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Today is my Names Day

Commemorated on September 5

The Righteous Elizabeth was the mother of the holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord, John. She was descended from the lineage of Aaron, and St Elizabeth was the sister of St Anna, the mother of the Most Holy Theotokos. The righteous spouses, "walking in all the commandments of the Lord (Luke 1:6), suffered barrenness, which in those times was considered a punishment from God.

When Elizabeth gave birth to a son, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit she announced that his name was John, although no one in their family had this name.

They asked Zachariah (who had been rendered mute) what the child's name was, and he wrote the name John down on a tablet. Immediately the gift of speech returned to him, and inspired by the Holy Spirit, he began to prophesy about his son as the Forerunner of the Lord.

When King Herod heard from the Magi about the birth of the Messiah, he decided to kill all the infants up to two years old at Bethlehem and the surrounding area, hoping that the new-born Messiah would be among them.

Herod knew about John's unusual birth and he wanted to kill him, fearing that he was the foretold King of the Jews. But Elizabeth hid herself and the infant in the hills. The murderers searched everywhere for John. Elizabeth, when she saw her pursuers, began to implore God for their safety, and immediately the hill opened up and concealed her and the infant from their pursuers.

In these tragic days St Zachariah was taking his turn at the services in the Temple. Soldiers sent by Herod tried in vain to learn from him the whereabouts of his son. Then, by command of Herod, they murdered this holy prophet, having stabbed him between the temple and the altar (MT 23: 35). Elizabeth died forty days after her husband, and St John, preserved by the Lord, dwelt in the wilderness until the day of his appearance to the nation of Israel.

On the Greek calendar, Sts Zachariah and Elizabeth are also commemorated on June 24, the Feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist.

Troparion - Tone 2
The memory of Your prophets Zachariah and ElizabethWe celebrate today, O Lord.By their prayers, we beseech You,O Christ God, save our souls!

Kontakion - Tone 4
As the full moon brightly reflects the light of the sun,you reflected the glory of the Messiah, the Light of wisdom!With Zachariah you walked in all of the Lord¹s commandments, Elizabeth, beloved by God.So as we bless you with fitting songs,we praise the Lord, the bountiful Light, Who enlightens all.

Source: Sophocles' Blog and oca.org

Kids' Green Screen test

greenscreen test

Personifications

James' post on WALL E as well as my recent turn on my other blog (though I'm learning about human characterizations of passions there) has made me think of personifications in movies, especially cartoons and animated movies. We are used to animals acting and speaking like, and thus personifying humans, and then toys doing so in Toy Story, and now it's WALL E, the robot acting like a human. Even more so than the people in Narnia, as James observes. My developing theory is that we have a very high expectation of how humans should act. "Should" being the key word. They should be intelligent, consistent, brave, virtuous, etc. We are very critical of ourselves and others. But we do not have such high expectations of animals. They are "lower" and are appreciated mostly for their cuteness and vulnerability. We relax around them. And relaxing actually makes us more true to ourselves. So if the creators and the audience are relaxed in the presence of a non-threatening bunny for instance, maybe they and we can be more ourselves through the bunny, if that makes sense. Any human activity, like talking, pestering, playing practical jokes is impressive if a bunny does it. More so in fact.

Back to WALL E, I'll speak of the first part so's not to give too much away. What if he'd been a lone human person similarly cleaning up the garbage left behind by the departed humans. One, he would have been more connected to the ones departed, in our minds, perhaps even sharing responsibility. And there would have been a complication with how he was bonded, or not so, with his parents. Having him be a robot programmed by humans for a specific task lets us blame short-sighted humans as a whole and not specific people/parents. He is different than other robots though in that he bonds to things emotionally. Therefore we as humans can relate to him. We can personify our instinctive bond with created things through him, but his is untainted by passions - greed, lust of power, laziness, impulsiveness, lack of planning, etc. that got the earth in that shape in the first place. The robot is innocent of these things as a child is. Somehow he is impervious to temptation, which is how we "should" become, and which is indeed our fundamental state. The passions are an anomaly that we have sadly gotten used to and have developed a habit, after the Fall, of being lead by them, which - I have learned through Orthodox teaching - is unnatural. We are naturally innocent and virtuous like the robots, toys, and animals in stories. Writing about them and reading/watching them is a way to get in touch with that buried humanity by letting our guards down. Somehow, because of passions either in us or in others, when we are dealing with humans, our guard gets up and we get stiff and rigid - more like a robot and less like a human - how's that for irony? Iron - get it?

p.s. the other day I tried to post a couple of new home videos but they would not upload so that's why it said I posted when I didn't.

Technology QotW: Rising Gas Prices

Which small businesses are hurt most by rising gas prices? What can they do to save money?
Sponsored by HP.
Probably all businesses are being hurt by rising gas prices. I was going to say except Internet Businesses, but most of them ship products via fuel consuming vehicles. Fuel-saving businesses like those that are developing solar, wind, and battery technology are probably prospering, which alludes to the answer to the second question.

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont

I think this movie was pretty well-done, but I analyzed it in my new idealistic romanticism alert mode. Mrs. Palfrey is a lover of Romantic Poetry , and her new gossip-loving peers disappoint her to desperation, understandably so. Until she meets Ludo, who is also a lover of Romantic Poetry, though the same age as her grandson whom she adopts as such, understandably so. But it is their connection as human beings that energizes them, not romantic poetry. So does Romantic Poetry make you a different sort of human being? I can criticize their escapism and emotionalism and sentimentality, but do not feel that the gossip-loving crowd (who self-medicate with alcohol) offers a viable alternative. But perhaps they are all using an escape of choice. Is there a more substantial difference between them? As a lover of Romantic stories, I feel that there is, but perhaps this is unsubstantiated. I, like her, enjoy retreating into my romantic world, undistracted by people with different affinities. I also enjoy solitude. People who like solitude tend to feel they have to justify themselves. Should each type just not judge each other? But beyond being a solitary person or not, there is the question of what is the nature of your thoughts while alone? I think there's a worthy goal of prayer while alone, and contemplation. But I'm sure there are unhealthy things to think about as well. I haven't decided what to think of romantic tendencies though. I believe it is a warped or inflated view of love, not that being in love is bad nor is experiencing that high when one falls in love. But I am coming to think that idolizing or expecting to always have that "feeling" is akin to always wanting to have a fancy meal, be very rich, or to always have access to one's drug of choice. I think we are given glimpses of peace, love, and joy that may not always last when we are denying ourselves, taking up our cross and following Christ amidst persecutions, trials, and hardships. But may He fill us with a deeper peace that transcends our circumstances as we find our joy, hope, and fulfillment in Him.

Soufflé Parté

The Souffle

To our friends who left today

good bye song

We had a lovely time, and all felt it went too fast, and we miss you!

Till then!

Cranford

Elizabeth Gaskell keeps getting better and better. She knows how to write of the heart without idolizing romance. She is a moral, yet optimistic realist. I don't feel manipulated by guilt trips, sensuality, vilifications or idealism when watching these BBC productions of her works. Daughter Rachel read North and South and said the miniseries is pretty true to the book, but the book fills in more detail, which she enjoyed. Gaskell has an anti-dialectical approach even though some of her characters don't - at first.

Thanks Ana for letting me watch this previously unopened DVD while you are at camp. I think you will enjoy this as much as the other two!

Happy Anniversary, George

General Sherman Sequoia viewing area (Aug. 2007)

Today is the ninth anniversary of the joining of our families through my marrying my Knight in Shining Armor - which he had to have to put up with me. The total experience of joy in our being together is greater than the parts that we had before we became a family, for me anyway. I look forward to watching our family grow in whatever way God in His mercy grants.