For Kosovo
And our men and women in uniform around the world. . .
February 17, 2008 | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
The Gipper Would Have Been 97 Today
Happy birthday, Ronald Reagan.
February 06, 2008 | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Young Conservatives Meet Mitt
Looking just past Romney's outstretched arm, you'll see four members of the "Young Conservatives of Our Neighborhood" club who attended the Romney rally today. Now that Fred Thompson is no longer in the race, the YC's are trying to persuade me that Romney is the one candidate who can unite fiscal, social and foreign policy conservatives. That's yet to be seen, but my boys and their cohorts are quite persuasive.
January 23, 2008 | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Beautiful Baby Wearing
January 19, 2008 | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
World Breastfeeding Week 2008 Photo Contest
I know a lot of y'all are both avid photographers and avid breastfeeding supporters. Combine those passions and participate in the WBW 2008 photo contest! Deadline February 29, 2008. Details here.
What are we looking for?
We need stories that illustrate support for breastfeeding. We are looking for any photo that TELLS A STORY of support. It may be a who, a what or a where! You may be the person who provided the support or the person who received the support.
Illustrate the kind of support you provided or that you received in a photo. When taking photos, think globally and locally! We encourage you to submit photos that reflect different ethnicity and that include breastfeeding children, from a newborn to a child of 2 years or more. Support takes place in different environments, so the support you illustrate may be in a home, in a museum, in a marketplace or in a field.
(Note: I don't know the photographer of the above picture, neither do I know where I found it to give proper credit. If you do see it elsewhere online with credit to the photographer, please let me know so proper attribution can be given. Thanks!)
January 12, 2008 | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
We Remember
November 12, 2007 | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Friends in Moscow
October 07, 2007 | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Crocodile in Moscow, Penguin in Kyiv
"Diving out of the window has become a habit for the crocodile, called Khenar, with concerned neighbors saying it was the third time he had used that method to flee. . . The crocodile lost one tooth in the latest fall but was otherwise unscathed. . .
Emergency services put the crocodile in a local aquarium to recover from his fall. Within a few hours his concerned owner came to pick him up and the crocodile was last seen lying on the back seat of his owner's car."
--Reuters
This story reminds me of Andrei Kurkov's novel set in Kyiv, Death and the Penguin
August 11, 2007 | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Women, Know Your Limits!
Women, Know Your Limits!. Thanks to the kittens are so soft crowd at True Womanhood.
June 20, 2007 | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Memorial Day, 2007
Little Soldier
Little soldier, little child
You're still too young to know,
The impact of the battlefield
Or how its memory lingers so.Playing war is now a game,
Its truth you can't conceive
Should you defend, until its end
Our freedom to believe.In God, in man, in liberty
With rights for one and all,
Little soldier, little child,
That day you'll stand as tall.
Written by Maureen Kuehne
Copyright 2003
Children of Fallen Soldiers Relief Fund
May 28, 2007 | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Etic and Emic
Learned something new today. . .
The terms and ideas connected to etic and emic were developed by SIL linguist Kenneth Pike. While I'm learning these terms in the context of anthropology, it is interesting to see how the ideas developed from a linguist whose chief interest was understanding languages and people, for the purposes of the Gospel.
"But culture had to be viewed in relation to the people who utilized their units within that culture. What was crucial to them? What kind of ‘native reaction’ made one item relevant and another one not noticed? These items forced us to look at the analogue of ‘phonemics’ in anthropology, and we needed to build on our experience with phonemic analysis. So I took the word phonemic, crossed out the phon- part meaning “sound”, and generalized my use of the new emic term to represent any unit of culture, at any level, of any kind, which was reacted to as a relevant unit by the native actors in that behavior. In the same way, I created the word etic from phonetic. . ."
--Kenneth Pike
This is the second time recently that I've been in a situation in which the idea of understanding people's ideas from their points of view (emic), and trying to communicate to them on their terms has been presented as a. . . novel. . . idea. While I haven't had the terms etic and emic before, the concepts are not new to me.
Perhaps having been involved in missions and cross-cultural communications is part of my "why, of course" assumption. But I don't think that is it, because the idea of understanding another's cultural context isn't limited to just the missionaries I've known, but has been a common idea among the Christians I'm around in general.
Are health care providers, drug counselors, students and those in academia really as new to the idea of valuing the understanding culture from the other person's perspective? Isn't it obvious that sort of cultural understanding is needed when trying to communicate or provide care?
May 26, 2007 | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Ну, погоди!
Memories of Ukraine, just for my boys.
May 12, 2007 | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Praying For The Persecuted, Clarifications
I posted about the martyrs in Turkey last week, and have received an update with some clarifications:
A preface from Turkish World Outreach:
We received a few emails saying some elements in "A letter to the Global Church from the Protestant Church of Smyrna" were exaggerated. However, since none of the messages stated what was thought to be exaggerated, we did not send a retraction. Instead, we contacted the pastor and his wife who prepared the message and shared the negative email messages we had received. The spouses of the men who were slain reportedly say they want people around the world to know what took place, and the real objections appear to be from foreign workers who understandably feel threatened by unwanted exposure to their mission
work. In addition, some people felt the graphic details of the torture the men experienced (though apparently factual) should be omitted. The following corrections were sent by Pastor Bocek and his wife, and we have made these corrections in the attached text. Thank you for your prayers.---------
Dear Friends,
We are amazed at how quickly the Global Church communicated the message of our friends' deaths. Thank you for your continued prayers for Semsa, Susanne and the Church in Turkey.
We need to make a couple of corrections on the letter we sent out.
First, if you forward the letter again, due to sensitivity issues please take all the details of the torture off, replacing it with "They were brutally tortured for 3 hours" and ask your friends who you have forwarded the previous email to do the same. Also, later in the article where it says their throats were slit "from ear to ear, practically decapitated" we are not sure of the actual size of the cuts, so please delete those words from the letter as well. We won't know actual details until autopsy reports are made public; news reports and articles we were basing our information on were possibly exaggerated.
Second, my faulty estimating mistake put the word "thousands" when in fact there were only about 800 people at Necati's funeral.
Third, I made mistakes in names. Susanne Geske (not Susanne Tilman),
and Tilmann not Tilman.If you can make those changes, and pass on the information I'd appreciate it.
As a wonderful follow-up, we know for a fact that three people in the last week have committed their hearts to Christ in response to the sufferings our friends went through: John 12: 24-25 I tell you the
truth, unless a kernal of wheat falls to the ground and dies it remains only a single seed. But if it dies it produces many seeds. The man who loves His life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
Blessings,
Darlene Bocekfor The Protestant Church of Smyrna
Further clarifications, via Emeth:
From —– —–, the pastor of Diyarbakir Church
30 April 2007
Diyarbakir, TurkeyDear brothers and sisters,
I greet you in the peace and love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May the Lord abundantly bless you, your families, your churches, and your work.
We know and appreciate very much your heart for us.
Brothers and sisters, in the last ten days we have experienced very painful moments, which words cannot begin to express. Our painful experience has shown us that our lives are as the Lord describes: “What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” For this reason we have understood one more time how holy and close to the Lord we
should live our lives.We have also understood that our society is easily given to emotion and that in such painful moments some people, whether intentionally or not, report certain events inaccurately and we have not prevented this or have not been able to do so.
When the Malatya massacre happened we, the brothers from Diyarbakir, besides those already on the scene at the time of the crime, were the first to get there. When we got to Malatya our brother Ugur was still alive, but his condition was critical. Around 5:30 PM Ugur entrusted his spirit to the Lord.
Dear brothers and sisters, that painful moment has slowly come into perspective for us so that now we have begun to see some things as we should. For example, it appears that those who murdered or arranged for the murder of these brothers are getting what they hoped for. By means of our reactions we may unwittingly help them. If we do not bring the facts into the light, these people will end up getting what they desired.
Brothers Tilmann, Necati, and Ugur were murdered in a bloodthirsty way. This is a fact. But there are also some inaccurate claims about this massacre and one of these is the extent of the torture. According to rumors brother Tilmann was stabbed with a knife 156 times. Brother Ugur had countless knife wounds, it has been said. These rumors, however, are unfounded. At the
morgue we wanted to put brother Tilmann’s body, which was in a plastic bag, into the coffin, but the officials and police did not like this. “It is sinful to do it this way, we should wrap the corpse in a shroud,” they said.I accepted this idea and did what was right in their eyes. I asked them for a shroud (white cloth) and the officials moved Tilmann’s body out of the plastic bag, which they placed to the side. I took advantage of this opportunity to examine brother Tilmann’s body as far down as his stomach. I did not see any knife wounds. Only Tilmann’s throat had been slit 8-10 centimeters and there was the stitched autopsy incision down the middle of Tilmann’s chest. Unfortunately there are very different rumors circulating about brothers Tilmann and Necati. It has been said that their noses, lips, and ears were cut. These rumors do not reflect the truth. I telephoned our brother —– —– in Adana because I knew he had seen brother Tilmann’s body. I asked him about the knife wounds on brother Tilmann’s body. He said to me, “Brother, I came across three or four knife blows in the chest area. I didn’t see his back. On his face I can’t say there were knife wounds, but scratches, maybe from hitting his face when he fell down.” I knew that Ihsan
Ozbek from Ankara had seen bodies. I asked him which bodies he had seen and he said, “I saw the chest area of both Tilmann and Necati. I saw purple from bruising on Necati’s lips and chin, but I did not see knife wounds. I looked at brother Tilmann’s chest, but I did not see knife wounds.” These are the statments of those you saw the bodies of these two brothers.It is true that our brothers were knifed and tortured. But it was not to the extent of statements such as “too many wounds to count, beyond description.”
Apparently —– —– looked more carefully than brother Ihsan and I did. He saw three or four knife wounds in the chest.
No one saw brother Ugur’s body because on the night of the same day the murder happened, around midnight, his family took his body for burial.
I believe that brother Ugur had knife wounds similar to those of our other two brothers. It has been said that Ugur was stabbed all over his body, including his genitals. I do not believe this. You may ask why I don’t beleive this. I think someone stabbed this much would die on the spot. Ugur would not have been able to remain alive until 5:30 PM if he had been stabbed so much. That nothing abnormal happened to Ugur can be understood from the fact that exaggerated statements have been about our other two brothers, too.
Therefore we reach the following conclusion: yes, these brothers were tortured, but not to the extent that has been explained.
We are sons and daughters of the truth. Unfortunately unfounded news reports and media exaggerations have now gone out all over the world. Our brothers and sisters and people sensitive to such news have been misinformed. We do not intend to offend anyone. But whether the true facts are, let us report them without exaggeration. Let people everywhere think about the plain facts.
Who started these exaggerated facts about the Malatya massacre? We purpose two possibilities:
1) Those who perpetrated the crime planned this the spreading of exaggerated facts from the beginning and the murderers were simply tools for these people who had planned to blow the murder into exaggerated proportions. The goal of those who planned this murder and the exaggerated claims was both to frighten the Christians living in Turkey, causing them to shrink back and be timid, and to humiliate Turkey as a country that invites and causes such bloodthirty massacre, thereby damaging Turkey’s chances of entering the European Union and making matters worse in the country. Furthermore, the planners of this massacre wanted to give the government and our people the impression that Christians distort and exaggerate everything.
2) In every situation we see that the media either totally disregards something we say or totally exploits it. We investigated the bloody clothing that was submitted to the public as the underclothing of our brothers. None of this clothing belonged to our brothers. That clothing had been taken off the bodies of people shot to death weeks earlier. But what did the media do? They took this clothing and presented it as freshly removed from the bodies of our brothers. Is there anyone who does not yet know about the exaggerations and sometimes boldfaced lies of the media?
Therefore, brothers and sisters, if we do not explain the true facts to you our hearts will not find peace. I have written this report because I have read exaggerated or unfounded facts in news both home and abroad. The true facts are those in this report.
May the Lord bless you abundantly.
—– —–, the pastor of Diyarbakir Church
The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church --Tertullian
Continue to pray for the Church around the world, Turkey and elsewhere.
May 06, 2007 | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Making Memories and Pysanky
Each spring in Ukraine, several of us American women would get together with a Nadiya, an artist who focused on traditional folk art mixed with modern media, for an afternoon of writing pysanky eggs. It is meditative to sit, work, create together.
On Easter itself, we would see people with krashanky (solid-dyed, usually red, hard boiled eggs) and paska (a decorative, holiday bread) in baskets, bringing them to be blessed by the priests.
I miss Ukraine, and the seasonal changes and traditions. Even when traditions were not my own, they became part of the rhythm of our lives.
This year the boys and I will cook hard-boiled eggs. We will decorate them, and every red egg will remind me of babushka and Ukraine.
(Lil' Miss or Laura or Dawn. . . if you are reading this, do you have any photos of making pysanky together?)
April 02, 2007 | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Mommy Carries A Bomb, Not A Baby
I don't know whether to be enraged at this or weep.
(Via E.O.)
March 31, 2007 | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Happy Independence Day!
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.
HE has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public Good.
HE has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing Importance, unless suspended in their Operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
HE has refused to pass other Laws for the Accommodation of large Districts of People, unless those People would relinquish the Right of Representation in the Legislature, a Right inestimable to them, and formidable to Tyrants only.
HE has called together Legislative Bodies at Places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the Depository of their public Records, for the sole Purpose of fatiguing them into Compliance with his Measures.
HE has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly Firmness his Invasions on the Rights of the People.
HE has refused for a long Time, after such Dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of the Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the Dangers of Invasion from without, and the Convulsions within.
HE has endeavoured to prevent the Population of these States; for that Purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their Migrations hither, and raising the Conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
HE has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
HE has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the Tenure of their Offices, and the Amount and Payment of their Salaries.
HE has erected a Multitude of new Offices, and sent hither Swarms of Officers to harrass our People, and eat out their Substance.
HE has kept among us, in Times of Peace, Standing Armies, without the consent of our Legislatures.
HE has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
HE has combined with others to subject us to a Jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our Laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
FOR quartering large Bodies of Armed Troops among us;
FOR protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
FOR cutting off our Trade with all Parts of the World:
FOR imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
FOR depriving us, in many Cases, of the Benefits of Trial by Jury:
FOR transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended Offences:
FOR abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an arbitrary Government, and enlarging its Boundaries, so as to render it at once an Example and fit Instrument for introducing the same absolute Rules into these Colonies:
FOR taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
FOR suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with Power to legislate for us in all Cases whatsoever.
HE has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
HE has plundered our Seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our Towns, and destroyed the Lives of our People.
HE is, at this Time, transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the Works of Death, Desolation, and Tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and Perfidy, scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous Ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized Nation.
HE has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the Executioners of their Friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
HE has excited domestic Insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the Inhabitants of our Frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known Rule of Warfare, is an undistinguished Destruction, of all Ages, Sexes and Conditions.
IN every stage of these Oppressions we have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble Terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated Injury. A Prince, whose Character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the Ruler of a free People.
NOR have we been wanting in Attentions to our British Brethren. We have warned them from Time to Time of Attempts by their Legislature to extend an unwarrantable Jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the Circumstances of our Emigration and Settlement here. We have appealed to their native Justice and Magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the Ties of our common Kindred to disavow these Usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our Connections and Correspondence. They too have been deaf to the Voice of Justice and of Consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the Necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of Mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace, Friends.
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.
Did you know that many of the Founding Fathers were Presbyterian? Do you want to sign the Declaration, too? You don't have to be Presbyterian to do so, but it doesn't hurt.
I had a collection of US flags on the table this morning, and when I got up I directed the boys to bring them outside to decorate our front yard. It took them longer than I expected, so I went out to check on them. They were standing at the end of the driveway seranading the neighborhood with "I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free. . ." I'm not sure how many of our neighbors had that patriotic inspiration this morning--the guy across the street working on his lawn mower did, though.
(Thanks to the Hucksteads and Kim/Hiraeth for the links.)
July 04, 2006 | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Memorial Day 2006
Here's health to you and to our Corps
Which we are proud to serve;
In many a strife we've fought for life
And never lost our nerve.
If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven's scenes,
They will find the streets are guarded
By United States Marines.
One week ago, my 18 year old brother-in-law kissed his mom and girlfriend goodbye, gave us all hugs, and went off to Paris Island for boot camp with the Marines.
He's just one of many young men and women through this country's history who have gone, given their youth, and sometimes their lives for this country and its ideals.
In Memory.
May 29, 2006 | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Bob Dylan's Birthday
Bob Dylan is 65.
I remember the first Bob Dylan song I ever heard was when I was in 4th grade. My teacher, Mr. Earley, brought in his vinyl and played it for the class.
Well, the whole thing started at 3 o'clock fast,
It was all over by quarter past.
I was down in the sewer with some little lover
When I peeked out from a manhole cover
Wondering who turned the lights on.Well, I got up and walked around
And up and down the lonesome town.
I stood a-wondering which way to go,
I lit a cigarette on a parking meter
And walked on down the road.
It was a normal day.. . .
Down at the corner by a hot-dog stand
I seen a man, I said, "Howdy friend,
I guess there's just us two."
He screamed a bit and away he flew.
Thought I was a Communist.Well, I spied a girl and before she could leave,
"Let's go and play Adam and Eve."
I took her by the hand and my heart it was thumpin'
When she said, "Hey man, you crazy or sumpin',
You see what happened last time they started."
This was during the early 80s. Height of the Cold War. We lived in Arizona, near the Mexico border. I don't remember anyone ever telling me about a Red Dawn scenario, but I did figure that if Commies ever did invade the US, they'd come up from Mexico.
Mr. Earley used to play guitar with Bob Dylan in California.
May 24, 2006 | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Buddha's Birthday
This morning the radio mentioned that Buddha's birthday is coming up and then played Gandalf Murphy and The Slambovian Circus of Dreams. The song? I Made Buddha Cry.
Just a snapshot of my life.
May 17, 2006 | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Paris Tulips
(Via Paris Daily Photo, via Tim and Jo)
May 16, 2006 | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Three Alligator Deaths / One Week
In our neck of the swamp, the water table is low, the temperature is rising, and the alligators are mating.
That has led to three alligator-related deaths in a week. Very unusual.
Considering our neighborhood has several small lakes, it is not uncommon to see alligator snouts barely above water. Hubby has tried to point several gators out to me the past week--I'm usually too slow to see them as we drive by.
Obviously, we're keeping the kiddos away from the shoreline and in after dark.
In related news, R7 jumped into the pool the other day and then freaked out when he saw a snake was swimming, too. J9 thought he saw a wild cat right at the edge of the woods behind our house. And neighborhood lore is that a two year old who lived two doors down from us died a half-dozen years ago from a poinonous snake bite.
And here we are, safe in suburbia.
May 15, 2006 | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Gas Temperature Map
Gas prices as hot where you are as they are where I am?
Related:
Comparing Gas Prices
Comparing Gas Prices, Take 2
(Via Seven Realms)
April 25, 2006 | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Ah, Dreaming. . .
| You Belong in Paris |
 The art, the fashion, the wine, the men! Whether you're enjoying the cafe life or a beautiful park... You'll love living in the most chic place on earth. |
(Via Oh Stephanie of Little Faith)
March 07, 2006 | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Moscow Market Disaster
You've heard of the roof that collapsed at a popular Moscow market, right? At least 50 people died, likely quite a many more. Thankfully it was in the early hours of the morning, before it was crowded with shoppers.
This has really hit me emotionally. I've never been to Moscow. But I picture my favorite rinok in Kyiv, and my favorite butcher among the rows of carcasses, the little old ladies who set aside the most appealing of the turkeys for our Amerikanski Thanksgiving, the produce lady who would give bananas to the street kids and gypsies. . .
One year ago, we were preparing to leave Ukraine. Cleaning and repairing our flat. Disbursing our goods. Trying to figure out shipping. And hardest, saying goodbye to so many people. (And so many memories and places.)
February 23, 2006 | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Again, He Says. . .
Liberalism has become a philosophy of Western suicide.
February 10, 2006 | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Cartoon Controversy
The other cartoons that at the heart of this uproar? Check out Human Events.
February 04, 2006 | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Maybe I'm Not Culturally Sensitive. . .
. . .but this story is just about the final straw before I once again join the ranks of vegetarians.
January 29, 2006 | Comments (9) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Dinner and Google
I tried to resist interrupting dinner, but I jut had to google something in the midst of our conversation. We were talking about world population, food, and such, and I needed to know which country had the most arable land by area.
It took a little longer than expected to find the answer. The first search came up with arable land as a percentage of country land mass. The top three?
Bangladesh
Ukraine
Denmark
Yeah, I'm a bit surprised, too.
But arable land by area?
United States
India
Russian Federation
Okay. Back to dinner.
The conversation evolved to Christianity and capitalism. Which led to Hubby pulling Novak's "The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism" off of the shelf and J9 begging to read it. . .
January 28, 2006 | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Remembering Rachel
"A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be comforted,
because they are no more."
Thirty-three years of nearly unrestricted abortion in America.
Forty-two million abortions performed since that time.
Every abortion involves a a mother and her preborn child.
Most involve a father, grandparents, siblings.
We mourn for the loss of life, the loss of hope.
And we remember.
January 23, 2006 | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Taking Russian Foreign Policy Seriously
And Putin wonders why it is so hard to take Russia and Russian foreign policy seriously:
Speaking with Pravda this week, [Russian Liberal and Democratic Party politician Vladimir]Zhirinovsky chastised Rice for calling on Russia to "act responsibly" in supplying natural gas to Ukraine.The fascistic pol attributed that "coarse anti-Russian statement" to Rice being "a single woman who has no children."
"If she has no man by her side at her age, he will never appear," Zhirinovsky ranted on. "Condoleezza Rice needs a company of soldiers. She needs to be taken to barracks where she would be satisfied.
"Condoleezza Rice is a very cruel, offended woman who lacks men's attention," he added. "Such women are very rough. … They can be happy only when they are talked and written about everywhere: 'Oh, Condoleezza, what a remarkable woman, what a charming Afro-American lady! How well she can play the piano and speak Russian!'
"Complex-prone women are especially dangerous. They are like malicious mothers-in-law, women that evoke hatred and irritation with everyone. Everybody tries to part with such women as soon as possible. A mother-in-law is better than a single and childless political persona, though."
Whatever.
(Via Drudge)
January 14, 2006 | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Ну, Дед Мороз, погоди!
I've been feeling so sentimental about Ukraine the past month. Maybe because one year ago we were in the midst of the Orange Revolution. Maybe because I'm feeling more settled now, and "safer" to start missing Ukraine.
The holiday season has seemed so different. I really got used to preparing our family / American friend Christmas for December 25th. Then celebrating New Year's with our Ukrainian friends. And then a religious observance of Ukrainian Christmas. This year everything seems so. . . rushed.
My dear friend Laura has just returned from serving over three years in Ukraine. We are hoping to have her join us for New Year's. Have some familiarity, continuity, for us both.
One of the things I'm missing is the Christmas music I got used to in Ukraine. This song (though another version, which I can't find to play online) has been going through my head all week. I keep trying to change the radio station to find one playing it, but they are all playing American traditional music. It's a song from a children's cartoon series about a wolf and rabbit (and it may be an older folk song, I don't know.) The version I heard on the radio all the time in Kyiv was a pop one done by the groups "The Leperchauns". The music video for it was fun, too.
НОВОГОДНЯЯ ПЕСЕНКА. из мультфильма "Ну, погоди!"
Расскажи, Снегурочка, где была?
Расскажи-ка, милая, как дела?
За тобою бегала, Дед Мороз,
Пролила немало я горьких слёз!Припев:
А ну-ка, давай-ка плясать выходи!
Нет, Дед Мороз! Нет, Дед Мороз!
Нет, Дед Мороз, погоди!
Ждёт моих подарочков ребятня,
И тебе достанется от меня!
Наконец сбываются все мечты,
Лучший мой подарочек, это – ты!Припев:
А ну-ка, давай-ка плясать выходи!
Нет, Дед Мороз! Нет, Дед Мороз!
Нет, Дед Мороз, погоди!Проигрыш.
Ну, Дед Мороз! Ну, Дед Мороз!
Ну, Дед Мороз, погоди!
I'm missing Ukraine.
December 23, 2005 | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Hurricane Katrina / Uncle Chuck's and Aunt Gayle's Stories
My Uncle Chuck and Aunt Gayle are from New Orleans. They were caught in Katrina. Here are their stories, as published in the Natchez Democrat:
Couple recounts stories of escape, reunion from aftermath: Gayle's story
Couple recounts stories of escape, reunion from aftermath: Chuck's story
December 22, 2005 | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Cool and Creepy
Bill Gates is using his charitable giving to fund some very interesting research. Some of it cool. Most of it pretty creepy.
December 10, 2005 | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
For Family Honor, She Had to Die
"Heshu Yones, a West London teen, fought off her father for a frantic 15 minutes. She ran from room to room in her family home one Saturday afternoon until he cornered her in a dingy bathroom, held her over the tub and slit her throat.
The father, a onetime Kurdish freedom fighter from Iraq, told authorities that his only daughter had to die. The 16-year-old had sullied the family name, he said, by dating without his permission."
(Via Religion of Peace?)
November 28, 2005 | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Veteran's Day 2005
Little Soldier
Little soldier, little child
You're still too young to know,
The impact of the battlefield
Or how its memory lingers so.Playing war is now a game,
Its truth you can't conceive
Should you defend, until its end
Our freedom to believe.In God, in man, in liberty
With rights for one and all,
Little soldier, little child,
That day you'll stand as tall.
Written by Maureen Kuehne
Copyright 2003
November 11, 2005 | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
With a Heavy Heart
Remembering 9/11.
September 11, 2005 | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Songs of New Orleans
Even before the hurricane and flood, Aaron Neville's Louisiana 1927 brought tears to my eyes.
Listen online to Songs of New Orleans, thanks to NPR.
September 09, 2005 | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Something Postive
September 03, 2005 | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Old Times There, Are Not Forgotten
The Pontalba Apartments
My first home that I remember.
Jackson Square Art Colony
Where I was nurtured by my artist mother.
Jackson Square
Where I rode my tricycle and fed the pigeons.
The ice cream man was my friend.
Le Petit Theatre-Vieux Carre
Where I had my fourth birthday.
Cafe du Monde
Breakfast of beignets, with cafe au lait for Mom and chocolate milk for me.
Metairie, Louisiana
Where Grampie and Maw Maw live, my second home.
Waveland, MS
Where we went crabbin' and had our little pink house on the corner.
Gumbo and Crawfish and Pralines
Food of my childhood.
September 02, 2005 | Comments (12) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Dirges in the Dark
So, Bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee
But the levee was dry
Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die
September 02, 2005 | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
New Orleans and Katrina
Updated info on New Orleans
August 29, 2005 | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Bisbee Blues Festival
First Annual Bisbee Blues Festival
August 20, 2005
City Park, Old Bisbee
Sponsored by the Bisbee Arts Commission
August 20, 2005 | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Solidarity with our British Friends
To the British readers of Le Sabot & TulipGirl, we just wanted to join with a lot of other American bloggers in expressing sympathy for your losses on 7/7. And also our admiration for the way Londoners responded to the attacks. Our family is praying for those injured, and that the terrorists responsible will be quickly brought to justice
(Sentiments shared from Hubby, of Le Sabot.)
July 08, 2005 | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
Thank a Midwife!
Today is International Midwives' Day.
I've had great midwives through the years, and want to thank them here.
Carol Wolfson and Cheryl Hollifield, Florida
Veronica Wagner, California
Alisa Voss, Texas
Tavish Brinton, South Carolina
Many thanks to you, and may you and your families continue to be blessed as you serve and nurture mamas.
(Via The Mommy Blawg.)
May 05, 2005