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01/07/2010
DOD Identifies Army Casualty
Spc. David A. Croft Jr., 22, of Plant City, Fla., died Jan. 5 in Baghdad, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device and small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.



Rest in peace and rise in glory.

--the BB

961

01/16/10 DoD:
Army Identifies Casualty (1 of 2)
Staff Sgt. Daniel D. Merriweather, 25, of Collierville Tenn....died Jan. 13 at Combat Outpost McClain, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device. The soldiers were assigned to the 118th Military Police Company (Airborne), 503rd Military Police Battalion (Airborne), 16th Military Police Brigade (Airborne...

01/16/10 DoD:
Army Identifies Casualty (1 of 2)
Pfc. Geoffrey A. Whitsitt, 21, of Taylors, S.C...died Jan. 13 at Combat Outpost McClain, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device. The soldiers were assigned to the 118th Military Police Company (Airborne), 503rd Military Police Battalion (Airborne), 16th Military Police Brigade (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.

01/15/10 DoD:
Marine Casualty Identified
Sgt. Christopher R. Hrbek, 25, of Westwood, N.J., died Jan. 14 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

01/15/10 DoD:
Army Casualty Identified
Spc. Kyle J. Wright, 22, of Romeoville, Ill., died Jan. 13 at Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered earlier that day when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device in Kandahar province. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.

01/15/10 DoD:
Army Casualty Identified
Sgt. Lucas T. Beachnaw, 23, of Lowell, Mich., died Jan. 13 in Darya Ya, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit using small arms fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Camp Ederle, Italy.

01/15/10 DoD:
Army Releases December Suicide Data
During December 2009, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were six potential suicides. For the year 2009, among that same group, there were 78 total suicides. Of those, 49 were confirmed as suicides and 29 are pending determination of the manner of death.



Rest eternal, grant them, O Lord, and may light perpetual shine upon them.

--the BB

Closing one trip to begin another

Catherine Palace, Tsarskoye Selo, Russia

I meant to do this last year and am finally doing it this year. Christmas present (yes, belated, of course) to BFF is an album of photos from our trip to Saint Petersburg in November 2004. I have printed 64 photos so far and probably have an equal number to go.

It is fun to revisit the trip, our second there. I hope there will be one more this side of glory.

This entails going through all the photos, taking advantage of the fact that one can adjust exposure and contrast (and occasionally saturation) to turn a so-so photo into one that is quite acceptable. Copying them into a folder to be printed. Moving them to the "printed" folder when they have been. Then trimming them with a paper cutter and putting them into the album in some kind of order.

A nice project for a long weekend. (Along with making my trademark spaghetti sauce tomorrow and having friends over for dinner, then preaching on Sunday.)

This is a form of closure on that trip. Today I submitted the passport application to go on the next one which is less than a month away. (Yes, cutting it way too close; let's not get into that story tonight.)

I am wondering how many photos I will take this time around. I think the first trip to Russia had about 185 photos and the second trip, of equal length, had about 370.

Alexandrinsky Theatre, Ostrovsky Square, St Petersburg

Russian birches

--the BB

Heart thread - 01/14/2009 - updated

There is much on our hearts this evening. Let us pray.

For the people of Haiti, those who love them, those who hasten to their aid. For the dead and the dying, the injured, the homeless, the lost, the hungry. For food, water, medicine, communications, shelter, and human dignity. For enduring hope.

For George Wren, primary liaison between the agency I work through and the agency we work for, recuperating from triple bypass surgery today. From what we heard late in the afternoon it went well.
Update (1/15):

George is progressing very well. He’s eating (broth and jello), he’s sitting up
(about 3 times today), and mostly resting. He’s in pain, of course, but he also
has his sense of humor. He’s been told he’ll need to change his eating habits.
He told Beverly that he’d eat salad for the rest of his life to avoid going
through this again! As long as he can play golf, he’ll be happy!

For Don Brown, the husband of Deacon Ginny Brown, who passed away at his home surrounded by family. (submitted by Susankay)

For writers of theological tomes and other things (you know who you are).

For Pat Robertson (the avaricious, manipulative, unspeakably vile asshat) that he may turn from stupid twaddlemongering and a career of false prophecy to God's light that his twisted soul may be saved.

For the people of Uganda that they may be delivered from demagogues. For us in the States that we too may be delivered from demagogues. For the LGBT folk of Uganda that they may be delivered from oppression.

For Father Kenny's dad, for Übermilf and all who struggle with the world's sadness and their own, for Scout and Diane.

For Mark that Christ the Healer may touch him and the holy angels defend him.

For Myron, and Chris, and Frank, and Jim, and another Jim, and Ellie, and Ralph, and Steve.

For the upcoming episcopal elections in Alaska, Wyoming, and the Rio Grande. For our Standing Committee. For Fr. Tony taking on responsibility for Our Saviour. For all missions and church plants.



For my nephew, Glen Paul (we are both named for my father), whose 52nd birthday is today. Yes, that is not a recent photo.

For Lindy having her grand adventure in China that she may know she is loved and connected with us all, distance notwithstanding.

For John Bear entering a clinical trial and for Raven, his partner.

For Fr. Herb Robbins, the retired Rector of Artesia, who has been dealing with bladder cancer and is having another surgical procedure on Monday, January 18.

For Father Raymond Raney. He is scheduled to have surgery in the coming week and then will spend an additional week or so at home recovering.

For Mother Sandra's continuing recovery.

For deep, uninterrupted, restorative sleep for Margaret.

For Chuck and Gary and any and all others getting over colds or other crud.

Now that certified copies (yes, plural so the only one does not get misplaced) of my birth certificate have FINALLY arrived from the sad state of California (it only took MONTHS), I can apply tomorrow for a passport. This means I should be able to go on the trip scheduled for 3.5 weeks from now. Yeah, cutting it close. We DID take out insurance in case we needed to cancel for any reason and fully expected to cancel it next week. I guess it's time to start playing the Turkish CDs again. Fearing / assuming this trip might not take place on schedule, we have not been preparing as we ought. In the light of everything above, mentioning this seems petty, but God is God of great and small, so a few prayers for my passport, final preparations, and the trip would also be appreciated.


--the BB

Lawrence O'donnell sets the record straight

We really must not let the historical revisionists deny history. We may draw all manner of conclusions but we must begin with reality. Rudy Giuliani and Dana Perino and a long list of others are consistently pushing a, well, falsehood.



h/t to Ellie

--the BB

Le peuple d'Haiti a besoin de nous - Updated for donations

As Digby reports:

UN Dispatch has twitter feeds and other social networking links following the story. Hotels are reportedly collapsed, hospitals are destroyed and god only knows what has happened to the make-shift dwellings that house so many residents. It just couldn't happen to a poorer, less fortunate place.

Simon Romero and Mark Lacey report at the NYT:

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — A fierce earthquake struck Haiti late Tuesday afternoon, causing a crowded hospital to collapse, leveling countless shantytown dwellings and bringing even more suffering to a nation that was already the hemisphere’s poorest and most disaster-prone.

The earthquake, the worst in the region in more than 200 years, left the country in a shambles. As night fell in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, fires burned near the shoreline downtown, but otherwise the city fell into darkness. The electricity was out, telephones were not working and relief workers struggled to make their way through streets blocked by rubble.

In the chaos, it was not possible for officials to determine how many people had been killed and injured, but they warned that the casualties could be substantial.

UPDATE:
Episcopal Relief and Development is collecting donations for relief. You may donate here.

Dallasdoc has a post up at Daily Kos with links to lots of ways we can help the people of Haiti following the Richter 7.0 quake just outside Port-au-Prince.

Compassionate Savior, behold your stricken children in Haiti, strengthen those who bend their efforts to rescue the trapped, heal the injured, comfort the dying, and console the sorrowful. Guide those who channel aid and assistance that they may do so efficiently and effectively. Speed and sustain all efforts to bring relief. May your holy angels guide, guard, and defend the defenseless. All this we ask for your tender mercy's sake. Amen.

O merciful Father, who hast taught us in thy holy Word that thou dost not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men: Look with pity upon the sorrows of thy servants for whom our prayers are offered. Remember them, O Lord, in mercy, nourish their souls with patience, comfort them with a sense of thy goodness, lift up thy countenance upon them, and give them peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Map from The New York Times

--the BB

Primal stuff

Saturday I bought a work bench for my garage. Tonight, on the way home, I bought a new tool box (pictured above).

I am not a handyman, though I have visions of artistic creativity that involve sundry tools. I was never a mechanic. But there is something primal going on here, and irrational, and I am happy to own that. My father and grandfather were craftsmen. My dad built houses and mountain cabins, worked on cars, repaired radios and television sets, etc.

So am I going to be doing home repairs? *snort* Hardly. But the tools now scattered about the house and garage will soon be able to assemble in one place. There will be something comforting about that. When I am looking for something it will be far more likely to be found. It is akin to eating comfort food.

+Clumber would probably have something clever to say about the odd behaviors of bipeds. Point well taken in advance, old dog.

Sweet dreams.

--the BB

Heart thread - 01/11/2010

From Susankay:

Regarding earlier prayer for my Deacon, Ginnie, and her husband, Don, who was dealing with lymphoma spread to his lungs: Don has returned from the hospital to hospice at home. Bring strength and healing to him and Ginnie as they say goodbye for now.

I am reading of lots of funerals these days, of friends attending or officiating. For those who mourn and those who are beginning to reweave the unraveled threads of their lives.

For Father Tony and the infant community in the South Valley.

For Mark.

For those who struggle with even the simplest things in life.

For young families.

For the forgotten.

For the grace of Alice Higgins who always said, "I have a lot to be thankful for."

For those who toil and struggle for the sake of justice for all, health for all, safety for all, shelter for all, food for all, clothing for all, education for all, hope for all.

For those who pray for us when we cannot pray and those who hold us when we weep.

For those who prepare honest, healthy food for others to eat.

For those who till the soil and fish the oceans.

For those who remind us to see and hear and be touched by beauty.

--the BB

Today - updated

I ache all over right now but we have made huge progress. Part one of my Christmas present is a day of helping me organize. The south side of the garage now is lined with shelves holding boxes in a semblance of order. The recycling bin is full of papers tossed out today (going back for decades). The garbage can is almost full. A third bin is about half full of shredded paper, old financial records no longer needed, ancient canceled checks, etc.

My BFF just cleaned up part of my bathroom, has vacuumed and mopped, scrubbed stuff off the kitchen floor on his knees (you can't get help like that anymore).

We also made a Costco run so I could buy something I could never handle by myself: an eight-foot workbench. We will assemble it another day but we got it from Costco to my garage where it will sit. This is primal stuff. I am nobody's idea of a handyman but my father and his father before him were. I have always wanted a work bench for mostly non-existent projects. Still, it's part of a sense of getting the garage in order and now I will have one place for my tools.

The compote is simmering and after my shower I shall make the sou boereg triangles. Dinner is soon to happen!

Oh, and a case of wine arrived this week.

I intend to have a good year.

Update:

The menu

Two bottles of sparkling wine for all the rest, two Añejo and Diet Pepsis for me

Crab cakes with an orange zest vinaigrette

Sou boereg (triangles of buttered phyllo dough filled with Muenster cheese, egg, and flat-leaf parsley)

Alsatian Gewürztraminer

Pepper crusted ham

Compote of apples, pears, orange-infused cranberries, wild blueberries, brandy, butter, and Grand Marnier

Baked garnet yams with butter

Honey and balsamic glazed beets

broccolini with toasted almond slivers

Hearts of romaine with blue cheese and oil and vinegar

Reine de Saba cake and coffee

--the BB

No news

Dinner with BFF yesterday. Dinner with another friend this evening. Grocery shopping tomorrow evening. Cooking dinner for friends Saturday.

Consequently no profound insights, wild rants, or extended blather.

What is this mad social whirl?

PS: The cookies are almost all gone from the tree. Yum.

--the BB

Heart thread - 01/05/2010 - updated 2x

I ask your prayers for Steve who is suddenly unemployed.

[My fiancée] and I are going through the typical emotional swings right now, but we're both strong and we're going to survive. I have a few leads on jobs hoping that an interview will pop up before the end of the week.

It is a shock, always. So we pray for him and all who are looking for work, and they are legion. This includes our friends David and JimB and Ralph.

I also ask your prayers for someone special going through a rough patch.

A Prayer for Those with Whom We Are Bound in Prayer:

O Crucified Firstborn, you have surrounded us with sisters and brothers who share with us their joys, their wounds, and their deep concerns. In your merciful compassion grant that we, who do not pray for ourselves as we ought, may faithfully hold these in our heart with love as we stand before you; may your Spirit bear us together to the Father's throne where we may obtain such grace and healing as we need and be strengthened to praise and serve you all the days of our life; for the sake of your passionate love. Amen.

--the BB

Polling Afghans

Juan Cole notes interesting and somewhat surprising responses among the Afghan people in the Asia Society poll of June 2009.

A quarter of Afghans now think there are too few jobs outside the home for women up from 2% three years ago! Some 67 percent think women should be allowed to work. (This employment for women outside her own house had been forbidden by the Taliban, even though the country is awash in widows).

Afghans, aside from a small Taliban fringe, strongly support education for women and equal rights for them under the law. Some 87% support equal opportunity for education for both sexes, and 83% favor women continuing to have the right to vote.

...

A majority of Afghans (52%) now use cell phones--a big increase over previous years.

Read it all here.

--the BB

Happy Twelfth Night

W. Heath Robinson:
Shakespeare's Comedy of Twelfth Night or What You Will
(snaffled from here)

I want to give kudos to the California Shakespeare Festival back when it was the Berkeley Shakespeare Festival. They did a production of Twelfth Night in John Hinkle Park many years ago that knocked out socks off. Clever, jazzy, imaginative, delightful, memorable. It set the bar very high.

May y'all have a wonderful 12th day of Christmas as you prepare to celebrate the Theophany of our Savior.

--the BB

953

01/05/10 DoD:
Air Force Casualty Identified
Senior Airman Bradley R. Smith, 24, of Troy, Ill., died Jan. 3 near Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained while supporting combat operations. He was assigned to the 10th Air Support Operations Squadron, Fort Riley, Kan.

Details

May light perpetual shine upon them.

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01/04/10 DOD:
Army Identifies Casualty
Spc. Brushaun X. Anderson, 20, of Columbus, Ga., died Jan. 1 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when he was attacked by an unknown assailant. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.

Hugs for everybody!

The tree is lit, carols are playing, and a huge pan of curry is simmering on the stove.

I did not finish my garage project but I did accomplish half of it. I got the yard watered. Tried to do that New Year's morning and the water was frozen in the hose, but this afternoon after church it was just fine. I see lots of buds on the trees, some on the roses. One load of laundry yesterday (freshly ironed linens for church) and one load today. Have spent very nice time with friends over the weekend.

The year begins well. So far, at least.

A huge cyberhug to all.

I love the collect for the Second Sunday after Christmas:

O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

--the BB

A nice start

I assembled half of the newest shelves in the garage, arranged boxes, and swept. Tomorrow afternoon the next half and the south side of the garage will be organized. The north side remains but this much has been waiting since August 2006 to be done.

Tonight I am feeling blissful and heading to bed early.

Good year so far.

--the BB

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

h/t to SYNTHEOPOIESIS † ΣΥΝΘΕΟΠΟΙΗΣΗΣ

Gott Nytt År

As I wrote on Facebook last night:

A blessed 2010 to all - may our anxieties lessen and our courage increase. May you enjoy health, joy, passion, new adventures, old comforts, and keep your sense of wonder.

As my best friend said to me this morning on the phone:

Enjoy the vanda orchids and marching bands; I know how important those are for you.

Such high-level snark so early in the year. I hope Santa takes note.

My most vivid memories of the Rose Parade are from the year I was doing field education at a church in Pasadena. The youth group signed up do decorate a float. This was a way to raise a few hundred dollars back then. I've no idea what the going rate is nowadays. It involves working in around-the-clock shifts gluing flower parts onto the float. We had various lavender shades on our float which meant small orchids separated into petals of different colors. Not everything gets done in time for the parade so you make sure the side that faces the judges and the cameras gets done and the other side might have unflowered sections. It is exhausting and crazy. But then comes getting your chairs down on Colorado Boulevard and guarding them all night long. Cars drive by at the speed of molasses in, well, December/January and you inhale exhaust all night long. People are drinking, of course, and I had to deal with a teenager who had gotten hold of alcohol, vomiting in an alleyway.

If someone else has the Rose Parade on TV, I will glance at it. But - how to put this? - the glamor is gone.

I had a quiet evening at home, though I did actually stay up past midnight (not my usual preference). I ate pork and roasted potatoes and See's molasses chips and some of the cookies off the tree. My festive beverage was my usual Diet Pepsi. I watched Angels and Demons. This works so much better for me than going out past midnight, being with crowds, and driving home again amid the drunks on the road. I am ready for 2010.

Have not had a lot to say of late. I note that Satan's hero, Dick the Dick, emerged from his swamp to lie and distort, denying the danger in which he and his boy-king repeatedly put this nation and the mess they have created for us and the world. My wishes in his direction are unprintable.

Currently holding the United States Senate in utter contempt but why rail on endlessly about the same old stuff?

I've been battling bureaucracy in other areas, life has been overly busy (but I see light at the end of one tunnel at least). I am having lunch with friends later today and am getting to know some new folks. Who knows what lies ahead this year? For that I return to my wish for us all at the beginning.

--the BB

More on Iran

Juan Cole has updates on the rekindled situation in Iran, offering (as usual) some perspective for westerners.

The chanting on Sunday turned against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei himself, not just against President Ahmadinejad. He was castigated as the Dictator and as worse than the old shah, and the very ideological basis of the regime, the doctrine of clerical rule, was chanted against in the streets. The legitimacy of the regime, profoundly shaken by the events since early June's presidential election, is now being shredded further.

--the BB