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Showing posts from December, 2013

Tolstoy, after Rousseau, on Knowledge and Wisdom

“Real wisdom is not the knowledge of everything, but the knowledge of which things in life are necessary, which are less necessary, and which are completely unnecessary to know. Among the most necessary knowledge is the knowledge of how to live well, that is, how to produce the least possible evil and the greatest goodness in one’s life. At present, people study useless sciences, but forget to study this, the most important knowledge.”

CrossFit Sweat Angel

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Will you be making any? Post yours and the workout you did! This was after (6 rounds for time): 24 air squats; 24 Pushups; 24 Walking Lunges; 400 meter run.

"Christmas" by William C. Bryant (1875)

As shadows cast by cloud and sun Flit o’er the summer grass, So, in Thy sight, Almighty One, Earth’s generations pass. And as the years, an endless host, Come swiftly pressing on, The brightest names that earth can boast Just glisten and are gone. Yet doth the star of Bethlehem shed A luster pure and sweet; And still it leads, as once it led, To the Messiah’s feet. O Father, may that holy star Grow every year more bright, And send its glorious beams afar To fill the world with light.

It's THE Major Award!

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I'm turning off the lights so I can see it from the street!

USAF Singing Sergeants

Enjoy this festive arrangement (noting one particularly conspicuous scarf in the group):

A Little Christmas . . . er, Music.

The Portsmouth Symphonia (1970) is not your typical musical group. To be a member, one must be 1) a non-musician; or 2) if a musician, play an unfamiliar instrument. Believe it or not, this group recorded albums, performed concerts, and released a hit single. They last performed in 1979. Which only goes to show: nothing is impossible. Try anything once--do the fun things twice. Try something new! Enjoy!

"So Hallow'd And So Gracious Is The Time"

“Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated, This bird of dawning singeth all night long; And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad, The nights are wholesome, then no planets strike, No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm, So hallow'd and so gracious is the time.” -- Marcellus to Horatio and Bernardo, after seeing the Ghost. “Hamlet” Act 1, Scene 1. Shakespeare

Two Family-favorite Ornaments

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These two ornaments top our tree each year: a cross-stitch manger scene and a crown of thorns.

"Is Enoch the 6th or 7th from Adam? The Bible Is Clearly Wrong!"

Question: Jude 14 says that Enoch was the 7th from Adam but when we count the fathers mentioned in the genealogies of Genesis 5:3-18, 1 Chronicles 1:1-2 and Luke 3:37-38, we find Enoch is the sixth and not the seventh. The Bible is clearly wrong. Answer: We do count six, yet Jude says there are seven. Perhaps Jude knows something that we do not and since he is quoting what we call "The Book of Enoch," perhaps we could find a clue there. Noah (supposedly writing) describes his “ ancestor who was man, from Adam the first of men, whom the Lord of spirits made .” (1 Enoch 58:9). Following this lead, Jude is correct to say that Enoch is the seventh men from Adam, who is counted as the first of men. This means the genealogies and Jude are both correct and the Bible remains without error: Adam, the first of men; Seth, the second of men (note that Jude draws a contrast between Godly and ungodly men and has already counted Cain in a different category); Enos, the third of m

My Train May Be Slow, But It Does Get Around The Christmas Tree!

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(Put that in your boiler and stoke it, Dr. Sheldon Cooper!)

CrossFit Christmas Song (copyrighted by me)

(Tune: Jingle Bell Rock) Kettlebell, Kettlebell, Kettlebell Squat; Kettlebell Swing and Kettlebell Fling; Burpees and Pull-ups are bushels of fun; Now the jumping squats have begun. Kettlebell, Kettlebell, Kettlebell Squat; Dropping plates chime as we lift for time! Girls and Heros and AMRAPS to spare! Squats in the air! What a bright time For fastest time to row the night away Kettlebell time; muscles swell time to go hunting for a PR to slay. Giddy-up, double-unders, pick up your feet; Jump up upon that box Mix-in and mingle some bodyweight WOD’s That's the Kettlebell, That's the Kettlebell,   That's the Kettlebell Squat!

Christmas Colors

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"If Cain Was A Fugitive, How Could He Be a City Founder?"

Question:   God tells Cain, “ A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth ,” (Genesis 4:12) yet Cain “ went out from the presence of the LORD and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden. And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son—Enoch .” (Genesis 4:16-17). So which is it: was he always on the run, or did he settle down and build a city? Answer: Why could it not be both? What is meant by “city”? The Hebrew word (‘iyr) has two meanings. The first meaning is “excitement; anguish (terror).” The second meaning is “a place of waking; guarded.” Basically, a city in the ancient world is a place, an encampment, guarded by a watch. We must be careful not to superimpose our present understanding back into the text or history. There is no ancient world implication (or concept for that matter at this point in time) of large populations, of trade, tradition, culture or of permanent bui

Venus, Through The Trees

The brilliant display catches my eye as I sit and wait. The cold air of the damp night seeps into my bones as I sit and wait. Through the trees, without a sound Venus sails across the sky. The formless void pierced by her brilliant light traces nothing of her orbit; but, through leaves she peeks and behind the branches she  abides,  hides,  bride of the sky. Pageantry of night, stellar delight as I sit and wait. The cold air of the damp night seeps into my bones as I sit and wait.

Gasp!

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Went for a 4-mile 5k that accidentally became 4.53 miles in 45 minutes 'cause it was good music in the 'phones. Yeah, I get distracted easily. I don't know why they call it "catching breath" because all I'm doing is heavy breathing!