Little Neros & A Pinch of Incense

From Polycarp.net:

Polycarp's greatest contribution to Christianity may be his martyred death. His martyrdom stands as one of the most well documented events of antiquity. The emperors of Rome had unleashed bitter attacks against the Christians during this period, and members of the early church recorded many of the persecutions and deaths. Polycarp was arrested on the charge of being a Christian -- a member of a politically dangerous cult whose rapid growth needed to be stopped. Amidst an angry mob, the Roman proconsul took pity on such a gentle old man and urged Polycarp to proclaim, "Caesar is Lord". If only Polycarp would make this declaration and offer a small pinch of incense to Caesar's statue he would escape torture and death. To this Polycarp responded, "Eighty-six years I have served Christ, and He never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?" Steadfast in his stand for Christ, Polycarp refused to compromise his beliefs, and thus, was burned alive at the stake.

A pinch of incense. That's it. That's the price. But he couldn't do it, and was put to death for his stubborn refusal to abandon his Christian beliefs. And he's not the only one. Throughout the ages, there have been many, many Christians who would prefer the most excrutiating death over the most trivial denial of Christ. One would almost think we have a martyrdom fetish.

Quick Takes

The "I must post something or there'll be no entry for July in the Archives" edition.

Happy 33rd Birthday, Harry Potter!

In honor of his 33rd birthday, we present some titles from the forthcoming series Harry Potter and the Midlife Crisis:

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Gallstone
• Harry Potter and the Bedchamber of his Secretary
• Harry Potter and the Tax Auditor of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Urination of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Cholesterol Panel
• Harry Potter and the Rancorous Credit Card Debt
• Harry Potter and the Reliving of the Glory Days
• Harry Potter and the Ex-wife's New Husband
• Harry Potter and the Rising Hogwarts Tuition
• Harry Potter and the Bright Red Sports Car
• Harry Potter and the Speeding Ticket

Habemus Papam!

I've gotta say; this is wreaking havoc on my Lenten resolutions.

Quick Takes (whatever day I finally post this)

...and I'm sick once again. I should just schedule blogger to auto-post an "I'm sick" post about once a month. It would probably be right most of the time.

The entire family is dying of the Lung Crud. This time, Anthony was patient zero, and I followed shortly after. Odd, though, that Anthony got sick on Friday, when he hadn't been out of the house since the previous Sunday. How are these germs getting in?

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Stations of the cross have been particularly penitential this Lent. I have somehow managed to always end up in front of a family who follows along at their own pace, disregarding the tempo set by Father when intoning the Stabat Mater, and who somehow always end up out of sync with the entire rest of the congregation when reading the other parts. It is a special kind of hell, when you are trying to sing or read and someone else is speaking right in your ear at a completely different speed. It's akin to the torture room described by C.S Lewis in That Hideous Strength, which had patterns of dots on the ceiling and floor, which didn't quite line up. It seems designed to break down your will.

I wonder of the CIA has ever tried that as an "enhanced interrogation technique". That or smearing potential terrorists' backs with bacon grease, waiting a couple days, then popping any back pimples that form. Cause gorram that would make me talk in a hurry.

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Randomemes

My day so far.

The joys of relearning OOP.

...and your shame tastes good with ketchup.

Quick Takes Friday

Greetings from Santa Catalina Island!

I'd love to tell you about how awesome it is here, but I am, in fact, not here. Right now, It's Tuesday night and I'm at home writing this, but when this goes live, I will be away from it all. Since I am communicating with you from the past, I haven't yet taken any pictures to show you. But here's one that probably captures the setting.

Wikipedia Fact of the Day

In mediaeval England a licence to crenellate (or licence to fortify) granted the holder permission to fortify their property. Such licences were granted by the king, and by the rulers of the counties palatine within their jurisdictions, i.e. by the Bishops of Durham, the Earls of Chester, and after 1351 by the Dukes of Lancaster.

Full article.

"License to Crenellate" is the name of my Mannheim Steamroller cover band*.

*For those not in the know, "X is the name of my Y cover band" has officially replaced Dave Barry's "[blank] would be an excellent name for a rock band" on the internet.