--Thanks for the comment on my blog, Jeff...I would LOVE to hear that audio. I'm looking into finding a way for you to post stuff on my site after your request on here a couple days ago.
--More on your last post, Jeff, when I get to it...(and also gotta get some time for that thread on Christian History at the Vagrant Cafe!)
--I thought you guys might find this interesting. Every day I get an emailing about Celtic and English saints but don't necessarily read it every day. I was catching up on the last week or so and ran across the fact that a week ago was the Feast Day of St. George, Patron Saint of England. Here's the text of what was in the email.
St. George the Great Martyr, Patron of England
-----------------------------------------------------------
[Celebrated this year by the Orthodox on the 2nd Tuesday after Pascha]
Died c. 303. Many legends have gathered around the name of Saint
George,
and there are differing accounts of his origin.
There is evidence that George was, indeed, a martyr who suffered at
Diospolis (Lydda, Ludd) in Palestine before the time of Constantine,
probably under Diocletian. He was born of Christian parents in
Cappadocia, where his father was a martyr. Later he himself took refuge
in Palestine, where he became a Roman soldier and displayed courage. He
is said to have been raised to the rank of military tribune of the
imperial guards. On his mother's death he inherited a fortune and
attached himself to the court of the Emperor Diocletian in the hope of
finding advancement.
Once when the emperor was present, heathen priests were consulting the
entrails of animals to foretell the future. Those Christians among the
guards made the Sign of the Cross on their foreheads. The emperor was
extremely angry and ordered them flogged and dismissed. He then sent
out
an edict ordering the Christian clergy to make sacrifice to the pagan
gods.
On the outbreak of persecution, George declared himself a Christian and
distributed his money to the poor. When the decree which preceded the
persecution was published against the churches in Nicomedia, "a certain
man," Eusebius tells us in his History, "of no mean origin, but highly
esteemed for his temporal dignities, stimulated by a divine zeal, and
excited by an ardent faith, took it as it was openly placed and posted
up for public inspection, and tore it to shreds as a most profane and
wicked act." This man who showed such courage is believed to have been
Saint George, and such a bold and defiant action well suits what we
know
of his character.
As a result, he was subjected to nameless tortures over a period of
seven years. He was tied to a revolving wheel of blades and swords,
thrown into a pit of quicklime, made to run in red-hot shoes, scourged
with thongs of hide, beaten with sledge-hammers, and cast over a
precipice; his limbs were broken and exposed to flame, and he suffered
many other torments.
One of the most familiar elements of his life concerns his fight with
the dragon. It is said that George was riding through the province of
Lybia (Libya?), and came upon a city named Sylene. Near the city was a
marsh in which a dragon lived. The
people had attempted to kill it but were poisoned by the creature's
foetid breath.
To placate the dragon, they offered it two sheep each day, but when
they
began to exhaust their supply of sheep, they were forced to substitute
a
human each day instead, using a lottery to determine who would be
sacrificed. At the time of George's arrival, the lot had just fallen to
the king's daughter. No one volunteered to take her place, so she was
dressed in bridal finery and sent to meet the dragon.
Riding in upon this scene, George attacked the dragon and speared it
with his lance. He then fastened the princess's girdle around its neck,
and the girl led the dragon into the city. The people were frightened
and started to run away, but George told them not to be afraid--that if
the whole city would believe in Jesus Christ and be baptized, he would
slay the dragon.
The king and the people agreed, and more than 15,000 were baptized.
George killed the dragon, and it was carried away on four ox carts. He
accepted no reward for this service, but he asked the king to build
churches, honour priests, and to maintain compassion for the poor.
The above account is from a much later date than George himself. Words,
however, attributed to him are characteristic of his faith and courage,
and may well have been upon his lips as he faced his actual torture,
such as: "Christ, my Captain, my Lord, I have no strength but what You
give me. Help me this day, and the glory shall be Yours for ever and
ever."
He preached the Gospel and baptized many into the Christian faith.
Orthodox call him "the great martyr." His name and influence also
spread
far into the West under the influence of the Crusaders; however,
devotion to him there predates the Crusades. Since the 5th century many
churches could be found in the West bearing his name. It was in
England,
however, that his fame became most popular.
It is uncertain why he is the patron saint of England, though his
cultus
travelled to the British Isles before the Norman Conquest (1066).
In the Western Church the legends that grew up around his name were not
so readily accepted, and Pope Gelasius in the fifth century puts Sr.
George among those saints, "whose names are justly revered among men,
but whose actions are known only to God". However, in the middle ages,
the story of St. George and the Dragon was popular reading and was
included in the Golden Legend, one of the first books to be printed by
Caxton, in his own translation.
It was the Crusades that really made St. George popular in the West,
although he figures in early Irish and Anglo Saxon calendars. At
Canterbury, there is an ancient church dedicated to St George, and it
is
tempting to think that the dedication could be due to St. Theodore the
Greek, who came to Canterbury as Archbishop in 669 from Asia Minor, the
homeland of St. George. When, however, the Christian armies from
Western
Europe arrived in the Holy Land, they found themselves, for the first
time, in the part of the world where St. George was regarded as a major
saint.
"Saint George's arms" became the basis of the uniforms of British
soldiers and sailors, and George's red cross appears on the Union Jack
(British flag) (Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Gill, Sheppard, White).
In art, George is portrayed as a youth in armour, often mounted,
killing
or having killed a dragon. His shield and lance pennant are a red cross
on a white field (White). Generally, there is a princess near him. In
some portrayals, (1) the princess leads the dragon; (2) Saint Margaret
is the princess; (3) George is in armour standing on the dragon (not to
be confused
with the Archangel Michael, who is always winged); (4) George is in the
robes of the Order of the Garter; (5) with Saint Demetrius in icons; or
(6) as George is martyred in a brazen bull, dragged by horses, beheaded
with a sword (Roeder).
Icon of Saint George
http://www.orthodoxengland.btinternet.co.uk/george.htm
For a collection of many other images and icons of Saint George
http://www.erols.com/saintpat/ss/0423.htm#iber
RE: Easter stuff
I'll take the blame for stuff getting sent off late...I took my sweet time with it. I know I speak for Walker and myself both when I say that we have a great time looking for fun stuff to give the kids and really enjoy being able to do little things for them. It's a lot of fun.
As far as my own future parenthood, that's definitely a desire but not necessarily an immediate one. I'm hoping to do some graduate work but have other classes to take even before that (even though I get my Bachelor's degree next week). Stacey wants to get through school...and what will probably happen is she'll take out a Perkins Loan for now...supposedly special education teachers don't have to repay their Perkins Loans so long as they get in something like 3 years of teaching after they graduate. We're still investigating that one. Anyway, our eventual goal is to end up a whole lot closer to where our families and a few friends are. We both really like Omaha and I especially really feel drawn to be somewhere where things are happening, but we're also both pretty strong on wanting to be nearer to family. We'll see how it all goes. : )
As far as the rest of the post goes, I read and did the whole Dean Moriarty thing where I kept nodding my head and saying "Yes! Yes!" and such.
I went to the conference in Calvin one year but more for a couple musicians playing than anyone else. A couple of my absolute favorites were there this year (folky kind of stuff), Denison Witmer and Sufjan Stevens. Anyway, I really dig what you're saying in all this. I think this is really what I was uneloquently trying to get at back a while ago when you and I were talking about the Beats and all that sort of thing. I mean, for everything they were and weren't, they were spiritual...and while their manifestations weren't always particularly wonderful, they had so many beautiful spiritual elements very right. One thing that's been very very refreshing and amazing about Orthodoxy is that the attitude is that nothing is in and of itself inherently evil and there's much good and Godly to enjoy even in that which has some unfortunate distortions. Obviously there are those within Orthodoxy who either carry in a lot of other baggage that really blocks them from seeing this, but it's generally pretty well-intentioned. I mean, someone who is in his 50's or 60's and been socially and religiously conservative his whole life just isn't really going to see the positive spirituality in the Beats, most rock or rap songs, a modern film, and so on...and so you do get some people being rather vehement about things that really aren't viewed as a problem by most Orthodox, particularly of a certain generation. Anyway, my point in that ramble is that by and large it's been very enlightening for me to sort of not feel guilty for exploring and discovering all sorts of things.
What's so HARD about finding other people (particularly in our generation) to talk with and share these things with is that, for the most part, those who are digging deep and have an open mind to mysticism and whatnot are those who aren't necessarily all that much connected to Christianity, if at all; and on the flip side, those we know who ARE connected to Christianity, for the most part, are almost entirely antithetical to this whole line of thought. I mean, take Merton for example...so much of his stuff is published by New Directions and I find that many or most of those who would actually try and understand what he's saying and be able to engage in that sort of discussion are those who aren't necessarily interested in addressing it within the actual context of Christianity, at least not in any real and Tradition-embracing sense...does that make sense? Yet those who are generally known to be Christians really have no desire or interest in anything very much related to Merton or good poetry and writing or decent art in any form unless it's patronizing and proselytic. I find myself wanting to align my own values and moral stances based on juxtaposition as opposed to truth...it's wrong, but I have a very difficult time working with the fact that what I believe is right and wrong in regards to things like abortion and homosexuality lines up with those who I (probably pridefully) am ashamed to align myself with in most any way other than that. I mean, there's more to those issues than just that, obviously, but that's pretty heavy on my mind at times. Most of those I know or know of who are dedicated to important social issues and justice are also pretty heavy on things I just can't support. I suspect some of this has to do with the fact that most of the Orthodox I know are older converts who just really never made that a priority and while they realize the importance and value of it, they're not young anymore and just don't choose to really emphasize it...or, again, they're "conservatives" who stay away from legitimate issues because of juxtaposition (which, in my young and idealistic mind, isn't really a good excuse). Luckily Orthodoxy has some really great leaders in these realms...(Greek) Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is very vocal about the environment and has recently been making very good relations with Fidel Castro. You've got people like In Communion ( www.incommunion.org . Then on the other hand, you have folks like www.orthodoxnet.com who are very "conservative" and regularly post Republican-supportive, FoxNews-like news stories. The beauty is, there's room for everyone. The hard part is remembering that part of that means there's room for those who vote differently than myself.
Okay, a few links...
A joint statement on the Environment by Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope John Paul II:
http://www.ncrlc.com/02joint_declaration.html
Information about a conference that just happened...it's on Orthodoxy and social involvement (social justice, etc.). Hopefully their actual website will be made soon.
http://www.goarch.org/en/news/NewsDetail.asp?id=1112
Patriarch Bartholomew goes to Cuba
http://ap.washingtontimes.com/dynamic/stories/C/CUBA_ORTHODOX_CHRISTIANS?SITE=DCTMS&SECTION=HOME
And in news that goes under the "stunning" category: Fidel Castro is actually planning a pilgrimage to Mt. Athos.
http://www.mpa.gr/article.html?doc_id=442264
I've seen a couple people joking about how he may bump into Prince Charles there...apparently Prince Charles visits Mt. Athos and has expressed quite a bit of interest in Orthodoxy.
Anyway, this post has sort of rambled all over the place...sorry for any incoherency.
Hey there, guys...
Sorry it's taken me a while to post on here. I've been trying to keep my own blog updated regularly, pointless as it looks sometimes. I find that just sort of writing even ANY kind of little journalistic entry helps maintain a little sanity here and there. Sometimes (like right now) I'm so involved with other stuff that it's just mostly day-to-day garbage but the aim is to flesh out thoughts here and there, write a little fiction/poetry and such.
You guys may find this interesting. On Wednesday afternoon my professor emailed and asked if I could give a presentation on the Beat Generation in our Culture of the 60's class...the next night. Luckily Wednesday is my one night home during the week and nothing else needed *immediate* attention so I was able to focus on that a bit. People told me the presentation went pretty well...we ended up having to cram it into the last 15 minutes of class so of course I felt rushed, people had been sitting in class for 2 1/2 hours already, not to mention I knew I didn't quite have time for everything I'd wanted to cover. When I got to class I found out that a guest speaker was going to be talking just before my presentation...one of the professors here who actually attended a Ginsberg reading once and hung out with him at a national poetry gathering in Maine one year. It was fun to present, at any rate. I tried to tie in how the Beats affected the 60's yet weren't always necessarily hand-in-hand with it (Kerouac's appearance on Crossfire, for example -- the professor is going to borrow the tape I'm borrowing from you, Jeff, and show that next week possibly) but there wasn't much time for that since just doing a brief introductory bit can't be done in under 10-15 minutes, in my opinion. Anyway, I hope to be teaching this stuff someday so it was good experience to get up and do it in a setting where I wasn't just doing it as a project for a grade (though I was told this would give me some extra credit). While I was in my Wednesday night frenzy I ordered a DVD for $4 off half.com...it's a copy of Beat, a film about William Burroughs and his wife and their whole crazy situation, starring Kiefer Sutherland and Courtney Love. I also found a cheap copy of this and it's going to be a way for me to learn a ton over the summer without actually taking a class. I think being exposed to a couple classic poems with their various forms and editings and annotations is really quite an excellent educational experience so I'm going to do that with Eliot's "The Waste Land" and with "Howl."
In other news...Stacey's family decided the best time to have the reception at their house is in the afternoon at about 3pm (that's when the musicians are able to be there again if not coming in the morning). I realize this is going to at least partially conflict with your schedule, Walker, and I personally liked the morning idea better but this is a sort of "greater good" situation (and if we choose to have a "removal of crowns" ceremony in the morning it won't conflict with that, but I'm still not totally sure what the deal will be with that yet) so it's all good. I'm busy enough with everything else going on that my first instinct is to push everything off until the end of the semester, but that's not really a good overall plan, hehehe. Stacey's being great through all this and very much understanding where I'm at and coming from, so that's definitely good. I absolutely hate being pressured and rushed and she's been great about not doing that and just gently reminding me when that needs done.
I don't know if either of you guys ever hit the site up much, but I lately have rediscovered Literary Kicks. Just recently they've put up a couple really great articles I've enjoyed: one on "Where the Wild Things Are" (I think it's called) and one on Walt Whitman's legacy through the Beats (nothing all that new, but a great explanation and thoughts on it).
One more thing...
Apparently a new Dylan biopic is in the works called I'm Not There: Suppositions on a Film Concerning Dylan. From what I've read (it's hard to find info on this but I read about it last night in the new copy of Uncut), Dylan will be portrayed by 7 different actors, one of whom is a woman. The director is Todd Haynes, the same guy who directed Goldmine, a film based on the 70's glam rock scene (think David Bowie here). I'm not really sure what to say about it yet.
That does sound like a really good book, Jeff...
You don't happen to have any old issues of Ed Sanders' "F**k You: A Magazine of the Arts" lying around, do you?
I'm sure they're quite the rare commodity. We have a magazine assignment for our 60s class and I thought that'd be sweet to use but finding references, much less old copies around, is difficult.
As far as Michael Hurley goes, besides his allmusic.com listing, I found this:
http://www.locustmusic.com/hurley.html
Some interesting stuff. That same record label is selling Ginsberg's New York Blues album. *sigh* What's cool is they have mp3s up of a good bit of it.
Walker: the show is at the Darkroom Gallery - 616 S. 11th St. It's $7 and starts around 8:30. Stacey will be getting in around 9 at the airport so I'm not sure if we'll make it over for any of the show or not. I'd really like to, I think, but I say that early in the morning, too.
I don't know that it would necessarily conflict with my observance of the day. I don't necessarily have anything planned for that time of the evening. I tend to be somewhat legalistic (go figure) in things I'm still new to and I think those tendencies make me think twice about going to a show on Good Friday, but I don't think there's really a conflict here. I tend to really go back and forth with myself because I KNOW I have legalistic tendencies. What happens in things like this is I start off thinking "Well, I should/shouldn't do ____ in this situation" (with "gray area" type things), but then remind myself of what Father Stephen reminds me of: that I'm not Baptist anymore. : ) Of course, then I start asking I'm just justifying something by calling myself legalistic rather than really addressing the issue. I like to think that the important thing is that at least I'm egaging myself in the process of wanting to do and be what's right, though we all know what paves the road to hell! However, there's no real conflict with things tonight and now it's more of an issue of what Stacey may or may not be up for tonight. If we do make it, it'll be later on in the show, probably more like 9:30.
I'm really sort of conflicted here. I just found out he's playing Friday night at a local artist-type hangout called the Darkroom. Apparently he's one of the folk guys from Greenwich Village way back in the day, did a record or so on Folkways, did some stuff with the Holy Modal Rounders (whose cover of Hesitation Blues I just put on a mix cd for some professors due to its significant "first" use of the term "psychedelic" in a song). Normally I'd just go but it IS Good Friday and all...if this is someone I absolutely MUST see and it's pretty rare to get to see him, then I'd at least like to know that before making a decision. If, on the other hand, he's not really an essential, then that makes it a little different.
Well, I already mentioned this to Walker, but I'll update it on here for you, Jeff...
After talking with Fr. Stephen, Stacey and I decided to go ahead and get married here at St. Vincent's in Omaha. We are Orthodox (she was going to be chrismated in the fall but will be in June in order to be before the wedding) and such, we need (and want) to be married in an Orthodox Church. What we'll do is actually have the wedding here July 17 and then on July 24 have a "removal of the crowns" service in Indiana. Fr. Stephen and Fr. Anthony Bell (priest at St. Mary's near Goshen) are checking into whether or not this will be at St. Mary's or can be done at Stacey's parents' house. We'll still be having a reception at their house and they're actually wanting to make it a bigger deal than we'd originally planned for, which is more than fine. : ) Anyway, I think we still have witnesses and whatnot for either ceremony and you guys are both in for whichever you can make or are able to make. I know you may not be able to make it out to Omaha, Jeff, and I definitely understand...it may actually be more fun if sometime you all had the time and ability to just come out here on a fun vacation and spend it with us or something sometime down the road...anyway, I'm just rambling now...just thought I'd let you know about that.
Hey guys...
Don't you know, Jeff, that Catholics WILL be left behind!?
Things have been insanely busy here. Sometimes I blog from work but it's been hectic and we've been short-staffed while during probably the busiest time of the semester for us...so any sort of blogging hasn't really been possible. I also had a term paper due Monday and haven't really had much time at all to spend doing anything but homework since...hmm...a while now...hehe.
I've actually been not far from burn-out all week. With things being how they are at work, sometimes others here make it even more hectic and negative just due to attitudes. I won't go into detail as I'm typing this with other people not here yet but coming soon and while nothing I'm saying here is wacko or anything no one would admit, I also don't want to give a wrong appearance that I'm talking about anyone that I'm NOT talking about. Anyway, between that and just not being able to give school papers and whatnot the time, attention, and treatment I would like to, and just other various things, burn-out's been very close by all week. I realize it is better to burn out than to fade away, but neither are really an option right now. I did meet with one of my professors yesterday to talk about an upcoming paper and she was very complimentary of me and said some very kind things basically about how I jumped into upper-level English and other courses (like Rhetoric, etc.) with very little prior experience or knowledge or working with theories but have made a ton of progress very fast and all sorts of really nice things. I totally needed to hear that because I'd been really doubting everything this past week and on the walk over to her building. I told her that right now I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed and feel like I'm struggling just to get to semester's end and she said I definitely have what I need and that she feels that way, too, sometimes even now, and that it's good to focus on the difficult projects and experiences that I've already gotten through and all that sort of thing...and it all really helped. I guess part of it is trying to plan things for the summer and being sort of pushed to do so pretty quickly when I just don't have time for it...Stacey's been really cool about it all though.
