here goes.

Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you. Check.
2. Post the rules on your blog. Check.
3. Write six random things about yourself. (See below)
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them. (See further below...)
5. Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Six random things

1. We have five cats, one boy and four girls.
2. While I like martinis very much, my favourite cocktail is still a gin & tonic.
3. Our cats' favourite key on the keyboard to hit is F7 (Caret Browsing).
4. I have two post graduate degrees. I barely use one and I snub the other.
5. I like almost anything that involves almonds.
6. I read the Hooker translation of Cyrano de Bergerac at least once a year.

Tagging the following: Perpetua, Rachael, Zana, Cliff, Gene and ABP.

A Phrase Explained

Many years ago the Presiding Bishop of the time, Frank Griswold, exhorted all of us to "live into the tension". I've never really understood what was meant by that phrase. Until now.

In the revisionist worldview, we are clowns walking on a tightrope suspended between a stone column and a random group of onlookers. And all of that activity occurs inside a largish building where our ancestors used to worship God.

Much has been made clear.

Life in a Police State

PC Copperfield relates what the differences and similarities between being a policeman in the UK and Canada. Eye opening stuff to an American.

The Point of All This Church Stuff

The only reason I respond to the writings of those who run my former church is to try to reach them with the Gospel.

Here is something I posted over at Stand Firm. It's not the best. But it's what I think.

What the above commenters wrote. When I use the word ‘heretic’ I do not use it lightly. Can you honestly say that Archbishop Cranmer would be in accord with your theology? Or Archbishop Laud?

You see, we’ve read your writings and we’ve heard your talks. We read the HoBD mailing list. Greg’s foray into investigative reporting was not news to me (and no I wasn’t one of the ones who relayed Ann’s post to him).

To be explicit, you are a heretic. You are in a position of leadership of a church that purports to be Christian and that used to be so. That is bad. Most of those who comment at StandFirm do so because we are concerned about that sort of thing.

My ideal resolution to this conflict between the heretics in power and the Christians who are opposing them is that you lot will repent of your sins, confess your errors and convert to Christianity. The very reason I, and others, engage in dialog is to reach that resolution.

Some of us had hoped that the impaired or ruptured communion tat the Episcopal Church is in with a large portion of the world’s Anglicans would have been a wake up call for our leadership. Instead of repentance, we saw self-justification, rage and denial. None of those emotions are the fruits of the Spirit.

You and your fellows have set yourselves up as arbiters of who God is, what He is like and how He operates. You have corrupted the word ‘Love’ to serve your ends, and you presume to tell God that He must change to conform to your vision of the world.

On a more personal level, nothing would make me happy than to know that you have stopped telling God what He is, what His limits are and how He should operate in this fallen world. If you could repent of your pride and ask God what He would of you, and seek to serve Him in humility and charity, then any conflict we might have would end.

We are the unworthy servants, and He is our master. He will not allow any other God before Him. And He loves you and me and all of us too much to allow us to continue in our sin.

I will continue to pray for you, Tom Woodward. I fear for your soul as well as the souls of your fellows.

There is a similar conversation over at Dr. Mabuse's Kraalspace. In fairness, here are the links to Tom Woodward's blog and Lisa Fox's.

Because It's My Birthday

I'm posting my two favourite Xmas videos. They're probably not safe for work. Enjoy!



and

Learning History from the Movies

Today is Dec. 7, the day that this government killed over 80,000 Japanese civilians at Hiroshima in 1941, two days before killing an additional 64,000 Japanese civilians at Nagasaki by dropping nuclear bombs on innocent people.

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright

{H/T to the Reformed Pastor}

Of course, we all really know what happened back on December 7, 1941:



Of course the important thing is to do as the following video suggests:

Cure for the Drearies

Kittens.

Every time I've started to slide into my usual winter melancholia our two new kittens do something unbelievably cute, amazingly stupid or both.

The only thing wrong with kittens is that they grow up from small, vibrant, affectionate bundles of energy into cats.

Addiction and the Efficient Market

I was browsing the Williams Sonoma online catalog (horrible mistake!) and ran across my favourite candy, Jordan almonds. The bold and brash marketeers at W-S are selling this popular candy treat at $19.95 for 8.8 ounces, or $36.27 per pound. That seemed a bit high. A quick search on Google yielded several alternate vendors. The cheapest of which sells them at $5.49 per pound. The priciest sells them at $24.95 per pound. One vendor sorts the candies by grade, with the costliest being priced at $6.94 per pound. Or you can simply go to the Fresh Market or the movie theatre and buy them (price unknown, but the theatre is probably pretty pricey).

The advantage Williams Sonoma has over these less expensively priced sellers is that W-S is known. They have a reputation for quality. W-S also allows purchasers to post reviews of their various products on their website. The advantage the other sellers have is they are less expensive, in two cases dramatically so.

Were I actually to buy the candied nuts, I'd go with the last linked vendor. You can choose your price point and select colours (always a feature!). But obviously the seasoned sellers at Williams Sonoma expect that there will be enough purchasers of their candy to make carrying it profitable. Is the premium of the W-S branding and quality assurance really worth $29 per pound?

There is a market out there for spendy candy, but to spend that much for a package seems just plain nuts.