Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Drummond and Paget



Have any of you been watching Victoria on PBS's Masterpiece? If you've seen the whole season, please don't give away any spoilers for those who are in the USA and haven't seen it. In Season 2 of Victoria, Prime Minister Robert Peel's Private Secretary Edward Drummond, played by Leo Suter and Chief Equerry to Queen Victoria, Alfred Paget, played by Jordan Waller are having flirtations. It's been quite adorable, the looks they give each other and the playful skinny dipping they did in Sunday night's episode. Of course homosexuality was a crime in Victorian Britain, and the 1840s is long before homosexuality was even a word or understood as it is today. It's been fun to watch Drummond and Paget though, especially Suter/Drummond who is absolutely gorgeous.
The problem is that the match-up is quite improbable. In real life the two would have never known each other and Drummond was at least 30 years Paget's senior. There is absolutely no evidence that either of the two were homosexual. If they were, we would never know because of the secretiveness of such relationships. However the improbability, it makes for good fantasy and lovely television. I can't wait to see how the drama unfolds for the rest of the season.



 By the way, I did not watch the State of the Union Address last night. I can't stand to hear that asshole speak. Furthermore, I hate SOTU speeches. They are always written for pauses in the speech so that the president's party can go apeshit clapping. It's always ridiculous no matter which party is giving the speech, and given that this asshole can only lie, show his incompetence, and be misogynistic, it's just not worth my time.

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Blue Moon



Blue Moon
Songwriters:
Lorenz Hart / Richard Rodgers
Blue moon you saw me standing alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own
Blue moon, you knew just what I was there for
You heard me saying a prayer for
Someone I really could care for
And then there suddenly appeared before me
The only one my arms will ever hold
I heard somebody whisper "Please adore me"
And when I looked, the moon had turned to gold!
Blue moon!
Now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own
A rare super blue blood moon is set to occur this Wednesday, Jan. 31, and stargazers are right to be (excuse the pun) over the moon about it. To understand their excitement, you'll need to understand what's happening, exactly. Even though the phrase "once in blue moon" suggests they're rare, blue moons—the second full moon in a one-month period—are relatively frequent, taking place once every 2.7 years. Supermoons are full moons that occur at the closest possible point to Earth, making them appear slightly bigger and brighter, and grace us once every 14 months. And blood moons, also known as total lunar eclipses, take place about twice a year when the moon passes through the Earth's shadow, turning it an eerie, copper-hued color.
But to have all three happen at the same time? It hasn't happened since 1866. Tomorrow night we will have a super blue blood moon.

Sunday, January 28, 2018

Hold to God’s Unchanging Hands




Romans 8:31-39 (KJV)
31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Hold to God's Unchanging Hand
Time is filled with swift transition,
Naught of earth unmoved can stand,
Build your hopes on things eternal,
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Refrain:
Hold to God's unchanging hand,
Hold to God's unchanging hand;
Build your hopes on things eternal,
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Trust in Him who will not leave you,
Whatsoever years may bring,
If by earthly friends forsaken
Still more closely to Him cling.
Covet not this world's vain riches
That so rapidly decay,
Seek to gain the heav'nly treasures,
They will never pass away.
When your journey is completed,
If to God you have been true,
Fair and bright the home in glory
Your enraptured soul will view.

Sent from my iPad

Friday, January 26, 2018

Back to Work

Having yesterday off was nice, but I have to work today. I took off yesterday because I am working tomorrow. I don't mind working on Saturday, but it's usually very quiet and a lot boring. I may end up watching something on Netflix or Amazon.

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Sleeping In


I've got nothing new to report. The job front hasn't changed. There has been no news on the job hunt. My life is kind of boring right now as I wait for something to happen. So, I've got nothing new to report.

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Nothing New



I've got nothing new to report. The job front hasn't changed. There has been no news on the job hunt. My life is kind of boring right now as I wait for something to happen. So, I've got nothing new to report.

Monday, January 22, 2018

Headache, et al



As Sunday went on, my headache that started out as a minor annoyance turned into a raging headache. I went to bed early last night. 

I wanted to say a few things about my piercing. It hurt a lot but only for a second. I thought the clamps would hurt a lot more, but they didn’t. It was when she said take a deep breath and in went the needle that it really hurt. After that, it was just really sensitive the rest of the day, but that subsided and it just feels normal now. I can’t help it, but I continue to look at it in the mirror. I’m so glad I had it done. Now, it will look really great if I get into shape.

Also, I might hear from the Midwest job today. She had expected to let me know something last week, so I’m thinking it will be the first of this week. As for my current job, it looks as if they are creating a new position at the museum for me. We will undergo some restructuring, but the administration plans to add an educators position. The job would basically be tailored to my specific skill sets and it will have to be advertised, but it looks like I may still have a job come summer.

Sunday, January 21, 2018

Submit



"Agree with God, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you.  - Job 22:21


Do you ever put all your hopes into plans and goals? When things don’t work out, you end up grieving over the death of a dream. God wants to give us the desires of our hearts, but we first need to turn them over to Him. Only after submitting to Him can He help us rebuild that dream.


You know that in the past, I have applied and been interviewed for jobs that I really wanted, only I didn’t get them. I was devastated, but the only consolation I could take away is that God is watching over me, and He knew that those jobs were not right for me. The right one will come along.

Friday, January 19, 2018

Answer



Thanks guys for all your feedback. Getting my nipple pierced is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time and with your encouragement, I think I’m finally going to get it done. It’s supposed to be a nice weekend, especially on Saturday, so I think I’ll drive up to Burlington and get it done. I have not decided on which place to go to yet, but I’ve narrowed it down to three places. I’ll decide before I head up there on Saturday. 

Tonight, however, I am going to the Vermont Burlesque Festival. At least that’s the tentative plan. I think it will be a lot of fun. I’ve been told it’s fun, and I’ll finally get to see the inside of the Barre Opera House, which is where tomorrow night’s part of the festival is being held,

Thursday, January 18, 2018

Question



How old is too old to get a nipple piercing? You see, I've always wanted one. I've always thought they were very cool and super sexy. I always told myself that when I got into shape, I'd get my nipple pierced. I did get into shape once, but I didn't feel like I was in good enough shape at the time to warrant fulfilling the promise to myself. I don't think anyone is really satisfied with their bodies, and I should have been back then and I wasn't. Ok, I've gotten off topic. The thing is, am I being silly wanting a nipple piercing at 40 years old and out of shape? It's something I've really been contemplating lately. I've even had dreams about it. So please give me your honest answer. I kind of feel like I'm being silly about it, and I've passed the age when I could have had it done. Plus, I'm not in shape, which has always been one of the things keeping me from getting my nipple pierced. What do you guys think?

Monday, January 15, 2018

Let Justice Roll Down As Waters



But let justice roll down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.


Amos 5:24 (ASV)



One of the most moving tributes I've ever seen is the the Civil Rights Memorial dedicated to forty-one people who died in the struggle for the equal treatment of all people, regardless of race, during the Civil Rights Movement between 1955 (Emmett Till) and 1968 (Martin Luther King, Jr.). The LGBT Rights Movement has had its own martyrs. The Civil Rights Memorial Center lists Billy Jack Gaither, a 39-year-old gay man, was brutally beaten to death in Rockford, Alabama, simply because he was gay. But there are many others: the thirty-two people who died when an arsonist burned the Upstairs Lounge in New Orleans, Harvey Milk, Brandon Teena, Matthew Shepard, Barry Winchell, and so many others who were killed because they were gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. The list is further expanded when you add in the number of LGBT suicides, especially of teenagers, because of bigotry and hatred often fueled by religious fanaticism.


The Civil Rights Memorial may only list the names of those who died because they believed in equality for African Americans but it also stands as a testament to all those who have died because of differences perceived by others. It is to remind us of the fight for equality. The concept of Maya Lin's design of the Civil Rights Memorial (Maya Lin’s most famous design is the Vietnam Memorial) is based on the soothing and healing effect of water. It was inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr.'s paraphrase "... we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. ...", from the "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963:


There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."


No matter who is fighting for rights and equal treatment, the message is basically the same. The Supreme Court gave us marriage equality, but we cannot be satisfied with that. We need to end discrimination of any kind and for those who claim that they can discriminate because it is their religious right and they are only fighting for their religious freedom are in reality fitting for their own bigotry, no different then the white supremacist of the 1950s and 60s. Amos is a very appropriate prophet to look at when discussing equality. Throughout the Book of Amos, Amos voices prophetic rage against the injustices of the day. The entire book is given to denouncing the excesses of eighth-century B.C.E. Israelite life and reminding people of their true covenantal obligations. Those who are “at ease in Zion” and “feel secure on Mount Samaria,” who “lie on beds of ivory” and “eat lambs from the flock,” will “be the first to go into exile” (Amos 6:1-7) because they have forgotten the plight of the poor and mistaken religious observance and piety for moral responsibility.


If Amos were alive today, what might he say? Perhaps the most famous line from the book is the one King paraphrased from Amos 5:24: “But let justice roll down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.” The context of this powerful statement is a prophetic denunciation of the “sacrifices and meal offerings” of a people who have failed to keep the covenant, which is constituted by justice and fairness. Throughout Amos 5-6, the prophet lashes out against those who have become rich at the expense of the poor and against public—but hollow—displays of piety. According to Amos, God says, “I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies” (Amos 5:21). Religious devotion is meaningless if it is accompanied by unfair taxes on the poor, backdoor bribes, and working against those in need (Amos 5:11-12).


Because of these sentiments, this passage has become an important source for some observers of contemporary American religious and political culture. I think Amos would disapprove of the concentration of wealth and the corresponding increase in poverty, and he would rage against the displays of self-importance and exceptionalism in some quarters of American life.


According to Amos, a nation is exceptional by the measure of how it cares for the lowest members of society; and a nation of religious hypocrisy and injustice is one that will perish. John Winthrop expressed the message of Amos in his famous work “A Modell of Christian Charity” (1630); he knew that for the Puritan legacy to be a “light unto the nations” and a “city upon a hill,” the community would have to be based upon principles of justice, fairness, and regard for others, “that every man afford his help to another in every want or distress.”


No matter what religious fanatics and bigots say, God is on our side, and one day, truth, justice, and equality will prevail throughout the United States, and instead of the death and destruction that the bigots proclaim will happen, God and His peace and love will be there instead.  On that day,  justice will roll down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.


Adapted from a post originally posted on August 9, 2015 and reposted today in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Sunday, January 14, 2018

2 Peter 3:9



 "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance."
2 Peter 3:9

Peter continues to answer the mocking of the false teachers working among the Christians in the early church. They ask, "Where is this coming Jesus promised?" They teach that it's been too long; Christ is not coming. Don't resist immorality; there will be no judgment. In verse 8, Peter urged his readers to remember that the Lord is not bound by human time. For God, a thousand years is like a day and vice versa. Peter's point is that God does not suffer the limitations of time, or confusion about it, the way human beings do. 

Here in this verse, Peter insists that we cannot apply human demands about time to the promises of God. He is not slow in keeping His promise. God is the one who made the schedule: He cannot be "late." Instead, God keeps every promise at the perfect time for His glory and for the good of those He loves. 

In this case, Christians should view the delay in Christ's return as evidence of God's patience, not of His tardiness. In His love-driven patience, God is willing to give more time for more people to come to repentance. This is God's plan to allow more people opportunity to place their trust in Christ in order to enter into eternal relationship with Him. 

God doesn't want anyone to perish or die. Peter likely refers to eternal death following God's judgment on the day of the Lord. The overall message of Scripture is that God does not desire anyone's damnation. That is, He would prefer that all would be saved. However, in His sovereignty and power, God decided not to demand—force—all people to actually be saved. If God is truly sovereign, He can sovereignly allow us to choose things He does not prefer, for His own reasons. Here, Peter shows us God's heart for the people He has created: He wants them all to be saved, but He will not force them all to be saved. 

As Peter tells us, that's one reason God allows more time—the very time mocked by the false teachers—prior to the return of Christ. He is mercifully creating more space for more people to repent and turn to Him.

https://www.bibleref.com/2-Peter/3/2-Peter-3-9.html



Friday, January 12, 2018

Opportunities



Yesterday, I told you about my job coming to an end. It’s amazing how new opportunities arise when you least expect them. Nothing has changed with my current job; however, I did get called for an interview for a new position. My initial interview for this job will be Tuesday. I don’t know if the job is a perfect fit, but it looks good and pays pretty well. The library is in cowboy country, hence the cowboy above. We will just have to see what comes of the interview.

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Pissed Off



I am pissed off with my job. When I accepted this position, I was never told it was temporary. When I became aware that it was a temporary position (it was implied that 2019 would be the end date), I was told it was certain it would be made permanent. Then, my boss was put on administrative leave; the same boss that had told me so many lies about the state of my job. After she left, I found out my position is only supposed to go through October 2018. At this point, I have little hope of it being extended past that date. I was okay with that. Then yesterday, I found out that the powers that be want me gone beforeOctober. They want me to finish up the project as soon as possible, and then be gone. What this new timetable means, I don't know. I expect it will probably be May or the middle of the summer; I just don't know. I do know my museum colleagues want me to continue in a different capacity probably as a museum educator.

 

To be honest, I'm fucking done with Vermont. I want to tell the university administration to go fuck themselves. I want to put this job behind me and move on. I'm sick of being strung along. I do not believe they will create a new position for me no matter how much it is needed. However, I will, to the best of my ability, finish the job at hand. But I think I'm done after that. I just don't see a future for me in Vermont. I think I have a few more months, and then it will be time to move onhopefully, to better things.

 

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Ding Dong



Ding-dong, the witch is dead! Which old witch? The wicked witch

Ding-dong, the wicked witch is dead


Well, she's not dead, but she's gone. My boss that is. She officially resigned. While I had never had problems with her, others did and I just didn't see the full extent. Nor did I see the full extent of her wicked ways. Without a shadow of a doubt, she needed to be gone. While she resigned, it was a negotiated resignation. She didn't have a choice but to go and go quietly or possibly to go in handcuffs. So now we have an interim director, and I have absolutely no faith that I will have a job past October when my contract ends.

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

National Champs: Roll Tide



Yea Alabama

Yea, Alabama! Drown 'em Tide!
Every 'Bama man's behind you,
Hit your stride.
Go teach the Bulldogs to behave,
Send the Yellow Jackets to a watery grave.
And if a man starts to weaken,
That's a shame!
For Bama's pluck and grit have
Writ her name in Crimson flame.
Fight on, fight on, fight on men!
Remember the Rose Bowl, we'll win then.
Go, roll to victory,
Hit your stride,
You're Dixie's football pride,
Crimson Tide, Roll Tide, Roll Tide!!

Monday, January 8, 2018

It’s Monday



It's Monday and there isn't much to be said. The weekend was kind of a wash. I stayed in Saturday because one, I had a headache all day, and two, because we didn't get above 0 degrees all day long. Sunday started out with -14 degrees but eventually rose to 10 degrees. I ran to the grocery store for some quick provisions, then settled in for the night. Star Trek: Discovery was back on again last night. Wow, what an episode. I won't say much about it, but that it was exciting and heartbreaking. Anyway, that was my weekend.

Sunday, January 7, 2018

Crucified with Christ



I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. — Galatians 2:20

I am crucified with Christ,.... Not literally, for so only the two thieves were crucified with him, but mystically; Christ was crucified for him in his room and stead, and so he was crucified with him, and in him, as his head and representative. Christ sustained the persons of all his people, and what he did and suffered was in their name, and on their account, and so they were crucified and suffered with him, as they are said to be buried with him, and to be risen with him, and to sit together in heavenly places in him. Moreover, their old man was crucified with him; when he was crucified, all their sins, the whole body of them, were laid upon him, and he bore them, and bore them away, destroyed and made an end of them; they received their mortal wound by his crucifixion and death, so as never to be able to have any damning power over them; and in consequence of this the affections and lusts are crucified, and the deeds of the body of sin mortified by the Spirit and grace of God, in regeneration and sanctification, so as not to have the dominion over them; the world is crucified to them, and they to the world; and this is another reason proving that justification by Christ is no licentious doctrine. This clause is, in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, put at the end of the preceding verse. 

Nevertheless I live; which is to be understood, not of his natural, but of his spiritual life; the life of justification he lived, by faith, on the righteousness of Christ; and the life of sanctification which he had from Christ, by the quickening influences of his Spirit, by virtue of which he walked in newness of life. The believer is a mere paradox, he is dead to the law, and "yet lives" to God; he is crucified with Christ, and yet lives by him; yea, a crucified Christ lives in him. 

Yet not I; not the same I as before, but quite another man, a new creature: he did not now live as in his state of unregeneracy, and whilst in Judaism; he was not now Saul the blasphemer, the persecutor, and injurious person; nor did he now live Saul the Pharisee: or the life he had was not of his own obtaining and procuring; his life of righteousness was not of himself, but Christ; his being quickened, or having principles of life and holiness implanted in him, was not by himself, but by the Spirit; and the holy life and conversation he lived was not owing to himself, to his power and strength, but to the grace of God; or it was not properly himself, or so much he that lived, 

but Christ liveth in me: who was not only the author and maintainer of his spiritual life, but the life itself; he was formed in his soul, dwelt in his heart, was united to him, was one with him, whence all vital principles and vital actions sprung, and all the communion and comforts of a spiritual life flowed. 

And the life which I now live in the flesh; in the body, whilst in this mortal state, whereby he distinguishes that spiritual life he had from Christ, and through Christ's living in him, both from the natural life of his body, and from that eternal life he expected to live in another world; and which, he says, 

I live by the faith of the Son of God; meaning, not that faith which Christ, as man, had, but that of which he is the author and object, by which the just man lives; not upon it, for the believer does not live upon any of his graces, no, not upon faith, but by faith on Christ, the object; looking to him for pardon, righteousness, peace, joy, comfort, every supply of grace, and eternal salvation: which object is described as "the Son of God"; who is truly God, equal with his Father; so that he did not live upon a creature, or forsake the fountain of living waters, but upon the only begotten Son of God, who is full of grace and truth: of whom he further says, 

who loved me; before the foundation of the world, from everlasting, prior to his love to him; and freely, without any regard to worth or merit, and though he was a blasphemer and a persecutor; and him personally, and particularly, in a distinguishing manner, of which he had a special knowledge and application by the Spirit of God; and was a reason and argument constraining him, and prevailing on him to live to him who loved him, and died for him, or, as he adds, 

and gave himself for me; his whole self, his soul and body, as in union with his divine person, into the hands of justice, and unto death, in his room and stead, as an offering and sacrifice for sin, and which he did freely and voluntarily; and is a strong and full proof of his love to him. Now though Christ gave his life a ransom for many, and himself for his whole church, and all the members of his mystical body, yet the apostle speaks of this matter as singularly respecting himself, as if almost he was the only person Christ loved and died for; which shows that faith deals with Christ not in a general way, as the Saviour of the world, but with a special regard to a man's self: this is the life of faith; and these considerations of the person, love, and grace of Christ, animate and encourage faith in its exercises on him.

From Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Friday, January 5, 2018

The Result



The job in Chicago has decided not to move forward with me as a candidate. In other words, I did not get the job. All I can say is that this must be how it was meant to be. To be truthful, I don't think I was cut out for the job. That is not hindsight being 20/20 either. When I went for the interview something seemed wrong. While I felt confident with most of the interview process, I never felt comfortable with the interview with the CEO. I still hoped I would get the job, but I have to remind myself of that initial feeling that something was just off. Now I just keep looking for something else. This job was just not meant to be.

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Back in Vermont



I made it back home at 2 o'clock this morning. I should have been home hours before but there were at least three different delays. One because a flight attendant was stuck on another flight that was running late, and two more times for mechanical issues. Once we boarded the plane, we had to return to another gate because we had a passenger that needed to be put off the flight. He was high as a cat’s back and stumbling around. We finally took off around 10 pm, so we reached Burlington around midnight. It took another hour to get out of the airport then I was on my way home. The roads were quite treacherous, but I made it.

I had a cat that was very happy to see me.

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

All SEC



You should realize by now, I'm a big college football fan. I'm sorry that the season is almost over. However, I am super excited that the National Championship Game will be an all SEC game. The Southeastern Conference has proven that it is a powerhouse in college football. They prove it year in and year out. The Georgia/Oklahoma game was a bit of a nail biter, but Georgia came out on top in the second overtime. The Alabama/Clemson game was not so much of a nail biter. Clemson never scored a touchdown, only two field goals. Alabama just powered on ahead. The interception and subsequent touchdown by Da'Ron Payne of Alabama was a definite highlight. I love it when big guys score. 

So next Monday night will decide it. Will it be Alabama or will it be Georgia?


Roll Tide!!!

Monday, January 1, 2018

Happy New Year



One way or another, this will be a year of change. If I get the job in Chicago, it will be a change to a big new city. It will be a change to what I'd hope would be an exciting life. If I don't get the job in Chicago, I will continue looking for another job, since my current job will end in October 2018. There are two options with my current job. It could be made permanent or there could be a change in my responsibilities. It could also just end, pretty much unceremoniously. If that is the case, and I haven't found a new job, then, it's likely I could move back to Alabama. Alabama is definitely not what I want, but I may have little other choice. One way or another, this will be a year of change.