The Ginger Jar

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Lynden Rodriguez — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 05:19:24 +0000

1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

Word Definition: Anthropomorphize

Lynden Rodriguez — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 22:26:53 +0000

Anthropomorphize

Definition

an·thro·po·mor·phize

[

ànthrəpə máwr fz ]

TRANSITIVE VERB

1. treat nonhuman thing as human: to give a nonhuman thing a human form, human characteristics, or human behavior

"our tendency to anthropomorphize wild animals"

an·thro·po·mor·phi·za·tion NOUN

Thesaurus

VERB

Synonyms: humanize, personify, make human, give a human face to, sentimentalize, bring alive

Content above provided by

Source URL: http://www.bing.com/Dictionary/search?q=define+anthropomorphize&qpvt=anthromorphize&FORM=DTPDIA

Word Definition: Flibbertigibbet

Lynden Rodriguez — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:45:17 +0000

Flibbertigibbet is a Middle English word referring to a flighty or whimsical person, usually a young woman. In modern use, it is used as a slang term, especially in Yorkshire, for a gossipy or overly talkative person. Its origin is in a meaningless representation of chattering. [1] It does not always apply to females, however; it has also been used to describe Jiminy Cricket due to his whimsical, chatty nature.

This word also has a historical use as a name for a fiend, devil or spirit. In Shakespeare‘s King Lear (IV, i (1605)), he is one of the five fiends Edgar (in the posture of a beggar, Tom o’ Bedlam) claimed was possessing him. Shakespeare got the name from Samuel Harsnett‘s Declaration of Egregious Popish Impostures (1603),[citation needed] where one reads of 40 fiends, which Jesuits cast out and among which was Fliberdigibbet, described as one of "foure deuils of the round, or Morrice, whom Sara in her fits, tuned together, in measure and sweet cadence."

By extension it has also been used as a synonym for Puck. Through its use as a nickname for a character in Sir Walter Scott‘s Kenilworth, it has gained the meaning of an impish child.[2]

Flibbertigibbet similarly features as a name in a local legend around Wayland’s Smithy. According to the tale, Flibbertigibbet was apprentice to Wayland the Smith, and greatly exasperated his master.[3] Eventually Wayland threw Flibbertigibbet down the hill and into a valley, where he transformed into a stone. Scott associates his Flibbertigibbet character in Kenilworth with Wayland Smith.[citation
needed]

Another historical connection and likely origin of the word comes from "fly by the gibbet". A gibbet can refer to a platform or cage used to execute criminals and display their remains outside a town to warn other would-be criminals. The remains over time would be picked apart by small creatures and birds and thus ‘fly away’. "Fly by the Gibbet" may also have been used as a sailing expression to refer to hoisting the gibbet sail. This is a large sail that can be used when sailing with the direction of the wind to capture as much wind as possible. A sail that has not been pulled tight will flap in the wind, which may have also contributed to the association.

In the musical The Sound of Music, the nuns sing "How do you solve a problem like Maria? How do you catch a cloud and pin it down? How do you find a word that means Maria? A flibbertigibbet. A will-o’-the-wisp. A clown."

Angelica, Meg Ryan’s character in the 1990 film Joe Versus the Volcano, refers to herself as a flibbertigibbet.

References

1. ^ World Wide Words

2. ^ New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary

3. ^ Wayland the Smith

External links

Look up flibbertigibbet in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Source URL: http://www.answers.com/topic/flibbertigibbet

A reading from the Church Fathers: Thank God for the wicked

Lynden Rodriguez — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 15:19:11 +0000

Thank God for the wicked

Why doesn’t God just get rid of the wicked now and let the righteous live in peace? Because, says St. John Chrysostom, the wicked are doing you a favor. By keeping you in spiritual shape, they do you a lot of good. And you can do them a lot of good, too.

This is why God has left the wicked in the world: so that the good may shine the brighter. Do you see how great the gain is? But the gain is not owing to the wicked, but to the courage of the good. Trees tossed about by contrary winds grow stronger.

And the wicked gain, too, by mixing with the good. They feel confused; they are ashamed; they blush in the presence of the good. Even if they do not keep from evil, nevertheless they dare what they dare in secret. And this is no small thing, not to have sins publicly committed.

For the life of the good becomes the accuser of their wickedness. “It hurts even to see him,” they say of the righteous man—and it is no small beginning of amendment to be tormented by his presence. For if the sight of the righteous man did not torment them, they wouldn’t have said that. But to be stung and pricked in the conscience when he is present would be a considerable hindrance to enjoying wickedness.

So do you see how much the good gain from the wicked, and the wicked from the good? This is why God has not set them apart, but allowed them to be mixed together.

–St. John Chrysostom, Homily 3 on the Power of Demons, 1

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SAN JACINTO ~ Southern California: Off-course Arctic gyrfalcon draws bird watchers

Lynden Rodriguez — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:31:09 +0000

MARK CHAPPELL/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER

“This guy seems to be vibrant and healthy, and he has a good appetite,” says wildlife biologist Chet McGaugh of the gyrfalcon shown sitting in a pile of coot feathers after feeding at the San Jacinto Wildlife Area. The Arctic bird and has never been seen in Southern California.x

BY JANET ZIMMERMAN

BY JANET ZIMMERMAN The Press Enterprise ~ STAFF WRITER

jzimmerman

Published: 07 February 2012 10:28 PM

· WEBLINK The Cornell Lab of Ornithology gyrfalcon facts

Bird watchers from as far away as San Jose and New Mexico braved gray skies and cold winds near Lake Perris on Tuesday, hoping to be among the lucky ones to catch a glimpse of a gyrfalcon that has taken up residence there. The Arctic animal has never been seen in Southern California, ornithologists said.

The taupe-and-white bird of prey — the world’s largest falcon — was first spotted at the San Jacinto Wildlife Area, south of Highway 60, on Jan. 15.

Mark Chappell, a UC Riverside biology professor who snapped numerous photos of the bird that day, said he couldn’t believe his eyes. In fact, the sight was so rare he thought it was an oversized peregrine falcon.

The gyrfalcon “is probably 400 miles farther south than any that’s ever been seen in California,” he said.

“It’s typically seen in Denali (National) Park in Alaska or farther north. A few move south in winter to Montana or the Dakotas, and every few years there’s one in Northern California. But this far south is really, really unusual.”

So unusual that it has attracted throngs of people to the secluded 19,000-acre wildlife area filled with scrubby grasslands and teeming with small mammals and shorebirds — perfect for a bird of prey.

After word went out on the Internet, about 100 people showed up on one day, said Chet McGaugh, a wildlife biologist and ornithologist who keeps Riverside County records for the California Bird Records Committee.

There have been 10 accepted accounts of gyrfalcon sightings in California since 1948, and the farthest south was in Tulare County in the Central Valley, he said.

Jonathan Batkin, director of the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe, N.M., was in Southern California on business and took a few days off to view the falcon after reading about it on birding websites. After two days, he saw the falcon in flight from about 100 yards away.

“It flushed a bunch of birds off a pond, the birds scattered and it climbed up until I lost it against the hills,” he said. “It’s really powerful and fast.”

Batkin, 58, said he may have to go to Alaska to get a good view of a gyrfalcon (pronounced JER-falcon) in his lifetime. Then he can add it to the hundreds of species already on his “life list,” his bird-watching diary.

At the wildlife area southeast of Moreno Valley, the bird has appeared almost every day over the past three weeks, perching on top of power poles to look for and consume its prey. The falcon has been feeding off the numerous coots that roam the shores of seasonal lakes.

Avid birder Kathy Parker, 60, drove from San Jose to see the bird, one of several species that have migrated farther south than usual this year, including common redpoll finches and snowy owls.

“There are 800-some birds in the United States. You want to try to see as many of those as you can,” she said. “A bird like this, it will probably be the only one you see.”

No one is certain why the bird has strayed so far from the usual gyrfalcon range. Extreme weather or the movements of a food source can push birds beyond their normal territories, but because this is a single falcon, the experts are simply calling it a fluke.

Chappell and McGaugh believe the falcon is a young male, based on its size and the crisp edges of its plumage.

At first, they thought about keeping the find quiet. They were worried that a falconer or breeder might try to catch the bird, even though that would be illegal in California. A gyrfalcon can sell for as much as $15,000, and a white one for as much as $100,000, said Howard King, a Riverside birder.

Chappell and McGaugh inspected the bird from afar to make sure it hadn’t escaped from a falconer, but there were no bands or a radio transmitter that would indicate it was anything other than wild, they said.

Gyrfalcons are known for their speed and strength. They are the size of a raven, can weigh as much as 4 pounds and have a wing span of 4 feet. Among biologists, the gyrfalcon is known as “charismatic megafauna,” the term for widely loved animals such as pandas and polar bears.

McGaugh is hoping the falcon finds its way back home.

“Young birds that get lost on migration are generally out of the gene pool. But this guy seems to be vibrant and healthy, and he has a good appetite,” McGaugh said.

For further reading go to URL: http://www.pe.com/local-news/topics/topics-environment-headlines/20120208-san-jacinto-off-course-arctic-gyrfalcon-draws-bird-watchers.ece

Celebrate 400 Year of the King James Bible

Lynden Rodriguez — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:55:26 +0000

I’m a little late as it’s 2012, but it’s never too late to be part of the celebration of 400 years of the King James Bible.

Go to http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/1611-Bible/ to learn more.

Celebrate the Book that has Changed the World.

For 400 years, the King James Bible has impacted millions of people, influenced culture, and transcended numerous generations.

With more than 6 billion copies published, the Bible is the most popular book in the world, and the King James Bible is the most published Bible translation. Its inspired words has brought peace, joy, and hope to millions of people and is regarded today as one of the most accurate translations.

Bible Facts

§ The Bible is the best selling and most distributed book of all time. Estimated more than 6 billion copies published1

§ Originally written in 3 languages: Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic2

§ Written over a span of 1,000 or more years3

§ Written by more than 40 authors, including kings, prophets, poets, musicians, and fisherman4

§ Books include letters, poetry, songs, legal documentation, eyewitness accounts, biographies, historical literature and documents5

§ Translated into 2,454 languages of the world’s estimated 6,500 total languages6

§ It is commonly believed that the writing of the Old and New Testament was inspired by God

King James Bible Facts

§ The most popular Bible translation; an estimated 1 billion or more copies have been published1

§ The translation was brought upon by King James I of England2

§ First published in 1611 A.D. (some believe between May 2nd – May 5th)3

§ More than 169 original 1611 King James Bibles are in existence today4

§ Gothic text and Jacobean spelling was used in the original 1611 version, which is noticeably different than 21st Century English5

§ 80 books were included (39 in Old Testament, 14 in Apocrypha, and 27 in New Testament)6

§ Contains 788,258 total words, of which 14,565 are unique7

§ The title was not originally called the “King James Version”, but “THE HOLY BIBLE, Containing the Old Testament, AND THE NEW: Newly Translated out of the Original tongues: & with the former Translations diligently compared and revised, by his Majesties special Commandment”8

§ 1814 A.D. is the earliest recorded date of it being called “King James Version” or “Authorized Version”9

§ The original book was very large: approximately 17″ tall, 30″ wide when opened, and it weighed up to 30 pounds10

§ The first 1611 Bibles were expensive and were chained to the front pulpit of churches, to prevent from being stolen11

§ Prior to the 1611 King James Bible, most churches did not have Bibles12

§ The King James Bible is the first English Bible ever printed in the United States- first printed by the King’s Printer in England, then printing and distribution spread throughout the world13

§ Public officials on all levels of United States government, including presidents, have taken their oath of office with the King James Bible14

§ A committee of 54 translators worked for 7 years to complete the King James translation15

Source URL: http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/King-James-Bible-Anniversary/

A reading from the Church Fathers: Praise God for the Beauty of Light

Lynden Rodriguez — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:01:12 +0000

Light was God’s first creation, and God saw that it was good. This goodness, says St. Basil, is a kind of absolute beauty—not the beauty of harmonious proportions, but the beauty of pure joy, much like the beauty of God.

“And God saw that the light was good” (Genesis 1:4). How can we praise light enough, after the Creator himself has given testimony to its goodness? Even among us, the word “good” or “beautiful” (the words are the same in Greek) refers to the judgment of the eyes, incapable of raising itself to the idea that the senses have already received.

But if beauty in bodies comes from the symmetry of the parts, and the harmonious appearance of the colors, how can we keep this idea of beauty in a simple and uniform essence like light? Wouldn’t the symmetry in light be shown less in its parts than in the pleasure and delight at the sight of it? The beauty of gold is also like this: it owes its beauty not to the happy arrangement of its parts, but only to its beautiful color, which has a charm that attracts the eyes.

In the same way, the evening star is the most beautiful of the stars, not because the parts of which it is made form a harmonious whole, but because of the unalloyed and beautiful brightness that meets our eyes.

Furthermore, when God proclaimed that the light was good or beautiful, it was not because it was charming to the eye, but because of its future advantages— because at that time there were not yet any eyes to judge its beauty.

–St. Basil, Hexameron, 2.7

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St. Francis de Sales: Patron of Writers

Lynden Rodriguez — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:33:09 +0000

St Francis de Sales (1567 – 1622)

He was born near Annécy, in Savoy, studied the law, and was ordained to the priesthood despite the opposition of his father. His first mission was to re-evangelize the people of his home district (the Chablais), who had gone over to Calvinism. Always in danger of his life from hostile Calvinists, he preached with such effectiveness that after four years most of the people had returned to the Church. He was then appointed bishop of Geneva, and spent the rest of his life reforming and reorganising the diocese, and in caring for the souls of his people by preaching and spiritual guidance.
St Francis taught that we can all attain a devout and spiritual life, whatever our position in society: holiness is not reserved for monks and hermits alone. He wrote that “religious devotion does not destroy: it perfects,” and his spiritual counsel is dedicated to making people more holy by making them more themselves. In his preaching against Calvinism he was driven by love rather than a desire to win: so much so, that it was a Calvinist minister who said “if we honoured anyone as a saint, I know of no-one since the days of the Apostles more worthy of it than this man.”
St Francis is the patron saint of writers and journalists, who would do well to imitate his love and his moderation: as he said, “whoever wants to preach effectively must preach with love.”

~ from Universalis

A reading from the Church Fathers: Believe, then use your reason

Lynden Rodriguez — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:26:47 +0000

The pagan philosopher Celsus wrote a tract accusing the Christians of hating reason. Not at all, says Origen (himself a careful and logical thinker). But not everyone can be a philosopher. That simple people should be saved is the most important thing, but Christian philosophers investigate their faith thoroughly.

He goes on to tell us that, in taking up opinions, we should follow logic and a logical system, since people who assent to opinions without following that course are very likely to be fooled. And he asserts that people who don’t want to give or take a reason for their belief keep repeating, “Don’t examine, just believe!” and “Your faith will save you!” And he claims that they also say, “Wisdom of this world is bad, but foolishness is good!” To that we answer that, if it were possible for all to give up the business of life and devote themselves to philosophy, no one should follow any other course.

(I don’t want to sound arrogant, but in Christianity you’ll find at least as much investigation into beliefs, and explanation of obscurities in the prophets, and of other things that were told or done as symbols.) But since it’s not possible for everyone to be a philosopher—partly because of the necessities of life, and partly because not everyone has the ability, since only a very few seriously devote themselves to study—what better way to help the multitude than the way Jesus did with the heathens? Think of the crowd of believers who have washed away the filth of wickedness they used to wallow in: isn’t it better that they should believe without a reason, and so reform and improve their habits, because they believe that we are punished for our sins and honored for good works? Or would it have been better if they hadn’t allowed themselves to be converted by mere faith, but had waited until they could thoroughly examine the reasons?

–Origen, Against Celsus, 1.9

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Word Definition: Boss

Lynden Rodriguez — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:51:43 +0000

I just finished reading H. Rider Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines for a class. In reading many of the definitions of the word and phrases used in the book I came across the word “boss.” It appears to be such an everyday word. Who would have thought it has such a long and interesting history.

boss

1 /bɔs, bɒs/ Show Spelled[baws,
bos] Show IPA

noun

1. a person who employs or superintends workers; manager.

2. a politician who controls the party organization, as in a particular district.

3. a person who makes decisions, exercises authority, dominates, etc.: My grandfather was the boss in his family.

verb (used with object)

4. to be master of or over; manage; direct; control.

5. to order about, especially in an arrogant manner.

verb (used without object)

6. to be boss.

7. to be too domineering and authoritative.

adjective

8. chief; master.

9. Slang: first-rate.