A sacred burden is this life ye bear:
Look on it, lift it, bear it solemnly,
Stand up and walk beneath it steadfastly.
Fail not for sorrow, falter not for sin,
But onward, upward, till the goal ye win.

Frances Anne Kemble

You know the tune, sing the words. Just sing to the bouncing shoes.

"Rainy Day Woman" by Bob Dylan
(with significant edits from Stealth)



Well, they'll stone ya when you're trying to do your best
They'll stone ya cuz their love has been repressed
They'll stone ya while standing to speak the truth
Then they'll stone ya all the way from Duluth
But I would not feel so all alone
Everybody must get stoned.

Well, they'll stone ya to a Bobby Dylan Tune
They'll stone ya on a Sunday afternoon
They'll stone ya while they're playing their Kazoos
They'll stone ya while delivering "Good News"
But I would not feel so all alone
Everybody must get stoned.

They'll stone ya while at the sacrament table
They'll stone ya when you are old and feeble
They'll stone ya when dad's dieing in his bed
They'll stone ya as his urine now turns red
Tell ya what, I would not feel so all alone
Everybody must get stoned.

Well, They'll stone you and say that it's the end
Then they'll stone you and then they'll come back again
They'll stone you when you're sittin' with your dog
They'll stone you when you're writin' in your blog
Don't lament, they can't see what they are shown
Everybody must get stoned.

Well, they'll stone you for any kinda reason
They'll stone you all through the Christmas season
They'll stone you 'cuz they are so depraved
They'll stone you as they're sittin' in their grave
But I would not feel as though defrocked
Everybody must get rocked.

Something happened that will surprise you.

The Full Text


A New York Times Reporter figures his daughter lost a form of intelligence test to a Chimp. Each were shown a box and where food could be found by pulling open a door. Each were shown unnecessary steps in retrieving the food. The unnecessary steps included pushing a rod back and forth through the box and a finger tap on top of the box. Each subject understood it was important to get the food as quickly as possible.
"Because the chimps could not see inside, they could not tell that the extra steps were unnecessary. As a result, when the chimps were given the box, two-thirds faithfully imitated the scientists to retrieve the food."
"The team then used a box with transparent walls and found a strikingly different result. Those chimps could see that the scientists were wasting their time sliding the bolt and tapping the top. None followed suit. They all went straight for the door."

80% of the children still imitated the scientists using the unnecessary steps.

So, what does this mean? You tell me.

Life came to a surprising end at the wrong end of a gun the other day. So repulsed were the Dutch upon her death that a memorial website was set up for well wishers and she now lies permanently in state at the Rotterdam museum in the Netherlands. They will be memorializing the room where she was ruthlessly killed due to the public outcry. No, we aren't talking about the Netherlands version of Marilyn Monroe.

Not thinking of any Dutch celebs, I asked my wife who she thought it might have been. She guessed Hans Brinker (with his silver skates), but no, it was Flitter, the sparrow.

Flitter, an endangered species in the Netherlands, was thought to have entered the building through a window or door only to find herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. She ended up cornered in a ballroom where over 4 million dominoes had been set up for an assault on the Guinness world record for Dominoes falling in one sequence. Fearful she would destroy the record by not remaining a spectator, an exterminator was called in and Fltter was shot dead in cold blood. With pride and a new record under their (gun)belt, the Netherlands are not sleeping so easily.

"Nothing lost (those foolish Dutch)," say the Orthodox Christians here at Blogstream.

You can be comforted in knowing that Flitter, who has the wrong kind of soul, ain't goin' to Heaven under any circumstances. But all the Orthodox Christians certainly are.

Oh, I've been to Heaven. Did I tell you? Trying to strike up a conversation with God, He shushed me and point to a tall stone enclosure to our far left. He said, "Stealth, talk in a whisper. The Orthodox are on the other side and they imagine themselves to be the only ones here."

Like many children, when I was growing up, my favorite season was Christmas.
Not completely for the presents or the candy (though they were important) but it brought my family home. Everybody on most occasions would go their own way the rest of the year.

Some of my fondest memories were of us, as a family, coming together to decorate our monstrous home. The Christmas tree, over nine feet tall was only part of the story. We always had fresh cut pine tree limbs wired or placed throughout our home. My folks were antique hounds so all our antiques had some hint of Christmas added to them. That certainly was true for all the wood trim in our home downstairs. And there was always candy in bowls.

We didn't learn to do normal things around Christmas like I learned others did. Good deeds for others, caroling as a family, baking pies and the like, were not a part of our Christmas. Instead the metal lifesize jockeys that bordered our circular driveway had there white lights changed to green, the 4 foot wooden statue of child with an outstretched hand held a garland with a martini glass.

What my mom and dad were most proud of were the hundreds (yea literally) of Christmas cards they recieved every year from well wishers (but frankly clients who wanted my stockbroker father to give them another sweet deal).

One year, the Christmas tree was about a foot too tall. My father cut the top off so that it fit snuggly under the ceiling, then nailed the extra 12 inches UPSTAIRS into the hardwood floor. He even touched it up to make it look like a hole was actually drilled through the ceiling. He was the talk of the neighbors over that stunt.

Of course, the cheer gained from having a Christmas tree today is a far cry from its pagan tradition of hanging slaves from trees.

I’m sure there are more. It is true that there are also lots of historically pagan symbols at Christmas- this is what happens when the Church merges its traditions with pagan ones to meet social expectations. But even some of those pagan symbols can be transformed into wonderful symbols of Christ in our homes, or they can just be for fun, or they can be discarded entirely.