Friday, December 30, 2005

2006 A.D.

One more calendar day, it will be the year 2006. Properly stated, it is "2006, Anno Domini Nostri Iesu Christi" (2006, in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ).

World history revolves around anno domini nostri iesu christi. Whether one is Christian or not, it is immaterial. His days on this earth are bounded by this calendrical dating. The world is bound by this calendar as well.

It behooves us not to shrug off this dating convention, or to simply hiding the anti-Christian sentiments by changing the A.D. to C.E. (Common Era). There is nothing common or ordinary about Christ's birth we'd just celebrated.

Each of us will walk a chosen path in 2006, in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, will we ever learn and remember to number our days, and apply our hearts unto wisdom in the new year God thus favors us?

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Finished Reading the Latest Weber

Over the Christmas holidays, I read the latest David Weber's space warfare saga, "At All Costs."

Long range military battles between opposing forces were determined in matters of minutes. Missiles rained in thousands at any one engagement. Colossal carnage measured in the thousands and millions. But as they say, "in space, no one can hear you scream."

A most satisfactory read of another Honor Harrington space opera, at the cost of staying up very late at nights.

Men are Childish

She said: "...I don't know if I really understand him or not maybe I'm wearing a mask that I don't see the truth. Or maybe I'm completely wrong. Men are childish ..."

I retorted: Eros makes promises (and some other comments).

She, by the way, is a graduate student doing bio-medical studies. If my comments piqued her curiosity, then there's a flicker of hope and room for discussion. She might even condescend to reconsider that not all men are rude and boorish.

I am cautiously optimistic there is a man she will meet someday that will sweep her off her feet. It will take a Petruchio to her Katharina.

Monday, December 26, 2005

Let's Go On A Sleigh Ride!

Click on this link and listen to a delightful piano version of Leroy Anderson's 'Sleigh Ride'.

Selection Expired on 12-30-2005: Eteri Andjaparidze (piano)- Sleigh Ride

Sunday, December 25, 2005

It's Christmas Day


"And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." -- Isaiah 9:6, KJV.


And the angel said unto them, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." -- Luke 2:10-11, KJV.

Saturday, December 24, 2005

MERRY CHRISTMAS ONE AND ALL!

A CHRISTMAS CAROL
By Josiah Gilbert Holland (1787-1900)

THERE'’S a song in the air!
There'’s a star in the sky!
There'’s a mother'’s deep prayer
And a baby's low cry!
And the star rains its fire while the Beautiful sing,
For the manger of Bethlehem cradles a king.

There'’s a tumult of joy
O'’er the wonderful birth,
For the virgin's sweet boy
Is the Lord of the earth.
Ay! the star rains its fire and the Beautiful sing,
For the manger of Bethlehem cradles a king.

In the light of that star
Lie the ages impearled;
And that song from afar
Has swept over the world.
Every hearth is aflame, and the Beautiful sing
In the homes of the nations that Jesus is King.

We rejoice in the light,
And we echo the song
That comes down through the night
From the heavenly throng.
Ay! we shout to the lovely evangel they bring,
And we greet in his cradle our Saviour and King.

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Bing Sings White Christmas

Click on this link and listen to Bing Crosby and company sing:

Selection Expired on 12-24-2005: White Christmas

Go Ahead, Make My Day

I have no problem whatsoever in this Christmas season saying, "Merry Christmas" to fellow Americans here in these United States. Beside the good tidings associated with the celebration of Christ's birth, the Congress has sanctioned Christmas Day as a legal holiday. So there!

The anti-Christian elitists could immigrate to the Province of Manitoba, Canada, and reinstate the "multi-cultural" tree and greet the folks there with, "A Merry Multi-Cultural Day."

That will make my day.

Monday, December 19, 2005

Good Cheers and Glad Tidings

Pounds of popcorns, snacks, and other goodies were delivered to fellow staff at the agency early this morning.

More Christmas gifts are in store for delivery to the clan and neighbors the next few days.

Sunday, December 18, 2005

Fourth Sunday of Advent - Joy

"But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name." -- John 20:31, KJV

O Magnum Mysterium
(English translation of the Latin Text)

O great mystery, and wondrous sacrament
that animals should see the new-born Lord lying in their manger
Blesses is the Virgin, whose womb was worthy
to bear the Lord Jesus Christ, Alleluia

Everything is Ducky

It's a blustery and raining day. The outdoor temperature is hovering at 57°F/14°C. All things considered, the seasonal weather is better here in California than, say, at the Great Lakes or Calgary, Canada.

It took me practically two worship services this morning to track down all of the principal church staff. All of them, including their spouses, received Duck Bucks for dinner (certificates) at Mallard this Christmas.

Saturday, December 17, 2005

Christmas Shopping

This morning I bought these special treats available only at our open air farmers market.

10 bags of small kettle popcorns
4 bags of large kettle popcorns
5 pounds of cappucino almond
3 pounds of seasame walnut

Friday, December 16, 2005

Today is Ludwig's Birthday

Ludwig van Beethoven December 16, 1770 - March 26, 1827

Selection Expired on 12/20/2005:
Jacques Loussier Trio (Jazz): Variation No. 1 on Beethoven's 7th, 2nd Movement, Allegretto

Christmas Luncheon

Several units on our floor got together for our annual Christmas luncheon. We had a cater Tri-Tip fare with several side dishes and desserts. And earlier this morning, we at special services also got together for a birthday celebration and cake.

It was certainly a bountiful day, food wise.

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Christmas Blog Template Fixed for IE

It displease me whenever I write a web page that concessions have to be made to accomodate the drab desktop IE. My latest web development exercise could very well be the last straw.

Case in point. Few days ago, I worked out this Christmas Blog template in Firefox. The Christmas image on the upper left hand corner displayed fine with the Firefox browser and with the hand-held PDA equipped with IE. Alas, the picture would not show nor stayed put when viewed with the desktop IE running on Windows XP. Yet, it viewed fine with IE on the Windows 2000 Professional. Go figure.

I've ignored this "bug" for several days, but it really bugged me. Anyway, to make the long story short, I fixed the IE glitch tonight. Now the Christmas picture on the upper left hand corner is viewable in all my home systems (Widows XP, Windows98, and Windows-Mobile).

Sunday, December 11, 2005

A Country Christmas

"Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy," -- 1 Peter 1:8, NIV

Tonight, many from our church gathered at dairyman Dave's country estate for a Christmas meal. The food and atmosphere were great. But sweeter was the time of our fellowship and bonding in the rejoicing of Christ's birth.

Leave it to the Beavers

Rather than an allegorial tale, The Chronicles of Narnia is a Christ infused story. In chapter 7 of 'Narnia', the four children are referred by Mr. Beaver as the 'Sons and Daughters of Eve' (cf Psalms 144:3; 8:3-4). Mr. and Mrs. Beaver are the keepers of the prophetic word. Their place is a refuge of hope (i.e. the interpretive Word) filled with warmth and hot food.

Excerpts from Chapter 7, 'The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe':
A Day With The Beavers.

----------
"Here we are, Mrs Beaver," said Mr Beaver, "I've found them. Here are the Sons and Daughters of Adam and Eve'- and they all went in.

The first thing Lucy noticed as she went in was a burring sound, and the first thing she saw was a kindlooking old she-beaver sitting in the corner with a thread in her mouth working busily at her sewing machine, and it was from it that the sound came. She stopped her work and got up as soon as the children came in.

"So you've come at last!" she said, holding out both her wrinkled old paws. "At last! To think that ever I should live to see this day! The potatoes are on boiling and the kettle's singing and I daresay, Mr Beaver, you'll get us some fish."

"That I will," said Mr Beaver, and he went out of the house (Peter went with him), and across the ice of the deep pool to where he had a little hole in the ice which he kept open every day with his hatchet. They took a pail with them. Mr Beaver sat down quietly at the edge of the hole (he didn't seem to mind it being so chilly), looked hard into it, then suddenly shot in his paw, and before you could say Jack Robinson had whisked out a beautiful trout. Then he did it all over again until they had a fine catch of fish.

Meanwhile the girls were helping Mrs Beaver to fill the kettle and lay the table and cut the bread and put the plates in the oven to heat and draw a huge jug of beer for Mr Beaver from a barrel which stood in one corner of the house, and to put on the frying-pan and get the dripping hot. Lucy thought the Beavers had a very snug little home though it was not at all like Mr Tumnus's cave. There were no books or pictures, and instead of beds there were bunks, like on board ship, built into the wall. And there were hams and strings of onions hanging from the roof, and against the walls were gum boots and oilskins and hatchets and pairs of shears and spades and trowels and things for carrying mortar in and fishing-rods and fishing-nets and sacks. And the cloth on the table, though very clean, was very rough.

Just as the frying-pan was nicely hissing Peter and Mr Beaver came in with the fish which Mr Beaver had already opened with his knife and cleaned out in the open air. You can think how good the new-caught fish smelled while they were frying and how the hungry children longed for them to be done and how very much hungrier still they had become before Mr Beaver said, "Now we're nearly ready." Susan drained the potatoes and then put them all back in the empty pot to dry on the side of the range while Lucy was helping Mrs Beaver to dish up the trout, so that in a very few minutes everyone was drawing up their stools (it was all three-legged stools in the Beavers' house except for Mrs Beaver's own special rockingchair beside the fire) and preparing to enjoy themselves. There was a jug of creamy milk for the children (Mr Beaver stuck to beer) and a great big lump of deep yellow butter in the middle of the table from which everyone took as much as he wanted to go with his potatoes, and all the children thought - and I agree with them - that there's nothing to beat good freshwater fish if you eat it when it has been alive half an hour ago and has come out of the pan half a minute ago. And when they had finished the fish Mrs Beaver brought unexpectedly out of the oven a great and gloriously sticky marmalade roll, steaming hot, and at the same time moved the kettle on to the fire, so that when they had finished the marmalade roll the tea was made and ready to be poured out. And when each person had got his (or her) cup of tea, each person shoved back his (or her) stool so as to be able to lean against the wall and gave a long sigh of contentment.

"And now," said Mr Beaver, pushing away his empty beer mug and pulling his cup of tea towards him, "if you'll just wait till I've got my pipe lit up and going nicely - why, now we can get to business. It's snowing again," he added, cocking his eye at the window. "That's all the better, because it means we shan't have any visitors; and if anyone should have been trying to follow you, why he won't find any tracks."
----------

Third Sunday of Advent - Love

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace -- Isaiah 9:6, KJV

And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. -- Isaiah 40:5, KJV

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee -- Zachariah 9:9, KJV

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.-- Luke 2:10-11, KJV

Saturday, December 10, 2005

What Sweeter Music

What Sweeter Music (Selection Expired)

Words: Robert Herrick (1591-1674)
'A Christmas Carol, Sung to the King
in the Presence at White-Hall'

Music: John Rutter

What sweeter music can we bring
Than a carol, for to sing
The birth of this our heavenly King?
Awake the voice! Awake the string!

Dark and dull night, fly hence away,
And give the honour to this day
That sees December turned to May.

Why does the chilling winter's morn
Smile, like a field beset with corn?
Or smell like a meadow newly shorn
Thus on the sudden? Come and see
The cause, why things thus fragrant be:

'Tis He is born. whose quickening birth
Gives life and lustre, public mirth,
To heaven and the under-earth.

We see Him come, and know Him ours,
Who, with His sunshine and His showers,
Turns all the patient ground to flowers.

The darling of the world is come,
And fit it is, we find a room
To welcome Him, to welcome Him.

The nobler part of all the house here, is the heart.
Which we will give Him: and bequeath
This holly, and this ivy wreath.
To do Him honour. who's our King,
And Lord of all this revelling

What sweeter music can we bring
Than a carol, for to sing
The birth of this our heavenly King?

Friday, December 09, 2005

Joshua Bell

Joshua Bell

Today is JB's birthday.

Selection Expired: Joshua Bell (violin) - Casta Diva (from Bellini's opera "Norma")

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

John Rutter, Kapellmeister

The two foremost English kapellmeisters are Dale Warland and John Rutter. Warland has retired his Dale Warland Singers and returned to the campus of University of Minnesota in mid-2004. That leaves us John Rutter and his Cambridge Singers.

Although Rutter himself has said he is not particularly religious, he has composed many beautiful Christian choral pieces. One could say God has a plan for this man and his artistry. *

In the course of this Christmas season, I will post a few Christmas choral selections from Rutter's Christmas album. One of my favorites from this album is Rutter's setting to Robert Herrick's Christmas poem 'What Sweeter Music.' Stay tuned if you will.

* For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. -- Ephesians 2:9-11 (NASB)


Monday, December 05, 2005

Panis Angelicus

Renata Scotto, Soprano

Panis Angelicus
César Franck (1822-1890)
(Latin Text)

Panis angelicus
Fit panis hominum;
Dat panis coelicus
Figuris terminum
O res mirabilis!
Manducat Dominum
Pauper, pauper,
Servus et humilis.
Pauper, pauper,
Servus et humilis.

Selection Expired: Renata Scotto - Panis Angelicus

(English Translation)
Heavenly bread
That becomes the bread of all mankind;
Bread from the angelic host
That is the end of all imaginings.
Oh, miraculous thing!
This body of God will nourish
Even the poorest,
The most humble of servants.
Even the poorest,
The most humble of servants.

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Second Sunday of Advent - Peace

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
-- Micah 5:2, KJV

Aslan is on the move.
Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
-- Isaiah 26:8, KJV;

And

"The Spell Begins to Break"
The reason for that reassurance is that the sledge is Father Christmas' who, with the Witch's spell losing power, is finally able to enter Narnia. He comes bearing gifts for the fugitives: a sword and shield for Peter, a bow and quiver and a hunting horn for Susan, a dagger and a vial of magic cordial that can immediately heal any injury for Lucy.

-- C.S. Lewis "Chapter 10. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe"

Saturday, December 03, 2005

Every Valley

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain
-- Isaiah 40:4 (KJV)


Expired: Too Hot To Handel - Every Valley (adapted from 'The Messiah')

Thursday, December 01, 2005

O Magnum Mysterium

The area concert choir and chamber singers presented a combined choral program at our church tonight. Included with the traditional Christmas carols and advent chorales, was O Magnum Mysterium. Setting by Morton Lauridsen (Chair of the Dept. of Composition at USC).