Random Variables :: random thoughts deep and wideBits of wit, couplets and quatrains, random thoughts deep and wideTo see resources- October 25, 2004 www.acton.org "... a person needs quite a lot of human virtues to be able to see resources. First of all, one needs a certain passion for theoretical thought; that is, contemplation. Consider this example from the story of Ulysses and the giant cyclops Polyphemus in Homer's Odyssey: Ulysses and his companions are imprisoned in a hole by the cyclops and are overwhelmed by fear, becoming so passive that Polyphemus is able to take and eat a few of them. Ulysses speaks to his heart-believed to be..http://random.antville.org/stories/955361/ As bad as I thought- October 25, 2004 "Browning ... tells us that what won him for Christ was this, that while others tried to soothe his angry conscience, and kept urging that, really, things were not nearly so bad as he was making out, Christ looked him in the eyes and told him bluntly that he was a desperate sinner, worse, much worse, even than he realized. And that, queerly enough as you might think, the man was not discomfited but heartened. Here at last, he felt, is one who understands and knows the facts. And since His...http://random.antville.org/stories/955030/ Off to teach ...- October 16, 2004 Off to teach in a moment in the city of Guaratingetá, about an hour and a half away, where our brother Jorge has been teaching family members and neighbors. We hope it will develop into another congregation for our region, the third, after SJCampos and Taubaté, to reach the millions between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.http://random.antville.org/stories/946706/ Readings of late- October 15, 2004 As a distraction from work and relaxation, I read works not related to what I do. In the past, I've read Clancy, Grisham, and others of their ilk. Lately, for lack of more modern fiction, I've turned to older authors. A few weeks ago, I read through the original Alice in Wonderland. Then a play of Ibsen's. Now I'm over halfway through Don Quixote, but I stopped for a while to zip through C.S. Lewis's A Horse and His Boy, which I finished yesterday. This morning I picked up DQ again. Joel had..http://random.antville.org/stories/945549/ Church sign- October 14, 2004 "Here is what we put on the church sign God made Adam and Eve Not Adam and Steve 'Nuf said, Manly"http://random.antville.org/stories/944906/ New Greek-Portuguese lexicon- October 14, 2004 Bought a new one today, by Carlo Rusconi, translated from the Italian. (Published last year.) Shows some Catholic bias, but seems to be good. Won't replace D&G's Shorter Lexicon, translated from English in 1984. Was pricey at R$78,00 (about US$28.00), but I waved cash and took it for R$70,00, or US$25.00.http://random.antville.org/stories/944800/ Nuf said!- October 8, 2004 "We know who John Kerry is not." --Gary Aldrichhttp://random.antville.org/stories/939307/ |