Mazurland Blog

The Mystery Of The Trinity

There is more than one Mystery of Catholic Faith.  One is "Christ has died, Christ is Risen, Christ will Come again".  We say or sing this at Mass when the Priest sings "LET US PROCLAIM THE MYSTERY OF FAITH".

And indeed there are other mysteries of our Catholic Faith.  The mystery of the Holy Trinity, of the "three persons in one God".  This Mystery is especially difficult for us as humans to understand.  One of my uncles refused to convert to Catholicism because no Priest could convince him of the existance of the Trinity, or how God consists of 3 persons. 

Catholicism varies from other monotheistic religions like Judaism and Islam in that we believe in the Trinity.  If you will, Catholicism is "Trinitarian Monotheism".

Let us examine the 3 persons of the Trinity, with some help from the Nicene Creed and the Book of Genesis.

Pornography---What You Don't Know

Pornography is a subject that isn't considered proper in polite society.  In fact, most people who do indulge in it, not only men but an increasing number of females, will normally deny that they look at or watch it.

Well, considering that the Pornography business brings in multiple billions of dollars world-wide annually, SOMEONE must be looking at it. 

I wouldn't consider myself a porn addict, some might.  Although I've looked at it since I found my pop's pile of Playboy's in the closet when I was 11. Earlier this year, I decided to end practicing this particular sin, among others.  And stopping cold turkey and destroying my material wasn't hard to do. I never got into the Internet porn thing, so perhaps that is what made it easy.  Most of the men and women struggling with this problem are internet porn junkies.

My friends at various workplaces (not where I work now) would call me an eclectic Porn collector.  When VHS was the rage, I had a goodly collection of about 60 titles, and the Deputies always traded the tapes around.  DVD became the rage, and in NC there are many adult stores that rent DVD's plus there's also a mail service, like Netflix for porn (sugardvd.com is an example).  I had about 40 DVD's that I owned, and swapped out with like-minded friends.

Until I got Cancer, I never thought about what I was doing, and any effect hit had on my wife, relationship, or of course my soul.  I saw it as harmless. Who's getting hurt? is what I thought.  So since I decided to live my life without this stuff, I started looking into the problem of porn addiction, and its effects on viewers, families, etc.

Well, a reflective look shows the effects. A wife or husband can feel betrayed by their spouse's porn habit---making them feel ineffective as a lover, or not sexy enough, etc.  The viewing is normally done alone, more often than not on a computer, but neither was the case for me. Just because the wife doesn't say anything doesn't mean they don't resent it.

What many porn viewers don't think about is the people whose images they are viewing. The fact of the matter is that these people are EXPLOITED.  Back in the 60's and 70's, the men got the big money for a porn movie---2000.00 on average for a few days work.  Of course, they had to have the size and stamina to "rise to the occasion" on command.  Women got 3-600.00, because they didn't have the demands placed on them that the men do.  Today it's different.  Viagra and other drugs can make any jamoke into a male porn star.  Now the women command the high pay for a shoot, still between 3-5K for a feature, around 2K for a single scene. Women make more money dancing at Strip Bars around the country than they do from the titles that give them their reputation.  

However, the question begs---how much to the producers who put the money up front make from a single title?  It can be hundreds of thousands.  Yet the actors are putting themselves out there, and don't get much in return.....The feeling of self loathing that many of these actors get is usually moderated by drugs.  Many admit they "couldn't go on (the set)" without the anti-depressants and other abuseable drugs they take.

So naturally, drug abuse and alcohol abuse takes its toll on these people. And just like our professional actors and atheletes, no matter how much money they make, they always seem to end up broke.

End of the day, there's damn few if any happy endings in the pornography world. Here's just a few.

Shannon Michelle Wilsey (October 9, 1970 – July 11, 1994), commonly known by her stage name of Savannah, was an American pornographic performer, starring in more than 100 pornographic videos during her career. One of the most prominent adult-industry models of her time, she achieved notoriety within her short (1990–1994) career due to her on-screen presence and personal life. Savannah committed suicide in 1994 after a car accident. (shot herself in the head with a 9MM).

A body found in Kansas appears to be that of a missing college student who led a secret life as an Internet porn star, police said Thursday

Playboy model, Paula Sladewski, 26, was found dead, her body burning inside a trash bin in Miami, Florida. According to the Los Angles Times, her boyfriend reported her missing after they became separated at a Miami club. Over the past few months, several porn stars have died in terrible tragedies.

Another porn star has died under tragic circumstances at a young age. Steven Hill, died after falling 40 feet from a cliff, during a standoff with the Los Angeles Police Department. He killed a co-worker at a pornographic company in Los Angeles, whilst seriously wounding two others, in a sword attack. He became enraged when told he could no longer live at the company's office, as he was homeless and short on money.

HUNTINGTON BEACH - The attorney for a Huntington Beach porn star who failed to pay more than $200,000 in federal income taxes spoke out for his client Monday, saying she was a single mom with nowhere to turn. Janine James, 39, pleaded guilty Friday in a Eugene court and faces possible jail time and fines for failing to pay thousands in taxes, officials said.

And it goes on, and on, and on.

The whole issue is a problem that people don't think about. Many of those who have kicked the habit say their love lives are better, relationships stronger, etc.  But don't think you're a saint because you stop. It is SO easy to fall.  I consider it one of the snares of the devil.  When temptation arises, the prayer to St Michael the Archangel is one to consider.  For others you know who may be involved, DON'T CONDONE IT. Don't turn away from confronting someone about this abominable waste of time.

Marriage Is Between A Man and a Woman

At least the Pope thinks so---And So do I.

I normally wouldn't post something direct from another site, but it's hard to paraphrase the Holy Father.  Besides, nobody else is posting---perhaps someone will comment but I'm not counting on it.

H/T To ZENIT---The World As Seen From Rome---for translating this letter to the new German Ambassador to the Holy See from Pope Benedict.

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, SEPT. 13, 2010 * * *
 
Mr. Ambassador,
 
I am pleased to take advantage of the occasion of the solemn handing of the Letters of Credence that accredit you as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Holy See, to welcome you and to express my best wishes for your high mission. My heartfelt thanks for the kind words you addressed to me, also in the name of the federal president, Mr. Christian Wulff, and of the federal government. I am pleased to extend the greeting of blessing to the head of state, to the members of the government and to all the citizens of Germany, with the hope that the good relations between the Holy See and the Federal Republic of Germany will continue in the future and develop further.
 
Many Christians in Germany are looking forward with great attention to the imminent celebrations of the beatifications of several martyr priests of the time of the Nazi regime. This Sunday, Sept. 19, Gerhard Hirschfelder will be beatified in Munster. During the coming year ceremonies will follow for Georg Hafner in Wurzburg, in addition to those for Johannes Prassek, Hermann Lange and Eduard Muller in Lubeck. Commemorated also with the chaplains of Lubeck will be Evangelical pastor Karl Friedrich Stellbrink. The attested friendship of the four ecclesiastics is an impressive testimony of the ecumenism of prayer and suffering, flowering in several places during the dark period of the Nazi terror. We can see these testimonies as luminous indications for a common ecumenical path.
 
Contemplating the figures of these martyrs, it seems ever clearer and exemplary how certain men are willing, given their Christian conviction, to give their own life for the faith, for the right to exercise freely their own creed and liberty of speech, for peace and human dignity. Today, fortunately, we live in a free and democratic society.

At the same time, however, we observe how among our contemporaries, there is no strong attachment to religion, as in the case of these witnesses of the faith. One might ask if there are today Christians that, without compromises, make themselves guarantors of their own faith. On the contrary, many show a general inclination toward permissive religious conceptions also for themselves. Instead of the Christian's personal God, who reveals himself in the Bible, they posit a supreme, mysterious and indeterminate being, who has only a vague relationship with the human being's personal life.
 
Such conceptions increasingly animate discussion within the society, especially in regard to the realm of justice and legislation. However, if one abandons faith in a personal God, the alternative arises of a "god" who does not know, does not listen and does not speak. And, more than ever before, does not have a will. If God does not have his own will, in the end good and evil are not distinguished, good and evil are no longer in contradiction to one another, but are in an opposition in which one is complementary of the other. Thus man loses his moral and spiritual strength, necessary for the complete development of the person. Social action is dominated increasingly by private interest or by the calculation of power, at the expense of society.

Instead, if God is a Person -- and the order of creation as well as the presence of Christians of conviction in society is a sign of this -- it follows that an order of values is legitimized. There are signs, which can also be found in recent times, that give proof of the development of new relations between the state and religion, also beyond the great Christian Churches which up to now were determinant. Hence, in this situation Christians have the task of following this development positively and critically, in addition to refining the senses for the fundamental and permanent importance of Christianity, in laying the bases and forming the structures of our culture.
 
However, the Church sees with concern the growing attempt to eliminate the Christian concept of marriage and the family from the conscience of society. Marriage is manifested as a lasting union of love between a man and a woman, which is also directed to the transmission of human life. One of its conditions is the willingness of the spouses to relate one to the other forever. Necessary, because of this, is a certain maturity of the person and a fundamental existential and social attitude: a "culture of the person" as my predecessor John Paul II once said. The existence of this culture of the person depends also on social developments.

It can be seen that in a society the culture of the person is lowered; often it is derived, paradoxically, from the growth of the standard of life. In the preparation and support of the spouses, it is necessary to create the basic conditions to build-up and develop this culture. At the same time we must be aware that the success of marriages depends on all of us, on the personal culture of each citizen. In this connection, the Church cannot approve legislative initiatives that imply a reappraisal of alternative models of the life of a couple and of the family. These contribute to the weakening of the principles of the Natural Law and thus to relativizing the whole of legislation and also to confusion on the values in society.
 
It is a principle of the Christian faith, anchored in Natural Law, that the human person be protected precisely in a situation of weakness. The human being always has priority in regard to other objectives. The new possibilities of biotechnology and medicine often put us in difficult situations that seem to walk on the razor's edge. We have the duty to study diligently to what point these methods can be of help to man and where, instead, it is a question of the manipulation of man, of violation of his integrity and dignity. We cannot reject this progress, but we must be very diligent. Once one begins to distinguish -- and this now happens often in the maternal womb -- between a worthy life and a life unworthy of living, no other phase of life will be safe, and even less so old age and infirmity.
 
The construction of a human society requires fidelity to truth. In this context, lately, certain phenomena that are operating in the realm of the public media make one reflect: being in an ever greater competition, the media feel driven to arouse the greatest possible attention. In addition, there is the contrast made by the news in general, even if it goes against the veracity of the report. The subject becomes particularly problematic when authoritative persons take a public position in this respect, without being able to confirm the aspects adequately. The attempt of the federal government to be involved in these cases, in so far as possible, in a pondered and pacifying way, is received favorably.
 
Mr. Ambassador, you have my best wishes for your work and for the contacts you will have with representatives of the Roman Curia, with the diplomatic corps and also with priests, religious and lay faithful involved in ecclesial activities who live here in Rome. I implore from my heart for you, for your distinguished consort, for your men and women collaborators in the embassy an abundant divine blessing.

So, What's The Deal, Hank?

Readers of Hankland might just be wondering, where did all this wisdom (as Chris commented) suddenly erupt from?  Why does it seem Hank is usurping the Religion Desk of what was formerly known as Mazurland?

Good Question.  Gotta tell you one story to tell you another.

While abed suffering from the delighful pain and other symptoms of Radiation Sickness, I had an odd experience.  I was deep in prayer and meditation, and Prince Hydrocodone was washing my brain cells.  But in the middle of all of that, I saw an apparition.  I don't know if it happened, I dreamed it, or I had too much codiene in my head.   But what I saw were the faces of my father and 5 of my uncles, all deceased.  And I heard my father's voice say "You're going to be alright, son".   At the time I attributed it to the drugs. But it certainly seemed real, and was somewhat comforting, as the codiene really wasn't killing the pain, just keeping my head floating.

A week ago Monday night, I had an even wierder experience.  I was at the Marine Corps League National Convention in Greensboro (about 90 min. from home)  I shared a room with one of my Marines.  Had a few beers, but not enough to get me doing the 2 step stagger by any means.

What I saw (I don't know if I was asleep and dreaming or awake) was just a deep white fog. And a voice I'd never heard before.  The whole thing seemed more real than real, if that makes any sense.  This voice told me to begin to walk the path that leads to the Diaconate of the Church.   Ignorant Polack that I am, I argued with the voice.  I first said "I'm too old" (turns out I'm not). The voice told me that this is a goal to strive for, and all goals are not necessarily fulfilled. I continued to argue---"I wasn't even an altar boy".  The voice said that if the goal isn't fulfilled, the trip along the path would reap benefits to me and my family.   After I woke up I was certainly confused, and a little wierded out. But I was definitely feeling things I'd not felt since before puberty, when I was certain I was being called to the priesthood.  Having my virginity torn from me by a CYO girl at 15 told me (and my monsignor) otherwise.

Sent a message to my pastor about it the next day, and he will be discussing this with me over the weekend.

NOW YOU GUYS KNOW ME. Some of you have known me a long time, and you know how I am, how I talk, etc.  Much of that has changed drastically in the last 2 weeks.    I'll let you know how this talk goes.

Marriage: A Covenant Between You, Your Spouse, and God

Since Wanda and I had our marriage of 30 1/2 years sanctified by the Holy Mother Church 3 weeks ago, I thought it a good time to talk about Sacramental Marriage, and a discussion about Sanctifying Grace and Sacramental Grace.  

*DISCLAIMER*---this is not a response to the clamor over CA Prop 8, or any other states cases concerning the word "marriage" as it applies to gender alike citizens.  I'm posting these thoughts because this IS the way IT IS.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (Sec. 1700)  states that humans possess a unique diginity because they are made in the image and likeness of God. 

While all humans may share certain body characteristics and physical responses common to mammals, Men and Women have free will, can choose to love, and have immmortal souls that will live forever, qualities that we do not share with the rest of our classifications in genus, class and phylum Chordata. 

 The fact that homosexuals want their unions to be called "Marriage" do themselves a dis-service as so many do not believe in God, will not go to a minister of any faith to conduct a ceremony, and will not have the advantages of both Sanctifiying Grace, or Sacramental Grace.    Why is this important?

Sacramental Marriage is elevated far above a mere civil union or a marriage between non-Christians. It gives the couple special graces that are simply not present in a non Sacramental marriage.  Fr. James Seculoff, a diocesan pastor in Indiana who has counseled many couples over his 48 years as a priest, explains it this way.

"SANCTIFYING GRACE makes a couple's souls beautiful in the eyes of God. SACRAMENTAL GRACE helps a couple to live their vows.  A Catholic Marriage is NOT JUST A LEGAL CONTRACT.  It is a covenant between you, your spouse and God"

Anyone who has been married for more than a few years finds out that the institution is not what they expected it to be. Of course there are joyous moments and occasions, but there is also many more sacrifices, disagreements, concessions, and financial stress, to name a few.

So many events and issues crop up in marriages. sickness and death of children and parents/in-laws, sressful work situations, child raising disputes, temptations of adultery, alcohol/substance abuse----they run the full gamut.  And this is likely why 2 adults making the decision in 2010 to get married have at best a 40% shot at making the thing work. 

The question begs--If a Catholic marriage has both sanctifying and sacramental grace, why don't they all work out?  Pretty simple. Too many Catholic couples go to the priest or deacon looking to get married, and all they are usually fixated on is the "Wedding Day", and the honeymoon.  What the Church is concerned about is EVERY DAY AFTER the wedding day and the honeymoon.

  My opinion is that the Church doesn't make engaged couples wait long enough before conveying the Sacrament.  A Deacon studies for about 3-5 years to get his sacrament, married (Permanent Diaconate) or celibate and on the way to becoming a priest.  By the time a Priest is ordained, he has waited and studied for 7 years to get his Sacrament.  If the Church made a couple wait 18 months to be married, and instead of the classes given now, have them study many of the things that they could find themselves facing, perhaps the percentage of successful marriages would rise.

Sacramental Grace is the difference in making a marriage work.  You receive the Sacramental Grace when vows are exchanged.  So, how do you tap into continuing to receive Graces to make your marriage strong and fruitful?

1. PRAY TOGETHER!   Bishop Sheen said that "It takes three to make love"  He went on to say "just as you cannot have rain without clouds, it is impossible to have love without God".  Use Reconciliation, Mass, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament as time for you and your spouse to commune with God.

2. GIVE YOUR MARRIAGE 100% EVERY DAY!  I didn't need Bishop Sheen for this. If you don't, you'd be amazed how quickly your married life, and your sanity will disintegrate into a world of dookie. Feel free to ask me how I know this.

3. STUDY THE CHURCH'S TEACHINGS ON MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY.  A few places to start are Familiaris Consortio (The Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World), Pope Paul VI's Humanae Vitae(on the regulation of Human Births), and Casti Cannubi (On Christian Marriage). If you are a couple of child bearing age, don't reject Natural Family Planning until you've learned all you can about it.  After doing so you may reject artifical birth control, and avoid a state of grave sin. You can find these encyclicals easily online.

4. NEVER GO TO BED ANGRY WITH EACH OTHER.  If you doubt the logic, I'll give you my mom's phone number.

5. HAVE FUN AND LAUGH TOGETHER--it truly is a tonic.

6. COMMUNICATE!  The number 1 reason marriages fail is because spouses listen, but do not hear what their spouse is telling them.  Spend time talking together in a place devoid of distractions. As Mr. Miagi said "ALWAYS LOOK EYE".  Make sure you understand what your spouse is telling you.

7. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF, AND YOUR SPOUSE. Look out for your own health as well as your spouse's health.

With the help of Grace, we can intelligently make the choice every day to recommit our love for our spouse, and to God.

Inspiration from Integrated Catholic Life

Time For A Change

Politics are REALLY starting to put me right off my fresh fried lobster.  Since nobody's reading or trying to post anything, I guess it's just my blog now. So I'll write whatever I want to write about.   And I think if anybody ever bothers to read Hankland again, they're going to find a suprise.

Mazur Brothers----I have had an awakening that happened since I saw Marty in June.  Don't question it.

Things that are Frosting Various Body Parts

I'd name the parts in question, but it's still a family blog.   Not that anyone's bothering to read it anymore.

Rep. Charlie Rangel.  This guy's as crooked as Lombard St. in San Francisco.  Cheats on his taxes, holds THREE rent controlled NYC apartments when the law says you can have one for a primary residence only, and of course is full of the usual Liberal Democratic Dung. 

Rangel succeeded Rep Adam Clayton Powell, who was tossed out of the Congress for ethical violations, and ran for his seat again and was re-elected by his Harlem voters.  How will Rangel fare?   I figure he's on his way to getting tossed out, and an ACP redux is more than likely.

In "Post Racial America", a black criminal politician can be removed from Congress by his peers, and get re-elected----as long as he's black too.  I guess King's Dream is dead.  People recognized NOT by the content of their character as King dreamt. but by the color of their skin, which he fought against.

The "New Black Panther Party".  Another glimpse into Odumbo's "Post Racial America".  Not only does the NAALCP (National Association for the Advancement of Liberal Colored People) denounce the NBPP, but so do former REAL Black Panthers like Bobby Seale.  Seal remembers naming the original organization the Black Panther Party for Self Defense, not the Black Panther Party for Voter Intimidation. The original Black Panthers fought AGAINST Voter Intimidation, not FOR IT.

Attorney General Eric Holder---Where in the F**K did Odumbo find this ignorant bastard? Seems as if every time he's confronted with a situation, instead of applying the law, he looks at any possible racial component.  I thought we would NEVER see an AG more screwed up than Janet Reno.  Janet has passed the crown off to Holder.

Let's not single out the black people, there's plenty of stupid whites to make you wanna puke too.

Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano.  3 years ago as Governor of Arizona, she was screaming regularly about their border security issues.   Now, with NOTHING AT ALL being done about it in the last 3 years, she now says "The Border is more secure than ever".   Sure would like to get a sack of whatever it is SHE's smokin---it's GOT to be the killer.   

Blame Bush Syndrome. The shit is OLD.  TOO OLD for anyone to be using it.  The Messiah promised to lower the sea level, lower unemployment, bring tax relief to the middle class.  He's not done dick. Or, as a bumper sticker said that I saw yesterday, SO FAR, YOU SUCK.

There's more---And I WILL get to it.

News from Afghanistan Via RECON MARINE

From the Sand Pit it's freezing here.  I'm sitting on hard, cold dirt between rocks and shrubs at the base of the Hindu Kush Mountains , along the Dar 'yoi Pomir River , watching a hole that leads to a tunnel that leads to a cave.  Stake out, my friend, and no pizza delivery for thousands of miles.

 I also glance at the area around my ass every ten to fifteen seconds to avoid another scorpion sting.  I've actually given up battling the chiggers and sand fleas, but the scorpions give a jolt like a cattle prod.  Hurts like a bastard..  The antidote tastes like transmission fluid, but God bless the Marine Corps for the five vials of it in my pack.

 The one truth the Taliban cannot escape is that, believe it or not, they are human beings, which means they have to eat food and drink water.  That requires couriers and that's where an old bounty hunter like me comes in handy.  I track the couriers, locate the tunnel entrances and storage facilities, type the info into the hand-held, shoot the coordinates up to the satellite link that tells the air commanders where to drop the hardware. We bash some heads for a while, then I track and record the new movement.

 It's all about intelligence.  We haven't even brought in the snipers yet. These scurrying rats have no idea what they're in for.  We are but days away from cutting off supply lines and allowing the eradication to begin. I dream of bin Laden waking up to find me standing over him with my boot on his throat as I spit into his face and plunge my nickel-plated Bowie knife through his frontal lobe.  But you know me, I'm a romantic.  I've said it before and I'll say it again: This country blows, man. It's not even a country.  There are no roads, there's no infrastructure, there's no government. This is an inhospitable, rock pit shit hole ruled by eleventh century warring tribes.  There are no jobs here like we know jobs.

  Afghanistan offers two ways for a man to support his family: join the opium trade or join the army. That's it.  Those are your options.  Oh, I forgot, you can also live in a refugee camp and eat plum-sweetened, crushed beetle paste and squirt mud like a goose with stomach flu, if that's your idea of a party.  But the smell alone of those 'tent cities of the walking dead' is enough to hurl you into the poppy fields to cheerfully scrape bulbs for eighteen hours a day.

 I've been living with these Tajiks and Uzbeks, and Turkmen and even a couple of Pushtuns, for over a month-and-a-half now, and this much I can say for sure:  These guys, all of 'em, are Huns...  actual, living Huns..  They LIVE to fight.  It's what they do.  It's ALL they do. They have no respect for anything, not for their families, nor for each other, nor for themselves.  They claw at one another as a way of life. They play polo with dead calves and force their five-year-old sons into human cockfights to defend the family honor.  Huns, roaming packs of savage, heartless beasts who feed on each other's barbarism.  Cavemen with AK-47's.  Then again,
 maybe I'm just cranky.

 I'm freezing my ass off on this stupid hill because my lap warmer is running out of juice, and I can't recharge it until the sun comes up in a few hours.  Oh yeah!  You like to write letters, right?  Do me a favor, Bizarre.  Write a letter to CNN and tell Wolf and Anderson and that awful, sneering, pompous Aaron Brown to stop calling the Taliban 'smart.' They are not smart.  I suggest CNN invest in a dictionary because the word they are looking for is 'cunning.' The Taliban are cunning, like jackals and hyenas and wolverines. They are sneaky and ruthless, and when confronted, cowardly.  They are hateful, malevolent parasites who create nothing and destroy everything else. Smart.  Pfft.  Yeah, they're real smart.

 They've spent their entire lives reading only one book (and not a very good one, as books go) and consider hygiene and indoor plumbing to be products of the devil.  They're still figuring out how to work a Bic lighter.  Talking to a Taliban warrior about improving his quality of life is like trying to teach an ape how to hold a pen; eventually he just gets frustrated and sticks you in the eye with it. OK, enough.  Snuffle will be up soon, so I have to get back to my hole. Covering my tracks in the snow takes a lot of practice, but I'm good at it.

 Please, I tell you and my fellow Americans to turn off the TV sets and move on with your lives. The story line you are getting from CNN and other news agencies is utter bullshit and designed not to deliver truth but rather to keep you glued to the screen through the commercials.  We've got this one under control The worst thing you guys can do right now is sit around analyzing what we're doing over here, because you have no idea what we're doing, and really, you don't want to know.  We are your military, and we are doing what you sent us here to do.

 Saucy Jack
 Recon Marine in Afghanistan
 Semper Fi
 "Freedom is not free...but the U.S. Marine Corps will pay most of your share".  

 

RIP Mazurland, Welcome to Hank's Blog

If I'm the only one whose going to write, might as well BE my blog, eh?

So much going on in America today, and none of the Mazurland Authors have time to opine.   Probably lashed to Facebook.

So I'm gonna write about what I want, when I want, and nobody's gonna read it, but at least I'll get my frustrations out at the world.

So, What's it going to be,eh?

PERHAPS the brothers should discuss this at the Campout.  I won't be able to make it this year, just having gone back to work, and 3 weekends in a row out of town last month, I can't press my luck with Wanda.

So Much for a "Secular Nation"

I'll "Let the Marine Tell It"--- He does a better job than I can.

Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day. Normally considered by the vast majority of Americans as

1. Day off from Work and School

2. Good day to make a purchase of a car, a set of tires, or a big ticket item at Lowe's

3. What you Yankees do that we in the South call a "Cook-out" or an extra day Camping or at the Beach.

   After the "Late Unpleasantness" (what Yankees call "The Civil War") Southern Ladies set a day for the "Decoration of the graves of the Glorious Dead", which was soon shortened to "Decoration Day".  There still is a "Confederate Decoration Day" which is seperate from Today's celebration.

Memorial Day is supposed to be a day to hoist your American Flag, then lower it to Half-Mast, In honor of our nations' fallen warriors---from the Revolution to Afghanistan and Iraq. Some of you might remember someone from your neighborhood who died in Vietnam. Bernie Hitro, whose brother James was in SJCI Class of 74, was the only Riverside boy we lost in the Nam.  I've "rubbed" his name on the Wall, and yes it did bring me to tears.

While enjoying whatever you do today, remember that the average age of American KIA's is 19-22. Think back to your own time in those years, and imagine all you have done since NOT HAPPENING because you served your country, whether it was right or wrong in engaging in war.  Their sacrifice should never be forgotten,

Of course, this is one of my "Busy Times" as a member of the MCL, so I can't forget.  Don't you forget either.

Facebook Killed Mazurland!!!!!

There hasn't been a post on this blog in 17 days!!!!!  Everyones' playing Facebook I suppose.  Let me told you a facebook story and then I'll give you a Hank Update.

   My daughter is on facebook. Nearly ready to give birth,hormones raging and Daddy out on a oil rig---she finds her old boyfriend from high school. He's had 3 children by different women, and has no job and is currently married.  While Daddy is still out, she gets manipulated into  inviting him to move into her house and help him find a job (She made my son move home because "She needed the room for the baby and she couldn't afford to support him while he looked, BTW.)

Son in law (who is outstanding in every way, and I'd be proud to call my own son) comes back in and is faced by this. He doesn't like the guy, (smelled him out) and was faced with a simillar situation in his first marriage. When Daughter was home in Feb. (before this started) she told me she wasn't happy. Her husband is a great provider, gives her anything she wants, let her stay home and go to college online and be a stay at home Mom, to which I said "A DAMN FINE BETTER DEAL THAN YOUR OWN MOTHER GOT!!!!"   and a "You're not happy? Welcome to being married kid, it's not peaches and cream every damn day. In fact, the first ELEVEN YEARS of my marriage were freakin' torture. You do what's right."

Now baby gets delivered, son in law is disgusted and has moved to his sister's house in town, and the Facebook Buddy is at the hospital with my kid. Son in law gets a text from him ( I don't do that shit either) and won't go see his own kid born because he shouldn't have to share an experience like that with a stranger.  (I think so).

  Daughter gets wild post-partum depression.  Tells son in law in response to his "I Love You'  "I can't say that to you right now."  Facebook buddy STEALS DAUGHTER'S CAR, she reports it stolen, and it is recovered whith Buddy still in it by the Lafouche Parish Sheriff's Office.  He gets put into jail and finds out that you might be a Southron from NC, but in Lafouche Parish, "You AIN'T FROM AROUND HERE", catches two ass beatings, one from the deputies and one from the inmates, and is released ROR next day so the parish don't have to pay for him to be treated in the hospital.

Son in law comes to house next day and finds him BACK IN THE HOUSE with 2 "Friends" both wearing sidearms, and DON'T look like off duty cops.  Facebook Buddy screams at him and tells him to get out of the apartment HE PAYS FOR.   That's about enough. He goes to a divorce atty and gets a restraining order. Either Facebook buddy gets out of the house, or he gets full custody of the children (BTW, the Lafouche Parish DA is a part time position, and he's son in law's divorce lawyer. Son in law tells daughter he needs about 6 months to figure out what he's gonna do.  Pays 6 more months on the lease, takes daughter grocery shopping so the kids have food (all she has is GI Bill and 40% disability check from VA, don't go too far). 

My son gets on facebook and lambastes both daughter and Facebook Buddy.  She refuses to speak to her parents. Finally, after I send her an e-mail (she's still scared of Daddy) that says "For the first time in your life, I'm ashamed to be your father--you've Dis-honored my name and your husband's by your idiotic conduct"  (an affair without sex is sometimes more of a betrayal than one where the woman gets pregnant--it's totally emotional in this case)

Daughter finally comes to her senses, gets rid of Facebook Buddy. BUT NOW, she's between a rock and a very hard place. Husband still loves her---but when he's away 6 months out of the year, how do you trust her now?  I've been there myself. Whatcha gonna do ????

HAD IT NOT FOR FACEBOOK, THE BREAK-UP OF MY KID'S MARRIAGE WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPPENED!!!!!!

We're still a family blog, so TAKE YOUR FACEBOOK AND STICK IN YOUR DIDI WITH A WAH-WAH BRUSH!!!!!

Excerpt from e-mail sent to Dr Chris yesterday. "healing slowly. Last 3 weeks, radiation burns on neck and chest/back have healed. Lost total of 80 lbs, only 40 away from where I was at age 18. Stamina and fatigue problems still phase me out. Still on feeding tube, no solid food. Can FINALLY drink carbonated beverages without pain. Swallowing without pain (a great relief).  Oncologist says "You're not a patient man"  my reply: "It doesn't run in my family". 

Let's get some comments---stop putting your life on the internet for the world to see---IMO Facebook and other social networking websites are the spawn of the devil, and used by the government to lull the populace into complacency so they can do whatever the hell they want.  And it SEEMS TO BE WORKING.

Uke Topper

Several times over the last few months, some of my Facebook friends have exchanged YouTube links to videos of people playing the ukulele. It's amusing and amazing what some people will transcribe to the uke. I've posted some of these links to Mazurland. The players are usually decent, and their covers of many pop tunes are fun to watch. But, not all uke players are in it for the novelty. I've posted in the past a link to the wonderful natural talent of the late Israel "Iz" Kamakawiwo'ole. Though his strumming was never more than a vehicle for the tune, his soulful high tenor carried it in such a beautiful way.

For technical and interpretive brilliance on the instrument itself, it's hard to beat Jake Shimabukuro. Here he is giving his rendition of While My Guitar Gently Weeps. He's truly a uke virtuoso. And, unlike the many mirthful cover artists, he has reverence for the song he's playing. It shows in his rendition of the National Anthem. (It's a little showy for my taste, but embellishment seems to be what people want these days. Hey. He didn't scratch himself.)

A Couple Of The Nicest Guys In The World

Harry Groves was Penn State's track and cross country coach for over 30 years until he retired in 2006. Harry has coached some of the finest athletes to come out of Penn State over the years. Some have become Olympians. In 2001 he was inducted into the US Track Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He was a founder, in the late 60s, of the Nittany Valley Track Club (since renamed the Nittany Valley Running Club) of which I am a 20-year member and "Propaganda Minister" (I've done the Newsletter, web site, newspaper blog, and other duties suited to a big-mouth).

During the summer, the NVRC sponsors a film series at Appalachian Outdoors, a local outfitter. Last summer, the Club screened Fire on the Track, a biopic of Steve Prefontaine, a legendary American distance runner who died tragically in a car wreck in 1975 when he was still a rising star on the world track scene. After the movie, Harry gave a Q and A about "Pre", coaching, and one of Pre's great rivals, Penn State's Greg Fredericks. Harry recounted one of their closest head-to-head races (Pre won), and then went on to give a touching tribute to his younger "brother" Fredericks, whom I'm honored to be able to run with.

Coach Groves always had a reputation as a salty, curmudgeonly old cuss who would work his athletes hard, but also brought the best out of them. Even in retirement, Harry keeps in touch with and inspires his old team members, and up-and-coming athletes, too. Harry put together a team for the 20K Distance Classic at this year's Penn Relays. Captained by one of his former athletes and assistant coaches, Artie Gilkes, the team took first place with Gilkes finishing 3rd overall.

In the videos below of the Q and A, we see Harry on his best behavior. (Harry can say some startlingly inappropriate things, but also knows his audience.) But he's always honest, and entertaining. And generous. And really, quite a pussy cat when you get to know him. Harry just turned 80 a few weeks ago. And his younger "brother" Greg Fredericks? Greg just turned 60 last weekend. And he really is, as Harry says, one of the nicest guys in the world.

[HT - Tara Murray]

First They Came For Hitler

The company that unwittingly has done more to educate the world about Adolf Hitler is now attempting to undo that feat. In 2004, the German film company Constantin Films released Der Untergang, known in America as The Downfall. It's an excellent film about the last days of Hitler and the Third Reich. The thing is, the film was not very well known outside of Germany until the start of the Downfall parody meme. Beginning in late 2007, parodies began appearing on YouTube using a scene where Hitler launches into a tirade upon being informed by his generals that the war is truly lost. In the parodies, subtitles are used to give the tirade alternate meanings. The parodies have involved, politics, sports, popular culture, even the parodies themselves. And even though the parodies were done by amateurs, and were of uneven quality, the great performance of Bruno Ganz as Hitler, and the inventiveness of the parodies, kept them strangely outside the realm of the "overdone".

But now Constantin Films is in the process of trying to get the Hitler parodies removed from YouTube for copyright violation. And though there are hundreds of these parodies, Constantin has had some success. The parody makers, of course, are screaming about the Fair Use Doctrine, while admitting that it would be expensive and probably futile for individuals to fight Constantin and YouTube/Google in a long court battle.

Of course, immediately upon release of news of Constantin's action, a new Downfall parody was released, this one showing Hitler upset over Constantin's action. Watch it now while you still have the chance. (Embedding has been disabled on the Constantin parody.)

The fight over Constantin's actions should be fun to watch, since it will undoubtedly involve more parodies. And Constantin may be shooting itself in the foot, since the parodies have greatly increased awareness of that exceptional film. The parody meme should give Constantin pause. What if the meme had never existed? What if Hitler had never existed? Oh. It's been done.

[HT - Brother Chris via Facebook, Instapundit, Reason.]

Global Made Global Warming?

Notice since this Icelandic Volcano decided to do it's thing, you've not heard much about MAN MADE Global Warming?

Nobody does it better than Mother Nature. And we thought Mt. St. Helen's was a PITA.

There is only one solution to this problem we currently have.

Al Gore must muster every envirowing nut to Iceland, dress appropriately in native attire, climb up the side of the Glacier that the volcano is underneath, and offer themselves to it in one massive human sacrifice.

Then the God of Vulcan will be sated, and man can go about his business, safe in knowing that when it comes to Global Warming, MAN AIN'T SHIT.

Hell Continued

I have one Chemo treatment and 6 radiation treatments left to go. Would have been 5 but the lineal accelerator had a "Glitch" in it so no rads today.

The last 2 weeks has been the "fun stuff", puking up/coughing up large amounts of mucous 24/7.  Sleep provided by oxycodone/Xanax/Ativan in 2-3 hour stretches through the day and night. Nausea and fatigue are my best friends.

tube feedings don't agree with me much either. Weight loss from 344 to 287. Intense mouth pain, tongue doesn't work at all for taste and hurts like hell too, swallowing only water with meds. Getting ready to have to crush up some and run them through the tube as they're too big to swallow.  Can talk for about 5 minutes before the pain gets to be too much.

Almost to the end of treatment, but will be another 4 weeks before symptoms subside. Can't even think about anything but getting through the present day.   Never take drinking a soda or a beer or having a meal for granted again.

Love and Death in Haiti

Matt Labash is one of my favorite writers for the Weekly Standard. He's always had a bit of Hunter Thompson and P. J. O'Rourke in him. Writing, for him, often entails adventure. Getting down with the locals, He's got enough down-home, good ol' boy irreverence that he could write a diverting piece about redneck moonshiners, fly-fishermen, oddball politicians, and cranks of all kinds, and make you feel like you met someone interesting. But he's always been a bit of a smart-aleck, and it sometimes amazed me that he could convince people who maybe should know better to open up to him. Lately, he's branched out a little, moving into the mean city streets. Last year he wrote a couple of long pieces, one on the bombed out moonscape that is Detroit and the people who still live there, the other on the unquashable Marion Berry. But even though Labash writes with sensitivity, there's always the bemused wise-cracker lurking in his voice. 

So back in early March, my copy of the Weekly Standard arrived with a most depressing cover. It showed a man, obviously fighting revulsion, dragging a body bag from a ruined building in Haiti. And the cover story was a long one. I was busy getting ready to go to Europe, and really didn't want to trudge through a depressing story about an earthly Hell recently made ever more hellish. But the writer was Matt Labash. As the magazine sat on my stack, I kept thinking: Why would they send Labash? How would, how could his outlook and style fit in such a place?

I finally read the story last week and it was one of the most affecting pieces of journalism I've ever read. A large part of Labash's story is a profile of Fr. Rick Frechette's work in the ruins of Haiti. And Labash brings out the humanity of this down-to-earth saint who is doing God's work and bringing God's grace to a place that seems all but God-forsaken. It is a story that is at once astonishing, humbling, and inspiring. A saint, among other things, is a person who is to be an example of how we are to love. Fr. Frechette is such an example. If you're like me, it's probably not the kind of story you'd want to pick up and read. But read it.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! Today, my family had our traditional Easter Brunch. The table had fewer people present. Daughter Christina is enjoying Easter in Paris. Some of our usual guests from the neighborhood were unable to join us today. And so it was just my wife, my son, and me. But Vicky pulled out all the stops, as usual. Three people sitting down to a feast means there'll be a lot of leftovers. And now, dishes done, my wife and I are heading to Buffalo for a mini-family reunion at my sister Amy's place. Three of my five siblings and many of their children will be there, and ready to enjoy another feast tomorrow on Dyngus Day.

Though we often write about Lent, Holy Week, Christmas, and the other Christian Holidays, Mazurland has never said much about much about Easter itself. But we have mentioned that, despite the "airplay" of Christmas, Easter is truly the most important of all Christian Holy Days. It is a day of pure joy. And even if your Lent has not been up to standards, remember that today you have been raised, too. Keep your mind set on higher things.

Keeping Up With Holy Week

You can have the best intentions for Lent, and still fall to the vicissitudes of your busy life. And even given a Lent well spent, Holy Week is busy, both with church activities, and with the swirl of Spring. As Winter wanes, daily life presents more demands. Getting the house and yard set for Summer, kids starting their last push in school, work activities. They all detract from concentration on the season. And it doesn't help if your Lent hasn't met your own expectations. But that's what Holy Week is for. It's your last chance to do it right. 

The way my Lent has gone this year, I feel like I need a do-over. Most years, I give myself a passing grade (as if I'm the one doing the grading). I give myself a set of spiritual goals, and I get most of them done. The goals might not be too onerous, but I feel like I've accomplished something beyond what I'd do the rest of the year by the time Easter rolls around. This year has been, if not an "epic fail" (I did not murder anyone), a plain victory for spiritual sloth. And maybe that's a spiritual lesson in itself. And a lick, a spit, and a promise for next year.

And here it is, Holy Saturday. I made up some ground over Holy Week, but now I"m back to breaking my own "rules", snacking and drinking some wine as I watch the Final Four games. I have to remember, what was Jesus doing on this day? I mean, He had just saved mankind from itself. But He still had to convince some people that that's exactly what he'd done. That meant Resurrection and 40 days of unannounced appearances. Why not take a break? That's what I'd do. But what was He doing? He was busy, even today.

Good Friday

Since I'm on Disability, I went to Stations of the cross at noon, and made my confession.

For the rest of you, to remember the 3 hours of darkness in the middle of the day, perhaps The Man In Black says it best.

 

 

Then That Cat Will Stay Out For The Night

Here's a post with some music appropriate for April Fool's Day. It's a video of Herb Ellis (on the right) and Barney Kessel (left) jamming on one of the greatest cartoon show theme songs of all time, the Flintstones Theme. Ellis plays so fast on this video that he's ahead of the video! (Seriously, it's a mis-synch. I hate when videos have that problem, but this one's not too bad.)

Herb Ellis died on Sunday at the age of 88. He was among the last of his generation of jazz guitar players. If you scour YouTube for videos of Ellis playing, you see that many of the people he jammed with on those videos have passed away: Charlie Byrd, Tal Farlow, Joe Pass, and the other player on this video, Barney Kessel. Others innovators of Ellis's generation are gone, too, among them Les Paul and George Van Eps. It's a blessing that Toots Thielemanns (who is even better known for his whistling and harmonica playing) and Bucky Pizzarelli, both in their 80s, are still active. If you can catch one of their shows, do it. You'll be listening to a legend.

Holy Week

For me writing this post, it is requested that the Religion Desk Editor be scourged and flogged for dereliction of duty.

Holy Week of the Catholic Church began with the Palm Sunday Vigil on Saturday evening, and will end with the celebrations of Easter Sunday. Throughout this week, we will celebrate both the foundation and mystery of our faith.  The Passion, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Son of the ever living God.

Easter also ends the season of Lent. In this holiest time of the Catholic Year, we are asked to make sacrifice and self denial to prepare ourselves for the foundations of our faith which are about to come.  Most Catholics begin lent with the best of intentions, but falter along the way in their Lenten promises at some point.  This shows that as mere mortals we have a divided heart.  In no way different than Peter denying he knew our Master 3 times the evening that he was arrested.  Beloved of our Savior, considered the Rock of the Church from before its genesis, even he showed a divided heart when it came down to hard chips.  Perfection is difficult for we humans, but Holy Week gives us another chance.

During this week there will be stations of the Cross, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Holy Thursday services to re-enact the Last Supper, Good Friday services to remember and sanctify the beating and crucifixion of our Savior, And in many parishes (by request) blessing of the Easter Food, an old Polish Tradition on Saturday. Sunday's services will joyfully commemorate the Resurrection of Jesus, and his appearances to his followers.

The central core of our Catholic Faith is that the Scripture has been fulfilled, The Christ came to earth in the form of a man, he gave us the good news of the Kingdom of God, healed the sick and brought sinners to God , gave his life for the remissions of our sins, and to open a new covenant between God and Man, re-opening the gates of heaven for our souls. By his triumph over Mortal Death, and his message that he will return to judge the living and the dead, we proclaim the mystery of the faith.

It's up to you. Re-dedicate yourself to the tenets of the Church, and rejoice in them.

I guess a reformed wayward Catholic is as bad as a reformed Smoker, but it's just the way I feel.

The Real Marathon Story

Since it's late March, many of my running buddies are at the peak of their training for the Boston Marathon, which is three weeks from Monday. I'm sure most of you have heard the story of the Greek messenger Phidippides and the first Marathon. The poor guy died of exhaustion after running to Athens from the plain at Marathon to give news of the Greek victory there over an invading Persian army. His dying word, "Nike!", was not a plug for a running shoe, but the announcement of "Victory!" But the Reader's Digest version of the story misses most of the amazing facts about the achievements of both Phidippides and the Greeks. It's a tale of courage, daring, and amazing endurance. The Battle of Marathon was, in a sense, the first mass marathon, whose participants were the entire Athenian army. Read the riveting story here.

[HT - Kathy]

Descent into Hell

I've not posted lately, because I spent the last 9 days in the hospital.

2 weeks ago yesterday I had sugery to have a feeding tube implanted in my stomach wall.  4 days later I knew it had gone south when I caught a whiff of something I knew was wrong.  Sunday AM to the E.R and upstairs I went, Proteus infection.  Lots of nasty purulent drainage, enough to make you puke to smell it.

After 8 days of treatment with IV Invase, Flagyl and an antifungal drug, the infectious disease specialist said I could go home on some keflex capsules.

Of course, the pain of radiation damage to my neck and chemo treatments continued unabated. Plenyty of Dilaudid injections, days running together, hunger, (can't swallow most of the food), the whole catalog.

Boredom, incredible boredom. A nice fecal impaction after 2 days, that's not what you want to break up the boredom.

Just a day at a time, getting through.  3 of 6 chemo treatments over, 21 of 33 radiation treatments. left to go