News, news, news!?

Good Christian men, rejoice with heart and soul, and voice;
Give ye heed to what we say: News! News! Jesus Christ is born today;
Ox and ass before Him bow; and He is in the manger now.
Christ is born today! Christ is born today!

Good Christian men, rejoice, with heart and soul and voice;
Now ye hear of endless bliss: Joy! Joy! Jesus Christ was born for this!
He has opened the heavenly door, and man is blest forevermore.
Christ was born for this! Christ was born for this!

Good Christian men, rejoice, with heart and soul and voice;
Now ye need not fear the grave: Peace! Peace! Jesus Christ was born to save!
Calls you one and calls you all, to gain His everlasting hall.
Christ was born to save! Christ was born to save!


And you thought the holidays were over! Never! (Commence evil laughter). This one really was not my fault, google still had some post up about 'making money from your blog this holiday season' that triggered a regression (or some such psychobabble) when I thinking I need to post something on the blog this week…news…news! How about 'Good Christian Men Rejoice?' Yes, perfect! Insane? Certainly. Politically correct, no! There is a version called 'Good Christian Friends Rejoice,' but that is just silly. The guy who wrote the words died in 1366 and I doubt he intended to be insensitive to women born 700 years later. Back then 'men' meant all of humanity and everybody knew it and didn't take offense, they just sang for the pure joy of it.  I wonder what the PC police will do to 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen?' Anywho, merry Christmas! This is for all those of you that loath valentine's day.

Choices

It is February, the only thing to be done in February (in the Northern Hemisphere at any rate) is to read or hibernate.  As life is too busy to hibernate, the only alternative is to read.  Get busy!

Naughty but nice!

So I have been slacking a bit in my authorial pursuits (not that anyone cares!) and have rather been reading a bit.  I am branching out into the lesser known cousins of 'Anne of Green Gables' and rather enjoying them (some classicists somewhere just keeled over in shock and disdain).  I found this quote in 'Jane of Lantern Hill,' and thought it wonderful.  In a day and age when great literature is considered either shocking or incomprehensible, it is nice to find someone who remembers how beautiful and useful and interesting these immortal words can be.  So for all of you that have had a poor introduction to the Bible (as had our poor Jane), perhaps you will find a little encouragement in the following:

"'When all the morning stars sang together' . . . the essence of creation's joy is in that, Jane. Can't you hear that immortal music of the spheres? 'Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon and thou, moon, in the vale of Ajalon.' Such sublime arrogance, Jane . . . Mussolini himself couldn't rival that. 'Here shall thy proud waves be stayed' . . . look at them rolling in there, Jane . . . 'so far and no farther' . . . the majestic law to which they yield obedience never falters or fails. 'Give me neither poverty nor riches' . . . the prayer of Agar, son of Jakeh. A sensible man was Agar, my Jane. Didn't I tell you the Bible was full of common sense? 'A fool uttereth all his mind.' Proverbs is harder on the fool than on anybody else, Jane . . . and rightly. It's the fools that make all the trouble in the world, not the wicked. 'Whither thou goest I will go; and where thou lodgest I will lodge; thy people shall be my people and thy God my God; where thou diest will I die and there will I be buried; the Lord do so to me and more also if aught but death part thee and me.' The high-water mark of the expression of emotion in any language that I'm acquainted with, Jane . . . Ruth to Naomi . . . and all such simple words. Hardly any of more than one syllable . . . the writer of that verse knew how to marry words as no one else has ever done. And he knew enough not to use too many of them. Jane, the most awful as well as the most beautiful things in the world can be said in three words or less . . . 'I love you' . . . 'he is gone' . . . 'he is come' . . . 'she is dead' . . . 'too late' . . . and life is illumined or ruined. 'All the daughters of music shall be brought low' . . . aren't you a little sorry for them, Jane . . . those foolish, light-footed daughters of music? Do you think they quite deserved such a humiliation? 'They have taken away my lord and I know not where they have laid him' . . . that supreme cry of desolation! 'Ask for the old paths and walk therein and ye shall find rest.' Ah, Jane, the feet of some of us have strayed far from the old paths . . . we can't find our way back to them, much as we may long to. 'As cold water to a thirsty soul so is good news from a far country.' Were you ever thirsty, Jane . . . really thirsty . . . burning with fever . . . thinking of heaven in terms of cold water? I was, more than once. 'A thousand years in thy sight is but as yesterday when it is past and as a watch in the night.' Think of a Being like that, Jane, when the little moments torture you. 'Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.' The most terrible and tremendous saying in the world, Jane . . . because we are all afraid of truth and afraid of freedom . . . that's why we murdered Jesus."

Your next assignment

Dear avid readership,

As you well know, this book specific blog is anything but, and in keeping with this tradition, I have a new reading assignment for you (ever get the feeling I should have been and English Teacher?).  L. M. Montgomery's The Blue Castle is due by the end of an unspecified Thursday, go forth and read!

This ends today's announcement.

Sincerely,

Management

Word of the Day, Volume VI, Issue 5

I found another amusing word that I just had to share with someone, anyone (which is counterproductive as no on reads this blog!).  The word is transmogrify.  It means to change or mutate or transform, often with humorous connotations (that was the dictionary's comment, by the way I love old dictionaries!).  So go use it in conversation today, just make sure the connotations are humorous.

On three volume novels

"Anybody can write a three-volume novel; it merely requires a complete ignorance of both life and literature," quoth Oscar Wilde.  Whether our friend Oscar is correct or not, I am at least well qualified to find out.  I wrote 'On Princesses,' as a stand alone, complete story but that dreaded modern epidemic: the sequel, is starting to show signs of having infected the pitiful thing.  I am playing with further adventures in that silly world and we shall see what comes of it.

About the weather

Nothing is so exciting as talking about the weather, unless it is the crops.  What is there to say about the weather that your listeners do not already know (assuming they are physically present)?  "It is sunny," said I.  "Sure is," says you.  Charming, really…when does the movie come out?  Well, this post is about weather.  But thankfully, you are not physically present so have no idea what it is like here (see how that adds tension and excitement).  Continuing our Christmas carol theme, it is summed up well with, 'the weather outside is frightful,' and 'frosty wind made moan.'  Yes, I know it is after Christmas, but I cannot think of any adverse weather songs except 'rain rain go away' and 'its raining, its pouring' and it is 60 degrees too cold for rain so you will have to put up with more christmas music.  So, if you are reading this I would recommend finding a good book versus enduring yet another tedious conversation about the weather!