Gina soon to be exposed to Japanese "Sword and Sorcery"!


As I have just purchased episodes 7-12 of Record of Lodoss War, from the Grocery Outlet (discount chain).

This series was a favorite of one of my good Babylon5/ D&D buddies in the early 90s. He was a navy guy, and saw it in Japan, and later shelled out full retail to get English translations at some of the LA, Sci Fi/Fanstasy conventions. But I, however, was able to purchase my copies at extreme close out prices!

Here a good intro web site on this series. Contains a critique of the series, and summary of 1st, 6 episodes.
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/5499/LodossMain.htm

Celebrating Faith that can move mountains (these three days before Advent Fast)



Saint Simon the Tanner (Sama'an, in Arabic) lived towards the end of the tenth century when Egypt was ruled by the Fatimid Caliph, Al-Muizz, and Abraham the Syrian was the Coptic Pope.
At the time, the many Copts (Christians) in Egypt were engaged in handicrafts. Saint Simon worked in one of the crafts widespread in Babylon (Old Cairo) which was tanning, a craft still known there till this day.
This profession involved also other crafts that depend on the process, from where he carried several titles related to skins; Saint Simon the Tanner, the Cobbler, the Shoemaker.
According to Coptic sayings, the Caliph Al Muizz, an enlightened man, was fond of literacy gatherings, and inviting different religious leaders to debate in his presence with neither anger nor contention.
In one of those meetings in which Pope Abraham and a Jew named Jacob Ibn Killis were present, the Pope got the upper hand in the debate. Plotting to take revenge, Ibn Killis quoted the verse where the Lord, Jesus, said in Mt 17:20: "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to the mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move, nothing will be impossible for you" and demanded him to prove that his religion is right by means of this.
The Caliph saw in this an opportunity to remove the mountain that was spoiling his view. At the same time, if they proved unable to do so, it would be the proof that the religion of the Christians was wrong and he would be done away with them completely or so goes the legend.
And so, after 3 days of prayers and fasts by the people throughout the land of Egypt, Simon was chosen to move the Mokattam Mountain. (addai note "because of the appearance of St. Mary during the fast who told him to do so", as another account explicetly says).


It is said that a great earthquake swept over the mountain. Each time the people stood up to worship, the mountain was thrust up and the sun would be seen from under it. When the people sat down, the mountain thrust down. This was repeated three times.
Saint Simon was never found afterwards. His skeleton was discovered in 1991 in Babylon in St. Mary's church (the Hanging Church).

The Copts of Moria (inside joke)


http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/tanner.htm

New Orthodoxy site. Just got this in the email. Viva La Difference! :)



"Father Jivko and I are very happy to annonce the recent launching of the Internet site Orthodoxie. Its goal is to spread information in French on Orthodoxy in France and the world. The address is http://www.orthodoxie.com/
We invite you to get to know the site and to visit it regularly. In the right-hand column, you can sign up on the site to receive updates once or twice a week. For a more information, click here.
In Christ,
Christophe Levalois"

Pool of Siloam Discovered
http://www.lacopts.org/index.php/site/entry/1577/


found this while doing a little online research for future postings here.

Quote
The pool was fed by the now famous Hezekiah’s Tunnel and is “a much grander affair” than archeologists previously believed, with three tiers of stone stairs allowing easy access to the water, said Hershel Shanks, editor of the Biblical Archaeology Review, which reported the find Monday.
“Scholars have said that there wasn’t a Pool of Siloam and that John was using a religious conceit” to illustrate a point, said New Testament scholar James H. Charlesworth of the Princeton Theological Seminary. “Now we have found the Pool of Siloam … exactly where John said it was.”
A gospel that was thought to be “pure theology is now shown to be grounded in history,” he said.
Quote

Found a great web site for business minded myers briggs NT's. "How Stuff Works.com" I book marked it, to learn more about business. And I got some great info on Trade Shows.


How Trade Shows Work (basically a business primer on Trade Shows)

http://money.howstuffworks.com/trade-show.htm

Well I got a new favorite business web site. I think this one is going to help me on learning this and that. You need to register for it, but it looks like its got lots of info to help me out.

http://www.marketingprofs.com/2/combs1.asp


So for example, I'm reading this one to get ideas for the Jan 2006, Fancey Food Show, in SanFrancisco.


"Tradeshow Success: 5 Marketing Tactics That Can Make a Differenceby Joe Combs and Myla Wagner June 25, 2002
Next to direct sales, tradeshow exhibitions rate second in generating new and repeat sales for most companies, according to the Center for Exhibition Research (CEIR.) In fact, they report that tradeshow sales beat comparative spending on advertising, direct mail, and other marketing efforts. While the primary focus for the majority of tradeshow exhibitors is to generate qualified sales leads from the booth, it’s been our experience that attacking a show from a number of different fronts delivers the most significant impact for achieving sales and business growth objectives."

I'm getting ready to do a little talking about Logic on the ooze. One guy on there who believes in Biblical inerrancey (in a Protestant sense) is accusing those of us who don't of being illogical (both liberal protestants, as well as myself who believes in the need for Church Tradition and interpretation, as well as having studied up on textual criticism issues. Which give anyone even more appreciation of the role in the Church concerning Biblical Interpretation and teaching dogma).

anyway found this Catholic article that pretty handy to brush up. (I do know a bit about the subject already from previous apologetics studies)

HOW TO SPOT FUZZY THINKING

http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/1990/9009fea2.asp

By George!

Well the Feast of my church's patron saint is tomorrow!

So I'm taking the time to display our stained glass window. This was installed at the old buidling, a mile down the road, from the place we have now.

That old building we had been renting has been taken over by the local Antiochian Orthodox. Stephen's Antiochian. There web site is here.

http://www.protomartyr.org/

Anyway when I first went our church we had this

stained glass window above the front door which looked pretty neat, especialy on those bright sunny days. We have plans to once again have it re-installed but I don't think it will happen until our building expansion takes place. (Our church has a huge renovation planned that will almost quadruple our square footage). But unfortaely due to fund raising, and money woes that project is somewhat stalled (We do need to get it started in the next two years or we will loose our building permit).

So anyway in the meantime, I will honor the saint, with a bit of digital iconography....

Less Than Flatering Endorsers of Sola Scriptura

Well I've been at it again, debating Protestant hardliners (who suggest that the Bible is all you need, etc.). I was looking for some classical texts to prove a few points. Which is very time consuming, some are as hard to come by as hens teeth. After an hour here and there, I finally got what I was looking for...


Sola Scriptura in the early Church
http://www.cin.org/users/jgallegos/sola_her.htm


And here's some quotes to illustrate why, a "Bible Alone" theology is dangerous.

"If you produce from the divine scriptures something that we all share, we shall have to listen. But those words which are not found in the scriptures are under no circumstances accepted by us, especially since the Lord warns us, saying, In vain they worship me, teaching human commandments and precepts (Mt 15:9)"Debate with Maximinus,1


(addai note, he rejected the doctrine of Jesus' divinity, as well as the Holy Spirit's divinity, as well as the doctrine of the Trinity, all because they were not found "explicetly in the scriptures", and thus concluded they were "the doctrines of men").


Pelagius expresses himself as follows: "What we read, therefore, let us believe; and what we do not read, let us deem it wicked to add; and let it suffice to have said this of all cases." Nature and Grace,46[39]

(Addai note, taught humans were saved by their own works apart from God's grace)



"He[Eutyches] said that he was ready to receive the decrees of the holy fathers assembled in the Councils of Nicea and Ephesus, and promises to subscribe to their definitions. But if in their declarations anything by chance should be found either unsound or false, he says that he will neither reject or approve of it: but search the scripture alone as being more solid than all the decrees of the fathers."Council of Chalcedon, Act 1

(Addai note, this guy was the reason why Chalcedon happened, which ultimately split my Church from the Catholics and Byzantines. He basically said, Christ's divinity swallowed up his humanity, so their was little or no humanity to Christ, he was purely divine. Which caused the counsel, which we believe was an over correction to this error. But once agains caused by a Scripture Alone form of reasoning).

While talking on "the ooze" discussion board concerning the Bible (in terms of it being inerrant, and being "All we really need"), I happened along this article. Since I was arguing against this kind of thinking.



Christianity is NOT a Book-religion


"As Christians today, coming as many of us do out of a Protestant tradition of biblicism, it is important that we keep our perspective properly focused on the Person of Jesus Christ, not just on Bible-learning. Jesus Christ is the Truth, not mere propositional truths contained in ever-evolving semantics.
Our faith is not in the Bible. Our hope is not in the Bible. Our love is not love for the Bible. Our faith, hope and love are in Jesus Christ.
Our base of authority is not in the Bible, as has often been projected by popular Protestantism, the "religion of the Book." Our base of authority is in Jesus Christ, who said, "All authority is given to Me, in heaven and upon earth" (Matthew 28:18).
Our security is not in the Bible. Many seem to base their security on Bible promises and propositions, on Bible formulas, procedures and techniques. Our security is founded on a vital, dynamic on-going personal relationship with the Living Lord Jesus Christ. I am assured and secure in the reality that God is expressive in my life by Jesus Christ. I know it, not because the Bible makes a statement ("the Bible tells me so") or gives me a procedure. I know it (Him) because the eternal life and eternal expression of Jesus Christ is functioning in my life. This is not mere experiential existentialism. Somewhere between the extremes of objective biblicism and subjective existentialism is the reality of the functional Life of Jesus Christ in man."

http://www.christinyou.net/pages/Xnotbrel.html



I think it's a good article. Written by some kind of Protestant evangelical. And seems to summurize a number of my objections to this kind of thinking. I do have some fine points of difference (Especially in its focusing purely on Jesus when defining what Christianity is. I would argue that Christ is the head of the Church, but Christianity is not only about Jesus, Salvation etc. but also about the nature of the Church, "The Kingdom of God etc." And I have a few other quibbles (like in one area the author, seems to suggest that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, rather than God the Father).

But anyway it is an articulate exposition on Bibliodolatry.

Coptic Thanksgiving




Gina was asking me this weekend about Thanskgiving. Because my parents have been on a European vacation and its was doubtful they might make it back for the Holiday. And yes its official, they aint comin back till the 28th (and the Holiday is on the 24th). So it looks like it will be our first official Coptic Thanksgiving, pre Advent fast, blowout! :)

Graphic Design Principles Index


Well I decided to read up on graphic design. I realized that outside of some basic packing up boxes, and mixing cocoa. Right now the only area where my input seems to be utelized is in giving label redesign feedback.
And for that I've actually found the old Myers Briggs Intuition has been very useful (basically look at a label and give your first thoughts, and impressions of the top of your head). But it's not exactly schooled or professional. So I decided to try to see what I could learn on the web as always (to do it on the cheap). And I found this article that I will be studying today, to help sharpen my critiquing skills. (Would post the link but it screws up the format of the Blog)

Egypt’s Coptic Christians get own satellite TV


http://www.orthodoxchristianity.net/forum/index.php?topic=7512.0

Cocoa U.

Cocoa U.
I'm listing different web sites that I'm looking at to get an education on Specialty foods.

http://buyersguide.ift.org/cms/?pid=1000214&printable=1

http://www.mindbranch.com/error.jsp?errorcode=3&productid=0

http://www.organicconsumers.org/organicfood.htm

Ive been looking at getting more education in the Industry in the future. And been looking at various food quality assurance books and web sites and so forth. Here a few books I've found recently, that I will probably get when I can afford it. Since they are really expensive being small press releases. Although some aren't bad bought on amazon, especially if used.

http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0854046003/701-1709930-6317946

http://www.kkbooks.com/industrial%20chocolate.html