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.

Happy Name Day to Our Little Girl

Regina Celeste

Three-peat

Chesterton on Religious Wars

"Oh, you kings, you kings!" cried out Adam, in a burst of scorn. "How humane you are, how tender, how considerate! You will make war for a frontier, or the imports of a foreign harbour; you will shed blood for the precise duty on lace, or the salute to an admiral. But for the things that make life itself worthy or miserable—how humane you are! I say here, and I know well what I speak of, there were never any necessary wars but the religious wars. There were never any just wars but the religious wars. There were never any humane wars but the religious wars. For these men were fighting for something that claimed, at least, to be the happiness of a man, the virtue of a man. A Crusader thought, at least, that Islam hurt the soul of every man, king or tinker, that it could really capture."

~The Napoleon of Notting Hill

Saint Anthony Works in Mysterious Ways

So, to accommodate the ever-expanding fam, we have made the move to acquire a means of conveyance suitable for transporting three car seats safely and securely.

In other words, we traded in my beloved G6 (*sniff*) for a minivan. Particularly, we got a swagger wagon, that is, the 2013 Toyota Sienna SE. As is appropriate for this blog, it comes with all the bells and whistles. All of them. All. Of. Them. The car could basically be described as a driving bell and whistles.

Here, I made you a picture.

Some specs:
3.5L V6 DOHC 24-Valve with Dual VVT-i; 266 hp @ 6200 rpm, 245 lb.-ft. @ 4700 rpm.
6-speed electronically-controlled automatic transmission, with intelligence (ECT-i) with manual shift mode.
Sport-tuned electric power steering.
Power-assisted ventilated front and rear disc brakes.
19" 6-spoke alloy wheels.

Compared with the G6:
2005 G6 GT: 3425 lb. curb weight / 202 hp = 16.96 lbs./hp
2013 Sienna SE: 4480 lb. curb weight / 266 hp = 16.84 lbs./hp

So the new car is officially more powerful than the old. And it's definitely more powerful than some dorky Kias that shall remain nameless.

Alas and alack, it is not blue, but a much more neutral "Predawn Gray Mica" with a dark charcoal interior. Le sigh.

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

**Another Important Announcement**

It's time for another IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!

Oh boy! Oh boy!