At Home On Piety Hill

Back in February of this year, I began this blog in a fit of pragmatism. With youthful exuberence I set out to set the blogging world on fire about a year ago:

That brings me to this blog. It was supposed to be designed in WordPress and I intended to learn PHP/MySQL to exercise full control. But, I found that I am not prepared for that level of commitment yet. The dream of designing and implementing a beautiful, functional blog continues to live on and it will be realized, as time permits. But, I cannot bear to put off blogging and publishing a moment longer. So, the blog begins here… now.

I have to admit that rash decision was a huge error and I am back to square one — installing WordPress and learning how to build a blog from the ground up. No progress was made toward my original goal, while I churned out hurried, mediocre posts and neglected other more profitable ventures… so, PietyHill Press is suspending daily operations for now. Infrequent announcements and stuff will continue to be posted for friends / family and I will comment on other blogs with my Blogger account, when time allows.

In closing, I want to give one final Shoutout! to what I thought was a great post and a great idea. Mishegas Master is a pro writer, who comes from, shall we say, a different perspective than I do. He had a post that really resonated with me:

It’s so incredibly easy to criticize America these days and the top five ways to do so are: (1)-Blog (like The MishegasMaster); (2)-Air your grievances on a radio talk-show call-in program; (3)-Go into an Internet chat-room and complain; get together with a group of friends either at coffeehouse or over a meal and collective discuss the troubles and of course, writing a letter to the editor of a newspaper or opinion page.

Why is America such an easy to target for criticism by its own citizens? Perhaps it’s because the criticisms and freedoms we enjoy have been twisted, tweaked and taken advantage of, eroded and exploited so much, that there’s no approachable point to dig in, claim a territory and stop the insanity/madness! So, it got me to thinking about the entire situation at hand and wondered what it would take the wagging tongues, the pointing fingers, the Nay-Sayers and all of the other self-appointed United States citizens critics mixed in between to come together? Why a new national anthem lyric-writing contest, that’s how!

Check out the rules and prizes and, by all means, point your pen down a positive path and write a new national anthem! Sure, you probably won’t become the next Francis Scott Key, but you may win a real cool prize. Good-bye, God bless and good luck on your national anthem entry!

Published November 17, 2005

For decades, Republicans have struggled to reach out to black Americans. But now in Orange County, the GOP has to reach no further than the NAACP. As of this week, Derrick Wallace, head of Orange County’s NAACP, has switched parties — to become a Republican. “I’ve thought about this for two years,’ Wallace said Tuesday afternoon, just a few hours after returning from the elections office. ‘This is not a decision I made yesterday.” It is, however, a decision that rang out like a shot among political circles.

Man, wait until the house slaves at the DNC hear about this guy. You know… the Democrats… the ones who fought to preserve slavery during the “war of seccession” and voted against the 1964 Civil Rights Act. If Mr. Wallace continues to act all uppity, he may get the same treatment that Michael Steele is getting from those thoughtful, tolerant progressives in Maryland.

Vice President’s Remarks at the Frontiers of Freedom Institute 2005 Ronald Reagan Gala
The Mayflower Hotel
Washington, D.C.

7:14 P.M. EST

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE MEMBER: 2008. (Laughter.)

We could only dream

How a determined twosome turned a ravaged battlefield into a duffers’ oasis
By Tim McGirk/Kabul
Posted Sunday, Nov. 13, 2005

Like most obsessive golfers, Paul McNeill occasionally ponders the game’s standard frustrations–the blown putts, the sliced drives into the rough–and questions his devotion to such a maddening pursuit. But as a regular at Kabul’s only golf course, McNeill puts up with some extra hazards that would test the mettle of Tiger Woods. The grassless fairways of rock and stubble are cratered by rocket shells. The greens are in fact brown, a mix of oil and dirt with the consistency of quicksand. Approach shots are complicated by the possibility that insurgents have planted land mines on the course. And your swing may be off-kilter because you probably have a pistol strapped to your thigh, just in case kidnappers are lurking nearby. ‘Sometimes you look over,’ says McNeill, an aid worker from North Carolina, ‘and your partner is carrying a rifle in his golf bag.’

This amusing, heart-warming and inspirational story was reported here back in March, but evidently the editor at TIME.com just got around to reading PietyHill Press and found it newsworthy. Check it out. Our cub reporter remains committed to bringing you the best human interest stories from around the globe.

Honor After The Fall
Jim Sheeler / Rocky Mountain News
Posted Sunday, Nov. 13, 2005

Each door is different. Some are ornately carved hardwood, some are hollow aluminum. Over the past year, Marine Major Steve Beck has stood at the front door of five family homes in three states to deliver the message no one wanted to hear. When a Marine dies, Beck’s goal is to reach the kin within four hours, before they hear it on the news. With the permission of the families whose men died in Iraq, we watched as they cursed Beck, embraced him and learned to trust him. He stays by them that first day or night and then guides them through the dark months that follow. ‘In this business, I can’t save his life,’ he says. ‘All I can do is catch the family when they’re falling.’

After slamming the tabloid press a couple of days ago, I came across this feature in TIME magazine; a heart-rending article about Major Steve Beck and his incredible love for the families of fallen Marines. I was in tears when I saw the photo of Katherine Cathey collapsing on Beck and I can hardly type this right now. Good job Jim Sheeler and kudos to TIME magazine for publishing a powerful, uplifting story.

Follow this link to a slideshow of the photos from the TIME article. The full article, including video and spoken word by Katherine Cathey can be found at The Rocky Mountain News. Please take the time to listen to Katherine’s message from her husband about the people of Iraq.

Okay, I’ve had a bunch of people ask me what I’d like to see under the Christmas tree this year… so, here’s the wishlist. This list is over at amazon.com and they have some cool stuff, but don’t feel like you have to shop there. You are welcome to locate the little treasures anywhere you like and if you’re feeling particularly generous, go ahead and upgrade the electronic items. I’m not stuffy either, these items may be pre-owned.

Now, if you move down the list, you will see Chanticleer’s We Sing Christmas — another splendid choral collection. You would probably like to see Denise and I enjoy that through the Christmas ‘05 season, so may I suggest that CD for a Thanksgiving gift? Remember, give early and give often. And, thank you in advance for your generous gifts.

Sorry kid, but you’re out of a job! Time to fire up a blog!

BREITBART.com /Nov 13 9:53 AM US/Eastern :
Dark days are ahead for American newspapers, as sales tumble, a warp-speed news culture leaves lumbering dailies behind and scandals over flawed reporting taint heavyweight titles. US papers are battling an explosion in online information, a news agenda powered by bloggers and 24-hour cable news, and they can’t seem to connect with young readers. Credibility questions hang over several papers and journalists are under more scrutiny than ever in the highly polarised US political climate. Doomsayers say changes in modern lifestyles mean the days when American homeowners open their front door every morning and haul in a thick multi-section paper may be numbered. Latest figures released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations found a 2.6 percent drop in circulation for 786 newspapers across the country in the six months to September — meaning that 1.2 million people deserted their paper… Several US newspaper giants suffered heavy circulation drops — figures which mirror the declining readership across the globe…. In a survey last year, the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found only 23 percent of people under 30 read a daily newspaper, compared with 60 percent of older people. (emphasis mine)

This is certainly good news and I’ve looked forward to this day since I became aware in the mid-80’s that the glory days of “objective journalism” were over and the dawn of the tabloid, masquerading as news, was upon us. As a new generation comes into adulthood without being tainted by the media wing of the American Fabian Society, there is some cause for hope. When you couple these statistics with the rise of private and homeschooling, plus the fact that so-called progressives are opting to have fewer children or none at all, perhaps we oldsters will see a return to sanity in our lifetime. Sure, the radicals still control the university, but it’s amazing how quickly a few months on a real job or caring for someone other than one’s self, can wipe away four to six years of indoctrination in victimhood, hedonism, socialist economics and disdain for western civilization.

My pal Dan reminded me this week that November 12 was the 390th birthday of Richard Baxter. I can’t believe I didn’t have that marked on the calendar. I am known to refer to Baxter as “my old friend, Dick Baxter,” because I feel that I came to know him personally over the past fifteen years.

Back around 1990, a friend asked me to research and write a brief biography of Richard Baxter for his publishing company, highlighting the puritan’s abilities as a pastor and evangelist. He was looking for a book, which could be read in one or two sittings, spurring church leaders on to energetic, effective ministry in their local congregations. I was happy to do it and my life is much richer from the experience.

As in my research of the Baha’i movement during the 1980s, I experienced a number of “research miracles.” On one occasion, I submitted an inter-library loan request for Baxter’s autobiography, Reliquiae Baxterianae, because I was planning a vacation to Boston and I suspected there was a large collection of his works at Harvard and, possibly, other libraries. This was the olden days, before the Internet was public and even if you couldn’t get the book through loan, they would provide you with a printout of holdings, where copies of rare books could be found.

A card arrived in the mail from our local library weeks later informing me that my book was in. I thought to myself, “I’m not expecting a book on loan.” When I showed up, the librarian hefted onto the counter an original 1696 edition of Reliquiae Baxterianae — 1200+ pages in folio, printed in a small typeface and language of the period. I asked if there was a place I could sit down with it and how long I could access it at the library. She said, “there are no restrictions on it…you can take it home.” No way! Yes way. I was enraptured, handling the coarse 300-year-old pages in a volume that looked as if it had never been handled.

My book was never published, so I edited it for the web and created a site, Richard Baxter: Mere Christian. Most Christian readers do not realize that the title of C.S. Lewis’ apologetic, Mere Christianity, was borrowed from Baxter. Responding to an inquirer, trying to make sense of the warring factions during the tumultuous restoration of Charles II, Baxter responded that he did not align himself with any division of the church, but considered himself a “mere Christian.”

So, why would anyone in this century be interested in Richard Baxter? For starters, he played a central role in nearly every major political and religious controversy during the reign of both Charles I and Charles II, as well as the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell.

I think the average American would be suprised to learn how profoundly those controversies affected the beginnings of this nation, influenced US history and continue to color our culture, for both good and bad, right up to the present.

Although the book focuses on the pastoral activities of Baxter, readers may find anecdotes or information, which will show them facets of the puritan movement, which have been overlooked either through simple neglect or outright prejudice in modern portrayals of the period.

Finally, Baxter lived an incredibly productive and energetic life, while in the grip of unbearable physical suffering and ill health, during unstable and dangerous times.

Is this book for you? Read the first chapter, “Good Mr. Baxter.” It will take just a few minutes and I’m certain you will want to read more about this eccentric country preacher.

I found this band, Warrior, while doing an image search for a Bible study. “Let’s see now… Google Image, punch in ’sword.’” This image came up and I thought to myself, “these guys get to wear some awesome costumes!” I checked out their site, listened to I Want A Walmart Girl and I was hooked!

I called them up immediately and asked for an audition. That’s me on the left jamming with Mike Goodnight, the bass player. I’m pretty much a blues player, but I thought if I could don the leather and “get into character,” I could pull it off. No dice. All was not lost… what they were really looking for was a drummer, so…

I kept the wig, but lost the leathers and makeup (see photo on the left). We covered a few Stryper compositions, because we all knew the tabs and lyrics, plus they really are the reigning kings of Christian metal. Again, I found myself treading new artistic ground. These guys have their own unique brand of sophisticated metal, they sing some amazingly rigorous harmonies and, well, I tend to “play it like Ringo would.” As much as I hate to admit it, I couldn’t keep up.

The guys in the band were swell about the whole thing, even though we didn’t gel, artistically. We had some good laughs, some serious theological discussions and they turned me onto a great leather outfitter in Pennsylvania. The de facto leader of the band, Tad Donley, was kind enough to point me to another band, where an artist like myself with limited musical abilities, yet decent Biblical expositional skills, might find a home. These guys, it turns out, aren’t so focused on instrumental virtuosity. Instead, they have crafted their own brand of theatrical, Bible-based shock-metal to carry the comforting message of the gospel to a wider audience. Angry Little Freaks or “ALF” are lining up a tour of family theme parks this spring and I hope, by God’s grace, to be up to speed and on board with this evangelistic troupe.

My Way News: “Bush meets Dalai Lama, ignoring China’s objections

Nov 9, 4:08 PM (ET)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush met at the White House on Wednesday with the Dalai Lama, exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, ignoring objections from China… The private meeting with the president and the first lady came one day after the Bush administration named China a serious violator of religious freedom in a report to Congress. ‘We’ve made our views very clear when it comes to our support for religious freedom… And we will continue to speak out on those issues,’ said White House spokesman Scott McClellan… Wednesday’s meeting was Bush’s third with the Dalai Lama. Next week Bush is due to visit Beijing and hold talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Bush has really bungled things recently, so it’s no wonder he’s courting fundamentalist Buddhists to prop up his religious base. Of course, this will infuriate secularists like Michael Newdow, the ACLU, the communist Chinese, national socialists, grant writers, the California Teachers Association and other repressive groups. Homosexual activists have also been enraged by the Dalai Lama’s pronouncement that gay sex “…is considered sexual misconduct; meaning that homosexuality is acceptable for society, but not in Buddhism or for Buddhists.” George just keeps steppin’ in it.

In efficacious grace we are not merely passive, nor yet does God do some and we do the rest. But God does all, and we do all. God produces all, we act all. For that is what produces, viz. our own acts. God is the only proper author and fountain; we only are the proper actors. We are in different respects, wholly passive and wholly active.
Jonathan Edwards

Only with a God Who is eternal and triune in nature can you come up with math that says 1 + 1 = 1.

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.” John 17:20 - 21
Jesus

For we are, alas, only too familiar with alluring prophets. We have seen them crumble into fragments. We have seen them bring the Wholly Other into disrepute, by being themselves no more than “very strange.” Karl Barth

Over on Pyromaniac there is a discussion of the role of prophecy in the modern church, which began with Rubber Prophecies and a brief account of two of the “very strange” pseudo-prophets bouncing them. It’s amazing what a wide-ranging and informative overview you can get of this current controversy in the comments that followed.

Pneumatic utterances can be a welcome encouragement to the Body of Christ, but it seems as if the number of oddball oracles nowadays outnumber authentic prophets by about 20 to one. Vance Havner was not far off when he observed:

Prophets are almost extinct in the religious world today. The modern church is a “non-prophet” organization. Vance Havner

Last weekend Denise and I were invited by Camille to join her in choosing her wedding dress. It’s one of those joys of parenthood, which may only come along now and again in a lifetime. Camille looked at a number of dresses before narrowing down the choices to three. My favorite was the Rene´ Zellweger design, but Camille thought it unflattering (I pulled the photo). Anyway, I attempted to get upstairs where the action was, but got shooed away by the fitters because, evidently, there were a bunch of scantily clad young ladies and they didn’t want some old guy hanging around. Some people are so uptight… jeeeeesh!

All was not lost though, because there was a television at the bottom of the stairs for the men and the 49er’s were upsetting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I watched my one obligatory pro football game of the year and I’m just happy I got to see the Niners getting back some self-respect. Then Guadalupe, a landscaper from Elk Grove, introduced himself and his family, congratulated me on our daughter’s wedding and we discussed how blessed we are… really. He was there with his wife, three daughters and his son, who is also his business partner. Lupe, as he introduced himself, was beaming with pride. It was wonderful listening to their conversation ricocheting from one to another throughout the shop, alternating between Spanish, English and a combination of both, with some hip-hop lingo thrown in (I guess I’ll always have a soft spot for South Whittier, the land of my nativity).

I know it’s considered bad luck for the groom to see his bride in her dress before the ceremony, but: a) I don’t believe in such superstitions and: b) I think that it’s only fair to give Sean a head’s up concerning Camille’s style sense. So, what do you think? Camille settled on this little number fashioned by a highly sought-after designer down in Arkansas.

God is good… Camille makes a beautiful bride, even in a North American woodland camo print, don’t you agree?

It’s always a pleasure to share Sam’s art, updating everyone on his latest adventures. But, there are other contemporary artists I really like and they happen to be friends of Sam. It brings me great pleasure to introduce you to a few of them and link to their work.

Chris Vasell
Chris was Sam’s roommate and confident in Chicago, whose career really took off a few years ago. When I visited them in 2003, Chris’ fortunes improved to the point that he was able to move into his own apartment a couple doors down. They were thrilled to have their own studio space! Nevertheless, the two are virtually inseparable, so Sam will be accompanying Chris to his upcoming Paris show.

Chris has received critical acclaim on art blogs and publications for his unique use of watercolor, developed over a “…two-year experimentation period during which Vasell acquired his idiosyncratic technique of layering multiple painterly surfaces onto his canvases.”

I realize the following observation may be superfluous to the arts crowd, but Chris is also a delightful, smart young man and it was a pleasure to get to know him for the short time I was in Chicago (our trip to the Pakistani restaurant was particularly memorable). The next artist is just as charming, likeable and incredibly energetic, creating a tremendous body of work.

Brook Caballero
Brook and Sam have been friends since childhood and both were happy to be reunited after our three-year sojourn in Maine. During holiday breaks from art school, it seemed as if the two would immediately home-in on one another upon returning to Nevada City.

I never really knew what Brook did, artistically, until I accepted an invitation to his personal studio space a couple of years ago. I went with some apprehension, wondering if Brook was simply being polite to “Sam’s dad.” I didn’t know him that well and he is fairly reserved – we never really spoke much before that. Brook gave me a warm welcome and I was completely overwhelmed by the sheer volume and quality of his work. I remember speaking to Sam afterwards on the phone, gushing over Brook’s stuff.

I like Brook’s wide-ranging ability to work in different mediums. This very large painting remains my all-time favorite and it is unsold. Perhaps I can convince Denise that it would fit in our living room.

Silas Dilworth
Silas befriended Sam at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute in Utica NY. Our son was out on his own for the first time, so Denise and I were happy and relieved that Silas and his brothers were there to take him in. When Sam moved to the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Silas was not far behind and he found his real niche there.

Silas’ strong suit is graphic design, particularly fonts. He even has his own digital foundry! He also does a bit of fine art and web design.

Did I Forget Anyone?
I hope not. Space only allows me to highlight these three, but I wanted to mention a number of other creative individuals, who Sam grew up with in or around Nevada County. I often wonder if there is something in the water or some kind of creative symbiosis that produced so many talented contemporaries. How else could you explain such a relatively small rural county producing the likes of Adam Kline, Levi Nunnink, Jason Powers, Joanna Newsom, Jonah Wells, Aaron Ross, Corey Creasey and more? I’m going to add some links in the left column and, if I’ve left anyone out, please remind me in your comments.

Start your day on a lighter note with this touching rendition of a popular romantic ballad: tow chinese boys:i want it that way*

*Yes, that’s their title.