February 2012
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What Would Great-Grandma Eat?
What is “good food”? This week in the Chronicle Review, Aaron Bobrow-Strain looks at the mid-20th-century politics of white bread.
“Knowing where your food comes from” is a foodie slogan today – but when bakery hygiene became a plank in anti-immigration propaganda, it was a public-relations coup for industrial food.
He writes:
“I wrote a book about ultrasoft, mass-produced sliced...
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Make your own Sudafed
To make a point about meth being easier and more hassle-free to obtain than an ordinary nasal decongestant, the Journal of Apocryphal Chemistry has released handy how-to on synthesizing Sudafed from meth.
A Simple and Convenient Synthesis of Pseudoephedrine From N-Methylamphetamine [pdf].
As usual, prohibition is deregulation.
Original Article
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An Introduction to Lent
by Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh
O Lord and Master of my life: Take from me a spirit of sloth, meddling, lust for power and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Thy servant. Yea. O Lord and King, grant me to see my own sins and not to judge my brother; for Thou art blessed unto ages of ages. Amen. — The Prayer of Saint Ephraim
Contrary to what many...
“It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need...”
– David Barry
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The Most Unhappy of Pleasures
Saw this today at The Atlantic:
The Bible teaches us that pleasure doesn’t pay. If you don’t destroy yourself, then God will do it for you. Four thousand years later and the rules are still the same…
When did the world become so obsessed with pleasure? Scripture argues that the goal of a righteous life is happiness, not pleasure. The Declaration of Independence affords us the...
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What happens when we get rid of Lent?
Peter J. Leithart writes:
As a historical matter, the churches that have excluded Lent have not replaced it with a permanent atmosphere of joy… In Reformed churches, the suppression of Lent has been simultaneous with the suppression of Carnival and other seasons of playful joy. Suppression of Lent did not produce perpetual Easter; it produced a perpetual Lent.
Read more…
Original Article
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A sketch of Rastafari history
See also:
Christ and Tafari
Songs of Freedom: The Rastafari Road to Orthodoxy
by Norman Hugh Redington, Editor The St. Pachomius Orthodox Library
INTRODUCTION: The spread of Orthodox Christianity in the New World has occurred mainly as a result of immigration from Eastern Europe. There are two regions, however, where this is not the case: Alaska and the Caribbean. The story of the...
St. Valentine's Day Was For Martyrs, So Kick Butt... →
Jacob Heiss writes:
Here’s the thing: Valentines Day was originally a commemoration for martyrs, people butchered for their unyielding commitment to sharing God’s love no matter what. So can we all agree to shuffle our various decks of expectation and get out there to kick some butt for love’s sake?
More…
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On the Importance of the New Russian Martyrs →
PravMir.com asks: Why is it important for Orthodox Christians outside of Russia (Americans, Europeans) to revere the Russian New-Martyrs? We understand what they did for Russia, but why should they be revered outside of Russia?
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Letter to a New Convert
Dear “John”,
I understand that you are on the way to becoming Orthodox. I know nothing about you, beyond the fact that you are English.
Before we go any further, there is one point I should make clear. I have not been told why you are about to convert, but I assure you there is no point whatsoever if it is for negative reasons. You will find as much “wrong” (if not more) in Orthodoxy as in the...
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Wisdom in dog terms
Kevin Hearne’s enjoyable Iron Druid series of books feature the last of the druids, a 2100-year-old living in Tempe, Arizona. He is out for a run with his Irish wolfhound, with whom he can talk because of course he can. The dog asks him to promise to adopt a female poodle. He answers:
It is good to have a dream so long as you do not let it gnaw at the substance of your present. I have seen...
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Existential Multitasking
Adam Miller writes:
God does not come and go – your attention does.
Put your phone away. Recent studies agree with Jesus. In their distressing 2009 paper “Cognitive control in media multitaskers,” Ophir, et al. found that heavy media multitaskers (or HMMs) “have greater difficulty filtering out irrelevant stimuli from their environment.” They are “less likely to ignore irrelevant...
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Hipster Nimoy
(via mishappenings: lookatthisfrakkinggeekster: dinnerinthedarkroom: fyeahjewishmen: tumblingnoodle: ohsara)
Original Article
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Manual for the Cold
As the Siberian cold snap sweeps the whole of Europe, bringing the temperature to below zero degrees Celsius (C) even in the Mediterranean, on the Internet there is circulating a guide to what happens at certain temperatures. (Translated from Serbian by Fr. Ivan Moody.)
+18 ° C In Hawaii, take another blanket.
+10 ° C The temperature In buildings in Helsinki without heating.
+2 °...
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The sport of the future
Ever watch soccer and think to yourself “I wish the ball was bigger. And the players could use their hands. And they should all be armed with Tasers”?
Enter: Ultimate Tazer Ball. It’s just like regular Tazer Ball, only ultimate.
(via devour: thedailywhat)
Original Article
For what it's worth...
Planned Parenthood wasn’t giving women mammograms in the first place.
Komen simply cut out the middleman (Planned Parenthood) and instead now directly supports hospitals that actually provide life-saving services.
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“Masculine” Christianity: Two views
Here are two Web articles by Christian women on the topic of “Masculine” Christianity. One is offended by the concept, and the other examines why it seems to attract and keep people. I think the contrast is illuminating:
John Piper wants a “masculine Christianity.” What do you think? — Rachel Held Evans
Men and Church — Frederica Mathewes-Greene
I’ll refrain from commenting till you’ve...
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A place neither saves nor destroys: deeds do
Saint Nikolaj Velimirović wrote:
Although the Holy Fathers praised monasticism as the angelic state, and although many of the greatest saints lived their lives and attained perfection in the deaf and lifeless desert, nevertheless, the Orthodox Church does not recommend tonsuring to all the faithful. “Neither all those in the desert were saved nor all those in the world were lost,” said one saint....
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I wish I had a great lake of ale for the King of...
February 1 we commemorate Brigid of Kildare.
I wish I had a great lake of ale for the King of kings, and the family of heaven to drink it through time eternal. I wish I had the meats of belief and genuine piety, the flails of repentance, and the men of heaven in my house. I would like vats of peace to be at their disposal, vessels of charity for distribution, caves of mercy for their company,...