Can a human being know anything without divine illumination?

I am in love with Google reader, that I know... whether that is Divinely inspired or not I am not sure... but there is a draw back... I tend to not "visit" each of the blogs I read and just end up feeling like a peeping tom looking at what people write through a Google reader window... now, I try to remember to click on the links and hang out a bit, maybe make a comment... but I am a bit lazy and I am thinking that that is not divinely inspired but a by product of... you know... that other guy.

But enough of my attempts at religious humor... this is actually one of those serious exposing-of-self kind of posts, where I lay bare something I guard carefully in hopes I don't get trampled. These thoughts today, have been... so powerful, I almost feel like not doing a post on it would be a serious offence on my part.

So, I read this blog written by a theology student, (by way of introduction from Mrs. Ootfp) it is way high brow and my one attempt of a comment fell so flat that I just chose to lurk... but today he had a link to this new blog by another theology type and they put out this question... and I was so stumped I think I have read that post like 50 times since I first read it.

Here is where I thank Google reader for letting me be a peeping tom without seeming like a blog stalker, because that would be just plain weird.

But there is something about that question which just raised some sort of something in me and I am sitting around pondering a whole bunch of things... and mostly that question too.

I almost majored in Philosophy in college, one of the reasons is that I had a theologian as my teacher for my first several classes and he got me hooked, I studied Philosophy 101 and Intro to Ethics with him, and those classes changed my life in some really big ways...

One of the things that reading this post brought forth was this intense desire to learn, to be a student, to discuss things deeply and profoundly and to not feel like my perceptions are worthless or trivial (which I guess that they may be, as I am not a true academic, I just play one on TV). To give my quest for knowledge that which it deserves IFF I accept that knowledge comes through Divine illumination...

But I really think this question is fabulous, because if we accept that the quest for knowledge is Divine, then our responsibility to it is equally Divine... the consequences are like ... wow! I am a failure.

I never ever considered this, I guess I both thought and didn't thought (think) that this was a case... I am not particularly religious, I do believe in a higher power, I would not call my self "born again" as it has implications I am not sure about when I consider what I have learned about God, and I think if I had any conversations with many who are devout to whatever religion that they would think I am a travesty... but in the end I still respect the sacred and hence the beliefs.

The one thing that has been running through my mind though is...

If knowledge is sacred, I think God may be really angry with me... and that scares me.

Addendum:
Via Jordana

You know the Bible 100%!

 

Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!

Ultimate Bible Quiz
Create MySpace Quizzes

Does this give me any more street credibility?

Tags: philosophy

Malcom News

I got an email from Malcoms' mommy with some incredible news...
Malcom has a little sister!

Congratulations Malcom and family!

Tags: Malcom

Breakfast in bed

sort of...

As a treat my mother-in-law offered to get up when Squink does and watch him so that I could sleep in... what an amazing luxury so I took her up on it... at least as much as Squink would let me.

So I managed to get up with him and gave him a little breakfast, then I turned on his cho-cho game (it was on sale for $5 when I bought, I would never pay that much for something like this) and turned things over to Oma and went right back to bed and slept rather soundly... for the most part.
I was briefly semi awoken by Squink putting his sippy cup (most awesome water bottle for small kids BTW) in my mouth. So I must say I was not too surprised to find half an English muffin and a slice of cheese in bed with me when I finally managed to wake up.

MY first breakfast in bed served up lovingly by my Squink.




Tags: food

My first attempt at food blogging

AKA one hot tamale (or two)...

or actually maybe five dozen.

So, I made a two and a half dozen chicken and two and a half dozen green corn tamales...

The green corn ones are my favorite.

I used Maseca (tamale flour) and made the masa according to the package because it was an "instant tamale" flour I had never used before but was all that was available... for the record, I prefer the other flour by the same company.

Once I made the dough I added a bag of thawed frozen corn, some shredded cheeses (cheddar, oaxaca, and some queso fresco), a large can of diced fire roasted green chilies, some chili powder, paprika, a bit of sugar and salt and I mixed it all together. I put the dough into neat little bundles in a dried corn husk that I had soaked until soft.

I did this because my in-laws were interested in knowing the "original" way to prepare them... they were intrigued by the process and concept and I love tamales. I prefer to make them in a social setting with a group of people laughing and having fun, possibly while some of us drink wine or some other nefarious liquid.

I was hoping to be able to break into food blogging by giving you more of an idea of what the actual recipe was, but I realized that I have made tamales to the point of it being almost automatic and the ingredients were not measured, ever.

Damn me, I almost felt like writing about how it was a secret recipe (note the picture I had taken below) but that is just not the whole truth, the truth is that I do not follow a recipe, ever (and no I did not follow the recipe for the masa dough either, but I used the one they had on the package as a base)... this trait of mine drives my husband nuts for reasons that range from "but what if your recipe is so good and you can't ever duplicate it because you don't know it" to "it just isn't original to prepare dishes that way" (what a purist he is). I just can't do that, I improvise all the time, even when I am baking (thank goodness I understand those principle enough to know what can and can't be changed or if I do change what adaptations I need to make...) so there you have it. My first attempt a food blogging and I am reduced to saying that I used these ingredients in an unknown quantity and that I can't follow recipes.

I am planning on doing another recipe soon, based on a blog comments conversation I had about sweet potatoes versus yams... and I will take better notes on what I use to make the sweet potato dish I am planning on.



Oh yeah, I used lard when I made the dough this time, though I don't usually make them with only lard... I actually vary the doughs I make and have made it with shortening or butter or oil or a combination of all of them... the ones with a mix which include butter taste the best to me though.

Tags: Food, culture

Before I forget.

Happy Bobby Burns Day!!

my favorite 'appens to be this one...

Wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim'rous beastie,
O, what a panic's in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty
Wi bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee,
Wi' murdering pattle.

Which has a famous line in it... go read the whole thing and see if you can find it.
Tags: culture

It's raining mama...

It's raining mama..., originally uploaded by Blair Necessities.

Cue in mission impossible theme song...

well, really it was a dare and since I try never to not do something which sorta scares me... Via rootietoot.
(gotta love that double negative don't we, it did not come out right without it though, I blame the native Spanish speaker in me).

Your mission: list at least five things you love about your body and yourself. Five is the floor; you can always do more. And no self-deprecation! No offsetting a compliment with a dig. Seriously, we all spend way too much time being self-deprecating because [sic]god forbid we appear (gasp!) "selfish."

1. I have a fabulous stomach, even after having a baby.
2. I love doing things for people.
3. I am very good at doing things that the thought of doing often make people uncomfortable but they wish they could do easily (does that make sense?).
4. I am a very good driver.
5. I am a very good thinker, when it comes to theorizing on more academic topics (academic skepticism).
6. I have an uncanny ability when it comes to fixing things.
7. At the end of the day, those I love I love unconditionally.
8. I like the fact that I am still limber enough to put a leg behind my neck and put my palms flat on the ground when I bend at the waist to touch the floor.
9. I love my aquiline profile - I have a great nose.
10. I highly value that which is sacred.


Tags: dare, blair

I caved in...

...and let him go from this:

to this:


Tags: Haircut

So, I am reduced to asking you to sign a petition...

For a "National Tartan Day Presidential Proclamation"

As you may (or not) have noticed... men in kilts make my knees weak, and my heart thump just a little harder... (ahem, I said it the movie meme post).

So, if I can get a bunch of proud Scottish-Americans to don their kilts for a day, I am all for it...

and for the record - I would not have asked for you to sign, but I received the link from a reputable kilt wearer who is rather tech savvy and so I would trust the link...

In case you missed my previous two links to the petition; clicking here will take you to it.

Tags: Tartan, kilts

Lights, camera, action...

Wiggles

Or it is a meme?

A meme it is...

Jordana, whom I have known since high school, though she wasn't quite there age wise though she was most undoubtedly much smarter than three-quarters of my class... has managed to tag me with a meme that her college friend NBS tagged her for.... No, I never met him, though I would venture to say that "I am about to take my last voyage, a great leap in the dark."

No, it is not a meme about Hobbes, but is a bit more somber in that... it is a...

...wait for it...

.. a movie meme.

(for those who are thinking that I am truly nuts, that merely is my form of sarcasm)

So, while I do not think I had nearly as abusive parents growing up (at least so claim my favorite curmudgeon and her college friend), I did grow up with a black and white TV set (for a time) in several third world countries and also under a dictatorship in what I would refer to as a second world country.... so, I had my own form of televised torture as a wee one.

Trust me, when I landed on American shores... OK... when I landed in an American Desert (in July I might add)... right after a gluttonous fest of candy indulgence I sat in front of a color TV set and marveled at how awesome the United States of America was... it had good candy and great TV shows... and in English no less... there was nothing on this planet during that first summer I actually lived in the USA that was as cool as those two things... Hanna-Barbera reruns of shows like Hong Kong Phooey or the Banana Splits, then there was Wonder Woman and Shazam, and then those bionic people... and a bird that was yellow and not a parrot or a dragon (I distinctly remember a dragon on the version of Plaza Sesamo I grew up with)...
then there were the air conditioned movie theatres... since I had moved from a place that was perpetual fall-or-spring-like weather to hell on earth, I learned to love air conditioning rather young...

but I digress...

but only sort of, because writing about movie theatres was my transition to the theme of my post and the object of the meme.

FavoriteFavorite movie:

I also grew up on the dubbed versions of several movies that I recall with fondness that in retrospect are mostly Westerns... or The Wizard of OZ, which would show at three in the morning once a year in English with Spanish subtitles. Every now and then, the expat community would host a movie night at the local university theatre and we would go see en mass... there I saw Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, which set the bar for what I considered to be a beautiful woman... yes, I wanted uber thin lips painted bright red, I thought that was beautiful... then there was the time my mother horrified the world by taking us to see Animal House... though I probably should not have mentioned this.

Anyway, so my favorite movie... I suppose that there are a few... I, like Jordana, love Auntie Mame but I can't leave it just at that... I never saw Gigi, though I have always thought I would like it. I love Breakfast at Tiffany's but more for the soundtrack than the movie... I have always liked Apocalypse Now because I think that Joseph Conrad had some profound things he was thinking when he wrote the book the movie is based on. I can't think of any other movies that have achieved such notoriety with me that I could deem them as a favorite, though I am sure I am not thinking hard enough.

One of the first major movies I saw in the USA was the first release of Star Wars, so it will always have a special place in my heart... even though I also saw this "spoof" and loved it. My favorite "cult film classic" would probably be Lair of the White Worm, not because I am a huge fan of Hugh, but because I simply cannot resist a man in a kilt, it makes my knees weak... and it is weird enough for the likes of me.

Favorite movie with a religious theme:

Lillies of the Field always is in my mind, in part because I love Sidney Poitier as an actor, in part because it features East Germany and considering that I went to a German School as a youngun and react strongly to things Germanic (which explains, in part, my choice in husband), and finally because it has nuns, which were very prominent in my life.

Favorite movie priest:

I struggled with this one... I thought to myself "wasn't Bing Crosby a priest in a movie? If so, I can remember it and maybe that is my favorite movie priest." so I looked it up and lo and behold it is one from movie I liked, The Bells of Saint Mary's ... though more for personal ancestral reasons (because that is part of what defines me)... my great-great-grandfather loved the song by that name, so much so that even though it was a "catholic" song, it was played at his very Presbyterian funeral (he was a missionary).

So, aside from that perhaps I would say that I liked Gabriel Byrne as Father Andrew Kiernan in Stigmata. When I was younger I grew up in very catholic countries, so I had one of those moments when I prayed for stigmata, which I have since decided that it is part of what makes one a semi catholic... a youthful desire for a sign like stigmata from God... but I digress, again.

Favorite movie nun:

While I can mainly only remember Mary Tyler Moores' portrayal of a nun, along with Elvis as a good doctor, in Change of Habit, I would venture to add that the nuns in Lillies of the Field are favorites of mine... and for the record, I grew up watching Sally Field in Flying Nun and loved it.

So who do I tag?

Jodi - because she is living the sweet life in Canadia now and doesn't do memes (per se) but could use a diversion I imagine...

I tag Catherine, but only if she feels like she has enough time with her crazy schedule...

and it might be interesting to see Northern_Girl give this a go.

Tags: meme

My dirty laundry

I would so wash this lovely clothing item with chlorine bleach... and then run it over with my car...
how about you?

Tags: sexism, jobs, spouse

Modern rocking horse

01 to 03 of 06 173, originally uploaded by Blair Necessities.

A shout out to some very kind and gracious friends who remembered that Squink turned two very recently and sent this for him.

Thank you D & J! He loves it!

Pomegranate

01 to 03 of 06 152, originally uploaded by Blair Necessities.

One of my most favorite plants and my feeble attempt at something resembling macro photography.

Part of why I love the plant is based on a story I have been told of the plant/tree my great-grandmother had in her garden... and how my mother and aunt would sit in the tree with little pipes (yes, you read that right) that my great-grandmother had fashioned for them using the flower and a straw... I just love the plant, and hope to be able to plant one myself soon. I had bought a pair of them, just before being put on bed-rest and when able to walk again, I found them dead... and while worth losing them, I am still a little sad I had not taken the time to bring them in with me, to keep me company on those horribly long days... a way to bring my ancestors in to my experience, I guess.