Head-dibs

Our local library is so photogenic! A local artist filled spaces with umbrellas.

A couple of years ago we found this curious leaf, so we had a little fun with perspective.

Richard Adams in his novel “Watership Down” paints a rich picture of the full moon, providing a fresh glimpse of the landscape at night. By the way, “Watership Down” is not the name of a sunken submarine. “Down” here refers to treeless, rolling hills (the Downs of Southern England). “The full moon, well risen in a cloudless eastern sky, covered the high solitude with its light. We are not conscious of daylight as that which displaces darkness. Daylight, even when the sun is clear of clouds, seems to us simply the natural condition of the earth and air. When we think of the downs, we think of the downs in daylight, as we think of a rabbit with its fur on. Stubbs may have envisaged the skeleton inside the horse, but most of us do not: and we do not usually envisage the downs without daylight, even though the light is not a part of the down itself as the hide is part of the horse itself. We take daylight for granted. But moonlight is another matter. It is inconstant. The full moon wanes...

This is the title page to my copy of Janos Starker's arrangement of Bach's Cello Suites (with personal notes on interpretation and technique). The golden nugget of wisdom is found in the top-left: "Break your cello! It is better to have character in what you play than to have a beautiful sound." (Pablo Casals)

Foot Bridge at Riverwalk Park, Columbia, SC

Near the State House, Columbia, SC

Cayman Islands, mid 1970's

Riverfront Park, Columbia, SC

Riverfront Park, Columbia, SC.

First, this graphic illustrates how the President won. Click on the graphic for an intriguing explanation. Now, Al Mohler writes: "Looking back at the election, The Washington Post offers a detailed analysis of the results with a keen demographic perspective. The data points to the fact that worldview is often tied to contexts and conditions. First, gender matters. Men favored Mitt Romney for President, with 52% of men voting for him, while 45% voted for President Obama. Women flipped the equation. 55% voted for Obama, while only 44% voted for Romney. Second, marriage matters. Married women favored Mitt Romney (53%) rather than Barack Obama (46%). Non-married women, in contrast, favored Obama (67%) over Romney (31%). Note the scale of that reversal. Third, theological convictions matter. White Roman Catholics favored Romney by a huge margin, 59% to 40% for Obama. But white evangelicals preferred Romney by an even greater degree, with 78% voting for Romney and 21% for O...

“ From barbarism to civilization requires a century; from civilization to barbarism needs but a day .”  (Will Durant) “A little science estranges a man from God. A lot of science brings him back.”  (Francis Bacon) A Letter to the Country from an Emergency Physician . Entitlement vs. Real Need. Gas Rationing: 1979 or 2012-- can you tell the difference ? Go paperless with Crowder Family Living. Beatrix Potter pictured with her rabbits . Who knew? Happy to be a Bearded Gospel Man.

(Source: " Happy Now? " at Cheezeburger.com)

"The entertainment industry is known for its liberal ways. Musicians and performers, like their actor counterparts, generally embrace left-of-center politics. Performers like Pink!, The Dixie Chicks, Madonna and Green Day, among others, have made their allegiances known. But what about their conservative counterparts ?" 

I have a Bible reading plan and try to stick to it. Wednesday morning I picked up a devotional book (I use them mostly for reference) and started reading about a particular incident in 1 Samuel 26. Here’s the scene: David is running for his life as Saul is chasing him with 3,000 chosen men of Israel. Saul camps just off the road not far from where David is camping in the wilderness. I like v. 4, “ David sent out spies, and he knew that Saul was definitely coming .” Hard to miss 3,001 men a place like this. Yep, they’re coming. So Saul camps on David’s doorstep. David wants to go down into the camp of his potential assassin and takes his nephew Abishai with him. They get down there and find Saul asleep and surrounded by all these people. No, I don’t know what he was thinking either; but, we do know what was on Abishai’s mind: “ Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand; now therefore, please let me strike with him the spear to the ground with one stroke, and I will not str...

The shortest verse in the New Testament is NOT the one you think it is! Here is the real Maria Von Trapp (1905-1987). This is the theme park we were looking for. This video on The City of London (and its evil alien reptilian queen) makes you feel pretty darn good to say, "I did not know this!"

“I met those of our society who had votes in the ensuing election, and advised them, 1. To vote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy: 2. To speak no evil of the person they voted against: And, 3. To take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side.” (John Wesley, journal entry, October 6, 1774)

"I don't care about the liberal agenda anymore. It's boring. Boring. I'm giving you a boring alert." (Tony Stark) Let's do something different this time.

A number of years ago, we visited my grandparents. I don’t recall the precise details of the trip, but it may have been a Thanksgiving visit. The scene: a restored log cabin built in the 1880’s sitting on the shoulders of Tennessee hill country a mile and a half from the nearest neighbor. I was about high-school age, late junior-high. I recall it was nighttime when a visitor came. I paid so much attention to the visitor, I honestly can’t say if the person was a young man or a young woman. What I do remember is the visitor was cellist, and may have been with the Nashville Symphony. This is significant because I played the cello then. Matter of fact, I played until our third child, our first son was born. I stopped playing after he was born because I sold the instrument because we needed the money. I may return to this later. The visit that night was pre-arranged. This person was invited to come for a private performance (as I remember it) that centered mainly around Bach’s Cello Sui...

Digging Graves is Hard Work!   “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. … If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.” HMS Bounty sinks during Sandy . The Captain has yet to be found. Rescued sailor (and USC student) Claudine Christian dies. Brave young soul. Gena Norris is much tougher than Chuck ( he said so , so it must be true!) and she is fighting! Music, borrowed from the birds . Boeing offers an "optionally piloted vehicle."