He put his acorn helmet on;
It was plumed of the silk of the thistle down;
The corslet plate that guarded his breast
Was once the wild bee's golden vest;
His cloak, of a thousand mingled dyes,
Was formed of the wings of butterflies;
His shield was the shell of a lady-bug green,
Studs of gold on a ground of green;
And the quivering lance which he brandished bright,
Was the sting of a wasp he had slain in a fight.
Swift he bestrode his firefly steed;
He bared his blade of the bent-grass blue;
He drove his spurs of the cockle-seed,
And away like the glance of a thought he flew,
To skim the heavens, and follow far
The fiery trail of the rocket star.
-Joseph Rodham Drake
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Just stuff
Liveblogging the Israeli/Hezbollah war at the "Israellycool" blog.
We girls watched "United 93" a couple days ago. I am not ashamed to say that I cried during the movie, more than I have for any other movie. In fact, I think the only other movie I've ever cried at is "The Patriot". I am glad that I watched United 93, not only to refresh my memory as to why and what we are fighting worldwide today, but also to learn more about what happened that day. I was young enough when 9/11/01 happened that I didn't understand and absorb as much as I can and am now. I didn't know what terrorism was then, and I didn't even know the WTC existed.
Confession:
I had ice cream for dessert after lunch today. I love ice cream, especially when it's been 100 F all week and there's only a slight drop to 94 F in sight. Unlike most women, I feel almost no guilt after eating what I know to be too much sugar. This can be good for emotional reasons and it can be bad for my figure. Which would you value most in this situation?
We girls watched "United 93" a couple days ago. I am not ashamed to say that I cried during the movie, more than I have for any other movie. In fact, I think the only other movie I've ever cried at is "The Patriot". I am glad that I watched United 93, not only to refresh my memory as to why and what we are fighting worldwide today, but also to learn more about what happened that day. I was young enough when 9/11/01 happened that I didn't understand and absorb as much as I can and am now. I didn't know what terrorism was then, and I didn't even know the WTC existed.
Confession:
I had ice cream for dessert after lunch today. I love ice cream, especially when it's been 100 F all week and there's only a slight drop to 94 F in sight. Unlike most women, I feel almost no guilt after eating what I know to be too much sugar. This can be good for emotional reasons and it can be bad for my figure. Which would you value most in this situation?
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Generalization
As a rule, man's a fool.
When it's hot, he wants it cool.
When it's cool, he wants it hot,
Always wanting what is not,
Never liking what he's got.
I maintain, as a rule,
man's a fool.
When it's hot, he wants it cool.
When it's cool, he wants it hot,
Always wanting what is not,
Never liking what he's got.
I maintain, as a rule,
man's a fool.
Wars and the media
If you don’t yet understand why Israel is constantly being attacked, here’s a clearly written article that anyone can comprehend. It’s the exact opposite of what the big news media is saying, and it really made me feel for Israel. Plus, it’s a Whole. Lot. More. Logical.
And if you really are out of the loop about the whole Israel/Islam thing and haven’t heard what Newt Gingrich said about Israel last Sunday, here it is for your enlightenment:
“Speaking on Meet the Press Sunday, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich explained the crisis in the Middle East in stark terms few politicians are willing to contemplate. I believe his analysis is accurate and I have made similar points repeatedly in this daily report. Here are some excerpts from his Meet the Press appearance:
MR. GINGRICH: “…First, this is not the fifth day of the war. This is the 58th year of the effort by those who want to destroy Israel. As Ahmadinejad, the head of Iran, says, he wants to defeat the Americans and eliminate Israel from the face of the earth. So we should not see this event in isolation. There is an Iran/Syria/Hezbollah and Hamas alliance trying to destroy Israel. … “I mean, this is absolutely a question of the survival of Israel, but it’s also a question of what is really a world war. Look what you’ve been covering: …The North Koreans fire seven missiles on our Fourth of July; bombs going off in [Bombay], India; a war in Afghanistan with sanctuaries in Pakistan. As I said a minute ago, the Iran/Syria/Hamas/Hezbollah alliance. A war in Iraq funded largely from Saudi Arabia and supplied largely from Syria and Iran. “The British home secretary saying that there are 20 terrorist groups with 1,200 terrorists in Britain. Seven people in Miami videotaped pledging allegiance to al-Qaeda, and 18 people in Canada being picked up with twice the explosives that were used in Oklahoma City, with an explicit threat to bomb the Canadian parliament, and saying they’d like to behead the Canadian prime minister. And finally, in New York City, reports that in three different countries people were plotting to destroy the tunnels of New York. “…we are in the early stages of what I would describe as the third world war, and frankly, our bureaucracies aren’t responding fast enough, we don’t have the right attitude about this, and this is the 58th year of the war to destroy Israel.
MR. RUSSERT: “This is World War III?”
MR. GINGRICH: “I believe if you take all the countries I just listed, that you’ve been covering, put them on a map, look at all the different connectivity, you’d have to say to yourself this is, in fact, World War III.”
On another front to another war, Frank, a soldier just returned from Iraq, writes about why we can’t leave Iraq yet.
And finally, I would like to introduce you to the finest Swedish translation website available:
Lexin.What would I do without them.
Other than that, the only other news here is that it's warm. Hot. Toasty. Sizzling. Humid. Fatal. Miserable. Immobilizing. De-moralizing. Insane. IT’S JUST TOO HOT! I still don’t believe in global warming, but I have reversed my position on owning a window air conditioner- I used to think it qualified us as wimps. Now I am just grateful for the few slight whisps of cool air it manages to pump out every day for a house full of ten hot people.
And if you really are out of the loop about the whole Israel/Islam thing and haven’t heard what Newt Gingrich said about Israel last Sunday, here it is for your enlightenment:
“Speaking on Meet the Press Sunday, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich explained the crisis in the Middle East in stark terms few politicians are willing to contemplate. I believe his analysis is accurate and I have made similar points repeatedly in this daily report. Here are some excerpts from his Meet the Press appearance:
MR. GINGRICH: “…First, this is not the fifth day of the war. This is the 58th year of the effort by those who want to destroy Israel. As Ahmadinejad, the head of Iran, says, he wants to defeat the Americans and eliminate Israel from the face of the earth. So we should not see this event in isolation. There is an Iran/Syria/Hezbollah and Hamas alliance trying to destroy Israel. … “I mean, this is absolutely a question of the survival of Israel, but it’s also a question of what is really a world war. Look what you’ve been covering: …The North Koreans fire seven missiles on our Fourth of July; bombs going off in [Bombay], India; a war in Afghanistan with sanctuaries in Pakistan. As I said a minute ago, the Iran/Syria/Hamas/Hezbollah alliance. A war in Iraq funded largely from Saudi Arabia and supplied largely from Syria and Iran. “The British home secretary saying that there are 20 terrorist groups with 1,200 terrorists in Britain. Seven people in Miami videotaped pledging allegiance to al-Qaeda, and 18 people in Canada being picked up with twice the explosives that were used in Oklahoma City, with an explicit threat to bomb the Canadian parliament, and saying they’d like to behead the Canadian prime minister. And finally, in New York City, reports that in three different countries people were plotting to destroy the tunnels of New York. “…we are in the early stages of what I would describe as the third world war, and frankly, our bureaucracies aren’t responding fast enough, we don’t have the right attitude about this, and this is the 58th year of the war to destroy Israel.
MR. RUSSERT: “This is World War III?”
MR. GINGRICH: “I believe if you take all the countries I just listed, that you’ve been covering, put them on a map, look at all the different connectivity, you’d have to say to yourself this is, in fact, World War III.”
On another front to another war, Frank, a soldier just returned from Iraq, writes about why we can’t leave Iraq yet.
And finally, I would like to introduce you to the finest Swedish translation website available:
Lexin.What would I do without them.
Other than that, the only other news here is that it's warm. Hot. Toasty. Sizzling. Humid. Fatal. Miserable. Immobilizing. De-moralizing. Insane. IT’S JUST TOO HOT! I still don’t believe in global warming, but I have reversed my position on owning a window air conditioner- I used to think it qualified us as wimps. Now I am just grateful for the few slight whisps of cool air it manages to pump out every day for a house full of ten hot people.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Swedish is frustrating
I went to the cemetery again today. I really enjoy working there, but the computer work is driving me crazy. The inscriptions from oldest stones, there are about seven of them, are in Swedish. I am trying to translate it by using a combination of library books and the internet, but I just cannot translate several of the words. The main problem is the old stones are worn and exceptionally hard to read, so I am unsure of the spelling in many cases.
Around 1:30 the sky grew very dark, and almost a bit yellow. At first it was calm but then it started to thunder. I had visions of myself huddled in the basement as a tornado roared through town, but so far it hasn’t even rained. Just extremely dark clouds, lots of thunder and some lightning. Kind of like the Middle East. I will certainly pay attention to the situation in Israel and Lebanon. I feel sorry for Israel- they have such nasty neighbors.
And we complain about Mexico!
MSNBC’s overview of the happenings so far.
They always blame Israel.
Around 1:30 the sky grew very dark, and almost a bit yellow. At first it was calm but then it started to thunder. I had visions of myself huddled in the basement as a tornado roared through town, but so far it hasn’t even rained. Just extremely dark clouds, lots of thunder and some lightning. Kind of like the Middle East. I will certainly pay attention to the situation in Israel and Lebanon. I feel sorry for Israel- they have such nasty neighbors.
And we complain about Mexico!
MSNBC’s overview of the happenings so far.
They always blame Israel.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Monday, July 3, 2006
IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America.
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
The rest is here.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Signed by fifty-six patriots from thirteen states.
Have a great fourth of July!
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
The rest is here.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Signed by fifty-six patriots from thirteen states.
Have a great fourth of July!
Sunday, July 2, 2006
George W. Bush - September 20, 2001
Continuing the patriotic theme, here are some clips from G.W.B.'s speech after 9/11. I have highlighted the parts I think we need to remember so much!
"Tonight, we are a country awakened to danger and called to defend freedom. Our grief has turned to anger and anger to resolution. Whether we bring our enemies to justice or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done.
On September the 11th, enemies of freedom committed an act of war against our country. Americans have known wars, but for the past 136 years they have been wars on foreign soil, except for one Sunday in 1941. Americans have known the casualties of war, but not at the center of a great city on a peaceful morning.
Some speak of an age of terror. I know there are struggles ahead and dangers to face. But this country will define our times, not be defined by them.
As long as the United States of America is determined and strong, this will not be an age of terror. This will be an age of liberty here and across the world.
Freedom and fear are at war. The advance of human freedom, the great achievement of our time and the great hope of every time, now depends on us.
I will not forget the wound to our country and those who inflicted it. I will not yield, I will not rest, I will not relent in waging this struggle for freedom and security for the American people.
The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is certain. Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them.
Fellow citizens, we'll meet violence with patient justice, assured of the rightness of our cause and confident of the victories to come.
In all that lies before us, may God grant us wisdom, and may he watch over the
United States of America."
On a lighter note, I just wanted to show you my Texas cactus. I got it when Jen and I went to TX back in March. It was painful getting it out of the ground and hard on my suitcase, but I wanted a good souvenir. I only brought back the one middle piece, the rest of it sprouted in the last couple months. Neat, huh?
"Tonight, we are a country awakened to danger and called to defend freedom. Our grief has turned to anger and anger to resolution. Whether we bring our enemies to justice or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done.
On September the 11th, enemies of freedom committed an act of war against our country. Americans have known wars, but for the past 136 years they have been wars on foreign soil, except for one Sunday in 1941. Americans have known the casualties of war, but not at the center of a great city on a peaceful morning.
Some speak of an age of terror. I know there are struggles ahead and dangers to face. But this country will define our times, not be defined by them.
As long as the United States of America is determined and strong, this will not be an age of terror. This will be an age of liberty here and across the world.
Freedom and fear are at war. The advance of human freedom, the great achievement of our time and the great hope of every time, now depends on us.
I will not forget the wound to our country and those who inflicted it. I will not yield, I will not rest, I will not relent in waging this struggle for freedom and security for the American people.
The course of this conflict is not known, yet its outcome is certain. Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty, have always been at war, and we know that God is not neutral between them.
Fellow citizens, we'll meet violence with patient justice, assured of the rightness of our cause and confident of the victories to come.
In all that lies before us, may God grant us wisdom, and may he watch over the
United States of America."
On a lighter note, I just wanted to show you my Texas cactus. I got it when Jen and I went to TX back in March. It was painful getting it out of the ground and hard on my suitcase, but I wanted a good souvenir. I only brought back the one middle piece, the rest of it sprouted in the last couple months. Neat, huh?
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