Stephen

The beauty of things was born before my eyes and sufficient to itself; the heart-breaking beauty Will remain when there is no heart to break for it. — Robinson Jeffers, “Credo”

…when cities lie at the monster’s feet there are left the mountains. — Robinson Jeffers, “Shine, Perishing Republic”

Cardinals, wrens, and crickets making music. Little clouds catching the sunset. A pleasant ending to a perfect spring day.

Thx for the support last Friday for the MN General Strike Public Notice subscriptions raised $14,314, which we rounded up to $5k each for Midway-Hamline Diaper Fund, Every Meal, & People Over Papers If you’re looking to help, check out Stand With MN. As my dad used to say, take care of each other

Thankfully, the power never went out; despite the fact that everything is covered in a solid layer of ice. From what I can tell, the entire city is halted. We are still not accustomed to ice storms in the south.

Thank you to everyone who is risking their safety and contributing their time and money to protect our neighbors. If you are so inclined, please check out Stand With Minnesota (standwithminnesota.com) to find a way to help. And no one start any beefs with Will Stancil. (2/2)

Snowy landscape in the Central Bohemian Uplands

I don’t know what to say in these dark times other than I’m grateful for the continued heroism of the brave citizens of Minneapolis. If patriotism has any meaning, it is surely embodied in their continued solidarity and resistance.

So there’s this whole tradition of liberalism that argues every person has rights, regardless of “citizenship” or “legal status.” This tradition is the basis of law in the US. ICE is violating those rights because of a radical ideology that rejects liberalism.

Light on Sybil Head, Dingle Peninsula #Ireland #Dingle #CountyKerry www.damianshields.com

Political cartoonists are not fuckin’ around this week. (thread) 1. Pat Bagley

“Faith leaders have been beaten, arrested, even shot with “less lethal” weapons, and church attendance has fallen significantly—by more than 50% in Spanish-speaking parishes in one Catholic diocese. But now there’s a plan to target Spanish-speaking churches nationwide during the holiday season”

Finally watched A House of Dynamite. Phew, this one is going to haunt me for a while.

Look at those who strut about in high places: their prosperity is nothing but gilding. Examine it closely and you will see how much rottenness is hidden beneath that thin coating of status. — Seneca, 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘴 115.9

In every act, keep your eyes on death. — Seneca, 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘴 114.27

We’re a long way from this.

When modern Christians say “it’s not the government’s job to help the poor,” they’re not echoing Jesus, Paul, the prophets, or the early church. They’re echoing figures like Ayn Rand, who despised Christianity’s communal ethic of compassion and called altruism a “moral evil.”

Alrighty, ready to see something really cool? (and maybe a little nauseating) The evolution of Hurricane Melissa's mesovortices at peak strength.

What help do we find, then, to counter these losses? Just this — that we hold what we have lost in our memory and don’t allow the pleasure we have experienced from them to perish with them. — Seneca, 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘴 93.11

Every good thing for mortals is likewise mortal. — Seneca (quoting Metrodorus), 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘴 98.9

Those who suffer before there is need suffer more than they need to. — Seneca, 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘴 98.8

Let’s measure our life by its performance, not by its duration. How long I am to exist does not belong to me; what is mine is authentic existence. — Seneca, 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘴 93.4, 7

For a long life, you need the help of fate; but to live sufficiently, the essential thing is one’s character. — Seneca, 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘴 93.2

… for I was hungry and you gave me no food. — Jesus

Finally preordered my copy. Looking forward to reading this.

We are equal in that each of us is liable to every suffering. — Seneca, 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘴 91.16

Once reduced to ashes, we are all the same size. Born equal, we die equal. — Seneca, 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘴 91.16

55 years around the sun today and what better present I could have had than to wake up to this view of clearing storm light (my favorite! 🤩) and a fresh blanket of snow while sipping my morning coffee 🩵

All while God watched in silence. 6 months is about as fitting as this man being allowed into heaven.

I’m so excited! Just recently finished C3 and AoU, and I’m ready for more. I can’t wait to see what Brennan has in store.

In your study, make it your aim not to know more, but to know better. — Seneca, 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘴 89.23

I recall the first time I heard him say a new born would step over its father’s corpse to take his watch if it had the strength of an adult. This was used as an illustration of the Calvinist doctrine of total depravity, and as an argument for spanking your kids. I was mortified, to say the least.

The early morning sun casting soft shadows on a dense grove of old growth autumnal #aspen in Dixie National Forest in Southern #Utah. 🧡🍂

Not one of those whom wealth and public office have taken to the top is truly great. Why does he appear great? You are including the pedestal in his measurement. — Seneca, 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘴 76.31

… virtue needs nothing to ennoble it: it is its own great ornament, and makes sacred the body it inhabits. — Seneca, 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘴 66.2

There’s a new coolness in the breeze and a deeper angle in the shadows, which tells me: fall is coming.

If you want to live for yourself, you must live for another. — Seneca, 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘴 48.2

If there is any good in philosophy, it is this: it has no regard for genealogies. If we trace our lineage back to the beginning, all humankind is of divine origins. …excellence of mind is available to all: in this regard we are all nobly born. — Seneca, 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘴 44.1, 2

Towering convection

Once vice becomes a code of conduct, there ceases to be any possibility of cure. — Seneca, 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘴 39.6

Beautiful Mt. Shasta during golden hour.

MacArthur was influential on me in my young adult years. I thought his dogmatic style was model behavior. Later on, I learned he engaged in nepotism, lied about events in his life, and defended sex offenders and abusers. I’m glad I moved away from such false prophets. May his victims find peace.

Superman was a lot of fun, and it’s refreshing to see a hopeful portrayal of the character in live action. Definitely worth a watch.

And does it while brandishing an icon of the Theotokos on his desk. Aside from the problem of evil, the casual desecration of their own faith is the greatest argument against Christianity.