Ahh, those angry forum moderators

So....it seems the forum administrator, or moderator, did finally look at my blog and decided that my user level of "read my blog" did in fact touch a nerve. It was manifested in the ubiquitous selective changing of my user status field to dissuade any others from reading this blog. At least I know someone from Byzcath.org read my commentary on the micromanegerial style of moderation now prevalent there since the gradual morphing into the more subtly Orthodox leanings of a supposedly faithful Catholic board. A BBS which has advocated through its forums DISOBEDIENCE TO OUR BISHOPS AND METROPOLITAN.

More thoughts on Byzcath, then I'll give it a rest.....

Stopped by byzcath.org to catch up on what all has happened on the "Revised Liturgy" forum since I last checked earlier this month. It seems downright quiet compared to a month ago. Only the 'Anti revision' camp remains, (the regular posters defending the revision have left) and without any counterpoint they have little to say anymore. The wind has been let from their sails.

Since our bishops seem to feel that whatever decision they make will not affect us they appear to be making no decision at all pro or con. I had hoped that there would be some concensus on the issue of revisions particularly in the area of setting the words to the more original prostopinije melodies.

In either case, my own life has been happier since I stopped wandering by the forums on byzcath. The outright lack of charity there had grown to an intolerable level for me and my pointing out any uncharitable posts only drew anger from the administrator who felt that by editing posts or deleting them the dis-charity was excised. The only problem I had with the editing of posts wasw that the posts were edited in such a way that actually COUNTERED the original poster's position (without that person being able to control the edit).

That will be my last remark on the still sore subject of what was once an excellent Eastern Catholic bulletin board, now run amuk by self serving administrators (many of whom are Orthodox {which raises questions regarding the "Catholic" in the BBS name}) who feel that unless opinions square up with their own, it's time to edit or delete or ban the user. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted.

Why I don't post on Byzcath.org anymore

Particulary in the contentious "revised Divine Liturgy" forum as seen here . If I was still posting there I would petition to rename the forum as the 'Circular Logic Forum" since the two opposed sides claim to be understanding of the other's view yet never come around to that thinking in any of their posts!

So......for my own well being (lower BP 'n all) I decided to leave on my own, much as I wish to rebut the arguments being flailed about. In actuality, I now have more time for other pursuits anyway.


Steve

For those of us Californians

Wow, what an election we have!

Thirteen initiatives including some non-popular (not written by or for the people) propositions like the wee little power grab by our LaLa Land city council.
Oh and those wunnerful, wunnerful state initiatives like prop 87, the highest gas prices in the nation initiative...Do our elected politicians truly think we are that STUPID ?
I suppose it goes along with some of our candidates, like Jerry 'moonbeam' Brown running for Attorney General. Right....Uh Huh.

Nearly 40 BILLION in propositions!!!

Our economy is doing great and now greedy politicians want o grab the money to "finish" those dear projects we already indebted ourselves for just a few years ago. What happened to the money? The politicians claim 'increased costs' (otherwise known as pocket padding) and junkets to "learn" how to accomplish their pet projects.

Easy way is to vote NO on the big money propositions.

CNN, Corrupt News Nightly

Leave it to the fifth column terrost broadcast network CNN to aid and abet the enemy by shamelessy showing terrorist propoganda. If this was WWII, they would have been tried for treason. Thank the liberal media they haven't. Each time they do this they show their true colors as friends of our enemies.

So, why is Mexican Independence day celebrated officially by our Mayor, Antonio "Reconquista" Villariagosa?

Here in LA (la la land to the rest of the country) our illustrious photo-op mayor, El Reconquistador, feels that Mexican Independence Day should be celebrated en la tierra del Norte Mexico, California Sur. While it's one thing to be proud of one's heritage it's another to be an advocate of the ILLEGAL immigration of individuals. Whose country are we celebrating? Whatever happend to civic pride in America? or even one's own state? Have we let ourselves be so brainwashed to believe that EVERYTHING is relative? including ILLEGAL immigration.

Only weeks ago, we had our city council make the most daringly obvious power grab yet and try to slip in a seemingly innocuous proposition that would 'allow' them another term after their term limits had expired. They said they 'needed more time' to solve the problems of L.A. No, they need more time working a REAL job rather than conjuring up ways to perpetuate their public office ineffectiveness at taxpayer expense.

Right along with that is our unique public utility the Dept. of Water & Power (DWP for short). Seems they have an interestin relationship with the county Board of Supervisors. When the county needs money, they have the DWP raise key fees (hidden taxes alert) to generate an operating surplus, that is conveniently rolled into the general fund (why, because they set it up that way-clever aren't they). Upon doing that the county has slush money to play with. A year or two later, sure enough, the county seems to have a shortfall and needs more money, so they go to the DWP and.......well you get the picture.

Maybe it's this whole state that's crazy. Our former Governer, Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown is running for office again, this time for Attorney General. The same governer who did more FOR prisoners, rapists, murderers than for the average citizen. Oh, and he's also a softie on that ILLEGAL imigration thing.

Remember-If you don't vote, you don't get to complain!

Thoughts after 9-11

news article

Hmmm. So the leaders of that "peaceful ", "tolerant" religion Islam, compare the Pope to Hitler and Mussolini after Pope Benedict XVI speech in Germany. Wasn't this the same religion that favored Hitler and his treatment of the Jews??? Seems like these Muslims just WANT every one to like them without any reciprocation in kind. They are good at 'MONOlogue', yet so terrible with the concept of DIAlogue.

Muslim clerics have the GALL to demand the Pope apologise for a non insult to Islam!!! How quickly then do these same Muslim clerics deride, demean and despise publicly Christianity and Judaism. Does the Pope then immediately call for a worldwide condemnation of Islam? They are truly the serpent of the Bible, not to be trusted, for they speak only with deceit on their tongues. Deceit of what Islam could be. Lest Islam be "insulted" they would kill you first, to "spare" Islam the threatened insult. There is no middle ground in Islam. No yearning for understanding of other peoples or relic views. No, this form of Islam is so fearful of losing it's hold on people that death is glorified for the sake of perpetuating the myth of "peaceful" Islam. Christianity and Judaism do not carry such heavy demands on non believers, only Islam 'demands' that non Muslims, 'infidels' be forcibly converted or killed if they will not convert. With that frame of thinking, Muslim countries like Turkey then wish to enter into 'dialogue' with the Western world, with the Western world capitulation to Islam as a requirement for acceptance. This is merely a more subtle method of attempting to coerce conversion. The radical Muslims prefer terrorism as their means. In the end both methods have the same goal: conversion/domination/death of Non Muslims.

Maybe it's just mere "coincidence" that all this happened the same week as the 5 year anniversary of America's worst terrorist attack. While many try to equate it with Pearl Harbor, there is no resemblance. The cowardly attacks on 9/11/01 were meant specifically to threaten the entire NON Muslim world into believing that Islam is the only path. If anything the rest of the NON Muslim world is slowly waking up to the fact that this is the second crusade. Not unlike the first crusade when Islam threatened the Judeo-Christian world. Japan, in 1941, on the other hand was attempting a daring (and ultimately horrendously costly) military gamble that would have allowed them access to mainland China for it's resources.

Now, before all three of the readers of this blog start sending me death threats, think about where that places one in the spiritual realm.

Shalom
Mir
Peace

Next: lighter topics like El Mayor de La Reconquista strikes again....

Settling into the new routine.....

A month and a half at the new job......starting to get settled into a new routine again. It's amazing how quickly one gets used to new routines. At least my job isn't routine. New challenges every day. Strangely, I don't miss my old job as much as I thought I would. I guess I was blocking out the stressful parts of the work environment after a decade of dealing with the revolving door of managers with each corporate takeover. I'm back to being just another grunt who saves the day at the job several times a week. No longer does the PA system resonate with my name ringing out 20 times a day.

It was actually a kind of vacation for me being forcibly off work for 4 months. I had some time to put my priorities in order. Primarily, I need to get rid of so much of this accumulated junk around the house!

Projects that I've started and burned out on. Too numerous to count. eventually I get rid of the more hopeless ones in the vain hope of finishing the remaining projects....Mmmmmm Hmmmm, right.....those just become the next round of elimination sometime the following summer. Ebay helps with the process in that I can make some money on the pieces of theses abandoned projects and at least recover a fration of the money originally spent.

Now, with the prospect of marriage, I must double my efforts to clear out "stuff" to make room for additions to the house and a rearrangement of my present lifestyle. :-) It's good for me. I do tend to collect projects rather than finish all of them.

Some 'projects' though I will keep. such as the Rivett grinder: Ony 10 of these made the year this serial number was produced...


Other items are more common interest and will stay too.:

NEWS, News, news

Well! A lot has happened in the past few months. I've been to Uzhgorod and Muckachevo, Ukraine, stopping in Perth Amboy, NJ for July 4th on my way back to wonnerful downtown Reseda, CA. Started a new job the following week, then a trip to Kansas City, MO and back and in the middle of it all I'm now engaged to the witty and wonderful Aunt Chrissy !

Wow! So much for a boring life of unemployment. Today, I'm at home being sicky-poo. I got a "welcome back" gift of a head cold/sinus infection after coming back to work. Yay...

11 year anniversay of a sort...

Today marks what would have been the anniversary date of the 11th year I was employed at FADAL.Too bad it ended back in March.

Maxcor wants so much to be the big machine tool player on the block that now they are buying Excello. Seems all the once mighty have fallen beneath the thumb of Maxcor. All hail Maxcor!!! At least Haas is still independently owned. Hardinge is still struggling as an independent manufacturer.

For all their desire to be the biggest, Maxcor has thus far failed to truly capitalise on what made these companies successful in the first place, the CUSTOMER. Their focus has been more on maximising "value" ($$$in their pocket) than the ultimate value-customers who come back-. Fadal, Cinncinatti and the other Maxcor companies all failed in those regards with the corporate takeovers of the 1980's and 1990's. For all the efforts of the mergers of Cinncinatti-Lamb, Giddings&Lewis, Thyssen-Krupp the focus was always on $ not the customer ultimately. The true focus is to line the pockets of the small group of investors who make up companies like Maxcor (or Goldman Holdings who held Bridgeport until Hardinge took them in). If the merger/buyout/takeover doesn't produce the desired $$$/time, then it is disbanded, sold, dumped on the wayside for some other hopeful investor to wrangle their brand of corporate "magic" and attempt to turn a profit by selling it again.

All through this sad process, the brand names once proud are reduced to hyphenations and subtexts of the merger corporation or is some cases, lost for all time.

Irrational Inflation Fears Fueled by Irrational Exuberance of Investors!!!

Seems that those duly appointed-though not elected- gurus of all hallowed finances, the FED RESERVE bank has decided to throw the economy from it's fragile recovery headlong into a glaring red tailspin of rapidly epic proportions. Seems things were too positive in the economy for those financial wizards, who obviously have some wealthy friends, needed a well timed market downturn to capitalize their profit margins for 2006. All this leaves the rest of us bottom feeders, who were finally making money and actually had some savings again, with dwindling investment accounts and 401K's, while the fat cats buy up the scattered monies of the nouveau poor.

Unless you are born rich or steal your money or are just plain lucky one is destined to be a wage slave for those who control the worlds finances. Oh %$&*@#! well.....

Cinco De Mayo should now be " Nothing Mexican" Day

Perhaps we gringo Americanos should try a reciprocal boycott and stop hiring illegals for the day (at least those not too drunk for 5/5). Should promise to be as much of a non event as the left's new MAY DAY celebrating not only communism but now illegal immigracion. Viva la Migra!

Too much depressing funk to put up with! Sheeesh! Between the bleeding heart ACLU (Anti-Christian Liberation Union) and much of the liberal half of our own elected government, we conservative middle class are the next endangered species. Don't wait for them to block taking away our liberties and freedom though.

So for this upcoming Cinco de Mayo don't buy any Mexican food, beer or visit Tijuana. Let Mexico, which doesn't even celebrate cinco de Mayo feel the sting of a true boycott....less americano dolares going into their country.

Too bad Vincente Fox is all for the new legalisation of all drugs in Mexico. He doesn't realise that it will change absolutely nothing for Mexico. The average Mexicano is too poor to afford food let alone drugs! But now the average Mexicano can get rich SELLING drugs to rich Americanos. Ay caramba!

Mexico's May Day, "Nada Gringo"

In the papers today I see what could be more fuel to fire the anti illegal immigration issue. Seems Mexico City is having a "nothing Gringo" day, ie no Big Macs. Fine with me. They might be a little healthier for a day. Perhaps we here in the USA should boycott ALL Mexican restaurants on May 1. While shopping, check those labels for "hecho en Mexico". Want grapes? check where they are from. Cheap clothes? Check where they are from. Perhaps this will be a true economic battle which Mexico can't compete given the USA's voracious appetite for Mexican food.

The only true way to stem the flood of illegals (mostly Mexican-South American) will be for those countries to improve their standard of living. As long as the US turns a blind eye to illegal immigration, Mexico will be more than content to keep its people in abject poverty at home, thus essentially forcing the US to pay what Mexico can not or will not.

Why May 1 anyway? Seems a bit communist to me. Soviet communism always celebrated their 'victorious' state in May.

WMD's in our own backyard, and front yard, on freeways, at the supermarket...they're everywhere!

Just when you thought Iraq was safe and no WMD's were found, here they are in our own streets!!!!

Yes, Weapons of Musical Destruction! Those boomboxes we are mercilessly subjected to by the juvenile minds of Blingworld and Crap music. They are the true enemy within. The subjugation of what passes for music in the form of booooommmmm boxxxx muuuuuuusic. All we sentient beings hear is the dull thudding boom reverberating across the once peaceful suburbia of the American dream. But lo, modern urban terrosts have found a way to cut through the safety of suburbia by boooommmiiinnnggg their message of anti establishment through your living room wall at all hours of the day and even through the night. There is no longer and implied sanctity of night being quiet. The new boombox terrorists must be heard! We will not be let to sleep while they have angry thoughts to beam to suburbia.

Many thanks to Aunt Chrissy for the idea of WMD's

Immigration reform...Why do we immediatly think "la migra"

It seems that the looming issue of immigration reform is less the nuts and bolts of reforming America's immigration policy than the need to reform America's welfare policy. When most of our ancestors came to America there were strict requirements of having a sponsor who would vouch for the immigrant. After the great depression of the 1930's when the welfare state was born, things started to relax ending up with our present situation where we have flung the doors open to almost all with our liberal welfare state policies. There is a most favored immigrant nation status granted to Mexico while others are still required to play by the old rules. Why is it that we as a nation have coopted ourselves with Mexico? Simply put, our politicians being the greedy folks they are see a vast pool of easy votes in those south of the border ILLEGAL immigrants. Why bother with niceties as formal citizenship requirements, when politicians can make a grab for 11 MILLION illicit votes. Illicit because hose votes are not truly objective but highly subjective given the preferrential treatment given them.We get upset when politicians try to outright buy votes!!! But this is far more egregious, congress enacting legislation to sway votes!!! Why else does this issue come up now in a critical congressional election year?

Everywher else it is easy to keep illegals out. Canadians don't come here in any significant amount. Likely the percentage of Canadian immigrants is below 1%. Other continents are easier to handle. We have oceans seperating "us" from "them". But Mexico seems to enjoy an almost Orwellian sense of perverting the meaning of "illegal immigrant". Even the Mexican President, Vicente Fox condones the free passage of migrants across the US-Mexico border. He wants California back for Mexico!!! Mexico can't wrestle it back by war, so they fight back with a time tested economic strategy-drain the enemy's resources till they can't fight. Mexico has so many wishing to come to America that California's economy will sink and become poorer than Baja Mexico. We will revert to Alta Mexico. Mexico will reap the factories and infrastructure that they in 10000 years could never build.

4 Weeks and still looking...not quite living on spongecake

After a few hopeful interviews last week, I thought that maybe this would be a short job hunt. Alas, looks like it will be longer than I hoped. Too bad that I am comfortably (ha ha) surviving on what would have been my retirement stock portfolio.

It sucks how slow things go at the unemployment office. Every day, resume's out, email out, phone calls out....I'm hoping I don't have to start doing temp jobs or work at a " BigBoxMart." I'd rather have full time employment with medical/dental benefits without the third world wages, thank you. Meanwhile, I am selling off some of my things on eBay to help pay the household expenses. I guess those garage 'toys' I collected over the years will come in handy. I really needed to clear some things out of the garage anyway. Hopefully I will have some things left before things get too desperate.

I'm just feeling mighty frustrated by the decision of one person, who four weeks ago decided to play 'god' and fire me on the flimsiest of pretexts, without following company procedure. Yes, it was the sole decision of exactly one newly placed VP Production (from Texas,- yes the same state that screwed California out of Billion$ ) who saw fit to have me escorted out the door on a trumped charge of "insubordination". There was no verbal warning folloing the alleged incident cited at my exit interview nor was there any written warning that would have followed the verbal warning (that never happened) prior to my being dismissed! He just didn't want me in his way.

I like a most all of the rank and file workers there, but the holding company who owns them, Maxcor , and the new management they have installed seem only interested in squeezing a profit rather than continuing to pride themselves as a US based machine tool manufacturer. They have kicked out so many of the engineers, managers, and support personel that they will indeed have a difficult time staying afloat as a company. I feel for the guys who are still there.

Since when has Rap been any less than CRAP!

I refuse to even associate the word 'music' with rap. To do so is the ultimate indignity to the true art of music. Rap is merely simple rhyming with atonal rythmn tossed in to give to some unenlightend folk the impression of 'music'. That rap is so vainly glorified in such mutual gratification award shows such as the Grammys and now the Academy awards says volumes about the steep decline of culture in this nation! It is as much "the Emperor's New Clothes" as it is just plain brainwashing that rap be even considered a musical form.

To this we have news agencies reporting about grafitti 'artists'. True grafitti is different than the much more insidious and mundane tagging seen in much of our cities. There is no true art to tagging. It would be like saying that a dog marking his territory requires a sense of art to properly complete the task.

This looks more like the Orwellian, 1984 slant on twisting the true meanings of words. Thanks to such enlightened folks at the ACLU, they have so much freedom to play crap like rap at exceedingly high volumes without retribution because we might offend someone if we ask that they shut the **** up! But i'ts ok for them to invade our privacy with their NOISE . Go figure!

So much for good neighbors! Renters, naturally. No stake in the neighborhood, so just rape the silence with loud CRAP music and the rest of us be damned!

A week of "vacation"....Still unemployed.....

Actually, I thought I would be more panicked than I am given the rapidly dwindling savings account. While I am still sending out the resumes, I have gotten one interview offer so things are looking better than the last time I was laid off 4 years ago. I try to get my resumes out early in the morning so there is less likelyhood of them winding up in the circular file. I have to remind myself that it has only been one week so far.

I was angry with my former employer for firing me. Aunt Chrissy as usual had kind words of wisdom to which I have taken to heart...I am better off out of that place!

Well, back to the job search...

Unemployed!!!

Well, there comes a time when all things come to an end. Today I was fired, though not in person by the VP Production who had me fired (coward that he truly is). If he went about things correctly, he would have confronted me at the time regarding what he calls insubordination and worked things out. This VP had only been working for the company little more than one month! The incident didn't even register to other's who were in the same room. He fired me more to send a message to the rest of the company-don't mess with me!- he is a texan, after all, with a gigantic chip on his shoulder. He's gotta prove himself to his bosses who care only for cash the flow anyway.

Anyway enough about cowardly manager-VP's. It was about time I moved on from a place that had been stifleing my expertise since they rehired me 4 years ago (last time I was 'merely' "laid off", which hurt enough). I will miss the friendly coworkers who will have to make do with a VP who is as uncaring as Osama.

It's Tuesday, Last Week of the Month, Where are the Parts?

Another "end of the month" week and sure enough we're short on parts. GM says there's no part's problem.....sure looks like one to me!!!

Are all American business managers (GM, CFO, CEO,COO, etc) so brainwashed into ignoring the bald truth that surrounds them? Why does it seem so difficult for upper management to figure out what is painfully clear to everyone else in the company?

Perhaps it is the 'Emperor's New Clothes' syndrome. Mid level managers fear for their precious jobs and won't tell the GM what the real truth is. Doesn't help that most GM's ignore the glaring warning signs from all directions indicating serious problems.

Speaking of GM's....GM, as in General Mismangement, The automobile manufacturer, is headed for more layoffs. It seems to me the layoffs have been their annual M.O. for the last several decades! One would think that by now, they would have understood the old saying about what defines stupidity... I guess not. So much for trying those newfangled ideas, eh?

Well, enough ragging on our hapless management in this country. Maybe they are just following the billiionaire losers at Enron, who swear they didn't know that they were outright stealing by using such deceptive (and frighteningly standardized) accounting practices.

The day after Valentine's

Life in LA is different, though in many ways, just like any other major metropolis with a few million, gazillion people. Valenitne's day proved to be no exception with the usual fare of traffic snarls on freeways, surface streets, and even our one subway. All in all things still worked out, though decidedly differently than either of us imagined beforehand. I would guess there were many subway riders who had similar experiences.

Our real difference is that we don't get real seasons like winter or fall. Temp's on Valentine's day were a balmy 70-75 downtown in mid February! Along with that, though, is no rain or other excitement, weatherwise.

Steve

Just another 90 degree day in February

Who says there ain't no global warming!!! Last winter-2nd wettest on record. This winter-likely the driest on record. Global warming isn't about ice melting and everything heating up, it's about changes to the extremes of our weather. From what I see there is some truth to the changes in weather extremes. Whether these changes are entirely the fault of human intervention is a matter of contentious debate. There have been notable climate shifts in Earth's history lonnnnnng before the modern industrial revolution.

Now if only global warming could be tied into the spread of the evil of Islam around the world, then maybe we would do somethging about it.

All this carnage over a cartoon?

The nice thing about having a blog that very few people on the internet notice is that you can write about pretty much anything without worry of upsetting some touchy types like those 'peaceful' muslims who are burning embassies over a cartoon....a cartoon...

Think about it for a moment. What benefits to civilisation as a whole has Islam brought? Yet we have politicians (by and large-Democrats) tripping over each other to bend over backward to court a religious group that has the LEAST tolerance of any other religion. It seems the wacky left (ACLU) types are the most ga-ga over Islam as a cause celebre. The ACLU's zeal to quash ANY semblence of Christianity in America makes them quite appealing to radical (and even less radical) muslim islamic groups. The ACLU (Anti Civilisation Lunatics Union) desires to court such radical, and denounce (if not wholly destroy) much if not all the Judeo-Christian values that shaped the "Western" world.

All this, while muslims burn embassies, denounce America and any western civilisation, cut off people's heads and send the video live around the world on the internet. Thses are not the acts of a civilsed culture, but rather a culture driven by the infantile desire to control every living soul around them and yet proclaim that they are only 'doing what is right' according to their manifesto, the koran.

My thoughts on tradition in the context of the Divine Liturgy, as posted on a BBS

There has been much talk of late about "fiddling" with our traditions, liturgical text,music and what not. On the Faith & Worship forum this was said in response to a question regarding the fasting regulations on Theophany eve.

Administrator wrote:

The problem created by moving the Vespers and Divine Liturgy from early in the day to the evening (thereby making it like the Roman Catholic “First Mass of Christmas (or Epiphany)”) is that the fasting and meal customs no longer make sense. Those taking Eucharist on the Eve of Christmas (or Theophany) would have simply fasted from everything (except water) from the time they woke until they took Eucharist. Then they would have their “Holy Supper”. With the Vespers and Divine Liturgy of St. Basil delayed until the evening, in many families the “Holy Supper” comes before Eucharist.

Followed by this:

We really ought not to be fiddling with our inheritance until we have an exact understanding of history. And we certainly must not make any move whatsoever without the rest of Byzantine Orthodoxy.

Part of our understanding of particular history is in the dialogue right here on this BBS and on the internet. How does the Orthodox Church do Theophany eve? How does our typicon advise? We are all free to do our own things in private, but the typicon is the normative instruction for the church.

If our "received tradition" was corrupted over the years and we wish to return to an "authentic" tradition, at what point looking back in time do we stop the clock and say "this is the 'correct' way."? To me, [opinion alert] vespers in the morning make no sense at all. What then was the compulsion for that original move to have vespers in the morning of the eve of Theophany? Mitigation of fasting??? Or was it always that way? [Confused]

With other posts on the Kliros forum regarding the proper music, translation, rubrics and debate over IEMC vs Levkulic texts I myself get somewhat frustrated. There are those whose strongly oppose the work of the IEMC/IELC and staunchly support text/music from Fr. Levkulic while others are supporters of the efforts of the IEMC/IELC. I have opinions pro and con for both.

This Theophany eve our parish used the Levkulic book which for the vespers half of the liturgy omitted the verses of Ps 140 after the music for "O Lord, I have cried..". That to me seems an innovation "fiddling" if it were put another way. Yet, here we are with some arguing that this is our tradition! So, when the IELC and IEMC publish revised material, they are "fiddling" according to others.

Also, I have questions about the "tradition" of priest/cantor&people vs cantor/people responses on the Troparion with verses in the priest-cantor ed of Theophany Vesper. In Levkulic the priest reads (recitando) the verse while the people repond in the prokimenon tone, whereas the IEMC version the people lead in the troparion tone, as indicated, with the verse SUNG by the cantor in the troparion tone!

Hmmmm, I have noticed other differences of this sort (between IEMC/Levkulic)with the Akathist Hymn arranged for being chanted almost entirely by the priests with the congregation singing the most simple responses in Levkulic.

Perhaps these were "innovations" of the time when there were fewer trained cantors who knew how to sing special services? Or perhaps priests who didn't trust cantors? Who knows.

These things seem to be much more recent than the changing of vesperliturgies to mornings of the eve of feasts but are nonetheless issues we face.

It is no secret that I have been in support of the IEMC, having been a student in the Metropolitan Cantor Institute program over the previous five years. I wouldn't have travelled so much if I didn't see some good coming from it. I find the material from the IEMC to be quite singable. I have watched the settings change and improve over time with the input from several cantors. At times am frustrated with the Levkulic (and even the 1965) arrangements of music with texts when compared to the more complex styles of the original settings in Bokshai/Ratsin/Papp. Even those editions had their shortcomings with copied transcription mistakes perpetuated for 100 years.

SteveP

Playing boom box "music" loudly is a violation of constitutional rights

Ahhh, the peaceful quiet of a well deserved weekend.....for a moment at least. That was until some single digit IQ moron broadcasts his idea of "music" from half a mile away. Boooom boom booooom bom booooom. The new rythmn of the heathen nation of misguided youth we have raised up. What is just primal rythmn with no lyric sense is called "music" by the uninitiated, unwashed masses of an ignorant generation. Music "designed" to maximise the booooominess so as to broadcast acoustically one's simple minded idea of "culture" to those surrounding them. Other than that, boom box music truly serves no purpose to society. It neither uplifts or pulls at the emotions. It merely shakes one into feeling it for the sole sake of feeling, there is no soul to it at all.

I must applaud those (few) cities who have taken action against such wanton disregard for privacy by way of rolling boom boxes, Liberals would have us believe that to limit such assinine behaviour would be "unconstitutional". How wrong they are! By allowing such an invasion of my space, by acoustic volleys, without my permission is in fact a violation of MY constitutional right to privacy as much as if they were to walk through my living room uninvited.

It is about time American society starts accounting for the folly of liberalism. This is the harvest of a poorly planted crop- society out of balance-

Finally it's Friday....and I don't have to be at work tomorrow.

A chance perchance to rest me weary feet from the long toils of the day.

I'm always amazed at how time flies in the evening when I get home. I work like crazy for 10 hours in the day, yet when I get home, those precious 5 hours I have left over go by in a blink! Half of it is just recovery time, the other half is busy time getting ready for the next day.

When I first started working in the working world, I had more time, what happened in between? I know! The cost of living was lower relative to my wage back then.

Hmmmm, inflation as a model for an economy....Lets see. If the demand for products goes up, so does the price. As the prices goes up wages should keep up; except when the economic model is taken to global extreeeemes when major corporations relocate to third world companies thus eliminating jobs domestically, reducing production costs dramatically, and still charging ever higher amounts for products that the now unpaid US workers can ill afford! While competition is healthy there exists the realm of unhealthy competetion which could be equated as corporate greed. The demand for ever lower prices on goods by consumers partly comes about due to wages not following the inflationary pattern of growth. Look at the housing markets to see examples of such a model. Housing prices have soared to dramatic and historic highs while the average wage comes nowhere close to competing. In 10 years the US will be a debtor nation instead of a producer nation with jobs being outsourced and direct living/housing costs pushing workers into bankruptcy.

The model only works if one can control how the game is played, but when other markets play by altoghether different rules, then all the "old model" markets get stuck in a sink or swim situation........

There is something to this "blog" stuff that seems to have a calming effect after working 11 hours in a LOUD factory. A chance to speak what is really on one's mind without the covert and overt censorship of the management waiting within earshot. Management already knows that we workers are frustrated by those everyday stupid management decisions that make little sense to most rational beings.

At least there are weekends to look forward to....

Love that 7 day work week! or What ever happened to the concept of "weekends"?

Hmmmm.

7 day work weeks just to scrape by because of (mis) management screwups in planning! What next? Will we just live at the factory with no concept of a free weekend for our families? Oh, Yes! This is the new age of "lean manufacturing" in America where fewer employees are working more grueling hours to satiate the demands of faceless shareholders who demand more "value" from their stock. Made more frustrating by the sheer incompetence of management that surely thinks the motto is "Work harder, NOT smarter". Is it any wonder why some companies founder while others succeed? After 11 years and one stint of being laid off at my current company, I thought I would have got the message: "time to look for less stressful work". The big question is...where? It seems that this is the new American business model fashioned after the sweatshops of Asia with whom we compete with utter futility.

It is said that 'you will never grow rich working for someone else'. These days it seems more true than the last 75 or so years. The harder one works for a company, the more the company expects from you with less return (pay raise) than the year before. It is a huge step to go naked before the world and start your own business. Little wonder why so many fail! Competition is absolultly fierce! One day I hope to be brave enough to set forth in such uncharted waters, but for now I go to sleep to be ready for the next work day closer to the dreaded 'End of The Month' which plagues so many manufacturing jobs.

Steve,
Who has many dreams yet to be lived.

Just another Sunday

Finally have about half the office furniture moved back in.I'm not sure I'll move all the stuff I used to have crammed in back in. Seem that projects like these help identify what one really needs in a house or room. (or can do without).

Finally moved back into the "office"

After a year of slooowwww progress, I have finally managed to re- ready the back room as my office after repairing damage from last winter's almost record breaking rains. At least one MAJOR project in my life is wrapping up. It will be good to be at a proper desk rather than working out of the living room. Ow my aching back!

2005 was one of those mixed years for me. I didn't do much at home the home front, but did go on some memorable trips. I'll post a few more highlights later...back to moving the computer, Yay!

Some fun last year operating a locomotive

Last October, as a birthday present I went out to Ely, NV with my brother Frank and operated an honest to goodness steam locomotive. T'was Like being a kid all over again! Gotta have fun some time in between the rat race of 11 hour days at work and end of the month deadlines. The trip was intense as we only had a weekend to drive there and back. Fortuantely we had planned to take an additional day off to recover from the 14 hour drive.

On the way up we drove parallel to the White River along highway 93 which is beautiful country in the heart of Nevada. One sometimes thinks all of Nevada is Las Vegas or Reno. I was pleasantly surprised that there is more than just desert, mountains and area 51.

Some day.....when i win the lottery. (I'm soooo confident, aren't I? ;-) )....Maybe I'll have a big enough backyard for one of these.

Introduction

Be patient.

It's a new year and I am new to the blog world....

Soon to come, my thoughts and ramblings on whatever subject comes along. Mostly photos of the shop, projects, and things that interest me and perhaps a few others out there.

Wishing all a happy 2006!

Steve